685: Chapter 685 Lu Xueqi and Biyao (64)

The next day, when the first ray of dawn spilled into the Qingyun Courtyard, Su Han had already woken from his meditation.

After a night of regulating his breathing, the consumed Star Power had mostly recovered, and the superficial wounds on his body had scabbed over. He stood up to stretch his muscles and bones, feeling the surging power within his body, a sharp light flashing in his eyes.

Today was the first day of the official arena matches of the Hundred Sects Grand Assembly.

According to the assembly rules, the Hundred Sects Grand Assembly was divided into three stages: preliminary arena, Secret Realm trial, and final ranking. The preliminary arena would last for seven days, using a "king of the hill" system, where the final ten successful defenders of each arena would advance to the next round.

Qingyun City had set up a total of ten major arenas, each corresponding to different cultivation Realms. Su Han had signed up for the "Star Palace Realm Arena"—even though his true cultivation was still at the Peak Star Sea Realm, his combat strength was already no less than that of an ordinary Early Stage Star Palace Realm Cultivator.

"Junior Brother Su, are you ready?"

Liu Ruyan's voice came from outside the door. Su Han pushed the door open and saw that she had already changed into a set of tight-fitting martial attire, a sword hanging at her waist, exuding a heroic Aura.

"Senior Sister has waited long." Su Han cupped his hands.

Liu Ruyan looked him over a few times and nodded slightly: "You've recovered well. Elder Ziyang already knows about last night's matter; he has already lodged a protest with the Heart-Corroding Sword Sect, but the other side flatly denied it, saying those people acted on their own and had nothing to do with the Sect."

Su Han gave a cold laugh: "As expected."

"The Elder asked me to remind you that the Heart-Corroding Sword Sect is vindictive; you must be careful in the coming days." Liu Ruyan's expression was grave, "Especially on the arena; although killing is strictly prohibited, swords and blades have no eyes. If there's an 'accident'..."

"I understand." Su Han nodded.

The two walked out of the courtyard side by side, heading toward the City Center Square. Along the way, they saw many Cultivators hurrying along, clearly all there to participate in or watch the Hundred Sects Grand Assembly.

The Qingyun City Center Square covered a vast area, enough to hold hundreds of thousands of people. At this moment, the square was surrounded by a sea of people, and the noise was deafening. In the center of the square, ten giant bluestone arenas were arranged in a circle, each covered by a Formation to prevent the aftershocks of battle from harming the spectators.

To the north of the arenas, a high platform stood tall, where dozens of elderly men with deep Auras sat, all of whom were Elders or Sect Masters of various major Sects. Venerable Ziyang was among them, sitting in the third seat on the left.

"Look, that's the Ziyang Sect's Genius Disciple, Liu Ruyan!"

"Who is that youth beside her? I've never seen him before."

"I heard his name is Su Han, a newly recruited Disciple of the Ziyang Sect. Yesterday at the registration desk, he defeated the Heart-Corroding Sword Sect's Gui Ying with a single sword strike!"

"What? Gui Ying is at the Peak Star Palace Realm, and he was defeated by an unknown kid?"

"It's absolutely true! I was on the scene at the time..."

Discussions broke out all around, and many gazes fell upon Su Han—some curious, some scrutinizing, and some hostile. Su Han's expression remained calm, as if he hadn't heard a thing.

"Su Han!"

Suddenly, a cold voice rang out. Su Han turned his head and saw several black-clothed Cultivators approaching. Leading them was a sinister-looking young man with a blood-colored tattoo under his right eye, similar to the Black-Robed Person from last night, but more refined, shaped like a coiled snake.

"Senior Brother Ghost Cry, it's him!" Behind the sinister youth, a one-armed man in black said through gritted teeth; it was none other than Gui Sha, whose right hand had been crippled by Su Han last night.

Ghost Cry's gaze stared at Su Han like a venomous snake: "You're the one who injured my Heart-Corroding Sword Sect's Disciples?"

"It was just self-defense." Su Han said indifferently.

"A fine 'self-defense' indeed." Ghost Cry sneered, "On the arena, I will let you know what price must be paid for injuring someone from my Heart-Corroding Sword Sect."

"I'll be waiting anytime." Su Han did not back down at all.

Their gazes collided in the air, and sparks seemed to fly. The surrounding Cultivators retreated one after another, fearing they might be caught in the crossfire.

"Silence!"

On the high platform, a white-haired old man stood up. His voice wasn't loud, but it spread clearly throughout the entire square. In an instant, the noisy square fell silent.

"I am the City Lord of Qingyun, Yun Tianhe." The white-haired old man looked around, "Welcome, everyone, to the centennial Hundred Sects Grand Assembly. I presume you all know the rules, so I will not repeat them. There is only one point—on the arena, stop when the point is made; you must not intentionally take lives. Violators will have their cultivation abolished and be expelled from the assembly!"

As he reached the end, his voice suddenly turned sharp, carrying a chilling killing intent. Everyone's hearts jolted, and they all nodded in agreement.

"Now, the arena defense begins!"

With Yun Tianhe's command, the ten arenas lit up simultaneously. Cultivators who were already prepared leaped onto the arenas to compete for the qualification to defend.

Su Han was in no hurry to act, instead standing below the stage to observe. Liu Ruyan went to the third arena, which was the "Star Realm Arena." With her Early Stage Star Realm cultivation, it shouldn't be difficult for her to successfully defend.

The Star Palace Realm Arena was the fifth one. At this moment, there was already a burly man on stage, holding a giant axe, looking aggressive.

"I am Wang Meng of the Mad Blade Gate! Who dares to come up and fight?"

Before his voice had even faded, a figure had already leaped onto the arena: "Li Qing of the Heavenly Sword Sect, please advise!"

The two immediately began fighting. Wang Meng possessed immense strength, the wind howling as he swung his giant axe; Li Qing's sword technique was light and nimble, breaking strength with skill. After more than thirty moves, Li Qing's sword struck Wang Meng's wrist, and the giant axe flew out of his hand.

"I yield." Li Qing withdrew his sword and cupped his fists.

Wang Meng's face turned red as he picked up his giant axe and jumped down from the arena.

Next, several more people went up to challenge, all of whom were defeated by Li Qing. After winning five consecutive matches, Li Qing was somewhat out of breath, but his gaze remained sharp.

"It's my turn." Just as Su Han was about to go up, a figure suddenly beat him to it.

It was Ghost Cry.

He landed gracefully on the arena, his cold gaze sweeping toward Li Qing: "Ghost Cry of the Heart-Corroding Sword Sect. I'll give you three breaths of time to get down yourself."

Li Qing's expression changed, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "Arrogant! Take this!"

Sword light suddenly flared like a torrential downpour. Li Qing used his strongest killing move right from the start, clearly knowing that Ghost Cry was not easy to deal with.

A mocking sneer curled at the corner of Ghost Cry's mouth. He neither dodged nor avoided, only slowly raising his hand when the sword light reached him.

"Heart-Corroding Sword Technique, First Form—Heart Chaos."

Without any apparent movement from him, a black sword glow quietly emerged, silently penetrating Li Qing's sword net and stabbing straight toward his chest.

Li Qing was shocked and hastily pulled back his sword to block, but he felt a strange force coming from the sword, shaking his blood and Qi. Even more terrifying was a cold Aura that invaded his body along the longsword, rushing straight for his heart.

"Puff—"

Li Qing spat out a mouthful of blood and retreated repeatedly, his face pale and his eyes filled with terror.

"Heart-Corroding Sword Qi... You've mastered the Heart-Corroding Sword Qi!"

Ghost Cry withdrew his sword and stood with his hands behind his back: "Who else?"

The audience below was silent. Heart-Corroding Sword Qi was the ultimate technique of the Heart-Corroding Sword Sect, specifically targeting the heart meridians and being extremely sinister. Those hit would be heavily injured at best, and have their cultivation completely crippled at worst. No one expected that Ghost Cry, at such a young age, would have already mastered this technique.

Su Han's gaze was solemn. He could feel that Ghost Cry's cultivation had reached the Peak Star Palace Realm, and his Aura was solid, far exceeding the three men including Gui Sha from last night. Coupled with the Heart-Corroding Sword Qi, this battle would definitely not be easy.

But, so what? (End of Chapter)