33: Fighting against opponents of higher levels!

At the Altar Square, a thousand prodigies stood solemnly, their auras intertwining like beacon smoke, their Battle Intent soaring to the heavens.

After the brutal baptism of the first round's cave-heaven melee, those who could stand here were all true elites of the younger generation of the Nine Provinces. The lowest cultivation base was at the Late Stage of the Tongtian Realm, and there were many auras of the Life Soul Realm as well.

On the high platform, the Imperial Dynasty Prince appeared once again, his resonant voice spreading in all directions: "The first round is over. Congratulations to all the prodigies. Next, we will proceed with the second round: the Arena Ranking Battles!"

Buzz—!

In the center of the square, a hundred even larger arenas with more brilliant runes slowly rose. Light screens flowed around them, emitting a powerful protective force.

"From one thousand to five hundred, opponents will be decided by drawing lots! The winner advances, and the loser is eliminated!"

A giant light screen appeared again, with a thousand names scrolling and matching rapidly.

Once the results of the draw came out, some were happy while others were worried.

Lin Hao's opponent was a violent young man from the Yan Province who controlled deep purple flames, with a cultivation base at the eighth level of the Tongtian Realm.

Ye Chen faced a barbarian warrior from the Huang Province, two zhang tall, with skin like rock, carrying a giant bone club, and a cultivation base at the ninth level of the Tongtian Realm!

Lin Yun, on the other hand, drew a curse master from the Ling Province who held a soul-attracting banner and was surrounded by shrill ghostly shadows, also with a cultivation base at the eighth level of the Tongtian Realm!

None of them were weak!

The battle broke out instantly! A hundred arenas started fighting at the same time. Spells roared, Sword Qi soared, and Bloodline divine abilities manifested. The scene was far more intense and exciting than the first round's melee!

In the battle between Lin Hao and the youth from Yan Province, sword light and purple fire collided frantically, and the temperature on the arena was extremely high.

That purple fire could not only burn spiritual power but also scorch the Divine Soul, making it extremely difficult to deal with.

Lin Hao pushed his Flowing Cloud Steps and Wind Sword Intent to the limit, his figure moving like the wind and his sword striking like lightning, constantly searching for gaps in the opponent's fire manipulation.

The two sides fought fiercely for over a hundred rounds. Lin Hao finally relied on his superior Sword Heart Clarity to capture the moment the opponent paused for breath. With a Wind-Startling Sword strike, he pierced through the sea of fire and pointed his blade at the opponent's throat. Victory!

The battle between Ye Chen and the barbarian warrior from Huang Province was the purest collision of strength!

The two were like two human-shaped Vicious Beasts, fists hitting flesh in a head-on clash. Muffled booms constantly echoed on the arena, causing the light screen to tremble!

That barbarian warrior possessed terrifying strength and amazing defense; every swing of his bone club had the power to split mountains and crack rocks.

Ye Chen fought with rising excitement, his Ancient Desolate Sacred Body erupting with full force as dark gold patterns appeared on his skin. Finally, using a newly comprehended "Reckless Bull Mountain-Cleaver" punch that contained crushing force, he shattered the opponent's bone club and knocked him off the arena! Victory!

Lin Yun's battle with the curse master from Ling Province was the most dangerous and eerie.

The opponent waved the soul banner, and countless vengeful ghosts and spirits shrieked out, attacking the Divine Soul directly, while various invisible curse powers descended. Lin Yun operated his Starry Sky Annihilation Pupil to the limit, his Starlight Guardian flashing constantly to block the Divine Soul attacks, while counterattacking with illusions to create layers of interference with the opponent's spellcasting.

The two sides fell into a stalemate, competing in the depth and endurance of their Mental Energy.

Finally, Lin Yun gritted his teeth and risked injecting most of his pupil power into a move called "Illusory Star Annihilation," forcibly tearing the core rune of the opponent's soul banner. The backlash hit the master, and he won a difficult victory.

All three of them once again advanced to the top five hundred!

However, the battle was far from over.

Five hundred to two hundred and fifty! Two hundred and fifty to one hundred and twenty-five!

Each arena match was more brutal than the last, and each opponent was stronger than the one before!

Those who could make it this far were all battle-hardened prodigies with deep foundations!

Lin Hao encountered a saber dao Genius from Cang Province whose Saber Intent was overbearingly peerless, and whose cultivation base had already reached the Life Soul Realm First Level!

He fought bitterly until he was covered in blood. Finally, under extreme pressure, his Sword Intent completely fused with a trace of the Law of Wind he had just comprehended, creating the "Formless Wind Extreme" sword move and winning by a narrow margin!

Ye Chen ran into a Buddhist Sect Disciple from Tian Province who possessed a Glazed Treasure Body. His defense was astonishing, and his Buddhist Laws countered Ye Chen's blood-qi power.

He fought for a long time and finally, relying on the stronger recovery power of his Sacred Body and a "Reckless Bull Roar" to scatter the opponent's Buddhist light for a split second, he seized the opportunity to end it with a single punch!

Lin Yun faced a demoness from the Devil Domain who specialized in mental charm and devouring, with a cultivation base at the Life Soul Realm First Level!

This battle was fraught with danger; his illusions were almost completely countered by her, and his Divine Soul nearly fell several times.

At the final moment, he recalled the wisp of Chaos Qi from Old Ancestor Lin Dao. With a sudden flash of inspiration, he used his starry pupil power to simulate a trace of Chaos intent. Unexpectedly, this disrupted the demoness's mental Origin, and he won a narrow victory.

When the final top one hundred and twenty-five were born, the three were covered in wounds, their spiritual and Mental Energy heavily depleted, but their eyes were like divine weapons tempered a thousand times, incomparably sharp!

Their names shone brightly on the giant golden list above the Altar Square! Their rankings had all broken into the top hundred!

The name of the three heroes of the Lin Family completely resounded throughout the Central Province Imperial City!

With a Tongtian Realm cultivation base, they fought against the Life Soul Realm without being defeated, and even emerged victorious! What kind of talent and combat power was this!

Countless gazes focused on them, filled with shock, admiration, jealousy, and killing intent... all mixed together.

Above the high platform's jade pavilion, the big figures from the top powers of the Nine Provinces were also moved.

"Tongtian fighting Life Soul and winning consecutive battles! These three must be recruited into our sect!"

"That Sword Intent has already touched the edge of the Law! What a fine prospect!"

"Ancient Desolate Sacred Body! It's actually this legendary Physique! No wonder he's so fierce!"

"Starry Sky Annihilation Pupil... if this child grows up, he'll be terrifying!"

However, at this moment of glory, in the shadows where no one noticed, those prying eyes lit up again.

"Such flourishing Luck... perfect. It couldn't be more suitable as food for the calamity..."

The raspy voice carried a hint of excitement and greed.

An invisible and intangible, yet even more sinister and eerie power of calamity, like a maggot on a bone, quietly wound around them, trying to penetrate the three's Luck halos.

Lin Dao, who had been sitting in the Quiet Room in Qing Province sensing from afar, suddenly opened his eyes!

"You dare come again?!"

He gave a cold snort, his consciousness sinking into the System: "System, maximize the mobilization of the Family Luck to support the three! At the same time, consume authority points to activate 'Luck Purification'!"

[Ding! Command confirmed! Consuming 10,000 authority points to activate Luck Purification! Maximizing the mobilization of the deep purple Family Luck!]

Boom—!

Far away in the Central Province, Lin Hao and the other two only felt a warmth throughout their bodies as a majestic and vast power, full of vitality and auspiciousness, poured down from the heavens. It instantly washed away their physical fatigue and hidden injuries, and their spiritual and Mental Energy recovered rapidly!

The calamity power that tried to penetrate was like snow meeting a scorching sun. It let out a silent shriek and was once again forcibly repelled, with more than half of it purified!

The three of them were greatly invigorated. Although they didn't know why, they all guessed it must be the Old Ancestor's doing, and their hearts became even more settled.

"Next round: one hundred and twenty-five to sixty-three. One person will get a bye. The draw begins!" the Prince's voice rang out again.

The light screen scrolled.

Finally, a name lit up, listed separately.

The one with the bye—Lin Yun!

"What great Luck!" Many people looked at Lin Yun with envy. Getting a bye in such high-intensity continuous combat was undoubtedly a huge advantage.

Lin Yun himself was slightly stunned, then he breathed a sigh of relief. He had consumed the most and indeed needed time to recover.

Meanwhile, Lin Hao and Ye Chen stepped onto the arena once more.

This time, their opponents were powerful enough to be suffocating!

Lin Hao's opponent was a young general from the Central Province, trained by the Imperial Dynasty, wearing standard spiritual armor and holding a dragon-patterned halberd. His cultivation base was impressively at the Third Level of the Life Soul Realm!

His aura was iron-blooded and murderous, clearly a powerhouse who had fought his way out of a sea of blood and mountains of corpses!

Ye Chen's opponent was a young demon king from the Demon Domain. His true form was unknown, but in human form, he was covered in green scales. His speed was extremely fast, his claws tore through space, and his cultivation base was also at the Third Level of the Life Soul Realm!

His Bloodline pressure made many people feel their hearts skip a beat!

"It's over! These two kids from the Lin Family have reached their limit!"

"Third Level of the Life Soul Realm! And they're the practical combat type! How can they fight?"

"Being able to get this far is already Heaven-Defying..."

A wave of pessimistic discussions rose from the stands.

On the arena, Lin Hao and the Imperial Dynasty general had already engaged!

The halberd was like a dragon, carrying the blood-shaking aura of the battlefield, overbearingly peerless! Every strike was heavy and powerful, and it even contained a certain Concept of military formation combined attacks. The sense of pressure was extremely strong!

Compared to it, Lin Hao's sword light appeared so "slender." He was completely suppressed and could only struggle to hold on with his movement techniques and Sword Intent. He was in constant danger, several times almost being hit by the halberd, adding new wounds to his body.

On the other side, Ye Chen was also fighting the demon king. The demon king's speed was too fast, his claw shadows filling the sky and tearing through everything, even carrying a corrosive demonic power.

Although Ye Chen's strength was great, he couldn't keep up with the opponent's speed. His scales were torn in many places, and he was covered in blood. He could only rely on his Sacred Body to endure and look for a chance to counterattack.

The situation was critical!

On the high platform, Lin Xuan and Lin Tian's palms were covered in sweat, and they were incredibly nervous.

In the Quiet Room in Qing Province, Lin Dao's gaze was solemn, but he did not intervene. This was a necessary trial.

"Roar!" Ye Chen was truly enraged. Ignoring his injuries, he endured a claw strike and grabbed the demon king's arm!

"I've got you!"

He roared, his other fist gathering all his strength as he smashed it fiercely toward the opponent's face!

The demon king hadn't expected him to be so brave. Being caught, he couldn't break free for a moment and could only throw a punch in return!

Bang! A pure collision of strength!

Ye Chen retreated several steps, his arm fractured, but the demon king was also shaken until his arm went numb and his scales shattered!

On the other side, Lin Hao had been pushed to the edge of the arena. The halberd came crashing down with the force of destruction!

There was no way to avoid it!

A look of determination flashed in his eyes! Instead of retreating, he charged forward!

On his long sword, the Law of Wind and Sword Intent condensed to the extreme, even triggering a resonance with the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi!

"Formless Wind Chant, Swan-Startling Sword!"

He became one with his sword, turning into an extremely brilliant swan-like sword light that seemed capable of piercing through anything, stabbing directly at the weakest point of the halberd!

Breaking the surface with a single point! A life-sacrificing strike!

Boom—!!! In a thunderous explosion, the sword light and halberd radiance shattered at the same time! Lin Hao spat blood and flew backward, crashing heavily into the arena's light screen, his long sword falling from his hand.

But the Imperial Dynasty general was also shaken by this life-sacrificing sword strike, his blood and qi churning. The halberd almost fell from his hand as he retreated more than a dozen steps before stabilizing himself. His gaze toward Lin Hao was full of shock.

Although not defeated, withstanding the ultimate strike of a Third Level of the Life Soul Realm with a Tongtian Realm cultivation base was already a miracle!

The whole place was dead silent for a moment before erupting into thunderous cheers!

"Good!!!" "Amazing!"

The Imperial Dynasty general took a deep breath, suppressed his churning blood and qi, and cupped his hands:

"You win. If you were in the same realm as me, I would be no match for you."

After saying that, he actually jumped off the arena of his own accord.

On the other side, Ye Chen and the demon king were still frantically clashing. Both were truly enraged, covered in blood and acting like madmen!

Finally, relying on his speed advantage, the demon king slashed a claw toward Ye Chen's throat! Ye Chen seemed unable to dodge!

Right then, a flash of Chaos-colored light suddenly appeared in Ye Chen's eyes! With a flash of inspiration, he didn't dodge or avoid. Instead, he opened his mouth and let out an unprecedented roar!

"Moo-Aoo—!!!"

This was not the Reckless Bull Roar, but the Sacred Blood Roar, which contained a trace of the Ancient Desolate Sacred Body's Origin power!

The sound waves, mixed with majestic blood-qi and that trace of Chaos Luck, boomed out like a physical substance!

Caught off guard, the demon king was hit squarely by the roar. His Divine Soul instantly shook, and his movements stiffened!

Ye Chen seized this momentary opportunity. His other intact fist, gathering the last of his strength, smashed fiercely into the opponent's chest!

Crack!

The sound of a shattering breastbone was clearly audible! The demon king screamed as he flew backward and fell off the arena!

Victory!

Two tragic victories!

The two heroes of the Lin Family had both defeated powerful enemies at the Third Level of the Life Soul Realm and advanced to the top sixty-three!

The whole place was boiling over! The cheers were like a tsunami!

Lin Hao and Ye Chen supported each other as they walked off the arena, covered in blood but laughing heartily!

Through this battle, their strength, will, and comprehension of their own Dao had all reached an unprecedented level of sublimation!

Meanwhile, Lin Yun, who had a bye, watched his two older brothers' tragic victories and silently clenched his fists, the starlight in his eyes flashing violently. An unprecedented sense of urgency and power surged within him.

Next round, it was his turn!