161: The martial arts finals open with a thunderous blast!

"Forget it."

It took one last deep look at the empty riverbed and slowly withdrew its Divine Thought.

"Consider yourself lucky for running fast."

It knew that continuing the search would be futile.

"Let's go."

It used its dragon tail to coil around the still-shivering Thunder Flood Dragon. With a flicker of its figure, it tore through space once more and vanished.

It needed to return and conduct a thorough investigation into when this Great Xia Dynasty had gained such a mysterious and powerful 'Turtle Family'!

...Meanwhile, tens of kilometers away from the canyon, amidst the silt at the bottom of the river.

Li Qing's dragon turtle avatar lay motionless, suppressing its aura to the absolute limit.

Through his Earth Pulse talent, he clearly sensed the departure of that Thunder Dragon.

"Whew..."

Only when that terrifying pressure, enough to make his very Soul tremble, had completely vanished did he let out a long sigh of relief.

Damn it!

He had finally managed to keep his life!

He checked the injuries of his Clone and couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air.

The damage was severe!

That Purple-Gold Divine Lightning had not only left a clear, charred mark on his Turtle shell, but the overbearing power of the lightning Law contained within it had also invaded his body, constantly ravaging his vitality.

Had it not been for his powerful Physical Body and the Bloodline enhancement of the True Dragon Power, any other Fifth-Tier Fierce Beast would have likely had its Divine Soul obliterated by such a strike.

"A Sixth-Tier King is truly terrifying!"

Li Qing's heart was filled with lingering fear, but even more so, he felt his own behavior had been brainless!

It seemed that because everything had improved too quickly, he had become overconfident.

Fortunately, he didn't kick the bucket!

"A Thunder Dragon, huh? You just wait!"

"I'll remember this grudge!"

He swore that after his next evolution, he would definitely return for revenge!

He would snap off that Old Loach's dragon horns to use as backscratchers!

He would strip its dragon hide to make a leather coat!

He would pull out its dragon tendons to use as a belt!

Li Qing was just that vengeful!

However, the priority now was to find a place to recover and then rush to the East Sea as quickly as possible to rendezvous with his main body.

Only in that vast, boundless ocean could he achieve the fastest recovery and growth!

He identified the direction and, dragging his heavily injured body, continued to sneak toward the east without a sound.

This time, he became incredibly cautious, no longer daring to charge around recklessly as before.

The monk can run, but the temple can't! (You can run, but you can't hide!)

East Sea, here I come!

...Two days passed quietly.

For the turbulent Royal Capital, these two days were unusually calm.

The Residence of the Vice Minister of Personnel closed its doors to guests, showing no further movement as if the previous turmoil had never occurred.

The Grand Princess's palace also had its gates tightly shut; it was said that Her Highness had caught a cold and was resting.

The 'Shadow Kill' organization seemed to have evaporated from the face of the earth, causing not even a ripple of trouble.

Everything seemed to have returned to peace.

And because of Li Qing's stubborn behavior two days ago, his Clone still had half the journey remaining.

The third stage of the Great Xia Martial Selection, the Top 100 Ranking Tournament, officially began!

The Central Martial Arena was packed with people, with every seat occupied.

Hundreds of thousands of spectators crowded the arena so tightly that not even water could trickle through. The soaring waves of sound almost threatened to overturn the clouds in the sky.

After two rounds of brutal elimination, those who could stand here were all favored children of heaven who had stood out from the tens of thousands of young talents in the Great Xia Dynasty!

They were the true elites, the future powerhouses, and the targets that major forces vied to recruit.

And today, they would be here to take the first step in the final competition for supreme glory and the chance to ascend to the heavens in a single bound!

This competition would determine the top ten.

The top ten would then rest for two days before the final rankings were decided!

In the center of the Martial Arena, a giant stage—larger than all the previous stages combined and built entirely of incredibly hard obsidian—stood silently.

Surrounding the stage were profound Formation runes that emitted a faint glow, sufficient to withstand the aftershocks of a full-strength battle between Spirit Transformation Realm experts.

Directly to the north of the stage was the high Viewing Platform.

The Emperor of Great Xia, Crown Prince Xia Yuan, Grand Princess Xia Qingyue, along with the hundred civil and military officials, the heads of major families, and the Elders of various Sects, were all present.

Such a grand scene was only witnessed once every three years!

"Silence!"

As an old man dressed in official robes with an unfathomable aura stepped onto the stage and announced loudly, the noisy waves of sound in the entire Martial Arena instantly subsided.

Everyone's gaze focused on the stage, their eyes filled with excitement and anticipation.

"The Great Xia Martial Selection Top 100 Ranking Tournament begins now!"

"Next, the match list for the first round will be decided by drawing lots!"

As soon as the old man finished speaking, countless names flashing with golden light began to scroll rapidly on the giant screen behind him, which was condensed from essence power.

Everyone's hearts leaped into their throats.

"Stop!"

At the old man's command, the names on the screen instantly froze!

The two sides of the first duel were clearly presented before everyone's eyes.

[Jinling City, Li Qing]

vs.

[Jinling City, Qin Shuang]

"Whoosh—!!!"

The moment these two names were seen, the entire Martial Arena first fell silent.

Immediately after, a burst of uproar erupted!

"What's the situation?! Am I seeing this right? Li Qing against Qin Shuang?"

"Aren't both of these people from Jinling City? Why are they fighting their own in the first round?"

"What a coincidence!"

"Keep it down! Do you want to die? Didn't you see the half-smiling expression on Grand Princess's face on the Viewing Platform?"

"Anyone thinking with their toes would know who's pulling the strings behind the scenes!"

"Holy crap! This is too shameless! They're openly targeting him! Is this to make Marquis Wuan exhaust his stamina in the first round?"

"It's more than just exhausting stamina! I heard that Qin Shuang is also a Genius from Jinling City and has known Marquis Wuan for a long time. There seems to be some unclear relationship between them."

"Making fellow townsmen slaughter each other—this move is truly both poisonous and ruthless!"

...The sounds of discussion swept through the entire Martial Arena like a tide.

No one was a fool.

Once this draw result came out, the thick scent of conspiracy practically hit them in the face, without any disguise.

Everyone's gaze involuntarily drifted toward the beautiful woman sitting on the phoenix chair on the Viewing Platform, who had an indifferent expression but a cold arc at the corner of her mouth.

An open scheme!

This was a blatant, overt scheme laid out on the table!

I am going to target you, I am going to disgust you, what can you do about it?