Taihe Peak was the first to arrive. They had waited at the tournament grounds for over an hour before Sect Master Qi Xiaotian finally arrived late with the experts of Heaven-Connecting Main Peak.
All the Headmasters in the stands rose at once. Even the more than three thousand disciples from the surrounding peaks who had come to watch all bowed in unison.
"Greetings, Sect Master!"
Qi Xiaotian said with a smile, "It is time once again for the Thirty-Three Peaks Martial Arts Tournament. I hope each main peak can achieve rankings they find satisfactory..."
Qi Xiaotian went on and on with his opening remarks, but Han Fei noticed several young people beside him.
"It's her..."
Han Fei spotted Qi Xuanxuan standing beside Qi Xiaotian at a glance.
"So that's Saintess Qi Xuanxuan? She's truly stunning."
"Stop dreaming. She's the Sect Master's Daughter. How could people like us ever reach her?"
All kinds of discussion arose around them.
Qi Mengyu sighed as well. "The Saintess is far too beautiful. Even I, another woman, am jealous to death."
Wei Ying said, "Yeah, she's really beautiful. Her background is powerful too. Maybe this is what they call perfection."
Han Fei sighed. "You only see her glamorous appearance. How could you understand how lonely she is? No friends, no fellow disciples. Her prestigious family background doesn't allow her to be weaker than anyone else."
"So in her world, there should be nothing but cultivation. This kind of life may not suit everyone. At the very least, I couldn't accept it."
Han Fei did not know why he had said such things. Perhaps it was more out of sympathy. He had talked with Qi Xuanxuan for an entire night and understood her experiences fairly well. Deep down, he had already regarded Qi Xuanxuan as his friend.
Third Senior Brother Heran said in surprise, "Little Junior Brother, you seem to know the Saintess quite well. Don't tell me you fantasize about her all the time?"
The others burst out laughing as well.
Du Kun added, "Although your talent is not bad, Little Junior Brother, and you possess a Supreme Spiritual Root, you wasted too much time. Now that you want to catch up, it seems a little late. Look at Fu Jiahao back then. Now he is dressed in splendor, and his status is already beyond comparison to ours."
Han Fei could not be bothered to respond to them. To put it bluntly, they were simply bitter.
But suddenly, Han Fei sensed an unfriendly gaze. It came from Fu Jiahao, standing on Qi Xiaotian's other side.
Fu Jiahao wore a white robe and stood with his hands behind his back. He gave Han Fei a faint smile.
They had grown up together and entered the Tianyuan Divine Sect together, yet their relationship was no longer good. Han Fei did not know why. Ever since Fu Jiahao had risen to prominence, he had treated Han Fei like an enemy. As far as Han Fei remembered, he had never done anything to wrong him.
Fu Jiahao muttered under his breath, "You and I both have Supreme Spiritual Roots, yet our achievements are worlds apart. Are you angry? Don't worry, I won't make things easy for you. Ever since we were children, I was the one looking up to you. From now on, I'll make you keep looking up to me, even come begging to curry favor with me."
After Qi Xiaotian finished his opening remarks, he announced the rules for this year's Thirty-Three Peaks Martial Arts Tournament.
"Other than Tongtian Peak, which has ten slots, every other main peak has five participants. There are one hundred and seventy people in total."
"The one hundred and seventy participants will fight in pairs, leaving eighty-five to enter the second stage. Fu Jiahao will then join, making eighty-six participants in total, and forty-three will advance to the third stage. After that, Qi Xuanxuan will join, and twenty-two will advance to the fourth stage."
"The fourth stage is where it gets interesting. After eleven people are decided, the arena battles will begin. They will fight the others in succession, and the rankings will be determined by the number of victories. The top ten will all receive generous rewards. Naturally, the higher the ranking, the more enticing the reward."
After the rules were announced, Han Fei had not expected that he would be the first to take the field.
Seeing Han Fei's surprised expression, Daoist Sanyuan explained, "All participants are ranked from the bottom upward. That also prevents the gap in strength from being too great."
Han Fei let out a breath. "Got it. Then I'm heading down."
With that, Han Fei circulated his spiritual energy and leaped directly down from the stone pillar.
His opponent was Lin Shu, the seventh-ranked Head Disciple of Giant God Peak.
Lin Shu had already entered the arena ahead of him. Nearly a hundred Giant God Peak disciples were watching, and they cheered for Lin Shu in unison, their voices shaking the sky.
The disciples from several neighboring main peaks discussed the difference in strength between the two.
"I've heard of Lin Shu. He only rose to prominence three years ago. His Mid-grade Spiritual Root suddenly became a High-grade Spiritual Root, and his cultivation began advancing by leaps and bounds. In just three years, he reached the Seventh Level of the Innate Realm. He holds considerable prestige at Giant God Peak."
"Have you heard of this Han Fei?"
Several companions beside him shook their heads.
"He should be a nobody. His cultivation is only at the Sixth Level of the Innate Realm, a whole minor realm below Lin Shu."
"Ah, it seems Taihe Peak is still the same this year. They have no talent capable of shouldering great responsibility."
In the Tongtian Peak stands, Qi Xuanxuan froze briefly when she saw Han Fei enter first, then revealed a faint smile. "It's actually you first. Good luck!"
Lin Shu cast Han Fei a disdainful glance. "Your Taihe Peak has fewer and fewer capable people. I was originally wondering whether I could fight an opponent from Taihe Peak at my level, or even one level higher, but now it seems..."
After sighing softly, he continued, "Just admit defeat yourself. I can't be bothered to make a move against you."
Han Fei shook his head helplessly. "Are you going to fight or not? Why so much nonsense? Don't you know we're both at the bottom? Otherwise, would we have been sent out first? Where does your sense of superiority come from?"
Han Fei's retort made Lin Shu's face flush red. Waves of laughter erupted from the surrounding spectators, deepening Lin Shu's hatred even further.
"Kid, you're fucking courting death."
He had already made up his mind to make Han Fei pay a painful price.
Filled with anger, Lin Shu charged straight at Han Fei.
Lin Shu had only just raised his right arm and had not even drawn a weapon. In his eyes, using a weapon against Han Fei would have been an insult to himself.
At that moment, Han Fei's figure gradually became illusory. In that instant, Lin Shu was the first to notice it.
"An afterimage?"
Bang! Before Lin Shu could react, Han Fei's right leg had already swept across his face.
The sound of force exploding rang out. Lin Shu then flew backward and crashed heavily onto the ground.
Only then did Han Fei's afterimage completely disappear.
Han Fei walked toward the Taihe Peak stands with a look of disdain, muttering from the corner of his mouth, "A whole load of nonsense. What a fucking waste of time."
There were more than three thousand people in the entire venue, yet not a single sound could be heard. Everyone was unusually silent, eyes wide as they stared at the unbelievable scene that had just unfolded.
Qi Xuanxuan was the first to recover. She let out a soft laugh.
"He really did have something to rely on. No wonder he looked so confident that day."
Fu Jiahao beside her reacted completely differently.
Fu Jiahao narrowed his eyes. He was the one who least wanted Han Fei to rise again. He did not want to be suppressed by Han Fei once more, nor did he want to bow and scrape before him again. At this moment, killing intent arose within him. He wanted to get rid of Han Fei.
More than a dozen breaths passed before the entire venue finally erupted, discussions rising one after another.
Even Sect Master Qi Xiaotian was somewhat surprised. He hurriedly asked the steward beside him about Han Fei's identity and background.
Lin Shu lay in the arena for more than a dozen breaths before his body moved. He slowly tried to rise, but with his legs bent at such an angle, it was hard not to doubt whether he could stand at all.
By then, Han Fei was nearly at the edge of the square when the Elder Judge called out to him.
"Han Fei, Lin Shu has not yet lost his ability to fight. The match is not over."
Han Fei stopped and tilted his head slightly, wearing an expression full of confidence. "Can he even stand up? I have no grudge against him. I don't want to kill him. Just declare it over."
As soon as Han Fei finished speaking, Lin Shu collapsed completely, declaring Han Fei's victory as well.
Nearly a hundred Taihe Peak disciples immediately erupted in excited cheers. In the stands, Daoist Sanyuan smugly glanced at Daoist Yiyuan. This match had truly been satisfying for Daoist Sanyuan.
Qi Mengyu and the others clenched their fists, all looking delighted. No matter how much they disliked Han Fei, they were now on the same side, united against outsiders.
"My god, where did this kid come from? He took down an opponent a whole level above him in one move. That's terrifying."
"Did the sect make a mistake? Is this kid from Tongtian Peak? Did Tongtian Peak secretly lend a genius to Taihe Peak?"
Words like these spread constantly through the crowd, rapidly spreading Han Fei's name.
After all, anyone who won a match in the Thirty-Three Peaks Martial Arts Tournament could probably rank among the top hundred out of the sect's tens of thousands of people. Such strength was worth getting to know.
What was more, Han Fei had instantly defeated his opponent with a single kick. Compared with an ordinary fight, this kind of victory was far more spectacular.
Before you continue