“Chu Zifan, come fight!” Zhao Jing turned to a lower-ranked disciple.
Chu Zifan immediately conceded, knowing he couldn’t beat Liu Qing.
Fighting Zhao Jing would only bring pain, so he saved his energy for a better ranking.
Others shared his mindset.
Thus, Zhao Jing continued picking. Besides the seeded contestants, of the nine veteran disciples, Liu Qing was defeated, and seven conceded outright.
But one veteran, Yun Jiangnan, fought unwillingly.
Yun Jiangnan’s strength was impressive, his close-range attacks always circling behind Zhao Jing, surpassing even Liu Qing’s power.
A dark horse among veterans.
Yet, no matter how strong, he was easily defeated by Zhao Jing.
It showed just how formidable Zhao Jing was.
Seeded contestants were leagues above the rest.
After defeating nine veterans, Zhao Jing turned to the new disciples.
Compared to the veterans, he disdained these newcomers even more.
But new disciples were annoying—some were blind to their limits, unlike veterans cowed by reputation. So he’d tackled the veterans first.
His first pick: Niu Bi.
Expecting a concession, he was surprised when Niu Bi unleashed his Golden Divine Bull, shaking the bronze mirror with booming strikes. Zhao Jing frowned, then blasted Niu Bi out with dazzling bronze light.
New disciples, indeed, were reckless.
Second pick: Ma Bi.
Ma Bi also refused to concede, activating his powerful killing array, making the mirror glow intensely.
His evasion skills were top-notch, and his trash-talking was relentless, frustrating Zhao Jing for a long time. Just as Zhao Jing prepared a devastating attack, Ma Bi ran out of the arena, cursing and conceding…
This left Zhao Jing, initially dominant, looking disheveled.
He mentally added Ma Bi to his must-eliminate list.
Niu Bi and Ma Bi’s actions showed that even new disciples weren’t pushovers. Challenging them would take effort.
Other disciples noticed, especially Ma Bi’s potent array and shameless banter. Unless desperate, they’d avoid picking him.
Fighting Ma Bi was self-sabotaging.
Ma Bi had become a “dreaded” figure.
After forcing Ma Bi’s concession, Zhao Jing’s furious gaze landed on Lin Xiao.
“A bunch of clueless new trash. Now I’ll show you the gap between us!”
Glaring at Lin Xiao, Zhao Jing roared, “Lin Xiao, come fight!”
The crowd was shocked. Among new disciples, aside from Gu Juejin and the Shura Butcher, who could beat or force seeds to concede, Lin Xiao was the strongest.
Zhao Jing, enraged, clearly wanted to crush Lin Xiao to intimidate others. Otherwise, if every new disciple challenged him, he’d be worn down.
The crowd buzzed with anticipation. Could Lin Xiao, who caught arrows barehanded, break Zhao Jing’s defence?
Under their expectant gazes, Lin Xiao calmly entered the arena.
“Hmph, I didn’t draw you in the group stage. Let’s see your luck now,” Zhao Jing snarled, still fuming from Ma Bi’s insults, ready to vent on Lin Xiao.
Lin Xiao didn’t respond, summoning a skeletal hand.
A skeletal palm emerged from his storage ring, floating before him.
Zhao Jing froze, then burst into laughter. “Skeletal hand? Hahaha, you think third-grade advanced spiritual power can touch me?”
The crowd was incredulous. Lin Xiao’s spiritual power could fight above his level, but against a peak third-level Martial King like Zhao Jing, it stood no chance.
Ignoring their doubts, Zhao Jing’s disdain, and the crowd’s confusion, Lin Xiao responded with the skeletal hand.
It clenched into a fist and shot toward Zhao Jing.
Clang!
A piercing sound rang out. Mist rose from Zhao Jing’s bronze mirror, repelling the skeletal fist.
“Hahaha, see? Blocking your spiritual attack takes no effort!” Zhao Jing mocked.
The crowd nodded. Lin Xiao’s third-grade spiritual power breaking Zhao Jing’s defence was a pipe dream.
“Is that so?”
Lin Xiao’s calm voice sounded, a faint smirk curving his lips.
Vast spiritual power surged, pouring into the skeletal hand.
“Woo~ Woo~”
Instantly, eerie wails, as if from the depths of the underworld, sent chills through the crowd.
Sinister white mist billowed from the skeletal hand, a terrifying evil aura radiating, an icy chill sweeping all directions.
This was the power within the skeletal hand. Each time Lin Xiao infused spiritual power, it unleashed this evil force, corroding opponents into skeletons.
As his spiritual power grew, Lin Xiao felt the evil aura intensify.
He wanted to test the skeletal hand’s true power—could it breach Zhao Jing’s bronze mirror?
He wasn’t worried about corroding Zhao Jing into a skeleton. Zhao Jing’s strength and the mirror’s extraordinary nature would prevent that.
“Whoosh!”
Under the crowd’s stunned gazes, dazzling white light erupted, a sea of evil power bursting from the skeletal hand, surging toward Zhao Jing with rolling white mist.
Perhaps sensing the skeletal hand’s change, Zhao Jing’s mirror glowed with brilliant bronze light, its formidable defence activated.
“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”
Bronze light blazed, white light dazzled, and thick white mist obscured everyone’s view of Zhao Jing’s position.
As the light and mist cleared, a figure flew backward under the crowd’s shocked gazes.
