“This is Junior Brother Xun, who only entered the sect a few years ago!”
“Rumor has it that this junior brother possesses the Heavenly Yang Fire Vein. I wonder if it’s true?”
“The Xun family is one of the most renowned cultivation clans in our Xi Kingdom! He must have quite a few powerful magical artifacts on him!”
“Who is that junior brother surnamed Han? I don’t recall seeing him before. Did he just join the sect in recent years?”
“That guy Han Li is in for some bad luck, running into such an opponent!”
…
Before the match even began, a flurry of murmurs, despite the barrier of the protective formation, clearly reached Han Li’s ears.
“Heavenly Yang Fire Vein?” Han Li’s expression flickered slightly upon hearing this, and he studied his opponent with interest. Aside from being strikingly handsome, the young man’s cultivation was also impressive—around the twelfth layer of Qi Refinement.
The white-robed youth opposite him, seeing Han Li’s unremarkable appearance and cultivation level—barely at the tenth layer of Qi Refinement—flashed a trace of disdain in his eyes. However, he still offered a polite salute on the surface.
Han Li curled the corner of his mouth in response, inwardly sneering before casually cupping his hands in return. The white-robed youth’s face darkened slightly with irritation.
At this moment, the gaunt elder overseeing the match finally spoke indifferently, “Begin!”
Hearing this, a fierce glint flashed in the white-robed youth’s eyes. He immediately formed hand seals, and flames flickered around his body as a scorching, crystalline barrier materialized around him. Then, with a wave of his hand, a red orb the size of an egg floated into his palm. Chanting incantations, he prepared to activate the artifact and attack Han Li.
Watching this familiar combat style, Han Li couldn’t help but feel a twinge of exasperation.
Meanwhile, gasps erupted from the spectators outside the arena.
“Look! Junior Brother Xun truly lives up to his Heavenly Yang Fire Vein—he can instantly conjure a fire barrier without talismans!”
“That’s nothing! The orb in his hand is the famous Flame Wave Orb of the Xun family. The guy opposite him is doomed. The match might be over in an instant!”
Han Li’s expression remained unchanged, though a hint of mockery flickered in his heart. Unhurriedly, he reached into his storage pouch and pulled out a thick stack of talismans—thirty or forty in total.
He glanced up at his opponent, who was fully focused on activating his artifact, completely ignoring Han Li’s actions, as if utterly confident in his barrier.
Seeing this, Han Li didn’t hold back. Rubbing the talismans between his hands, he flung them all forward in one motion. A burst of red light later, thirty or forty fist-sized fireballs shot out in a dense swarm, hurtling toward his opponent.
“Ah!” A chorus of shocked exclamations erupted from the spectators.
At this moment, the Flame Wave Orb in the white-robed youth’s hand had just begun to ignite, ready to be unleashed. Just as he was reveling in his imminent victory, the sudden outcry from the crowd made him glance up in confusion—only to see dozens of fireballs simultaneously crashing into his barrier.
A series of deafening explosions erupted, blinding red light flashing before his eyes, rendering him nearly sightless. His crystalline barrier lasted only a few seconds before shattering under the onslaught.
As the scorching flames surged toward him, threatening to engulf him completely, the so-called prodigy of the Heavenly Yang Fire Vein—who had been meticulously groomed by his family since childhood—found himself facing a life-or-death situation for the first time. His face paled in terror, and he instinctively turned to flee.
But at the critical moment, his collar suddenly tightened, and his body was yanked into the air just as the flames surged beneath him.
Heart still pounding, the white-robed youth turned his head to see the gaunt elder gripping the back of his robe with one hand.
“Han Li of Tianquan Peak wins,” the elder announced coldly.
Only then did the youth realize he had lost—and to the most basic fireball talismans, no less. His face turned deathly pale.
As for the other spectators, after their initial shock, they exchanged bewildered glances. Even though fireball talismans were the simplest of low-grade talismans, each still cost at least one spirit stone.
Yet this guy had just thrown out thirty or forty in one go—equivalent to thirty or forty spirit stones wasted in a single match. This wasn’t just extravagance; it was outright recklessness. After all, a decent low-grade artifact cost about the same. Had this guy really bankrupted himself just to win an internal sect match?
Under the strange gazes of the other Falling Cloud Sect disciples, Han Li gave the gaunt elder a slight bow before calmly stepping out of the barrier.
Meanwhile, the white-robed Xun youth glared hatefully at Han Li’s retreating figure, seething with resentment. But under the elder’s icy stare, he had no choice but to leave the arena in defeat.
With his first match concluded, Han Li had no interest in watching the remaining battles and simply returned to his quarters.
The first round of matches concluded two days later, with many thrilling duels leaving the Falling Cloud Sect disciples buzzing with excitement.
Han Li’s match, where he had overwhelmed his opponent with dozens of low-grade fireball talismans, naturally left many speechless—and envious. Most assumed he must hail from a wealthy clan to afford such extravagance.
All in all, the match did earn Han Li a bit of notoriety, making him somewhat recognizable among the disciples.
For the second round, Han Li was scheduled early—on the afternoon of the first day. When he stepped into the arena again, calm as ever, murmurs immediately arose among those who had witnessed his previous match.
“That’s the guy from Tianquan Peak! Last time, he threw out dozens of talismans to win.”
“Seriously? He looks so unremarkable. How could he not care about the cost?”
“Huh? I don’t recall any major Han cultivation clans in Xi Kingdom. Maybe he’s from another country?”
Han Li ignored the chatter, his expression unchanged as he studied his new opponent—a fresh-faced young man of seventeen or eighteen, dressed in a simple blue robe with only a storage pouch at his waist. The boy’s youthful face was tense as he stared at Han Li, clearly having overheard the whispers.
Frowning slightly at his youthful adversary, Han Li reached for his storage pouch the moment the cold command “Begin!” rang out.
At the same time, the young disciple opposite him acted first, flinging two gleaming ice spikes toward Han Li with a flick of his wrists. Then, with a flash of green light, he dashed forward like the wind, using a lightness technique to close the distance.
Mimicking Han Li’s previous tactic, he had used two ice spike talismans to disrupt Han Li’s attack before charging in for close combat.
Han Li was momentarily taken aback before chuckling. With a casual sidestep, he dodged the ice spikes.
As the young disciple lunged at him with a triumphant expression, raising a hand glowing with yellow light, Han Li’s figure blurred—vanishing without a trace using the Misty Step technique.
The young disciple stumbled forward, shocked to find his target gone. The yellow glow in his hand dimmed, revealing a net-like artifact.
Before he could even locate Han Li, a sharp pain exploded at the back of his skull. Darkness swallowed his vision, and he collapsed unconscious.
“Han Li of Tianquan Peak wins!” The gaunt elder announced calmly, though a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.
Han Li had reappeared behind his opponent in an instant, delivering a single, precise chop to the neck to knock him out.
A few disciples hurried into the arena to check on the unconscious youth. After confirming he was unharmed, they carried him away under the elder’s nod of approval.
The spectators erupted into murmurs once more.
“Did you see that? How did that junior brother from Tianquan Peak appear behind his opponent so fast? That’s unbelievable!”
“Idiot, that wasn’t a spell—it’s a martial arts movement technique from the mortal world. Though I’ve never seen one so refined before!” Some of the more experienced Falling Cloud Sect disciples recognized the origin of Han Li’s technique.
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