Fuhua City lay squarely in the center of the Central Continent, flanked directly to its north, south, east, and west by the four major mysterious sects. Because Fuhua City served as the central hub, the Grand Tournament was held there every single time.
Owing to its exceptionally advantageous geographical location, trade traffic through the city was brisk, making it the most prosperous metropolis in the entire Central Continent.
The city lord of this domain belonged to the Qin clan, the foremost among the aristocratic great families.
With numerous descendants within the Qin clan cultivating across various major sects, the family maintained remarkably close ties with the four major mysterious sects.
For this Grand Tournament, the Qin clan had specially constructed four separate palaces to serve as accommodations for the four major sects during the event, each palace assigned to one of the four cardinal directions.
The Medicine Spirit Sect was assigned to the Lingxiao Palace in the northern sector, where Yun Feng and Yan Mingqiu occupied an independent courtyard of their own. Directly opposite the Lingxiao Palace stood the Xiaoyao Palace, which housed the members of the Heavenly Sword Sect.
Three days later marked the official commencement of the Grand Tournament. Over the preceding days, participants were required to visit the tournament administration office to collect their individual identity jade talismans.
For the major sects, these identity talismans were collected uniformly by a designated representative and then distributed in bulk, meaning Yan Mingqiu hadn’t stepped outside once over the past three days, remaining confined entirely to his courtyard.
He had decorated his room to look identical down to the last detail to his quarters on Yucang Peak; staying indoors made it feel as though he were still right back home.
On the day of the tournament, Yan Mingqiu woke up early and headed to the main hall to assemble. Aside from Mu Jiusi, several other disciples had also arrived ahead of time.
Greeting Yan Mingqiu, Mu Jiusi called him over. “Mingqiu, are you familiar with the format of this tournament?”
Yan Mingqiu shook his head. “Master didn’t mention it.”
“I figured as much.” Mu Jiusi gave a helpless, resigned sigh. “Immortal Yunshang never keeps mundane matters like this on his mind. Let me fill you in, then.”
“The tournament begins with individual matches spanning a total of four secret realms. The rules for each secret realm are identical: rankings are determined by the number of slain demonic beasts. Remember, the moment you encounter insurmountable danger, crush your identity talisman immediately; it will guarantee your instantaneous and safe evacuation from the secret realm.”
Yan Mingqiu nodded. “Right, my master mentioned that part.”
“Furthermore, remain constantly vigilant. If your identity talisman accidentally falls into someone else’s hands and gets crushed, you will be directly disqualified. Many rogue cultivators love employing this tactic against sect disciples to showcase their prowess. Once the individual matches conclude, the team battles will begin.”
Yan Mingqiu uttered another soft assent. “The team battles have nothing to do with me anyway; I’m only participating in the individual matches.” His sole objective was catching a glimpse of Hanzhou before leaving even if it was just a single glance.
Yet, the moment Yan Mingqiu was teleported inside the first venue the Myriad Laws Secret Realm, he realized how naively optimistic his plan had been.
With a secret realm this vast and a participant pool this massive, where on earth was he supposed to find Hanzhou?
If he had known beforehand, he wouldn’t have spent those days cooped up inside his room, but instead scaled the walls of the Heavenly Sword Sect’s quarters that would have been infinitely easier.
There was no daytime within this secret realm; it was a state of perpetual polar night, and the ambient temperature hovered extremely low, approaching freezing point. Fortunately, possessing a heavenly-grade fire spiritual root, Yan Mingqiu felt not a shred of chill.
Locating a sheltered cave, he projected his divine sense outward to scout the surrounding terrain. Confirming the perimeter was safe, he sat down with his back against the stone wall.
Pulling the secret realm map distributed prior to entry out of his storage pouch, he began studying it.
Half an hour later, he circled several locations Hanzhou was likely to frequent, plotting a route to investigate them sequentially.
Before he could even step out of the cave entrance, however, two figures strode directly toward him both powerfully built, muscular men.
Glancing sideways, Yan Mingqiu caught the names inscribed upon the identity talismans dangling from their waists: Lin Chu and Lin Yang.
People from the Lin family!
Alarm bells rang fiercely in Yan Mingqiu’s mind. “Were you sent by the Lin family? Back on the Duel Stage, Lin Pu and I both signed life-and-death pacts it was stated in absolute black and white that you have no right to come looking for revenge!”
Lin Chu let out a cold, mocking snort. “Nonsense. We’re here to participate in the Grand Tournament.”
Narrowing his eyes, Yan Mingqiu retorted, “I’ll believe that when pigs fly. The tournament has only just begun, and initial teleportation coordinates are entirely randomized—how did you know I was here? Did you tamper with my identity talisman?”
Lin Yang flashed a playful, malicious grin. “Guess.”
Their cultivation bases clearly surpassed Yan Mingqiu’s; unable to read their exact tier, he guessed they were at least in the Core Formation stage.
Tournament regulations stipulated that only cultivators under the age of thirty were permitted to enter. For the two men before him to possess such formidable cultivation at such a youthful age meant they were undoubtedly elite standouts among their peers.
He hadn’t anticipated that the Lin family had been lying low simply to strike at this exact moment.
Eliminating him now could easily be disguised as an accidental, tragic slip during a sparring duel a perfectly normal occurrence. Every single year, a handful of cultivators invariably perished during the tournament.
While rapidly calculating escape routes in his head, Yan Mingqiu maintained a calm exterior. “Two against one? Isn’t that a bit excessive? So the Lin family motto is to bully the solitary with numbers.”
Seemingly losing patience, Lin Yang casually stroked a length of rope coiled in his hand. “Struggling desperately at death’s door? I get it. But what can you do? We simply don’t have time to waste on you.”
With that, the pair lunged forward simultaneously. Knowing he stood zero chance of victory, Yan Mingqiu decided to cut his losses and crush his identity talisman to forfeit the round, thereby sparing himself unnecessary physical trauma.
There were still three secret realms remaining; catching sight of Hanzhou was still entirely possible.
To his horror, Lin Chu intercepted his hand and snatched the identity talisman away a split second too early. “Wanting to exit? It’s not that simple.”
A profound sense of foreboding seized Yan Mingqiu.
Combining their strength, Lin Chu and Lin Yang forced Yan Mingqiu to the ground and bound him securely in a tight, inescapable web of ropes.
Struggling with all his might, Yan Mingqiu found that no matter how hard he pushed, his limbs remained pinned immovably, rendering his efforts completely useless.
Lin Chu gave Yan Mingqiu a rough kick in the ribs. “Quit thrashing, it’s pointless. This isn’t just any ordinary rope this is a Spirit-Binding Cable. Once ensnared, your internal spiritual energy becomes completely sealed and unable to circulate.”
Crouching down beside him, Lin Yang delivered a vicious, ringing slap across Yan Mingqiu’s face. “You drove my younger brother mad. Did you really think you’d get off with just a simple beating?”
Five distinct, blazing red finger-print marks stood out sharply against Yan Mingqiu’s pale right cheek. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, he gasped, “What on earth… do you want…”
An ugly, sinister grin spread across Lin Yang’s face as he produced a small medicinal vial from his storage pouch. “As a direct personal disciple of the Medicine Spirit Sect, Young Master Yan, I wonder if you’ve ever heard of the Blazing Heart-Burning Poison?”
“Our Medicine Spirit Sect is an upright, righteous sect how could we ever refine such malicious toxins!”
“Righteous sect? Heh.” Snickering coldly, Lin Yang continued, “Since you don’t know, I’ll be charitable and enlighten you: this Blazing Heart-Burning Poison was custom-designed specifically for practitioners with fire spiritual roots.
Once a fire-root cultivator is poisoned, the spiritual energy within their body turns into wildfire, raging out of control and tearing through their internal organs. It feels as though your viscera are being roasted alive by raging flames, driving the pain so intense that you’ll wish you could rip your own internal organs out.
While non-fatal, this poison gradually corrodes both body and soul. With every recurring wave of the heart-burning poison, you’ll slip closer to madness over the next few years though you probably won’t even last that long before taking your own life out of despair. Ahahahahaha!”
Listening to the description, Yan Mingqiu felt his scalp prickle with terror as he pressed his lips into a rigid, trembling line.
“Starting to get scared now? Why didn’t you think about today when you laid your hands on my brother? Hahaha! I’m finally going to avenge him!”
With malicious intent, Lin Yang pried Yan Mingqiu’s jaw open and forced a pellet of the Blazing Heart-Burning Poison down his throat.
The pill melted instantly upon contact. Almost immediately, Yan Mingqiu felt the spiritual energy inside his body surge like boiling oil, rushing directly toward his internal organs. A wave of searing, incinerating agony swept over him in violent, unbroken surges, denying him even a fraction of a second to catch his breath.
It hurts too much… it hurts so badly… The pain drove an overwhelming urge to end his life right then and there, yet he lacked even the strength to bite down and finish himself.
“Is anyone going to save me? Master… your disciple hurts so much! Hanzhou, where are you? It hurts…”
Sinking into darkness, Yan Mingqiu lost consciousness entirely.