Hundred Birds Facing the Phoenix

In the second round, Ling Xuan's opponent was the trio member Ren Yaoli.

As soon as Ling Xuan teleported onto the arena, an exaggerated wail came from across the way.

Ren Yaoli wore a mournful expression, her bright, watery eyes widening: "Heavens! Why did I have to run into a god of plague like you!"

"Hahaha." Ling Xuan chuckled faintly, "But wasn't it inevitable that we would meet sooner or later?"

"For the sake of our acquaintance, please go easy on me." Ren Yaoli made an exaggerated face, "Meeting you means I'm destined to be eliminated."

"Don't worry, you won't feel any pain." Ling Xuan brandished the Fire God Absolute Domain Blade and charged forward.

Ren Yaoli pouted, looking incredibly cute. Ling Xuan's words sounded like comfort, but every syllable felt like a jab to the lungs; it felt as if he treated killing people the same way one would slaughter a pig.

Ling Xuan's body erupted with crimson flames, the air warping and rippling from the intense heat. The Fire God Absolute Domain Blade, wreathed in scorching, heaven-burning waves, slashed toward Ren Yaoli like a streak of red lightning.

Ren Yaoli's expression shifted abruptly. She tapped her toes against the arena floor, her figure retreating rapidly like a willow catkin.

She pressed her jade-like hands together in front of her, and rays of purple light erupted from her bright eyes.

"I was planning to save this for that person Feng Lishuang, but if I don't use it now, I won't get another chance."

In an instant, the space of the arena distorted violently. Countless mirrors appeared out of thin air, and Ling Xuan's image was frantically replicated within them. Each Clone gripped a blade wreathed in black mist, their eyes flashing with eerie, ghostly light as they lunged toward the true body's sea of consciousness.

A heart-stopping pressure filled the air, as if countless invisible hands were trying to tear Ling Xuan's soul from his body.

"Myriad Flower Spirit Connection, Soul Strangling!" Amidst Ren Yaoli's sharp cry, the Clones in the mirrors struck simultaneously, and a thick, bloody scent instantly permeated the entire arena.

Ling Xuan felt a sharp pain in his sea of consciousness, as if thousands of steel needles had pierced it at once.

"Soul Suppressing Cauldron."

The ancient little cauldron deep within Ling Xuan's soul suddenly flared with brilliant light, and a soul barrier instantly expanded.

The moment those soul-piercing spikes touched the barrier, they dissipated like moths to a flame, leaving behind only faint "crackling" sounds.

Ling Xuan sneered, the flames around him suddenly surging threefold, his blade momentum increasing rather than waning: "Cheap tricks!"

He let out a loud shout, and the flaming blade aura, like a miniature sun, descended with the force of splitting heaven and earth.

The mirror surfaces shattered inch by inch under this terrifying blade aura, cracks spreading like spiderwebs. The broken mirrors refracted countless lights and shadows, illuminating the entire arena like a shattered galaxy.

Ren Yaoli's face turned deathly pale. Feeling the terrifying pressure bearing down on her, she desperately mobilized all the power in her body, attempting to condense a new defense.

But Ling Xuan was too fast. Before she could employ another tactic, Ling Xuan had appeared before her like a ghost, the tip of his blade resting against her throat, the chill seeping through her skin.

The dancing flames on the blade tip reflected her terrified face, yet there was not a ripple of emotion in Ling Xuan's eyes.

"It's over."

Ling Xuan's voice was as flat as if he were stating something perfectly ordinary.

Ren Yaoli froze in place, her heart pounding wildly in her chest. It took her a long time to find her voice: "...You call this going easy?"

"It was much gentler than you expected." Ling Xuan retracted his blade, the flames slowly extinguishing, and the residual heat in the air gradually dissipated along with them.

With a light sweep of the Fire God Absolute Domain Blade, Ren Yaoli instantly turned into a pile of data and was teleported out of the arena.

The next second, Ling Xuan's figure appeared beside her, adding a lighthearted jab: "Remember to summarize the lessons from your failure."

"Ugh~" Ren Yaoli made a fierce face at Ling Xuan before turning her head away, refusing to acknowledge him.

Aside from the battle between Ling Xuan and Cao Benqi, the fights in the other groups were quite long and intense.

In particular, the battle between Feng Lishuang and Leng Yanqiu could be described as a clash between equals.

On their arena, Feng Lishuang tapped her toes, her fiery red combat gear enveloped in scorching air currents as she took to the air. The Nine Phoenix Divine Fire Spear in her hand spat out crimson flames, the Nine Phoenix totem on the spear shaft flickering with her breathing. Leng Yanqiu's silver hair danced without wind, and the nine golden swords suspended around her flowed with the cold light of the Metal Origin Law, each vibration leaving slender golden cracks in the void.

"Illusion Sword Style!" Leng Yanqiu raised her jade hand slightly, and the nine golden swords instantly transformed into nine streaks of light, shooting out in a fan shape.

Feng Lishuang's beautiful eyes widened. She kicked off the ground, her figure flying backward like a flaming meteor while she swept the Nine Phoenix Divine Fire Spear horizontally.

The spear shaft erupted with nine crimson tongues of fire, colliding violently with the golden swords. The sound of "clanging" was continuous, and sparks showered down like a sudden rain, making the arena flicker in and out of light.

Leng Yanqiu hooked her fingertips, and two golden swords suddenly hugged the ground, darting forward like venomous snakes to strike at Feng Lishuang's lower stance.

Feng Lishuang spun and leaped, the butt of her fire spear smashing down like an iron whip, colliding with the golden swords to create blinding sparks.

She used the momentum to flip, aiming the spearhead at Leng Yanqiu.

"Nine Phoenixes Facing the Sun!"

Nine golden pillars of light shot into the sky from the spear, and the nine fire phoenix phantoms merged into a hundred-meter-long golden fire phoenix. As its wings spread, it brought a heatwave that swept across the entire arena, diving down toward Leng Yanqiu.

Leng Yanqiu's expression remained unchanged. Her slender hands traced mysterious trajectories in the air, and the nine golden swords instantly converged, forming a golden giant sword over a foot long.

"Heaven Piercing Style!" She shouted coldly, and the golden giant sword tore through the void, meeting the fire phoenix with the momentum of destroying heaven and earth.

Seeing this, Feng Lishuang brandished the Nine Phoenix Divine Fire Spear, layers upon layers of spear shadows unfolding to engage the golden giant sword in a head-on clash.

The moment the spear tip collided with the sword tip, powerful energy fluctuations caused the arena's protective barrier to ripple, as if it might shatter at any moment.

The fire phoenix's sharp claws clawed frantically at the golden giant sword, the sparks flying like brilliant fireworks, while the Metal Origin Law on the sword acted like a persistent poison, constantly eroding the fire phoenix's flaming body.

Feng Lishuang gritted her teeth, pouring all her strength into the Nine Phoenix Divine Fire Spear like a torrent. The flames on the spear shaft surged threefold, and the nine fire phoenix phantoms spun madly, transforming into a massive fire phoenix that blotted out the sky.

"Hundred Birds Facing the Phoenix!"

With her sharp cry, the fire phoenix raised its head and shrieked, slamming fiercely into the golden giant sword.

Leng Yanqiu's forehead veins bulged as she exerted all her strength to control the massive golden sword, the golden radiance erupting from its tip clashing madly against the flames of the fire phoenix.

The two sides remained deadlocked for several seconds until a deafening "boom" rang out; the massive golden sword shattered inch by inch, transforming into nine smaller golden blades that nevertheless streaked toward Feng Lishuang's position in a peculiar trajectory. The Nine Phoenix Divine Fire Spear struck out in rapid succession, its tip trembling to bloom into flowers of spear light as it attempted to intercept the golden blades.

The fire phoenix's momentum remained undiminished, slamming fiercely into Leng Yanqiu and sending her flying like a kite with a broken string, where she crashed heavily against the edge of the arena, kicking up a vast cloud of dust.

As the dust slowly settled, Leng Yanqiu lay slumped on the ground, her aura weak; Feng Lishuang knelt on one knee, gasping for breath, her delicate body marked by several sword wounds.

In this grueling battle, she had ultimately traded injury for victory.

Shortly after, both of them were teleported out of the competition arena.

With this, the top five were decided.

Yanshen Benqi

Yanmo Xuan

Phoenix Maiden Lishuang

Mad Blade

Ape Demon

The figure of Beiyan Venerable appeared as silently as a ghost. His expression was stern, and his face, usually as cold as thousand-year ice, actually managed to pull into a rare smile at this moment.

However, this smile appeared somewhat stiff and rigid, just as cold and hard as his "Beiyan" title, exuding a chill that made one's spine crawl; it would have been more natural for him to remain expressionless than to force such a smile.

His gaze was like lightning as he swept over the five people in the arena, his voice sounding as if it had traveled from the nine nether hells, carrying a hint of hoarseness and chill: "Not bad, all five of you are dragons and phoenixes among men. Furthermore, the strength of the top ten in this session is so formidable that, in any previous year, each one of you would have had the ability to contend for the championship. It is just a pity... fate is a cruel jester, and you were born in the same era."

Hearing this, everyone bowed respectfully, not daring to let out a breath, nor daring to show even a hint of complacency.

Ling Xuan also muttered in his heart: This Venerable doesn't look like someone easy to talk to; I'd better keep a low profile and focus on my own growth for now.

"Everyone, take a moment to rest. Shortly, the round-robin tournament for the top five will commence. The rules are... each of the top five must fight the other four in turn. The winner earns one point, and the champion and runner-up will be determined based on the final point totals."