Defeat

The battle had completely exceeded everyone's expectations.

Bai Yuan wielded a blade in one hand and a shield in the other, facing twenty-five opponents alone. Somehow, he was forcing them back step by step.

Spotting an opening, Bai Yuan's blade flashed again, and another opponent was eliminated.

If his earlier fighting style had been like a wildfire sweeping across the plains, now he was steady as a mountain, meeting every change with calm.

"This won't do. His defense is airtight. We have the numbers, but our coordination is full of holes. If he finds an opening, we risk being eliminated."

With twenty-six people at the start, two had already been eliminated.

Yet right now, forget eliminating Bai Yuan—even landing a hit on him was extremely difficult.

For a moment, many began to consider retreating.

Just then, the burly warrior from earlier shouted again:

"Don't panic, everyone! No matter how strong he is, he's only Apprentice Level 8. His stamina is limited. Hold steady and wear him down. We're sure to win!"

His words were like a shot in the arm, rekindling the fighting spirit that had begun to fade.

The Martial Artists fell back, giving the eleven Psychic Masters free rein to control their Telekinetic Weapons and drain Bai Yuan's stamina as much as possible.

Seeing through their plan, Bai Yuan shook his head slightly. "Trying to run? Do you really think you're faster than me?"

Boom!

Before his words had even faded, he transformed into a Golden Flowing Light once more, his War Blade slashing through the air toward the nearest young man.

Countless blades closed in from every direction, but Bai Yuan's strike was relentless. He tore an opening through their encirclement and cut the young man down.

Then he turned and raised his shield, blocking almost all the blades pursuing him.

Though he reacted extremely quickly, several blades still grazed his body, leaving a few bloody gashes.

Fortunately, the wounds weren't deep and didn't hinder his movements.

"Don't panic, everyone! He's clearly getting anxious too! Keep it up, and victory will be ours!" The burly warrior's roar rang in everyone's ears like a war drum.

Bai Yuan furrowed his brow. The Psychic Masters skirting the edge of the battlefield were the most troublesome opponents now.

If all twenty-six opponents had been Martial Artists, Bai Yuan was confident he would have defeated them one by one by now.

Looks like I'll have to come up with some techniques suited to group battles. Taking them down one by one is far too time-consuming, Bai Yuan thought with a sigh.

The Universe Realm powerhouses watching the battle couldn't help smiling at the sight.

"Overwhelming the enemy with numbers has always been one of the simplest and most effective tactics on the battlefield."

"Indeed. I've heard that the Zerg Mother Empresses on the Outer-Domain Battlefield are terrifying. They can breed hundreds of thousands or even millions of Zerg Warriors at the same level. Now that's truly frightening!"

"That's still far beyond us. That great Immortal God laid down a rule long ago: anyone below the World Lord level isn't even qualified to enter the Outer-Domain Battlefield."

As a power with an Immortal watching over it, the Blade Clan wasn't entirely ignorant of the universe's many secrets.

But knowing about them was all they could do. Such a level was far beyond anything they could reach for now.

Spurt!

With a dull thud, a spray of blood burst across the battlefield.

Bai Yuan braved the blades raining down on him and charged forward once more, relying on his overwhelming speed. Every strike was precise and vicious, and he cut down an opponent after another at astonishing speed.

This time, however, a blade also sliced across his left shoulder, sending a thin stream of blood into the air.

Even so, he stood impassively, his cold gaze sweeping over the enemies around him.

The burly warrior's eyes lit up. "Don't panic, everyone! He's injured, which means our tactics—"

"Shut your damn mouth! I'm out of here! Whoever wants to fight can fight!"

A furious shout cut the burly warrior off. The speaker then fled toward the valley exit like a startled bird.

There was only one reason: Bai Yuan's gaze had locked onto him!

He didn't know who would win in the end, but he knew one thing for certain: if he didn't run now, he'd be the next one in trouble!

"I'm out too!"

"Ugh, what a disgrace. We couldn't even win with all of us ganging up on him."

As soon as the first person left, two more withdrew from the battle.

The others' expressions darkened.

They had originally relied on their numerical advantage, and wearing Bai Yuan down had given them at least a slim chance of winning.

But now three had left. Add the four already eliminated, and only nineteen remained.

Worse still, when Bai Yuan's cold gaze shifted to another Martial Artist, the man stiffened and turned to flee without hesitation.

Among the Psychic Masters, some had already quietly recalled their Telekinetic Weapons.

"Forget it. Once the Martial Artists are gone, we'll be next."

The other Psychic Masters nodded.

Only seven of the original fifteen Martial Artists remained, and there was no telling if a few more might run before long.

Without the Martial Artists to keep Bai Yuan occupied at close range, his speed and explosive power would make killing them—Psychic Masters—child's play.

And so, the encirclement of twenty-six finally fell apart.

Bai Yuan paid the others no mind. His gaze slowly settled on the burly warrior who had shouted the loudest.

"Brother Don't Panic, have you figured out how you're going to deal with me now?"

"Hahahahaha..." The burly warrior threw back his head and roared with laughter. But his expression changed in an instant, settling into a strained, helpless look.

"Brother, could you... go easy on me?"

"Relax. I'll do the work. You just need to calmly feel it."

Bai Yuan's brows relaxed, and he smiled as warmly as spring, while slowly raising the War Blade in his hand.

A flash of white light, and the burly warrior was eliminated.

Bai Yuan let out a long breath. This battle had been incredibly tough—and deeply frustrating.

It was like a top boxer facing a bunch of street thugs, only for the thugs to throw out all the rules and call in dozens more to gang up on him.

When you're facing dozens of people at once, even Tyson would get a thorough beating.

Fortunately, he was already evolving in Taro's direction.

"Tsk, tsk. Looks like those geniuses who've already comprehended an intent are all having a rough time."

Just as Bai Yuan had guessed, half of the geniuses who had clearly comprehended an intent before the clan's tournament had already been eliminated.

Except for a very few, the rest had all been knocked out by people ganging up on them.

They had nothing to fear in one-on-one fights, but even the fiercest tiger couldn't fend off a pack of wolves.

Elsewhere, a genius who had long ago comprehended an intent finally couldn't hold on any longer and crashed to the ground in bitter defeat.

"Damn it! If my Force Armor hadn't been disabled, how could these people have stood a chance against me?"

Facing the combined assault of seven Martial Artists and three Psychic Masters, he had managed to eliminate two of them before finally being defeated.

Without his armor, he couldn't withstand such a relentless group attack.

Comprehending an intent only made a person exceptionally strong in one particular area. It was nowhere near enough to make them invincible.

If their opponents chose to gang up on them, they naturally wouldn't give them a chance to fight one-on-one.

Either their strength had to be formidable enough, like Bai Yuan's and Bai Luoyan's,

or they had to possess abilities suited to fighting multiple opponents—or ones that were strange and difficult to defend against.