The Grand Curtain Rises

Without the Dream God Realm, even with the wisdom of Saint Lin Huang, he couldn't have imagined how to hold a martial arts tournament with over three billion participants.

But with the Dream God Realm, everything became simple.

There was no opening ceremony, no performances. At ten in the morning on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the first preliminary match of the First Martial Arts Tournament began right on time.

Without a sound, the arena beneath Lin Huang's feet changed. His boots found solid ground, and a majestic volcano appeared before him, billowing smoke and blazing with fire that lit the sky. The ground shuddered now and then, and then a streak of fire would shoot skyward, followed by rolling lava, flames, and boulders tumbling down to shake the earth. Terrifying fissures split the ground.

"First preliminary match. Map: Volcano Valley. Battle of a thousand. Ends when a hundred survive."

And so the First Martial Arts Tournament began, simple as could be, without even a set of rules.

Lin Huang's thoughts stirred. Instinctively, he was about to spread his soul power over the entire arena, but quickly abandoned the idea. If he used the soul power of a Saint, there would be no point in taking part in the First Martial Arts Tournament.

"A Saint's soul, a General Rank state of mind, and Marquis-Sealing methods. Three Holy Mothers, you really underestimated me." Thinking of the Three Holy Mothers' assessment of him, Lin Huang shook his head, clasped his hands behind his back, and began his first preliminary match.

Qianshan Huo had concealed himself beneath a fissure, his whole body buried under searing volcanic ash. He didn't move a muscle.

The volcanic ash was hot enough to burn a person to cinders, but it wasn't too dangerous for Qianshan Huo.

He cultivated the fire path and had reached minor mastery of the Divine Body. Though his cultivation was only at the mid-stage of Marquis-Sealing, he was confident he could fight even the seeded contestants.

"It's a pity I started so late. If I'd met my master three years earlier, would I only be at the mid-stage of Marquis-Sealing now?" Qianshan Huo was indignant. He considered himself a genius and had encountered many lucky breaks, but he had started too late. His cultivation lagged behind that of the seeded contestants. Otherwise, he was sure his skills would have earned him a place among the two hundred seeds.

"But perhaps this is for the best. I'm on the verge of a breakthrough. I'll fight my way through the preliminaries, step by step, and become the tournament's greatest dark horse. Then I'll make my name known throughout the world in one stroke."

As Qianshan Huo turned the thought over in his mind, his face suddenly tightened. He sensed a stir above him. Still as a mountain until the moment he struck, then fierce as fire, he rose and drew his blade. A dazzling flash cut through the air. His opponent hadn't even seen his face before Qianshan Huo cleanly split him in two with one slash. Flames surged around the body, reducing it to ash in an instant.

Satisfied with that slash, Qianshan Huo's figure flickered. He moved to another spot and hid beneath the thick volcanic ash once more.

"This move, Burn the Eight Wildernesses. Master said it already has eight-tenths of his spirit. I wonder how it compares to Feng Dao's." Qianshan Huo murmured, then carved a horizontal stroke into the hilt of his blade, completing one stroke of the tally.

One stroke represented one enemy slain. The tournament had been underway for barely ten minutes, and Qianshan Huo had already killed fifteen people.

"Who'll be next?" Qianshan Huo sneered, held his blade to his chest, and waited in silence.

Lin Huang wandered at ease. Volcano Valley looked small, but its ravines crisscrossed, and terrifying, searing lava lakes dotted the landscape. The next volcanic eruption, which came every quarter of an hour, was nearly due, yet Lin Huang still hadn't encountered a single person.

With his Saint-level soul power suppressed, Lin Huang's senses had dulled considerably. For a moment, he had no idea which way to go.

"My methods really are too limited." Lin Huang began to recognize his weakness. The downside of having risen to the heavens in a single leap was laid bare once he deliberately suppressed his soul power.

"To think that I, a dignified being who attained Saint Rank, have no way to sense or investigate anything besides using my soul. If word got out, it would be a real disgrace."

Lin Huang muttered to himself and stopped walking. For the first time, he began to face the shortcomings in his own abilities.

"Eight o'clock. Ten zhang away." Qianshan Huo's eyes flew open as he sensed an enemy approaching and prepared to strike.

"Rumble!"

With a deafening roar, the majestic volcano erupted. Flames soared into the sky as lava and boulders came tumbling down, shaking the heavens and earth.

Lin Huang stopped to think. Seeing a boulder wreathed in towering flames hurtling toward him like a meteor, he didn't dare delay. He shifted his feet, about to dodge out of its path.

"Now!"

Qianshan Huo sprang into action. He opened with his signature move.

"Burn the Eight Wildernesses! Die!"

The breathtaking slash came at just the right moment. As Lin Huang dodged the boulder, Qianshan Huo seized his opening, his sense of timing honed to perfection. His blade swept out, carrying fire from the eight wildernesses and sealing off every angle of escape.

He held nothing back. When his blade came out, it would burn the eight wildernesses to ash.

"What?!"

The sudden slash swept out with the momentum of Burn the Eight Wildernesses, scorching heaven and earth. Its terrifying heat reached Lin Huang's brow in an instant.

Instinctively, Lin Huang's thoughts stirred, and he was about to crush the attack with his overwhelming soul power. But he stopped himself, narrowly evaded the blow to his brow, and struck out with his palm, meeting the blade head-on.

"Overestimating yourself! Die!" Qianshan Huo sneered. He drew a breath and roared, his divine power surging. A hundred-foot blade of light erupted, divinity hidden within the blade, like the sun, like a volcano—bursting forth to burn the eight wildernesses.

Clang!

With a soft ring, Lin Huang and Qianshan Huo stood back to back.

Lin Huang furrowed his brow and looked at the shocking gash in his palm. The scorching blade force still rampaged through it, tearing up flesh and cutting deep to the bone. The slash had come within a hair of cutting off his entire right hand.

"You're still alive? Your Divine Body must be quite strong." Qianshan Huo was a little surprised, but soon dismissed him with a sneer. "You'll die with my next slash!"

As soon as he spoke, Qianshan Huo turned, drew his blade, and slashed backhanded.

"Wildfire Raging Across the Plains!"

Qianshan Huo was very pleased with this slash.

"To die beneath this move is enough to let you rest in peace. Die!"

His wrist flicked, and Qianshan Huo's single blade became a thousand. A thousand mountains, a thousand fires, crisscrossing and surging back and forth—one slash, and wildfire swept across the plains.

Lin Huang slowly raised his head. His eyes flickered as he looked at Qianshan Huo. He lifted his wounded right hand, and for once, anger stirred in him. "How could I be this weak?"

After saying those words, Lin Huang fell silent and suddenly threw a punch. He had learned this punch from the intent of the Sage of Zhongnan who had mastered the earth.

With one punch, he took command of the earth. Wildfire might sweep the plains and burn the grass, but how could it burn the earth?

"Good! Good! Good! You're a worthy opponent!" Qianshan Huo laughed, delighted to find such a worthy adversary. Since one slash hadn't brought Lin Huang down, he struck again. "No Ghost or God Left Behind!"

This was the ultimate killing move that Qianshan Huo himself had yet to master. With one slash, no ghost or god would be left behind. It was overbearing, capable of crushing all before it.

Lin Huang said nothing. He opened his fist, formed a seal, then brought his palm down. This palm was modeled on the Heaven-Turning realm of one of the Sages of Zhongnan.

With a boom.

Lin Huang didn't move an inch. Qianshan Huo staggered back three steps, his blood surging, his face alight with even greater excitement.

"Take another slash!"

After their brief exchange, Qianshan Huo knew at once that Lin Huang was a formidable foe. He grew cautious and stopped using moves he hadn't mastered. He swung his blade in a simple slash, one he had practiced thousands of times in the Lava Lake.

This slash was Fire-Slaying.

Lin Huang's face remained expressionless, but the flicker in his eyes betrayed his shock and humiliation. As Qianshan Huo charged at him with another slash, Lin Huang sighed. "So I really am this weak."

The Three Holy Mothers had told him long ago that he had Saint Rank cultivation, a General Rank state of mind, and Marquis-Sealing methods, but Lin Huang hadn't taken their words to heart.

Until now. Until this very moment.

Only now did Lin Huang abruptly realize that if he suppressed his Saint-level soul power, he was so weak he could barely hold his own against Qianshan Huo. An overwhelming sense of shame and anger surged within him.