First Round

The Li Family's annual Year-End Martial Contest was the greatest opportunity for the many Li Family disciples to prove themselves.

Whoever had greater talent would receive greater favor from the Lineage! Never mind glory and wealth—so long as they remained in the Lineage, the cultivation resources they received would undergo earth-shaking changes!

Thus, at this time every year, countless branch-family disciples swarmed in like a tide, all for those scarce opportunities where there was too much monk and too little porridge.

"Who's first?"

On the martial platform, the middle-aged man known as Sixth Lord Li called out loudly. At the same time, several brawny household servants carried out a massive piece of Black Obsidian over three meters tall and more than two meters wide.

Black Obsidian! A special kind of stone found on the Blood Soul Continent, harder than diamond! Not even hundred-forged steel could compare to it. Even a powerful expert at the grand completion of Spirit Martial Tier Nine could not destroy it!

This was also an important tool used by many families and sects across the Blood Soul Continent to test the progress of their disciples.

"The old rules. Whoever can leave a palm print on the Black Obsidian passes the first test!"

Such a huge piece of Black Obsidian was worth at least a hundred thousand gold coins! Yet the wealthy Li Family used it directly as a tool to test its younger disciples instead of forging it into divine weapons.

"I'll go!"

The moment the words fell, a sturdy youth of eighteen or nineteen leaped from the crowd and landed directly on the martial platform.

"State your name." Seeing the newcomer, Sixth Lord Li nodded, his eyes as still as an ancient well as he took out a small booklet.

Li Ye looked carefully and saw that it was a Li Family genealogy. Nearly ninety percent of the clan members were recorded within it.

"Li Zhong! I just turned eighteen!"

The young man's voice rang out forcefully. Though his features were rugged, his bearing was quite extraordinary. Seeing his performance, Sixth Lord Li nodded faintly in approval. "The first round is nothing to you. Go on."

Clearly, quite a few people in the Lineage were not attending such a gathering for the first time, and their performances from previous years had been recorded.

"Sixth Lord, you flatter me! I dare not accept such praise!"

A flash of delight crossed Li Zhong's face. To be remembered by Sixth Lord Li, even if he had merely seen his name in the book, was an honor!

Didn't quite a few people below reveal envious looks?

"Ha!"

Li Zhong took a fierce breath, then threw a punch straight at the heart of the enemy, smashing it into the enormous Black Obsidian.

Only then did Li Ye see clearly that the huge Black Obsidian was covered in densely packed palm prints and fist marks, evidently left behind by countless people tested over the years.

Dong!

Li Zhong withdrew his hand. Then everyone saw a shallow fist mark appear on its surface. It was not deep, merely a thin layer, estimated at just over one millimeter.

"This Black Obsidian is incredibly hard!"

Li Ye roughly understood the situation. The force Li Zhong had erupted with just now was not weak, roughly equivalent to someone newly advanced to Spirit Martial Tier Four, yet it had only left such a shallow mark on the Black Obsidian.

"Mm, not bad. You've improved by one realm compared to last year. Go wait over there."

Sixth Lord Li nodded without changing his expression, leaving Li Zhong somewhat disappointed. He had just given it everything he had! Yet this was all the reaction he received. Still, he did not dare say anything and quietly walked to one side of the martial platform, a trace of pride on his face as he swept his gaze over the others below.

"Li Zhong was only at Spirit Martial Tier Three last year. I didn't expect him to rise by an entire realm in one year. This time, he may have a chance to challenge the top five hundred of the Lineage!"

People around them immediately began discussing it. It seemed Li Zhong was no ordinary branch-family disciple, and many knew him.

"Next!"

Sixth Lord Li still wore that same expression that revealed neither joy nor anger. One person after another stepped onto the platform. Some successfully left marks on the Black Obsidian, while others failed.

After watching more than ten people, Li Ye roughly grasped the trick behind it.

"It seems only strength at least at Spirit Martial Tier Three can leave a mark on it."

In other words, this first round alone would eliminate everyone below Spirit Martial Tier Three! It was exceedingly cruel. Based on Li Ye's survey of the several thousand people around him, at least seventy percent would be eliminated in the first round!

Very soon, several hundred people had gone up to try, but fewer than thirty had truly passed!

The result was only natural. Although the Li Family had many descendants and all of them shared the same ancestor, branch-family disciples simply could not compare with the main family in cultivation resources. On top of that, their bloodline had gradually thinned, leaving many no different from ordinary people.

Being able to condense one's own Blood Soul at around sixteen, begin cultivating, and step into Spirit Martial Tier One was already quite good.

The Li Family's annual martial contest was restricted to those aged fourteen and above but under twenty!

"Li Yanyan! Seventeen!"

A young girl leaped onto the martial platform. Her crisp, pleasant voice was like an oriole's song, making people unable to help looking at her a few times more. She was a charming young girl—not breathtakingly beautiful, but she possessed a youthful, spirited air. Amid a crowd made up mostly of men, she stood out all the more.

Li Ye was somewhat surprised to see that she was a woman.

Although everyone on the Blood Soul Continent revered martial strength, men were innately stronger than women. This was evident from the fact that among the Li Family's thousands of descendants, women accounted for less than a tenth.

Several women had gone onto the platform earlier, but unfortunately, not a single one had managed to leave a mark on the Black Obsidian.

"Not bad."

Looking at the young girl before him, Sixth Lord Li actually revealed a faint smile. Though it vanished in an instant, observant people noticed it. Li Ye was among them. Clearly, Sixth Lord Li held the girl before him in considerable esteem.

With a delicate shout, the girl chopped out with her palm, accompanied by a wave of scorching heat.

"Combat Technique!"

Someone below cried out in alarm! She had clearly used a Combat Technique!

Li Ye's heart stirred as well. This was the first person so far to use a Combat Technique. Even the weakest Combat Technique could increase one's power to some extent, and the Combat Technique in Li Yanyan's hands was clearly not a Yellow Tier Low-Grade Combat Technique!

That was why everyone cried out in surprise. Few among the branch families possessed a Yellow Tier Mid-Grade Combat Technique! Only the main family had some! Li Yanyan was clearly the daughter of someone from a branch family, so how did she possess such a Combat Technique?

Sure enough, after using her Combat Technique, Li Yanyan directly left a clear palm print on the Black Obsidian. It was almost the deepest mark anyone had made so far! It was nearly a centimeter deep, making it the most outstanding result of the day.

She proudly raised her snow-white neck and swept her gaze arrogantly over everyone.

"Hmph! It's only a Combat Technique gained by flaunting her looks. What is there to be proud of?"

Someone unknown snorted disdainfully from below, and Li Yanyan's face immediately turned cold.

"Who was that?! Step out!"

That person had not spoken loudly, but quite a few people had heard him. Amid the ensuing whispers, Li Ye also learned that although Li Yanyan came from an ordinary background—her father being a distant branch relative four or five generations removed from the main family—she had some beauty. She had hooked up with a young master of the main family and used her looks to gain quite a few benefits, including the Combat Technique she had just displayed!

As for which young master of the main family it was, Li Ye happened to see Li Xuan's livid expression in that direction and immediately understood.

Li Ye sneered inwardly. That was reality. Not just in the Li Family—other families were largely the same. Unless branch-family disciples possessed monstrous talent, they had few chances to rise. Some women relied on their own looks, seducing young masters of the main family to achieve their goals. After so many generations, there was long no question of close kinship. Moreover, this Blood Soul Continent still preserved traditions from ancient Earth—marriages that doubled up family ties, between cousins and other close relatives, were extremely common.

"If she dared to do it, can't others speak of it? Laughable! Shameful!"

It was still the same voice. Only now did everyone see that it belonged to a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old youth, whose refined face was filled with intense contempt.

"Heh, isn't that Li Ergou? I heard he and Li Yanyan had been childhood sweethearts and even had a marriage agreement. Who would have thought Li Yanyan would latch onto a young master of the main family and dump him outright? He must hate Li Yanyan to the bone now! I heard that after Li Yanyan cuckolded him, even his elderly parents died from fury, passing from this world!"

The discussions around them did not cease, and Li Ye heard every word. He did not think Li Yanyan was wrong, nor did he think Li Ergou was wrong. The only thing to blame was the cruelty of this world!

"Li Ergou! You're spewing bloody nonsense!"

"Whether it's true or not, you know it in your own heart!"

The atmosphere suddenly turned delicate. At that moment, Sixth Lord Li finally reacted.

"Enough!"

The two immediately fell silent, but they continued glaring at each other with hatred.

Naturally, Li Yanyan passed the first round without suspense. However, she was only at the peak of Spirit Martial Tier Four, not much stronger than several earlier participants. Relying on her Combat Technique, she had simply made a dazzling impression.

Afterward, Li Ergou also stepped onto the platform. He likewise displayed considerable strength and left a palm print on the Black Obsidian. However, he did not use a Combat Technique, and he was a notch weaker than Li Yanyan, only newly advanced to Spirit Martial Tier Four.

Over the course of half a day, more than a thousand people went up to try. Even more gave up the idea altogether. Most of them were below Spirit Martial Tier Three. After someone at the peak of Spirit Martial Tier Two failed to leave any mark at all on the Black Obsidian, they no longer wished to make fools of themselves and willingly became spectators instead.

"Next!" Sixth Lord Li remained calm-faced as he called out loudly.

"I'll go!"

A clear child's voice rang out. Then everyone saw a child step onto the martial platform, looking to be only around ten years old.

"Nonsense!"

Seeing who had come up, Sixth Lord Li frowned for the first time and rebuked him.

"Father, I want to try too!"

It turned out the little boy was Sixth Lord Li's son. He wore twin topknots and looked innocent and adorable, yet there was a trace of stubbornness in him.

"Get down! Stop fooling around!"

A flash of doting affection crossed Sixth Lord Li's eyes, but he still shook his head. The Lineage rules stipulated that only those who had reached fourteen years old could take the stage!