Li Qingshan and Yan Beiwu had actually noticed the commotion around Jiang Hao as well.
It had ended so quickly.
The two of them were rather surprised.
Li Qingshan in particular. He had always thought highly of himself, believing that the geniuses of this barren Southern Region were nothing much and could be wiped out with a casual wave of his hand.
But what was the result?
Li Qingshan's opponent was Zhao Ge, the Flowing Sand Sect's seed. His cultivation was likewise at the peak of Hidden Force, and Zhao Ge was extraordinarily "slippery." His Movement Technique was incredibly fast, and he had constantly circled around Li Qingshan without engaging him head-on.
As a result, Li Qingshan had been unable to take down Zhao Ge for quite some time.
"Hmph."
"I had originally wanted to play around with you a little longer, but now I don't feel like it anymore."
Li Qingshan snorted coldly.
Boom.
The next moment, Li Qingshan activated his Divine Blood.
Vaguely, everyone seemed to see a gigantic bird emerge behind Li Qingshan, blotting out the sky and sun, leaving them utterly shaken.
"That is... the Divine Bird Great Roc!"
"Li Qingshan's Bloodline is actually the Great Roc Bloodline? That is a divine bird—it is Divine Blood!"
"Li Qingshan is from a Divine Blood Lineage?"
"No wonder Li Qingshan is so arrogant, thinking so highly of himself and looking down on everyone else. He is actually a Divine Descendant?"
Some of the more knowledgeable disciples and elders immediately understood Li Qingshan's identity.
A Divine Descendant!
Anyone capable of awakening Divine Blood held a certain status within a Divine Blood Lineage.
Not every descendant of a Divine Blood Lineage could awaken Divine Blood.
In truth, awakening Divine Blood was extremely difficult.
But once it awakened, the power granted by Divine Blood was terrifying.
Moreover, with Divine Blood, one could cultivate all the way to the peak of Grandmaster without encountering any bottlenecks. Below the Dao Entry Realm, one's combat power was even more overwhelmingly powerful.
With the enhancement of Divine Blood, even if one was not invincible among those of the same realm, there would not be much difference.
That was why Li Qingshan was so arrogant.
He had advanced smoothly all the way to the peak of Grandmaster.
He had few rivals among those of the same realm, so how could he possibly not be proud?
"Heh, what a Divine Descendant. But since he was driven to the Southern Region, it means he is already a peripheral figure in the Divine Blood Lineage. While Divine Descendants possess formidable combat power, entering Dao is far more difficult for them than for other martial artists."
"Without some extraordinary opportunity, it is practically impossible for Li Qingshan to Enter Dao."
The elders of the Seven Sects naturally knew some secrets about Divine Descendants.
Entering Dao was a chasm beyond reach for Divine Descendants.
It was harder for them to Enter Dao than ordinary martial artists.
Possessing Divine Blood made a martial artist powerful.
But it also made Entering Dao exceedingly difficult.
With every sip comes a peck; it was actually quite fair.
However, Entering Dao was a matter for the future.
As for now, after unleashing his Great Roc Divine Blood, Li Qingshan's speed surged dramatically. In an instant, he transformed into a streak of golden light. Before Zhao Ge could even react, he had already been blasted off the arena.
A crushing defeat!
"Li Qingshan wins!"
There was no suspense at all. Li Qingshan had won.
Jiang Hao saw this scene as well.
This was his first time seeing another person's Divine Blood.
"What incredible speed. Is this Divine Blood? It seems to be the blood of the legendary Divine Bird Great Roc."
"In the Northern Sea there was a fish named Kun, so vast that none knew how many thousand li it spanned. When it transformed into a bird, it was called Peng, its back likewise stretching for unknown thousands of li."
"The Kun and the Peng are actually two different divine beasts. The defining trait of the Peng is speed—its swiftness is unmatched. Now it seems that is indeed true. With such speed, even if I unleashed the True Intent Secret Move of my Moon Chasing Footwork, Shrink Step Into Inch, I would likely still fall short."
Jiang Hao silently compared it to his Moon Chasing Footwork.
Although the Moon Chasing Footwork was powerful—
Especially its True Intent Secret Move, Shrink Step Into Inch, which was swift to the extreme—
When compared purely in speed to Li Qingshan after he activated his Great Roc Divine Blood, it was still somewhat inferior.
That was the terrifying aspect of Divine Blood.
It was even more powerful than a Martial Skill's True Intent Secret Move.
No wonder those possessing Divine Blood dared to claim invincibility among those of the same realm.
However, although Jiang Hao's Moon Chasing Footwork was slower than the Great Roc Divine Blood in terms of speed, the difference was not great.
Unlike other martial artists, he was not completely unable to contend with it.
What was more, Jiang Hao possessed two Martial Skills at perfection. With their combined power, he might not be unable to contend against Li Qingshan.
"So Divine Blood being invincible among those of the same realm is actually a false proposition."
"If one had two, or even three or four Martial Skills at perfection, then even if the other side possessed Divine Blood, they would probably only be beaten senseless."
At that thought, a faint smile appeared on Jiang Hao's face.
He had been taking things too much for granted.
Two Martial Skills at perfection?
Even three or four Martial Skills at perfection?
It sounded easy enough, but it was incredibly difficult in practice.
How terrifying would one's Comprehension have to be?
Even Jiang Hao currently possessed only two Martial Skills at perfection.
Furthermore, he had only comprehended their True Intent through the "deduction" within the Martial Arts Divine Hall.
If Jiang Hao had relied solely on himself—
Even with Comprehension at 10, it would have taken him an extremely long time to bring the Moon Chasing Footwork and Fierce Tiger Fist to perfection.
He might even have needed an opportunity before they could reach perfection.
And that was only two Martial Skills.
Not to mention three or four.
Therefore, piling up perfected Martial Skills to crush Divine Blood was merely a theoretical possibility.
Then there was Yan Beiwu, whose opponent was Yuan Fei.
Yuan Fei was a disciple of the Flying Heaven Sect.
His strength was roughly on par with Zhao Ge's.
Yet Yan Beiwu was very patient. Without using her Divine Blood, she merely honed her Martial Skills and actually defeated Yuan Fei through the strength of her own martial path.
Of course, she took the longest time.
The unexpected result came from Leng Shang and Hu Qing.
Leng Shang was an Imperial Prince of the Great Gan Imperial Family and was considered the most outstanding Imperial Prince below Transforming Force. His strength was clearly greater than Leng Yan's.
Otherwise, Leng Shang would not have become Great Gan's seed directly.
Yet despite being so powerful, Leng Shang had actually lost.
And he had been cleanly and decisively wounded by a single slash from Hu Qing.
Jiang Hao watched the entire battle between Leng Shang and Hu Qing.
Hu Qing was the Heavenly Saber Sect's seed, so naturally, he used a saber.
The Heavenly Saber Sect pursued the utmost emotion through the saber.
To a Heavenly Saber Sect martial artist, the saber was their second life.
Clang.
Hu Qing suddenly drew his saber.
In Jiang Hao's eyes, that slash was breathtakingly beautiful.
It was filled with an ultimate sense of beauty.
Simple and direct.
Yet that simple, direct slash made Leng Shang's eyes widen, his entire body trembling.
An overwhelming sense of danger welled up in his heart.
And in truth, that was exactly the case.
Leng Shang lost.
He could not even block a single move.
"You... have comprehended Blade Intent?"
Leng Shang cried out in alarm.
Blade Intent!
Hu Qing had actually comprehended Blade Intent.
Blade Intent was, in truth, Martial True Intent.
However, because Blade Intent was related to a weapon, it was slightly different from other Martial Skills.
Blade Intent was exceedingly sharp.
Its offensive power was terrifying.
Since ancient times, there had been a saying that Blade Intent and Sword Intent were the foremost True Intents of the martial path.
In terms of attack, martial artists who had comprehended Blade Intent or Sword Intent could be said to stand above all other Martial True Intents.
So just how terrifying was Hu Qing's attack after comprehending Blade Intent?
He needed no complicated moves.
One slash was enough.
Leng Shang's loss to Hu Qing was not unjust at all!
The four matchups of the first round had ended.
Jiang Hao, Li Qingshan, Yan Beiwu, and Hu Qing had all won their first-round matches.
Although it was only the first round, the strength of all eight martial artists had essentially been revealed.
There was no need to mention Li Qingshan. He possessed Divine Blood, and his strength was formidable.
Yan Beiwu was said to possess Divine Blood as well, just like Li Qingshan, though she had yet to use it.
As for Jiang Hao and Hu Qing, both had comprehended Martial True Intent and brought one Martial Skill to perfection. Naturally, they stood above the other four.
If nothing unexpected happened, the remaining four could only compete for fifth place.
Of course, they were not entirely without hope.
After all, unexpected events could still occur.
For instance, if Li Qingshan, Yan Beiwu, Jiang Hao, and Hu Qing fought one another and suffered serious injuries, leaving them unable to win the remaining rounds, then Leng Shang and the others would have a chance.
However, Leng Shang and Leng Yan had both been defeated in the first round.
That left the host of the Seven Sects Alliance Grand Competition, the Gan Emperor, looking rather grim.
The Great Gan Imperial Family had no fewer than two seeds.
They had the greatest number.
But what was the result?
Both had suffered crushing defeats in the first round.
"The Heavenly Saber Sect has produced another genius. He mastered Blade Intent while still at Hidden Force. Perhaps he will become another Heavenly Saber seed, with hopes of inheriting the Heavenly Saber's Blade Intent in the future."
Elder Wang of the Huangtian Sect spoke.
The Heavenly Saber Sect elder smiled as well. "Elder Wang, our Heavenly Saber Sect cannot compare to your Huangtian Sect, which is brimming with talent. Passing the Ninth Floor of the Desolate Heaven Tower while still at Ming Jin—tsk, tsk, that is a future Seed of the Dao. Jiang Hao is only thirteen years old, yet he has already grasped the True Intent of a Martial Skill. It is truly unbelievable."
"How could Jiang Hao's Martial True Intent compare with Hu Qing's Blade Intent? After all, Blade Intent is the foremost True Intent!"
"What is the use of being strong now? Jiang Hao has greater potential..."
The Heavenly Saber Sect elder and the Huangtian Sect elder appeared to be modestly praising each other.
But in truth?
The two of them were exchanging commercial flattery, both secretly bursting with delight.
In contrast, the elders of the Great Gan Imperial Family, the Flowing Sand Sect, and the Flying Heaven Sect all looked rather grim.
Still, whether it was the elders of the Seven Sects or the disciples watching the battles, they all tacitly believed that Jiang Hao's True Intent could not compare to Hu Qing's Blade Intent.
If the two fought, Jiang Hao would likely be half a step inferior.
In the second round, Jiang Hao faced Zhao Ge.
In the third round, Jiang Hao faced Yuan Fei.
After the first three rounds, Jiang Hao maintained three victories in three battles and did not feel much pressure.
Those still maintaining three victories in three battles were Li Qingshan, Yan Beiwu, Jiang Hao, and Hu Qing.
During the first three rounds, these four had not encountered one another.
But the fourth round was different.
In the fourth round, Jiang Hao faced Hu Qing.
In an instant, the atmosphere beneath the arena became incomparably heated.
Jiang Hao and Hu Qing had both comprehended True Intent.
And both had won all three battles.
One was a future Seed of the Dao, while the other was the dark horse of this Seven Sects Grand Competition.
Both drew enormous discussion and attention.
Their battle this time was the highlight of the fourth round, the focus of everyone's attention!
"Junior Brother, if you can't win, don't force yourself. Just admit defeat."
Xia Hong reminded him, her tone somewhat tense.
Clearly, Xia Hong still didn't know Jiang Hao's true strength.
Even the Huangtian Sect elders did not know Jiang Hao's true strength.
Sect Master Yuan Wentian had kept news of Jiang Hao tightly under wraps and had told no one.
"Senior Sister, I won't lose!"
After saying that, Jiang Hao leaped into the air and landed directly on the arena.
P.S. I hope everyone can cast more monthly votes to raise the new book's ranking. Old Moon offers his thanks!
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