"Good, you are very good." Tian Lianlingguan placed Ling Fenglingguan on the ground, the arrogance in his domineering eyes flashing with the approval an elder holds for a junior, though his pupils revealed far more murderous intent: "Ling Feng deserved a taste of hardship; there is no growth without tempering. As a return gift for the tempering you gave Ling Feng, I will give you a trial even greater than his."

Tian Lianlingguan took a step, instantly activating the Golden Griffin King bloodline battle body. The same Golden Griffin King Battle Soul burst forth with brilliant light, far more robust than Ling Fenglingguan's, vaguely exuding a commanding aura that seized the soul. The air exploded repeatedly as he clenched his hands, roaring sounds echoing, while wisps of visible electric light coiled around his wrists, as if the thunder from the stars was truly under his control.

The number one ranked fighter on the Hundred Battles List, the Thunder Lion King, the most outstanding bloodline warrior of this generation of the Golden Griffin King bloodline family, had made his move!

Most of the onlookers instinctively stepped back, as if failing to retreat a few more paces would cause their chests to shatter and blood to spew out under the Thunder Lion King's oppressive aura.

Pan Hongji raised an eyebrow, his eyes filled with admiration. This was the pinnacle among peak Battle Souls; Tian Lianlingguan could enter the Saint realm at any moment, or at least reach the Half-Saint stage!

Even without awakening his bloodline power! Merely relying on the sheer purity and concentration of this Battle Soul, he could enter the Half-Saint stage!

Pan Hongji rested his chin in his hand, observing Tian Lianlingguan. Was this Thunder Lion King deliberately refraining from taking that crucial step toward Sainthood, performing special accumulations and preparations, or was he truly stuck on the path to the Saint realm?

If it was accumulation rather than being stuck... Pan Hongji fell into deep contemplation. In that case, Qian Jin might face a bitter battle.

With his overbearing aura and forceful declaration, Tian Lianlingguan mirrored Qian Zhanxuan in every aspect.

In an instant, Tian Lianlingguan's intimidating aura overlapped uniquely with the image of Qian Zhanxuan in Qian Jin’s pupils, as if the person before him was not Tian Lianlingguan but the patriarch of the Elf King bloodline, Qian Zhanxuan.

"A trial for you?"

Qian Jin straightened abruptly. The three Battle Souls behind his back truly manifested before everyone this time. One bore a striking resemblance to Fabridis, but the other two seemed clad in heavy metal armor and sturdy metal helmets, revealing only pairs of eyes that shimmered with a terrifying, demonic light.

"Qian Jin's heart..." Pan Hongji sighed. "Most of it remains sealed... Perhaps only when he meets Qian Zhanxuan again will his heart truly open. Will the armor affixed to his Battle Souls vanish then, revealing their true forms?"

"I despise Qian Zhanxuan, I deeply detest his personality!" Qian Jin's voice was low, as if speaking to himself. "He believes everything he does is right, makes decisions without considering others in the least, centering everything on himself. Ordinary people are less than ants in his eyes."

"I hate... I intensely hate that personality!" Qian Jin stared at Tian Lianlingguan. "His kind of character has ruined countless people, yet he still prides himself on being a hegemon, on how correct he is. I am grateful that my bloodline power has not awakened; otherwise, I might blindly worship him like you do, without considering the feelings of others."

"The feelings of others?" Tian Lianlingguan's eyes jumped as he looked at the three strange Battle Souls behind Qian Jin, yet his overbearing aura intensified rather than diminished. "That's just talk dictated by one's own position! You stand from the perspective of ordinary people, while I stand from the position of an excellent and noble bloodline warrior. Don't paint yourself as some paragon of virtue."

"I never consider myself noble! I have seen the Warrior's Guild in poverty, the cruel environment in the cities of the bloodline families. Ordinary warriors use their own blood and lives to fight! You share the same red blood flowing in your veins as we do—not some noble gold! You can be injured just like us, and you can die!"

"We give no less than you, yet we receive far less! That isn't the main point. The crucial thing is! We pay with our lives, but instead of gaining respect, we only receive a look of disdain."

"I am not noble! But I have a backbone—even if I didn't possess this current strength, I would never flatter you bloodline warriors when I met you! Without us ordinary people, you rulers perched on high are nothing!"

"You eat food made by commoners, wear clothes made by commoners, and use minerals mined by commoners risking their lives. You desperately expand your own strength only to continue exploiting us, the common people. You are nothing but parasites dwelling among the masses."

"You are not noble—you weren't before, you aren't now, and you never will be! Without the construction and efforts of us ordinary people in society, you high-and-mighty rulers are nothing!"

Nothing! The expressions of the onlookers shifted, and the younger generation among them grew almost fanatical, constantly echoing that phrase: nothing.

For years, the education they received taught them to assist the powerful bloodline warriors in fighting the demons, prioritizing bloodline warriors above all else. If a bloodline warrior killed someone’s entire family, the legal punishment was merely being sent to the Human-Demon Battlefield, where no one knew if they would survive. Ordinary people, let alone killing an entire family, would face immediate execution for taking a single life.

The young are more receptive to new ideas and words. Those young people representing their families now re-examined Qian Jin.

Pan Hongji smiled, observing the reactions of the crowd. Even if this situation hadn't erupted at this moment, it was bound to surface eventually. Some things couldn't be stopped by sheer force. Therefore, his choice to treat the ordinary people in the territory of the Nine-Headed Snake Bloodline family with relative kindness and fairness was the correct path.

"Without bloodline warriors, the Zhence Dynasty would have long perished! Not only do you lack gratitude toward the bloodline warriors, but you are full of complaints! If too many people who do not know unity but only incite others, like you, appear, it will threaten the foundation of the Zhence Dynasty."

"If the Zhence Dynasty truly falls to the demons, then all humans will die!" Tian Lianlingguan strode forcefully toward Qian Jin. "You disregard the extremely adverse influence your words wield, which will surely lead to greater division and disunity in the future! Today, for the sake of the Zhence Dynasty, for the sake of all humanity, I must strike you dead!"

Tian Lianlingguan's speech accelerated, and with every sentence, his aura surged. In the eyes of many, his figure grew incomparably tall in an instant, resembling a celestial being guarding the Zhence Dynasty. With a flip of his hand, a long spear engraved with countless runes appeared!

The status of bloodline warriors must not be shaken! The unity of the Zhence Dynasty must not be fractured! Isabella's gaze certainly would not allow itself to linger on Qian Jin!

Tian Lianlingguan's hawk-like eyes locked onto Qian Jin. The long spear in his hand plunged down like a river rushing from a high mountain. As the superior battle weapon shook left and right, it emitted a resonance louder than an ancient bell. A sharp, piercing sonic boom accompanied the spear tip as it stabbed directly toward Qian Jin’s upper, middle, and lower sections.

The spearhead wavered and spun ceaselessly, moving up, down, left, and right, making it impossible to discern the final landing point—leg, torso, or head!

Poke the leg, cripple! Thrust the body, life lost! Pierce the head, crush the skull!

This was the true might of the long spear, the very reason why most famous generals utilized spears on the battlefield! One spear, one mount, could destroy cities and shatter fortresses! The several-meter-long great spear seemed alive in Tian Lianlingguan's hands, and as it thrust out, it displayed a magnificent brilliance like a hundred flowers blooming, accompanied by ghostly wails and howls carrying endless killing intent, where blinding rays of blood-light shimmered within.

Faced with a spear strike of such power, any expert below the Saint realm would almost certainly choose evasion as their primary action, attempting to avoid this spear infused with the killing intent, killing aura, and bloodlust of battlefield slaughter.

But what was the consequence of evasion? The long spear in Tian Lianlingguan's hand transformed from a surging river into a waterfall descending from a mountain, carrying immense force. In this continuous, never-ceasing torrent of attacks, there would be no chance for recovery!

The moment this spear radiated its dazzling light, almost every powerful expert present recalled the scene from earlier when Qian Jin had split Ling Fenglingguan with his palm strike.

Worthy of being the number one figure on the Conquest Academy's Hundred Battles List! Admiration swelled in everyone's minds. Tian Lianlingguan not only aimed to kill Qian Jin but was using the very method Qian Jin used to defeat Ling Fenglingguan to end the fight.

A beautiful spear strike! The momentum, killing aura, murderous intent, and technique were all at their peak! However... Pan Hongji crossed his arms and smiled; Qian Jin would not lose to this spear strike.

Luo Qingqing clenched her fists tightly, staring at the battlefield she couldn't see clearly. The thought that Qian Jin might be defeated never arose in her heart. Over the years, Qian Jin had clawed his way through countless battles, forging an invincible monument in her mind.

Qian Jin's eyes had lost their previous rage, replaced instead by a calm resembling a still lake untouched by wind. His pupils held no hatred, no anger, not even fighting spirit—only the skin on his forehead twitched slightly, an automatic response born from countless experiences and instincts sensing that the final destination of this spear strike was his head!

With supernatural perception, Qian Jin paid no heed to where Tian Lianlingguan's spear truly intended to land. He held the massive Zhanmadao with both hands, the front hand loosely gripping, the rear hand suddenly exerting force to meet the attack head-on. A giant crescent moon instantly appeared in the sky—not the real moon descending, but the arc drawn by the blade light.

The Penetrating Earth Sever, the Dividing Gold Sequential Cut, the Blood Battle Seven Forms... every move contained within one strike, sweeping away all obstacles with the momentum of a river of stars slashing through the void. Mixed with an overwhelming killing intent, it swept down from above, discarding the cumbersome flourishes of Tian Lianlingguan's spearplay. This strike was simple, pure, yet incomparably magnificent, sweeping away countless spear blossoms, emanating a reality concealed within illusion!