Chapter 619

"This is just a junior brother who entered the sect only a few years ago!"

"I heard this junior brother possesses the Heavenly Yang Fire Vein—could that be true?"

"The Xun family is famously renowned among our Xi Kingdom's cultivation clans! He must have no shortage of powerful magic treasures!"

"Who is this Han junior brother? I've never seen him before—did he only join recently?"

"This Han fellow is going to be in trouble. He's actually going up against such an opponent!"

……

Before the match even began, a string of murmurs, even through the barrier's light shield, clearly reached Han Li's ears.

"Heavenly Yang Fire Vein?" Han Li heard this and his expression subtly shifted; he regarded the opponent with keen interest.

Besides being handsome and upright in stature, his cultivation base was also solid—around Qi Refining Stage Twelve.

The white-robed young man, seeing Han Li's unremarkable appearance and cultivation level of merely Qi Refining Stage Ten, flickered a hint of contempt in his eyes, yet still bowed politely to Han Li.

Han Li saw this, curled his lips slightly, sneered inwardly, then casually returned the bow.

The white-robed young man's face subtly darkened with irritation.

At this moment, the withered cultivator above finally spoke calmly:

"The match begins!"

Upon hearing this, the white-robed young man's face hardened; he immediately formed a hand seal, and in an instant, flames flared around him, forming a shimmering, scorching barrier over his body.

He then raised his hand, fingers spreading, and a red pearl, the size of an egg, floated into view.

Chanting incantations, he prepared to activate this magic treasure and strike Han Li.

Han Li watched this sequence of moves and found them vaguely familiar; he couldn't help feeling a touch of exasperation.

At that moment, a chorus of gasps erupted from the crowd outside.

"Look! Junior Brother Xun truly has the Heavenly Yang Fire Vein—he summoned a fire barrier without even using a talisman!"

"That's nothing—look at the pearl in his hand! That's the famed Fire Wave Pearl of the Xun family! This kid opposite him is finished. The outcome might be decided in an instant!"

……

Han Li's expression remained unchanged; a flicker of mockery passed through his mind. Calmly, he reached into his storage bag and pulled out a thick stack of talismans—about thirty or forty of them.

He looked up at the opponent. The white-robed young man was fully focused on activating his magic treasure, completely ignoring Han Li's actions—as if utterly confident in his barrier.

Since that was the case, Han Li had no further need for courtesy. He rubbed his hands together, then raised them both.

A flash of red light erupted, and thirty to forty fireballs, each the size of a fist, shot out from his palms in a dense swarm, striking the opponent's barrier in a relentless barrage.

"Ah!" A chorus of astonished cries rose from the crowd.

At that moment, the Fire Wave Pearl in the white-robed young man's hand had just begun to glow with flame, ready to launch its attack. He was inwardly elated when he suddenly heard the crowd's gasps. Confused, he looked up—and saw the shocking sight of dozens of fireballs slamming into his barrier.

A series of thunderous explosions erupted, blinding red light flashing before his eyes, nearly blinding him.

His shimmering barrier cracked and shattered within mere seconds.

Scorching flames surged toward him, about to engulf him completely.

This prodigy of the Heavenly Yang Fire Vein, though meticulously nurtured by his family since childhood, had never truly faced a life-or-death situation like this.

His face turned pale as he screamed in terror, desperately turning to flee.

But at this critical moment, his neck tightened suddenly—he was yanked upward into midair.

The wave of fire surged past beneath him.

The white-robed young man, still trembling, turned his head—and saw the withered cultivator gripping his collar with one hand.

"Han Li of Tianquan Peak, wins," the withered cultivator said coldly.

Only then did the young man realize he had lost—defeated effortlessly by low-grade Fireball Talismans.

His face turned utterly ashen.

The other watching cultivators, after their initial gasps, exchanged stunned glances.

Everyone knew that even the simplest low-grade Fireball Talisman cost at least one spirit stone.

Yet this man had thrown out thirty or forty of them in one go—that meant thirty or forty spirit stones were wasted in a single battle.

This wasn't just extravagance—it was outright wastefulness.

A decent low-grade magic treasure cost no more than this.

Could this man really be so desperate to win in the sect that he'd ruin himself financially?

Amid the strange glances of the other Luoyun Sect disciples, Han Li bowed slightly to the withered cultivator, then walked out of the barrier without changing expression.

As for the white-robed Xun youth, he glared bitterly at Han Li's retreating back, filled with resentment—but under the withered cultivator's icy gaze, he could only reluctantly leave the arena.

Since the first round was over, Han Li had no interest in watching the other matches; he returned directly to his quarters.

The first round of matches ended completely two days later.

Many dazzling battles had the Luoyun Sect disciples buzzing with excitement.

Han Li's match—where he defeated his opponent with dozens of low-grade Fireball Talismans—left many speechless, yet secretly envious. They all assumed he must be from some great family to afford such extravagance.

Overall, after this battle, Han Li had finally gained recognition among some, and even acquired a small reputation.

Han Li's second-round match came early—he was scheduled for the first afternoon of the day.

When he stepped calmly into the center of the arena again, some disciples who had witnessed his previous match whispered among themselves.

"That Tianquan Peak guy—he threw out dozens of talismans to beat his opponent just two days ago."

"Really? He looks so ordinary—doesn't he feel any pain losing all that?"

"Wait—our Xi Kingdom doesn't have any major Han cultivation families, does it? Could he be from another country?"

……

Han Li heard these words but kept his expression calm, merely narrowing his eyes as he studied his current opponent.

A slender young male disciple, seemingly only seventeen or eighteen.

He wore a neat blue robe, with nothing but a storage bag at his waist—no other trinkets.

His youthful face bore a serious expression as he stared at Han Li.

Clearly, the murmurs from outside had reached him too.

Han Li, seeing an opponent who had barely left his adolescence, frowned slightly—but at the cold command "Begin!", he immediately reached into his storage bag.

Simultaneously, at the moment the match began, the young disciple preemptively raised both hands—white light flashed, and two gleaming ice spikes shot toward Han Li. Then, a flash of green light enveloped him, and his body surged forward like the wind, charging straight at Han Li.

He had copied Han Li's tactic: first use two Ice Spike Talismans to force Han Li into defense, then activate a Light Body Technique to close the distance.

Han Li paused, then smiled.

Calmly, he shifted his body—two ice spikes whistled past him. As the opponent, triumphant, rushed within arm's reach, Han Li raised his hand, golden light glowing in his palm—but before he could unleash whatever he held,

Han Li's figure blurred, and he vanished from his original spot using the Luo Yan Step.

The young disciple lunged at empty air, stunned—his golden light dimmed instantly; it had been a net-like magic treasure.

Before he could even search for Han Li's whereabouts, he felt a sudden, searing pain at the back of his neck—and then darkness swallowed his vision.

He collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

"Han Li of Tianquan Peak, wins," the withered cultivator announced calmly, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

Han Li had suddenly appeared behind his opponent and delivered a single, light palm strike, knocking him out cold.

At once, several cultivators rushed into the arena, checked the unconscious youth briefly, nodded slightly to the hovering withered cultivator to indicate no serious injury, then carried him away.

The crowd outside erupted again in commotion.

"Did you see that? What technique did the Tianquan Peak junior brother use? How did he appear behind his opponent so instantly? Unbelievable!"

"Idiot. That's not a technique—it's a martial body skill from the mortal world. But such a refined one? I've never seen anything like it!" Some Luoyun Sect disciples with more experience had recognized Han Li's movement style.

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