015. Qitian's First Battle in the Performance Field
The Performance Martial Field was divided into three tiers: low-tier in the fifth inner city, mid-tier in the fourth inner city, and high-tier in the third inner city.
All newcomers to the performance field, regardless of whether their win or loss record was zero, had to start from the low-tier performance zone in the fifth inner city, according to the rules.
Achieving thirty net wins allowed promotion to the fourth inner city.
If, in the performance zone of the fourth inner city, one achieved eighty net wins, they could advance to the third inner city.
If one could successfully defend the stage for eighteen matches in the third inner city, they could become an external clan elder of the Shang Clan.
However, becoming an external clan elder wasn't easy. Currently dominating the performance field were two Rank 4 Gu Masters, Ju Kai Bei and Yan Tu.
These two both possessed Rank 4 initial stage cultivation, reigned supreme in the performance field, and constantly competed against each other.
Each declared they wouldn't leave the performance field until they utterly defeated the other.
However, in reality, they were both hidden pawns placed by Shang Yan Fei.
The Shang Clan rules stipulated that any Gu Master who dominated the Shang Clan's performance field and defended the stage for eighteen matches could be promoted to an external clan elder.
Ju Kai Bei and Yan Tu were Shang Yan Fei's means of controlling the Shang Clan performance field!
To dominate the performance field, one had to face these two, meaning one had to defeat both Gu Masters consecutively to reign supreme.
Of course, Qitian was confident that even though he hadn't advanced to Rank 4 yet, he wouldn't necessarily lose if he fought these two.
Soon, Qitian arrived at a large hall.
The hall was bustling with noise, filled with Gu Masters applying for challenges, checking match schedules, and so on.
Some were participants, some came specifically to watch the battles, and others were setting up gambling pools.
Here, Qitian completed his registration. After paying five hundred primeval stones, he received a Vine Signal Gu.
This Rank 1 Gu resembled a piece of vine with a large, wide green leaf, recording some of Qitian's information.
Subsequently, Qitian applied for a battle.
The performance field also had restrictions on the number of battles. One person could fight at most once per day. Every ten days, one had to participate in at least one battle, or have one win count deducted.
If net losses reached five, their qualification would be cancelled. To participate again, they would have to re-register.
And Qitian's Gu set was basically complete, with few replacements needed. Therefore, Qitian planned to fight consecutively; with his combat strength, he aimed to achieve thirty net wins within a month and enter the fourth inner city.
Soon, Qitian arrived at the designated arena. His opponent was already waiting inside.
He was eight chi tall, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, with arms as thick as Qitian's thigh, bare-chested and barefooted.
His chest was covered in thick black hair, exuding a fierce aura.
Seeing Qitian enter the arena, a trace of disdain flashed in his eyes.
Judging by Qitian's appearance, clearly a youth no older than seventeen or eighteen, how high could his cultivation be? In contrast, he himself was Rank 2 upper stage, quite famous in the fifth inner city; this kid was just here to be served up.
There were only about a dozen spectators around.
After all, watching also required paying primeval stones. Qitian was just an unknown nobody for now. His opponent, Xiong Da, was somewhat famous; otherwise, it would be good if even two or three people came.
"This kid's unlucky! Running into Xiong Da on his first match."
"Yeah! Xiong Da has the strength of three bears, capable of fighting Rank 2 peak stage. I wonder if this kid will be slapped into meat paste, haha."
"I thought I could watch an exciting fight, what a waste of my primeval stones."
The audience below discussed animatedly, none of them optimistic about Qitian.
Clang—!
A clear bell chime sounded; the battle officially began.
"Kid, hurry up and surrender! Otherwise, if I can't hold back later, you'll become a meat patty," Xiong Da said arrogantly.
Qitian didn't speak, raised his right hand, and a jade blade appeared in it.
The jade blade wasn't a Gu worm; it could appear so conveniently in Qitian's hand because he had the easy-to-use Empty Granary Gu.
Seeing Qitian's move, Xiong Da instantly recognized Qitian wasn't ordinary. Although he didn't think Qitian could defeat him, he still became serious.
He looked like a crude and reckless person, but was actually shrewd inwardly. His earlier behavior was just psychological pressure on Qitian and also a form of probing.
Qitian noticed Xiong Da's change and nodded slightly. Being able to mix well here, he obviously wouldn't be an arrogant, brainless person. However, in the face of absolute strength, all schemes were useless.
Swift Shadow Gu! Blade Qi Gu! Blade Intent Gu!
Qitian rushed towards Xiong Da, leaving only an afterimage that faintly dissipated.
Schlick!
Xiong Da's vision blurred. Before he could react, Qitian's jade blade slashed across his chest.
In an instant, Xiong Da felt a sharp pain assault him. Looking down, he saw a wound three cun deep on his chest, deep enough to see bone.
"You, you, you're actually a Rank... Rank 3 Gu Master... My brother... will avenge me..." After saying this, Xiong Da collapsed.
"What! He's dead just like that?"
The dozen or so spectating Gu Masters were all dumbfounded.
In the performance field, although battles were frequent, deaths were not common.
Firstly, both participants usually had means; one could surrender if defeat was imminent.
Secondly, there were Gu Masters moderating the performance who could intervene in time.
Thirdly, the participants usually exercised restraint; after all, they all operated in the performance zone and saw each other often. Although they competed for benefits, they wouldn't actually take lives.
Qitian could instantly kill his opponent mainly due to the huge disparity in strength, combined with Qitian's Gu worms being adept at offense, and the opponent underestimating Qitian's strength, leading to the instant kill.
By the time the Gu Master moderating the arena arrived, Xiong Da had already stopped breathing. Blood flowed from the chest wound, faintly revealing the exposed heart; rescue was no longer possible.
Ignoring the moderating Gu Master's displeasure at him for killing, Qitian collected his spoils (the loser's Gu) and left the performance field.
'Although killing opponents like this isn't good for one's reputation, what use is mere fame? Sometimes, a fierce reputation is more useful. Besides, I'll be in Shang Clan City for at most a year. Achieving a good name takes time and is troublesome, whereas achieving a fierce reputation is simple and direct.'
'As for the opponent's brother coming for revenge, hehe, just right to serve as a stepping stone for my fierce reputation.' Qitian wasn't worried at all about the brother's revenge.
Qitian's current Gu set used Connected Qi Linked Branches Gu as the core, Qi Source Gu as the foundation, Blade Qi Gu as the main attack method, with other Gu like Blade Intent Gu and Lock Qi Gu used to increase the individual power of the blade qi, while Connected Qi Linked Branches Gu converted the advantage of quantity into single-target advantage.
Even without using Connected Qi Linked Branches Gu, Qitian's combat strength could reach Rank 3 peak.
This Gu set was formed by combining Qi Path and Blade Path. Besides this, Qitian also had other options.
For example, using Qi Armor Gu and Qi Explosion Gu as the foundation, utilizing Qi Explosion Gu to instantly explode the Qi Armor, creating burst power comparable to Strength Path. If this explosive force was directed downwards, it could achieve extremely high speed instantaneously. It could be said to combine attack, movement, and defense.
Although this pure Qi Path route was a good option, Qitian didn't intend to choose it.
Currently, Qi Armor Gu and Qi Explosion Gu were both Rank 4. For a Rank 3 peak Gu Master, the primeval essence consumption was too high, and it couldn't leverage the advantages of Connected Qi Linked Branches Gu, making it unsuitable for now.
In terms of future prospects, now wasn't like ancient times. Qi Path had weakened, especially with the extinction of some common ancient Qi Path Gu materials and the difficulty in finding precious Gu worms. Insufficient Qi Path resources limited the future of this path.
There was another path using Strength Qi Gu as the foundation, following a combined Strength-Qi route. The prospects of this path were no worse than the Blade-Qi route.
However, with Qi Path declined, Strength Path wasn't much better off. Collecting some precious Strength Path Gu worms would also consume a lot of time and energy.
Therefore, the most suitable path for Qitian currently was the Blade-Qi route, at least until he inherited the blessed land.