Xuanwu War Sovereign

Qin Feng’s sword wasn’t known for its speed.

On the contrary, his focus on overwhelming power to shatter all techniques meant his strikes were of average speed.

This was Qin Feng’s weakness!

For a powerful expert, this could be a fatal flaw.

But when combined with Qin Feng’s Innate Divine Power of Ocean Control, this flaw became a deadly trap!

It was a pathetic death for Du Huan, the Wolf King’s fiercest general.

If he had been determined to flee, Qin Feng would have had no way to stop him.

’A man must first bring about his own ruin before Heaven will finish the job!’ he thought with a cold smirk. Qin Feng extended a hand, and from it flew a pure, flawless White Lotus bud.

The White Lotus bud landed on Du Huan’s body, where it took root and sprouted. Countless tiny tendrils pierced into Du Huan’s flesh.

Visibly, Du Huan’s skin lost its luster as his Essence Blood was drained, and he turned into a piece of withered wood.

Qin Feng’s gaze fell upon the White Lotus as it retracted its tendrils. It flew back to his palm, lifelike and sacredly pure. Having absorbed the Essence Blood of a Condensing Vein Realm expert, the White Lotus Mark began to bloom.

A surge of Vitality was brewing within it. The tender bud opened, and a single, pure white lotus leaf unfurled, its young surface glowing with a Spiritual Light.

A warm stream of Essence was released from the White Lotus Mark, and this pure, flawless Essence merged into his Primordial Star True Qi.

The aura around Qin Feng fluctuated.

His Realm, at the Late Stage of Martial Arts Twelve Heavens, began to rise!

He circulated the Innate Primordial Qi Secret Technique and immediately suppressed the breakthrough.

’A minor boost,’ Qin Feng thought, looking up with a flicker in his eyes. ’The White Lotus Mark can indeed absorb the Essence Blood of slain experts and feed it back to its host.’

But this level of feedback was of little use to Qin Feng.

’It’s equivalent to half a month of Cultivation. Still, every little bit adds up. If I kill a few more experts, I might just be able to break through to the Martial Arts Thirteen Heavens Realm!’

With that thought, Qin Feng glanced at Du Huan’s mummified corpse. A flash of sword light shot from him, and Du Huan’s body turned to ash.

Qin Feng looked up at the vast mountain forest, chose a direction, and leaped away.

Just as Du Huan died, atop the Stone Mountain, on a Stele, a crimson light suddenly bloomed.

A White Lotus abruptly appeared before the assembled Elders!

A name materialized within the White Lotus.

Du Huan!

The next moment, the White Lotus turned a terrifying, blood-red color, as if it were dripping with fresh blood.

"Du Huan has fallen!"

The eight Elders exchanged a look. Behind them, a female disciple took out a roster, found Du Huan’s name, and struck it out with a single stroke.

"Unacceptable. The competition has just begun, and someone is already dead!" one Elder said, displeased.

Another Elder, a refined and handsome man with a flowing beard, shook his head. "In the Hidden Dragon Points Competition, life and death are one’s own responsibility. No one else can be blamed! Besides, we granted them the White Lotus Mark. All they had to do was crush it and forfeit the competition to save their lives. Their fate is truly in their own hands!"

Just then, a large swath of blood-red lotuses suddenly appeared on the Stele.

Over a dozen blood-red lotuses materialized one after another, floating in mid-air—resplendent and gory.

"What’s going on? How could so many have fallen at once!"

At the same time, on the Memorial Stone, a streak of light shot up from the list of names, transforming into a golden glow that settled in the first-place position.

The eight Elders’ gazes fell upon the name glowing with golden light.

Ye Youming!

Above a large swamp below Heaven-Reaching Ridge, a figure darted about like a frightened bird, his movements creating terrifying sonic booms. He kept looking back as if something horrifying was behind him. Xiao Yuchan cut a sorry figure, his face—so handsome it could make women jealous—filled with panic.

In the distance, several other auras, no weaker than Xiao Yuchan’s, were frantically fleeing in different directions.

BANG!

Suddenly, a deafening explosion ripped through the distant horizon, shaking the very heavens and earth.

Xiao Yuchan froze and looked back in horror.

"AHHH!"

A blood-curdling scream tore through the distant sky, followed by a terrifying, owl-like laugh.

"You can’t escape! A bunch of ants like you dare to dream of seizing this opportunity? Scram from the Hidden Dragon Points Competition, or you’ll all face the same fate—death!"

"Ye Youming, you dare slaughter your fellow disciples?! You’ll die a miserable death!!" a piercing scream echoed through the sky before being abruptly cut short.

"Heh heh... If you won’t withdraw, then die!" A bone-chillingly cold laugh vibrated through the air.

RUMBLE!

A terrifying beam of black light swept out, and another aura was instantly extinguished.

’Dead? Or did he get away?’ Xiao Yuchan’s face paled.

Abruptly, a streak of black light cut across the sky, and a youth in a black robe and a demonic mask appeared in the distance, black flames burning in his eyes.

A chill ran down Xiao Yuchan’s spine! He turned and fled!

"Dammit, dammit, dammit! How did I run into a monster like this?!"

Cursing furiously, he pushed his True Qi to its limits, ignoring the cost. Xiao Yuchan shot forward like a faint purple mist, crossing a quarter of a mile in the blink of an eye as he traversed the muddy, foul-smelling black swamp that bubbled with noxious gases.

A quarter of a mile later, feeling the sky-blotting dark aura behind him drawing ever closer, Xiao Yuchan’s scalp went numb with fear.

’It’s no use. He’s too strong. I can’t escape him!’ His footsteps suddenly halted. Xiao Yuchan raised a hand and glanced at the White Lotus Mark in his palm.

Xiao Yuchan’s eyes were filled with unwillingness and conflict.

After a moment, he stomped his foot. Xiao Yuchan’s gaze swept the area, finally landing on a nearby bubbling puddle that reeked of filth.

The puddle was utterly ordinary and inconspicuous within the vast swamp.

Gritting his teeth, Xiao Yuchan leaped into the filthy, black water, circulating a Secret Technique to conceal his entire aura.

A short while later, the sound of something tearing through the air arrived, and a youth in yellow robes ran frantically toward the swamp.

The yellow-robed youth was incredibly fast, but the black light pursuing him was even faster.

A sinister gleam flashed, and a vicious beam of sword light pierced straight through the yellow-robed youth’s back, aiming for his heart.

PSHH!

A spray of blood erupted!

The yellow-robed youth struggled to look down at the weapon that had pierced through his chest. He looked up, his eyes filled with unwillingness and regret, and muttered.

"I... regret... this so much!"

"Heh heh... I gave you a chance, but you didn’t cherish it. Did you really think you could hide?"

A chilling look appeared in the masked youth’s eyes. He opened his palm, and a snow-white Lotus flower appeared—one that had bloomed to at least the Third Grade. In the blink of an eye, it had drained the yellow-robed youth of his Essence Blood.

After absorbing the yellow-robed youth’s Essence Blood, the White Lotus’s fourth petal instantly bloomed.

’No, this is too slow. After killing these little rats, I need to regroup with the captain as soon as possible and use the squad’s power to clear the field!’ he thought. Suddenly, the ghostly flames in the masked youth’s pupils flickered.

"Hm? Heh heh... there’s another little rat hiding underground!"

The masked youth’s gaze suddenly fell upon Xiao Yuchan’s hiding spot.

’Not good, I’ve been exposed!’

In that instant, a cold dread washed over Xiao Yuchan!

RUMBLE! The puddle exploded, and Xiao Yuchan shot into the distance as a streak of purple mist.

"Trying to run? Too late!"

The masked youth gripped the greatsword in his hand, which flickered with black flames, and slashed out.

BANG!

A burst of blood-red light erupted from Xiao Yuchan’s body. The next moment, his speed surged again, and he reappeared over a thousand feet away.

"A little interesting!" A cold sneer flashed across the masked youth’s face as he shot after him like a black meteor in hot pursuit!