... PS: The fourth update is here. ... Everyone turned at the sound, seeing a round, plump mass rolling in lightly. As it slowed, Nie Kong realized it was a portly old man, his hair snow-white, face ruddy, with kind, benevolent eyes and a constant smile—if he were bald, he’d resemble the Maitreya Buddha from his previous life.

“The City Lord!”

Murmurs rippled through the assembled figures.

Nie Kong was first surprised, then something clicked. He realized this chubby old man was actually the Vice City Lord of Lingyu City. Having met City Lord Meng Feiyang, Nie Kong had grown increasingly curious about the Vice City Lord who had never shown himself. After leaving the secret chamber outside the Spirit Vein last night, he had made a point to find Miao Ge and glean some information. But even Miao Ge hadn't seen him, only gathering through hearsay that the Vice City Lord was quite plump.

Now, it seemed, the Vice City Lord wasn't just quite plump—he was exceedingly so!

Vice City Lord Kan Tian was reputed to be utterly obsessed with cultivation. Based on what he'd heard, his fanaticism for practice likely surpassed even Bai Yuqing’s. Bai Yuqing, at least, still moved around occasionally; Kan Tian, however, seemed to spend his entire existence within the ‘Spirit Cultivation Illusion Realm,’ rarely emerging even a few times a year. Food had to be delivered to him there. Because of this reclusiveness, several Hall Masters, including Gu Changong, held significant reservations about him.

Traditionally, Lingyu City’s rules dictated that the City Lord and Vice City Lord managed the Inner City, while the Six Hall Masters and their deputies governed the Outer City. After City Lord Meng Feiyang became trapped in the ice cave, all Inner City affairs fell onto Kan Tian’s broad shoulders. Yet, he remained neglectful of duty, generally only appearing to select Inner City disciples during the annual Six Hall Grand Competition or to preside over internal trials.

At all other times, the Inner City matters defaulted to the Six Hall Masters. Consequently, disciples like Nie Kong and Miao Ge, who entered the Inner City last year, were seeing Kan Tian for the very first time today.

Kan Tian was presumably a Celestial Spirit expert, yet he exuded none of the imposing aura of a master. He resembled a friendly neighborly elder, strolling into the fighting circle with a benevolent grin, and looked toward the nearby Proctor. “Are all the young ones participating in the second round here? If so, let’s begin drawing lots!”

Immediately, a Proctor lifted a tray holding dozens of small, rolled-up slips of paper and approached Nie Kong and the others, waiting for them to draw.

Witnessing this, the new disciples exchanged looks of bewilderment. The second round was starting so casually. The mysterious Vice City Lord hadn't even offered a few words of encouragement upon his appearance? However, for the older disciples who had experienced such trials before, Kan Tian’s abrupt style was entirely routine.

“Thirty!”

The tray quickly reached Nie Kong. He casually plucked a slip, unfolding it. According to the rules of this second round, two Inner City disciples with consecutive numbers would compete against each other—one against two, three against four, and so on. Nie Kong’s “Thirty” was matched with twenty-nine.

Moments later, another Proctor came over to verify the pairings, arranging the forty disciples into four columns to compete simultaneously in four groups. Nie Kong soon spotted the disciple holding “Twenty-Nine”: a slender male with a perpetually gloomy expression, as if everyone owed him tens of thousands of gold coins.

Kan Tian acted with brisk efficiency. Once the Proctors confirmed the numbers, he promptly waved his thick hand, and the Proctors assigned as referees, along with the eight disciples set for the first bouts, took their positions. In this round, the time limit was one quarter of an hour; if a fight wasn’t concluded within that time, both participants were eliminated.

Following the order, Nie Kong was slotted for the fifth match in the third group, leaving him plenty of time. He glanced over and found himself standing near the second fighting circle. Bai Yuqing was there, facing off against another beautiful woman—Wei Zhao, who had placed in the top ten last year.

“Begin!”

Kan Tian slammed his right hand downward. The waiting hourglass immediately flipped over. Amidst the soft rush of sand, the four pairs of Inner City disciples launched their attacks almost simultaneously.

At that moment, the booming roar of intense Spiritual Power echoed throughout the entire Ascending Emperor Hall, drawing shouts and cheers from the surrounding crowd.

Among the four concurrent matches, the one drawing the most spectators was undoubtedly Bai Yuqing versus Wei Zhao. This was only natural; everyone loved watching beauties, and a fierce clash between two delicate young women was inherently more electrifying than a contest between men, naturally attracting more eyes.

“Boom!”

After the initial exchange, both Bai Yuqing and Wei Zhao recoiled sharply, the intense force scattering between them. Regaining her footing, Bai Yuqing swung her broadsword, the tip pointed directly at Wei Zhao. Her two dark, cold eyes shone like stars in the deep night, burning with intense fighting spirit.

Wei Zhao stared intently at Bai Yuqing, her brow furrowed with seriousness. The two small daggers gripped in her fingers spun restlessly. These daggers were clearly Spirit-Patterned Weapons; intricate markings on their surface emitted a brilliant cyan glow, sharp, cold light flashing from their tips.

“Whoosh!”

“Whoosh!”

In an instant, Bai Yuqing and Wei Zhao surged forward.

Their figures rapidly closed the distance. Still several meters apart, Bai Yuqing flicked her right wrist, sweeping the broadsword out diagonally. A shimmering sapphire blue flowed across the blade, and a cluster of exquisite, translucent ice crystals shot out from the tip, instantly enveloping several meters of the surrounding void in bone-chilling cold.

“Hiss! Hiss!”

Wei Zhao’s palms moved swiftly, conjuring a sphere of cyan light that spun rapidly before her, expanding in a flash into a thick, azure barrier, blocking the ice crystals arcing from Bai Yuqing’s sword tip. In the next second, both attacks vanished, but Wei Zhao’s silhouette was gone from behind the barrier.

Bai Yuqing remained unhurried, rotating her right arm, the sword tip pointing upward, stabbing sharply toward her rear right. The icy aura seemed to freeze the very air.

“Clang! Clang!”

With two crisp ringing sounds, Wei Zhao’s twin daggers struck the blade. Her slender body leaped into the air, like a hawk pouncing on a rabbit, hurtling fiercely toward Bai Yuqing. Seeing this, Bai Yuqing crouched slightly, slapping out with her left palm, sending a wave of bone-piercing, chilling energy surging toward Wei Zhao.

The next moment, Bai Yuqing’s right-hand broadsword sprang up with a sharp sound, thrusting toward Wei Zhao.

“Clang! Clang!”

Two more sharp collisions sounded. The speed of the exchange between Bai Yuqing and Wei Zhao grew ever faster. Gradually, only two white blurs could be discerned within the fighting circle, weaving, flashing, and intersecting wildly.

Vaguely, Bai Yuqing seemed to transform into a thousand-year-old ice sculpture, a biting cold spreading outwards. Many observing Inner City disciples couldn't help but shiver, retreating involuntarily. Soon, a space several meters around the fighting circle became empty, with only a handful of people remaining near the edge.

Unconsciously, a smile touched the corner of Nie Kong’s lips. Possessing the Mind Aspect, his spiritual sense far surpassed those around him, giving him a far clearer grasp of this battle than the other observing disciples. Bai Yuqing cultivated Ice Spiritual Power; unless the fight was decided quickly, she would suffer the influence of that intense cold. Wei Zhao, a Spirit Transformation Ninth Grade practitioner, was formidable, but not immune. After struggling with Bai Yuqing for several minutes, though others couldn't perceive it, Nie Kong detected a slight sluggishness beginning to creep into her movements.

Bai Yuqing was certain to win this bout!

This little girl was truly powerful. At only Spirit Transformation Second Grade, her strength was already this immense, capable of defeating a Wind Spirit Master at Ninth Grade. Today, she might genuinely squeeze into the top ten of this Inner City competition and earn a spot in the ‘Nether Fire Cold Spring.’

Having reached this conclusion, Nie Kong shifted his attention to the surroundings.

The first group’s match was still fiercely ongoing. Both Inner City disciples involved had won five consecutive matches that morning to enter the second round; both were quite skilled, and their levels were evenly matched. It looked like it would take another ten minutes before a victor could be decided.

The third group’s match was also continuing, while the fourth group’s contest had just concluded.

One of the two fighters in that group was Shan Xiong. At the decisive moment, the brute slapped his opponent’s head, sweeping him straight out of the circle, then grinned widely, pounding his chest and letting out "Ooh-ooh" sounds—he was almost comparable to a great ape.

A moment later, Shan Xiong seemed to sense Nie Kong’s gaze. He grinned widely, looking over, and subtly pointed his right hand toward the unconscious opponent lying on the ground after being struck, as if signaling that this would be Nie Kong’s fate should they clash in the competition.

Nie Kong pretended not to see the small gesture, offering a slight smile before returning his gaze to the circle where Bai Yuqing and Wei Zhao fought. It was then that Nie Kong suddenly realized a plump figure had appeared beside him without his notice—it was Vice City Lord Kan Tian.

At this moment, Kan Tian’s expression was utterly fascinating. His small eyes were wide open, unblinking, fixed on Bai Yuqing’s silhouette, as if he had discovered some rare treasure. Yet, the reddish flesh of his face trembled slightly, looking distinctly like he was suppressing a smile.

“Boom!”

A sound like clashing thunder erupted, immediately followed by a severe chill washing over them, like a bleak wind blowing from the Nine Hells, making even Nie Kong shiver slightly. Looking up again, he saw the two figures locked in fierce battle had separated.

Bai Yuqing held her sword with both hands, her small mouth slightly parted. A delicate flush colored her fair face, and her full chest rose and fell rapidly, causing waves to ripple. Opposite her, Wei Zhao stood outside the boundary line, gasping heavily. Her already pale cheeks were now ashen, her hands trembling, the daggers in her grasp threatening to drop at any moment.

“Bai Yuqing wins!”

A Proctor called out lightly, but the surrounding area remained silent, the outcome of this match leaving everyone deeply astonished. Bai Yuqing, at Spirit Transformation Second Grade, had actually defeated Wei Zhao, a Ninth Grade practitioner and a top-ten finisher from last year! The cultivation difference was seven grades, yet the results were completely inverted! Fortunately, though Bai Yuqing had won, her own expenditure was enormous. If she had seemed completely unaffected, the onlookers would have no choice but to regard her as a monster.

Nie Kong took a deep breath. Bai Yuqing’s cultivation level was still too low; her spiritual power was likely nearly depleted in this match. If her cultivation were just two grades higher, defeating Wei Zhao would have been far easier. Luckily, in this second round, spiritual restoration elixirs were provided by the Inner City after each match, otherwise, Bai Yuqing would likely struggle to survive the next bout.

... —————————————————————————— Fourth update complete, requesting recommendation and monthly tickets! After staying up until midnight, the fourth update is finally finished. Dazed and dizzy, I beg for monthly tickets. The more tickets there are, the stronger the motivation to update; the more I update, the more inclined you all will be to vote, right? So, I'm opening a single chapter again. Please don't hit me—if you must hit me, use monthly tickets instead. We are only about twenty votes away from 200! Brothers, if you still have monthly tickets, could you lend some more support so the "1" at the beginning of the vote count turns into a "2"? Finally, it’s Monday again, so I’m asking for more recommendation tickets. Monthly tickets require a subscription to generate, but recommendation tickets are free; if you use them today, you get more tomorrow, and you can vote again then, and again if you get more... I suppose I sound a little greedy, sigh~~~~~