Seeing the High Elder's reaction, Lin Mu reckoned that the man knew about Niu Juo more than expected.
"Have you met the Steel Horned General?" Lin Mu questioned.
"Of course. I was even present at the tournament when he won." High Elder Juxue answered much to his surprise.
"I see… that must have been an impressive match." Lin Mu replied.
"It sure was. Niu Juo set an example for a lot of unaffiliated contestants." High Elder Juxue said with a hint of fondness. "I knew back then he would become great, and now he is one of the two generals of the Huiqing Empire."
"Mmhmm, it was good to meet him. I got to learn quite a few things." Lin Mu replied, before he felt a presence approaching.
He looked in the distance and could feel a faint aura that was coming forth in bursts.
~step~step~step~
The crowd parted and a few seconds later, none other than Third Prince Feng Baxing walked out. The man had an expressionless face and didn't seem to care much about the opponent that he was facing.
Though Lin Mu could tell that the man had a turbulent mind.
'Considering the way his aura is flowing, he is certainly a bit agitated.' Lin Mu reckoned.
"Since you're here, we shall be starting the match in five minutes." High Elder Juxue changed his demeanor and became serious as well.
He walked to the side and talked to the formation masters, ensuring that all things were right. In the mean time, Lin Mu looked around the audience that was waiting evidently for the match to finally start.
Third Prince Feng Baxing wasn't really looking at Lin Mu and wasn't paying attention to the audience either. He simply stood there with his eyes closed and was reserved.
Minute after minute passed, and it was finally time for the match to start.
"Daoist Mu Lin and Third Prince Feng Baxing shall enter the Teleportation gate!" High Elder Juxue announced out loud.
~shua~
Upon his words, the runes in the sky started to become active and Lin Mu could feel the surge of spatial waves that were coming from it.
He closed his eyes for a moment and activated his Spatial Perception, checking the state of the area as well as the Spatial Plane.
'Looks like they've reinforced it several times and also made the Spatial Plane a bit more robust.' Lin Mu could tell from observing it all for a bit.
At the same time, Lin Mu and Feng Baxing walked towards the Teleportation gate that had opened and stepped in.
~SHUA~
The two appeared within the teleportation Channel and felt their bodies becoming weightless. Both of them were used to this with Lin Mu even taking the chance to further observe where he was going to appear in the Spatial Plane.
'I'll try to ambush him at first, and see how it goes. At the very least, it should give me a way of assessing his current condition.' Lin Mu didn't think his ambush would be working, as he knew that Feng Baxing had a constant barrier around him.
Even with the ambush, Lin Mu didn't think he would have the time to prepare a full force attack that might be able to break through the barrier.
'I'll simply have to wear down the barrier, or force him do it.' Lin Mu thought.
~THUD~ THUD~
A few moments later, the two contestants finally arrived in the Spatial Plane, the scene reflecting in the hundreds of formation screens that were broadcasting it for everyone to see.
The moment Lin Mu landed in the Spatial Plane, his Immortal Sense expanded rapidly and got the grasp of the area. He also checked on the Third Prince's position and shot an arrow that he had prepared.
~WHOOSH~
The Fiery Arrow shot towards the Third Prince from a distance of mere two hundred meters.
It covered the distance in the blink of an eye and threatened to pierce the chest of the man.
But Feng Baxing did not seem to be worried. He simply stood there and raised his left palm. It seemed like a casual gesture and yet it gathered a lot of azure winds.
~HUALA~
The Azure winds formed a shield in front of him, and slowed down the fiery arrow. It looked like the arrow was passing through a viscous liquid and created ripples on its path.
~SHA~
Still, the Azure Wind Shield managed to overpower the attack and erased its force, making it stop. Having lost its momentum, the arrow fizzled out of existence, and couldn't harm Feng Baxing.
It was clear that Lin Mu's ambush had failed.
~HONG~
But Lin Mu didn't think of it that way. Instead, it was just a way for him to distract the man long enough for him to ready his other attacks.
A double edged sword hummed with Sword Intent and let out a wide slash that traveled towards Feng Baxing.
"Futile effort." Feng Baxing finally spoke, making a cutting gesture with his index and middle finger.
~SHALA~
The Azure winds moved along with his commands and targeted the incoming Sword Slash. The yellow Sword Slash composed of Metal elemental immortal qi and Sword Intent was struck with a pincer attack.
To blades of Azure Wind Elemental Immortal qi struck it in a 'V' formation and prevented its progress.
The collisions created a burst of light for a moment, before the Azure winds overpowered the Sword Slash and broke it apart!
Lin Mu who saw this couldn't help but raise his eyes.
"You really are a head above most others." Lin Mu couldn't help but mutter. "But this is as far as I can let you go." He said before closing his eyes.
Cold and Esoteric chants left Lin Mu's mouth as a sharp aura surrounded him. His Sword Intent Overflowed from his body and was channeled into Afternoon Pine.
'Let's see if I can achieve the third Stage in this fight!' Lin Mu thought to himself and slashed again.
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