Yin Hui and Chen Hong stood a few meters apart from each other as they faced at the center of the arena.

Mo Gang supervised the duel from above, floating about twenty meters from the ground.

"The combat trial is very simple. You pass if your opponent surrenders, cannot continue, or I have determined that you showed adequate battle prowess."

"Are both sides ready?" Mo Gang asked.

"Yes Elder." The both of them replied.

"Then you may beg--"

Just as Mo Gang was about to formally start the match, Chen Hong sent out a quick punch in Yin Hui's direction. A ball of fire shot out of his fist and hit Yin Hui's chest, igniting his robes and sending him flying a couple meters back.

Many of the spectating cultivators were shocked. They did not think that a disciple of the Striking Thunder Sect would use such underhanded tactics.

Mo Gang gave a cold stare towards Chen Hong.

"Chen Hong that was uncalled for. This will be your only warning. Pull something like that again and you will be punished."

Yu Zhuwa grit his teeth at Mo Gang's loose reprimand. It was obvious that his scolding of Chen Hong was only a formality.

"Heh heh heh. It seems like the scales are already tipping in my favor Brother Zhang. I don't mean to brag, but foresight is one of my strong points. I am quite picky with my wines, so I will make sure to send you a list of my preferences later." Wu Fangli said with amusement.

Zhang Shi did not refute him and kept an attentive gaze on the arena.

Removing the smoldering portion of his robes from his body, Yin Hui got back onto his feet. He was injured, but it was nothing too severe.

"I didn't think a disciple of this sect could be so dishonorable. I wonder if all of the members are as despicable as you."

Chen Hong laughed.

"We give our respect to those who we believe deserve it. Don't say I didn't give you face. If I put my full power behind that attack, you would be a pile of ash right now."

"How generous of you. In that case, please continue going easy on me as I do this!"

Yin Hui slapped his bag of holding and the black leopard leapt onto the arena. It let out a terrifying roar that sent shivers down the spines of the spectating cultivators.

Wu Fangli's eyes opened for the first time since he sat down. Shock was painted all over his face and his mouth gaped open.

"S-spirit beast! Furthermore, it radiates the power of Spirit Manifestation!"

Mo Gang's eyes widened as well. He never expected Yin Hui to have a Spirit Manifestation level spirit beast with him.

[He's a Spirit Tamer! How could a brat with such poor talent have an affinity for taming spirit beasts? On that note, where did he get one with Spirit Manifestation power?! He himself is only at Spirit Waking!]

Yin Hui hopped onto the leopards back and stroked it's fur with affection. The black leopard was heavily injured during the battle at the Tang Outpost. Yin Hui treated it as best as he could with the medicines he looted from the cultivators he had killed, but it wasn't enough for a full restoration. After navigating through the treacherous wastelands of the Storm Province, he found a settlement and the leopard made a full recovery thanks to the local remedies.

The black leopard looked straight into Chen Hong's eyes as if it were analyzing the features of its prey. A dark aura leaked out of it that made it look extremely intimidating.

"I didn't want to bring him out so soon. After all, if I did, this match would end too quickly and you would lose quite a bit of face. However, a person like you doesn't deserve face. He hasn't had much exercise for a while now so he's more than eager for a fight."

Facing the black leopard, Chen Hong felt a sense of fear and danger. Shaking his head, he buried these feelings deep within and put on a serious expression.

"Spirit Manifestation spirit beast? So what? I am a disciple of the Striking Thunder Sect! I have techniques that could easily take down your overgrown cat!"

Slamming his fists together, an ethereal aura began to surround Chen Hong's upper body. Moments after, bones began to manifest around the parts covered by the aura, primarily around his arms.

Flaring his qi, Chen Hong charged towards Yin Hui and the black leopard with his fists raised. When the two clashed, a shockwave was produced that spread throughout the pavilion.

Some of the cultivators watching, especially the ones that didn't pass, began to sweat from the power radiating from the clash.

A small smile crept up on Zhang Shi's face as he nodded in approval over the fight's recent development.

"It seems that the scale has balanced Brother Wu." Zhang Shi chuckled.

"This applicant is just relying on borrowed power. Once he is seperated from his spirit beast Senior Brother Chen Hong will crush him." Wu Fangli scoffed. Outwardly, he seemed to still be looking down on Yin Hui, but in truth he was was not. Even though Yin Hui was using a Spirit Manifestation spirit beast to close the power gap, having it at all was a testament to his strength. Whether it was bestowed upon him by an elder, or perhaps obtained by himself, Wu Fangli was wise enough to know that he could no longer look down on him.

As Chen Hong and the black leopard traded blow after blow, cracks started to emerge in Chen Hong's bone armor. From this it was obvious that while he could match the black leopard's strength, there was still a small gap between them that favored Yin Hui.

[Even with my strongest martial skill, Bone Bracer, I am still at a disadvantage! That leopard must be at the mid-stage of Spirit Manifestation! In that case, it's time to switch strategies!]

As the leopard came in for a swipe to the head, Chen Hong quickly ducked. Receiving a slight cut on his cheek, he channeled as much qi as he could into his right fist and delivered a hard punch into the leopard's exposed side.

The black leopard let out a painful grunt and jumped back a few feet.

During this short ceasefire, Chen Hong flew into the air. He passed Mo Gang and stopped at about thirty meters above the arena.

"Applicant! I admit you have me beat physically. However, your strength relies too much on your pet! Now your advantage is gone! Your pet cannot get me from down there. On the other hand..."

The bones around Chen Hong's body receded, but the strength of his qi did not decrease. Instead, the ethereal aura around his body grew stronger!

[I need to take that spirit beast down, no matter the cost! Once its out of the way, it will not take much for me to defeat its master who is only a Spirit Waking cultivator!]

Pointing both palms down onto the arena, Chen Hong's qi flared until a visible teal color emerged from his body.

Zhang Shi face became somber when he saw this.

[A visible, colored aura of qi signifies the usage of true qi. This is going to be a problem. A spell that is powered by true qi is many times stronger than a spell that is not. Actually, you could hardly call spells that don't use true qi as real spells at all. The heavens hoard so much of qi's innate potential that its astounding how much stronger even the weakest spell using true qi is.]

"Take this!" Chen Hong shouted.

From his hands, countless thin beams of azure light began to rain down from the sky. If one looked closely they would notice that the azure beams were actually in the shape of arrows.

Yin Hui felt immediate danger in his heart at the sight of the azure arrows descending towards him. Quickly, he manipulated the tiles compiling the arena. He fashioned an average sized shield and as soon as it was completed he threw it into the sky. The shield did not hold up for even a second against the bombardment above, shattering upon blocking a single arrow.

As the arrows were half way from falling onto Yin Hui, Mo Gang called out.

"I suggest you surrender now boy! Those arrows are the real deal. With your cultivation, you can only take around three at most before your body is completely destroyed!"

Yin Hui did not respond to Mo Gang's warning and instead looked up at Chen Hong, who seemed to be growing weary with each passing moment. Upon seeing the visible exhaustion on Chen Hong's face, he let out a sneer.

After firing around two hundred arrows, Chen Hong closed his hands. His reserves of true qi were completely spent and he was even struggling to stay afloat due to overexerting himself too quickly. However, he assured himself that it was all worth it. If he could take down Yin Hui's spirit beast, even in his fatigued state he would be able to defeat him. He was confident none of the other applicants had aces of the same caliber as Yin Hui, and considering they were also only Spirit Waking cultivators, he was confident in winning any subsequent matches.

"That should be enough. To think that I had to go so far to defeat a mere Spirit Waking cultivator. Whatever, in a few moments it will all be over."

Looking down, Chen Hong noticed a black cloud of dust at the bottom of the arena that obstructed his vision.

"Black smoke? I don't remember the Azure Flurry producing any smoke or black dust the other times I used it. Perhaps there was some black sediment under the arena tiles. When the arena was devastated by my attack, it probably mixed with the dust."

Believing he had won, Chen Hong began to slowly descend. However, he stopped when he noticed that the black cloud seemed to be spreading much more then it should have from normal dispersion. He rubbed his eyes, believing that he was simply hallucinating due to exhaustion. Unfortunately, he was not, Chen Hong's eyes widened as he discovered that the black smoke was actually moving towards him at an increasing pace!

"It can't be him! Did he evade my Azure Flurry?! Just what is going on?!"

As the cloud of dust approached Chen Hong, it slowly began to condense into the forms of Yin Hui and the black leopard.

"Impossible!" Chen Hong exclaimed.

"This fight is over." As Yin Hui and the black leopard got within a meters distance from Chen Hong, the black leopard lashed out with a series of clawing strikes towards the bewildered disciple.

Fatigued, Chen Hong could not dodge and screamed as his body was mauled by the black leopard. Blood spewed from his body as he fell out of the sky, painting a line of red as he crashed onto the arena floor.

The spectators were completely silent. They did not expect Yin Hui, a person who couldn't even produce a faint shade of yellow in the aptitude test to defeat Chen Hong. Many of them had eyes of jealousy towards his Spirit Manifestation spirit beast, but fear put away all thoughts of hostility. The leopard looked fierce and unyielding, leading many of the cultivators to wonder how Yin Hui managed to tame such a beast in the first place.

Seeing that the battle was over, Yu Zhuwa let out a sigh of relief. A few seats away, Zhang Shi turned to Wu Fangli with an amused expression on his face.

"Brother Wu, it seems I have won our little wager. I don't mean to brag, but foresight is not exactly one of my strongest points. Perhaps, I was just lucky this time. I am quite picky with my wines so I will make sure to send you my preferences later."

Wu Fangli clenched his fists.

[This guy... It seems like Zhang Shi isn't the only one I'll have to keep an eye on...]