I became a Sword Emperor in the Martial Arts World

Chapter 143 A Curse of Misfortune

"This is the power of a Martial Saint!"

"The power of mental imagery—using one's own mind to represent the will of Heaven, to alter celestial phenomena and control natural forces like lightning with mere thought—is truly incredible!"

"With such power, it's no wonder the Martial Saint is called a national protector! Indeed, one person can protect a nation; the title of national protector is truly well-deserved!"

From the guest seats, exclamations of amazement and praise were heard continuously.

But Qinglong ignored these voices and calmly returned to his seat.

"Thank you, Divine General Azure Dragon, for demonstrating to us the power of a Martial Saint's mind!"

Hun Sen exuded confidence and charisma. Holding the microphone, he quickly took control of the entire event, drawing everyone's attention back to him.

Jingyu also helped to create a lively atmosphere. Under the guidance of the two, they first announced the original intention of holding the competition.

Afterwards, the two discussed the future of the martial arts world in Dongji Kingdom.

The two men took out a list and read aloud the names of the fourteen city teams: "Xingcheng Team, Zhaoling Team, Yancheng Team, Lincheng Team, Jianning Team, Liancheng Team, Baling Team, Wuling Team, Loudi Team, Wuxi Team, Yincheng Team, Dayong Team, Langzhou Team, Linjiang Team..."

"This competition features fourteen city teams, bringing together one hundred and twelve participants. They are all representatives of the new generation of martial arts practitioners in Hunan Province, the most outstanding martial arts talents, the best among martial arts apprentices, and geniuses among geniuses. Now, let's welcome the contestants into the arena with the warmest applause!"

Outside the rest room of the Linjiang team, the ten members of the school team were already lined up.

Only after hearing the host call for the contestants to enter did Ye Qingzhou, as the team captain, stand up first. He then led the other seven team members with firm and steady steps toward the center of the martial arts arena.

Fourteen cities, dozens of prestigious schools, and over a hundred martial arts prodigies selected through rigorous screening—the contestants displayed a vibrant and energetic spirit.

Each and every one of them represents the future of the martial arts community in Hunan Province.

On their young and slightly immature faces lies the courage to face difficulties and challenges without fear, and the martial arts spirit of striving upwards and never slacking off.

From these more than one hundred martial arts geniuses, one can almost see the profound foundation of the martial arts world in Dongji Kingdom, as well as its bright and promising future.

Just as the hosts Hong Sen and Jing Yu said, they are the most outstanding martial arts geniuses among the new generation of martial arts talents in Hunan Province this year.

Among these geniuses, those qualified to serve as captains are exceptionally outstanding and dazzling, receiving the highest level of attention from the moment they appear.

Ye Qingzhou, who was walking at the front of the group, felt countless eyes focused on him at this moment, and the two swords that carried the Dao, Feishuang and Xuanjian, hummed and vibrated incessantly.

Ye Qingzhou seemed to be deep in thought. It turned out that the mental power of others, especially the spiritual power that represented hope and recognition, could also be absorbed and utilized by him.

Just as he was deep in thought, enthusiastic applause and cheers erupted from the audience.

Flags fluttered in the breeze, and flowers and ribbons flowed in an endless stream.

Meanwhile, the invited media reporters, carrying cameras, aimed them at the contestants, their lenses flashing constantly, trying to capture this precious moment.

If one day in the future, a master or even a grandmaster emerges from among these martial arts geniuses, then the precious video footage will immediately become a hot commodity, and people will dig it out and examine it repeatedly.

Ye Qingzhou led the Linjiang team to a successful coronation.

"Phew~"

Feeling even greater pressure than at the Qinglan Sword Fighting Tournament, Xu Yuebing took several deep breaths to calm her nerves down a little.

Then, her gaze fell on the figure standing at the very front of the group, and she had no more doubts about victory.

My team is the strongest!

As long as Ye Qingzhou is there, victory is just a piece of cake!

Even so, Xu Yuebing was unwilling to accept defeat without effort.

What she once longed for was to fight alongside her sister. Now, she has another wish in her heart—if possible, she hopes that she will always be qualified to stand by Ye Qingzhou's side and accompany him on his journey.

Instead of standing still and being left far behind, until you can barely even see his back.

"I will become stronger!"

Xu Yuebing gripped the hilt of the Snowdrift Sword. This Phoenix Cup would be her opportunity to demonstrate her strength, as well as a trial to hone her swordsmanship.

She was equally eager for victory and to continue climbing to the pinnacle of martial arts.

First came the athletes' oath, followed by speeches from the leaders, and then the opening ceremony proceeded smoothly and orderly, which made it all seem rather boring.

Finally, Hun Sen and Chin Ngoc together began to explain the competition rules to the audience.

The Hunan Province Phoenix Cup City League features martial arts battles divided into ring battles, small team battles, and team battles.

The arena battle is divided into three stages.

These are the preliminary rounds, the main competition, and the finals.

In the preliminary stage, five matches will be played to determine the winner. Each team will play a total of thirteen matches. The winning team will get three points, the tie will get one point, and the loser will get no points.

The four teams with the highest scores advance to the main competition, where the first-place team plays against the fourth-place team, the second-place team plays against the third-place team, and the final winners advance to the third stage finals to determine the ownership of the champion, runner-up, and third-place trophies in the ring battle event.

These are the rules of the arena battle, and according to these rules, every team must give it their all.

Any mistake could trigger a chain reaction, leading to a loss of points and elimination, or being at a disadvantage after entering the main competition and ultimately missing out on the trophy.

Secondly, there are the team battle rules. Each team still has to play thirteen matches before the main tournament and finals. The only difference is that each time, three players will be on the field.

In team battles, the rules are completely different from the previous two battles.

The team battles will no longer take place in the arena, but inside the Yanling Cave.

The organizers will release various tasks, each with corresponding points.

Fourteen teams will be thrown into the cave together, and the competition will last for ten days. The city team with the highest score at the end will win the team championship.

The team with the best overall performance in the three categories of arena battle, squad battle, and team battle will win the overall championship!

…………

"The tournament matches and team battles are scheduled very closely together, so there's no doubt that the intensity of the matches before the main event will be incredibly high. Teams from all the major cities will likely bring out their best, long-prepared strategies. Under these circumstances, without sufficient strength, it will be difficult to advance."

"Furthermore, we need to learn to make choices between arena battles and team battles. Sometimes, appropriate tactical sacrifices may lead to better results."

Miao Yi and Xu Lan were analyzing the situation and discussing tactics. The team only had eight people at most, five of whom would be in the arena battle and three in the squad battle.

Then we have to choose the team members for the battle, and figuring out how to combine them is a real headache.

Captain Ye Qingzhou immediately adopted a nonchalant attitude, becoming a hands-off manager.

"Ye Qingzhou, you're the captain, don't you have any thoughts on this?"

"no."

Ye Qingzhou shook his head bluntly: "When it comes to personnel configuration in martial arts battles, I only need to think about winning, but you, teacher, have to consider many more things."

Xu Lan: "..."

This is so infuriating! What happened?!

However, Xu Lan had to admit that she couldn't really come up with any fancy tactical arrangements; all she had to do was blindly attack Ye Qingzhou.

Her abilities are now completely irrelevant to the competition.

As for Ye Qingzhou, while everyone else was thinking about the competition, he was thinking about how to spend the prize money and how to use the rewards he received.

The opening ceremony ended just in time for lunch, and the official competition would not begin until the afternoon.

So this is the time for the players to eat and rest. In the hotel, a sumptuous buffet is already laid out, and on the restaurant's big screen, the teams that will be playing matches in the afternoon are being shown.

Each team's coach also received the corresponding match list and schedule from the staff of the competition center.

The table also contains the appearance information for the Linjiang team.

Who are our opponents?

"The captain of the Jianning team is Zhang Chen, who is skilled in using long weapons in combat. I heard that he has mastered the Six Bows Divine Spear technique to a high degree."

The "Six Bows Divine Spear" technique is quite famous.

The main reason is that many people practice it. It is a widely popular martial art in the military, easy to obtain, not difficult, quite powerful, and has good potential for growth.

After mastering the skills, one can apply to join the army in the future, thereby gaining access to advanced martial arts techniques.

Therefore, this is the most common path chosen by many martial arts geniuses from humble backgrounds.

"Get ready, this is our first arena battle, and we need you as our pillar of strength."

Xu Lan's expression was solemn. After all, this was the team's first battle since its formation, and she was quite nervous.

"Um."

Ye Qingzhou simply responded and then closed his eyes to rest.

Meanwhile, Zhuang Yuan, the coach leading the Jianning team, was also carefully analyzing the situation and arranging tactics.

When Zhuang Yuan saw that his first opponent was the Linjiang team, his expression became very serious: "We've actually run into a team with a hidden dragon in our first match? This is incredibly bad luck!"

Damn it, who was it that drew the lots in the first place?!

Oh, I remember now, it was me who smoked it.

That's alright then.

The "Hidden Dragon List" is awarded to only one hundred high school students nationwide, meaning that on average, each province can barely get three spots.

And what about the entire Hunan province?

After counting, only two names have appeared on the list so far.

Qin Haoyu ranked sixth, and Ye Qingzhou ranked seventh.

Of the fourteen teams, only two have the Hidden Dragon, and to have to face one of them in the very first match is simply a curse.

As the host team, Zhuang Yuan is under a lot of pressure.

After all, this is Jianning team's home ground. So many fellow villagers have come today, and the local audience is eagerly waiting. If they lose this first match, how embarrassing would that be?

The leadership has already given the order: even if we don't win the championship in the end, we at least need to get off to a good start in the first match.

Zhuang Yuan rubbed his temples and gathered the team together: "How much do you know about Ye Qingzhou?"

Feng Wu from Jianning No. 2 Middle School raised his hand: "Teacher, I fought against Ye Qingzhou in the Qinglan Sword Fighting Tournament."

"Oh?"

Zhuang Yuan's eyes lit up: "How many moves did you exchange with him?"

"Three moves."

Feng Wu didn't dare to say that he was in poor condition because of fear at the time, and that those three moves were all because Ye Qingzhou held back; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to withstand even one move.

Then, someone in the group mentioned, "Teacher, I heard that Zhang Chen fought Ye Qingzhou last night."

Damn it, can you please not mention me?!

Zhang Chen huddled in a corner, his expression full of resentment. What happened last night was something he found hard to talk about, and he even regretted going out to have fun.

"What was the result?"

Zhuang Yuan didn't pursue Zhang Chen's unauthorized actions at this moment. Instead, he was eager to know the opponent's strength level so that he could plan his tactics.

"Alright, I have fought against Ye Qingzhou."

Seeing that he could no longer hide it, Zhang Chen had no choice but to tell the truth.

"How many moves did you exchange with him?"

Zhang Chen held up one finger.

Zhuang Yuan frowned in thought: "Only one move?"

Zhang Chen shook his head with a wry smile and corrected, "I made a move, but Ye Qingzhou only used one finger to send me flying."

"..."

After a long silence, the atmosphere suddenly became strange.

Zhuang Yuan felt that even breathing had become difficult.

What the hell is the point of fighting?!

Their strongest captain couldn't even beat one of the opponent's fingers. Even if all five of them attacked at once on the stage, they probably still wouldn't win.

With the opponent so powerful, tactics are no longer relevant.

Zhuang Yuan originally planned to send out a few people first to wear down Ye Qingzhou's stamina, and then let Zhang Chen go on stage to use several enhanced martial arts techniques to stack up his state, taking advantage of the momentum of defeating Ye Qingzhou to win a great victory over the Linjiang team in one fell swoop.

Now it seems he was completely overthinking things!

"Let's give up on the first match. Just go up there and test the waters. There's no need to fight so hard. Maintain your good form and hopefully we can win the next one."

Zhuang Yuan looked helpless. Although he really didn't want to lose, knowing that he couldn't win, the only way to help the Jianning team go further was to make the most rational judgment.

In the afternoon, at Arena 1 of the Sports Center.

"Linjiang Team vs. Jianning Team!"

"Jianning, Jianning, we're the best!"

As expected of the host team, Jianning's home advantage was fully demonstrated at this moment. The stands were filled with family, friends and cheerleaders, and the cheers almost drowned out the entire stadium.

In comparison, the Linjiang team is somewhat lacking in prestige.

Only Huang Liwen was waving the flag energetically, leading the members of the sword club in shouting and cheering for their own athletes.

Soon, the order of the ring battles for both sides was announced simultaneously.

Linjiang Team: Lu Yifan, Hou Fei, Yu Shouping, Xu Yuebing, Ye Qingzhou.

Jianning Team: Zhang Chen, Feng Wu, Liao Yucheng, Zou Yuanping, Peng Xinyue.

Seeing Ye Qingzhou's name listed last, the Jianning team breathed a sigh of relief. This meant they still had a chance to win their first match.

After all, as long as Zhang Chen beats Lu Yifan, even if he loses the ring battle in the end, it can still be considered his first victory.

Just tell me whether you won or not!

"Zhang Chen, keep it up!"

"Yes, I will surely win this battle!"

Five minutes later, Zhang Chen was so badly beaten that he questioned his existence. Under Lu Yifan's dazzling swordsmanship, he was defeated miserably.

As he was carried to the infirmary, he stared blankly at the sky: "There's no reason for this. It's one thing that I couldn't beat Ye Qingzhou, but now I can't even beat some nobody?"

Feng Wu, who had met Lu Yifan several times during the Qinglan Sword Fighting Tournament, also found it hard to believe: "Compared to the time of the sword fighting tournament, this person has undergone a complete transformation. What exactly happened?"

It's one thing for Ye Qingzhou to be strong, but how come any random person from the Linjiang team is so ridiculously strong that they couldn't even beat our Jianning team's captain?

Filled with melancholy and confusion, Feng Wu stepped onto the stage, but in the end, he could only trade blows with Lu Yifan, resulting in a draw.

In the end, in the first match of the arena battle, the Linjiang team, with only three members, defeated the Jianning team's five members.

Yu Shouping's six cloud hand techniques amazed everyone in the competition, making him the most watched person.

As for Xu Yuebing and Ye Qingzhou, it was quite a pity that they didn't even have a chance to appear.

Ye Qingzhou naturally understood Xu Lan's intention in making this arrangement. She clearly intended to hone the skills of the other members of the team so that they could also gain experience in the competition.

Since Ye Qingzhou is there to back us up, we can't lose no matter how we rank them, so naturally we should give the others more opportunities.

Ye Qingzhou naturally had no objection to this.

In the commentary booth, both anchors were surprised by the result.

Hun Sen looked surprised: "I didn't expect that the Linjiang team, besides Ye Qingzhou, who is a rising star, also has such strong members."

Jingyu nodded and gave a sweet smile in front of the camera: "Yes, especially Yu Shouping. His 'Six Cloud Hand Techniques' can use the opponent's force against them, and it is both offensive and defensive. It has great potential for growth."

Then Jingyu looked at Qinglong: "I wonder what you think, Qinglong Divine General?"

The Azure Dragon General remained unmoved: "The one who is strong is not them, but Ye Qingzhou."

Upon hearing this, Jingyu looked puzzled: "Why do you say that?"

"Yu Shouping's talent was just that of an ordinary genius. What truly transformed him was the Great Dao Heavenly Sound and the Nine Divine Sounds."

Qinglong spoke calmly, but his words caused shock and envy among those around him: "It's actually the Heavenly Sound of the Great Dao and the Nine Resonances of Divine Music!"

Who wouldn't yearn for such an opportunity to improve their innate qualities?

But longing is useless, because generally speaking, people who can ring the self-winding bell no longer need this kind of improvement.

However, those who aspire to improve their qualifications often lack the ability to ring the bell.

Therefore, unless you spend precious favors to invite a master of spiritual cultivation techniques, don't even think about it.

Gu Minghui smiled and pushed up his glasses: "Ye Qingzhou was able to shake Zilaizhong with his own martial arts will. With such a powerful mental state, I can say with certainty that he will definitely be the champion of this year's Phoenix Cup."

"Dr. Gu, are you serious?"

Jingyu's crimson lips parted slightly: "But on the Hidden Dragon Ranking, isn't Qin Haoyu ranked ahead of Ye Qingzhou?"

Qinglong then looked at Gu Minghui and exclaimed in admiration, "Your reputation as a divine strategist is truly well-deserved."

At this moment, the pair of golden dragon eyes on his metal mask emitted a waterfall of data, flowing continuously, clearly demonstrating his powerful computing capabilities.

Gu Minghui also looked at Qinglong, smiled and said, "We're in the same boat."

(End of this chapter)