But Zhang Kuishan was far inferior to Lin Xuan.
Clearly, Lin Xuan’s talent far surpassed even Liu Qianyu, the top genius of this generation in Flowing Cloud Sect and the senior true disciple.
The elders were also deeply shaken.
On the arena stage.
Lin Xuan wore a calm expression, looking at Zhang Kuishan lying not far away, groaning in pain, with a hint of surprise flickering in his eyes.
The power of this punch had exceeded his expectations.
He had only used a million jin of force, along with one-tenth of his Earth Intent and half of his true qi.
This wasn’t even half of his full strength.
Yet, under the clash, Zhang Kuishan, unleashing his full power, was utterly helpless against this punch.
Lin Xuan felt nothing at all, while Zhang Kuishan was sent flying, defeated and severely injured on the spot.
Even Lin Xuan was taken aback by this result.
He quickly recovered and a faint smile appeared in his eyes.
“It seems that after this trip to the Alchemist Guild, the boost to my combat power from the enhanced talents is even greater.”
Lin Xuan soon realized this and nodded slightly.
Still, this was fine.
After Zhang Kuishan revealed his trump card and unleashed his full strength, crushing him so easily yielded the most energy points.
Watching the energy points rapidly increasing in the attribute panel before him, Lin Xuan felt even more satisfied.
Then, he shifted his gaze to the crowd below.
The referee in the crowd, sensing Lin Xuan’s look, remembered his duty, gave an awkward smile, quickly returned to the arena, and announced loudly:
“In this match, Lin Xuan wins.
Lin Xuan advances to second place on the Strength Ranking.
Zhang Kuishan drops to twenty-eighth place on the Strength Ranking.”
As the words fell, everyone on the field snapped back to reality.
Another wave of uproar and commotion erupted.
Everyone looked at Lin Xuan with complex expressions.
This result had exceeded everyone’s expectations.
Although Lin Xuan had progressed rapidly since joining the sect, breaking countless records, and was even hailed as the sect’s top genius, everyone believed he had the strength to break into the top ten of the Strength Ranking and challenge the top three.
But no one expected Lin Xuan to start by challenging Zhang Kuishan, the second-ranked.
And from start to finish, he crushed Zhang Kuishan, defeating and severely injuring him.
Taking his place as the new second-ranked.
Moreover, with such terrifying strength, it was quite possible he could challenge and replace the top-ranked.
This scene once again surpassed their imagination.
Everyone was deeply shaken, unable to calm down.
On the arena stage.
After hearing the announcement, Lin Xuan jumped off the stage and walked toward the small platform.
Under the gaze of everyone present, he sat down in the seat that originally belonged to Zhang Kuishan, the second-ranked on the Strength Ranking.
The crowd let out another round of sighs and exclamations.
Then, the ranking matches continued.
Since Chen Yu had already fought in the previous match, he had to wait at least one more match before he could challenge again.
So, despite having little energy drain and high confidence in winning, Lin Xuan didn’t issue another challenge.
Instead, he sat in his seat, waiting.
Soon, another Strength Ranking disciple stepped up to challenge, and a duel began on the arena.
But after witnessing Lin Xuan’s crushing victory over Zhang Kuishan, the subsequent matches felt bland and uninteresting, and no one had the heart to watch.
They were still stuck in the shock of before, unable to recover.
Quickly, over ten minutes passed.
This match also concluded.
Just as everyone was waiting for the next challenge.
On the second level of the small platform, a tall figure stood up.
Everyone felt a blur before their eyes, and when they looked again, a figure had already appeared on the arena.
Seeing this person’s face, everyone felt a buzz in their minds and froze.
It was Lin Xuan again.
Everyone’s hearts trembled.
Hadn’t Lin Xuan just fought two matches ago?
Why was he back?
And Lin Xuan was already second on the Strength Ranking, leaving only one person he could challenge.
That was...
Thinking this, everyone’s eyes widened in disbelief.
But at the same time, they were filled with anticipation.
Swish, swish, swish...
Instantly, everyone’s gaze shifted between Lin Xuan and the figure at the highest seat on the small platform, waiting silently.
Then, Lin Xuan spoke.
“Senior Brother Chen, if you don’t mind, let’s have a match!”
His calm words spread out.
But they instantly set the entire square ablaze with excitement.
“Wow, Senior Brother Lin Xuan is really going to challenge the top-ranked Senior Brother Chen!”
“Senior Brother Lin Xuan just fought two matches ago, and Senior Brother Chen has only had two matches of rest, so he can accept a challenge now.
Senior Brother Lin Xuan is challenging right away—doesn’t he need to rest and recover his true qi and stamina?”
“Even though the match two ago was against Senior Brother Zhang Kuishan, didn’t you see? Senior Brother Lin Xuan crushed Senior Brother Zhang from start to finish, so he probably didn’t use much true qi or stamina, which is why he’s challenging so quickly!”
“No matter what, this next match will be the most intense and exciting of this ranking competition!”
“Yeah, Senior Brother Lin Xuan easily defeated Senior Brother Zhang, so even if he’s not as strong as Senior Brother Chen, he won’t be far off. It’s bound to be a fierce battle, very worth watching.”
“...”
The crowd buzzed with chatter, extremely lively.
No one had expected Lin Xuan to challenge Chen Yu immediately after his two-match rest period, without considering whether he needed to rest himself.
But at the same time, it showed that Lin Xuan had enough confidence in his own strength to dare such a move.
Everyone’s gaze shifted back and forth between Lin Xuan and Chen Yu, full of anticipation.
These two were the strongest in the inner sect.
One was the long-standing top expert, the other the newly emerged top genius.
When they clashed, who would come out on top?
Everyone was eagerly looking forward to it.
Even the elders on the high platform, including several Inner Sect elders at the Spirit Yuan Realm, felt the same.
If Lin Xuan could win this match, replacing Chen Yu as the top-ranked on the Strength Ranking, then his talent would be even more terrifying.
He could no longer be described as a once-in-a-century genius for Flowing Cloud Sect.
He would be a once-in-several-centuries super genius.
He might even become the second prodigy since the sect’s founding.
If Lin Xuan could achieve this, he naturally wouldn’t be treated as an ordinary inner disciple anymore.
Such a super genius needed focused cultivation.
Even though Lin Xuan was only at the eighth level of the Condensing Whirlpool Realm, not even at its peak, they, as old elders, would personally plead with the Sect Leader on his behalf.
To have Lin Xuan directly promoted to true disciple.
Only then would they barely do justice to a super genius like Lin Xuan.
Whether they would go to such lengths depended on Lin Xuan’s performance.
The elders waited and watched.
On the small platform.
Chen Yu, hearing this, slowly stood up and nodded.
“Of course.”
With that, he walked toward the arena.
Soon, he arrived on the stage, standing opposite Lin Xuan.