386 Cheated?
"The first match up of the fourth round is… Mu Lin versus Nie Li!" The referee announced.
After the people had gathered back everything had proceeded swiftly. Lin Mu didn't ask Wu Hei about how he managed to convince his mother and thought that it was alright. Looking from the faint scowl on his face, it was apparent that he probably had to make some concessions.
Another thing that had happened was that Cai Wen had actually resigned from the tournament. His claim was that he was not recovered yet, and neither was he in the right mind to fight. Though the people realized that the true reason was probably that he knew he was outmatched against everyone.
This way the people in the fourth round had been reduced to four and now the matches could progress normally. The very first match was Lin Mu and thus he walked down from the seat and Nie Li along with him.
"Lord Mu Lin please guide me." Nie Li said while cupping his hands.
Lin Mu returned the greeting and looked at the Referee to start the match.
"FIGHT!" The referee ordered while waving his hand.
"Let's end this quickly…" Lin Mu muttered to himself.
He didn't want to be caught in the middle of the tournament if anything was happening with the Gu legion or with the blood pool. Thus he used all his power from the get go.
As soon as the referee's words were heard, Lin Mu amplified his legs with spirit qi and pounced at Nie Li. The man was clearly not expecting such a strong reaction from Lin Mu. He had seen his previous fight and how fast he was but did not expect this kind of an attack.
Before he could even react, Lin Mu was already at his neck.
"Sorry to make it end like this…" Lin Mu said before grasping his neck and throwing him out of the ring like a rag doll.
~Thud~
Nie Li landed on the floor outside the ring and could not move for a minute. He was pale with the fear that had filled him when that hand clasped his neck. He felt as if he was being watched by a deadly beast and could not bring himself to resist.
"STOP! The winner is Mu Lin!" The referee declared.
Lin Mu nodded and went back to the seats much to the shock of the people. Since Nie Li had not stood up yet, the healers went to check up on it but found him to have no injuries, except for some bruises and scratches from falling on the ground.
"That was quick, Good." Wu Hei spoke.
"Better to end this quick. I did not expect it to be… easy like this…" Lin Mu replied.
The corner of Wu Hei's lips twitched as he heard Lin Mu calling the best of the aristocrats weak. Sure there were people at the nascent soul realm or even the Dao shell realm among the aristocrats but they were old elders that wouldn't interfere in matters such as this.
This was the fight amongst the younger generation and thus it was expected.
'It was not that the fights are easy, but you who are a difficult opponent…' Wu Hei thought to himself.
The referee saw the silence in the crowd and just decided to call out the next match up. He had already been instructed to speed up the process. He didn't know why they would do this, but he had to follow the orders and that was what he did.
He didn't even have to shake the wooden cylinder to pick the contestants as only two of them were left and they were a fitting match too.
"The next match is Qing Yuan Tiu and Enlai Lan!" The referee announced.
"WOO!!" The audience shouted after hearing it.
"Finally, this is what we've been waiting for!" Other spoke.
Lin Mu looked around and saw that even Wu Teng and the disciples of the Tri cauldron peony sect were excited about this. It was quite obvious that even they did not get to see the battles between core condensation realm experts as much and thus were expectant.
Lin Mu shook his head and apologized to the people for what he was going to do. He watched as Enlai Lan and Qing Yuan Tie walked up to the ring.
"Sister Qing Yuan Tiu perhaps we can have some conversation after the competition is over," Enlai Lan suggested with a smile.
"Perhaps…" Qing Yuan Tiu curtly said before cupping her hands.
"FIGHT!" The referee ordered.
Instantly Lin Mu's lips moved, and he chanted the severing heart sutra.
Qing Yuan Tiu looked towards her opponent, the only one here that she was actually wary about. The rest she had not even put in her eyes… well except for one. She knew that she was at a disadvantage here and if she did not react quickly she may have a chance of getting defeated.
But just as Qing Yuan Tiu was about to get ready to defend, she saw that Enlai Lan was standing there dumbly. She was surprised but pushed the thoughts of curiosity to the side.
~Shing~
The six rods pierced the floor and her palms glowed with a green light.
Gale River Palm!
~Shua~
The greenish wind pillar hit Enlai Lan who had just become conscious at the very last moment. One moment he was looking at his opponent and in the next, he was in the air. He was incredibly confused but could not do much.
~Thud~
His body landed on the ground outside the ring much to the astonishment of the speechless audience.
Even if the past two fights had been knock outs, this was too much for them. Especially for a popular contestant like Enlai Lan.
The referee was barely able to hold back his jaw from dropping but then remembered his professionalism.
"The winner is Qing Yuan Tiu!" He declared.
"What the…"
"This is unfair! Lord Enlai Lan didn't even get to react, She must have cheated!"
