501: Participate in the competition

An hour of rest passed in a flash.

The hundred Prodigies either sat cross-legged to recover or consumed Spirit Medicine, restoring their condition as much as possible to face the even more intense ranking battles.

When the bell rang again, the atmosphere in the square reached a new climax.

The ten arenas had been simply repaired, and a larger, more densely rune-covered main arena rose in the center of the square.

This arena was dark gold all over, with Dragon and Phoenix totems of the Northern Spirit carved on its edges, emitting energy fluctuations that made hearts palpitate, clearly capable of withstanding even more terrifying impacts.

The nine-stage Spirit King elder reappeared and announced loudly: "The rules for the ranking battle are: draw lots for matchups, winners advance, until the top ten seats are decided! Now, let the drawing begin!"

The hundred Prodigies stepped forward one by one, drawing their numbers from a jade cauldron.

Xiao Zhuo drew the "Earth Seven" lot.

In the first round, his opponent was a five-stage Peak Spirit Sect from a large Sect, specializing in fire-element Spirit Arts, with fierce attacks.

However, in front of Xiao Zhuo, all of it seemed futile.

He didn't even use much Spirit Script power, relying solely on his precise control of the battle rhythm and his movement speed, which far surpassed his opponent's, to find a weakness within a few moves.

A simple palm strike landed on the weakest point of his opponent's protective spiritual light, gently knocking him off the arena.

The entire process was clean and neat, even appearing somewhat bland, yet it revealed a profound depth.

"Thank you for the fight," Xiao Zhuo cupped his hands, his tone calm.

The fire-element Spirit Sect's face flushed red, but he was convinced and left dejectedly.

Xiao Zhuo's gaze then turned to the other arenas.

In the A-lot area, the young man who unleashed Sword Qi with a wave of his hand stood with his hands behind his back.

His opponent was an earth-element Spirit Sect known for defense, who had erected a heavy stone fortress.

The young man merely pointed his fingers like a sword and casually swiped.

Tear!

An invisible and intangible yet incomparably sharp Sword Qi instantly tore through the sky, and the stone fortress was split open like paper, collapsing with a crash! The Spirit Sect inside was terrified and immediately conceded.

"This young marquis of Zhenbei Hou has terrifying Sword Qi! It seems to contain the ultimate sharpness of the metal element!" people exclaimed below the stage.

In the B-lot area, the veiled young woman faced a wind-element Spirit Sect with incredibly fast speed.

The wind-element Spirit Sect transformed into streaks of afterimages, attacking from all directions.

However, the veiled woman's eyes shimmered with colorful light, as if she had already seen through all trajectories.

She merely flicked her slender finger, and a subtle electric current, arriving later but striking first, precisely hit the opponent's Jianjing acupoint while he was moving at high speed, causing his entire body to go numb and his movements to instantly stiffen, after which he was gently sent off the arena by a soft force.

"Spirit Eyes live up to their reputation! To be able to so easily see through the trajectory of the Gale Steps!"

In the G-lot area, the broken-bladed youth was even more ferocious.

His opponent was a six-stage Spirit Sect wielding a giant axe and possessing astonishing strength.

The broken-bladed youth didn't dodge or evade at all.

The Evil Qi on his broken blade surged, and with one slash, a blood-colored blade light tore through heaven and earth, carrying the tragic killing Qi of a battlefield!

The giant axe Spirit Sect roared and met the attack head-on, but he was shaken by the unparalleled Evil Qi and power, causing his tiger's mouth to split, his giant axe to fly out of his hand, and he himself was sent flying backward by the slash, blood splattering across the sky, heavily injured and unconscious!

"Hiss... what a ruthless blade! What heavy Evil Qi!"

"That is... the Border Army's Eight Blood Battle Forms! It is said that when cultivated to the extreme, Evil Qi can corrode the Divine Soul!"

Battles proceeded one after another, and the top Geniuses all displayed strength far exceeding their peers, quickly advancing.

Duanmu Jiao's battles, however, seemed quite peculiar.

Her opponents often attacked fiercely, but once they got within a certain range of her, their movements would inexplicably become sluggish and distorted, as if they had fallen into an invisible mire, unable to exert even seventy percent of their strength.

Meanwhile, she moved like a ghost, her palms and fingers carrying a power that vibrated the Soul, often dismantling her opponent's defenses with a few light attacks and defeating them.

She seemed not to be using her full power, but that unsettling ability had already made many people secretly wary.

Xiao Zhuo advanced steadily, encountering increasingly stronger opponents, from five-stage Peak to six-stage Early Stage and Middle Stage.

But he always remained at ease, his displayed strength consistently controlled within the realm of a six-stage Peak, always defeating his opponents "just right,"

both demonstrating power and seemingly retaining reserves, making it impossible to ascertain his true depth.

This kind of control, in the eyes of some true masters, made him even more formidable.

Finally, after several rounds of elimination, only twenty people remained on the field.

These twenty people were all the top existences in this Grand Competition, with the lowest cultivation being six-stage Early Stage, while Prodigies like the young marquis, the Prime Minister's daughter, and the broken-bladed youth had even reached six-stage Peak, seemingly only a step away from a seven-stage Spirit King.

Duanmu Jiao, with her five-stage Spirit Sect Middle Stage cultivation, stood out especially prominently among them.

In the next round of drawing, Xiao Zhuo's lot number lit up, and his opponent was none other than the broken-bladed youth with soaring Evil Qi—Wan Xiaoqi!

As this name was announced, a collective gasp of cold air immediately rose from the audience.

"It's Wan Xiaoqi! That fiend!"

"It's over, this young man in green robes has terrible luck, he actually ran into him!"

"Wan Xiaoqi's attacks are either fatal or severely injurious, I'm afraid..."

Even some important figures on the high platform cast their gazes of attention.

Wan Xiaoqi licked his lips, a bloodthirsty glint in his eyes, and leaped onto the arena.

Blood light seemed to flow on his tattered black armor, and his broken blade pointed directly at Xiao Zhuo: "Kid, are you going to get down yourself, or should I chop you down?"

Xiao Zhuo's expression was calm as he slowly walked onto the stage, as if he didn't feel the intense Evil Qi rushing towards him.

"Please," he uttered a single word faintly.

"Courting death!" Wan Xiaoqi sneered, no longer wasting words.

His body moved, leaving a blood-colored afterimage in place, and he lunged at Xiao Zhuo like a blood-colored lightning bolt!

His broken blade was held high, Evil Qi surged into the sky, condensing into a ten-foot-long blood-colored blade aura, bringing with it a wailing shriek like ghosts and wolves, and slashed down fiercely!

"Eight Blood Battle Forms: Breaking Formation!"

This slash was overbearing, tragic, and unstoppable! Before the blade even arrived, the terrifying Evil Qi had already impacted the mind, enough to make those with weak wills cower before the fight even began!

Many people below the stage subconsciously held their breath, as if they had already seen Xiao Zhuo being severely wounded by a single slash.

However, facing this incomparably ferocious slash, Xiao Zhuo finally no longer acted as casually as before.

His feet shifted, his body drifting lightly like willow catkins in the wind, narrowly avoiding the blade's edge.

At the same time, his right hand's five fingers spread open, and five Spirit Scripts of different colors instantly combined and flashed at his fingertips!

"Spirit Group: Bind!"

Buzz!

The space around Wan Xiaoqi seemed to instantly solidify, countless invisible spiritual chains formed out of thin air and coiled around him, actually causing his inevitable slash to momentarily freeze, and the violent Evil Qi also paused!

"Hmm? A bit interesting!" The blood light in Wan Xiaoqi's eyes grew even brighter.

He roared, and Evil Qi erupted from his body, forcibly shattering the invisible restraints.

His broken blade slashed horizontally, transforming into a blood-colored blade curtain that enveloped Xiao Zhuo!

"Eight Blood Battle Forms: Strangling!"