Zhou Qiong picked up the immortal peach and took a bite. It melted in his mouth, and he immediately felt a stream of Spiritual Qi rush straight into his abdomen before spreading throughout his body, strengthening it.
Zhou Qiong finished the immortal peach in a few bites. A cracking sound rang out within him, and his presence changed slightly before swiftly subsiding. It happened so quickly that no one present sensed it. Few had even noticed anything unusual about the immortal peach he had eaten, taking it for an ordinary exotic fruit. Only Elder Mu looked at Zhou Qiong with a trace of puzzlement.
An attribute panel appeared in Zhou Qiong's mind.
Character: Zhou Qiong (Zhou Wudi) Position: Demon Sect leader Cultivation: ninth layer of Profound Understanding (possesses the presence of the ninth layer of Eternal) Martial arts: Demon God Scripture, Firmament Life and Death Hand, Gods and Devils Eye, second layer of Heaven-Devouring Demon Art Mount: Demon Dragon Flying Carriage
A single peach had raised Zhou Qiong's cultivation by a minor stage. Had his foundation not been so deep, he might have advanced even further. This showed just how precious the immortal peach was.
Zhou Qiong cast a long, searching look at Elder Mu. He had to get his hands on these peaches-even the peach tree itself. They would be an enormous help in strengthening the Demon Sect. Sitting in the seat of honor, Elder Mu suddenly felt a chill run through his body. He seemed to have just sensed someone harboring ill intentions toward him, but he had no idea who it was.
By now, four seeded contestants had emerged from the duels on the fighting platform. A mysterious fluctuation seemed to linger over it, restricting every contestant's cultivation to the first stage of Profound Understanding. An enormous protective barrier also kept all the aftershocks of their attacks within the arena.
The girl in red declared, "Good! The qualifying rounds are over. Each major faction will now send its own representative to fight the seeded contestants. The final six victors will earn the right to enter the secret realm!"
Each faction seated above sent someone to participate, and Zhou Qiong sent Liansheng as well. The eight representatives of the major factions and the four seeded contestants began drawing lots for one-on-one matches. Each would fight three times, and the six with the most victories would advance.
At that moment, Xuan Yi approached Zhou Qiong and whispered a few words into his ear. Frowning, Zhou Qiong looked toward the arena. A young swordsman was fighting an ox-headed man. The youth's swordplay was exceptionally exquisite, and he had completely suppressed his opponent.
But that was not what caught Zhou Qiong's attention. What drew his eye was the ring on the youth's right hand. Had Xuan Yi not reminded him, he would almost have forgotten Zhao Li. He had originally intended to kill him back on the Cangwu Continent, but unexpectedly, Zhao Li had ascended to the upper realm ahead of time.
His cultivation had already reached the fifth stage of Profound Understanding. As expected of a protagonist with an old grandpa, he leveled up fast. It seemed Zhou Qiong needed to find an opportunity to eliminate him as soon as possible.
"Ah! You damned pervert!" A shriek rang out in the arena. A woman dressed in red, with a fox's tail, covered her face and screamed. A sword wound stood out starkly across her face, bleeding without pause.
Opposite her stood a man in red robes. He slowly withdrew his sword and walked off the fighting platform, saying coldly, "Under normal circumstances, you would already be a corpse."
A treant referee nearby called out, "Liansheng of the Demon Sect wins!"
The matches continued. The red-clad woman who had been pouring wine beside Elder Mu also entered the competition, representing the Flower Clan. Her true form was a red rose, and her mastery of throwing knives had reached a miraculous level. She actually won two consecutive matches, only narrowly losing her third to Zhao Li.
The Sword Sect's representative was none other than Ximen Di's senior sister, Ye Qing. Unfortunately, she faced Zhao Li and Hua Meigui in her first two matches and lost outright.
The seeded contestants from the minor factions were merely going through the motions and showing their faces before Elder Mu. They neither intended nor dared to compete for the right to enter the secret realm!
After four hours of dueling, four victors had been selected in the square: Lanyu Ting of the Blue Rain Clan, Hua Meigui of the Flower Clan, Niu Kui of the Ox-Headed Clan, and Gui Qi of the Ghost Clan.
The remaining two were Liansheng and Zhao Li, who represented the Great River Gang. Both had won two matches and could have advanced directly, but Zhao Li refused, insisting on fighting Liansheng.
The treant referee announced, "The final match will be between Liansheng of the Demon Sect and Zhao Li of the Great River Gang. Regardless of the outcome, both will qualify to enter the secret realm."
The two stood on opposite sides of the arena. Zhao Li stared at Liansheng with hatred on his face. "Do you remember the Jade Dragon Sword Sect your Demon Sect wiped out? I was a disciple of the Jade Dragon Sword Sect. Today, I'll avenge them. First I'll kill you, then Zhou Qiong, until I've killed every last member of the Demon Sect."
Liansheng tapped the sword in his hand and said coldly, "The Jade Dragon Sword Sect? Perhaps. The sects our Demon Sect has destroyed are as numerous as the stars. Who knows which one you mean? You want revenge against our Demon Sect? I doubt you'll even live through today."
Liansheng gave Zhao Li no chance to speak again. His sword became a streak of sword light that instantly swept toward Zhao Li. Zhao Li raised his sword to block, and sword light filled the arena in an instant. Their swords moved faster and faster, until it seemed that only the sound of their blades clashing remained.
The longer Zhao Li fought, the more uncomfortable he became. Ever since obtaining the Sword God's inheritance, he had never met his match within the same realm and could even fight opponents above his realm. Yet although Liansheng was clearly in the same realm as him, he could not defeat him at all. Instead, Liansheng's reckless, life-disregarding fighting style had him scrambling.
From his seat, Shangguan Yun took a long look at Liansheng as he fought. "What vicious swordplay. No defense whatsoever. Ruthless toward his enemy, and just as ruthless toward himself!"
A strange scene unfolded in the arena. Liansheng's disregard for his own life had driven both men to put their lives on the line.
"Bixie Swordplay, seventy-two forms as one!"
"Sword Slashes the Firmament!"
An immense shock wave made even the arena's protective barrier tremble. As it dissipated, the two combatants were revealed, and everyone hurriedly looked over. Liansheng stood in the arena, drenched in blood, with a sword driven through his heart.
Liansheng slowly pulled the sword out with his hand and threw it onto the ground. He turned, walked out of the arena, and returned to stand behind Zhou Qiong. Across from him, Zhao Li had actually been cut in two, blood constantly spilling from his mouth. Although an injury like this would not kill someone in the Profound Understanding Realm, it was enough to damage his foundation.
And Liansheng had simply pulled out the sword that had pierced his heart, clearly damaging his own foundation as well. He would rather sacrifice his own foundation than spare someone else's. Liansheng was truly too ruthless. A trace of fear appeared in everyone's eyes as they looked at him.
They felt even more intimidated when they looked at Zhou Qiong, seated in front of Liansheng. How ruthless must this Demon Sect leader be to bring such a ruthless man under his command? All of them formed the same thought: they must never offend him.
Even the treant referee trembled as he called out, "Liansheng of the Demon Sect wins."
The members of the Great River Gang hurried over to save Zhao Li, constantly feeding spiritual medicines into his mouth and rejoining the two halves of his body.