Below the stage, Lin Ye hugged his long saber, waving his hand excitedly as he shouted, “Miss Su, keep it up! Just go out there and dominate!”
At that moment, her opponent stepped up the stairs and onto the arena stage.
The newcomer was indeed the rogue martial artist named Chen Tie.
He was a burly man, thick-set and muscular, with hands covered in thick calluses. He exuded the blood qi fluctuations of the late stage of the Second Realm.
While this level of strength was more than enough to work as a martial arts master guarding a household in the mortal world, it posed absolutely no threat in Su Yueli's eyes.
It was a battle with practically no suspense.
Meanwhile, on the high platform of the martial arena.
Within the Pang family's camp, Pang Jinbiao sat in his chair, staring at the green-robed figure on Stage Two, secretly gritting his teeth.
“Family Head, that's the girl,” the grey-robed elder beside him whispered in a freezing tone. “Your subordinate has verified it. Her build, appearance, that Lin Ye, and even her weapon all match perfectly.”
The killing intent in Pang Jinbiao's eyes practically overflowed. With a cold snort, he slammed his teacup heavily onto the table.
“Go pass a message to the deacon in charge of drawing lots,” Pang Jinbiao gritted his teeth. “In the next round, no matter what methods you have to use, assign Pang Lei to her group! Tell Pang Lei to deliver nothing but lethal blows once he's on the stage. Don't give her a chance to surrender. I want that little bitch dead without a whole corpse left!”
On the other side of the high platform, in the main seats of the Great Li imperial family.
The Fourth Prince, Zhao Yan, held a cup of tea, yawning repeatedly as he watched the martial artists fighting below like ants.
“How utterly boring. If Royal Father hadn't insisted that I preside over this, I really wouldn't have come,” he grumbled, but he was helpless. The Emperor's command had to be obeyed.
Beside him, the plain-robed young man named Gu Chen stared intently at Stage Two, a trace of an intrigued smile playing on his lips.
“Brother Gu,” Zhao Yan glanced at him, looking rather perplexed. “A bunch of ordinary mortals beating each other up like wild beasts, yet you, a grand disciple of an immortal sect, are actually watching with such relish?”
Gu Chen smiled and said softly, “Your Fourth Highness, this year's tournament actually has some true geniuses. Just two nights ago, that green-robed girl in the inn turned the tables and killed a Fifth Realm death-sworn assassin without making much of a scene. It was quite interesting.”
Hearing this, Zhao Yan shook his head, not thinking much of it.
“No matter how talented a mortal martial artist is, they are ultimately just a martial artist. In the face of the immortal sects, they are nothing but ants. Even if a cultivator just throws a low-grade spell, they can easily kill them at will.”
That said, Zhao Yan still followed Gu Chen's gaze and looked toward Stage Two.
With this single glance, the teacup in Zhao Yan's hand froze midair.
The girl on the stage wore a pale green dress, her high ponytail fluttering slightly in the wind. Her cold, ethereal face, combined with her aloof aura that seemed detached from the world and indifferent to everything around her, made her look completely out of place in the noisy martial arena, yet she was incredibly eye-catching.
Zhao Yan immediately raised his eyebrows, his eyes filled with astonishment.
“To think there is such an exquisite beauty in the mortal world?” Zhao Yan found it hard to believe. The so-called gorgeous concubines in the imperial palace and the noble daughters of the prestigious families were utterly vulgar and mundane compared to this girl.
Even the so-called fairies of the cultivators seemed slightly lacking in comparison, not to mention that she wore no ornaments at all.
Gu Chen lightly fanned his folding fan and teased, “Is Your Highness captivated? However, girls who train in absolute killing techniques usually have very fierce temperaments. I'm afraid she won't be easy to tame.”
A smile curled at the corner of Zhao Yan's lips. “If this prince wants something, no one within the borders of Great Li would dare to say no. Let's see what she's made of first.”
On the stage, the referee gave the order, and the match officially began.
Chen Tie looked at the stunningly beautiful girl before him, scratched his head, and gave an honest smile. “Miss, fists and feet have no eyes. Since you're so pretty, I'll try my best to hold back a bit later, lest I—”
Before he could finish his sentence, Chen Tie only felt a gust of strong wind rushing at his face as a green afterimage instantly closed the distance.
Su Yueli didn't use any martial techniques at all, nor did she even activate much of her blood qi. With just a single step forward, her figure materialized right in front of Chen Tie.
Her fair palm pressed lightly against Chen Tie's chest.
Bang!
A surge of robust short-range force erupted violently.
Chen Tie didn't even have the chance to react. His feet left the ground entirely, and he flew back in a parabolic arc, crashing outside the arena stage.
A one-hit defeat!
Su Yueli withdrew her hand with a calm expression, turning toward the steps to prepare for the next round.
Below the stage, Chen Tie lay sprawled on his back, his face blank with confusion. He was utterly depressed.
Although he knew that his late Second Realm strength wouldn't win him any good rankings and had only come to gain some experience, he never expected that he wouldn't even see how his opponent had moved. The match had ended the moment it began.
How was he supposed to compete with that?!
Su Yueli walked down the stage and took the wine gourd Lin Ye handed over.
“Amazing, Miss Su! That was a pure, absolute stomp!” Lin Ye gave her a thumbs-up, his face filled with awe.
Su Yueli looked at him, somewhat exasperated, and said flatly, “Stop the flattery. It was just someone who hadn't even reached the Third Realm. There's nothing to brag about.”
Soon, the matches for Group Thirty-Five began.
Lin Ye carried his long saber onto the stage. Though he was usually talkative and a bit hasty, his foundation was indeed solid.
Fully unleashing his peak Third Realm blood qi, he only needed three slashes to beat his mid Third Realm opponent into begging for mercy, securing an easy victory.
Two hours later, the first round of the preliminaries concluded.
Having filtered out half of the bottom-tier martial artists who were just trying their luck, those who remained were basically elite martial artists of the Third Realm and above.
“The second round begins! All winners, proceed to the drawing lot cylinder to draw your lots again!” the referee announced loudly.
Su Yueli followed the flow of the crowd and lined up in front of the drawing lot cylinder.
While waiting, she raised her head and naturally swept her gaze over the Pang family's camp on the high platform.
She happened to lock eyes with Pang Jinbiao, who was looking down at her with a gaze filled with cold, sinister killing intent.
It was as if he were looking at a corpse.
Su Yueli withdrew her gaze and rubbed her temples, feeling a slight headache coming on.
The influence of these imperial city families was too great. There was no telling if this drawing lot phase would be rigged behind the scenes...
Since there was no avoiding it, she could only take things as they came.
It was Su Yueli's turn to draw.
The deacon in charge of registration glanced at her, a nearly imperceptible trace of pity flashing in his eyes before he handed her a wooden token.
Su Yueli looked down at it.
Group Forty-Three.
She turned her head to look at the massive matchup board.
The name of her opponent for Group Forty-Three was written in bold characters: Pang Lei of the Pang family!
Su Yueli raised her eyebrows. As expected, here they come...
Lin Ye leaned in to glance at her token, then searched along the board.
Once he saw the opponent's name, the smile on Lin Ye's face instantly froze, and he went completely numb.
“Someone from the... Pang family?!” Lin Ye sucked in a breath of cold air, his voice trembling slightly.
Although he had witnessed Su Yueli killing Pang Hu with a single punch and knew her strength was unfathomable, this was the arena of the Martial Arts Tournament!
For the Pang family to precisely arrange one of their own as Su Yueli's opponent at this exact moment was absolutely no coincidence. They were openly seeking revenge!
At this thought, Lin Ye's heart instantly filled with guilt and self-reproach.
If he hadn't tried to act like a hero back in Lingshui City, Miss Su wouldn't have been dragged into this quagmire.
He secretly blamed himself for causing trouble. Yet, in the face of a colossus like the Pang family, he couldn't help at all now and had no way of resolving the situation.
“Miss Su, how about... we forfeit?” Lin Ye gritted his teeth and suggested in a low voice. “Staying on the stage is too dangerous. Pang Lei is definitely coming with lethal intent!”
“Forfeit?” Su Yueli clenched the wooden token in her hand, her tone flat and calm. “If I forfeit, will the Pang family stop trying to kill me?”
She turned her head toward Stage Forty-Three, the depths of her eyes freezing over.
“Since they want to treat the arena as my grave, let's see who will be the one left lying there, unable to get back up.
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