The sound of a bell echoed three times in a row from the peak of the main cliff.DONG... DONG... DONG...Its heavy chime reverberated throughout every corner of the valley, causing dozens of participants who were still chatting to spontaneously stop their activities and turn their gazes toward the stone arena.Silence slowly descended, blanketing the area.Elder Bai Yun stepped calmly to the center of the black stone stage. His white robes fluttered gracefully in the mountain wind, while three other elders stood upright a few steps behind him. His sharp gaze swept across all the participants who had successfully cleared the previous test.Forty-eight people.Some faces appeared filled with high confidence, most still harbored tension, and a small fraction of others stared at their potential opponents with a gaze full of hostility."Congratulations," Bai Yun's voice sounded calm yet authoritative. "You have passed the Heavenly Sword Gate."Not a single person cheered. All participants

Various speculations arose. However, Qing Zilong acted as if his words just now were nothing important to discuss further.Qing Jianhong stared at his son's back with a hollow gaze. He had never known who Zilong was referring to. Yet for the first time in his life, he realized that his son had shouldered a heavy mental burden for three full years all by himself without ever complaining. His chest suddenly felt tight with guilt.Xiao Yue kept observing Zilong's movements. “So... that's his main reason for coming here?” Her curiosity toward the youth now transformed into a deep interest.Wang Li lowered his head, hiding a cold smirk behind the shadow of his robes. "Still nursing an old grudge? Very well. In that case, I will crush you once again on the arena to extinguish your arrogance."Amidst the noisy murmurs of the spectators, Elder Bai Yun signaled with a wave of his hand. The jade box before him opened wide.Forty-eight small jade stones floated into the air, each emitting a diff

BOOOOM!The explosion of red flames shattered the air, spreading a scorching heat wave to every corner of the arena. Thick smoke billowed high, blocking vision for a moment.Luo Ming landed with his knees slightly bent, smiling broadly with satisfaction. "What did I tell you? That smoke alone is enough to scorch you to ashes!"However, slowly, that thick billowing smoke began to part under the breeze of the formation.Someone stood upright in the middle of the remaining embers.Intact. Without the slightest injury. Not even a trace of soot on his clothing.Zilong hadn't even drawn his sword from its scabbard yet.Total silence crept around the arena once more. Lu Jian widened his eyes wide. "That... how could he escape without a scratch?"Lin Qing frowned deeply. "I couldn't even see when he moved his feet."In the main tribune, Xiao Yue did not utter a single word. However, her clear, sharp pupils observed Zilong's footwork pattern.Every time Luo Ming attacked... Zilong always shift

The first slash slid from the right side.Clang!Deflected just like that. The second slash followed from the left.Clang!Parried easily once again. The third slash stabbed straight toward the chest.Zilong only tilted his body as minimally as possible, making the tip of Luo Ming's sword pierce nothing but empty air.And before Luo Ming managed to pull back his weapon...Tap.Zilong's black sword tapped lightly on his opponent's sword hilt. Not slashing. Just a small tap.However, that small impact shattered all of Luo Ming's balance in an instant. His sword lifted upward, leaving his entire body defense wide open.In the main tribune, Elder Bai Yun's eyes widened slightly. "He saw the opening."An elder beside him corrected, "No... he created that opening."Luo Ming leaped back in a panic. His breathing grew ragged and irregular, while sweat beads the size of corn kernels poured heavily down his temples.Why? he thought hysterically.Why can't I touch him at all? It feels like I'm f

Several rows behind the crowd of participants, Wang Li stood tall with both hands crossed behind his back.His face looked extremely calm. So calm that anyone seeing him would assume he didn't care at all about the outcome of the match that had just ended.However, beneath the sleeves of his long robe... fresh blood slowly dripped onto the stone floor.His fingernails had dug so deeply through his own palms, and he didn't feel that physical pain at all.Why...? His mind was filled with a single question eating away at his sanity.Why are you still alive up to this second, damn it?Memories from two months ago flashed clearly in his head. Qing Zilong's body soaked in fresh blood. The endless stream of severe injuries. And he himself had made sure with his own eyes that the youth had plunged down into the Abyss of Death a forbidden place feared even by experienced cultivators of the Sky Realm.I saw you fall with my own eyes. I saw your body vanish to the bottom of the abyss. You shou