Lu Changsheng swept his gaze across the Combat Hall. There was a faint beam of light on one of the walls, and within it, the number 100 glowed steadily, representing the hundred disciples currently inside.

An announcement rang through the hall. "Within a quarter of an hour, eighty contestants must be eliminated. If fewer than eighty are eliminated when time is up, then everyone in this round will be disqualified!"

Lu Changsheng narrowed his eyes. The idea behind this rule was clear: forcing everyone into a violent clash. Anyone who held back was not just risking their own elimination, but dragging everyone else down with them. The only way forward was to fight and reduce the numbers as quickly as possible.

For the stronger disciples, it was a license to be brutal. The faster they eliminated others, the safer their own position became. Naturally, they would take the initiative and push the fight even harder.

Buzz!

The surroundings darkened, and a starry sky unfolded overhead. Lu Changsheng had manifested his Starry Sky Domain but tightly controlled its range to avoid drawing Xiao Jian's attention. Provoking a true inheritor disciple so early in the fight was not a risk he wanted to take.

Meanwhile, Xiao Jian was seated cross-legged on the ground. He had not moved since the fight started, and nobody had dared go near him. For Xiao Jian, this tournament was simply a walk in the park—but how long he could remain unbothered was another question.

Lu Changsheng ignored Xiao Jian and activated four layers of divine fortification. In a combat this chaotic, anything could go wrong, and caution always came first. He swung his saber in rapid succession, and streaks of saber light carved through the crowd, filling the room with a crimson glow.

Lu Changsheng's strikes were clean, decisive, and powerful. Each swing shattered divine fortification or severed a limb, and every blow ensured the elimination of an opponent. Even those who had condensed three layers of divine fortification could not withstand a single strike from him.

Shock spread quickly throughout the combat grounds.

"Whoa! Lu Changsheng's insanely strong, isn't he? I heard four layers of divine fortification can unleash the power of one hundred cauldrons. Who in the Divine Fortification Realm could possibly block that?"

"Stay away from both Xiao Jian and Lu Changsheng. We can't afford to provoke either of them."

"The strength of an inner sect scion disciple is ridiculous!"

Many disciples steered clear of Lu Changsheng as the number on the wall dropped rapidly. When it reached fifty, the pace of elimination slowed down. By now, only the stronger disciples remained. Most of the weaker ones were already gone, though a few had managed to survive by hiding in corners and letting others do the fighting.

Lu Changsheng noticed a disciple just like this—he was from the other sect, and only at the Divine Strength Realm. He had been extremely lucky to survive until now, but with thirty more eliminations needed, even luck would not be able to shield him much longer. And as expected, when the numbers started falling again, that Divine Strength disciple was eliminated.

Lu Changsheng glanced over at Xiao Jian. All this time, Xiao Jian never moved. He simply sat there, watching the carnage unfold as though it were a performance, and no one was offended by that. If anything, all the disciples preferred it that way. Had Xiao Jian chosen to act, no one in the hall would have felt like they had a chance.

Lu Changsheng continued to fight. He soon defeated two of the tougher opponents in the hall, both of whom had even manifested Domains. But whether it was a Domain or layers of divine fortification, they all crumbled under the weight of Lu Changsheng's strikes, which contained one hundred cauldrons of power.

The number on the wall continued to fall, and when it reached twenty, an announcement rang out again. "The first round is complete. The second round now begins."

Buzz!

Columns of light descended, each one wrapping around a disciple.

Numbers were visible within the light, and those with the same number were bound to clash. Naturally, only one of them could advance to the next round,

Lu Changsheng felt a stir of anticipation. This second round was crucial. A win here guaranteed him a spot in the top ten, which meant at least five thousand contribution points. The stakes were high indeed.

He glanced at the number within his column of light.

Eight, huh?

Lifting his head, he scanned the hall and quickly found his opponent: a martial artist in the Divine Fortification Realm.

Unlike Lu Changsheng, no one else was concerned with identifying their opponent. What mattered to them was who would be matched against Xiao Jian, and more importantly, whether they themselves would be the one to face him.

The answer came quickly. One disciple's face immediately drained of color when he realized he had the same number as Xiao Jian.

"I concede," he said at once, not even entertaining the thought of clashing with Xiao Jian.

Lu Changsheng's own opponent was not much better. The disciple clearly knew who Lu Changsheng was, but he managed to maintain his composure. He drew a slow breath, then said quietly, "I know very well that you're powerful, Senior Brother Lu. Still, I want to see it for myself."

"As you wish." Lu Changsheng stepped forward and swung his saber. One hundred thousand cauldrons of force shattered his opponent's two layers of divine fortification, and in the same motion, severing the opponent's arm.

"Just like that, huh..." the disciple murmured with a bleak expression. He was a capable inner disciple, better than most. However, he was not a scion disciple, and the gap between him and a scion disciple had just been made brutally clear. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Soon, only ten people remained in the Combat Hall, and the announcement rang through the hall again. "The second round is complete. In the third round, Xiao Jian alone will face the remaining nine. The nine will not be ranked by order of attack, but by their performance in battle. The last one standing will become first place."

Hearing the rules for the third round, Lu Changsheng's focus sharpened to a point. In the end, all the disciples still had to face Xiao Jian, but whether they stood a chance remained uncertain.

By any measure, the nine disciples formed a formidable lineup. All were in the Divine Fortification Realm, and three of them, Lu Changsheng included, were inner sect scion disciples. Even so, no one dared take Xiao Jian lightly. All nine disciples regarded him as the greatest threat in the hall.

"The third round now begins!"

As the announcement faded into the background, Xiao Jian spoke up, his tone calm and almost bored. "My Domain is the Sword Domain. Once I make my move, you will know what it feels like to have ten thousand swords pierce your body. So if you don't think you can withstand it, surrender now."

He was not trying to be arrogant. He was simply certain that no one there could threaten him.

"Sever!" Lu Changsheng moved at once, activating his Heart Domain. He had no intention of letting Xiao Jian unleash his Sword Domain.

The invisible Heart Sword struck Xiao Jian's mind, and his expression shifted slightly.

"Hmm? A mental technique?"

Lu Changsheng's Heart Sword was devastatingly powerful, especially as it was enhanced by the Nine-Character Mantra. Against most opponents, it would have inflicted severe damage, but Xiao Jian had no reaction. It seemed as though Lu Changsheng had landed his strike on solid iron, unmoving and shaken.

Lu Changsheng pulled back, startled. His mind...

It made no sense for a martial artist, whether in the Divine Strength Realm or Divine Fortification realm, to possess a mind like that, no matter how exceptional their mental strength and will. And yet, that was exactly how strong Xiao Jian's mind was.

With his Heart Sword ineffective, Lu Changsheng immediately deployed four Domains and began to fuse them.

Boom!

The Starry Sky Domain merged with the Waterfall Domain, becoming the Starry Sky Waterfall Domain, while the Wave Domain fused with the Storm Domain, giving rise to the Waterspout Domain.

The two fused Domains descended on Xiao Jian together, and at the same time, the other eight disciples also acted. Final rankings depended on performance, and none of them wanted to fall behind.

The Domains and Intents from nine disciples pressed down on Xiao Jian from different directions. Against anyone else, these attacks would have been enough to suppress them completely, but Xiao Jian remained unaffected. His gaze cut through layers of Domains and Intents and found Lu Changsheng.

"Not bad. Four Domains, and fused Domains at that," Xiao Jian remarked with a smirk. "With Perception like yours, you might have a real chance at becoming a true inheritor disciple someday."

There was no sincerity behind those words of praise. Xiao Jian did not take Lu Changsheng seriously at all.

"I know what you're all waiting for," he went on, his gaze sweeping across the other eight disciples. "Watch carefully. This is the kind of power that comes with activating the Mind Space."

Boom!

Xiao Jian expanded his Sword Domain, and it was nothing like what had come before. A Domain was supposed to be a projection, but Xiao Jian's Domain was real, or at least it felt undeniably and impossibly tangible.