Chapter 205: The Nine Golden Elixir Disciples

Dong, dong, dong, dong…
Ten beats of the drum passed, yet no one stepped onto the stage. Clearly, none of the nine true disciples of the Golden Elixir wished to be the first to face the challenge.
In competitive battles, losses often stem from being caught off guard, unprepared, or lacking surprise tactics. If given a second chance, the outcome might be different.
But on the Hundred Battles Arena, no one gets a second chance. Thus, the best strategy is to let others take the initial risks—the later one appears, the more they can learn about Su Che.
In the previous ninety-one matches, Su Che had won easily, with little difficulty. This wasn’t luck—it reflected his strength. By now, no one dared underestimate him anymore.
“Since no one volunteers, Su Che, you may choose your opponent,” announced the chief elder immediately.
Su Che nodded, walked to the edge of the arena, and looked down at the nine true disciples of the Golden Elixir.
Jin Chong from Sky Sword Peak, Wu Ze from Sky Materials Peak, Fu Wenfei from Sky Furnace Peak, Nan Xin from Sky Flower Peak, Duan Tianya from Mysterious Secrets Peak, Ling Xue from Mysterious Abyss Peak, Wu Shuang from Mysterious Strategy Peak, Si Yunbai from Mysterious Radiance Peak, and Hao Chong from Mysterious Turtle Peak.
Five men, three women, and one more from Sky Sword Peak whose gender was undecided…
Su Che had already studied these nine individuals in advance and knew their basic backgrounds.
As Su Che scanned them, though the nine appeared calm on the surface, they were all somewhat nervous inwardly—no one wanted to be the first to go…
Especially Duan Tianya, who feared Su Che might target him specifically. After all, on that day in Qinglan Continent’s market, Su Che had been pursued by Golden Elixir cultivators while he failed to offer help. It was likely Su Che resented him for that.
Duan Tianya had underestimated Su Che. In fact, Su Che thought it would be best if Duan Tianya was the last to appear, because if anyone could defeat him, it should be someone from Mysterious Secrets Peak.
If someone from Mysterious Secrets Peak set up the challenge and another from the same peak defeated them, it would bring honor to their master.
So, Su Che’s gaze fell on Duan Tianya, clearly intending to say something.
“He really…” Duan Tianya’s heart skipped a beat. He thought his prediction was correct, but instead, he heard…
“Elder brother, I hope you’ll be the last to step onto the stage. How about that?” Su Che asked with a smile.
Duan Tianya was stunned for a moment but quickly understood his intention. Feeling a hint of shame, he nodded immediately. “Okay! I’ll follow your advice.”

In this way, Duan Tianya also had a reason to go on stage last. If someone refused to go up despite staying below, Su Che would call them by name and order them to step onto the stage. This approach wasn’t against any rules, and no one could find fault with it. On the sidelines, many smart people had figured out Su Che’s intentions and couldn’t help but look at Venerable Xuanji, as if saying, “You’ve got a great disciple!” Venerable Xuanji remained calm as a mountain, but his heart was deeply moved. Whether Su Che could make it to the end of the competition or not, as a mentor, he had already received this act of filial piety. “This kid is indeed quite good…” The five Yuan Ying ancestors also nodded in secret. At this moment, Su Che on stage had already chosen his opponent. Smiling at someone, he said loudly, “Please invite Senior Brother Fu from Tianlu Peak to come up and teach me.” Whoa! Countless gazes focused on Fu Wenfei’s face. “Thank you, junior brother, for your kindness.” Fu Wenfei smiled cheerfully and immediately stepped onto the stage. As for what he was thinking, no one knew. The reason he was chosen was that Su Che felt he had no grudges against anyone, though he particularly disliked hypocrites like Fu Wenfei—someone who had used a woman who was deeply in love with him to test him at Wuhua Peak… So, at this moment, if not him, who else could be chosen? “The 92nd match begins!” announced the chief priest loudly. Soul Capture! A blue light flashed. Buzz… Unprepared, Fu Wenfei immediately became confused and lost his balance. “Get down!” Su Che rushed forward in an instant, covering thirty feet in a flash, and kicked him off the stage. Whoa! The whole audience was in shock; many people were stunned, unable to believe what they had just seen. Was it an illusion? Were their eyes failing them? Divine Power! It was actually a technique of divine power! The few Golden Core cultivators below the stage were also filled with astonishment: He was only in the later stages of the Foundation Building phase—how could he possess such a technique? It wasn’t surprising they were so shocked. Within Tianxuan Sect, only Venerable Xuanji and the five Yuan Ying ancestors knew about Su Che’s mastery of these two divine powers. With such high statuses, how could they possibly reveal Su Che’s situation to others? The Golden Core elders from Taiyi Gate’s Battle Hall were also aware of this, but they had classified the task of capturing Su Che as top-secret and would never disclose it outside. During that day in Qinglan Continent’s market, when Su Che and Yu Qing fought together, he indeed used Soul Capture frequently. But at that time, Duan Tianya was engaged in a fierce battle with a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator and might not have had the time to observe Su Che.

Perhaps Duan Tianya already had some understanding and deliberately didn’t reveal it to others, but had already made certain preparations—this was also possible.
For this reason, Fu Wenfei earlier not only failed to consolidate his spiritual essence but didn’t even have time to activate any defenses, and was caught off guard in an instant.
The few Golden Core disciples in the audience secretly rejoiced: “See? The one who went up first to test the sword ends up this unlucky!”
Su Che on stage also knew clearly that it could only be in the first match that such a surprise attack would work; from now on, with everyone prepared, it would be unlikely to decide everything in one strike.
Boom!
Many people were stunned for a long time before cheers erupted.
Those who were skeptical of Su Che thought he would lose this match and repeat the fate of the former sect leader; those who had high hopes for him thought even if he won, it would be extremely difficult. After all, it was a late Foundation Establishment inner disciple challenging a early Golden Core disciple—while a miracle might happen, it would require a fierce struggle, a life-or-death battle…
Apart from Venerable Mysterious Insight, the five Yuan Ying ancestors, and Su Che himself, no one else could have predicted such an outcome.
In just an instant, the 92nd match—Su Che won!
Below the stage, Fu Wenfei, who had regained his senses, was unharmed but pale and bloodless.
After 92 matches, he had lost the most disgracefully.
Su Che didn’t intend to deal him such a blow, but against an early Golden Core opponent, this surprise attack was the only way to win quickly; otherwise, once the opponent recovered and counterattacked, things would become extremely difficult and dangerous for him.
Besides Fu Wenfei, another person’s expression was grim—the peak master of Tianlu Peak, Venerable Tianlu. That guy, Mysterious Insight, had gained great prestige, but what about him…
He had indeed won the 92nd match, but Su Che knew his easy path was over. As for how far he could go next, he had no idea.
Sure enough, as the drums sounded again and the 93rd match began, Su Che realized a difficult challenge lay ahead.
Because this time, someone volunteered to go on stage, which showed great confidence and no fear of his Soul Capturing technique.
Unrivaled of Xuance Peak!

Wushuang, the senior Golden Core master of Xuance Peak, with a Water-type Heavenly Spirit Root and an bone age of fifty-seven. Strangely enough, when she reached the Golden Core stage, she had the chance to reshape her appearance, yet she retained an ugly look, with a long scar on her left cheek resembling a centipede crawling on it, giving off a rather shocking sight.

“A divine power capable of shaking the original spirit is truly rare, but it’s ineffective against me. If that’s all your skill, you’re doomed to lose!”

Her voice was also unpleasant, hoarse and rough, as if her throat had been injured.

“Please teach me, senior sister.”

Su Che had long heard that she had a peculiar personality, sometimes withdrawn, sometimes insane, so it wasn’t surprising what kind of words she might say.

“However, she has a Water-type Heavenly Spirit Root and specializes in Water-type techniques, whose attributes are incompatible with mine. Moreover, it seems she doesn’t care about soul-capturing powers. This battle will undoubtedly be extremely difficult, and I might even lose outright.”

Before the battles began, through various rumors, Su Che had already listed ‘Wushuang’ of Xuance Peak as one of the three most difficult opponents. He was likely to lose to these three in the arena fight.

In contrast, Fu Wenfei, Wu Ze, and Nan Xin were the three whom Su Che considered the easiest to deal with.

“Are you ready?” Elder Sili stepped forward.

Su Che and Wushuang nodded simultaneously.

Elder Sili gave Su Che a strange look, whose meaning was unclear, then waved his hand and shouted, “Match 93, start!”

Soul capture!

Whether it worked or not, this first move would definitely be a soul capture attempt. If that failed, Prison Demon couldn’t be used easily either; it had to wait for a critical moment…

A blue light flashed, but Wushuang on the other side calmly endured it. Not only was there no sign of abnormality, but she could even speak: “Not bad. Quite comfortable.”

Buzz…

A translucent ripple spread from her body, like ripples in water, expanding outward from her as the center.

Su Che had made full defensive preparations, but the ripple passed by him without causing any damage.

“Soul capture really doesn’t work on her. I wonder if she has a soul-stabilizing artifact or is skilled in original spirit spells?”

While speculating, Su Che noticed that the ripple she had just released had spread across the entire arena before dissipating completely, with no further changes detectable.

Still, Su Che remained highly vigilant, knowing that such a ripple couldn’t be completely ineffective—it must be some kind of powerful spell or divine power of hers.

“I originally didn’t want to take the stage so soon,” Wu Shuang said in a low voice. “It’s because I am grateful for the merit you achieved at Taiyi Gate, which also counts as a favor to us. However, your actions toward Fu Wenfei just now were excessive. You could have pushed him down, but you shouldn’t have kicked him away like a dog. This time, I’ll make sure you lose in the most humiliating way possible.”
“Like a dog?” Su Che frowned slightly, feeling that her words sounded odd.
Indeed, Fu Wenfei below the stage already had an unnatural expression, and now he was even more embarrassed.
Was Wu Shuang’s remark meant to defend Fu Wenfei, or was she taking advantage of the situation to provoke him in every possible way?