A hint of envy flickered across Li Ba’s face. He chuckled lightly. “If this old fellow were a bit younger, I’d truly love to step down and try a bout myself.” Serpent Emperor Pan Hongji exchanged a knowing smile with him. “Who isn’t? Say, those few from the Elven Bloodline families—they peeked out just now, then vanished again? What could that imply?”

“I don’t know…” Li Ba shook his head. “The Elven Bloodline families are relatively self-contained. Apart from leading the Mage Legions on the battlefield, they rarely interact with other Bloodline Warriors or different factions.”

Pan Hongji shrugged. The warriors of the Elven Bloodline families were indeed peculiar, always leaving others wondering what went on in their minds.

With the second round of the Newcomer King Tournament concluded, countless people realized just how many bright spots this year’s competition held!

The absence of Qian Jin’s explosive battles, like the one against Qian Zhanxuan, actually made the fights on many rings far more captivating.

The fighting strength of the major Bloodline Houses began to erupt. The sheer power displayed by the warriors of the Three-Headed Golden Dragon, Nine-Headed Serpent, and Pseudo-Dragon bloodlines was particularly astonishing. Did these three clans all drink dragon’s blood? One was flourishing so fiercely that it made the other Bloodline Warrior families intensely envious.

Fen Tu Kuang Ge of the Fen Tu family rose powerfully, once again bringing the Fen Tu family banner into the spotlight. Everyone could sense that this time, the Fen Tu family was set to advance very far in the Newcomer King Tournament.

The Fen Tu family was no longer appearing as challengers to the Bloodline Warriors; they arrived as a force capable of receiving challenges—Yiti Shuang Sheng! The might of their Saint-level strength declared to all that they were here to accept challenges, or rather, to crush the Bloodline Warriors underfoot.

Reviewing the strength displayed by the participants across the tournament grounds, very few could fight Fen Tu Kuang Ge without being defeated.

With Qian Jin’s powerful emergence, people no longer needed to wait for warriors from various regions to conceal their full power and grind their way upward bit by bit.

In response to Qian Jin, all the powerhouses participating from the great families unleashed their strongest capabilities right from the start. True Saint experts, rarely seen in the preliminary rounds, suddenly appeared in great numbers.

Many bouts were decided in a single strike due to the explosive power shown by these young contenders. The odds offered by the major gambling houses were adjusted time and again.

Furthermore, because of Qian Jin, the larger betting establishments had opened entirely new betting lines: odds on who could withstand Qian Jin’s initial strike and force him to use a second one.

This new market immediately sparked widespread dissatisfaction among the Bloodline Warriors, who protested vehemently, yet for the moment, they posed no genuine threat to Qian Jin.

Now, at the very outset of the Newcomer King Tournament, Qian Jin seemed to possess an aura so dominant that it overshadowed all previous Newcomer Kings, creating a unique miracle in the tournament’s history!

Qian Jin had a casual meal with Serpent Emperor Pan Hongji and Li Ba at a small tavern. Seeing that the two elders had no intention of heading home, he decided to accompany them back to the Warriors’ General Union.

Boom!

A massive explosion suddenly erupted from deep within the Warriors’ General Union, causing the foot Qian Jin was lifting to halt momentarily in mid-air.

The chaotic magical energy permeating the air made Pan Hongji and Li Ba exchange confused glances. This carried the distinct scent of a confrontation. Given Qian Jin’s status and strength, whose mind had snapped to attack him in his own stronghold, the Warriors’ General Union? Wasn't that simply asking for trouble?

“I’ll say it one more time! Regardless of whether you are Elven Bloodline or Elven King Bloodline! If anyone today tries to take Bi Luo away, I will start killing people!” Duan Feng Bu Er’s domineering roar echoed through the layers of halls, reaching Qian Jin’s ears. “This act of violence today is a lesson for you!”

“Duan Feng Bu Er! Stay out of the affairs of our Hong Yun family! Bi Luo belongs to the Hong Yun family, and naturally, she must return with us!”

A sharp voice, laced with absolute refusal to yield, rang out immediately following Duan Feng Bu Er’s roar. Immense magical energy surged wildly.

The destructive power wielded by a peak Saint-level mage could easily shake the entire Warriors’ Union to its foundations!

Mages differ from warriors; a mage’s physical body is fragile, rarely reaching the level of true sainthood. However, the destructive might of magic cast by a High Saint mage is enough to make True Saint warriors wary.

“Hong Yun Family Head, you had best retreat, or this will be difficult for me,” Lei Long Li’s voice took on a steady tone, layered with further threat. “If you forcefully try to take the girl, I don’t know what the Three-Headed Golden Dragon family will do, but at the very least, I personally will certainly move to stop you.”

“Stop me? You dare obstruct the Hong Yun family? Don’t assume that just because you warriors are impressive in the arena, this entire battlefield belongs to you! Without our mages providing rear support, you would have long been annihilated by the Demon Race! Which one of your houses has never received aid from our Hong Yun family? If anyone dares block Hong Yun Lin Feng from taking Bi Luo today, don’t blame the Hong Yun family for a slightly delayed rescue effort on the Human-Demon Battlefield in the future.”

“A slightly delayed rescue? I don't need your rescue. Get lost now.” As Qian Jin’s voice sounded, he had already materialized behind Hong Yun Lin Feng, reaching out with a wide grasp toward the nape of Hong Yun Lin Feng’s neck.

Hong Yun Lin Feng felt the danger instantly, his scalp tingling painfully. Magical elements immediately coalesced into an eggshell-shaped defensive layer to resist the downward pressure of Qian Jin’s five grasping fingers, while two scorching pillars of fire, hot enough to bake the earth, swept toward Qian Jin.

“You think this can stop me? Break!”

Qian Jin’s five fingers suddenly spread and smashed heavily onto the eggshell-shaped magic shield. The energy barrier, which seemed capable of blocking anything, instantly shattered. His left hand swept toward the incoming fire pillars, drawing both columns of flame into his grasp where they vanished. Though the Source of Ten Thousand Fires couldn't exert its killing power, in the act of devouring flame, no one in the world surpassed Qian Jin.

“What?”

Hong Yun Lin Feng knew Qian Jin was formidable, but he never expected his flames to be absorbed so directly, and that magical shield had been as fragile as a literal eggshell.

Qian Jin’s five fingers clamped directly onto the back of Hong Yun Lin Feng’s neck. He lifted him up, hoisting the Elven Bloodline head into the air, his fingers tightening slightly, imbued with a chilling killing intent.

“Get away!”

Hong Yun Lin Feng tumbled through the air, flung away. A flight spell caught him, preventing him from crashing awkwardly into a wall like others might have.

Qian Jin tossed Hong Yun Lin Feng aside and strode forward, his sheer aura pushing back the surrounding Elven Bloodline mages. He carefully shielded Bi Luo in his embrace, then turned to face the group of Elven Bloodline mages whose faces had grown grim.

Hong Yun Lin Feng stabilized himself, his face flushed crimson. Although the Elven Bloodline mages were individually weaker in combat, they had always served as crucial rear support for all warriors. Even the heads of the Three Ultimate Bloodline Warrior families were typically courteous to him in normal circumstances.

There was no other reason! It was because no one knew when their respective legions might face danger, and the Elven Bloodline Mage Legions were vital assets for timely rescue.

Yet now, an ordinary warrior—albeit one who had reached the True Saint level and possessed immense resources—should never have dared provoke the Elven Bloodline mages.

“Qian Jin, do you know what you are doing?” Hong Yun Lin Feng slowly descended back to the ground. “Without the support of our Mage Legions, how many of your ordinary warriors will die? I know you are powerful, but you should seriously consider the forces you command, because your actions now will bring what kind of danger to them!”

“Qian Jin…” Pan Hongji walked toward him with a troubled expression. “These Elven Bloodlines are not to be trifled with…”

Li Ba said nothing, merely nodding. These Elven Bloodline mages were notoriously stubborn. If they were provoked, even a minute’s delay in magical support on the Human-Demon Battlefield would inflict significant losses upon the Warriors’ General Union.

Seeing the expressions of Pan Hongji and Li Ba as they offered their warnings, Hong Yun Lin Feng’s face showed a significant increase in smugness. He sneered, tilting his chin up as he stared at Qian Jin, then pointed a finger at Bi Luo held in Qian Jin’s arms. “This girl originally belonged to my Hong Yun family! She sneakily ran away! Hand her over now so I can punish her! Then, if you apologize for your earlier insolence, I will forgive you! Otherwise… hmmph! You should know how much your Warriors’ General Union needs us…”

Whoosh! Boom!

An arrow, coming from an unknown source, whistled past Hong Yun Lin Feng’s earlobe, shattering his exquisitely fashioned magical earring, which pulsed with potent magic. The arrow embedded itself deep into the wall not far behind him, completely disappearing from sight, making its presence nearly imperceptible.

Hong Yun Lin Feng’s speech stopped abruptly. His tongue felt weighted down as if wrapped in a thousand pounds of iron; he could not force another word out. Sweat streamed down his forehead and cheeks, dripping onto the ground.

The archer was Qian Jin! The arrow flew so fast that no one had time to react!

Qian Jin stood holding a strong bow with three bowstrings, staring calmly at Hong Yun Lin Feng. “You can threaten me however you like, but I will not yield! No one in the Warriors’ General Union will yield! If warriors lack backbone, what are they even called?”

Hong Yun Lin Feng looked down at the shattered magic earring on the ground. An arrow this swift usually carried an intensely sharp, cutting wind shear. Yet, he had managed to neutralize all that abrasive cutting pressure, and the sound of the launch itself had been so faint. Terrifying… truly terrifying!

“As mages, your responsibility is to provide timely support to the warriors fighting on the front lines with their flesh and blood,” Qian Jin said coldly, locking eyes with Hong Yun Lin Feng. “If any warrior from my Warriors’ Union dies on the Human-Demon Battlefield because the support from your Hong Yun family was delayed, then the arrow I just loosed will be followed by two more, killing two members of the Hong Yun family!”