Ninety-Sixth: The Fireborn Arena Tournament, Part Five

No, of course there is no such rule. Since you have come from afar, you are a guest. Please.

Mo Fan’s composure was far beyond what ordinary people could match. After a brief moment of astonishment, he quickly recovered, his expression grave as he spoke to Ji Mo.

After hearing that Ji Mo came from one of the Ten Great Cultivation Worlds, his first thought was not contempt, but solemnity. Yes, solemnity. He did not believe that the masters of the Ten Great Cultivation Worlds were fools, that after more than a hundred thousand years they would suddenly send a disciple at the Energy Refining stage into this place merely to die.

This girl named Ji Mo looked about his age. Her body tempering had already reached the fifth level beyond mortality, placing her on the same tier as him, yet her energy refinement had only reached the sixth stage. That left Mo Fan somewhat puzzled. But once he realized she was only at the sixth stage, it did not loosen his vigilance in the slightest. On the contrary, it made him even more cautious, because this mere sixth-stage cultivator actually gave him the faintest sense of threat.

It seemed the vast cultivation world beyond was preparing to make an earthshaking entrance. Mo Fan narrowed his eyes slightly and thought this to himself. Only someone as calm as he could remain so composed, but that did not mean everyone else could.

The moment Ji Mo’s words—saying she was not of the Flame-Blood Clan—fell, the uproar they caused was almost no less than an earthquake. The countless Flame-Blood Clan spectators before Arena Five, upon hearing her clearly, first fell into stunned silence, and then erupted like mad: “Kill her, Mo Fan, kill her! Mo Fan, kill her!” The cries surged like a tsunami, nearly bursting one’s eardrums.

“No more noise. Watch the match properly. Anyone who dares to keep shouting and causing trouble will be dealt with according to clan law.”

Just as the scene was about to spiral out of control, a voice rang out like a bolt from a clear sky, suppressing the uproar across the entire venue. The Flame-Blood Clan’s higher-ups had intervened.

They had also heard Ji Mo’s words, and were likewise deeply astonished. But however astonished they were, they could not allow the arena tournament to descend into chaos. If the Flame-Blood Clan’s once-every-five-hundred-years tournament were ruined by a little girl from the outside world at the Energy Refining stage, then the Flame-Blood Clan would surely become a laughingstock among all the worlds in the future.

After silencing the crowd before the arena, the great figure of the Flame-Blood Clan who had stepped forward could not help looking toward a certain direction in the void. There, several big shots from the Ten Great Cultivation Worlds were concealed, silently watching the arena here. Ji Mo’s words had also startled them greatly.

The girl standing on the arena was not of the Flame-Blood Clan. Then which cultivation world had she come from? The several giants present exchanged glances, each looking at the others, as though all wanted to ask: Is this girl from your world? But none of these old monsters knew of Ji Mo at all.

“In that case, I won’t be polite. Take this!”

Once the uproar below the arena had been suppressed, Ji Mo gave a light shout, and the White Jade Flood Dragon Whip appeared in her hand out of thin air. With a flick of her wrist, the silver whip trembled in the wind. In an instant, the entire whip body seemed to come alive like a flood dragon, and a faint pressure of draconic majesty spread across the arena.

Immediately after, the White Jade Flood Dragon Whip lashed through the air. The surrounding air was directly torn apart by that strike, erupting with a thunderous crack, and a whip shadow as vast as a mountain descended upon Mo Fan’s head.

Mo Fan’s temperament seemed to especially favor meeting force with force. A fierce glint burst in his eyes, and facing the whip shadow pressing down upon him, he did not evade. Instead, he gave a sharp cry, stamped his right foot forward, and threw a punch straight into Ji Mo’s whip.

Boom.

Whip and fist collided. Both of them were forced back three steps. The difference was that a deep whip mark, down to the bone, had already appeared on Mo Fan’s arm, while Ji Mo’s brows rose sharply and a faint flush appeared on her clean face. In this direct clash, Mo Fan had lost because he had underestimated Ji Mo’s whip, and suffered a considerable setback.

“Good hit! That brat Mo Fan has been far too famous these past two years. Big sister on the stage, please teach him a proper lesson!”

The moment Mo Fan took that whip strike, a clear cheer immediately rang out beneath the arena. The owner of that voice was none other than Miss Fei Dai, the one who had lost to Mo Fan on the very first day of the tournament.

Ji Mo heard Fei Dai’s cheer, but had no spare attention to spare for it. All her focus was on Mo Fan. Her small victory just now was not because she was stronger than he was, but because Mo Fan was unfamiliar with the White Jade Flood Dragon Whip.

What Ji Mo did not know was that the moment her White Jade Flood Dragon Whip came into her hands, it immediately attracted the attention of someone she had not expected: Ji Chengrui, with whom she had only met once. The instant he saw Ji Mo swinging that whip, his eyes widened. Why does this whip look so familiar? Strange—where exactly have I seen it before? Why can’t I remember for the moment?

“Chengrui, if you get the chance, seize that girl’s whip on the arena!”

While he was racking his brains, a familiar voice drifted into his ears like a thread. The moment Ji Chengrui heard it, he nearly jumped, because that voice belonged to his father, the greatest expert of the Wood Star, Emperor Ji. Could Emperor Ji have sent a clone into the Flame Domain?

“Yes, Father Emperor!”

Though startled, Ji Chengrui did not let it show on his face. He replied with a thought, and Emperor Ji was very satisfied with his steadiness. After a quiet acknowledgment, there was no further sound.

Setting aside the plans of others, after Mo Fan had forcibly taken Ji Mo’s whip strike, not only had he gained no advantage whatsoever, but a whip mark that cut to the bone had been added to his arm. Instead of anger, however, he was filled with delight. Brilliant battle-light blazed in his eyes, and with a slight movement of thought, the pitch-black heavy saber that had appeared before once again manifested in his hand.

The last time Ji Mo had seen this saber, she had been standing below the arena. Though she knew it was no ordinary weapon, she had been unable to sense its true power. But now, facing it directly, the moment the heavy saber appeared, the hairs all over her body stood on end, and she could not help but shiver.

“Huh? I never expected little Ji Mo to be this formidable. She forced that brat to use a weapon with just one move. He has been on the arena for a full twelve days, and aside from that person named Flame Cultivation, I haven’t seen anyone else fortunate enough to make him draw it.”

Bai Ze was greatly surprised by Ji Mo’s combat power. He could not help but slap a palm hard onto Geng Xiao’s shoulder, speaking with excitement.

“You think that brat’s saber is so easy to deal with? Even from so far away, when that saber came out, I felt the hairs all over my body prickle. Don’t tell me you didn’t feel it?”

Geng Xiao was also surprised by Ji Mo’s strength, but his temperament was colder, his tongue sharper, and his observation keener. He quickly grasped the key point and replied coolly.

At Geng Xiao’s reminder, Bai Ze immediately calmed down. When Mo Fan’s saber appeared, he had not failed to sense its unusual nature. For people of their level, sensitivity to the rank of weapons far exceeded Ji Mo’s. But, well, how should he put it? Seeing Ji Mo so formidable, he was like a proud old woman seeing her own child make something of himself, and was desperate to share the joy with someone. It had to be said, this fellow’s mindset was rather peculiar.

Ji Mo had wounded Ji Fan with one move, and the people shocked by it were by no means only Bai Ze and Geng Xiao. Even several of the great figures present from the Ten Great Cultivation Worlds were deeply shaken. Where exactly had this child snuck in from? At such a tender age, how could she possess such combat power?

Among them, an elderly man with white hair and beard noticed Bai Ze and Geng Xiao in the crowd from afar, and could not help but feel quite puzzled. He muttered to himself: Hm? Why are those two boys gathered together, watching that girl on the stage fight? Could they know this little girl named Ji Mo?

Yet even as this thought surfaced, the old man’s face remained expressionless. To avoid drawing attention, he immediately looked away, while in his heart he pondered: I must find a way to inform that boy Bai Ze. If this girl truly comes from our world, then we must bring her into our own sect no matter what. A disciple at the Energy Refining stage with such astonishing battle strength—has the Ten Great Cultivation Worlds really not seen one like her for more than a hundred thousand years?

“You are strong, but I will not lose to you. Try taking one of my moves!”

After Mo Fan gripped the heavy saber, a blazing light burst from his eyes. With a resounding cry, the heavy saber in his hand cleaved through the air toward Ji Mo.

Ji Mo’s eyes contracted to pinpoints. The instant Mo Fan raised the heavy saber, she felt as though the space around her had been bound by some invisible force. And that restraint targeted only her, having no effect on Mo Fan at all. His heavy saber easily cut through the confinement and came down toward her head.

Hmph.

Ji Mo gave a heavy snort through her nose. The instant the blade-light reached her body, she shifted three feet sideways. At the same time, the White Jade Flood Dragon Whip in her hand howled as it coiled toward Mo Fan’s heavy saber. Whip and saber met in a splendid collision in midair.

Bang.

Both were driven back several dozen steps. The hand that held Ji Mo’s whip was jolted numb, and her face turned slightly pale, while Mo Fan was clearly not having an easy time of it either. A flush rose on his face, then quickly faded back to normal.

“Very good. Then take three more strikes from me!”

Mo Fan’s offensive had been frustrated, yet he did not lose heart. Battle intent burned fiercely around him, and flames surged in his eyes. With a loud shout, he leaped into the air. With the heavy saber in his hand, he slashed twice in crisscrossing strokes to the left and right, then brought it down in a vertical overhead cut. After those three strikes, he looked as though he had exhausted every bit of strength in his body, and his face turned an unnaturally pale white.

But no one could pay attention to his condition anymore. The instant those three strikes were unleashed, the entire arena was covered by a sky full of saber shadows. That cold, ferocious killing intent forced even the spectators below the arena to retreat several dozen steps without realizing it.

Most of those watching from below the Energy Refining stage were disciples at the Energy Refining and Foundation Building levels. A few disciples of higher realms were also present, though not many. A protective barrier had been set up over the arena, so no matter how fierce the fighting became up above, it would not truly wound those below. Yet the force behind Mo Fan’s three saber strikes was too overwhelming. Most of the people below were of roughly his own cultivation level, and under this pressure they involuntarily stepped back.

Not to mention the others, even Geng Xiao and Bai Ze felt the hairs all over their bodies stand on end under this aura. Though they did not retreat, their gazes toward Ji Mo were filled with worry. The power of these three strikes would be difficult enough for them to receive, let alone Ji Mo, who was only at the Energy Refining stage.

To be continued...