CHAPTER 131: “LOSING WITH HONOR? DON’T MAKE ME LAUGH”

Chapter 131: "Losing with honor? Don’t make me laugh"

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While he was basking in his apparent glory, the last battle went on, and second by second it grew more intense.

It was actually the only one that took a lot of time to end.

Of course, it was the fight between Li Daniu and another third year student.

He still hoped to win himself a spot in the expedition team, so he didn’t back down and gave it his all.

"I must win this battle," he told himself as he unleashed his cultivation, attacking his opponent who was no longer holding back either.

They both knew this was their only chance to secure a spot, because once you made it into today’s semifinals, it no longer mattered whether you won or lost, you’d already guaranteed yourself a place in the expedition team.

And considering that Shi Gong, a very talented third-year student, had withdrawn from his match, essentially giving up before even fighting, it was clear to both of them that this was their last real opportunity.

They knew they stood no chance against him, so their only option was to give it everything here and now.

So the two clashed, exchanging blow after blow, and to the surprise of the audience, Li Daniu, who was only a second year, was holding well against his opponent.

"Not bad, that kid from the Li family has some skill. Maybe I could take him under my wing. With his attitude, I should be able to raise his strength very quickly," said one of the instructors, watching the fight with an approving look.

By now the battle had already lasted more than half an hour, and during this time both students had given it everything they had.

What shocked everyone was that Li Daniu, who was still only at the la second stage, was doing great against someone in the mid third stage, clearly showing a strength far above his current level.

He hadn’t even reached the peak of the second stage yet, his combat ability spoke for itself.

This was a clear sign of his talent, as well as how well he had mastered his battle techniques, something that could be seen very clearly in today’s fight.

Many instructors were impressed. They had already known he was a good second year student, but today’s fight made them reconsider his true potential.

So it was no surprise that many of them were already thinking of taking him as a disciple.

The same went for Wang Fuyun, Zhu Rong, and Li Duoji, considering their results, many were interested in them too.

This was actually one of the reasons so many students had joined the competition even knowing they had no chance of securing a spot.

ecoming the disciple of an instructor was like securing solid support to progress faster on your cultivation path, while also gaining a certain level of protection.

For students with no background, like Wang Fuyun, such an opportunity was very tempting.

The fight between Li Daniu and the third year continued for another ten minutes, and by now it was obvious that both of them were almost at their limits.

"Well, looks like this is the end. He fought really well, but that’s it.

His opponent still has soem powerleft, enough to finish it with one last strike," said a third-year student analyzing the situation. And just as he said, the third year student still had enough strength for a final strong attack.

Seeing his opponent breathing heavily and barely able to stand, he smiled and said,

"You know, for a second year, you’re really strong, much stronger than I was at your age. But there’s still a clear gap in strength between you and me.

Don’t get discouraged. Even if you lose today, you’ll lose with honor.

You managed to keep up with me until the very end, so you’ve got nothing to be ashamed of."

As he spoke, he tightened his grip on his sword, infusing it with Qi before making a swift forward movement and releasing a slash of wind.

"It’s time for you to rest," he said as the wind charged strike shot forward like a blade through the air, aimed at the exhausted Li Daniu, who was kneeling on the ground, panting.

Everyone who saw this sighed and shook their heads.

Li Daniu’s performance had been excellent, he had fought well, but at the end of the day, he was still a second year against a third year.

There wasn’t much else to expect from such a fight, so no one was surprised at the result.

The wind strike lunged forward, landing directly on Li Daniu in an instant.

Seeing this, the third year let out a sigh of relief and finally relaxed.

’Finally, it’s over...’ he thought, just as he noticed something strange.

His eyes widened as he quickly channeled Qi into his legs to leap sideways, but it was already too late.

The next moment he felt a sharp pain in his head, his vision went dark, and his body was flung several meters to the side before crashing near the edge of the arena, completely unconscious.

The spectators all gasped, their eyes going wide as they looked at the battered figure now standing where the third year student had been.

It was Li Daniu.

This sight shocked many in the crowd, and they couldn’t help but look back at the spot where the wind blade had landed.

The moment they did, they all exclaimed, seeing a figure made of earth shaped like Li Daniu, split in two on the ground.

"Damn, it was just a clone," one of them shouted, followed by others wondering when exactly he had switched himself with a clone.

As the crowd erupted at the sudden twist of events, Li Daniu, still panting in the arena, looked at his unconscious opponent with a frustrated expression and said,

"Losing with honor? Don’t make me laugh.

Losing is losing. There’s no honor in that."

The referee, seeing that the third year was already knocked out, wasted no time announcing the winner.

"The winner is Li Daniu!"

The crowd burst into cheers, but Li Daniu had no time to enjoy it. The very next moment, he collapsed, unable to resist his exhaustion any longer.

Both of them were quickly carried off for treatment, and as that happened, another name on the projection turned red, followed by Li Daniu’s name being moved up.

Now there were four people left, all ready for the semifinals which would begin after a thirty minute break.

The matches for today’s semifinals, as shown on the projection, were:

Li Duoji vs Yao Jianbo

Zhu Rong vs Li Daniu