Desolate Devouring Art

Ye Chen's voice fell into a soft chant as he invoked the magic spell he had spent the previous three days cultivating.

The surrounding spectators were right; clever tricks couldn't secure victory forever. Ultimately, true strength still decided the outcome.

Liu Wuxie had merged the powers of light and darkness to alter Siren's Perish Song, raising its might far beyond what Andaru and his sister had displayed. After inheriting the legacy of the Elven Race's ancestor, Liu Wuxie's mastery of magic had already reached the pinnacle. Even so, magic art remained a minor path in the celestial realm and couldn't quite rival truly overwhelming immortal arts.

Astonished cries erupted from the Celestial Moon Dao Hall's side. "What terrifying fluctuations of magical force! When did Ye Chen become this powerful?!" They knew Ye Chen well, since he had represented the Azure Flame Dao Hall during the previous year's competition and lost.

Fewer than ten students throughout the entire Azure Flame Dao Hall cultivated magic arts.

Even the Azure Flame Dao Hall's students looked bewildered, particularly those who had once shared a class with him. "Something's wrong. I've never seen Ye Chen cast that spell before," someone said.

"Mentor Liu must have taught it to him," another student replied.

As discussions rippled through the venue, the two arrows Ye Chen had conjured suddenly shot forward.

Che Xiao was shocked when he discovered that Ye Chen's magical force was purer than his own. He immediately brandished his magic staff and summoned a cloud of mist. Within magic arts, this was the strongest water-attribute sword spell.

The mist rapidly condensed into countless water swords and launched them toward Ye Chen. Refusing to fall behind, the other two students unleashed their spells at once. One invoked the Eclipse of Darkness, while the other cast the Requiem of Slaughter, and both spells overflowed with murderous intent.

The simultaneous eruption of all three spells sent violent tremors through the entire arena. The Requiem of Slaughter appeared especially horrifying as boundless magical force condensed into fearsome deities of slaughter, each wielding a black spear that stabbed toward Ye Chen.

The Eclipse of Darkness proved even more treacherous. Magical force rose into a towering black wall that imprisoned Ye Chen and locked his body in place. The spell provided perfect support for Che Xiao, whose attacks excelled at striking from concealment.

Besieged by three students at once, Ye Chen swiftly entered a perilous situation. Both sides had accepted a deathmatch, leaving no path of retreat. The battle could end only when one side killed the other.

Ye Chen continued chanting. The two arrows hovering above the arena erupted with dazzling radiance and ripped through the Eclipse of Darkness like twin divine swords.

Sizzling sounds filled the arena as the white arrows pierced one deity of slaughter after another and reduced them to dust. In the end, battles between magic practitioners remained contests of magical force.

At that very moment, Che Xiao's water swords reached Ye Chen and trapped him.

"Aegis of Dawn!" Ye Chen roared, thrusting out his hand and conjuring a radiant shield of light before him. The water swords slammed into its surface in rapid succession, unleashing a barrage of piercing clangs.

Despite confronting three opponents alone, Ye Chen held his ground without revealing the faintest sign of defeat. Many spectators assumed that Liu Wuxie had obtained the previous two victories through clever tricks, but only now did they realize how gravely they had underestimated him.

"How is this possible?! I sparred with Ye Chen last month, and his Aegis of Dawn wasn't even close to this powerful. He increased its strength by nearly tenfold in only three days," several Azure Flame Dao Hall students exclaimed, springing from their seats in astonishment. Having frequently exchanged pointers with students from the magic arts class, they were familiar with Ye Chen's former strength.

Countless students turned toward Liu Wuxie, their eyes overflowing with admiration and worship.

"Mentor Liu is called the Legendary Mentor, a man who can create miracles," they said.

Anxiety crept across Che Xiao's face. The instant his water swords failed to penetrate the Aegis of Dawn, he realized that the situation had gone terribly wrong.

At that moment, the power of Siren's Perish Song finally climbed to its peak.

"O Great God of Magic, grant me the supreme power of magic," Ye Chen chanted. The two white arrows seemed to awaken into living entities, transforming into streaks of light as they shot toward the other two Celestial Moon Dao Hall students.

As Ye Chen released Siren's Perish Song, a short elf in a remote tribe somewhere within the celestial realm abruptly raised his head. He stared into the distance as a peculiar gleam flashed through his eyes.

"How strange. Why am I sensing the power of my clansmen?" Vandore murmured, his brows drawing together tightly.

A group of elves leaped about joyfully behind him. One young elf stepped forward and asked with respectful concern, "Ancestor, has something happened?"

"I'll be leaving the tribe for a while. Until I return, every one of you must remain here and refrain from wandering outside," Vandore instructed before departing.

He intended to discover why the aura of his clansmen had suddenly surfaced within the celestial realm.

......

Two white arrows ripped apart the Eclipse of Darkness and shattered the Requiem of Slaughter. Nothing could halt their momentum as they streaked directly toward the two Celestial Moon Dao Hall students.

"NO! STOP!" the two students cried in terror. Their magical force fell far short of Ye Chen's, leaving them defenceless. The arrows pierced their bodies effortlessly, revealing the horrifying might of Siren's Perish Song, the strongest spell in the dark faction.

After killing both students, Ye Chen swiftly formed a sequence of hand seals. Countless magical runes wove together in the air, merging the two arrows into a single, vastly stronger arrow that shot toward Che Xiao.

"Damn it all!" Che Xiao cursed. As a descendant of the Magus Clan's saintess, he couldn't accept defeat in the field of magic arts.

Ye Chen had surpassed all three opponents in both magical force and mastery of spells. Every other method lost its meaning in the face of such overwhelming strength.

A terrifying phantom of the God of Magic descended from the heavens, gripping a white spear. The spear overlapped with the arrow before plunging toward Che Xiao.

Ye Chen had truly succeeded in summoning the God of Magic. Confronted by that power, Che Xiao could only watch helplessly as the white arrow pierced him.

Ye Chen had slain all three opponents with effortless force. He relied on no elaborate speeches and employed no clever tricks. Overwhelming strength alone decided the outcome of the battle.

After killing his three opponents, Ye Chen could no longer restrain his exhilaration. He stood atop the arena, turned toward Liu Wuxie, and bowed deeply in his direction. Hu Chou had bowed after his victory; Qi Wen had followed suit; and now Ye Chen did the same. Each knew that without Liu Wuxie's guidance, none of them could have won the battles.

The entire Azure Flame Dao Hall erupted into celebration. They hadn't merely won another match, but their territory had expanded an additional three hundred miles.

When the spectators turned their attention to Liu Wuxie once more, their gazes held none of their earlier contempt. In its place lingered only awe and newfound respect.

The Celestial Moon Dao Hall, by contrast, sank into absolute silence. No one spoke because they had yet to recover from the chain of defeats. They had now lost all three matches. The damage no longer concerned only surrendered territory, for the Azure Flame Dao Hall had thoroughly defeated them in both strategy and strength.

After watching one opponent effortlessly kill three Celestial Moon Dao Hall students, who would still dare join the Celestial Moon Dao Hall in the future?

"What a magnificent victory, Hall Master Gongye!" Ye Guhai praised openly. He concealed none of his admiration for Liu Wuxie and deliberately helped raise the latter's reputation even higher.

"Every bit of credit belongs to Mentor Liu," Gongye Zhang replied. He knew that Liu Wuxie alone had created so many miracles within such a brief period.

The members of the Stormcloud Sect who had mocked Liu Wuxie earlier now felt as though an invisible palm had struck them across the face.

Only one match remained in the magic art category, and Du Zuo would enter the arena next. After witnessing Ye Chen's overwhelming triumph, much of the pressure bearing upon Du Zuo had already disappeared.

"Get in the arena and face me!" Du Zuo called, taking the initiative to challenge the Celestial Moon Dao Hall on behalf of the Azure Flame Dao Hall. His voice rolled across the entire venue.

"You're begging for death!" Three Celestial Moon Dao Hall students shouted, leaping into the arena, radiating murderous intent so dense that it almost became tangible. Their expressions suggested they wanted to rip Du Zuo apart with their bare hands.

"We'll settle this with a deathmatch," Du Zuo said coldly, staring at all three.

"What the hell is happening? I heard the Celestial Moon Dao Hall planned to annihilate the Azure Flame Dao Hall during this competition, so what happened? The Azure Flame Dao Hall is crushing them instead," many Origin Immortals said.

Before the competition, the Celestial Moon Dao Hall had openly declared its intention to erase the Azure Flame Dao Hall from existence. Its plan involved not only eliminating talented students but also slaughtering the Azure Flame Dao Hall's high-grade mentors.

Several cultivators familiar with Liu Wuxie discussed, "Liu Wuxie always plans everything thoroughly before he acts. He isn't the kind of man who sits still and waits for death to find him. If conflict can't be avoided, he'll naturally strike first and catch his enemies off guard." They understood that he would rather raise the scythe himself and attack before his enemies could bring that same blade down upon his neck.

The students might have been fighting inside the arena, but nearly every conversation throughout the venue centered on Liu Wuxie.

The three Celestial Moon Dao Hall students had no reason to reject the deathmatch Du Zuo initiated.

"We accept the deathmatch!" they replied in unison.

The hatred between the two sides was already beyond reconciliation, making further courtesy meaningless. Murderous intent immediately engulfed the arena, and Du Zuo remained completely vigilant. He had an even higher mastery of magic arts compared to Ye Chen, which was why Liu Wuxie had placed him second in line to stabilize the situation. Since Ye Chen had already secured victory, however, Du Zuo could now fight without restraint.

The three Celestial Moon Dao Hall students raised their magic staffs toward the sky at the same moment.

Before any of them could release their first attack, Du Zuo had already made his move.

"O Great God of Elves, answer my summons and grant me magical force!" Du Zuo chanted loudly.

A God of Magic manifested behind him, and its appearance visibly shook countless spectators.

"That's a God of Magic! The one Du Zuo summoned is even stronger than Ye Chen's," Astonished cries swept through the venue as disbelief filled every gaze.

Only pure-blooded members of the Elven Race could summon the God of Magic. Du Zuo was unmistakably human, so how could he have mastered magic spells of such extraordinary purity?

"Attack him," The three Celestial Moon Dao Hall students roared, charging at Du Zuo together.

A faint, mocking smile curved across Du Zuo's lips as their attacks approached.

"Now witness the true power of Doom Tempest!" he bellowed.

Du Zuo formed magical seals rapidly with both hands, summoning a black hurricane from beneath the arena. It expanded with terrifying momentum until it resembled an apocalypse.

Liu Wuxie had clearly taught Du Zuo one of the pinnacle spells of the Elven Race's light faction. His modifications had multiplied its power many times over, making the Doom Tempest resemble a genuine apocalypse.

Even Qian Yao could no longer see what unfolded inside the arena. Doom Tempest had engulfed the entire stage and formed what appeared to be a colossal cocoon around everyone within. Only those trapped inside could truly comprehend its horrifying might.

The three Celestial Moon Dao Hall students felt as though countless ropes had wound around their bodies, binding them so tightly that they couldn't move. Then a terrifying God of Magic appeared, controlling the heart of the storm as it enveloped all three students.

"This is bad!" All three students' expressions changed drastically. They tried to cry out but found invisible hands clamped around their throats. Their immobilized bodies refused to obey them, their voices disappeared, and even drawing breath grew increasingly difficult.

"How did you transform one hundred people in only three days, Wuxie?" Lao Kaiyu asked curiously.