Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

Zhou Hongyu and Liu Longtao were carried down by the medical team for treatment.

If the era of the Spiritual Energy Resurgence benefited any field the most, it was the military. The second must surely be the medical field.

The Water-Element Runescript played a minor role during combat, but it was a huge help in medical support. Medical Cultivators could use the Runescript to inject True Yuan through the skin into the patient's body, accurately locate the site of injury or disease, and then perform surgery or promote healing.

Aside from some fatal injuries that still required emergency care in the ICU, most could be handled within a few hours.

The injuries of the two weren't serious, just a bit time-consuming to treat. Therefore, representatives from the Dingbei Army and the Pingxi Army were sent to look after them while most people remained sitting in the spectator seats.

For the second round, Zhendong Army's Yan Yu would face Annan Army's Li Zhaojiang.

At this point in the past life, among Liu Longtao, Zhou Hongyu, Chen Lingyun, and Li Zhaojiang, the latter was publicly recognized as the weakest of the four.

Of course, this wasn't to say his strength was truly lacking; otherwise, he wouldn't have been chosen to fight on behalf of the Annan Army.

The main reason was that Liu Longtao was well ahead in all aspects, Zhou Hongyu was fierce and daring in his martial arts, and Chen Lingyun was intelligent with excellent tactical thinking. In comparison, the well-rounded Li Zhaojiang lacked any standout features, which made him seem less reliable.

In reality, there was certainly a discrepancy between the spectators' perceptions and the actual strength of the contestants; otherwise, Liu Longtao wouldn't have been forced into a draw with Zhou Hongyu.

Yan Yu was the first to enter the arena, wondering if he should take a serious stance and crush the opposition, or just casually win the match.

His gaze swept over the advancing Li Zhaojiang and settled on Li Minghu, who was sitting in the Annan Army's reserves.

Yan Yu didn't have much of an impression of the past life's Li Zhaojiang; he was just a mad sister complex after all.

But he did hold a certain amount of respect for the woman Li Minghu.

She fought on the battlefield despite her illness. With her, one sword wiped out legions of the Nanjiang, Lingnan, Lingyou, and Qiongzhou Cultivator Allied Forces, saving countless lives from the Lu Country from suffering—praising her as a "Valkyrie" wasn't an exaggeration.

For Li Minghu's sake, letting her brother lose without too much disgrace seemed the right thing to do.

In the reserves, Li Minghu coughed into a handkerchief covering her mouth and watched anxiously as her brother stepped into the arena.

The tragic scene of mutual destruction between Liu Longtao and Zhou Hongyu just now made her worry subconsciously—would her brother get hurt this time?

Then her gaze met Yan Yu's.

Oh, it was the man she had seen in the noodle shop the night before.

Thinking back to his sympathetic gaze yesterday, Li Minghu felt somewhat relieved and lowered her head, avoiding his eye contact.

It's said that siblings, especially those close in age, often don't have a strong relationship in their childhood, but the Li siblings were an exception.

The elder sister Li Minghu was born with a lung disease and believed she wouldn't live long. Thus, from childhood, she gave her brother all the best things so that one day when she passed away, her brother could keep her parents company and they wouldn't be overwhelmed by grief.

Her brother, Li Zhaojiang, who was originally oblivious to these matters, grew up cherished by his family and was naturally extremely close to his sister. When he matured and understood his sister's involuntary distress, he became even more determined and fiercely protective, turning into a sister-protecting maniac. If Yan Yu looked anywhere else, Li Zhaojiang might not have been so mindful.

But as soon as the gaze turned towards his sister, Li Zhaojiang was almost immediately aware.

Seeing his sister on the field, his rationale began to lose control at the "disgust" and "head-turning to conceal."

Some lecher is eyeing up my sister! Damned pervert, I'm going to kill you!

Thinking of his poor, sickly sister being eyed greedily by the man opposite, Li Zhaojiang's fighting spirit surged, skyrocketed, and intensified!

Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill! His momentum at that moment was ten, no, nine times stronger than ever before!

Such overpowering determination, such madness—what in the world could stand against such a sister-protecting maniac?

Yan Yu, unaware of his opponent's mental state, only saw that his demeanor suddenly seemed crazed. He could guess that it was probably because he looked at his sister one too many times, which made the younger brother-in-law urgently react. Yan Yu was both annoyed and amused.

Crazy! Does every man want to be your brother-in-law?

The starting pistol sounded, and the match officially began. Li Zhaojiang didn't hesitate, quickly activating his Shifting Technique to charge forward.

Clearly, the first match had given a very obvious hint. When you try to close in with the Shifting Technique, the opponent either uses the Shifting Technique as well, initiating a chase-me-if-you-can mode, or they have no choice but to engage in close combat.

However, because the match was attended by important figures, a monotonous game of tag with no actual combat was clearly not suitable for the stage—it would seem to those in the private boxes that it might be suspected of being war-shy or fearful of battle.

So the two had to come to blows, and Li Zhaojiang could then harness the one hundred thousand horsepower of protective brotherly force to blow up, annihilate, and pulverize that creep coveting his sister into dust!

The Shifting Technique was activated, and the distance of several meters was bridged in an instant. Yan Yu really stood his ground without moving; faced with a brother besotted with his sister charging forward like a manic fist-smasher, he simply took up his stance with bored indifference.

Impact Curse.

Li Zhaojiang, who had charged in wildly, was sent flying backward, his hands still in the defensive blocking stance, his expression now one of shock.

He had actually calculated the distance and ended the Shifting Technique prematurely, using the momentum to close in on Yan Yu, and launched the attack right after the Curved Curse was initiated.

In the contest of the Curved Curse, the most important thing was to take the initiative. If both people activate the Curved Curse at the same time, both possessing immense strength, then whoever manages to break through the defense and hit the opponent first, the other would lose the ability to act and fall to the ground.

However, his attack had missed.

Li Zhaojiang didn't understand why it had missed, but Yan Yu's counterattack had already followed.

The same Wood Bending Charm, the same straight Impact Curse, he only had time to cross his arms over his chest, and his whole body was hit and sent retreating backward.

The exchange between the two was as fast as lightning—most of the audience hadn't even realized what had happened yet, but Li Minghu from the reserve seat saw everything clearly.

The moment his younger brother threw the punch, Yan Yu's figure retreated sharply for an instant, evading the fist and stepping forward again, so it looked as though he hadn't moved at all, yet strangely causing his brother's attack to miss.

His seemingly simple evasive maneuver was actually astoundingly fast, so much so that even the spectators couldn't clearly see it—this speed, that even the naked eye struggled to catch, couldn't be achieved by physical strength alone and must have involved the assistance of the Shifting Technique.

The Shifting Technique can instantly accelerate to high speeds, and even if it is interrupted afterwards, the speed would not immediately decrease due to inertia, so he must have used the Cloud Ascension Technique to cancel out the inertia, stopping the momentum.

This meant that a seemingly simple step back included the operations of "retreating with the Shifting Technique," "interrupting the Shifting Technique," "braking with the Cloud Ascension Technique," and "interrupting the Cloud Ascension Technique," and then stepping forward again for another round...

completing a total of eight maneuvers in the blink of an eye, achieving this ghostly evasive effect.

Li Minghu bowed his head and covered his mouth with a handkerchief, coughing violently again.

Little brother, you probably can't win this round…

Barely stabilizing his posture, Li Zhaojiang noticed that the pain in his arms was not very pronounced, indicating that the opponent must have deliberately held back.

He's trying to ingratiate himself with me, trying to get on the good side of his future brother-in-law, isn't he? Do you think by going easy on me I will be grateful to you? That after the match I will introduce you to my sister?

You don't even know your own limits, you piece of shit!

Li Zhaojiang erupted once again, raising his arms aimed at the other side, as True Yuan coursed through the Impact Curse energy route, stirring violently within his meridians.

Impact Curse barrage! Endless bombardment! Ora ora ora ora!

Sharp energy shot out continuously, but Yan Yu's figure had already vanished from the spot where he stood.

He was leaping to the right, rising into the air, using the Cloud Ascension Technique to wipe out his speed, hanging motionless in the air for an instant. His right hand, formed into a sword-like gesture, accurately locked onto Li Zhaojiang's position.

Impact Curse, charging.

The Metal-Element Impact Curse could compress True Yuan within the arms, significantly increasing the damage of a single hit, but the cost was having to hold the arm still while charging.

Considering the damage of a normal Impact Curse was enough to be fatal to an unguarded cultivator, there was usually no need to waste time charging.

And Yan Yu's intention in doing so was also clear, telling Li Zhaojiang straightforwardly: You might as well admit defeat.

I've already given you so much leeway; I just don't want you to lose too disgracefully.

Of course, Li Zhaojiang wasn't about to appreciate the gesture. Accepting his favor meant owing him, and owing him meant that he couldn't talk back, which would mean even if he were to blatantly pursue his sister in the future, he would only be able to sulk in the background as a mere bag-carrying lackey, unable to openly intervene!

Ahh ahh ahh ahh die!

Immediately after, an excruciating pain from a charged Impact Curse hit his chest.