The battle erupted instantly upon the referee's command.

Ripples of power pulsed from the Behemoth bloodline warrior. In a flash, the Behemoth warrior, a man in his mid-forties, surged his strength to the level of True Saint!

True Saint! The crowd gasped once more, realizing this Newcomer King Tournament wasn't just a major investment for the True Strategy Dynasty's bloodline warriors; the Barbarians, too, held it in immense regard, sending a Behemoth warrior over forty years old to compete.

A seasoned bloodline warrior in his forties pitted against one barely in his early twenties—this presented a massive imbalance. Yet, for a warrior to truly mature, growth must come from such unfair fights. This very purpose lay at the heart of the True Strategy Dynasty hosting the Newcomer King Tournament, one of the core reasons the Dynasty had endured for countless years.

True Saint! In that instant, all attention snapped to Thunder Dragon Li, wondering what level of strength this warrior, on whom so much hope was placed for potentially awakening the ultimate bloodline power, truly possessed. Did he match the True Saint level that Qian Wushuang once displayed? If he didn't even reach True Saint, the Thunder Dragon Li's path in the Newcomer King Tournament might be…

Thunder Dragon Li completely ignored the stares. Behind him, the massive Battle Soul of three Golden Dragons slowly ascended. The heads of the dragons, representing three distinct elements, spat forth unimaginable magical energies.

Void Saint!

Seeing Thunder Dragon Li at the Void Saint level, nearly everyone sighed internally. The power of the Three-Headed Golden Dragon bloodline this year was truly too weak.

The Behemoth’s eyes flashed with undisguised disdain. "You disappoint me greatly. The entire True Strategy Dynasty disappoints me..."

As he spoke, the Behemoth advanced toward Thunder Dragon Li. His massive fist locked onto Li’s head. Even before the air-shattering impact of his punch arrived, the resulting pressure made Li’s battle armor flap loudly. Many spectators closed their eyes, unable to bear watching the inevitable defeat of Thunder Dragon Li.

"The power of the elements endures; the power of the elements is unmatched."

A melodious voice rose from Thunder Dragon Li’s lips, sounding like an ancient powerhouse chanting. It pierced the long river of history, traversing time and space to descend upon the arena.

Three immense magical forces intertwined, forming a colossal pillar of wind that enveloped the Behemoth’s body. For a moment, it felt as if tens of thousands of unbreakable threads had bound him completely, leaving no possibility of escape.

"What is this?"

The mages from the Elf bloodline families stood stunned. This was the legendary Red Cloud Magic, long lost in their family lore: the Three-Colored Myriad Thread Annihilation Storm!

Instantly, the Behemoth's robust protective battle skills began to shatter, much like a sturdy turtle shell being repeatedly wrapped and then violently shredded by countless metal threads.

Blood sprayed forth from the Behemoth’s body the very next second.

Engulfed in the Three-Colored Myriad Thread Annihilation Storm, the Behemoth roared repeatedly, managing to break some of the binding threads, only to be immediately entangled again by newly generated ones. His Great Strength Soul Domain was utterly nullified within the spell.

How could this be? The audience was dumbfounded. A Void Saint bloodline warrior was about to defeat a True Saint warrior? Was the Three-Headed Golden Dragon bloodline warrior simply too powerful?

Thunder Dragon Li watched calmly as his opponent, now trapped in magic that would slowly drain his strength until defeat, offered a faint smile. This spell, taught by Qian Jin, was perfectly suited for a Three-Headed Golden Dragon bloodline warrior.

"He isn't using his full strength..." Jiu Yang Fenghua stared at the composed Thunder Dragon Li. "This is definitely not all he has. He's merely showing everyone that he, Thunder Dragon Li, possesses the ability to fight above his level. Even after reaching the Saint realm, a Three-Headed Dragon bloodline warrior still retains the capacity to fight across tiers."

Qian Wuxingchen’s brow split open to reveal a golden eye. That eye fixed intently on the Three-Colored Myriad Thread Annihilation Storm. His other eyes showed confusion. No magic in the world could evade the observation of the Myriad Law Divine Eye; any spell could be learned after a single viewing by the Elf King bloodline’s Divine Eye! Yet, now… Qian Wuxingchen observed for a full two seconds and still could find no thread of understanding, while the Behemoth warrior was on the verge of defeat.

"You are no match for me at all." Thunder Dragon Li stepped into the wind pillar, his own strength beginning to climb once more.

Void... Peak Void Saint... True... Peak True Saint!

"Put away your contempt, put away your arrogance, and lie down for a good rest." Thunder Dragon Li raised his right palm high above his head. "Your era is over; now it belongs to us young people. Accept a strike from my Thunder Soul Domain..."

Blue lightning rapidly condensed in the palm of Thunder Dragon Li's hand. The destructive power made the surrounding defensive mages tense. It seemed Thunder Dragon Li was determined today to tell everyone: never underestimate any Three-Headed Golden Dragon warrior! He was beginning to defend the honor of the Three-Headed Golden Dragon family!

At the apex of the Three-Colored Myriad Thread Annihilation Storm, an even larger thunderball was forming, laced with hundreds of thousands of electric lights constantly swirling and crackling with muffled thunderous explosions.

This thunderball instantly swelled to half the size of the arena, then began to rapidly shrink. People sensed that the thunderball's power hadn't diminished with its volume reduction; instead, the compression of the electricity made it even more potent.

The powerful young warriors, no longer distracted by the fireball like mere onlookers, stared intently at Thunder Dragon Li, who controlled it.

Whether casting a Soul Domain or using magic, exertion required both battle qi and magical power!

This Thunder Soul Domain grew stronger and stronger. Could his battle qi truly sustain it?

Five seconds! Thunder Dragon Li held the strain for five seconds. The thunderball, once half the size of the massive arena, shrank to the size of two washbasins. A bead of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"I..." At this moment, the Behemoth felt the genuine pressure of death. He quickly opened his mouth, intending to shout surrender, but the moment his mouth opened, countless fine threads wrapped around his tongue.

Instantly, the Behemoth’s massive tongue was severed by the threads. There was no time to utter a word of surrender.

Thunder Dragon Li looked impassively at his opponent trapped in the magic. This Behemoth had targeted his head from the start, clearly intending to blow his skull apart with one punch. Facing such an opponent now, how could he show any reservation?

The massive roar of thunder drowned out the Behemoth’s pained scream, and the entire arena shook violently.

The Three-Colored Myriad Thread Annihilation Storm ceased, and the immense thunderclap vanished. Also gone without a trace was the Barbarian warrior of the Behemoth bloodline.

Where the warrior had stood, an enormous pit now appeared—several meters deep, with a diameter of nearly thirty meters. Every visible surface of the ground was black, scorched black.

The earth itself had been utterly blackened by Thunder Dragon Li’s single strike.

The audience stared blankly at Thunder Dragon Li, their earlier scorn completely gone. It turned out that the strongest among the current generation's three great bloodline warriors was this relatively low-key Thunder Dragon Li!

"Qian Jin..." Thunder Dragon Li slowly tilted his head up, his gaze sweeping across Jiu Yang Fenghua and Qian Wuxingchen. "I will be the one to defeat him!"

Thunder Dragon Li walked calmly off the stage. The audience, however, erupted. Today! Qian Jin, who wasn't even present, remained the biggest focal point. Every warrior who defeated an opponent shouted the goal of defeating Qian Jin!

"Qian Jin? You’ll defeat him?" Duan Fengbuer looked at Thunder Dragon Li descending from the stage. "Are you joking? Do you take me for air?"

Thunder Dragon Li faced Duan Fengbuer. "I will not lose to you."

"Is that so?" Duan Fengbuer pursed his lips. "Your Three-Colored Myriad Thread Annihilation Storm might trap others, but it won't trap me! Don't forget, my Soul Domain ability is instantaneous movement. Even your Thunder Soul Domain would struggle to hit me. I can appear anywhere, anytime, and launch the most terrifying attack against you."

"Is that so?" Thunder Dragon Li smiled at Duan Fengbuer. "I have a Thunder Roar Killing Array that I was planning to use against Qian Jin. If you're interested, and if we meet on the stage first, I can let you sample it now."

"Thunder power is the least effective against me; you should remember that..." Duan Fengbuer snapped his fingers, summoning blue electrical light at his fingertip.

Back when the Thunder Lion King Tian Lianling Guan died, Duan Fengbuer, Qian Jin, and Serpent Emperor Pan Hongji divided Tian Lianling Guan's Thunder Soul Domain. While Pan Hongji took the lion's share, Duan Fengbuer secured a portion.

While this sliver of Thunder Domain power was insufficient for offense, it served perfectly as an immunity mechanism, causing headaches for any lightning-based magic.

With even a trace of Thunder Soul Domain inside his body, Duan Fengbuer could utilize his absorption ability to directly consume incoming lightning attacks.

Thunder Dragon Li smiled again. "Afraid of bursting? Go ahead and try to swallow it."

"Bursting? What a joke!" Duan Fengbuer scoffed. "Bring me a true dragon, and I can swallow it too!"

Jiu Yang Fenghua watched Thunder Dragon Li’s receding back, puzzled. "Was that his full strength? He should be able to exhibit even greater power; his endurance should be stronger! Why did he seem so strained when activating his techniques and Soul Domain just now, as if something was holding him back from releasing his full might?"

Thunder Dragon Li sank onto his seat, took the towel handed by his subordinate, and wiped the sweat from his brow, shaking his head repeatedly. "Now I understand how exhausted Qian Jin felt fighting a True Saint expert before. Even a slight movement required ten times the normal effort just to shift... otherwise, fighting was impossible."

Battle after battle proceeded on the arena, and by late afternoon, the day's fighting concluded.

Win, win, and still win...

As the Newcomer King Tournament continued over these few days, people gradually began to analyze which participants belonged to which circles and alliances.

Qian Jin’s small circle, bolstered by the inclusion of Thunder Dragon Li leading the charge, attracted exceptional attention. After all, this genius bloodline warrior was one of the most likely contenders for the Newcomer King title and the most probable to achieve ultimate awakening.

People quickly noticed that every warrior in this small group performed superbly in the arena; the weakest among them were at the very peak of the Half-Saint realm.

If one were to pull out any one of these Half-Saint experts, setting aside their internal affiliations, compared to any Half-Saint from outside their group, they would undoubtedly rank as the number one among the Human, Demon, and Barbarian Half-Saints!

Normally, such talents—young warriors possessing infinite potential for whom every faction would fight tooth and nail—might only emerge one or two per generation in each family, appearing perhaps once every century. Now, they seemed almost mass-produced!

That's right. Suddenly, these rare genius warriors burst forth like weeds, a massive swath of them, giving the impression they might even become commonplace.

Rout! Every single match ended in a swift victory.

People soon realized that these young warriors, hailing from different families, all belonged to the same circle—Qian Jin’s circle!

Influence, strength, comprehensive capability, and overall power!

People saw how this young man, rising from the lowest grassroots level, had ascended to this height in such a short time. With such strength and influence, no faction dared to underestimate them.

The Newcomer King Tournament had always been characterized by complex, drawn-out struggles in almost every match. Only a few absolute champions, favored to win, managed to secure crisp, one-hit victories that elicited gasps of admiration for their decisive brilliance.

Now, victories ending that quickly were too numerous; they had made people numb. Conversely, the drawn-out battles lasting half a day now made people think, Oh? There are still battles fought this way?

Aside from Qian Jin’s group, the bloodline warriors from the Qian family, the Jiu Yang family, and other factions also performed strikingly well. The most eye-catching among them was Qian Wuqing!

No one expected that this former Qian family bloodline warrior would enter the Newcomer King Tournament not aligned with the Qian faction but competing solo, delivering shockingly brutal attacks.

Night gradually fell, but the bustle of the Divine Capital grew even louder than during the day.

The day's matches generated too much excitement for people to process immediately; discussions and predictions boomed in the taverns.

Qian Jin, clad in black battle attire, appeared in the courtyard of the Warrior's Guild.

Duan Fengbuer sat rigidly inside a gravity magic apparatus, veins throbbing in his forehead as he underwent the most severe rigorous training. His battle qi was sealed, making circulation difficult. Combined with the gravity suppression, moving his qi felt like trying to push through solid rock; moving even a fraction required immense effort.

"Qian Jin, you're finally out..." The taciturn Zhen Ce was the first to leap out of the gravity magic device.

The other dozen or so Nine-Headed Serpent, Three-Headed Golden Dragon, and Pseudo-Dragon bloodline warriors shut down their gravity devices and slumped inside, too exhausted to move, managing only a strained smile to greet Qian Jin.

Tired! So incredibly tired! The seal combined with the gravity device was an impulse bordering on suicidal.

Thunder Dragon Li, bare-chested, his body covered in large beads of sweat, shook his head repeatedly. "I used to think training under the waterfall, using magic to temper myself, was the most brutal form of cultivation. Now I realize how easy, how utterly childish that practice was."

The Three-Headed Poison Golden Dragon warriors and other bloodline warriors lacked the strength to speak, conveying their complete agreement with Thunder Dragon Li’s statement only through their eyes.

"When do we move?" Chek Filit sat steadily within his gravity device, the only one who hadn't deactivated it, conversing with Qian Jin while continuing his harsh training.

The Three-Headed Golden Dragon, Nine-Headed Serpent, and Pseudo-Dragon warriors cast looks of admiration toward Chek Filit. This man was not only ruthless in combat but equally merciless to himself. He had clearly reached his absolute limit, yet showed no sign of stopping or leaving.

"It's a shame you can't participate in the Newcomer King Tournament..." Thunder Dragon Li looked regretfully at Chek Filit. "Among all these people, besides Qian Jin, you are the one I most want to fight."

"You can try beating that trash, Buer, first," Chek Filit stated calmly. "Beat him, and you earn the right to challenge me."

"Damn it! Concubine, what do you mean by that?" Duan Fengbuer jumped up as if his tail had been stepped on. "Are you saying I'm inferior to you?"

Chek Filit glanced calmly at Duan Fengbuer and replied in the same measured tone, "It seems you understand that yourself."

"Damn it! You infuriate me!" Duan Fengbuer rolled up his sleeves. "Come on! Let's fight, and I'll show you what a real man is!"

"Tomorrow. Tonight I aim for the Earth-rank awakening of my bloodline power," Chek Filit said with utter calmness. "Perhaps by tomorrow, I will reach the True Saint realm."

Earth-rank awakening? To True Saint? Thunder Dragon Li’s eyes narrowed slightly as he recalled that this Bloodline Magic Warrior had entered sainthood using a Sacred Artifact, awakening his Human-rank bloodline power to jump directly into the True Saint realm.

Calculating then, if he was lucky, an Earth-rank awakening could propel him to the True Saint realm.

To reach True Saint? So quickly? Thunder Dragon Li sucked in a sharp breath. Was the Demon of the Fallen Angel's ultimate awakening imminent? Otherwise, his rate of advancement was too fast!

"True... so fast?" A measure of Duan Fengbuer’s arrogance evaporated. He had expected that upon reaching sainthood and assaulting the True Saint realm, he might jump ahead of everyone else to reach True Saint, but now Chek Filit used reality to show everyone that although he entered sainthood first and had the least accumulation among their friends, his innate talent was absolutely dominant!

"Hurry up and steal! Hurry up and steal!" Duan Fengbuer urged anxiously. "After stealing, I’ll get back to training! I can lose to anyone but not to Concubine!"

"The Three-Headed Golden Dragon will not lose to anyone," Thunder Dragon Li told Qian Jin. "What time do we move?"

Burning Path Frenzy’s two Battle Souls had reached sainthood, accelerating his battle qi cultivation far beyond previous speeds. Coupled with the formidable Saint-level battle qi secret arts of the Great True Gold Battle Qi, his rate of improvement was in no way inferior to these young bloodline warriors.

"Now." Qian Jin drew the Star Sword of the Dead from the Battle Realm, lightly running a finger along the blade. The sword instantly vibrated, emitting a resonant hum.

"A fine sword!" Thunder Dragon Li’s eyes widened upon seeing the sword in Qian Jin’s hand. This is more than just a fine sword! As battle qi was input, it gave the sensation of being a Sacred Artifact.

"This isn't even a Soul Weapon," Qian Jin observed the sword in his hand. "But the moment battle qi is infused, it gives the feeling of a Sacred Artifact. It is, however, ultimately just a forgery."

"I say, comrade..." Duan Fengbuer draped his arm familiarly over Qian Jin’s shoulder. "How about this: you forge a batch of these pseudo-Sacred Artifacts, and I’ll take responsibility for selling them? I think we could make a tidy fortune..."

Thunder Dragon Li lightly patted his forehead. This opponent was truly strange; his way of thinking was always completely different from normal people. With his status, he still wanted to sell fakes.

"Hmph... you people..." Duan Fengbuer patted his chest with a look of profound disappointment. "We make a few batches of these things, sell them all to those sons of bitches in the Demon Race! Think about it, on the Human-Demon battlefield, we could intentionally seek out opponents carrying these fakes and bully them—that would be satisfying..."

Thunder Dragon Li suddenly realized that this perpetually frivolous Duan Fengbuer possessed such a sinister side. If, on the battlefield, he wielded one of Qian Jin’s creations, ordinary opponents might see it and not dare approach, but those who knew the truth might close in, leading to an instant, huge loss! The worst-case scenario would be being cut down on the spot!

"That’s a truly excellent idea," Yisai Er approached with interest. "Brother Qian Jin, make a batch! Make a batch! In the future, I’ll specifically seek out these types of fighters on the Human-Demon battlefield; it'll be incredibly fun!"

Although Thunder Dragon Li remained silent and offered no opinion, the excitement visible in his pupils showed his agreement and approval.

Qian Jin rested his chin in contemplation. If he could forge a very special Sacred Artifact—a special super-weapon that looked like a Sacred Artifact—perhaps using it against the current Demon King might result in the relatively simple task of slaying him.

Slay the Demon King? Qian Jin frowned again. But the current Demon King happened to be his father-in-law! A son-in-law killing his father-in-law—that didn't seem to follow the rules, did it? Besides, blood was thicker than water...

"We’ll discuss other matters later," Qian Jin shook his head. "For now, let's go steal the Star Sword of the Dead."

"What about Qian Wuqing?" Duan Fengbuer persistently reminded him. "That guy is too eerie. I think we should disregard propriety and deal with him sooner rather than later."

"Qian Wu Qing Pi," Qian Jin halted his forward stride. "Once the Star of the Dead Sword is secured, we eliminate him. By your accounts, he genuinely possesses a peculiar ability to absorb the physical strength of the powerful to augment his own."

A sliver of fierce, cold determination flashed through Lei Long Li’s eyes. The pressure this specter exuded was immense. Many warriors inherently grow stronger the longer they fight, but Qian Wu Qing grew stronger the more he consumed. Perhaps his physical form had a saturation point, but before that limit was reached, how many more warriors of the Zhen Ce Dynasty would he slaughter? These were the very finest soldiers destined for the future Human-Demon battlefields!

The next update will feature the battle between Qian Jin and the Serpent Emperor, Li Ba! Ah! It is arriving once again!!!! Next up without stopping! Requesting monthly tickets!!!!!!!! Yesterday featured eleven chapters, today five. Sixteen chapters in two days, yes or no? RH