Namgung Cheonryeong’s voice boomed like thunder across the plaza. His killing intent crashed onto the third platform, where the young disciple of the Namgung family lay dead in a pool of blood.
"ALL HAIL BLOOD–"
The cultist opened his mouth to scream his final fanatical chant.
Before the man could finish the sentence, a streak of blue lightning split the air. It was the Azure Heaven Boundless Sword Art. The sword energy severed the man’s torso in a fraction of a second, killing him before he had the chance to self-detonate.
Namgung Cheonryeong, the patriarch of the Namgung clan titled the Azure Sword Emperor, looked coldly down at the corpse. Sparks of blue lightning flickered in his eyes.
"The blood cult has appeared in the competition as a disguise, but we are the Righteous Martial Alliance! And soon, we will erase the blood cult from the history of central plains!"
Namgung Cheonryeong yelled, imbuing his deep inner energy into the words. His voice echoed across every corner of the plaza.
"The competition shall continue," added Cheong Heo, Alliance Leader of the Martial Alliance.
A tremendous, suffocating pressure filled the entire arena, steadying the panicked crowd.
"Those evil beings who disrupt the peace of the martial world, all of them shall die!"
The crowd erupted into furious shouts.
"WOOHHHH!"
The righteous fighters cheered seeing the blood cultist struck down. Many disciples looked furious that someone had dared commit murder on the tournament grounds.
Alliance guards quickly flooded the walkways. They moved through the crowd, inspecting badges and detaining anyone who acted suspicious.
"The tournament will continue!" the main announcer shouted.
New fighters stepped onto the stone stages, and the sound of clashing blades resumed.
Up in the high pavilion, a grim discussion was taking place among the leaders of the martial world.
The elders sat around a long wooden table, discussing the massive blood dome that still trapped Mount Wudang.
"So did we find the cause?" the Alliance Leader asked, his eyes heavy.
"Yes sir, and it’s horrible then we imagined, the blood cult bastards even kidnapped various disciples from the Mount Mao Sect and performed sorcery," the leader of the Hidden Dragon Squad replied.
His scouting unit had spent two days probing the outer edges of the red barrier, and what they uncovered was deeply disturbing.
"Most of the Wudang’s disciples were killed and the civilians were taken as hostages and using some strange sorcery, the blood cult had synchronized whole barrier with the common people’s blood Qi, and when we attacked first, the barrier showed a crack, but I also saw hundreds of people die because of that, so for now we are stalling everyone who attacks the barrier, this information has also been shared with the imperial palace."
"Namo Amitabha, Buddha have mercy..." Bang Jeong, Abbot of the Shaolin Temple, muttered softly.
The air inside the pavilion turned heavy.
"What are the casualties and the imperial palace’s response?" the Alliance Leader asked.
"Nearly 10,000 are already dead and the Grand Preceptor is arriving from the imperial palace."
"..."
A heavy silence lingered over the table.
"Any other moments of the blood cult?" Poison God, Tang Hyeol said, his raspy voice breaking the quiet.
"No sir, as Wudang lies at the heart of Jianghu, we checked all nearby clans and sects, so far there have been no movements."
"Increase the monitoring, even deploy the members of the hidden dragon squad, the blood cult will definitely do something during this tournament."
The Alliance Leader gave the order, and the Hidden Dragon Squad leader bowed low before departing.
Cheong Heo then turned to the patriarch beside him.
"Namgung Cheonryeong, I will apologize to you, because of my selfishness, a disciple of your family was murdered."
"Elder, it’s not your fault, we all knew sooner or later the blood cult would erupt..."
The quiet discussion continued in the pavilion, while down below, the tournament moved forward under the watchful eyes of thousands.
***
All the matches for the first day finished, and the final eight fighters were selected. Fortunately, no more killing attempts happened after the first assassination.
To everyone’s surprise, the top eight bracket looked quite unusual.
Lu from a nameless sect.
Tang So-So from the Sichuan Tang Clan.
Seo Jin, the Divine Dragon of Mount Hua.
Mu Cheong-yeon, the Sword Phoenix from Kunlun.
A rogue wanderer named Ryu Woon.
Do-won, a First Class Wudang disciple who had survived the sect’s fall because he was away on a mission.
Hyeon Gwang from Shaolin.
Han Mu-gyeol, the Black Dragon from the Unorthodox Alliance’s Black Dragon Sect.
"That Peng guy didn’t make it," Lucian commented as they walked away from the platforms.
Beside him, Jin Biwah laughed softly. Even though he had lost his own match, he didn’t take it to heart. Every time he tasted defeat, he learned something new.
Peng Tai happened to walk past them at that exact moment. His large ears twitched at the remark, but he only shot them a bitter glare, snorted loudly, and returned to his clan’s pavilion.
It was already late evening. Most of the spectators and eliminated fighters headed back into the city, while the top eight contestants were granted private guest rooms inside the alliance headquarters.
"Well then, see you tomorrow, Poison Phoenix, and Mysterious Jade Young Master," Jin Biwah said with a grin before departing with his companions.
Lucian had earned the title Mysterious Jade Young Master throughout the day. His refined demeanor and the rumors of his face—whispering that he was more beautiful than an imperial princess—had spread across the entire city.
As Lucian and Tang So-So walked along the quiet garden corridor, she suddenly turned to him.
"Well Mysterious Jade Young Master, do you know that women in the Tang Clan are mostly forbidden from using weapons?"
"No, but you can just call me Lu, there is no need for such a title."
"Young Master Lu, the moment I met you I knew you were extraordinary, and you just felt... different."
"What’s this all of a sudden?" Lucian asked, glancing at her.
"Well nothing, it’s just that I am a bit chatty and we have a whole night. Will you hear me?"
"Why not? I am also curious what type of life Lady Tang lived," Lucian replied.
Alliance officials escorted them to their quarters. Instead of resting, Lucian stayed with Tang So-So, and they shared dinner together in her courtyard.
Other disciples were nearby, but Lucian chose to sit and listen closely to her stories. He could sense it in the air.
These would be the last sincere words she would ever speak.
After all, she was a hidden spy from the Blood Cult.
***
The next morning arrived with a clear sky.
"Today, the first match will be between Tang So-So from Tang Clan and Lu from a nameless sect!" the announcer’s voice boomed.
"WOOHHH!!!"
The audience cheered wildly as thousands filled the stands.
Lucian stepped onto the main stone platform. Tang So-So walked up from the opposite side, stopping twenty paces away.
Her green robes fluttered in the breeze. In her hands, she held a weapon made of a heavy curved sickle linked to a dark chain, similar to a kusarigama. Countless hidden poison needles were tucked inside her loose silk sleeves.
"Start!" the referee barked.
Lucian reached over his shoulder and gripped the hilt of his sword.
The crowd stirred in excitement.
"OHH! The Mysterious Jade Young Master is finally using his weapon!"
"As expected of the Tang Clan!"
"NO! I bet he wouldn’t use his weapon!"
Tang So-So threw her chained scythe forward. The dark blade twisted like a coiling dragon, arcing straight for Lucian’s ribs.
Lucian didn’t draw his sword yet. He stepped forward and drove his bare fist into the flying weapon.
Each of his fingers shone with a five elemental light of Fire, Water, Earth, Metal, and Wood as if he was performing a single technique with each of his fingers. It was the Five Elemental Palm, a technique he had created by blending his elemental foundation with the principles of the Dual Internal Energy Art.
BOOM!
A deafening metallic roar echoed across the plaza.
Tang So-So dropped three black pellets onto the stone. A thick cloud of greenish poisonous gas instantly swallowed the entire platform.
In the next breath, hundreds of needle-thin points of light burst through the smoke, whistling toward Lucian’s heart.
Lucian held his breath. He drew his sword an inch from the scabbard, releasing a wave of pure Fire Qi that burned the poison mist to cinders.
Suddenly, Tang So-So appeared beside him, her footwork leaving blurry afterimages. She swung her chained scythe in a vicious circle, her weapon coated in dark green qi.
Lucian used Micro-Point Piercing Light in every direction, spinning his blade into a dome of white spiritual energy that deflected the flying needles and shattered her illusions.
’Something is entering my body?’
A cold, tingling sensation seeped through his pores.
Seeing his brow furrow, Tang So-So smiled faintly and sent him a private voice transmission.
– It is the Soul Devouring Poison.
– Invisible and odourless?
Lucian replied with his own voice transmission, which required only a fraction of his qi to operate.
Lucian used Qi Sense Breath. His senses expanded across the entire stage like a spiderweb, detecting two hidden mini-arrows launching silently from Tang So-So’s left sleeve.
He tilted his head, letting the arrows graze past his bamboo hat.
The fight reached its peak. Their weapons clashed with blinding speed, so fast that even First Grade masters in the audience struggled to track the blows.
The stone platform cracked under their heavy footsteps. It looked far less like a friendly tournament duel and more like a brutal life-and-death battle, making the onlookers hold their breath.
Then, something shocking happened.
The emerald-green poison aura surrounding Tang So-So suddenly turned dark crimson.
Her strikes turned wild and ferocious, radiating terrifying Blood Qi that sent a wave of horror through the spectators.
Even Lucian was pushed back two steps by the sudden explosion of raw power.
A heavy, suffocating pressure burst from Lucian. He blurred with Nine Heavens Cloudstep, appeared directly in front of her, and drove a heavy palm into her shoulder.
Her bones cracked with a sickening snap.
Tang So-So staggered back. One of her eyes had turned blood-red, while the other retained its pale green color.
She looked at Lucian with a mix of sorrow and madness. Without hesitation, she drew the sharp edge of her sickle across her own palm, feeding her life-force into her weapon.
Her power spiked violently. A massive arc of dark crimson Blood Qi ripped across the stone, surging straight toward Lucian’s chest.
Lucian unleashed his full strength. Using the core principles of the Dual Internal Energy Art, he channeled his spiritual energy like flowing water, wrapping around the incoming Blood Qi.
Like a master painter redirecting ink, he caught the massive strike and guided its trajectory in a smooth, circular palm motion.
Tang So-So’s weapon grazed his throat, but it could not pierce his skin, which was tempered to stone-like density by the Eternal Jade-Bone Method.
With a single fluid push, Lucian redirected the entire wave of Blood Qi straight back into her chest.
BOOM!
A tremendous explosion tore through the center of the platform.
The shockwave sheared through Lucian’s bamboo hat, cutting the cords and sending the woven straw flying into the air.
In the center of the dust, Tang So-So collapsed onto the shattered stones. A hollow, smoking hole was torn clean through her chest where her heart had once been.
In her final fading second, her remaining green eye looked up at Lucian, and she sent him one last voice transmission.
– T-Thank you...
Tang So-So’s eyes closed, and her head fell still against the stone.
Lucian exhaled a long breath, standing alone in the center of the ruined stage.
His dark hair fell loosely across his shoulders, his striking, unblemished face fully exposed to the sun for the first time.
Before the crowd could even process his appearance, weapons were drawn.
Nearly fifty martial artists from the Sichuan Tang Clan leaped to their feet, their hands filled with poisoned blades. Across from them, fifty elite enforcers from the Martial Alliance stepped onto the ring with swords drawn, locking their killing intent onto the Tang Clan.
The entire arena fell into an eerie, suffocating silence.