I became a Sword Emperor in the Martial Arts World

Chapter 147 Are you here to compete or to pick up girls?

Jianning Sports Center, Court No. 4.

"Today marks the exciting seventh day of the Phoenix Cup City League! This will also be the Linjiang team's twenty-sixth match. Can they continue their winning streak?"

Let's wait and see!

In the live broadcast room, Hun Sen and Ching Ngoc both stared intently at the ring, afraid of missing any exciting details.

As for Gu Minghui and the Divine General Qinglong, they were quite relaxed. After all, they had confirmed Ye Qingzhou's growth potential, so they were in a good mood.

With Ye Qingzhou at the helm, the Linjiang team has been winning battles with ease over the past few days.

The other thirteen city teams were basically all beaten by the Linjiang team one by one, allowing Ye Qingzhou to successfully continue the team's undefeated streak.

This power has left all competitors feeling utterly hopeless and helpless, unsure of how to devise a strategy to defeat Ye Qingzhou, the ultimate demon king who seems to have activated an invincible cheat code.

The final match of the team battle was between Linjiang Team and Wuxi Team.

In ancient times, Wuxi was the land occupied by the Wuxi barbarians, who were descendants of the Sanmiao. Therefore, they possessed a unique martial arts system, known as the Heavenly Insect Gu Martial Arts.

This is a martial arts system with extremely strange and unpredictable moves, and it is also adept at using poisonous insects.

On the arena, Xu Yuebing and Zhu Jinfeng were displaying their skills with a combined sword technique. Their moves were elegant and gorgeous, as if they were performing a ballet of ice and fire.

Using ice swords for control and fire swords for damage, Xu Yuebing and Zhu Jinfeng's tactics, though simple, were very effective.

Despite outnumbering three opponents, the two still maintained the upper hand in the ring, forcing their opponents into a series of defeats.

In the stands, many spectators were captivated by their brilliant performance, cheering wildly for the two, making the atmosphere of the entire competition center boil over.

However, this unfavorable situation made the players from the Wuxi team on the other side of the field restless.

In the Wuxi team's seating area, many people were holding their breath for their teammates on stage, wishing they could go on stage and replace them.

Unfortunately, they were at a loss.

Finally, the members of the Wuxi team looked pleadingly at a petite, delicate-looking girl in the stands: "Captain, Yang Weihao and his two teammates are about to lose, what should we do?"

"Yes, Captain, you need to think of something quickly."

"Losing to Ye Qingzhou would be one thing, but now Ye Qingzhou hasn't even made a move, and we're already losing the team battle? That's just too embarrassing!"

The crowd was buzzing with discussion. This battle was a matter of honor and reputation for Wuxi, and they didn't want to be ridiculed and mocked after the match, unable to hold their heads high in front of outsiders.

Lan Caidie was small in stature, but her expression was quite mature. She sighed and said, "I understand. I will use the Spirit Communication Gu to amplify their minds, invigorate their spirits, and unleash their potential. Although we may not win the competition, we should be able to force Ye Qingzhou to take action."

Her eyes shone brightly, and a deep blue energy flowed slowly, revitalizing her spirit. The cinnabar between her brows quietly bloomed, blossoming into an exquisitely beautiful thousand-day intoxicating orchid on her fair and smooth forehead.

The invisible and intangible spiritual power transformed into a thread that was difficult to see with the naked eye, drifting out from between Lan Caidie's eyebrows and extending towards the arena.

Yang Weihao and others from the Wuxi team had already been implanted with the Spirit Thought Gu by Lan Caidie. This spirit thought resonated with Lan Caidie's own Spirit Communication Gu, thus granting them a special blessing effect.

The invisible spiritual threads, seemingly drawn by the Spiritual Thought Gu, quickly connected the four people's spiritual worlds together.

On the stage, Yang Weihao and his two companions suddenly shuddered, and soon after, the battle took a sharp turn for the worse, becoming unfavorable to the Linjiang team.

Xu Yuebing and Zhu Jinfeng were caught in a fierce battle when their opponents suddenly launched a fierce counterattack, and they were greatly surprised.

"Why has our opponent suddenly become so much stronger, like they've been injected with adrenaline?"

Xu Yuebing felt a slight numbness in her tiger's mouth, and a puzzled expression appeared on her face.

Zhu Jinfeng's expression was equally grave: "This is definitely not normal. Their strength has increased dramatically, and even their skills have become more refined. It's impossible that all three of them broke through their limits in the heat of battle, is it?"

She was a seasoned veteran, but she had never seen such a coincidence before, so she couldn't help but become suspicious.

Just then, Ye Qingzhou, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them.

He turned his head slightly, his gaze sweeping beyond the arena, his sharp, sword-like eyes landing directly on Lan Caidie: "Heart-to-heart connection? Telepathic communication? I never imagined that the power of thought could be used in this way. Interesting. This Heavenly Insect Gu Martial Arts is truly an eye-opener."

Meanwhile, in the contestants' seats, Lan Caidie also felt Ye Qingzhou's scrutinizing gaze. She felt as if she had been pricked by needles all over her body, which made her shudder.

At the same time, Lan Caidie felt a sudden pang of guilt, like a student caught cheating in an exam: 'Could it be that I've been found out?'

Then she realized she must be overthinking things and quickly calmed herself down: "Impossible. My 'Tethering Hearts' technique comes from the 'Nine Transformations of the Heavenly Silkworm,' and it's always been known for its secrecy and unpredictability. Even Ye Qingzhou shouldn't be able to see through it at a glance."

She thought she was being discreet, but little did she know that under Ye Qingzhou's sword-heart reflection, her "threads of emotion" woven from thoughts and feelings had nowhere to hide.

"Four against two, that's blatant cheating! You're being naughty."

With a thought, Ye Qingzhou severed the mental connection between Lan Caidie and her teammates with his Heart Sword.

Once the emotional ties were severed, the Spiritual Thought Gu within the three individuals on the arena immediately began to backfire, causing them excruciating pain and causing them to writhe on the ground.

The audience was completely confused and said they didn't understand it.

"What happened?"

"Did you experience side effects from drug use?"

"Could it be that some kind of explosive martial arts technique with extremely high risks was used?"

Ultimately, with the referee's intervention, the Wuxi team lost the game, and Yang Weihao and others were taken away for treatment.

As for Lan Caidie, she did not suffer any backlash and remained unharmed.

Being caught red-handed like this filled her with shame and anger, and she was too guilty to look Ye Qingzhou in the eye: 'How infuriating! He really found out! But how could he have noticed? There's no reason for it…'

She just couldn't figure it out.

The Linjiang team won again, securing the championships in both the arena battle and the team battle with an undefeated record.

If they can also win the team battle championship, they will be the undisputed champion team of this year's Phoenix Cup.

"Master Ye, what exactly happened just now?"

"Yeah, didn't the Wuxi team just have a burst of energy? How come they suddenly faltered?"

Seeing that everyone was looking at him with curiosity, Ye Qingzhou told them about Lan Caidie's cheating using mental energy below the arena: "Mental energy is invisible and difficult to detect. The Five Streams Team used a peculiar mental martial art to stimulate their potential."

"Holy crap, they cheated!"

Leon clenched his fists in anger: "No way, I'm going to complain to the organizers!"

Miao Yi sighed and said, "The referee didn't notice, and we have no evidence, so let's stop making a fuss."

…………

As soon as Lan Caidie entered the restaurant at the athletes' village hotel, she received an invitation from the Xingcheng team. Out of curiosity, she agreed to meet Qin Haoyu.

When she arrived, she was surprised to find that there were quite a few people present. Basically, apart from the Linjiang team, the captains and vice-captains of the other city teams had been invited.

"Blue Butterfly, we meet again."

Qin Haoyu greeted Lan Caidie with great courtesy, then got straight to the point without any beating around the bush: "I've invited everyone here today for only one thing, and that is to defeat Ye Qingzhou."

"..."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, but none of them spoke.

After all, Ye Qingzhou's strength has been fully demonstrated in the past few days of competition. It is an all-round, invincible strength with no weaknesses, making it impossible for anyone to devise a targeted strategy.

Even Qin Haoyu's Star City "Dream Team," with its all-star lineup, was utterly defeated by Ye Qingzhou's sword without any resistance.

Whether in arena battles or team battles, they were utterly crushed.

Qin Haoyu, the sixth-ranked Qianlong, is like a counterfeit; he is no match for Ye Qingzhou at all.

"I'm sure everyone has realized that if we continue to fight alone, we have virtually no chance of winning in team battles."

Lan Caidie, having lost the team battle today, was seething with anger, so she asked directly, "Qin Haoyu, what do you think we should do?"

"Join forces!"

Qin Haoyu's answer was firm and resolute: "Only by joining forces can we have a chance to defeat Ye Qingzhou."

Then, in front of everyone, he took out thirteen fiery red pills: "These are the Yuan-Boosting Pills I refined. They can double your cultivation level within a quarter of an hour, without any side effects. Originally, these were our Star City team's trump card, but for the sake of final victory, I'm willing to share them with everyone."

At this moment, Qin Haoyu's expression was sincere, and his words were full of emotion, which moved everyone present.

Although he wasn't telling the truth at all.

It's true that the Sheng Yuan Pill is Xingcheng Team's trump card, but that doesn't mean they only have this one. Clearly, Qin Haoyu has other trump cards up his sleeve.

Regardless, Qin Haoyu did demonstrate sufficient sincerity, and the effects of the Ascension Pill were undeniably powerful, especially as the cultivation level increased, resulting in a more significant boost in strength.

If each team captain were to be allocated one, such an increase in strength would be enough to lead to a qualitative change from a quantitative one.

Lan Caidie thought for a moment and then revealed her trump card: "This is the Fate-Sharing Gu I refined, which can die in place of its host once. Ye Qingzhou's Dao-Bearing Sword is unmatched, but I don't believe he can unleash a second strike. As long as Niu Taijie consumes your Ascension Pill and has my Fate-Sharing Gu implanted in him, he will essentially have two lives, which should be enough to defeat Ye Qingzhou."

"Can!"

Beside Niu Taijie, Vice Captain Luo Qingqing agreed on his behalf.

Niu Taijie did not object to this.

After all, he wasn't very bright and only became the captain through his abilities. In fact, the team's management was always handled by Luo Qingqing, a girl with a sensitive mind.

Seeing that the three strongest teams had decided to join forces, nine of the remaining ten teams followed suit. Only the Silver City team, which consisted mainly of female martial artists, rejected the proposal.

The main reason is that the Silver City team is too weak and they won't get any good rankings anyway, so they don't plan to join Qin Haoyu in this fun and offend Ye Qingzhou, a powerful martial arts upstart.

Even if they lose, they want to lose with dignity.

…………

In the hotel, Miao Yi put away his phone and hurriedly gathered his teammates together: "I received news that Qin Haoyu has rallied twelve teams, planning to join forces to eliminate us at the very beginning of the team battle."

Leon was completely baffled: "How did you find out about this? Did you send someone to spy on Qin Haoyu?"

"Cough cough~"

Miao Yi rubbed the tip of his nose guiltily: "Liying told me."

"Liying? Huang Liying from the Yincheng team? Wait, you've only known each other for a few days, why are you calling each other so intimately?"

Leon's eyes widened as he looked at Miao Yishi indignantly: "Good heavens, you with those thick eyebrows and big eyes, are you here to compete or to find love?!"

"These two things don't conflict."

Miao Yi smiled sheepishly, knowing he was in the wrong, and didn't dare to argue back as usual. After all, he had indeed added Huang Liying as a friend through the competition, and the two got along better and better as they chatted.

Now, all that's left is to break through that barrier.

Xu Yuebing frowned slightly and looked at Ye Qingzhou with some worry: "The team battle is the day after tomorrow. Once they join forces, don't worry about us. Break through first."

Zhu Jinfeng agreed with Xu Yuebing's assessment: "That's right. Anyway, once the competition officially begins, we will all have a one-time teleportation token. If we encounter fatal danger, it will automatically teleport us outside the cave. So Ye Qingzhou, you don't need to worry about us."

Other teammates also expressed their willingness to risk their lives for Ye Qingzhou to slow down the opponent, because as long as Ye Qingzhou was there, the Linjiang team still had a chance to win the championship.

Ye Qingzhou smiled and shook his head: "There's no need to go to so much trouble. You all stand aside, and I'll use my ultimate move to clear out the enemy. After the small fry are gone, we can slowly explore the Yanling Cave."

Ye Qingzhou didn't care much about the outcome of the team battle.

What truly interested him was whether he could find the Bing Fire and Ding Fire of the Five Elements within the Yanling Cave Heaven.

Only by gathering these two innate fire energies can his Five Emperors Dragon Sword Technique take another step closer to mastery.

Now, he has already gathered the three attributes of metal, wood, and water among the five innate elements. He is still missing the fire and earth elements, which he can then begin to cultivate.

Originally, Ye Qingzhou did not intend to do anything to Qin Haoyu and the others.

But since the other side insisted on causing trouble, Ye Qingzhou didn't mind sending them out of the competition early. As long as the Silver City team players remained, he could still ensure that the competition wouldn't end prematurely, giving him ample time to find what he desired.

The outcome of the competition is no longer important; Ye Qingzhou's primary goal now is to conduct an in-depth exploration of Lingyun Cave.

…………

The tenth day of the Phoenix Cup competition has arrived. At the entrance of Lingyun Cave, fourteen teams and one hundred and twelve contestants are crowded together.

The atmosphere at the scene was incredibly enthusiastic, with countless people eagerly awaiting the final outcome.

Unfortunately, the competition inside the cave couldn't be broadcast live, otherwise the show's ratings would have been phenomenal.

Qin Haoyu, Luo Qingqing, Lan Caidie, and the others exchanged glances, and then their eyes all focused on the Linjiang team with perfect understanding.

Clearly, their plan was to eliminate Ye Qingzhou first, and then each team would compete for the team championship trophy based on their own abilities.

Compared to Lingyun Cave Heaven, the teleportation array in Yanling Cave Heaven is much larger, capable of accommodating nearly two hundred people and a large amount of supplies at a time.

Therefore, the Dongji Kingdom's official development of Yanling Cave Heaven far surpasses that of Lingyun Cave Heaven. They not only built several large outposts inside, but also laboratories, research centers, and a small maintenance workshop.

That's why the Phoenix Cup was specifically chosen to be held here; the primary purpose is to ensure safety.

After all, the contestants are all martial arts geniuses from Hunan Province. The death of even one of these precious talents would be a huge heartache for the local leaders.

Moreover, Song Xin's disappearance during the previous Lingyun Cave Heaven Trial caused quite a stir.

If it weren't for the huge uproar caused by the massacre of the Song family in Linjiang, Song Xin's disappearance case probably wouldn't have been resolved so easily.

Therefore, safety is of paramount importance for this Phoenix Cup League.

Before long, all the contestants were teleported to the interior of Yanling Cave. Afterwards, in the camp, everyone received a token engraved with a flame symbol.

"This is the decree of the Shennong Emperor. When it determines that you will face a fatal crisis, it will trigger the teleportation mechanism to send you out of the cave."

Instructor Mu Changlong said solemnly, then took out an incense stick and wiped it on the ground: "You may leave the camp only after the incense has burned out, and the competition will officially begin."

"The rules are simple: the camp is a completely safe zone, and no fighting is allowed; otherwise, you'll be disqualified. As for earning points, you can check the quest wall and accept quests yourself. If you accept the same quest, whoever completes it first gets the points."

"There are two ways to win the competition. The first is to reach the top of the points. The second is to be left with only one participating team in the cave."

"Do you understand everything?"

"clear!"

The contestants responded in loud voices.

Mu Changlong nodded in satisfaction. The young people in front of him were all of very good quality, much better than they were back then.

The incense stick burned out very quickly.

The members of the Linjiang team rushed out of the camp the moment the incense burned out.

"They're trying to escape! Chase them!"

As soon as they stepped out of the camp, they encountered Ye Qingzhou blocking their way.

Looking around, Ye Qingzhou counted the number of people and smiled with satisfaction: "Looks like everyone's here. Perfect timing to send you all on your way at once."

Clang~

The sound of swords chiming rang in everyone's ears.

(End of this chapter)