"Hormone sneered with a long sigh: '... The Qian family must hand over the supreme throne of the Bloodline Warrior! I, Hormone, will make that a reality!'"

Qian Jin nodded lightly. This Hormone was indeed a seasoned fighter; even before the battle commenced, he was trying to disrupt his opponent's mentality with verbal attacks, aiming to simplify the fight and find an opening to secure a swift victory.

But! Qian Jin’s eyes snapped open wide, completely unaffected by the taunt—Qian Wuqing remained steady and calm. What exactly had he gone through? How had he grown to this level? What was the true extent of his power?

"Battle between Hormone and Qian Wuqing begins!"

The word 'begin' had barely registered in everyone's ears when a Battle Soul burst forth from Hormone's body. Before the massive Gray Bear Battle Soul could fully manifest, Qian Wuqing was already standing before the burly Hormone. His hand was open, fingers spread, and he pressed it directly against Hormone's cheek, slamming him violently toward the ground.

Bang!

Hormone’s strong physique, at this moment, seemed like a pliable child’s. Under the pressure of Qian Wuqing’s palm, he collapsed onto the ground without the slightest resistance. His large head struck the floor hard, and a dazzling light flared intensely within Qian Wuqing's palm.

The next instant! A massive shockwave erupted from the palm pressed against Hormone's cheek, golden spear-light mingled with spurts of vivid blood shooting out from between the fingers.

Rumble!

The arena shook violently under the magical impact, courtesy of Leyou Literature. Qian Wuqing snatched Hormone's head and tossed him off the platform as if he were nothing more than trash.

Gurgle...

Hormone’s body tumbled across the ground like a wooden log. Finally, his face, horribly mangled by the blast, faced the sky; the man was completely knocked unconscious.

One strike!

Qian Wuqing hadn't even unleashed his Battle Soul; with just a single blow, he had subdued Hormone, a powerhouse at the fourth level of Battle Souls, into unconsciousness.

Almost everyone was stunned. Was it over already? Yesterday, Qian Wuqing had defeated his opponent using this very same fighting style.

Qian Wuqing slowly straightened up, looking down at the fainted Hormone below the ring, and stated coldly, "Trash!"

Qian Wuqing’s gaze slowly shifted to Qian Jin. He suddenly raised his hand, pointed at Qian Jin, and then emphatically pointed at the platform beneath his feet: "I will defeat you here!"

Qian Jin? Qian Jin!

Many people realized only then that Qian Jin, who should have been competing in another venue, was present here! Moreover, Qian Wuqing, the person Qian Jin once casually kicked down, was now challenging him again.

Undead? Qian Jin frowned slightly. Was it his illusion? For a fleeting moment, had he sensed the scent of the Undead emanating from Qian Wuqing? Or had he stumbled upon some extraordinary fortunate encounter? His speed of growth was fast! Really fast! At a normal pace, he couldn't possibly have defeated Hormone, let alone done so with such an insulting, effortless victory.

Without waiting for Qian Jin’s response, Qian Wuqing quietly walked off the stage, maintaining the same composed demeanor as when he entered, causing everyone to instinctively part to create a path for him.

Qian Jin curiously looked toward Wuming, wanting to gauge the reaction of this practitioner of Gale Cloud Dou Qi, only to find Wuming exceptionally quiet and calm, as if he hadn't even noticed Qian Wuqing.

"This year’s Newcomer King..." Qian Jin’s eyes shifted slightly, the atmosphere everywhere was odd! Someone was using Gale Cloud Dou Qi, and someone else might have become an Undead... Why would an Undead participate in the contest?

"Look! Behemoth!"

As people shouted, a Leopard Bloodline Warrior from the Zhence Dynasty had already been knocked off the platform. He tried to push himself up with his hands, but he simply couldn't manage it and could only cough up more blood.

On the stage, a massive Behemoth, its entire coat emitting a golden sheen, was arrogantly surveying all the warriors present, its gaze finally settling on Qian Jin.

A Golden Behemoth at the peak of the Void Saint realm!

Behemoth Bloodline Warriors who reach the Saint realm will have fur that bursts forth with true golden-yellow color! Every Saint-ranked Golden Behemoth is the pride and glory of the Barbarian race; their robust physical forms give them a significant advantage against opponents of the same rank.

Even the Ten Great Bloodline Warriors of the Zhence Dynasty would not gain any substantial advantage against a Golden Behemoth Warrior; achieving an even match would be considered a good result.

"That’s just one of the Barbarian Prince’s personal bodyguards..." Dull Zhence appeared beside Qian Jin at some point. "Their First Prince has personally shown up in our Zhence Dynasty this time, clearly intending to display his strength thoroughly."

"The First Prince? Around thirty-five or thirty-six years old?" Qian Jin frowned slightly.

"Yes, thirty-five. If nothing unexpected happens, his strength should be at the True Saint level," Dull Zhence explained seriously.

"It should be." Qian Jin sighed. The Newcomer King competition wasn't restricted only to twenty-year-olds; anyone who hadn't competed, even those in their thirties or forties, could enter. In a way, this was unfair to the younger warriors.

However, fairness never existed on the battlefield, and the person who ultimately claimed the Newcomer King title was generally very young—the existence of those who could easily stimulate their bloodline power through the ultimate power of the Three Fires.

Warriors from the three great ultimate bloodline families, even when young, always treated this event as one of the best training grounds for improving their strength and awakening their bloodline powers.

"Huh? You finished already too?" Qian Jin suddenly realized that when he left, Dull Zhence shouldn't have been scheduled to fight yet. "My opponent forfeited," Dull Zhence said with a smile. "Don't forget, I am a Prince. If there's an overwhelming gap in strength, opponents will yield to royal authority."

Qian Jin smiled. That was certainly convenient! And suitable for Dull Zhence, who didn't particularly enjoy the spotlight.

"Look! A Magician! And she's a girl!"

The crowd erupted in excited shouts again. Qian Jin noticed the woman standing on the platform—looking somewhat timid, wearing a huge magic hat that nearly obscured her entire face—was none other than his wife, Biluo.

Biluo was actually on the stage? She was participating in the Newcomer King competition?

Qian Jin felt a bit ashamed of himself for not even knowing his own wife was competing.

The appearance of a Magician in the Newcomer King competition was highly novel. Although there were always Magicians participating in every tournament, none had ever achieved notable success; currently, only a few Elf Bloodline Magicians were keeping up appearances.

It was universally understood among the Human, Demon, and Barbarian races that Magicians were best suited for group combat; united, they could even match the power of Heaven-level Awakened Bloodline Warriors.

The sudden appearance of a Magician on the stage indeed drew immense attention.

"I remember this woman! Yesterday she defeated her opponent with just one strike! She's very strong!"

Someone shouted from the crowd again!

Qian Jin was very curious. This was clearly Biluo, not some Huangquan. Her strength...

"Little girl, I know you want to bring honor to the Magicians, but this is the stage for warriors."

The opponent facing Biluo was a robust Bloodline Warrior. The Newcomer King tournament was always the domain of Bloodline Warriors. His arms were exceptionally long, indicating he was a warrior drawing power from an Ape bloodline type.

His age, over forty, meant that while this Bloodline Warrior was filled with pride, he didn't display the contempt toward others that many warriors exhibited.

"I... I won't leave... I want to fight," Biluo said timidly, looking up at the older Bloodline Warrior on the stage. "I want to tell my husband that I can fight well too..."

"Ah... I understand..." The warrior in his forties smiled faintly. "I will try not to hurt you..."

"Then... The match begins!"

As soon as the referee's voice faded, before the Bloodline Warrior could even unleash his bloodline power, a storm of potent magical energy began to swirl violently around Biluo.

No! It wasn't a storm of magic! It was an ocean of magic!

The power Biluo unleashed in an instant was in no way inferior to the Huangquan that appeared that night!

What was this? Qian Jin was also stunned. Biluo’s strength had never been that formidable, despite her intense effort. But this was... incredible...

Qian Jin secretly speculated: Had Saint-level attainment achieved through magic by Huangquan caused their abilities to connect with Biluo? Thus granting Biluo such immense power now?

Yes! Only this explanation made sense!

"Are... are you ready..." Biluo timidly looked at her middle-aged opponent, who was already frozen in shock. "I... I'm going to attack now..."

Biluo timidly raised her hand and sent out an Air Burst spell. Her stunned opponent cooperatively flew right off the platform.

Cooperative! Yes, everyone could see that the Bloodline Warrior was indeed cooperating.

In such a situation, many people would cooperate!

Such a fragile-looking little girl possessed strength to this degree; her constant look of timidity made her even more terrifying.

Timid people tended to get nervous, and nervousness made it hard to control power levels. If she accidentally unleashed some large-scale destructive magic in haste, cooperating to fall off the platform might become impossible—she might not even leave any remains.

"So young... such power," Pan Hongji appeared behind Qian Jin, nodding repeatedly in admiration. "This Newcomer King tournament is far more interesting than the one I participated in."

"And more interesting than the old man's tournament," Li Ba said with a smile, looking at Biluo on the stage. "Or perhaps, no Newcomer King competition has ever compared to this one."

Pan Hongji nodded in agreement. Not only might the ultimate awakening of the three ultimate bloodlines appear in this tournament, but the powerful rise of several ordinary warriors like Qian Jin, combined with the overall explosive strength demonstrated by Duan Fengbuer and his team—it absolutely surpassed any previous Newcomer King competition.

This is the second update. I won't ask for monthly tickets in a separate notice this time; I want monthly tickets now!