The professor standing outside the combat circle bowed slightly. Seeing that the professor had noted down his name, Nie Kong finally walked out of the circle, his eyes fixed on Lan Xin, smiling broadly, "Senior Sister Lan Xin, your junior brother was quite gentle and considerate, wasn't I? I only chose the softest way to send you out."

The crowd subconsciously looked toward Lan Xin. Seeing her clutching her buttocks with both hands and her pretty face flushed crimson, a massive stir erupted.

They had only just registered their astonishment that Nie Kong had won this fifth match, but hadn't yet pondered what method Nie Kong had employed. It was only then that they fully understood what that crisp snap sound from earlier had been: as Lan Xin fell from high in the air, Nie Kong had actually delivered a fierce slap right across her backside! Compared to the previous four defeated challengers, this method was indeed quite "gentle" and "considerate." This Nie Kong is truly bold; doesn't he know that a woman's backside is not for "touching"?

It must be remembered that she is the younger sister of Lan Shang, the foremost figure in the inner city! Previously, there was a young man who merely wished to take liberties with Lan Xin, and he was severely dealt with by Lan Shang. The most pitiful part was that the man only wanted to, and hadn't even managed to touch her. Yet Nie Kong not only touched her, but did so with such blatant disregard. His outcome was predictable.

While sympathizing with Nie Kong, the crowd couldn't help but feel a flicker of envy toward him. If one were to discuss the most curvaceous and alluring women in the inner city, Lan Xin would have absolutely ranked first until last year, when Bai Yuqing arrived and relegated Lan Xin to a very narrow second place.

Firstly, the rules in the inner city are extremely strict; any act of indecency toward a female fellow disciple is absolutely impermissible. Secondly, her brother is Lan Shang. A collection of hot-blooded male disciples, in their spare time away from cultivation, would only allow themselves to briefly and secretly entertain images of Lan Xin’s fiery figure in their minds; none dared to take action.

Who would have thought that the very action they only dared to imagine in their minds, Nie Kong actually accomplished! What made them most jealous was that during the exchange of blows, Nie Kong had managed to touch both of her highly prominent areas, and during a formal match, unless the act was too excessive, even the professors would not intervene.

Nie Kong's actions just now clearly had not reached the threshold of being "excessive."

"Junior Brother Nie Kong, should I perhaps thank you, Senior Sister?"

Sensing the strange gazes surrounding her, Lan Xin quickly released her hands and ground out through clenched teeth. The fiery stinging pain on her right hip made Lan Xin despise Nie Kong to the core. If she wasn't mistaken, the area Nie Kong struck would not only be swollen but likely bear the clear mark of a palm print! The extreme sense of shame and rage even made Lan Xin momentarily lose focus on the fact that she had been defeated by Nie Kong.

Nie Kong laughed, "Senior Sister Lan Xin, no need to be polite. We are all fellow disciples; even in a competition, we must not harm the camaraderie between us."

"You..."

Lan Xin nearly fainted from anger. Just as Nie Kong was about to walk into the crowd, she suddenly remembered the most important thing. "Nie Kong, what is your cultivation level exactly?"

"Forgot to mention, I reached Spirit Transformation Ninth Grade yesterday!"

Nie Kong turned back and winked at Lan Xin.

"Spirit Transformation Ninth Grade?"

The surrounding crowd gasped in unison, staring at Nie Kong’s retreating figure in disbelief. Spirit Transformation Ninth Grade—that was on par with Lan Shang and Shan Xiong! With such formidable cultivation, how could he have been suppressed by Tai Hong in the second match, struggled to win the third and fourth matches, and ended up exhausting himself to near death?

He was faking it! It absolutely had to be fake!

The crowd suddenly realized—there seemed to be no other possibility. In the fifth match, Nie Kong, who appeared utterly fatigued, suddenly became invigorated in the blink of an eye and dispatched Lan Xin outside the circle boundary with great might in an extremely short time.

At this moment, those who had been challenged by Nie Kong or had challenged him were all dumbfounded. After all this, the one they were competing against was actually a master at Spirit Transformation Ninth Grade. To be defeated by someone of this cultivation level, what grounds did they have for complaint? The four who had withdrawn earlier, and the inner city disciples who were slightly slower to act, felt a secret surge of relief. If they had rushed in front of Lan Xin, they would have been the ones disqualified from the second round.

No one knew how this Nie Kong managed to cultivate. He was only Spirit Transformation First Grade half a year ago, and after one session of secluded cultivation, he advanced by leaps and bounds to Spirit Transformation Ninth Grade! This was the highest cultivation among the current inner city disciples! There were only thirteen people in the entire inner city at this level!

"Nie Kong, this first round of competition was hardly a challenge for you at all!"

At this moment, Tai Hong, who had cursed Nie Kong earlier for bullying his sister, somehow slipped out from somewhere. He grinned widely, let out a few booming laughs, and heavily clapped Nie Kong on the shoulder.

"The second round won't be so easy!"

Nie Kong laughed, "You cooperated quite well just now."

"..."

Watching Nie Kong and Tai Hong chatting and laughing like old friends, the crowd exchanged glances. The last bit of doubt in their hearts was finally answered: all that talk about Nie Kong bullying Tai Hong’s sister, and Tai Hong deliberately draining Nie Kong’s spiritual energy—it was all bullshit! That second match between the two of them was clearly an act! It was a pity for the three inner city disciples who challenged Nie Kong afterward; they were completely set up by these two cunning fellows!

"Bastard!" Lan Xin was momentarily stunned, and the two words were squeezed out almost from between her teeth! Having learned the truth of the matter, Lan Xin hated Nie Kong even more. With the strength of Spirit Transformation Ninth Grade, why did he have to pretend to be a weakling in this competition? Wouldn't it have been simpler to just wait out the required time in the circle and move directly to the second round?

It was no wonder Lan Xin was gritting her teeth in fury. If not for the fake fight between Nie Kong and Tai Hong during the second match, she would have had a very high probability of advancing to the second round. Even if she ultimately didn't make the top ten, the points she earned would have been much more than being eliminated in the first round. Moreover, Nie Kong had taken advantage of her twice during the match, touching those very private areas!

Unfortunately, Lan Xin and most other inner city disciples did not know how Nie Kong and Tai Hong managed to obtain so many Spirit Rune Maps during that preliminary test match earlier. Otherwise, when witnessing the second match between Nie Kong and Tai Hong, they would certainly have given it more thought.

"I knew it was fake!"

Little Loli Gu Qi wore an expression of 'I knew this all along,' nodding with a beaming smile. Then, she suddenly asked with curiosity, "Sister Tai Ji, does that mean Brother Nie Kong didn't bully you, huh?"

"It was never true in the first place."

Tai Ji’s face flushed slightly, and she said helplessly, "Didn't you already know it was fake? Why are you still asking such a question?"

"That's hard to say!" the little loli chuckled mischievously.

"..."

While they were speaking, Nie Kong and Tai Hong had already arrived before them.

For these few matches, excluding Lan Xin, his opponents were not overly strong, but Nie Kong still gained quite a lot. During the exchanges, he discovered that when the Inner Core merged with his entire body, nearly every part of his physique could launch an attack against the enemy, not just his limbs.

In the fifth match against Lan Xin, Nie Kong experimented with the two skills, "Cloud Flower Four Folds" and "Floating Flower Overlapping Shadows." The results were indeed excellent. Now, Nie Kong looked forward to the second round even more. Sparring with top young masters like Lan Shang and Shan Xiong would surely yield even greater gains.

"Nie Kong, how did those two slaps feel?"

Miao Ge asked somewhat teasingly.

"The touch felt good!"

Nie Kong replied casually, then leaned closer to Miao Ge’s ear and whispered with a smile, "But compared to you, it was still slightly lacking."

Hearing Nie Kong’s words, the scenes from the Six Halls Grand Competition—when Nie Kong had carried her away while fleeing and when they were surrounded by spirit beasts—flashed through Miao Ge's mind. Her cheeks couldn't help but burn slightly, and she quickly suppressed those ambiguous thoughts, spitting lightly, "Go away! If you dare talk nonsense again..."

Seeing Gu Jing and Tai Ji looking at her curiously, Miao Ge quickly swallowed the rest of her words, coughed twice, and huffed, "Hmph. Nie Kong, do you realize that while your final move felt satisfying, you’ve also slapped yourself into big trouble? You probably don't know that her brother is Lan Shang, the foremost figure in the inner city."

"Oh?"

Although Lan Shang and Lan Xin shared the same surname, Nie Kong genuinely did not know this fact until Miao Ge mentioned it, and he showed a hint of surprise. He then smiled, "So what? Is Lan Shang going to intentionally look for trouble with me because of this?"

Nie Kong had a very good impression of Lan Shang, but not so much of Lan Xin.

In the fifth match just now, Lan Xin started with a killing move like "Azure Water Soft Silk." If Nie Kong had truly been exhausted, he would have been pierced through the body by Lan Xin’s attack instantly. While it wouldn't have been fatal, it would have meant being bedridden for some time.

This suggested that Lan Xin was definitely a ruthless character. While such a temperament wasn't necessarily bad, the fact that she directed such means towards Nie Kong naturally annoyed him, which was why he used such a unique method to slap her out of the combat circle.

"That's hard to say. I hear that Lan Shang dotes on his sister excessively?" Tai Ji said with a faint smile. "In normal times, he might not do anything to you, but the second round of competition is starting soon. If you happen to face him, you’d better be careful."

"..."

Seeing that both Tai Ji and Miao Ge were saying this, Nie Kong couldn't help but believe them. However, Nie Kong didn't take it too seriously. If he hadn't awakened his bloodline yet, Nie Kong might have been troubled, but now that he was eager to spar, why would he fear such trouble?

While they were laughing and joking, a new round of challenges had begun in that combat circle, and the contests in the other circles were still fiercely ongoing. Near noon, this first round of competition finally concluded. Only thirty inner city disciples who achieved five consecutive victories advanced to the second round. Including the top ten from last year's inner city competition, such as Lan Shang and Shan Xiong, there were forty inner city disciples participating in the second round.

Of these forty people, apart from the anomaly Bai Yuqing, who was only Spirit Transformation Second Grade, everyone else had a cultivation level of Spirit Transformation Seventh Grade or higher—every single one was an elite among the inner city disciples. It could be foreseen that these forty people would certainly engage in fierce battles during the matches.

And these contests would soon begin; the time for the second round of inner city competition was set for the afternoon!