256: The Lion Dragon's counterattack, the Heavenly Evil Stone!

Inside Shi Qing's tent, Shi Lei was in high spirits.

Logically speaking, although a Great Commander was a Golden Body Realm expert who commanded a squad, in a race as strictly hierarchical as the Lion Demon Clan, even a Golden Body Realm expert like Shi Lei had no right to enter Shi Qing's tent without permission.

However, this time, Shi Lei's Second Squad actually had two people who advanced to the second round of the martial arts competition.

This instantly made Shi Lei's Second Squad famous!

Therefore, today, Shi Qing even allowed Shi Lei to enter his tent and accompany him to the Martial Arts Field.

For Shi Lei, this was undoubtedly a huge joyous occasion.

One must know that under normal circumstances, he would not have more than three opportunities to meet the Battle Group Leader in a year.

But this competition allowed him to gain a lot of Face in front of Shi Qing.

Even Shi Xuan had the intention of promoting Shi Lei's squad to the First Squad.

After all, in this Third Battalion, only Lu Sheng and Shi Chong entered the second round, while the First Commander of the First Squad, due to bad luck, did not enter the second round.

Shi Lei was naturally in high spirits at this moment.

Soon, Lu Sheng walked into the tent.

Immediately, he felt Shi Lei's enthusiasm.

At this moment, Lu Sheng was a lucky star in Shi Lei's eyes, not only bringing him so many benefits, but even Lu Sheng's future prospects, in Shi Lei's opinion, were extremely bright.

After all, with Lu Sheng's current strength, it probably wouldn't be long before he could become a Great Commander leading a squad.

An existence on equal footing with him.

Even... after some more time, Lu Sheng would at least be a Deputy Battle Group Leader. Shi Lei was very clear that even with Lu Sheng as his lucky star, it would be extremely difficult for him to reach the position of Deputy Battle Group Leader in this lifetime.

And Lu Sheng's future would be at least a Deputy Battle Group Leader, with the potential to become a Battle Group Leader, or even a higher-level existence.

Naturally, he had to seize this opportunity now.

After all, Shi Lei also had a natural close relationship with him.

Firstly, he was Shi Ming's father's comrade-in-arms and had also looked after Shi Ming, plus Shi Ming came from under his command.

This relationship was naturally extraordinary.

"Alright, since everyone is here, let's head to the Martial Arts Field!"

Shi Qing smiled and spoke upon Lu Sheng's arrival. He found Lu Sheng more and more pleasing to the eye now.

Everyone nodded slightly, and then, led by Shi Qing, they headed to the Martial Arts Field... Lion Demon Army, Martial Arts Field.

The Martial Arts Field was very large, with ten temporary arenas set up.

And these ten arenas were where the second round of competitions would take place.

The second round of competitions was also very simple: randomly assign an opponent and compete.

The winner would enter the top ten.

The losers would form a loser's group to compete for Ranks eleven to twenty.

Although this method was somewhat unfair, after all, if someone had the strength of a top ten contender but happened to encounter a strong opponent like the first-place winner,

They would naturally enter the loser's group.

However, in the Otherworldly Demon World, there was no such thing as fairness to begin with, or rather, luck was also part of fairness.

If such a situation occurred, it could only be said that you were unlucky.

Others would not have any pity.

Soon, Shi Qing led Lu Sheng and the others to the Martial Arts Field. At this moment, there were already many Lion Demon Army members at the Martial Arts Field.

The other Battle Groups had also arrived, with the Scout Battle Group being the last to arrive.

"It seems the Scout Battle Group has quite a lot of Face, arriving last!"

As soon as Shi Qing and his group arrived at the Martial Arts Field, a faint voice came.

Without even looking, Lu Sheng knew who the owner of this voice was.

Who else but Shi Long!

This guy, ever since the competition began, had been at odds with the Scout Battle Group, although the final outcome was somewhat laughable.

But this guy seemed tireless, always seizing any opportunity to mock them.

This also made Lu Sheng admire his willpower a bit.

"Hehehe, it's better than a Battle Group with only one person entering the second round, wouldn't you say?"

Compared to yesterday, Shi Qing was clearly more composed today. Facing Shi Long's mockery, he immediately counterattacked.

"Hmph!"

Shi Long, feeling defeated, snorted coldly and waved his hand fiercely.

"Then this King wants to see how many of your Scout Battle Group's four people can enter the top ten!"

With that, Shi Long returned to his seat.

In response, Shi Qing merely smiled indifferently and said nothing, simply leading Lu Sheng and the others to the Scout Battle Group's position and sitting down.

Waiting for the competition to begin.

A moment later, the three Commanders, along with Shi Lie, appeared in the sky.

On a phantom throne, Shi Lie lay lazily, but even so, an extremely strong pressure emanated from Shi Lie's body.

"Greetings, Commanders, greetings, Legion Commander!"

Upon seeing this, the Lion Demon Army experts, even those as arrogant as Shi Long, respectfully stood up at this moment and bowed to the four figures above.

Lu Sheng naturally did the same.

Shi Lie waved his hand indifferently: "Then let's begin. The sooner it ends, the sooner we can rest!"

Listening to Shi Lie's words, one of the Commanders stepped forward. In an instant, twenty black rays of light burst forth from his palm.

They accurately landed in the hands of each contestant.

Lu Sheng looked at the black bead in front of him and found that there was a capital 'Seven' engraved on it.

Immediately after, the Commander's voice slowly sounded at this moment.

"Go to the corresponding arena according to the number you received."

Hearing these words, Lu Sheng's eyebrows raised slightly. After glancing at the numbers of Shi Chong and the other two members of the Scout Battle Group, he smiled.

None of the four drew the same number, so they wouldn't have to fight each other.

It could be considered a good thing.

Immediately, Lu Sheng walked towards the direction of Arena Seven.

"Go for it!"

As he passed Shi Lei, Shi Lei excitedly cheered for Lu Sheng.

Lu Sheng's heart was incomparably calm as he slowly walked to Arena Seven.

Soon, a burly figure appeared in front of Lu Sheng.

That person exuded a powerful aura, clearly a ninth-Rank Peak Commander-level figure.

However, despite this, Lu Sheng remained calm and collected.

As if he didn't even put the opponent in his eyes.

Seeing this, a trace of anger surged in the opponent's eyes.

The Lu Sheng in front of him was simply too arrogant!

Although Lu Sheng had achieved the highest score in the first round of the competition, in their opinion, if it were a real fight, Lu Sheng would definitely not be their opponent.

"Competition... begin!"

At this moment, the voice of the Commander in charge of the competition in the sky sounded again.

"Kid, I'll make you pay for your arrogance!"

As his voice fell, the Commander opposite Lu Sheng rubbed his fists, staring at Lu Sheng with a ferocious expression.

Lu Sheng looked at this person's appearance, pondered for a moment, and then slowly took a step forward.

This seemingly slow step, when it entered the opponent's field of vision, was like a ghost. For a moment, he couldn't even capture Lu Sheng's trace immediately.

"This... such speed!"

His pupils constricted slightly, and then, sweat dripped uncontrollably from his forehead at this moment.

He had never expected Lu Sheng to be able to unleash such terrifying speed.

This was completely different from what he had expected in his heart.

However, there was no time to think about these things now. He had a premonition that if Lu Sheng's attack really landed on him, he would definitely be severely injured.

Thinking of this, his expression hardened, and surging Devilish Qi directly covered his body, as if he had put on another layer of armor outside his body.

But just as his movement was completed, Lu Sheng's ghostly figure had already closed in directly.

And then... he struck out with a palm.

Thud!!

A muffled sound suddenly exploded on Arena Seven.

Immediately after, the Commander's body was seen flying backward instantly, falling heavily to the ground, creating a deep pit.

Being knocked out of the arena... the winner was already self-evident.

This sudden change attracted a lot of attention.

"This child actually possesses such powerful combat strength! Looking at that recent attack, he must have also cultivated Body Refining!"

In the sky, a Commander spoke with a smile, his gaze towards Lu Sheng full of admiration.

"Indeed, it's not bad. With a Middle Stage Ninth Rank cultivation, he instantly killed a Peak Ninth Rank expert. If this child grows up, our Lion Demon Army could have one more Commander!"

Another Commander also nodded in agreement.

"Fifth Rank Concept, Ninth Layer Body Refining, Middle Stage Ninth Rank cultivation... Tsk, tsk, tsk, as expected of a direct Bloodline of our Lion Demon Clan. This kind of talent, I'm afraid it already rivals that of the Legion Commander back then!"

The third Commander smiled and looked at Shi Lie.

Shi Lie was still lazily lying on his throne, only slightly opening his eyes. After glancing at Lu Sheng below, he smiled indifferently.

"He has some of my demeanor from back then, but whether he can reach this Emperor's level still requires some more tempering."

As soon as he said this, the three Commanders all showed surprised expressions.

They didn't expect Shi Lie to give such a high evaluation of Lu Sheng.

For a time, the three became even more interested in Lu Sheng below.

"I just don't know how many Ranks this child can achieve in this martial arts competition."

A Commander said with a smile.

Meanwhile, in the Martial Arts Field, many Battle Group Leaders also looked at Lu Sheng in surprise, and Shi Qing's Face showed a proud expression.

Only Shi Long, looking at Lu Sheng who displayed absolute strength, snorted coldly and looked in another direction, his Face becoming slightly ferocious.

"Consider that kid lucky, but later on, when he encounters someone from my Bloodthirsty Battle Group, this King wants to see what he will do!"

Shi Long snorted in his heart.

And in the direction he was looking, on Ring Number Three, Shi Hang, the only leader from the Bloodthirsty Battle Group to enter the second round, was surrounded by towering Devilish Qi.

It emitted a terrifying fluctuation.

And in front of Shi Hang was Shi Chong, who, like Lu Sheng, came from the Third Battalion's Second Squad.

Both were Peak Ninth Rank cultivators, yet Shi Chong was mercilessly crushed by Shi Hang.

"I surrender!!!"

Finally, under Shi Hang's suppression, Shi Chong spat out a mouthful of old blood, his aura instantly becoming weak, and he chose to surrender.

However, just as his voice fell, Shi Hang's punch violently struck Shi Chong's arm.

Dong!

The terrifying force instantly completely shattered one of Shi Chong's arms.

"Ah!!!"

Immediately, on Ring Number Three, Shi Chong's scream instantly resounded.

Shi Qing heard the scream and abruptly looked towards Ring Number Three. When he saw that one of Shi Chong's arms had been completely shattered by Shi Hang, anger immediately flared up.

"What are you doing!! He already surrendered, why did you still attack!!"

"Shi Long! Is this your subordinate!!"

Shi Qing roared.

Although there could be casualties in the arena, if someone had already surrendered and you still attacked, wouldn't that be a violation of the rules?

However, facing Shi Qing's roar, Shi Long merely indifferently picked his ear, then calmly said, "My subordinate was just a bit slow to react. Whose fault is it that your people stubbornly refused to surrender? If he had surrendered earlier, wouldn't this have been avoided?"

As he spoke, Shi Long's Face also showed a smile.

However, he was still a bit dissatisfied in his heart.

In his opinion, if Shi Hang had struck more accurately, he could have killed Shi Chong. Now, only one arm was crippled, which really left Shi Long feeling somewhat unappeased.

But... being able to see Shi Qing's angry expression was enough!

Shi Long smiled slightly.

Shi Qing looked at Shi Long with a Face full of anger, but although there was a violation of the rules, the other party's reason was quite normal.

After all, it's normal to lose control during a fight.

But seeing his subordinate's arm crippled, even though at this Realm it could be recovered, this was undoubtedly a slap in his Face!

For a moment, Shi Qing's Face was covered with an endless frost, and his eyes towards Shi Long were filled with a hint of killing intent.

In the sky, the three Commanders and Shi Lie saw all of this.

"This Shi Long's methods are truly despicable. He actually used a forbidden item like the heavenly evil stone. Legion Commander, do we need to disqualify this Bloodthirsty Battle Group contestant?"

A Commander looked at Shi Lie.

The heavenly evil stone was a forbidden item of the Lion Demon Clan, possessing the effect of completely stimulating an Otherworldly Demon's potential. However, this effect could only last for one day.

During this one day, although one could unleash several tenths more strength than their original combat power, once the time ran out, anyone who took the heavenly evil stone would exhaust their Lifespan and die.

Only in the Face of certain battles, or even when invading the Great Xia Human Clan, would this item be allowed to be used.

And now, for just a martial arts competition, this item was used, disregarding the lives of subordinates just for a ranking in the competition.

Such a thing was clearly a bit malicious.

Shi Lie glanced indifferently at the situation below, then withdrew his gaze and softly said, "Shi Long will certainly be punished. To dare to do such a thing in front of this Emperor is truly too presumptuous."

"Does he really think this Emperor is blind?"

Shi Lie's indifferent voice spread, and the three Commanders exchanged glances, secretly mourning for Shi Long.

Although Shi Lie seemed calm, the three had been by his side for a long time and naturally knew his habits.

After this martial arts competition, Shi Long would definitely be punished.

"However, this Shi Hang... don't rush to deal with him. In the next match, let him fight Shi Ming and see."

Following this, Shi Lie's voice sounded again.

However, these words made the three Commanders pause in surprise.

One of them frowned and said, "My lord, wouldn't that be inappropriate? Having taken the heavenly evil stone, that Shi Long is clearly targeting the Scout Battle Group. If Shi Ming encounters any problems, it would be quite bad!"

The combat strength and talent displayed by Shi Ming had already made the three Commanders feel a desire to nurture his talent.

They were somewhat resistant to Shi Lie's words.

However, Shi Lie merely lightly raised his eyelids and said indifferently, "What? Do you think you can watch him get into trouble?"

"Although this child is extraordinarily talented, if he doesn't undergo tempering, he will always be lacking something."

"This Shi Hang... let him be his whetstone!"

Shi Lie said calmly.

The three Commanders exchanged glances, and finally nodded helplessly.

For a time, the air above returned to calm.

And as time passed, the battles on the ten rings also concluded.

Aside from Lu Sheng, the Scout Battle Group also had the First Leader of the First Squad of the First Battalion successfully enter the top ten.

Shi Quan and another contestant, however, ended up in the losing group.

Lu Sheng returned to the Scout Battle Group's position and glanced at Shi Quan's appearance. Although his heart was calm, he still made a frowning expression.

"This Bloodthirsty Battle Group... they are simply openly targeting us!"

Shi Qing said somewhat exasperatedly, then looked at Lu Sheng and Shi Chen, the other leader who entered the winning group, and said in a deep voice, "If you encounter that guy in the winning group, remember not to hold back, but if you are no match, it's best to surrender early. Don't let that guy find an opportunity to ruin you!"

The first half of the sentence was clearly directed at Shi Chen.

And the latter half, about surrendering early, was clearly meant for Lu Sheng.

Lu Sheng raised his eyebrows slightly, nodded, and then looked towards Shi Hang's location.

"heavenly evil stone... Is this Shi Long's counterattack?"