"Who are you trying to teach a lesson?"
Yan Lingji's eyes turned cold. She curled her right hand into a fist, and a cluster of shimmering white flames suddenly surged from her palm. When the flames subsided, the Vermilion South-Bright Fire Sword was in her hand.
With Zhao Linchuan's instruction, she could now use her Soul Skills without releasing her Soul Rings.
"Hmph." Tang Hao gave a cold snort. His gaze swept over Yan Lingji, a hint of disdain at the corner of his mouth. "What? You want to stand up for him?"
"So what if I do?"
Without another word, Yan Lingji gave the sword in her hand a sharp shake. Its blade rang out with a clear, crisp chime.
Her figure was like a dreamlike bubble, leaving a blurred afterimage in the morning light. She moved so fast the naked eye could barely follow her!
Tang Hao's pupils contracted. Just as he prepared to raise the Clear Sky Hammer to block, the crimson sword light was already in front of him!
"Argh—!"
A scream burst from Tang Hao.
The Vermilion South-Bright Fire Sword pierced straight into the left side of his chest. Its tip emerged from his back, trailing a spray of bright red blood.
"That's it?"
Yan Lingji turned her wrist and withdrew her sword. Her movements were crisp and clean, without a hint of hesitation.
Tang Hao groaned again and stumbled backward several steps, nearly falling to the ground.
He clutched his chest with his left hand. Blood poured relentlessly from the wound, trickling through his fingers and dripping onto the ground, where it spread into a small, dark-red patch.
He lifted his head and glared at Yan Lingji, eyes nearly bursting with fury.
"You're despicable! You ambushed me like that! How are you any different from a coward?"
"Now, that's a strange thing to say."
Yan Lingji reached out with her left hand and lightly flicked the blade with her index finger. It rang with a clear ding. With a faint, teasing smile, she said:
"Weren't you the one who summoned your Martial Soul first?"
"How was that an ambush?"
"Or is it that you, Tang Chen's dear son, are so slow on the uptake you couldn't react in time?"
"You—!"
At her words, Tang Hao's eyes instantly turned bloodshot, and he began breathing like an enraged bull.
But his chest wound made him wince in pain.
He didn't want to get tangled up with a woman. Pointing at Zhao Linchuan, he rasped, his voice nearly breaking.
"Boy! Are you really going to hide behind a woman?"
"I already am." Zhao Linchuan spread his hands, his tone full of What are you going to do about it? "If you don't like it, find yourself a woman and hide behind her."
He looked Tang Hao up and down, his gaze passing over the wound on his chest. Disdain crept into his voice.
"You can't back up your big talk, yet you still try to play the hero. You're bringing shame on your father, Tang Chen."
"Argh! You bastard! What did you say?!"
Tang Hao's eyes looked ready to split. The veins in them bulged one by one, and his entire body trembled violently.
"I said,"
Zhao Linchuan enunciated each word, clear and deliberate:
"You're bringing shame on your father, Tang Chen."
"Did you hear me this time?"
"You! You! You!"
Tang Hao pointed at Zhao Linchuan. His lips trembled, and a strange "heh-heh" rasp caught in his throat, but he couldn't get a single word out.
His body began to sway. His vision darkened, his blood surged, and he nearly fainted from sheer rage.
"Looks like Tang Chen's son isn't much either." Seeing this, Zhao Linchuan added, "Not much ability, but a real short temper. You're truly a disgrace to your father."
He turned around without sparing Tang Hao another glance.
"Let's go. We'd better not stay until he gets so worked up something happens to him. That wouldn't be good."
With that, Zhao Linchuan and the two women turned and headed into Spirit Hall's resting area.
Behind them, Tang Hao swayed unsteadily. Blood dripped from between his fingers, pooling into a small, dark-red puddle on the ground.
"Little Hao!"
"Second Brother!"
Two figures hurried over.
Tang Xiao caught the staggering Tang Hao, while Tang Yuehua supported him from the other side, her voice anxious.
"Little Hao, are you all right?"
"Second Brother, how are you?"
"I'm fine. It's just a minor wound..."
What had happened earlier was no more than a brief pre-match incident.
As the sun climbed higher, the spectator stands around the arena were packed with people, a dark mass stretching from the foot of the mountain all the way to its slopes.
About an hour later.
On the mountainside facing the arena, Qian Xunji stood at the front with his hands behind his back. Ning Fengzhi, Tang Zhen, Yu Yuanzhen, Chen Xin, and the others stood behind him on either side.
Qian Xunji glanced at the sea of people below, then at the sect leaders beside him, and gave a slight nod.
He stepped forward and spoke in a loud voice that cracked like thunder:
"Silence!"
The moment his words fell, the disorderly din vanished.
The arena, packed with hundreds of thousands of people, fell deathly silent. Only the breeze rustling through the treetops and the occasional birdcall in the distance could be heard.
Qian Xunji continued:
"The rules are simple. Might makes right!"
"There are eight platforms in the arena. Before sunset, anyone still standing on a platform will advance to the next round!"
"Now—the competition begins!"
The instant his voice fell, six Clear Sky Sect disciples led by Tang Hao and Tang Xiao shot toward six different platforms like swords drawn from their scabbards!
They moved incredibly fast. The moment their feet touched the Adamantine Rock ground, they sprang forward like arrows loosed from a bow. In the blink of an eye, they had reached the platforms and claimed six of them.
The remaining two platforms were quickly taken by two disciples of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect.
"Has the Clear Sky Sect gone mad?"
Bibi Dong raised an eyebrow, her gaze sweeping across the six platforms occupied by the Clear Sky Sect.
"Taking six platforms right off the bat?"
"Doesn't he worry he'll bite off more than he can chew?"
"They're the greatest sect under heaven," Zhao Linchuan said from beside her. "Naturally, they have to put on a show worthy of their name."
"A show?" Bibi Dong snorted. Her eyes settled on the platform where Tang Hao stood in the distance, a cold glint flashing in them. "Then I'll go see this 'greatest sect under heaven' for myself."
That bastard had just dared to disrespect her man!
She had to teach him a proper lesson!
"Dong'er..."
Yan Lingji exchanged a glance with Zhao Linchuan, then said calmly,
"I'll go see that Tang Xiao."
With that, she leaped into the air. Like a red leaf caught by the wind, she drifted lightly onto the platform where Tang Xiao stood, her toes touching down without a sound.
"Didn't you say you weren't interested in the competition?" Zhao Linchuan said with a chuckle and a shake of his head.
He drew back his gaze, scanned the arena, then walked toward one of the platforms occupied by the Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect.
In fairness, Tang Hao had been right about one thing.
Apart from Spirit Hall, the Clear Sky Sect, and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect, everyone else in this competition was bound to be a mere also-ran.
The difference in strength was right there for all to see. A surge of enthusiasm alone couldn't make up for it.
Before you continue