Chapter 274: Ch-274: Wang Ming vs Shi Yu
"Next: Wang Ming!" the referee called out, and the crowd erupted with a mix of cheers and curses.
"Huh, it's finally my turn," Wang Ming said as he heard his name.
"And they love me," he added, waving his hand toward the female spectators.
"And also hate you," Shang Rui said with a chuckle, noting the curses from the male disciples.
"I wonder who your opponent is going to be," Luo Li commented.
"Hmm, whoever it is, they're going to be very unlucky to get eliminated. You won't show any mercy, right?" Shang Rui teased with a smirk.
"Hey, do you think I'm heartless? I'll go easy on them," Wang Ming replied which caused everyone of them to look at him blankly .
"Yes, only if they're female," Bai Lingxi retorted, rolling her eyes. Wang Ming quickly averted his gaze unwilling to admit or deny her words.
"I just hope it's not one of us," Shi Yu said nervously. The others gave her strange looks.
"I feel like you just raised a flag," Bai Lingxi remarked dryly.
"Ugh, I have the same feeling," Luo Li added.
"Heh, you guys are overthinking. There's no way..." Before Shi Yu could finish her sentence, the referee announced the next name.
"And... Shi Yu!" the referee declared, announcing Wang Ming's opponent, and certain person's expression changed among the group.
Everyone turned toward her with odd expressions and amused smiles, while Shi Yu's eyebrow twitched in irritation.
"Fuck," Shi Yu cursed, blaming her loose mouth and bad luck.
"Sigh, looks like I'm going to get knocked out and stay as an Outer Court Disciple for a while," Shi Yu said with a sigh, glancing at the others.
"Did you forget already?" Luo Li asked, raising an eyebrow.
"What?" Shi Yu replied, looking confused.
"You can still become an Inner or Core Disciple. As long as I pass the exam, I can bring my partners with me," Wang Ming reminded her.
"Oh, that slipped my mind," Shi Yu admitted, a bit embarrassed.
"Disciple Wang Ming and Shi Yu, please come to the stage, or you will be disqualified," the elder's voice reached them again.
"Let's go quickly. I don't want to get disqualified," Wang Ming said as the two headed toward the stage.
"Alright, are you both ready?" the elder asked. Both nodded their heads in agreement.
"Begin!" the elder shouted, and they moved from their positions instantly.
Boom! Boom!
They exchanged punches and kicks, creating sparks with every clash. Shi Yu exerted her full physical strength in those attacks, while Wang Ming suppressed his strength to match hers. Otherwise, Shi Yu wouldn't have been able to withstand a single blow, as Wang Ming's cultivation was much higher than hers.
"Alright, I'm going to use my physique skills now," Shi Yu warned.
< Purple Mist >
< True Illusion >
A purple mist began leaking from Shi Yu's body at an alarming rate.
"Oh, I've never experienced your attack before," Wang Ming remarked.
Bai Lingxi and Shi Yu had never fought Wang Ming, so he had never encountered their techniques firsthand. He had only seen them use their abilities on others, making him both curious and excited to experience such high-ranked techniques himself.
Wang Ming watched as the purple mist approached him at a very fast rate, quickly covering almost the entire platform. Honestly, his instinctive reaction was to avoid the mist, but he had a strange feeling urging him not to dodge and to let it touch him.
Within a few seconds, the mist not only engulfed Wang Ming but also spread toward the spectator area, covering half of the disciples watching the match.
---
The audience watched as a purple mist began flowing out of Shi Yu's body.
"What's that purple light?" asked a disciple.
"Looks like some kind of mist technique," said another disciple with a frown.
They observed as the mist began to enshroud the entire stage, soon engulfing Wang Ming.
"Hmm, he's not moving anymore?" a female disciple said, her voice tinged with worry.
"Haha, I think he's dead," joked a disciple with a smile, clearly harboring a vendetta against Wang Ming.
"Idiot, that girl is his partner. Do you really think she'd kill him?" another male disciple retorted.
"What? That beauty is his partner? Damn, I was planning to talk to her," cursed a different disciple in frustration.
"Hey, hey, is it just me, or is the mist coming toward us?" said a panicked disciple.
"Fuck, you're right—it is coming toward us!" yelled another, but before he could move out of the way, half the crowd was covered in the mist and started hallucinating.
"Damn it! No, bastard, don't touch my partner!" cursed a male disciple, hallucinating that Wang Ming was putting a green hat on him.
"Mommy, spiders! I hate spiders!" cried another in terror.
"Haha, I fulfilled my dream of having a harem of a thousand beauties!" laughed another disciple.
The disciples engulfed in the mist fell into hallucinations, while those who were unaffected swallowed nervously, unease written all over their faces.
----
"Heavens, what the hell is happening to them?" said Tang Jingling, who was among the unaffected group.
"It looks like this mist is some kind of illusion technique," Ren Xi said with a frown.
"This illusion is quite powerful. I've never seen an illusion technique that can affect such a large number of people at once," Xue Jiaxin commented, her brow furrowed.
"It would be good for us if she joined our peak. Master would definitely take her in if she wanted to join us," Lin Xue added.
"The more beautiful an object, the deadlier it is," Ren Xi remarked, casting a serious glance at Shi Yu.
---
'Hmm, this is dangerous. What kind of technique is this?' the referee thought, narrowing his eyes. He had already leapt away from the mist's range the moment he sensed danger. Without hesitation, he activated a formation, and invisible barrier appeared around Shi Yu and Wang Ming. The mist dissipated from the crowd, freeing them from their hallucinations.
Wang Ming, meanwhile, was staring at some text flashing in front of him
[Primordial Physique Merging Body has been activated.]