Chapter 513: Seize the Time

Damn! How can they punish like this!

We didn't kill on purpose; the opponent was just too weak!

The twin-headed snake's two heads spoke in unison to dispute the referee.

The referee merely said indifferently, "According to the combat rules, intentional killing disqualifies you. Unintentional or out‑of‑control killing halves your points and reduces a tenth of your genius luck."

The twin-headed shadow snake, hearing that, dared not argue further.

In fact, the referee was already telling it that its act had been judged as unintentional killing. That penalty was already lenient.

If it kept arguing, it might even be judged as intentional killing!

"Boss, looks like we can't go all out! Hitting harder will cost us luck, so what do we do?" The right head called the left head "boss."

The luck they lost is only ten percent, but when masters spar, that tiny margin can change the outcome. So they value that luck especially.

"Heh heh, they only forbid killing, but they never said you can't maim…" The twin-headed snake's boss, the left head, spat a red core, its eyes full of cunning and ferocity.

Ye Liuyun's Divine Sense caught their conversation and suddenly recalled something. "If this twin-headed snake could combine attacks like Wu Qingcheng and Yu Er, its power would probably double again!"

Ye Liuyun, thinking this, grew even more cautious.

After that bout, the prodigies on the Northern District arena all felt fear toward the twin-headed shadow snake. Many resolved that if they met it in an unlucky round, they'd concede immediately.

Subsequently, the arenas in each district proceeded with the contests in orderly fashion.

Each match, guided by a Token, had both sides step onto the stage to fight, without knowing their opponent in advance.

In the eyes of the prodigies, they compete not only for points but also for luck. Even a slight boost in strength now brings a modest sense of security to each of them.

This is no exception for Ye Liuyun.

On the Northern District arena, after the twin-headed shadow snake went to rest, everyone took turns stepping onto the stage.

Based on past experience, rotating matches among nearly three thousand participants would take at least ten days to half a month; otherwise it couldn't be finished.

"With my current strength, the chance of beating those five Tianjiao is slim. Even against higher‑realm prodigies like Mo Tianheng, my odds of winning are also slim."

And that doesn't even count the dark horses about to emerge. Every grand tournament sees a few dark horses rise and contend with the Tianjiao. Ye Liuyun thinks this time will be no different.

Thus, under immense pressure, Ye Liuyun immediately sat cross‑legged to begin cultivation.

Though his eyes were closed, his Divine Sense still monitored the battles on the five arenas. When he spotted something worth learning, he would activate his Golden Pupil to observe. That's why he didn't enter the Xuan Kong Shi to cultivate.

Entering the Xuan Kong Shi would make cultivation take ten times longer, but studying others' combat techniques and gauging their strength would greatly inspire his cultivation.

For example, many prodigies channel Bloodline Power differently. Thus, the way they unleash Bloodline Power in battle provides Ye Liuyun with ample reference samples, allowing him to continuously refine his own Bloodline flow.

Ye Liuyun split his Soul into three parts.

On one hand, he used a small fraction of his Divine Sense to steer his body in continuously absorbing the island's ambient Qi.

After breaking through to the Tian Gang Liu Chong realm, his Qi absorption rate doubled. Yet he requires a massive amount of True Essence, so although he absorbs quickly, his speed isn't beyond that of ordinary people.

Since there's no danger of a breakthrough now, he only needs a tiny portion of Divine Sense to maintain control.

On the other hand, he was merging the two Souls. One, originally responsible for offense, the Buddha‑Demon Golden Body, had already cultivated to the Ninth Layer.

Now he intends to fuse the Soul that had just reached the Seventh Layer—originally used for defense—into the offensive Soul, so as not to waste the hard‑won progress.

Thus the process won't finish in a day or two, but he estimates that before his next round of matches, he'll have completed it.

This cultivation session is Ye Liuyun's busiest for his Divine Sense, essentially multitasking threefold.

The final aspect is observing battles, learning strengths and weaknesses, and refining Bloodline pathways—this part consumes the most Divine Sense.

Merging the Souls isn't very taxing for him, given his prior experience with fusion and separation.

In an instant, Ye Liuyun's Bloodline flow, Soul fusion, and Qi transmutation proceeded in sync.

This is also the first time, under pressure, that he feels cultivation time is insufficient. He now races against every second, daring not to waste a moment.

It's also his first time feeling his Soul itself is insufficient.

Because his Divine Sense is now overwhelmed—monitoring five arenas, merging Souls, and cultivating—it runs at high load. This busyness rivals battling a Soul master.

On the Northern District arena, it was Mo Ya's turn to step onto the stage. Ye Liuyun activated his Golden Pupil, focusing on his fight.

He also wanted to see what new skills Mo Ya had gained after such a long absence, besides his higher realm. Yet he was prepared: based on Mo Ya and senior brother Hao Chengfeng's realms, the two wouldn't hold out long.

After Mo Ya took the stage, he drew a bone blade from his back. That bone blade was the weapon they had once eradicated together with Lin Feier while destroying the Foreign Tribe Altar.

Seeing him wield the blade, Ye Liuyun recalled that Hao Chengfeng also uses a blade. The three of them all practice blade arts, no wonder they share the same aspirations.

"Their blade intent hasn't reached perfection yet!" Ye Liuyun instantly assessed the two's blade intent, finding both fell short of completeness.

At this level, such blade intent is top‑ranked in the Northern Region, but here it may not be impressive enough.

Nevertheless, Mo Ya doesn't rely solely on blade intent in combat.

A cluster of Demon Qi instantly rose around him, forming a circular barrier. This barrier not only defends but also makes opponents, unable to see his gaze and movements, feel fear and misjudge.