With Lin Chang’sheng securing another victory, only Yang Huaizhen remained without an opponent.

He directly earned a spot in the next round.

This makes a total of eight advancing disciples.

Thus, the top eight have emerged.

They are: Yang Huaizhen and Liu Qi from the Immortal Martial Hall,

Li Hu and Yang Ao from the Heaven-Suppressing Sect,

Wang Huisheng from the Immortal Palace,

Zhou Qibai from the Piaomiao Sect,

Zhang Jinzhong from the Five Peaks Sect,

and finally, Lin Chang’sheng, not belonging to any sect.

From these eight, the number one genius of the Immortal Realm will be decided.

"I think the champion will either come from the Immortal Martial Hall or the Heaven-Suppressing Sect, since both major sects still have two genius disciples left!"

"Yeah! The other sects only have one disciple each—snatching the top spot is going to be tough for them!"

"I honestly have no clue what Lin Chang’sheng’s cultivation limit is. Even when fighting opponents at his level, he only needs a single move!"

"For sure! I’m rooting for him too—wonder how far he’ll go?"

...

All around, elders and disciples kept up an endless stream of chatter.

Some eagerly anticipated Lin Chang’sheng’s performance, while others looked at him with nothing but hatred.

Among them were the two elders of the Celestial Nether Sword Sect, who wished Lin Chang’sheng would die right on the combat platform.

Yet with Lin Chang’sheng’s cultivation, even if he lost, there was no way he’d get killed.

Their wishes were most likely doomed to disappointment.

"The tournament continues!"

With a shout from a Refining God Sect elder, the break ended and the matches resumed.

The six genius cultivators quickly restored their primordial power by taking elixirs.

Only Lin Chang’sheng and Yang Huaizhen stayed totally calm, showing no signs of fatigue—neither of them took a single pill.

Lin Chang’sheng wasn’t in a hurry to take the stage, either.

The first to step up was Zhou Qibai of the Piaomiao Sect.

This guy seemed to already have his target in mind; he looked straight at Zhang Jinzhong of the Five Peaks Sect.

"Zhou Qibai of Piaomiao Sect, I challenge Zhang Jinzhong from the Five Peaks Sect!"

Zhou Qibai stood on the platform, looking down on everyone as he declared the challenge with disdain.

When Zhang Jinzhong heard those words, rage flared in his heart.

This kid was insufferably arrogant—no way was he letting him go any further. Zhang Jinzhong leapt up onto the platform.

"Please grant me your guidance!"

As soon as he got on stage, Zhang Jinzhong summoned his Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure—the Celestial Double-Bladed Axe—determined to defeat Zhou Qibai.

Zhou Qibai wasn’t careless either; as soon as the match began, he used his body technique, weaving in and out to tangle with Zhang Jinzhong.

He knew the Five Peaks Sect was famous for brute strength; if he faced Zhang Jinzhong head-on, he’d probably lose, so he chose to dart around, searching for a way to counter him.

Several times, Zhang Jinzhong’s attacks missed, unable to even brush Zhou Qibai’s robe—naturally, this began to annoy Zhang Jinzhong.

"You got monkey blood in you or what? Why can’t you stop bouncing around?"

Zhang Jinzhong snapped.

But Zhou Qibai didn’t let it bother him. As long as he won, being mocked was no big deal.

While Zhang Jinzhong was busy taunting him, Zhou Qibai spotted an opening—he instantly swept his sword aura, slashing toward Zhang Jinzhong’s weak spot.

Zhang Jinzhong felt the danger coming and swung his axe in response.

Boom—

A deafening clash rang out as the mighty axe blade met the sword aura. In an instant, all the sword aura was shattered.

Even Zhou Qibai was forced to retreat by the impact.

This made Zhou Qibai scowl deeply.

"Am I really going to stop at the top eight?"

Zhou Qibai felt a surge of unwillingness—Zhang Jinzhong was a tough opponent.

With no other options, Zhou Qibai decided to use the Misty Sword Technique. Win or lose, now it was all up to fate!

"Misty Sword Technique!"

Zhou Qibai shouted—the sword aura around his body burst into brilliance, shifting between illusion and reality, impossible to tell what’s fake or real.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—

Countless sword auras surged toward Zhang Jinzhong.

Facing the oncoming swords, Zhang Jinzhong was not afraid. In fact, a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

He realized Zhou Qibai must have run out of tricks and was throwing everything into his strongest immortal technique.

So he was about to show Zhou Qibai what a real attack looked like.

"Heaven-Opening Strike!"

Zhang Jinzhong roared and lifted his axes, bringing them down hard in Zhou Qibai’s direction.

The giant axes in mid-air transformed into a shadow several dozen feet long, smashing down at the swarming sword aura.

If not for the space limitations, these axes would have been much larger than just a few dozen feet.

Seeing Zhang Jinzhong unleash his full power, Zhou Qibai wasn’t afraid—he just smiled coldly.

Lin Chang’sheng saw that cold smile and instantly knew Zhou Qibai was up to something.

The guy was clever—as he couldn’t win head-on, he chose to do so anyway. It was frankly irrational.

BOOM—

Sure enough, the moment the giant axes and the sword aura crashed together—

Zhou Qibai swept forward from the side, moving swiftly toward Zhang Jinzhong.

This surprised Zhang Jinzhong—he hadn’t expected that frontal attack to be a feint.

The real attack was now?

But with his own impressive cultivation, Zhang Jinzhong reacted instantly—he lashed out, sending a palm strike, his powerful Palm Seal transforming into five mountain peaks, bearing down on Zhou Qibai.

Zhou Qibai didn’t dodge or back off—he met the challenge head-on.

Bang bang bang—

The five mountain Palm Seals were instantly pierced by Zhou Qibai’s sword aura.

The sword aura surged forward, unstoppable, aiming for Zhang Jinzhong.

"What the...?"

Zhang Jinzhong was shocked—this kid was cunning as hell.

Having already swung his axes, he couldn’t launch another attack in time.

He could only watch helplessly as the sword aura drew closer and closer.

Splurt—

The sword aura pierced right through Zhang Jinzhong’s chest, sending a splash of blood flying.

Not wanting to actually kill him, Zhou Qibai palmed Zhang Jinzhong and sent him flying off the stage.