Chapter 125: Genius

Liu Feng controlled his flying sword, which surged forward like a divine dragon, reaching Yang Rui in an instant to strike him down.

"Clang!"

A man of about forty years old appeared on the arena as if by teleportation. He extended a single finger and blocked Liu Feng’s sword.

Liu Feng retracted his blade and stared at the man, stunned, unable to fathom why he had intervened to save Yang Rui.

"Senior Zhao Hong, why have you come?" Emperor Wang Bin of the Qingyu Kingdom hurried over, addressing the man with deep respect.

Zhao Hong looked at Wang Bin and said calmly, "I came to see if there were any exceptionally talented youths at this Four-Nation Alliance Tournament. I felt a connection with this boy, so I saved him." As he spoke, he glanced at Yang Rui.

Wang Bin quickly replied, "If you feel a connection with him, it is his great fortune."

Yang Rui stepped forward hastily, saying, "Thank you, Senior, for saving my life."

"Very well! Would you be willing to return to the Tianyuan Sect with me? I shall take you on as a nominal disciple," Zhao Hong said, looking at Yang Rui with a faint smile.

Hearing the name of the Tianyuan Sect, Yang Rui’s face lit up with joy. He knelt immediately, saying, "Master, please accept my obeisance."

"Good, good!" Zhao Hong stroked his beard and repeated the word twice.

"Congratulations, Senior, on acquiring such a talented disciple," Wang Bin stepped forward to offer his compliments.

"Continue with your tournament; I shall not disturb you further. Disciple, let us go." With that, Zhao Hong grabbed Yang Rui’s hand, soared into the sky, and vanished into the distance in the blink of an eye.

"One day, I too will be able to traverse the skies," Liu Feng muttered to himself, watching the two figures disappear.

"Liu Feng wins!" the referee finally announced, having been too stunned by Zhao Hong’s display of flight to speak until now.

"Brother Liu Feng, that was magnificent! You’ve made it into the final four," Zhang Liang said with excitement, acting more like the victor than Liu Feng himself.

Wang Xing looked at Zhang Liang with a speechless expression. "Brother Liu Feng’s strength is unfathomable; his victory was inevitable. What are you getting so excited about?"

"Brother Liu Feng and I are as one; his victory is my victory," Zhang Liang replied with practiced familiarity.

Liu Feng looked at Zhang Liang and said dryly, "Brother Zhang Liang, you are indeed very humorous."

"Haha! Not at all, not at all," Zhang Liang said, feeling slightly awkward.

Zhao Bochao stepped in, asking, "How are you? Are your injuries serious?"

Liu Feng smiled indifferently. "It is nothing. Yang Rui’s Destruction Arrow did not cause me any real harm."

"That is good to hear."

Meanwhile, on the special viewing platform, Wang Bin and the others were in discussion.

"Yang Zhi, you must keep your word. Which city are you going to hand over to me?" Wang Bin asked, eyeing Yang Zhi.

"Hmph! My word is my bond. I shall give you Hongyuan City; it happens to border your Qingyu Kingdom." Yang Zhi snorted coldly and produced the official seal of Hongyuan City.

"Excellent! You are a man of your word, Yang Zhi. I shall accept Hongyuan City," Wang Bin said, taking the seal.

"Don't get too smug, Wang Bin. My Mengyue Kingdom’s Yang Rui has now become a disciple of the Fourth Elder of the Tianyuan Sect. No one from your Qingyu Kingdom has caught the eye of a Tianyuan Sect elder yet," Yang Hao said with a touch of arrogance.

"Why the rush? I believe it won't be long before a young talent from our Qingyu Kingdom is selected by the Tianyuan Sect," Wang Bin replied, his face darkening.

"Fine! I shall wait to see your people chosen by the Tianyuan Sect," Yang Zhi teased.

"Hmph!" Wang Bin snorted, ignoring him and returning his attention to the arena.

On the stage, two young experts were engaged in a fierce battle.

One wielded a massive black axe, swinging it with such momentum that the air roared as if struck by a falling boulder. The other held a golden halberd, slashing and thrusting with such speed that the blade flickered like lightning, sending out sharp waves of energy.

The two darted across the arena, their weapons colliding repeatedly in a shower of sparks that looked like fireworks, though each strike held the power to cleave stone and shatter mountains.

"Gale Slash!" the axe-wielder roared. His weapon began to spin at incredible speed, creating a pillar of wind around him. He charged, unleashing sharp, lethal arcs of force along with the vortex toward his opponent.

"Heaven-Splitting Halberd Technique!" the other youth bellowed, pouring his surging internal energy into his weapon.

The halberd erupted in a brilliant golden light, moving like a dragon emerging from the sea. The edges hummed as they sliced through the air. With a shake of his hands, the youth drove the halberd forward like a golden bolt of lightning, crashing into the massive axe.

"Bang!" The halberd tore through the vortex before slamming directly into the axe.

"Clang!"

The impact sent sparks flying, and the shockwave of their colliding power ripped a deep, craterous hole several meters wide in the center of the arena. Both men were thrown backward, blood spraying from their mouths.

Liu Feng watched them, thinking, "These final matches truly are collisions between titans."

"Incredible. The destructive power of these two is at least at the fifth stage of the Yin-Yang Realm. Among youths under twenty, they are absolute monsters," Zhao Jun exclaimed in admiration.

Zhao Bochao nodded slightly. "These are the semifinals; naturally, they are the most elite talents."

As they spoke, the two fighters on the arena reached their climax.

"Hah!" The halberd-wielder shouted. Despite his injuries, his momentum was terrifying. His weapon blazed with golden light like a raging fire as he leaped into the air, bringing the halberd down in a crushing strike.

"Ah!" The axe-wielder did not back down. Pouring his remaining energy into his weapon, the axe glowed with an eerie, abyssal black light, radiating an aura of destruction. He swung upward, a dark arc carving through the air like the onset of night, meeting the halberd head-on.

"Boom!"

A violent shockwave erupted from the center of the clash, sweeping across the arena like a hurricane. The stone floor was pulverized, sending shards of rock flying into the sky before they shattered into dust.

Two figures were sent hurtling to opposite sides of the arena.