Mortal Mirror

The Xuanwu Arena was enormous, spanning a thousand feet in all directions, with five platforms in total—four around the perimeter and one in the center. To allow the contestants to unleash their true abilities, each platform was exceptionally large, covering hundreds of feet, ensuring they could fully demonstrate their strength.

The Xuanwu Arena was teeming with people.

Li Ergou, Zhu Zhu, Yulu, Baisu, Murong Shijiu, Chen Qingping, Sining, Ye Wanwan, Shitou, Tiancan, Dimu, and Jiutian.

At this moment, everyone was gathered together, filled with joy. These handsome men and beautiful women immediately attracted a great deal of attention.

Li Ergou said with a face full of delight, "Everyone, work hard and strive for good results."

The others nodded in agreement.

Zhu Zhu said, "Don't worry, I've come fully prepared this time. Ergou, if you happen to meet me, don't expect me to hold back. Be careful!"

Hearing this, the others chuckled.

Baisu also said, "Yes, me too. It's a good opportunity to test my true combat power. I heard the rewards for first place are very generous."

Yulu sighed, "Alas, I can only cheer you on from below. I've only just started cultivating; perhaps I'll have to wait another fifty years."

Shitou's eyes were bright, and he looked determined to win. "This is a great opportunity for us to make a name for ourselves. I will definitely make the world remember my name."

Tiancan and Dimu were happy to see Shitou like this, and they acknowledged his strength.

Murong Shijiu said nonchalantly, "I'm just here to watch the fun, nothing else." In fact, very few people knew Murong Shijiu's true identity, and Li Ergou and the others were completely unaware of it.

Jiutian chuckled and said, "Watch me! This time, I'll see how much potential I have. It's a pity I'm in the Yuan Ying group, so I can't compete against you."

The others were speechless.

Chen Qingping snorted and said, "It doesn't matter; I'll keep you company."

Jiutian glanced at her but shook his head. "I don't think you can do it."

This was the first time Chen Qingping had heard someone say she couldn't do it, and she was immediately annoyed. She glared at him and said, "Hmph, then we'll see on stage!"

Jiutian didn't say anything. He thought to himself that Wu Shenxian was right: never argue with a woman. I won't argue with you; you'll know how powerful I am after the competition.

Seeing that Jiutian didn't speak, Chen Qingping snorted and said, "Conceited ghost."

Ye Wanwan looked at everyone's grand declarations and felt a little down. "It's a pity I haven't reached the Golden Core stage yet, so I can only cheer you on with Yulu."

Li Ergou comforted her, "It doesn't matter; I believe in you. You'll be the best in the future."

Being praised by Li Ergou, Ye Wanwan immediately said happily, "Okay, I'll work hard, Brother Ergou."

Just as everyone was chatting happily, Li Ergou suddenly heard a joyful voice calling out, "Ergou, Li Ergou!"

He looked up and saw a tall man looking at Li Ergou and the others with a face full of delight.

Li Ergou was overjoyed to see this person.

"Lu Changsheng, is that really you?"

"If it's not me, who else could it be? What's wrong, don't you remember me?"

"Hahahaha, hahahaha!"

Li Ergou rushed to Lu Changsheng's side and hugged him tightly. "It really is you! I really didn't expect us to meet so soon.

I've missed you so much! By the way, is Mr. Li with you?"

"Hehe, I've missed you too. My master has some matters to attend to. I came with my senior sister."

"This is my senior sister, Xia He," he said, pointing to a woman in green beside him.

Li Ergou released him and looked at the woman beside him. She was beautiful and looked very gentle, giving off a scholarly aura.

He quickly said, "Greetings, Senior Sister. My name is Li Ergou. Has Brother Lu mentioned me to you?"

Xia He said, "So you're Li Ergou. Changsheng has mentioned you many times, saying you've always been Master's regret. Seeing you today is quite surprising. You're very powerful. I don't know why Master didn't accept you back then. Could there be another reason?"

Li Ergou said with a wry smile, "Yes, perhaps I was terrible before, but after experiencing many things, my body has changed a lot, and I've always believed in one thing: my fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens."

Xia He said with slight surprise, "Good, very ambitious."

At that moment, a sword light flew from the horizon and landed in front of everyone in the blink of an eye. A handsome man appeared, with a hint of unrestrainedness in his eyes.

He looked at Sining, a look of joy on his face. Chen Qingping and the others didn't look too happy to see him.

This person was none other than Jian Wuchen from Daoxia Academy.

"Sining, we meet again."

Sining nodded to Jian Wuchen and said, "Yes, what a coincidence. Did you just arrive?"

"That's right. I was delayed by some things on the road for quite a while."

Sining didn't know what to say for a moment and looked at Zhu Zhu and the others.

Jian Wuchen saw Zhu Zhu and a look of joy appeared in his eyes. "Zhu Zhu, we meet again."

Zhu Zhu said with an awkward smile, "Yes."

Jian Wuchen couldn't help but look at Chen Qingping. The two didn't see eye to eye and ignored each other.

Sining didn't know why she didn't introduce Li Ergou to Jian Wuchen. Just as the scene was a little awkward, Li Ergou said, "Sining, who is this?"

Since the last time, Sining's goodwill towards Jian Wuchen had been halved, so she didn't want to introduce Li Ergou to this guy. Since Li Ergou asked, she could only say, "This is Jian Wuchen from Daoxia Academy."

"Daoxia Academy, amazing! Hello, my name is Li Ergou. This is Lu Changsheng from Haoran Academy, one of the four great academies. I don't know if you've heard of each other's names."

Lu Changsheng looked at Jian Wuchen and frowned slightly, as if recalling something. After a moment, he said, "Jian Wuchen, could it be the rumored closed disciple of the Sword Saint senior?"

Jian Wuchen nodded proudly. "That's me. Lu Changsheng, I've also heard your name. One of the top ten outstanding disciples of Haoran Academy in the past hundred years, the prized disciple of the Little Sage Li Zheng'an."

Lu Changsheng said, "I dare not accept such praise, Brother Jian. Did you come here alone, Brother Jian?"

"Yes, I didn't come from the academy. I've been traveling for the past few years. After learning about the Martial Arts Tournament, I rushed here all the way. Fortunately, the timing is just right."

"Oh, I see. Then everyone can compete together and vie for the Sword Asking Precious Mirror."

Just as the two were talking happily, a boisterous voice came over, "Hey, Brother Ergou, I've been looking for you for a long time. I didn't expect you to be here!"