Chapter 109: Back-to-Back Upsets

Under countless eyes, a fire lotus infused with green and crimson flames shot toward Lin Yun at a distance.

Upon sensing the terrifying power within the lotus, Lin Yun’s face instantly paled, and he immediately unleashed his ultimate survival technique, summoning countless fire-element shields before him.

Soon, the two-colored fire lotus slammed into the thick fire-element shields.

BOOM!

The colossal explosion echoed throughout the entire Qianlong Ancient City.

Thunderous roars erupted across the vast square like the wrath of a celestial thunder god, causing countless onlookers to tremble in fear.

Amid the roar, the fire lotus’s power exploded instantly—the fire-element shields before Lin Yun melted away completely, and the terrifying force surged onward toward Lin Yun himself.

Puff! Puff!

Even the faint residual shockwaves striking the combat arena’s energy barrier caused it to wobble precariously; some nearby young experts felt dread simply from sensing that terrifying power.

“Danger!”

“Thicken the energy barrier—save Lin Yun!”

Chief referee Luo Jiacheng, seeing this, immediately joined forces with several other Star-Level referees, rescuing Lin Yun just before the terrifying force struck him. The arena’s energy barrier was then reinforced by the true qi of multiple Star-Level experts, finally fully blocking the fire lotus’s power.

When the residual waves dissipated, the arena lay in ruins—only Xiao Yan stood alone, holding a black iron ruler, spotless and calm, a faint smile on his face.

…

“How is this possible?”

Mo Yan, who had intended to teach Xiao Yan a lesson in battle, froze in stunned disbelief.

He had thought Lin Yun, having defeated Qian Yun with “Heaven’s Fall Strike,” was already formidable enough—he himself would struggle to win even with all his techniques. Yet he never imagined Lin Yun possessed an even more terrifying move: “Blood Flame Break.”

Yet even Lin Yun, after unleashing “Blood Flame Break,” was still defeated by Xiao Yan—the very same man Mo Yan had dismissed as merely lucky and otherwise insignificant.

This was simply unbelievable!

But upon reflection, it wasn’t Xiao Yan who was lucky—it was everyone else who had been lucky!

If any of them had faced Xiao Yan first, their performance wouldn’t have been much better than Lin Yun’s.

As Mo Yan’s mind raced with thoughts, other prodigies gazed at Xiao Yan on the arena, their eyes filled with solemnity and wariness.

Even Yan Chihuo, who believed himself stronger than Lin Yun, now dared not claim he could withstand Xiao Yan’s final, terrifying strike.

Only the strongest among them, Sikong Sheng, showed a hint of seriousness—but no real concern.

…

The match ended, and Xiao Yan departed the arena amid the gaze of countless onlookers.

Returning to Pang Bo and the others, Xiao Yan smiled and asked: “Guys, how was my performance?”

Hearing this, Han Li couldn’t help but sneer: “You were ridiculously over-the-top!”

Han Li believed that, at the same cultivation level, he could have withstood Xiao Yan’s previous attack.

But he knew well that Xiao Yan had used only one of his strange flames—Qinglian Dixin Fire, one of the lower-ranked ones.

If Xiao Yan unleashed both Qinglian Dixin Fire and Falling Heart Flame together, even Han Li would have to rely on his higher cultivation base to endure it!

Thinking of this, Han Li silently resolved: “Forget it—I won’t compete with a madman who cultivates the Burning Scripture. I’ll just cultivate steadily. When I become a Dao Ancestor, I’ll settle the score with him.”

At that moment, Pang Bo also spoke: “Xiao Yan, you’re being way too showy! One tiny bit of Qinglian Dixin Fire would’ve ended the fight—you had to show off your Buddha’s Wrath Lotus. Now you’ve stolen everyone’s spotlight!”

On the other side, Ye Chen wore a solemn expression, already pondering how he could block Xiao Yan’s attack.

As for Meng Huan, his expression remained calm.

In his eyes, Xiao Yan’s “Buddha’s Wrath Lotus” had immense growth potential—but at its current power level, it still couldn’t trouble him at the same realm.

…

Amid the crowd’s shock, the next match began quickly, yet many still reeled from Xiao Yan’s earlier display.

Even the Star-Level referees were no exception, now gathered together discussing Xiao Yan.

“We completely misjudged him!”

“With Xiao Yan’s strength, he’s definitely qualified to compete for first place on the Qianlong List. Should we list him as a seeded player?”

“Of course! But if we add him, won’t we have to remove one of the other seeded players?”

“No need. Ten or eleven seeded players makes no difference—we just need to know internally and schedule their matches last. No one else will object.”

“Exactly! Placing the strongest prodigies’ matches at the end is perfectly fine!”

After settling Xiao Yan’s status, the Star-Level referees resumed normal match supervision.

Meanwhile, the Tianyin Sect members were gloomy over Lin Yun’s defeat to Xiao Yan.

But after witnessing Xiao Yan’s terrifying strength, the sect’s elders did not blame Lin Yun; instead, they immediately provided him with precious elixirs they had prepared in advance, helping him recover swiftly—for they still relied on Lin Yun to secure a high rank on the Qianlong List and its corresponding fortune.

Thus, time passed, and match after match continued.

By the time the 61st round began, all ten seeded players and Xiao Yan had each fought every other contestant except one another.

Among these eleven, except Meng Huan intentionally lost to Yue Buqun and Lin Yun lost to Xiao Yan, all others had defeated their other sixty-one opponents, maintaining perfect records.

As a result, their dragon-shaped auras had all grown beyond eight zhang.

In the final match of the 61st round, Sikong Sheng easily defeated Mo Yan, the eldest disciple of the Feitian Demon Sect. His dragon-shaped aura, after devouring Mo Yan’s, surged to eight zhang six chi—the largest among all prodigies.

The scales and claws of his dragon aura grew increasingly distinct, sharp and majestic, resembling a true dragon ready to ride the clouds.

Then, the dragon aura suddenly opened its eyes, scanning coldly over the dragon auras of all young prodigies present—even the Spirit Sea experts in the stands deliberately averted their gaze.

Among the Spirit Sea experts, all except the Xuan Kong Mountain Sect Master Sikong Ba felt deeply frustrated.

After all, their strength made them unafraid of a mere dragon aura—but these prodigies’ auras were tied to the fortune of the entire Nan Zhuo Region, and Sikong Sheng’s was the foremost. Gazing upon it might bring trouble to their sects.

As for Sikong Ba, the Xuan Kong Mountain Sect Master, a faint smile appeared on his face.

Though this year’s Qianlong List had produced many unexpected prodigies, he still firmly believed Sikong Sheng would defeat them all and reclaim the top spot.

Moreover, this year’s Qianlong List was the most prosperous in a thousand years—after defeating the others, Sikong Sheng’s dragon aura might surpass nine zhang, allowing him to harness this immense fortune and become the third Life-Death Realm sovereign of the Xuan Kong Mountain lineage.

Meanwhile, prodigies from other sixth-rank sects would fall far behind due to these unexpected talents, widening the gap between them and Xuan Kong Mountain.

At that moment, Lu Qingshan, standing with the Liuyun Sect members, saw Sikong Sheng’s arrogant dragon aura and a flash of lightning appeared in his eyes.

With his current strength, he could shatter the entire Nan Zhuo Region effortlessly; others feared backlash from the fortune, but he had no such fear.

As Lu Qingshan’s eyes flared with lightning, Sikong Sheng’s dragon aura, as if encountering its natural predator, instantly fell silent and retreated.

In the chat group, Pang Bo and the others noticed Lu Qingshan’s action and spoke up.

【Pang Bo: Group Master is awesome!】

【Xiao Yan: Group Master is awesome!】

【Han Li: Group Master is awesome!】

…

【Lu Qingshan: Enough of that. Just work hard together—tomorrow, give that kid a surprise.】

【Pang Bo: Group Master, rest easy! I’m already eager to see Sikong Sheng’s strength!】

【Xiao Yan: Group Master, don’t worry—I’ll give Sikong Sheng a real surprise!】

【Ye Chen: Let’s all work together—make sure Sikong Sheng doesn’t even make the top five!】

【Han Li: That’s a bit hard! The Qianlong List has too many restrictions—I can’t use many of my treasures. I’m not sure I can beat Sikong Sheng.】

【Pang Bo: Han Li, you’re not going to let us down, are you?】

【Han Li: I don’t want to either, but Sikong Sheng’s strength really is terrifying! Fine—I’ll give it my all. If I still lose, don’t blame me!】

…

Time quickly reached the morning of the fourth day.

At the arena, every eye was fixed on the ten seeded players and Xiao Yan; all other young experts had become mere background.

“The referees’ judgment is truly sharp! I thought Mo Yan and Bing Ling might pull off upsets, but they both lost to the seeded players!”

“Not entirely! Didn’t the referees overlook Xiao Yan?”

“Xiao Yan’s an anomaly—who could’ve guessed he had such terrifying strength? I’d even believe he could take first place overall!”

“I heard the people with Xiao Yan are disciples of a ninth-rank sect. Their strength comes from entering an ancient inheritance site and acquiring many precious scriptures. Do you believe that?”

“Does it matter to us? I know one thing—even if it’s true, the benefits won’t reach us, mere Baoyuan cultivators!”

“Exactly! We can’t even beat Xiao Yan now, and even if we could, Star-Level experts would surely appear—maybe even sixth-rank sects will intervene!”

“That’s impossible!!”

“You don’t know anything! Do you think sixth-rank sects are saints? They’ve destroyed countless sects themselves!”

…

Amid countless expectations, the 62nd round began.

The first match wasn’t between the seeded players or Xiao Yan—it was between Bing Ling, eldest disciple of the Bingjue Sect, and Mo Yan, eldest disciple of the Feitian Demon Sect.

In the original storyline, Mo Yan narrowly defeated Bing Ling by exploiting his Heaven-Perceiving Demon Eye’s ability to spot weaknesses.

But this time, Mo Yan’s mindset had shattered after being repeatedly crushed by Han Li and the others, while Bing Ling, though also defeated by Han Li’s group, had continuously learned from her battles and refined her killing techniques.

Thus, after dozens of exchanges, Bing Ling reversed the tide—her protective true qi nearly shattered—by landing her perfected killing technique and defeating Mo Yan outright.

As time passed, the 62nd round continued.

By the 31st match, the seeded players finally faced each other.

This time, it was Yan Chihuo versus Han Li.

Seeing his opponent was Han Li, Yan Chihuo felt a slight relief.

Among the undefeated prodigies, Han Li had clearly shown the weakest performance.

Though he feared Sikong Sheng and Xiao Yan, he had great confidence in defeating the others.

Thus, amid the crowd’s anticipation, the battle between the two seeded players, Han Li and Yan Chihuo, finally began.

Yan Chihuo had expected an easy victory over Han Li—but Han Li held firm against his relentless assaults.

Even as he unleashed attack after attack, he still failed to defeat his opponent.

When the battle reached a stalemate, Yan Chi had assumed his Earth-grade supreme cultivation technique would grant him the overwhelming true qi needed to outlast the opponent—but he never expected Han Li’s true qi to seem endless; in the end, he was left exhausted and forced to retreat.

Upon witnessing this, the audience erupted once more in uproar.

After all, Yan Chi had ranked second in the previous Dragon Qian List competition, and the immense power he displayed against Han Li was terrifying—there were hardly any other prodigies who could match him.

Yet even this terrifying Yan Chi was defeated by Han Li!

Although Han Li’s methods were not particularly honorable, who among other prodigies could have withstood Yan Chi’s endless onslaught of killing techniques?

On the other side, the sect masters of the Seven Sixth-Rank Sects gathered together to converse.

“This Han Li’s true qi is even more vast than Yan Chi’s—his cultivation technique must be extraordinary!” said Sikong Ba, sect master of Xuan Kong Mountain.

The Fire Spirit Palace sect master quickly added: “Yan Chi cultivates our Fire Spirit Palace’s Earth-grade supreme technique, and he has already reached its eleventh level. Logically, no one at the same realm should be able to overwhelm him in true qi volume!”

“Could it be that this Han Li cultivates a Heaven-grade technique?” asked the Tian Yun Sect master, equally astonished.

“It doesn’t necessarily have to be a Heaven-grade technique!”

The Ice Absolute Sect master swiftly replied: “Some Earth-grade supreme techniques specialize in accumulating true qi and can achieve this very thing! I noticed Han Li always focused on defense during his battle with Yan Chi and showed little aptitude for offense—he likely cultivates such a technique.”

“Even so, that’s already extremely rare!”

Sikong Ba, sect master of Xuan Kong Mountain, continued: “Among our Sixth-Rank Sects, how many Earth-grade supreme techniques do we even possess?”

“I heard that several of Han Li’s companions are merely disciples of the Ninth-Rank Sect, Yun Yun Sect—yet their strength comes entirely from their accidental discovery of an ancient inheritance site, where they obtained numerous supreme techniques!”

“I’ve heard of this too!”

The Flying Demon Sect master quickly said: “At first I didn’t believe it, but the strength these people have displayed now seems to confirm they truly cultivate Earth-grade supreme techniques—otherwise, they couldn’t possibly possess such astonishing power!”

“So many Earth-grade supreme techniques, plus a precious ancient inheritance site—surely none of you are unmoved?”

Upon hearing this, the other sect masters quickly felt various thoughts stir within them.

…

On another front, after Han Li defeated Yan Chi, the battles among the Top Ten Seeds continued.

Match Thirty-Two: Sikong Sheng easily defeated Li Daoxuan, the eldest disciple of Wu Qing Sect, who had mastered sixty percent of sword intent;

Match Thirty-Three: Xiao Yan defeated Murong Qingcheng, the second disciple of the Flying Demon Sect;

Match Thirty-Four: Ye Chen once again pulled off an upset, defeating the extremely powerful Lin Yun;

Match Thirty-Five: Tuoba Ku defeated Gan Yun, who was not among the Top Ten Seeds.

Match Thirty-Six: Pang Bo from the Chat Group faced Meng Huan.

Pang Bo, both in his own strength and his cultivation of the Zhe Tian Method, was formidable and exceptionally skilled in combat—but Meng Huan’s realm was simply too high; even when suppressing his power to match Pang Bo’s level, he was far beyond what Pang Bo could overcome.

Fortunately, before the match began, Meng Huan had already stated that their encounter was meant as mutual exchange.

Thus, after offering Pang Bo some guidance, Meng Huan, as he had done when facing Yue Buqun, voluntarily conceded defeat.

After all, the Dragon Vein Qi had become negligible to him, and he had cultivated for hundreds of years longer than Pang Bo and the others—there was simply no need to win!

(End of Chapter)