Chapter 106: A Small Demonstration, Crushing the Weak

Contestants must fill out personal information and collect their participant numbers from their group judges.

Because the Liuyun Sect members had been quite courteous to Pang Bo and others in recent days, they all listed Liuyun Sect as their sect affiliation, which would benefit Liuyun Sect if they achieved rankings.

After completing these procedures, the group elimination rounds began shortly after.

Cao Cao's luck was undoubtedly the worst—he was assigned to a death group filled with extremely strong opponents.

Moreover, Cao Cao's current strength was the weakest among the chat group members, equivalent only to the early stage of Baoyuan Realm, and while he focused solely on improving his cultivation, he had learned no combat techniques, so in his first ten matches he won only one and was ultimately eliminated in disgrace;

As for Yue Buqun, whose strength equaled the mid-stage of Baoyuan Realm, though his performance wasn't particularly dazzling, he secured eight victories in ten matches thanks to his refined Huashan Sword Art and better luck, advancing smoothly past the first elimination round;

Pang Bo, Ye Chen, Han Li, and Xiao Yan had unquestionably the best luck—their respective groups had no strong opponents, and Han Li did not face Pang Bo within his group, so passing the first elimination round was remarkably easy.

The only noteworthy event was that Han Li encountered the No. 13 genius from last year's Qilong List; after a fierce battle, Han Li deliberately exposed a weakness and lost to him, prompting Pang Bo and Xiao Yan to mock him for a long time;

As for the most astonishing performance in the first round, unquestionably it was Meng Huan from the World of Flying Sword Asking Dao!

Know that Meng Huan, who shattered the void and ascended to heaven in broad daylight, was an unparalleled genius rare even in his small world after thousands or tens of thousands of years; after entering the Mingyao Great World, he joined the elite Yuding Sect, and within a very short time he had cultivated to the Second Layer of Yuanshen Realm. With his realm, even if his power was suppressed to the peak of Baoyuan Realm, these twenty-something youths could not possibly match him.

Fortunately, fighting these geniuses reminded him of feelings from his home world, so he did not outright crush them but chose to spar briefly with each opponent.

Even so, Meng Huan's battles were swift and decisive—even the eldest disciple of the Feitian Demon Sect, Mo Yan, was defeated cleanly and efficiently by him!

This shocked countless martial artists watching, and they even ranked Meng Huan alongside another unparalleled genius, Tuoba Ku, as the two biggest dark horses of this year's Qilong List competition!

Compared to Meng Huan, Pang Bo and others who did not reveal their full strength in the first elimination round nor defeat any powerful opponents clearly appeared inferior.

When the first stage of elimination ended, the fewest number of perfect-score participants in any group was two, while the most reached eight.

After all, every group contained powerful experts; when two such experts met, one must inevitably lose.

Just like Mo Yan, who had previously faced Meng Huan—if he hadn't met Meng Huan, winning ten straight matches would have been effortless for him; he simply had terrible luck.

In this first elimination stage, the Liuyun Sect geniuses Zhu Mei and Cao Cao were both eliminated, while everyone else advanced smoothly.

After resting for about an hour, the second stage of elimination began shortly after.

According to competition rules, the remaining twelve groups were merged pairwise into six new groups for the second elimination round.

Under the rules, each of the six new groups had twenty-four participants, and twelve from each group would advance to become this year's Qilong List-ranked geniuses.

Twenty-four competitors vying for twelve slots might seem like a fifty percent success rate, but the competition was undoubtedly extremely brutal.

After all, only six groups remained, and nearly every group contained extremely powerful experts; thus, for weaker geniuses to compete for the remaining slots became far more difficult.

In this round of grouping, the chat group members' luck remained fairly good—except that Pang Bo, Han Li, and Meng Huan were all placed in the same group, Ye Chen was assigned to Group Six, and Xiao Yan was assigned to Group Three.

After giving the many geniuses a brief rest, the second elimination round officially began.

……

"Match One: Han Li vs. Mo Yan!"

The first match of Group One began; neither combatant was unknown.

Mo Yan was the eldest disciple of the Feitian Demon Sect; though he had previously lost to Meng Huan, he remained a top contender for the top ten overall rankings.

Han Li, though previously obscure, had won nine straight matches in his original group, proving his strength formidable.

Of course, spectators did not expect Han Li to defeat Mo Yan; they were merely guessing how much of Mo Yan's true power Han Li could force him to reveal.

Hearing the murmurs from the crowd, Pang Bo, preparing for his own match, immediately felt dissatisfaction.

Within the chat group.

【Pang Bo: @Han Li, I know you're not using your full strength in this competition, but I can't stand that Mo Yan over there—he's just the eldest disciple of that Feitian Demon Sect, and he dares to covet Ye Chen's wife! So Han Li, you must defeat him this time, or we're no longer brothers!】

【Xiao Yan: Yeah, Brother Han! Look at that guy's arrogant expression—give him a lesson!】

On the combat platform, Han Li and Mo Yan stood fifty meters apart.

After reading Pang Bo and Xiao Yan's messages, Han Li glanced at Mo Yan across from him.

With his strength, even suppressed to the peak of Baoyuan Realm, defeating Mo Yan was an extremely easy task.

But before Pang Bo spoke, Han Li had genuinely planned to observe Mo Yan's Tongtian Demon Art, then feign a weakness and lose—after all, as long as he entered the top seventy-two, the match outcome meant little to him.

But since Pang Bo and Xiao Yan had spoken, he could only make Mo Yan suffer.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

"Kid, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Mo Yan gazed at Han Li from afar, black light flickering in his eyes; he thought inwardly: "Blame yourself for being allied with that Meng Huan—he humiliated me, so I'll make sure you don't pass this elimination round!"

Noticing Mo Yan's gaze, Han Li's eyes flashed with a hint of coldness.

Mo Yan's scheming look was not unfamiliar to him; had this been the Mortal World, he would have already erased Mo Yan completely.

But now, during the critical stage of the Qilong List competition, he didn't wish to stir up unnecessary trouble—he resolved to give Mo Yan a severe lesson after the match began.

The battle began quickly.

Mo Yan immediately activated his Tongtian Demon Eyes, carefully searching for Han Li's weaknesses.

The Tongtian Demon Eyes were mysteriously potent, capable of perceiving an opponent's vulnerabilities, rendering them utterly exposed, with immense power sufficient to allow the weak to defeat the strong.

But after Mo Yan used his Tongtian Demon Eyes to examine Han Li's weaknesses, his face suddenly showed a look of shock.

"This is impossible!"

Mo Yan stared at Han Li in disbelief: "What cultivation art are you practicing? You have no weaknesses at all?"

After all, even Meng Huan—who had defeated him—had one discernible weakness, though Mo Yan's own strength was insufficient to exploit it.

But now, Han Li's aura was perfectly unified, showing absolutely no flaw whatsoever—this was simply too unbelievable.

"Oh? No weaknesses at all?"

Hearing Mo Yan's words, Han Li's heart stirred slightly: "Not bad! All those times I used the Enlightenment Boost in the chat group to refine my art have finally paid off—I've taken a small step forward in survivability!"

Thinking this, the dark-skinned Han Li gave Mo Yan a smile he considered reasonably amiable, then said: "Actually, my strength is still weak—please give me your guidance!"

To Mo Yan, Han Li's words were an outright provocation.

"Hmph!"

Mo Yan coldly declared: "No weaknesses in your art doesn't mean you have no weaknesses! With your strength, even if you have no flaws, you won't last long against me!"

"Phantom Spirit Finger!" Before the words had even finished, Mo Yan launched a surprise attack.

This was his usual fighting style, so those familiar with him were somewhat prepared for it.

Everyone had expected Han Li to suffer a heavy blow due to lack of defense, perhaps even be defeated in one strike by Mo Yan—but they never expected Han Li's speed to be faster than Mo Yan's; before Mo Yan's Phantom Spirit Finger had fully formed, Han Li had already launched his own attack.

"Damn, neither of these guys plays by the rules!"

"These two are truly despicable… no, they're just too cautious—it's a disgrace to the demeanor of masters!"

…

In the spectator seats, countless martial artists erupted into murmurs after witnessing the battle between Han Li and Mo Yan.

Amidst the crowd's chatter, the two combatants ended their fight almost immediately.

Han Li flashed forward and appeared behind Mo Yan, then swung a black, brick-shaped piece of metal straight into the back of Mo Yan's skull.

The speed was simply inconceivable.

Struck on the back of the head by Han Li's black brick, Mo Yan collapsed instantly!

In fact, had Mo Yan not sensed the danger and urgently gathered his true qi to that spot, he might have been seriously injured and unconscious.

After witnessing Han Li defeat Mo Yan, the countless spectators again wore expressions of shock, and soon crowned Han Li as the third dark horse of this Dragon潛 Contest.

As time passed, match after match unfolded, and Ye Chen and others in the chat group gradually began to emerge.

Meng Huan, with his formidable strength, remained far ahead of the rest;

although Han Li's later performances were no longer as fierce, no one dared underestimate him after he had just defeated Mo Yan, the eldest disciple of the Flying Demon Sect;

Ye Chen quickly defeated Bing Ling, the eldest disciple of the Ice Absolute Sect and seventh-ranked contender from last year's Dragon潛 Contest, revealing his own inconceivable strength;

as for Xiao Yan, his luck remained as usual—he never faced a powerful opponent even in the second round of elimination, and his strongest adversary was merely a genius ranked twenty-something in last year's Dragon潛 Contest, who naturally fell before him without resistance;

the weakest among them, Yue Buqun, had been defeated by several powerful geniuses, but under the point system, he still had a chance to enter the top seventy-two of the Dragon潛 Contest!

Thus, the second round of elimination quickly reached its final match.

Most of the battles in this final round were unremarkable; the only one worth the crowd's attention was the match between Pang Bo and Tuoba Ku in Group One.

To mention Pang Bo and Tuoba Ku, one must mention Mo Yan, the eldest disciple of the Flying Demon Sect!

As the eldest disciple of the Flying Demon Sect, Mo Yan's strength was undoubtedly formidable, yet his luck seemed unusually poor.

After being defeated by Han Li, he then faced Pang Bo and Tuoba Ku in succession—and was defeated again by both.

Because of this, many began to believe Mo Yan was all reputation and no substance, his strength overrated, which filled Mo Yan with bitter rage.

Fortunately, Mo Yan next faced Gan Yun, the second disciple of the Luoxia Sect, and after defeating the powerful Gan Yun, no one dared question his strength again.

Afterward, the crowd naturally turned greater attention to Pang Bo and Tuoba Ku, the two who had defeated Mo Yan.

Now that these two top experts were facing each other, they naturally drew the attention of countless onlookers.

Previously, Tuoba Ku had defeated Mo Yan by relying on his formidable defense—even Mo Yan's strongest attack had failed to threaten him fatally;

while Pang Bo had defeated Mo Yan through terrifying offense, landing just three punches to severely injure him!

Added to this, both Pang Bo and Tuoba Ku fought in nearly identical styles, relying on their immense physical strength, naturally drawing the attention of the spectators.

"Final match: Pang Bo versus Tuoba Ku!"

As the referee's voice rang out, every eye in the arena turned toward these two super-genius fighters.

On the combat platform, Pang Bo and Tuoba Ku stood dozens of meters apart.

"Hahaha!"

Tuoba Ku gazed across at Pang Bo: "Finally, I've met another true expert! Fighting the others is utterly boring—only battling someone like you is worth it!"

"I watched your fights before."

Pang Bo smiled in reply: "Your defense is indeed formidable—even Mo Yan's full-power strikes couldn't break through!"

"But let me tell you this: offense is the best defense. No matter how strong your defense is, if you only defend, you're just a target waiting to be struck!"

"Hahaha, then see if you have the strength to break through my defense!"

Tuoba Ku roared with laughter and charged straight at Pang Bo.

On the other side, Pang Bo refused to yield, and the two soon clashed fiercely.

"Barbarian God Fist!"

Tuoba Ku punched forward—dragon roars and tiger howls echoed as the air shattered.

"Demon Emperor Fist!"

Pang Bo unleashed his fist, carrying the weight of mountains, unstoppable!

"Interesting!"

Seeing Pang Bo's terrifying fist power, Tuoba Ku's eyes gleamed with intense excitement—he had not encountered such a formidable opponent in his own realm since leaving his homeland.

On the other side, Pang Bo, after sensing Tuoba Ku's immense strength, also felt deep admiration.

Tuoba Ku's strength was truly extraordinary; had he not studied the Demon Emperor Ancient Scripture, his power would have been roughly equal to Tuoba Ku's—and victory would have been extremely difficult.

Fortunately, during this time he had trained relentlessly, and after obtaining the Demon Emperor Ancient Scripture, he quickly mastered several offensive techniques using the Enlightenment Boost feature in the chat group, allowing him to fight with ease.

In no time, Tuoba Ku unleashed his ultimate technique—but still failed to land a single blow on Pang Bo.

After witnessing Tuoba Ku's full strength, Pang Bo swiftly unleashed his own power and defeated him.

After this battle, Pang Bo's terrifying strength caused a massive uproar, and he became a top contender for the top three spots.

…

Once the battle between Pang Bo and Tuoba Ku ended, the second round of elimination was completely over.

"All irrelevant personnel, evacuate the arena!"

Referee Chief Luo Jiacheng stepped forward and shouted loudly.

Hearing the referee chief's words, the geniuses ranked below twelfth in each group promptly and tactfully withdrew, leaving only the seventy-two qualified contestants of this year's Dragon潛 Contest standing on the field.

"Alright!"

Very familiar with the competition procedures, the chief referee Luo Jiacheng quickly continued, "All of you, stand up on the martial arena now and prepare to receive the baptism of the dragon vein's Qi!"

Hearing this, the many prodigies all leaped up onto the martial arena.

The people in the chat group had long been very curious about the dragon vein's Qi, so naturally they also leaped up onto the martial arena along with the others.

Soon, on the bodies of the prodigies who had been ranked on the previous Hidden Dragon List, dragon-shaped phantoms began to appear one after another; these dragon-shaped phantoms varied in size, the largest being a full seven or eight zhang, the smallest also two or three zhang,

After a moment…

From the abyss between the martial arenas, the faint sound of dragon roars came through, and immediately afterward streams of dragon-shaped Qi shot out from within, quickly surging into the bodies of those present, then drilling back out again, hovering outside their bodies together with the ones from before.

"Hmm?"

After feeling the augmentation the dragon vein's Qi brought to his own state, Han Li could not help but show a trace of surprise on his face, then secretly thought in his heart, "This dragon vein's Qi is still very helpful to me; it seems I'll have to change my plan going forward!"

"And with the group leader presiding this time, even if some trouble appears, it will be very easy to resolve!"

And in the eyes of Pang Bo and the others standing around Han Li, a strange glint also flashed, followed by a soaring battle intent surfacing.

Only Meng Huan, whose strength was the greatest, did not actually care much about the dragon vein's Qi on his own body at this moment.

After all, his current realm was extremely high, not even that far from becoming an immortal, so naturally he would not pay too much attention to this dragon vein's Qi.

……

On the spectator stands not far away, the group of high-ranking members of the Purple Sun Sect, who shared a life-and-death great grudge with the Flowing Cloud Sect, looked at Ye Chen standing on the martial arena, as well as Pang Bo and the others beside Ye Chen, and endless killing intent quickly flashed through their eyes.

"Sect Master!"

The Purple Sun Sect's Grand Elder quietly transmitted his voice: "That Ye Chen's strength is too great; I estimate that rushing into the top twenty will certainly be no problem at all, and even the top ten is very much within hope!"

"And those people around him are probably also deeply connected to him; if we give them another period of time to grow, then my Purple Sun Sect will certainly be pressed down by the Flowing Cloud Sect until we can't even lift our heads in the future!"

"Don't be impatient!"

The Purple Sun Sect's Grand Elder quickly transmitted his voice: "Right now we still need to first investigate clearly how those people around Ye Chen actually popped up; once we've probed out their origins, it won't be too late for us to act!"

(End of this chapter)