Seeing the two names shining brightest at the peak of the formation matrix, the deathly silence in the square instantly shattered into a barrage of laughter and whispers from the remaining disciples. Wild speculations immediately spread, dominating the increasingly heated atmosphere of the dueling arena."Hahaha! The God of Fortune has completely abandoned Wei Zhong today!" mocked an outer faction disciple with a sneering laugh. "Facing Han Zo in the first match under life-and-death rules? He might as well have one foot in the grave!""Exactly! Everyone knows how ruthless Han Zo is once he's on the stage. With Wei Zhong's cultivation stuck at only the mid-stage Early Deity realm, I doubt Han Zo even needs to use his signature techniques. A mere flick of a finger would be enough to crush that cripple's bones!" chimed in another core disciple, folding his arms across his chest with a disdainful look."A flick of a finger? You think too highly of Wei Zhong," a gaunt-faced senior disciple

Above the arena...Wuuuush!The fierce wind blowing inside the protective formation matrix gradually swept away the dense cloud of dust billowing over the Duel Altar. A suffocating silence suddenly crept through the thousands of disciples who had been ready to cheer for "Wei Zhong's" death.However, as the silhouette in the center of the arena slowly became clear, the cheers that were already at the tip of the disciples' tongues were instantly swallowed back down.Their eyes widened in sheer shock. The silence was broken not by a death rattle, but by the harsh sound of footsteps dragging heavily across the black marble.Sreeeeeet!What they saw...Han Zo was staggering backward by nearly ten steps! The tips of his boots scraped against the marble floor, leaving behind deep, smoking skid marks. His right hand, which had just been enveloped in his Early-stage Earth God Aura, was now trembling violently. Fresh blood seeped from between his cracked knuckles, and his blood-red spiritual en

Wuuuush! Taaap!Hearing the desperate scream echoing from Han Zo’s mouth, Alex halted his Thousand Lightning Steps. The silhouette of his black robe solidified perfectly exactly three meters in front of Han Zo. A sudden silence crept back onto the Duel Altar as the wind played with the edges of his black hood."You want me to fight?" Alex asked, his voice sounding flat yet echoing with absolute arrogance.Slowly, Alex withdrew his right hand from beneath his wide robe sleeve. Unlike before, where he relied purely on raw physics, this time he released a different ripple of energy.BZZZZZZZZZT!The air around Alex suddenly buzzed violently. A highly dense, pure silver Qi began to seep out from his palm, condensing rapidly until it formed a longsword created purely from the manifestation of spiritual energy. The blade of the Qi sword vibrated constantly, radiating an aura of sharpness that seemed capable of slicing through the very dimension of the air around it."Very well. Since you ar

CRASH!There was no deafening explosion. There was no blast of energy to destroy the entire stadium. There was only the pure sound of a cold slice, as if time and space themselves were cut by a razor-sharp blade.The giant axe of Alex's Divine Soul manifestation came down with absolute precision. When the silvery-red energy blade touched the head of Han Zo's fifty-meter blood dragon, the manifested creature did not detonate; instead, it was split into two perfectly clean halves from head to tail.Syuuuuuk...The stream of blood-red Qi that had been blazed madly just moments ago instantly lost its source, dimming in a flash and evaporating into specks of spiritual dust in the air within seconds.Yet, the slash did not stop there. The residual shockwave from the Blood Axe strike darted straight toward the core heart of the dragon—the exact spot where Han Zo’s physical blood dragon sword resided.TINGGGG!A sharp, resonant chime rang out, breaking the deathly silence.The eyes of everyon

Thunderous applause and terrified whispers from thousands of disciples instantly shattered the silence as the Great Elder’s announcement finished echoing. Most of them were still staring at Alex in disbelief, as if they were looking at a monster in human form.However, in a somewhat hidden corner of the faction's stands, Ling Yun could only freeze in silence.The girl did not cheer along at all. Her beautiful hands were concealed beneath her silk robe, clenching each other so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Her clear eyes stared straight at Alex's sturdy back on the arena, filled with ripples of profound worry.As someone who knew Wei Zhong's true identity, Ling Yun’s heart beat twice as fast. Alex's action of destroying Han Zo's meridians was absolute and satisfying, but the consequences were far too great. The Silver Wing Faction was notorious for harboring deep-seated vendettas, and Elder Feng Lu's threat earlier was certainly no bluff. The moment Alex stepped foot outside