The Sword Cultivator Prince, Qin Yi Strikes with His Spear
Three days later.
Qin Yi took the invitation to the central colosseum in Heavenly Sea City, where all the martial artists would gather to compete.
The central colosseum had been built under the supervision of the city lord when Heavenly Sea City was first founded. Its scale was far beyond that of the Nine Separations Colosseum at Hui Mountain. It was a symbol of Heavenly Sea City's centuries of prosperity, having witnessed its gradual rise from a small city to a flourishing commandery city.
The colosseum was already packed. Even if they couldn't take part in the tournament themselves, the spectators hoped to watch the geniuses fight and, at the end, catch a glimpse of the commandery princess's peerless beauty.
Qin Yi did not sit in the stands. Instead, he was led to a private room. Each person with an invitation had a room of their own, where they could watch the other matches or meditate and rest.
As time passed, the arena gradually fell quiet. A handsome, slender man came walking through the air. He looked to be only in his thirties, but merely standing there, he gave the impression of a sword drawn from its sheath. Even from far away, Qin Yi could still feel his sharp, undisguised presence. He was strong-so strong that Qin Yi couldn't even bring himself to resist.
"Everyone, welcome to the martial tournament for my daughter's hand. Let harmony be our priority in this tournament. Stop once a victor is clear, and try not to take any lives," the Prince of Heavenly Sea said to the crowd, standing in midair with his hands behind his back.
"We understand."
The Prince of Heavenly Sea extended his right hand, two fingers pressed together, and an enormous, illusory sword shadow slowly emerged. As he pointed downward, the sword shadow shot toward the ground. When its tip touched the earth, it slowly dispersed, turning into a protective barrier.
"As expected of the Prince of Heavenly Sea." This move required not only powerful spiritual power to sustain it, but also tremendous control over Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. No wonder the Azure Cloud Imperial Family wanted to win him over. Remembering that the Prince of Heavenly Sea had risen from a commoner, even Qin Yi was filled with admiration for him.
After the sound of a sword's cry,
"Let the matches begin!"
At the Prince of Heavenly Sea's command, an enormous screen of light appeared out of thin air above the crowd. Two numbers appeared on it: eleven and eighteen. They meant that the two people holding invitations numbered eleven and eighteen were to enter the arena and face each other.
Qin Yi held number seven. The first ten invitations had been personally issued by the Prince of Tianhai's Residence, a recognition of their recipients' status and strength. These ten would not appear too early, and there was a strong chance they would make up the final five.
Numbers eleven and eighteen were both Qi Refining Realm cultivators, one at the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining and the other at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer. Qin Yi sipped his tea as he watched them fight. Though there was a difference in their cultivation, the Eighth Layer cultivator's Law Artifact and Cultivation Method were both of superior quality, so there was almost no difference in their actual strength.
Such an evenly matched fight was thrilling to watch, and Qin Yi couldn't help nodding. As time passed, the Eighth Layer cultivator had nearly exhausted the spiritual power in his body, while the Qi Refining Ninth Layer cultivator still appeared to be fighting with ease.
"Damn it!"
At last, the Eighth Layer cultivator could no longer hold back and unleashed his most powerful martial skill. He wanted to end the drawn-out fight. After this strike, he would have no strength left to fight, but his opponent had been waiting for it.
The Qi Refining Ninth Layer cultivator threw out a tortoiseshell Law Artifact to block the strike, then ran his sword through the Eighth Layer cultivator's chest. Thick blood dripped from the sword tip, and enthusiastic applause rang out across the arena. As for the dead cultivator, no one cared at all.
Qin Yi shook his head and smiled. "Strength still reigns supreme. The rules are made by the strong. Sigh..."
As match after match ended, blood covered the colosseum floor. Some stains had already dried, while others were still pools of blood. Someone was injured in every match, but most were killed by their opponents. The tournament for the princess's hand had turned into a fight to the death.
The screen of light in the sky changed again: seven, eleven.
Qin Yi slowly rose. Number eleven was the Qi Refining Ninth Layer cultivator from the first match. When that cultivator saw number seven, he immediately sensed trouble. He knew that those holding the first ten numbers were either powerful or of exalted status, and he couldn't afford to offend either.
"I am Ye Qing. Please enlighten me," Ye Qing said, cupping his fists toward Qin Yi from a distance.
Holding Cangyuan, Qin Yi pointed it at Ye Qing. "Will you get down on your own, or shall I send you down?"
The icy voice reached Ye Qing's ears, and his face turned livid. Even if his opponent was powerful, wasn't he looking down on him a little too much?
Ye Qing drew his longsword. He had no intention of admitting defeat; he wanted to see what gave Qin Yi the right to be so arrogant. Seeing Ye Qing draw his sword, Qin Yi wasted no more words. Ye Qing was courting death himself, so he couldn't blame Qin Yi when he reached the underworld.
Qin Yi flicked his spear and charged at Ye Qing. He had practiced Shadow Ghost Steps and was extremely fast. His spear flashed forward in an instant. Before Ye Qing could react, he could only hold his longsword horizontally across his chest, preparing to take the strike head-on.
Seeing Ye Qing hold his sword across his chest, Qin Yi changed his thrust into a sweeping blow and slammed his spear into him. Ye Qing's eyes went wide as he was sent flying. He spat out a mouthful of blood before he even landed. At least four of his ribs had broken, and even his internal organs had been injured by the impact.
Qin Yi pressed his spear against Ye Qing's neck and asked, "Will you admit defeat or die?"
Ye Qing clenched his fists. Though he was bitterly unwilling, the enormous gap in their strength left him no choice but to admit defeat. Staying alive came first. Qin Yi put away his spear and turned to leave with an easy grace. Cheers immediately erupted throughout the arena.
In the viewing room at the highest point of the colosseum, the Commandery Princess of Heavenly Sea saw how fierce Qin Yi was and couldn't help asking, "Father, do you think he can become one of the five?"
The Prince of Heavenly Sea frowned. What was going on? He didn't know how strong Qin Yi was. Even though he could tell that Qin Yi had reached Foundation Establishment, he couldn't tell how strong Qin Yi was from a Foundation Establishment cultivator fighting a Qi Refining cultivator.
He could only answer, "He's at Foundation Establishment, so he might be selected. Why? Have you taken a fancy to him?"
The Commandery Princess of Heavenly Sea shook her head. He was merely a little interested in Qin Yi. At most, he could say he didn't dislike him; it didn't amount to liking him.