Overlord Body! (Part One)

The old rule applied: first blood lost.

Those few words rolled through everyone's mind. They were more than a slogan; they were an iron law built on countless Martial Cultivators' severed fingers, blinded eyes, and even lives.

This was no sparring match that stopped short of injury, nor a game to decide a winner. It was the boundary stone between life and death.

Li Xiang had practiced with Ye Qingyao. He knew all too well what that rule meant.

What kind of genteel contest was this? They were dancing at the gates of the Halls of the Kings of Hell.

Two people, four blades, barely a foot apart, with their arms locked together at every moment.

At that distance, drawing blood often meant death was not far behind.

"Who do you think is stronger?"

The oppressive atmosphere could not hold back the spectators' restless curiosity forever. Whispers spread through the crowd like a rising tide.

"Do you even have to ask? Miss Ye, of course." A young Martial Cultivator's face flushed. "Who does that fellow from the Great Desert think he is? He reeks of dirt, yet he dares compare himself to Miss Ye?"

"Not so, not so."

An older Wanderer beside him shook his head. "You youngsters only look at pretty faces. Ma Teng has a fearsome reputation as the Young Spear Champion in the northwest. He's certainly no weakling."

"What good is a reputation? Knife-Clasping Hand-Wrestling is about technique and a keen eye, not who can shout the loudest."

"Hmph. We'll see..."

Most of the spectators' arguments came down to personal preference.

To understand what truly mattered, one had to look at the Martial Cultivator masters seated on either side.

Liu Beixuan, head of the True Martial Gate's Martial Arts Hall in Riverside, held a teacup in his