21: One hundred outer disciples were chosen to kill Zhou Ling.

The second round of the Outer Sect entry Disciple competition ended quickly. Over two hundred people participated, and in the end, only one hundred and twenty-four remained.

Wang Zheng slowly flew onto the high platform and directly announced the rules for the third round of the competition.

The rules for this competition were very simple: there were no rules at all!

Upon hearing that there were no rules, all the Disciples present were completely bewildered.

But Wang Zheng's next words left the Disciples present shocked to their cores.

"All Disciples, get onto the arena! The competition will continue until only one hundred Disciples are left!"

As Wang Zheng stepped down from the high platform, some Disciples already began to move.

"Interesting. Brother Jiang, you can look after me a bit now," Ji Daofeng said with a faint smile.

"I don't have time for you. I'm going to kill someone!" Jiang Yan finished speaking and walked directly toward the arena.

"Hey, you..." Ji Daofeng smiled helplessly. "Actually, we could have teamed up."

"No need. I'll handle my own business!" Jiang Yan replied coldly, his eyes fixed on Zhou Ling the entire time.

"Fourth Highness, how about you look after me?" Liang Jian asked in a low voice.

Hearing this, Ji Daofeng glanced at Liang Jian. "In a moment, I'll be the first one to kick you off the stage."

"Don't do that! At worst, I'll introduce my older sister to you," Liang Jian added to the stakes.

"Aren't you afraid she'll beat you to death?" After tossing out those words, Ji Daofeng walked over to Jiang Yan's side.

Liang Jian's eyes twitched, but his footsteps were very honest as he followed.

Clang!

Gao Li struck the copper gong, signaling the start.

The moment the gong sounded, the Disciples on the arena immediately began to fight.

In a melee, there are no specific targets; as long as one is not eliminated, it is a victory.

Therefore, most Disciples simply attacked whoever was closest to them.

"Kid, you've been staring at me since you stepped onto the stage. Did I kill your family or something?" Zhou Ling asked, looking at Jiang Yan.

Jiang Yan didn't waste words; his longsword instantly began to swing.

Specks of starlight were like blooming lotuses, yet also like a boundless river of sword curtains.

"Shadow Link Sword!"

The Shadow Link Sword at this moment was even more exaggerated than when Tang Ao had performed it.

"Kid, you're looking for death!" Zhou Ling felt the killing intent and reacted immediately.

"Three Shadows Sword Manual!"

Three sword glows shot out, and just as they approached Jiang Yan, they transformed into a single invisible Sword Qi.

Ding, ding, ding...

The Shadow Link Sword glows collided with the invisible Sword Qi, producing the sounds of clashing metal.

The moment his Shadow Link Sword broke through the invisible Sword Qi, bolts of lightning appeared all around Zhou Ling.

"Kid, I'll send you to Hell right now!" Zhou Ling wore a sinister smile as he immediately hurled the lightning in his hand toward Jiang Yan.

Jiang Yan's expression remained unchanged as he cast a hand seal. A Small Fireball the size of a washbasin instantly collided with the lightning.

Boom!

The massive explosion instantly sent several people flying, and a few Disciples were even blown straight out of the arena.

"What's going on?"

Some Disciples were startled and uncertain, completely failing to grasp the situation.

"Stop fighting, look over there!" a Disciple shouted, pointing toward Jiang Yan.

When everyone looked over, some of the more cowardly Disciples almost fainted from fright.

"This kid has some skill," a Green-Robed Youth said with a smile.

"Indeed. I didn't expect our Sect to be hiding such a Genius Disciple," the White-Robed Youth agreed.

The Black-Robed Disciple standing beside them didn't say a word, merely scanning the surrounding Disciples with a flat gaze.

"W-Why?" Zhou Ling questioned, clutching his chest.

He couldn't understand why the person in front of him had targeted him from the very start.

"Because you killed Ma Zi!" Jiang Yan finished speaking and slit his throat with a single sword strike.

Hiss...

[Killed Second Level Qi Refinement Cultivator Zhou Ling. Gained Experience: 1500. Gained life span: 49 years. lifespan: 398 years]

[Current Experience: 45.57%]

[Plundered 0.2 Essence Qi from Zhou Ling]

[Plundered Zhou Ling's Thunder Absorption Cultivation Technique - Introductory Chapter]

[Plundered Zhou Ling's Three Shadows Sword Manual]

[Plundered Zhou Ling's Elementary Spell: Thunder Tiger Technique]

[Sword-type Weapons LV3 (1574/10000)]

As blood dripped onto the arena, Jiang Yan closed his eyes. "Ma Zi, I've avenged you!"

Wang Zheng and Gao Li exchanged a glance. Both were somewhat helpless, but this was within expectations. After all, in Outer Sect Disciple competitions, this kind of drama involving avenging a brother was very common.

After Jiang Yan killed Zhou Ling, the chaotic brawl quickly came to an end.

With only twenty-four people to eliminate, using two-on-one or three-on-one tactics quickly narrowed the field down to one hundred.

Gao Li walked onto the high platform and shouted to the Disciples below, "Congratulations everyone, you have now successfully joined as Outer Sect Disciples."

As Gao Li's voice fell, the hundred Disciples immediately broke into cheers.

Once the cheering had mostly subsided, Gao Li pressed his hands down, signaling for silence.

"Next is the ranking for the Outer Sect Disciples. Remember, you must only fight until the point of victory; you cannot take lives. Any violators will have their cultivation destroyed and be expelled from the Sect!"

These words might not sound severe, but having one's cultivation destroyed was equivalent to being a dead man—perhaps even worse. After all, the dead feel no pain, but a destroyed person would be powerless and paralyzed for life, living like a pile of mud.

Of course, even the Imperial Family would not accept such a descendant, as it would affect the national prestige and damage their reputation.

Therefore, even if they were sent back, they would likely only be granted death.

The rules for the Outer Sect Disciple ranking battle never changed; it had been this way for years.

The first round was the Draw Battle, the second was the Hegemony Battle, the third was the Last-place Elimination Battle, the fourth was the Quarter-finals, the fifth was the Semi-finals, and the final round was the Peak Battle.

The Draw Battle was the same as the first match, but the fifty people eliminated were ranked based on the time the loser was defeated.

If someone was defeated right at the start of the match, they would naturally be in last place.

The second round was a twenty-five person Hegemony Arena Battle. Each person had three challenge rules; the one who defended the arena the most would win, narrowing it down to twelve people.

The third round was the last-place elimination mechanism, decided by the points from the second round. The person in last place would decide whether to challenge others; if the challenge was successful, the challenged person would fall into the last position.

Of course, each person only had one chance.

From the fourth round onward, it was a fight for specific seats.

As the drawing of lots began, Jiang Yan was the first to go up.

However, his opponent made Ji Daofeng double over with laughter.

On the arena, Liang Jian had a long, miserable face. He was currently extremely depressed, feeling as though he had been set up.

But he didn't dare to appeal. After all, Wang Zheng was the notary, and he had distributed the lots with his eyes closed.

"Senior Brother Jiang, can you let me stand here for a bit longer?" Liang Jian begged with his hands pressed together.

"Do you think they are blind?" Jiang Yan gestured for Liang Jian to look toward the high platform. "Don't worry, we'll just exchange some moves. I won't let you lose too miserably when the time comes."

Hearing this, Liang Jian's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Really." Jiang Yan drew his longsword.

"Then please advise me!" Liang Jian drew his longsword triumphantly.

But in the next moment, he could no longer be triumphant.

"Senior Brother Jiang, are you serious?" Liang Jian asked, looking at the longsword held against his neck.

Jiang Yan was speechless. He felt he had held back enough, yet... he never expected that Liang Jian wouldn't even be able to block a single move.

Ji Daofeng stood below the stage, leaning back and forth, laughing so hard he could barely breathe.

"I really held back," Jiang Yan said awkwardly.

"One hundredth place!" Liang Jian felt like crying.

He thought that by putting on a show with Jiang Yan, he could at least scramble into the seventieth or eightieth rank, but he ended up in dead last!

"Get off the stage quickly, don't affect the matches of the subsequent Disciples," Gao Li shouted.

As the two walked down the stage, Ji Daofeng wiped his tears and walked toward them.

"Brother Jiang, that was hard work." Ji Daofeng gave a thumbs up.

"I really held back," Jiang Yan said awkwardly.

"Mm." Ji Daofeng nodded, then looked at Liang Jian. "I could tell your sword speed was already very slow. It's just that this guy is useless, and also lucky to have met you."

Ji Daofeng was telling the truth. Without Jiang Yan, Liang Jian might not have even been able to participate in the competition.

"Alright, don't feel aggrieved. One hundredth place is still an Outer Sect Disciple," Ji Daofeng patted Liang Jian on the shoulder.

"Mm." Liang Jian nodded with a smile.

The first round, narrowing down to twenty-five people, ended quickly.

Jiang Yan and Ji Daofeng smoothly entered the second round, the Hegemony Arena format.

There were two arenas, and Jiang Yan was the first to step up.

Although Ji Daofeng was somewhat puzzled, he didn't stop him. After all, this round depended on the final results.

Seeing that it was a Menial Servant defending the arena, many Disciples chose to challenge Jiang Yan.

Of course, without exception, all these Disciples were sent packing by Jiang Yan.

It wasn't until a Black-Robed Disciple stepped onto the stage that Jiang Yan announced his surrender.

But before Ji Daofeng could even say a word to Jiang Yan, Jiang Yan ran over to the other arena to challenge it.

Seeing it was Jiang Yan, the defending Disciple didn't say another word and directly announced their surrender.

The Black-Robed Disciple standing on Arena A gestured for his friend to challenge him.

After he lost, he ran over to Arena B, where Jiang Yan was located, to challenge him.

Seeing the Black-Robed Disciple take the stage, Jiang Yan didn't even fight and decisively surrendered.

This scene left all the Disciples stunned, and even Ji Daofeng had a look of utter bewilderment.

"Hey, what's with you?" Ji Daofeng hurriedly asked.

Jiang Yan shrugged and said with a helpless face, "I really can't beat him, so it's better to conserve my strength."

Ji Daofeng was extremely suspicious; he certainly didn't believe Jiang Yan's words.

He always felt that there was something going on here that he didn't know about!