Chapter 213: The Final Match

Having won the 96th match, Su Che was severely depleted of energy. He took several pills and ate plenty of food to replenish his strength, resting until the next morning before continuing the competition.

For the next 97 matches, Si Yunbai from Xuan Yao Peak stepped forward voluntarily. However, he wasn’t confident of winning—he had already understood the situation: in terms of magical artifacts, he couldn’t match Su Che’s Bronze Treasure Gourd; in terms of supernatural powers, he couldn’t compete with Su Che’s three great powers; and in terms of cultivation level, it seemed useless… He was certain to lose, so there was no need to prolong it.

Not long after stepping onto the stage, he was pinned in place by Su Che’s Soul Seizing and Demon Trapping techniques and was respectfully removed from the arena, declaring himself defeated.

In the 98th match, Hao Chong from Xuan Wu Peak also stepped forward voluntarily, with similar intentions to Si Yunbai.

After witnessing Su Che’s battle against Jin Chong, everyone had acknowledged Su Che’s strength. With his three great powers working together, even someone at the early Jin Dan stage, without top-tier magical artifacts for protection, could only delay defeat.

However, Hao Chong possessed earth-type Tian Ling roots, giving him extraordinary defensive capabilities. Su Che had to use five high-quality self-destructing spiritual artifacts and deliver three consecutive Destruction Fists before cracking his turtle shell.

Using Destruction Fist three times in a row further depleted Su Che’s energy, forcing him to rest for over ten more hours.

On the morning of the seventh day of the Hundred Battles Arena, the 99th match’s opponent could only be Ling Xue from Xuan Yuan Peak. This was because the only unmatched contestants left were her and Duan Tianya. Duan Tianya from Xuan Ji Peak had already agreed with Su Che to be the final opponent—no one could outlast him.

Ling Xue also had water-type Tian Ling roots, whose attributes clashed with Su Che’s. Moreover, her skill “Tidal Sound Skyfall” focused heavily on refining the soul, making Su Che’s Soul Seizing technique little effective against her.

Yet, lacking top-tier offensive magical artifacts, she was trapped by Demon Trapping techniques and lost the match.

The results of these three matches didn’t surprise anyone. After the intense battles against Wu Shuang and Jin Chong, Su Che’s strength had been universally recognized, making victory inevitable.

That afternoon, Su Che stood on the high platform, looking down at the 99 disciples he had defeated, ready for the final match of the Hundred Battles Arena—the 100th match!

Whether he could achieve 100 victories in a row and claim the title of top disciple depended on the performance of Duan Tianya, the eldest disciple of Xuan Ji Peak.

“100 victories, top disciple!”
“100 victories, top disciple!”
“100 victories, top disciple!”

On the stands, hundreds of thousands of outer and inner disciples stood up together, chanting the slogans in unison. At this moment, everyone was united in heart, seemingly hoping that Su Che would achieve invincibility and create greatness, performing miracles.

In the history of Tianxuan Sect, there had indeed been twelve chief disciples, but they all reached this position at the early stage of the Golden Core cultivation. If Su Che became the chief at the later stage of Foundation Establishment, it would truly be a “miracle.” Undoubtedly, it would also be a record that later generations would find hard to break.

Many of the disciples who already admired Su Che wholeheartedly didn’t wave their arms or shout slogans, but their encouraging looks at him were enough to show their support. With such a master chief disciple, everyone surely agreed…

On the fighting platform, two disciples from Xuanji Peak stood facing each other. Duan Tianya said with a smile, “It’s not easy for you, junior brother, to fight your way to the final round with your cultivation at the later stage of Foundation Establishment. But I’ll still do my best in this match, giving it my all—not to win, but to prove that Xuanji Peak has more than just you as a talented individual. What do you think?”

“That’s exactly right!” Su Che nodded seriously.

Having defeated Wushuang, Jin Chong, and eight Golden Core disciples, Su Che still didn’t dare underestimate Duan Tianya. As someone from the same Xuanji Peak, Su Che surely knew the most about Duan Tianya, as his master was extremely biased and had already told Su Che everything about his eldest disciple.

Yet, the more he learned, the more he felt that Duan Tianya might be the strongest among all the chief disciples. His master said that Duan Tianya also had secrets and a story, surely hiding some powerful hidden cards that he had never revealed.

It was for this reason that Su Che agreed with Duan Tianya to let him fight last—so that even if he lost, it would still be an honor for Xuanji Peak.

“Start!”

The command from the presiding elder echoed.

Prison the Demon!

From the very beginning, the first divine skill Su Che used wasn’t Soul Capture but Prison the Demon. This was because, through his master, he had learned that Duan Tianya’s wood-elemental skill, “Cycle of Life and Death,” was extremely mentally draining, forcing him to practice Spirit Tempering techniques year after year to strengthen his mental power. This meant that although his cultivation was at the early stage of the Golden Core, the refinement level of his original spirit was already close to the peak of the middle stage of the Golden Core, making Soul Capture almost ineffective.

Although he knew that his offensive treasure, the “Heavenly Wood Extreme Sword,” was a top-grade weapon capable of autonomous attacks that could instantly break through the Prison Character prison, it was precisely this instant that Su Che wanted. In a battle between masters, even a single instant was enough. Seizing this opportunity to use the Destruction Fist might just work…

To Su Che’s surprise, with just this first exchange, Duan Tianya revealed a secret technique he had never shown anyone before—he also possessed a special power similar to the Prison Character prison.

“Root Transformation!”

As the dark gray Prison Character just appeared above Duan Tianya’s head, still not fully formed, Duan Tianya raised his hand and pointed. A strange pattern appeared in his palm, resembling the roots of a large tree. Immediately, Su Che felt a numbness in his chest, his body becoming countless times heavier, and he also sensed something strange beneath his feet. Without needing to look down, he could see through his spiritual senses that countless roots had grown from his legs, sinking deep into the arena.

Root Transformation? It made him grow countless roots and turn into an immobile tree—wasn’t he trapped in place just like in a prison? Now, both brothers launched their attacks at the same time and were hit simultaneously—one trapped by the Prison Character prison, the other rooted to the ground. Even Venerable Mysterious Secrets was unaware of Duan Tianya’s “Root Transformation” technique, showing just how deep and inscrutable the plans of this senior brother from Mysterious Secrets Peak were.

Next, it would depend on which of Su Che and Duan Tianya could break free from their predicaments first; the one who did so could launch the next attack and gain the upper hand.

Swish!

The brown wooden sword in Duan Tianya’s hand flew out of the Prison Character prison on its own, swaying slightly before transforming into a thick tree branch that swung fiercely at the dark gray Prison Character. At the same time, Su Che unleashed his own life force, radiating a destructive power capable of shattering everything. This destructive power didn’t have to be released through fists—it could come from the head, body, or limbs—but a punch seemed more formidable.

Boom!

The Prison Character prison restraining Duan Tianya was torn to pieces by the thick tree branch transformed from the Heavenly Wood Extreme Sword.

Sizzle!

The countless roots binding Su Che also shattered under the impact of the destructive power.

Both of them broke free at the same time and unleashed another technique!

Soul Capture!

Su Che released his Soul Capture technique with all his might. Even if it had little effect, it could still have some impact on Duan Tianya, giving him a slight advantage.

Fluctuation of Life and Death!

Duan Tianya held a wooden sword and pointed from afar. A green light shot out, breaking through the soul-capturing blue light and hitting Su Che’s chest straight on.
Buzz…
Duan Tianya was struck by the soul-capturing force, causing slight disturbance in his spiritual essence, but he managed to maintain his consciousness, which didn’t affect his next move.
On the other side, Su Che, hit by the green light, was also not greatly affected because his body was still covered in a layer of destruction energy. However, he felt his body becoming slightly stiff, showing signs of turning to wood.
That day in Qinglanzhou’s market, Su Che had witnessed Duan Tianya’s power—power enough to turn an energy entity into a black dragon, which then developed tree-like bark and completely turned into rotten wood.
Swish! Swish!
Both of them retreated ten zhang, creating a distance of sixty zhang between them, aiming to avoid the onslaught for a moment and catch their breath.
The first round ended in a tie, with neither side having an advantage.
The stands were filled with cheers for Su Che and Duan Tianya. Many Golden Core elders turned to smile slightly at Venerable Mysterious Secrets, seemingly saying, “Impressive! Truly impressive—to have trained such outstanding disciples.”
Venerable Mysterious Secrets smiled in return. Though he knew well that these two disciples’ achievements had little to do with him, the glory of “great teachers producing great students” still surrounded him.
It was easy to imagine that from now on, many Golden Core elders would want to send their family’s promising talents to Mysterious Secrets Peak for training, which would bring many benefits to Venerable Mysterious Secrets as well.
The competition among the ten main peaks revolved mainly around “reputation.” With higher reputation, various benefits would naturally come their way, benefiting everyone on Mysterious Secrets Peak and creating a virtuous cycle of prosperity.
At this moment, even the Grand Elder Qing Xuan sent a message to the Supreme Patriarch, saying, “It seems that the fortune of the main peaks for the next few hundred years will belong to Mysterious Secrets Peak.”
The Supreme Patriarch nodded silently.
The concept of peak fortune had long been circulating within Tianxuan Sect. Though somewhat abstract, it followed certain patterns. Whenever a main peak received this fortune, it would produce many talents over several hundred years, with some even achieving the Yuan Ying stage—or more than one.
As fortune rotated, Mysterious Secrets Peak, which had remained low-key for thousands of years, finally began a new chapter…
On the arena, the two representatives of Mysterious Secrets Peak, Su Che and Duan Tianya, performed exactly the same action: taking medicine.

Su Che took a pill to replenish his vital energy, while Duan Tianya took one to nourish his spiritual essence. Both possessed formidable powers, but they drained energy in different ways. After a few breaths, Duan Tianya asked, “How about not using any trapping techniques and just fighting head-on?” “Sure!” Su Che agreed immediately. Unconsciously, the two charged at each other, crossing sixty zhang in an instant. Su Che’s punches were like thunder, shattering everything in their path! Duan Tianya’s palm shadows were like mountains, blocking out the sky and sunlight!