Fame Spreads Like Wildfire

"Hey, have you heard? In the Blade Tomb World, there's an Apprentice eighth-rank whose strength is absolutely ferocious—lots of Apprentice ninth-ranks can't even last three moves against him."

"More than heard, I saw him with my own eyes. Lucky I ran fast."

"Oh? Then how did you get eliminated?"

"See, it was this guy next to me. But right after he eliminated me, he ran straight into that Apprentice eighth-rank."

"Ahem... who would've thought that Apprentice eighth-rank could fight like that? Three slashes and I was out."

The murmurs came from all around. Bai Kashan listened, his expression dazed.

Before his eyes, he couldn't help but picture Bai Yuan standing with his blade in hand, a bitter smile tugging at his lips.

Bai Yuan's talent and strength had long surpassed anything he could imagine.

After all, among the eliminated gathered here, the vast majority were stronger than Bai Kashan himself.

Yet even those experts were no match for Bai Yuan.

The gap between them was clear.

More importantly, the more dazzling Bai Yuan's performance, the more resources and training he would receive afterward. The distance between them would only grow.

Without some heaven-defying stroke of luck, Bai Kashan might not even catch a glimpse of his back, let alone surpass him.

Thinking this, Bai Kashan lowered his head in silence, forced to accept the reality before him.

Soon, a day passed.

Of the over ten million participants, more than seven million had already been eliminated.

The main reason was that no one was hiding—everyone was actively seeking out strong opponents to fight, which made the elimination rate so extreme.

And as the numbers dwindled, each subsequent battle gripped the spectators' attention even more tightly.

"A Special Grade Elite—in the past hundred trials, one might not even appear. For two to show up in the same trial is incredibly rare. The last time that happened was twenty thousand years ago."

"Even though they're both Special Grade Elites, there's still some gap between them. At least so far, Bai Luoyan's talent is clearly stronger than Bai Yuan's."

"Old Ning, what do you think of that kid Yuan?"

"Not bad at all. Definitely stronger than I was back in the day."

The crowd chatted and laughed, occasionally glancing at Bai Tianning. This usually stern legion commander's lips were practically curled up to his ears.

He had never married or had children, and his personal disciple had long since fallen.

Now, witnessing his own nephew shine so brightly in the clan tournament, the joy in his heart was impossible to hide.

In terms of pure talent, Bai Luoyan was indeed astonishing.

He had comprehended three Intentions at the Apprentice stage, and by the Planet Realm, he had a good chance of grasping a Domain. At worst, he would surely master it by the Star Realm.

With such aptitude, plus personal training from a World Lord, breaking through to the Universe Realm was almost certain, and even the Domain Lord Realm was well within reach.

As for the World Lord Realm, no one dared guarantee that—it would ultimately depend on his future performance and opportunities.

Bai Yuan, on the other hand, aside from his terrifying Force Amplitude, was merely excellent in other areas. His chances of reaching the Universe Realm were high, but breaking through to the Domain Lord Realm would rely on luck.

Still, Bai Tianning's heart was calm.

After all, he knew better than anyone that Bai Yuan's true talent was far more absurd than anyone present could imagine.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

At the center of the pool, two figures clashed fiercely.

Bai Guanren gripped his blade with both hands, his sword momentum like a raging storm. Each slash sent the pool water exploding upward!

He was sixteen this year, had trained longer than many of his peers, and his talent was commendable.

Apart from those true geniuses who had already comprehended Intentions, he had met few rivals on this battlefield.

But now, his opponent gave no ground.

It was a youth with a drifting figure, his blade light like a cold moon or a shooting star, slipping past Bai Guanren's heavy strikes by a hair's breadth each time.

His comprehension of Intention was extremely high—just one step away from fully entering that realm. However, his Force Amplitude was slightly inferior to Bai Guanren's, which was why the two were locked in a deadlock.

"Your blade... is too heavy!"

The opponent suddenly shouted, his body bending like a willow in the wind. His blade skimmed across the water's surface, thrusting straight at Bai Guanren's ribs.

Bai Guanren's pupils contracted. He swung his blade back in a desperate block.

Clang!

The clash of blades exploded, and both retreated simultaneously, the pool water beneath them blasting outward in a ring of white foam.

Bai Guanren panted, his eyes burning with fighting spirit.

"Again!"

He stepped forward and charged, blade light rising once more, while his opponent followed like a shadow, meeting the blade head-on.

And all of this was witnessed by Bai Yuan, who had just arrived.

"Looking at the current situation, Guan Ren has a better chance of winning. His control over the details is superior, but..."

The battle continued. As Bai Yuan had predicted, Bai Guanren's advantage grew more pronounced with each passing moment.

He pressed forward relentlessly, his blade momentum like ocean waves, layering upon each other, forcing his opponent to retreat step by step as water splashed everywhere.

"Yield already!"

Bai Guanren spotted an opening and bellowed abruptly, his war blade carrying the full force of his body as it slashed down fiercely.

If that strike landed, victory and defeat would be decided!

Yet, what Bai Yuan had feared most still came to pass.

In that instant, a clear, bright light suddenly flickered in his opponent's eyes.

The blade he swung was entirely different—speed, trajectory, and aura all transformed!

As the blade edge split the air, it carried a faint, sharp whistle, as if merging with the wind of heaven and earth.

Under immense pressure, he had at that moment completely shattered that threshold, comprehending a perfect concept!

"Not good!"

Bai Guanren's face changed drastically. He wanted to pull his blade back to defend, but it was already too late.

That breakthrough strike came faster than expected, hurtling straight toward his chest.

Just as the blade edge was about to land...

Whoosh!

A streak of golden light flashed in, colliding precisely with the opponent's blade edge!

Clang!

A crisp ringing sound rippled outward, and that killing blow was firmly blocked.

As the water ripples settled, Bai Yuan had already withdrawn his blade and stood before Bai Guanren.

He had long seen that the opponent's concept was on the verge of a breakthrough. For Bai Guanren to win, his only chance was to end the fight before the breakthrough.

Unfortunately, he had been a step too slow.

But Bai Yuan naturally wouldn't stand by and watch Bai Guanren get eliminated like this.

"Bai Yuan! It really is you!"

Recognizing the face before him, Bai Guanren blurted out, his voice full of surprise.

Earlier, when he heard people discussing how an "Apprentice eighth-rank genius" was sweeping through everything, he had vaguely suspected it—the figure and blade technique described were far too similar to Bai Yuan's.

But thinking it over, given Bai Yuan's usual performance, he found it unlikely and dismissed it as a coincidence.

Only now, seeing his friend act with his own eyes, did he truly confirm it.

That Apprentice eighth-rank who had fought his way to everyone's amazement was really this longtime friend of his.

And the opponent who had just comprehended a concept now had a slight change in expression.

He had also heard of Bai Yuan's reputation. Even though he had grasped a concept, he was absolutely no match for this man.

The name "Bai Yuan" had been repeated to him all day, thundering in his ears.

Sharp Metal Concept, Man-Blade Unity... The strength represented by these terms was far beyond what someone who had just comprehended a concept could contend with.

Especially from that last strike—the moment their blades touched, he had clearly felt that power, laced with a hidden sharpness.

There was no need to test further. His opponent's strength was definitely above his own.