A moment later, the sound of air being sliced through rang out once more.

"Back of the neck! Left waist! Right waist!" In an instant, Nie Kong had already reacted.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The instant the impact sounded, the battle blade, condensed from death energy by Zhan Tianlong, vanished in a flash. However, only a few seconds later, the familiar sound of air ripping returned.

"Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!"

"Thigh! Lower abdomen! Left chest!"

"..."

Nie Kong remained standing, unmoving, merely continuously judging the points of attack from Zhan Tianlong, then allowing the battle blade to fall where it might. After repeated futility, Zhan Tianlong's aggression seemed to lock onto Nie Kong's body, his offensive growing faster and faster, the sounds of slicing air and collision merging into a continuous, rising wave.

For a time, in the very center of the arena, streaks of blade light crisscrossed, scattering golden sparks everywhere.

The surrounding crowd’s eyes were nearly bulging out of their sockets.

They had eagerly anticipated this spar between Nie Kong and Zhan Tianlong, but never expected it to devolve into this spectacle, with Nie Kong standing there like a wooden stake, "allowing Zhan Tianlong to cleave and chop him at will." Yet, the result was that Nie Kong was completely unharmed, save for a few fine, minute rents appearing in his clothing.

Even Zhan Yunlan and others at the northern end of the War Heart Hall looked utterly astonished.

"The 'Three Kills of the Heavenly Blade' technique possesses considerable spiritual power, yet it can't wound Nie Kong in the slightest... The War God Star Seal is truly marvelous."

After a long pause, Zhan Yunlan couldn't help but sigh in admiration.

But after his praise, a wry smile touched his lips. Even with his knowledge and experience, this was the first time he had witnessed such a bizarre sparring scenario. Within the entire War Clan—unless the disparity in cultivation tiers was overwhelmingly vast—no one among Black Spirit Masters of the same rank dared to be as reckless as Nie Kong.

One attacker incessantly hacking, one recipient continuously enduring the blows... It seemed as if all accumulated battle experience and combat techniques had found no place to be applied.

"Nie Kong is protected by the 'War God Star Seal,' making his body exceptionally tough. At this same level, he is probably invincible. Tianlong facing such a monster... even if he exhausts himself to death, he likely won't be able to pierce Nie Kong's body," an Exalted Elder couldn't help but shake his head and lament.

"..."

Hearing this, Zhan Baisong and the others instinctively nodded.

"Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!"

In the center of the arena, Zhan Tianlong's attack frequency had escalated from once every few seconds to several times per second. The shadowy, ink-black blade strikes filling the air almost completely enveloped Nie Kong. Yet, Nie Kong's eyes remained closed, and his feet hadn't shifted an inch.

"Brother Nie Kong is truly hiding his depths well. I've known him so long, yet I’ve never heard him mention that the 'War God Star Seal' could temper the physical body to this degree," Zhan Tianlun muttered, his eyes shining brightly as he watched. "If this continues, by the time he reaches the Ninth Tier, perhaps every Ninth Tier Black Spirit Master in the Underworld will only have the fate of being abused by him! At that point, none of the Ninth Tier Black Spirit Masters will have the face to call themselves the strong—hehe, among all Ninth Tier Black Spirit Masters, only Brother Nie Kong will hold that title! Of course, the Ancestor doesn't count."

"Isn't this just bullying?"

Hearing Zhan Tianlun's murmuring, Zhan Feihong couldn't help but roll his eyes as he stared at Nie Kong's steadfast figure, saying with mock sympathy, "Being tormented by Nie Kong like this, that kid Zhan Tianlong is likely finished. I heard he was absolutely set on taking the position of the Sixteenth Elder; now it looks like that dream is shattered."

Less than two seconds later, Zhan Feihong’s words were proven true.

"Nie Kong, if you have the guts, just keep standing there! I want to see how long you can last!" Zhan Tianlong's figure burst forth, his face pale, eyes blazing red, glaring fiercely at Nie Kong in a gritting-teeth manner, yet his attacks did not cease in the slightest.

Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! Hiss...

The sound of the battle blade tearing through the void erupted in a continuous roar. Zhan Tianlong’s expression turned frantic; his two gaunt hands waved rapidly in the air, sending sharp battle blades shooting out from his palms, weaving into a dense net of blades before Nie Kong, their fierce energy howling—chilling those who watched.

Clang, clang, clang!

The ink-black blade radiance relentlessly struck Nie Kong's forehead, face, nose, neck, chest... lower abdomen... Every part of his front body, save for where his private area was situated, had been visited by Zhan Tianlong's 'Three Kills of the Heavenly Blade,' and even some radiant blades managed to wrap around to his back, fiercely slashing at the back of his head and spine.

As time wore on, the clothes on Nie Kong's body continuously disintegrated into tatters. After several minutes, Nie Kong was left wearing only the pair of short trousers he had tailored himself at the clothing store, his body, like sculpted jade, flickering in and out of sight amidst the flashing blade light.

It was then that Zhan Feihong's attack frequency began to gradually slow.

"Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!"

Listening to the sounds continuously drilling into his ears, a look of profound satisfaction spread across Nie Kong's face—Nie Kong was not a masochist. Rather, he realized that under the strain of Zhan Tianlong's relentless assault, the hardening of his body was accelerating, and the area of hardening was continuously expanding.

By now, even without fully deploying the 'Crimson Star War Body,' Nie Kong needed only a single thought to make half of his body incredibly resilient.

Of course, this was incomparable to the true 'Crimson Star War Body.' However, Nie Kong had a feeling that this intense offensive was proving to be immensely beneficial for the cultivation of the 'Crimson Star War Body.' If not for this benefit, Nie Kong would have slapped Zhan Tianlong away the instant he appeared.

"Nie Kong, you, you..." Seeing Nie Kong still able to smile under such circumstances only made Zhan Tianlong more frenzied, and his offensive abruptly accelerated again. Unfortunately, this was merely a final surge of energy. In less than ten seconds, the speed at which Zhan Tianlong executed the 'Three Kills of the Heavenly Blade' slowed down once more.

Approximately two minutes later...

"Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!"

After the battle blade struck Nie Kong's chest again, Zhan Tianlong's face was ashen, beads of sweat drenching his forehead, his breathing becoming ragged and labored.

The blade radiance grew sparse, and Nie Kong's figure became even more clearly exposed to the crowd's sight.

Some of the War Clan women couldn't help but blush fiercely, hastily turning their faces away, though a few bolder ones couldn't suppress their curiosity, stealing glances back from time to time.

Another two minutes passed.

"Hoo! Hach!"

Zhan Tianlong gasped, his reserve of death energy almost entirely depleted. He managed to execute one last 'Three Kills of the Heavenly Blade,' but before the blade could even split into three and touch Nie Kong's chest, it dissipated into smoke.

"Nie Kong, you win!"

Zhan Tianlong braced his knees with both hands, his features contorted in a grimace that was neither a cry nor a laugh.

"It seems I have won this spar. However, since you've struck me so many times, it wouldn't be right for me to not retaliate even once," Nie Kong said, smiling faintly as he raised his right palm—without even utilizing any death energy—and moved to strike toward Zhan Tianlong's head.

"Don't hit me, I'll fly myself!" The moment Zhan Tianlong saw Nie Kong's movement, he knew Nie Kong intended to smack him out of the center of the arena. His mind instantly recalled the scene where Zhan Tianshan was sent flying by a single palm strike from Nie Kong, causing him to shudder involuntarily and shout out reflexively.

"You can fly yourself, but first, hand something over!"

Hearing this, Nie Kong paused, his palm hovering just beside Zhan Tianlong's head. His eyes flicked downward, and his left finger pointed toward Zhan Tianlong's outer robe.

"You..."

Zhan Tianlong glared in sheer frustration. He glanced up at Zhan Baisong and Zhan Yunlan, and seeing that they made no move to intervene, yet biting his lip refusing to utter the word "surrender" on his own, he had no choice. He pulled off his outer robe, shoved it into Nie Kong's embrace, and then shot like a bolt of lightning to the edge of the arena.

At this moment, Zhan Tianlong had zero death energy left within him—he couldn't even fly himself away if he wanted to.

"Nie Kong wins this round."

Seeing Nie Kong put on Zhan Tianlong's outer robe, Zhan Baisong also walked over with a beaming smile, teasing, "It seems everyone should try to avoid sparring with Nie Kong in the future, otherwise, not only will you tire yourself half to death, but you'll have to give away your clothes as well."

"Boom!"

A burst of laughter erupted from the surroundings.

"Silence!"

Before the laughter could fully fade, Zhan Baisong's expression turned stern, and he shouted loudly, "Everyone, from this moment forward, Nie Kong shall be the Sixteenth Elder of our War Clan, and Zhan Tianlong shall be the Seventeenth Elder! Their specific duties will be arranged after we return from the Ghost Domain!"

"..."

Silence reigned all around.

Regardless of what thoughts they harbored, Nie Kong becoming the Sixteenth Elder of the War Clan was settled fact. The crowd felt a complex mix of emotions, sighing inwardly; however, after witnessing the almost farcical sparring match between Nie Kong and Zhan Tianlong, the latent resistance in their hearts inexplicably faded quite a bit.

Perhaps it wasn't a bad thing for this disciple with an outside surname to become an Elder. At the very least, his cultivation was sufficient to command respect, and he was only in his early twenties. With such a formidable spiritual technique as the 'War God Star Seal,' his ascent to the Ninth Tier Black Spirit Master was already a certainty.

Perhaps, one day, because of Nie Kong's existence, the War Clan could surpass the Ethereal Heaven Sect and become the preeminent transcendent sect in the Underworld!

"Nie Kong, go to the side and rest well; don't leave yet." Smiling warmly at Nie Kong, Zhan Baisong raised his voice again and called out, "Zhan Baixin, Zhan Tianfeng!"

As Nie Kong walked toward the edge of the arena, Zhan Baixin's slender figure was already approaching him, and behind her followed a middle-aged man in his fifties with a black beard sweeping his chest.

Their spar was the final battle in this Elder selection. The winner would become the Eighteenth Elder of the War Clan. The loser would have to wait another three years, provided that within those three years, one of the existing eighteen Elders hadn't broken through to the Eighth Tier.

"Whoosh!"

The battle began swiftly, with Zhan Tianfeng launching the first attack.

However, Zhan Baixin's figure twisted, her delicate and voluptuous body seeming to transform into a wisp of smoke, causing Zhan Tianfeng's lightning-like strike to miss completely.

"Lingering Misty Rain!"

Nie Kong's spirits lifted; he stared unblinkingly at Zhan Baixin's figure near the north end of the War Heart Hall.

"Heavenly Transformation!"

Zhan Yunlan glanced at Nie Kong, pondered for a moment with narrowed eyes, then suddenly beckoned over a burly middle-aged man and whispered instructions into his ear.

"Ah?"

Zhan Tianhua's eyes widened in apparent shock. After a moment, he mumbled hesitantly, "Clan Leader, are we really going to bring it out? That is the treasure that guards our War Clan!"

"Say no more."

Zhan Yunlan waved his hand and said calmly.

"Yes."

Zhan Tianhua had no choice but to quickly head toward the second floor of the War Heart Hall. Before leaving, he couldn't help but cast a glance at Nie Kong—that kid truly had incredible luck!