Awakened: The Spirit King!

A violent gust of wind breezed through the tournament site, picking up the leaves that blanketed the ground and bringing them towards the clouded white sky.

Below were the high-profile members of the Xie Manor, who sat on luxurious seats atop a raised platform.

Many pairs of eyes were on them.

It wasn't without a reason that they were the center of attention.

Like dragons amidst a field of chickens, they were eye-catching.

Some people occasionally pointed their fingers at Xie Yang while sneering in disdain and whispering, seemingly badmouthing him behind his back. They believed in the rumors about him so much that they were further tainting his character, accusing him of being a rapist, a cut-sleeves, and a tyrant.

However, they were less in number than those who refused to participate in idle gossip and remained silent, expressing with their actions how highly they respected Xie Yong.

Xie Yong had been good to them for over a decade. They knew his character. He was a good man who could never sire a rotten egg, and even if he did, he would be the first to reprimand such a person.

"I have an announcement to make. It has come to my attention that some white-eye wolves are spreading ill rumors about my son, labeling him as incapable and evil. My son can not bear such injustice and has decided to prove them wrong. Whoever wishes to challenge him, as long as you are in the first two realms of spiritual cultivation, voice your thoughts out loud and step on stage.

My son will not refuse to accept your invitation. And do not worry about anything. What happens on stage remains on it. The rules of today's fights will be mostly similar to yesterday. The only addition is that you can use any items as long as they don't exceed rank 3!

"With that said, let's begin the second day of the tournament!"

Xie Yong's cold voice boomed throughout the tournament site, reaching everyone's ears.

Instantly, everyone turned as silent as they were before they learned to speak.

There were many people here, from gents and ladies of the noble households of the north to disciples of the only sect in the northern provinces.

Rouge cultivators with little to no fame have also come.

They wanted to make a name for themselves, and they had chosen Xie Yang as their stepping stone.

One such person jumped on stage and smiled warmly towards her prey, who was drinking green tea calmly.

"I've heard many ill rumors about you, and I would like to act in good faith to prove how untrue they are. My lord, will you please cooperate with me so that I can clear your name?"

The woman's voice was as soft as the fleeting clouds, matching her slender figure, cute face, and innocent eyes that only held respect for Xie Yang in them.

Literally, with a few words and a friendly act, she had fooled everyone into believing that she wasn't here to kick someone's ass to become famous but here to clear someone's name!

If Xie Yang didn't happen to be an old ghost in a young man's body, he would also have mistaken her for an ally and fallen for her charms.

Xie Yang set aside his tea and rose from his seat.

"Miss, since you have stood up to help me, I believe you're a good person." Xie Yang smiled back at Deng Niu pretentiously as he stepped towards the stage, "So I will, of course, listen to you."

Lin Hua stared at her hubby's back profoundly, thinking he was a great actor and knew how to go along with the flow instead of turning everything against him.

She knew her husband best.

He liked to eat her tofu at every turn, so there was no way that green tea bitch on the stage fooled him with her petty act.

"Gasp! Please give me some water! I'm suddenly feeling thirsty."

"I'm glad I wasn't chopping onions just then. Otherwise, I would have chopped off my fingers!"

"Why are you blushing while looking at another man?! You are my woman, for fuck sake!"

"I can't help it."

"Stop looking at him!"

"I can't help it."

"God damn it! I am taking you home!"

"What? why?!"

"I will not wait and let that seductive male siren steal your heart!"

The innocent Xie Yang: "…" What the heck did I do? Is it a crime to be born handsome?!

Xie Yang's face, gentle demeanor, and huge background were enough to captivate others.

He was like a prince of their dreams!

However, as he descended the stairs, the clouds gave way to soft sunlight that shone on him, causing others to see the illusion of his entire body glowing in warm heavenly radiance.

Most of the women instantly fell heads over heels for him and praised him to high heavens, shouting that they wanted to marry him and carry his child, and the men who liked them ate so much vinegar that they glared at the love of their life.

One man was so worried that Xie Yang would steal his wife that he grabbed her and took her back home.

Some men started questioning their sexuality.

Xie Yang took his time to head to the arena, and as soon as he stepped on it, Deng Niu laughed coldly, and her figure became a flash of light in the eyes of mortals.

One breath later, they could see her next to Xie Yang, and those with sharp eyes saw her sword approaching his neck.

The onlookers felt that the match would end as soon as it started.

Contrary to their expectations, by just tilting his three inches to the left, Xie Yang dodged her sword and the sword intent surrounding it.

He completely shocked every expert present and also Deng Niu, but without a momentary pause, she swung her sword sideways immediately, planning to cut off his head.

Yet once again, Xie Yang used the minimum of movement to dodge her attack.

'The rumors about him are false. He is no joke. I came here to achieve fame and glory by defeating him, but if I am not careful, he might crush me under his feet.'

Deng Niu became more serious, her sword intent surging out of her wrists, rising out of her fluttering sleeves and infusing into the body of her sword, causing it to glow brightly in blue.

She attacked him again.

Without pulling out his sword, Xie Yang dodged her attack, not a ripple appearing on his calm expression.

It was as if he wasn't the one fighting a female cultivator but his ghost!

Under the sky, they exchanged dozens of moves. That was a bit of a stretch. Everyone could see that Xie Yang was merely playing with the fiery miss in white. Her sword approached him 37 times, but each time he only used minimalist actions to evade it. They weren't exchanging moves. It was more like a cat playing with a mouse but unable to catch it.

"If that's the extent of your ability, then I am afraid I will need to defeat ten more Deng Niu to clear my name."

Xie Yang's taunt stabbed her ears at the worst time possible. She was already frustrated after failing to land a single strike on him, and hearing his words, nearly made her puke a mouthful of blood.

"How dare you mock me?!" Deng Niu screamed at Xie Yang out of frustration, looking nothing like a gentle maiden.

At first, she was like an innocent white lotus to others. But now, she appeared no different than a green tea bitch to the onlookers. Their illusion about her shattered. After seeing that she was a short-tempered lose canon, they laughed at her for pretending to be a gentle lady, angering her further.

Almost frustrated to death, she didn't think twice before pouncing ahead and brandishing her sword at him.

It radiated a three-meter-wide sword aura into the air, which threatened to cut Xie Yang in two halves.

Xie Yang stepped towards her as if he was invincible to the sharpness of her sword.

He quickly drew out his flying moonlight sword and brought its tip towards her weapon.

Her sword intent wasn't focused at one point, but Xie Yang's sword intent was only focused at the tip of his sword.

The outcome of the battle was already decided!

Clang!

The sword flew out of her hand, rotating in mid-air while descending, eventually stabbing into the ground several steps away from her.

'I need to create some distance between us!' Deng Niu thought.

Before she could retreat, though, she found something cold touching her neck.

A single look down revealed to her that it was Xie Yang's sword!

She was at his mercy and didn't dare move an inch.

"Mock? Miss, you've misunderstood me. I'm just stating the truth." Xie Yang said as he pushed his sword towards her neck.

Immediately, Deng Niu's figure turned blurry and vanished into thin air.

The next moment, she appeared on the ground outside of the arena.