Although many people criticized Jiang Yue for being careless in his fight against Yang Feilong, most believed he was defeated by a series of surprise attacks. They were convinced that a rematch would see Yang Feilong lose.
However, the outcome of the rematch was astonishing.
"Yang Feilong was pretending to be weak!"
"Jiang Yue was completely crushed!"
"Crushed? Could Yang Feilong be a Nascent Soul cultivator? He was undeniably the number one on the Human Ranking before!"
"The number one on the Human Ranking, defeated by Yang Feilong like this! I'm in a daze!"
"He's too strong! If Yang Feilong is in the Golden Core realm, he'd be the undisputed number one on the Human Ranking!"
"Amazing! Number one on the Dragon and Phoenix Ranking, plus number one on the Human Ranking! Tsk, tsk, number one on both!"
"Indeed!"
Amidst the crowd's heated discussion, Tian Ji Zi glanced at Yang Feilong and declared him the victor. Jiang Yue handed over his participation token.
Yang Feilong's token count had now exceeded two thousand. Jiang Yue possessed many tokens, second only to those few Nascent Soul cultivators.
Yang Feilong couldn't leave the stage as another challenger appeared: Men Luo, who was previously ranked second on the Human Ranking.
Men Luo was also shocked. Yang Feilong truly appeared to be in the Golden Core realm, but how could a Golden Core cultivator be this strong? He had completely overwhelmed Jiang Yue, which defied logic.
He knew he couldn't win the entire competition, as the ultimate victor would undoubtedly be one of the dozen or so Nascent Soul cultivators. However, he wanted to test Yang Feilong's strength!
Yang Feilong naturally accepted the challenge.
After a fierce battle, Yang Feilong defeated Men Luo!
"Why could Men Luo last so long against Yang Feilong, while Jiang Yue couldn't even withstand two sword strikes? Did Jiang Yue throw the match?"
"What's the point of throwing a match? Jiang Yue was simply outmatched. Didn't you notice Yang Feilong suppressing his power when fighting others? He was mainly honing his swordsmanship and movement techniques before!" someone offered their insight.
"That seems to be the case!"
"Then what about his cultivation? Is he really in the Golden Core realm?"
"He should be! It's just that his Golden Core power is different from others. For example, many know that Jiang Yue's Golden Core power underwent an anomaly, which is why his combat power could rival early Nascent Soul cultivators. Yang Feilong might be similar!"
"So, does this mean Yang Feilong can fight Nascent Soul cultivators?"
"Of course. Ordinary early Nascent Soul cultivators might not necessarily be his match, and I'm talking about when he's at full strength!"
Having been defeated by Yang Feilong with ease, Men Luo now deeply understood the gap between them.
Yang Feilong had indeed held back.
Just as when he first fought Jiang Yue, he had used his sharp sword techniques and extraordinary movement skills. In his fight against Men Luo, his movement techniques were not as extraordinary, and his swordplay was not as sharp.
As the battles continued.
No Nascent Soul cultivator challenged Yang Feilong. If they won, it would be expected. But if they lost, it would be humiliating.
And so,
By the afternoon of the third day, with less than five hours remaining until 6 PM, fewer than ten participants remained.
Yang Feilong stood out as the only Golden Core cultivator, yet his combat power rivaled that of Nascent Soul cultivators. It was not an exaggeration to call him a Nascent Soul cultivator.
Among the remaining less than ten individuals, Yang Feilong held the most participation tokens, a staggering eight thousand. The others had at least over three thousand, with the highest having over seven thousand, slightly less than Yang Feilong.
"There are nine people left. The one with the fewest tokens has over three thousand, and Yang Feilong, with the most, is nearing ten thousand. If no one challenges him, Yang Feilong will have to choose someone to challenge!"
"Yes! For Yang Feilong to reach the end, he must choose a challenge!"
Only a few more matches remained, as any two individuals fighting would inevitably result in one being eliminated.
"Yang Feilong, I challenge you!" At this moment, a voice rang out.
Finally, a Nascent Soul cultivator had challenged Yang Feilong!
"Chen Guang, an early Nascent Soul cultivator, but he's at the peak of the third layer of the early Nascent Soul stage, making him quite strong among early Nascent Soul cultivators!"
"Yang Feilong's road to marrying the princess might be over!"
"Indeed!"
"Let's see. Although he could defeat Jiang Yue, Jiang Yue only killed an early Nascent Soul cultivator who was already heavily injured."
Whoosh~~~
Yang Feilong rose and leaped onto the stage.
At this moment, all eyes were on him.
The Luo family members were incredibly nervous, filled with regret. Yang Feilong had truly become the strongest below the Nascent Soul realm. No, his combat power might even rival that of ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators.
But his current opponents were all Nascent Soul cultivators, some even in the middle Nascent Soul stage. Could he win?
"Do you think Feilong can continue to advance?"
"It's too difficult!"
"Yes, it's just too difficult. The remaining opponents are all too strong."
"What a pity. We won't be able to form an even closer relationship with the Yang family."
Their Luo family had marital ties with the Yang family, and many from the Yang family had come to witness the martial arts competition for marriage.
Initially, the Yang family was unaware of Yang Feilong's participation. When they saw him defeat strong opponents one after another, they were astonished. Now that he might be stopped, they felt a sense of regret.
"What a pity. If only Feilong had a few more years, ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators wouldn't be his match!"
"Yes, Ping Tian, you don't like Xiang Ning, so why don't you introduce Xiang Ning to your son?"
"That's true. Xiang Ning's talent is also extraordinary. Look how long it's been, and she's already at the ninth level of the Innate realm."
Hearing the discussions, Yang Ping Tian remained silent. He wanted to say, "How do you know I haven't introduced her?"
He was the matchmaker for his son and Ning Xue.
However, since they insisted on holding this martial arts competition for marriage, what could he do?
He naturally wished for his son to reach the end, but he lacked confidence because there were several strong late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators. Hearing the murmurs, he knew the strongest were two cultivators at the sixth level of the Nascent Soul stage, which was close to the late Nascent Soul realm!
Although his son's strength could rival Nascent Soul cultivators, could he be stronger than those two?
He felt it was almost impossible!
"This is a disaster, what should we do?" Yang Ping Tian was extremely worried.
If this failed, both his son and Luo Xiang Ning would likely be very sad.
But in front of so many people, could they go back on their word? Clearly not.
"Son, your father believes in you. You can definitely reach the end, absolutely!" Yang Ping Tian prayed silently.