Chapter 163
First Round, match 3.
Blood King Sect Leader, Blood King Legion (血王君) versus Poison Valley Lord, King of Ten Thousand Poisons (萬毒尊).
This match ended much more swiftly than expected.
Although Blood King Legion was a master of Blood Arts (邪術), a sorcery that manipulated blood, his opponent was simply the worst possible match.
"Kekeke, old man! I'll dry up your blood and kill you!"
Blood King Legion sprayed his own blood to create blood shadows and launched an attack.
But King of Ten Thousand Poisons merely scoffed at him.
"Blood? What flows in my veins isn't blood, but poison."
King of Ten Thousand Poisons swept his sleeve.
"Myriad Poisons Heaven Snare Palm!"
A blue poisonous mist engulfed Blood King Legion.
As soon as the blood shadows touched the poison energy, they sizzled and vanished with a hissing sound.
The poison then seeped directly into Blood King Legion's skin.
"Kyaaah!"
Blood King Legion screamed and rolled on the ground.
His skin turned black in an instant, and blood poured from every orifice.
King of Ten Thousand Poisons had completely overwhelmed him with his internal strength.
"Poison Valley Lord, King of Ten Thousand Poisons, is victorious!"
King of Ten Thousand Poisons claimed victory with overwhelming might and hardly a scratch.
Without sparing a glance at the fallen Blood King Legion, he descended from the stage, perfectly composed.
The other unorthodox leaders couldn't conceal their tension at that display.
* * *
First Round, match 4.
Twin Dragon Clan Head, Myriad-Hand Fist Emperor (萬手拳皇) versus Black Star Sect Leader, Heavenly Black Sword Venerable (天黑劍尊).
At last, the showdown that marked the climax of the tournament began.
Both men were supreme experts, among the very top of the Five Great Evil Ones of the unorthodox sects.
Their names alone were enough to make the martial world tremble in fear.
All the spectators held their breath, and even the Hao Sect hall lords swallowed dryly.
Jaseong straightened his sitting position and focused his gaze to observe intently.
"It's been a while, Heavenly Black Sword Venerable. Let's see if your sword's gotten rusty."
Myriad-Hand Fist Emperor spoke, slamming his massive fists together.
The pride surging from his body made the grand hall tremble.
"You still talk too much. You'd better polish your fists—before my sword carves them apart."
Heavenly Black Sword Venerable sent a chill glint from underneath his black bamboo hat.
A strange, dark energy had already begun to swirl around him, as though shadows had settled.
"Begin!"
At the signal, Myriad-Hand Fist Emperor moved first.
"Infinite Black Emperor Fist!"
His entire body turned black, muscles swelling to the point of bursting.
With a punch, thousands of fist shadows poured forth, an overwhelming tidal assault like black rain falling from the sky.
Heavenly Black Sword Venerable did not back down.
"Heavenly Black Ultimate Sword!"
As his sword sliced through the air, the light itself vanished.
Blades of black sword aura devoured fist shadows one by one, dissolving them into nothingness.
Clang! Boom! Crack! Ku-gung!
The clash between these two monsters was beyond imagination.
With each collision, the pillars of White Crane Temple cracked and tiles flew from the roof.
The ground upheaved and dust stormed like a cyclone.
Even the eyes of absolute experts could not track their exchange—it was hundreds of thousands of bouts, perhaps more.
Myriad-Hand Fist Emperor's fist distorted space, targeting the vital points of Heavenly Black Sword Venerable.
Heavenly Black Sword Venerable swung his sword laterally, deflecting the fist energy, but the shockwave still pushed him back.
Heavenly Black Sword Venerable retaliated immediately.
His sword split into three afterimages, simultaneously targeting Myriad-Hand Fist Emperor's throat, heart, and dantian.
Myriad-Hand Fist Emperor smashed the sword aura to pieces with rapid bursts from both fists.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!!!!!
Their bodies crossed midair.
Myriad-Hand Fist Emperor's elbow slammed into Heavenly Black Sword Venerable's flank, while the back of Heavenly Black Sword Venerable's sword struck Myriad-Hand Fist Emperor's shoulder.
Blood spurted from both at the same time.
Landing on the ground, the two immediately charged again.
Myriad-Hand Fist Emperor unleashed a flurry of eight thousand consecutive blows.
His arms appeared as eight, raining fists from all directions.
Heavenly Black Sword Venerable spun his sword in a circle, forming a defensive formation.
However, one of Myriad-Hand Fist Emperor's punches pierced through and struck Heavenly Black Sword Venerable square in the chest.
Heavenly Black Sword Venerable coughed up blood, but his sword at the same time severed Myriad-Hand Fist Emperor's thigh.
Both toppled to one knee, then stood back up, clashing again and again.
A fight that began in daylight stretched on until the sun had set and night had fallen.
Both were drenched in blood, their internal energy depleted to the very limits.
"Huff... Huff... you stubborn bastard...."
Myriad-Hand Fist Emperor panted, his breath ragged.
One eye was swollen shut; several ribs were broken.
"And you... your endurance is something else."
Heavenly Black Sword Venerable was no better.
His hand shook as he gripped his sword, his robe soaked completely crimson.
"This ends here!"
Both shouted in unison.
They poured every last ounce of strength into their final attack.
Myriad-Hand Fist Emperor focused all his energy into his right fist.
His fist swelled, emanating a black brilliance.
"Myriad Ghost King Fists!"
Heavenly Black Sword Venerable raised his blade vertically.
The sword hilt was lost in darkness, emitting a fierce presence that seemed to erase all light from the world.
"Heavenly Black World-Destroying Sword!"
The two ultimate moves clashed in midair.
Kwaaaaang!!!
An immense blast demolished half of White Crane Temple's great hall.
The onlookers screamed and retreated.
Jaseong raised his internal energy to shield Lee Rin and Gu Janghu.
As the choking dust settled, the two figures appeared under moonlight.
Heavenly Black Sword Venerable's sword was embedded in Myriad-Hand Fist Emperor's right chest.
At the same time, Myriad-Hand Fist Emperor's fist hammered Heavenly Black Sword Venerable's left chest.
Both had suffered fatal wounds.
A long silence passed.
"Grrk...."
Myriad-Hand Fist Emperor was first to drop to his knees.
He vomited a fountain of blood.
"I... lost...."
He collapsed.
He had passed out.
Heavenly Black Sword Venerable staggered, drawing his sword free.
He too coughed blood and wavered, but managed to remain standing with his sword as a cane.
By the narrowest margin, Heavenly Black Sword Venerable had claimed victory.
"Black Star Sect Leader, Heavenly Black Sword Venerable, is victorious!"
The victory was proclaimed, but not a single cheer was heard.
Everyone was too overwhelmed by the desperate, bloody spectacle to speak.
Heavenly Black Sword Venerable looked toward Jaseong, his face pale.
His eyes were filled, not with the joy of victory, but with terrible exhaustion.
Jaseong muttered softly,
'Heavenly Black Sword Venerable won, but... he's greatly weakened.'
He had exhausted more than seventy percent of his internal energy, and his internal injuries were severe.
There was no way he could recover before the next match.
'With this... the strongest rival has lost his strength.'
Jaseong's gaze glinted coldly.
Everything was proceeding precisely as he had calculated.
* * *
The desperate first round had ended.
On the arena stained with the stench of blood, only the victors remained.
White Bone Clan Head, White Bone Spirit Monarch.
Mixing Heavens Clan Head, mixing Heavens Devil Lord.
Thousand Kill Gate Leader, Killingsword Demon.
Poison Valley Lord, King of Ten Thousand Poisons.
Black Star Sect Leader, Heavenly Black Sword Venerable.
And, having advanced by default, Hao Sect Leader Jaseong.
The victors were a pitiful sight.
White Bone Spirit Monarch's skin was blackened here and there from poison, Killingsword Demon's chest was tightly wrapped in bandages over a deep gash.
Heavenly Black Sword Venerable's face was pale, his energy all but exhausted after the battle with Myriad-Hand Fist Emperor.
The only one unscathed was Poison Valley's King of Ten Thousand Poisons.
With overwhelming poison arts, he had subdued his opponent without a wrinkle in his robe.
And Jaseong.
Advancing by default, he was utterly unharmed in every sense—a flawless condition.
Seeing this, White Bone Spirit Monarch grumbled resentfully.
"Isn't this situation far too favorable for the Hao Sect Leader? We bled our way up here, but he made it without even lifting a finger."
The other leaders eyed him in agreement, discontent with the imbalance.
But Jaseong replied nonchalantly,
"Luck is a skill, too."
"What did you say?"
"White Bone Spirit Monarch, a great name among the unorthodox, ready to contradict yourself from one moment to the next? The lottery was fair, and accepting the results is the way of our world—or so I heard."
At Jaseong's cold retort, White Bone Spirit Monarch fell silent, unable to counter.
Rules were rules.
Complaining any further would only diminish his own Prestige.
With no other recourse, they decided to continue the contest.
The lottery was held once again.
As tension filled the air, the matchups were finalized.
[Second Round, match 1: Poison Valley Lord, King of Ten Thousand Poisons, versus Hao Sect Leader, Jaseong]
[Second Round, match 2: White Bone Clan Head, White Bone Spirit Monarch, versus Mixing Heavens Clan Head, mixing Heavens Devil Lord]
[Second Round, match 3: Thousand Kill Gate Leader, Killingsword Demon, versus Black Star Sect Leader, Heavenly Black Sword Venerable]
Finally, it was Jaseong's turn.
His opponent was none other than King of Ten Thousand Poisons, who'd shown the most overwhelming display in the first round.
Hao Sect's thirteen hall lords, Lee Rin, and Gu Janghu watched Jaseong step onto the stage with bated breath.
It was the moment their lord would face a top-ten expert head-on for the first time.
"Great hero...."
Lee Rin bit her lip, staring at Jaseong's back.
Jaseong stood in the center of the arena.
Across from him, King of Ten Thousand Poisons stood with a relaxed smile.
A faint poisonous miasma already rose around him, rippling like a heat haze.
Sssaa—
A blue gleam flashed in Jaseong's eyes.
The Samadhi Eyes activated.
For a moment, the world's time slowed.
He could see the flow of the wind, the movement of the dust, and the exact texture of the aura exuded by King of Ten Thousand Poisons.
'As expected... Impressive.'
Worthy of a Heaven-level expert, King of Ten Thousand Poisons's intent blanketed the surrounding area for hundreds of feet, woven into a tight domain of poison energy like a spider's web.
Entering that zone meant certain poisoning for anyone.
But Jaseong did not withdraw.
His own realm had long since passed peak and aspired to the supreme peak.
Within the vision of his Samadhi Eyes, he could detect subtle gaps between King of Ten Thousand Poisons's intent.
Jaseong walked forward, step by step.
He made his way toward a sword stuck at the edge of the arena.
The Evil Path Association Leader's Seal, the Wicked Flame Sword.
"I don't have a sword, so I'll borrow this one. As it's a sword this sect leader discovered, you won't mind that much, will you?"
Jaseong spoke, gripping the Wicked Flame Sword's hilt.
The unorthodox leaders frowned, but raised no objections.
To their knowledge, the Wicked Flame Sword was mostly symbolic, no more than an average precious blade in terms of power.
Siiing—
Jaseong drew the sword.
A jet-black blade revealed itself.
King of Ten Thousand Poisons scoffed.
"You think wielding a sword will protect you from my poison? Whelp, I'll melt you to the bone."
But in the next moment—a miracle unfolded.
Whoosh!
Black flames burst from the sword hilt of the Wicked Flame Sword.
It was no ordinary sword energy.
Like the fires of hell, the sticky, dark flame coiled around the blade.
"...?!"
The unorthodox leaders were shocked.
Some leapt from their seats.
'What is that...? That's not any martial art!'
'Could it be... the true power of the Wicked Flame Sword, one of the eight great treasures of the martial world?'
'He's awakened a power that even past Evil Path Association Leaders never did? How?!'
And the astonishment did not end there.
Jaseong raised his internal energy through the sword.
'Celestial Gate Opening Art.'
First Gate, second Gate, third... all the way to the Ninth Gate in a flash.
Yet Jaseong didn't stop.
'Tenth Gate, Heaven's Gate, open!'
KWA-A-A-A-A-ANG!!!!
A colossal surge of energy erupted from Jaseong's body.
The gold immortal energy of the Heaven Evading Way and the black demonic ki of the Wicked Flame Sword intertwined, swirling together.
Light and darkness coexisted—bizarre and overwhelming Black-Gold Sword Aura rose around the blade.
Wooooong!
The arena trembled as if the air itself screamed.
King of Ten Thousand Poisons's expression stiffened, all traces of leisure gone, now replaced by fear and confusion.
'That energy... Supreme peak?! No, beyond that—?!'
But he was a Heaven-level expert, too.
Though startled, King of Ten Thousand Poisons instantly forced his Myriad Poisons Divine Art to full power.
"Myriad Poisons Dance Touching the Heavens!"
With arms outstretched, an azure poisonous mist exploded all around, a storm containing thousands of deadly toxins—fatal with but a touch.
"Die!"
A tidal wave of poisonous mist crashed toward Jaseong.
Jaseong did not evade.
He raised his sword.
'Heaven Evading Flash Sword.'