Xuanwu War Sovereign

At the foot of a mountain range in Heaven-Reaching Ridge, a red light filled the sky.

BOOM!

With a world-shaking bang, a sturdy, powerful-looking young man was sent flying like a cannonball, his body plowing through and snapping several ancient trees in a row.

SPURT!

Spitting out a mouthful of blood, the sturdy young man raised his head and stared daggers at the indifferent youth walking out of the flames, dragging a battle saber behind him.

"The Ancient Flame Dragon Technique, the Flaming Dragon Thirteen Sabers... Luo Lie, don’t push me too far!"

"Liu Wu, I’m giving you two choices. The first is to crush your White Lotus Mark and withdraw on your own. The second is for me to cut you down with a single strike!"

Luo Lie’s expression was cold, the flames on his body solidifying as they pulsed, resembling a magnificent Ancient Flame Dragon.

A sense of powerlessness and rage welled up in the young man from the First Secret Realm of Vein Condensation.

Luo Lie was just too strong!

Liu Wu shot Luo Lie a hateful glare. After weighing his options for a moment, the young man gritted his teeth and crushed the White Lotus Mark in his hand, instantly transforming into a white lotus and vanishing on the spot.

Glancing at the spot where Liu Wu had vanished, Luo Lie let out a cold smirk and disappeared into the mountain forest, his battle saber in tow.

At the same time, hundreds of skirmishes, large and small, erupted all across Heaven-Reaching Ridge.

A brutal aura echoed through the once-quiet mountain forest. Many young experts lost their lives, while others, seeking to save themselves, immediately withdrew from the Hidden Dragon Points Competition.

...

The mountain forest was suffused with slaughter.

The law of the jungle was on full display.

At that moment, in a patch of woods at the foot of the mountain, a corpse lay at Qin Feng’s feet. It was a young man of eighteen or nineteen, his pupils wide and unfocused, filled with unwillingness and venomous resentment.

This was a Martial Artist at the Martial Arts Thirteen Heavens Realm. He had tried to ambush Qin Feng from behind a tree, only to be killed by a single sword strike.

This was the third Martial Artist who had tried to ambush him!

A pure white lotus appeared in Qin Feng’s hand.

The lotus had blossomed to the First Grade.

’It’s just as I guessed,’ he thought. ’Only by killing an expert at the Condensing Vein Realm can I make the lotus blossom. To reach the First Grade, I must kill one Condensing Vein Realm expert or one Barbaric Beast. To reach the second grade, I’ll probably need to kill two Condensing Vein Realm Martial Artists or two Barbaric Beasts!’

Qin Feng gradually figured out the rules for the lotus’s blossoming.

’By that logic, to reach the Third Grade, I’ll need to kill at least four Condensing Vein Realm experts or four Barbaric Beasts. For the Fourth Grade, it’ll be eight Barbaric Beasts...’

’It seems killing Martial Artists below the Martial Arts Thirteen Heavens Realm doesn’t do much!’

Qin Feng looked at the Martial Artist he had just killed. After absorbing the ambusher’s Essence Blood, his White Lotus Mark was still at the First Grade, though its color had gained a slightly richer luster.

’Also, the White Lotus Mark doesn’t feed power back to the host every time. It probably only does it once for each grade the lotus blossoms!’

As he pondered this, Qin Feng glanced at the corpse on the ground, a faint chill in his eyes.

’In other words, if I want to receive feedback from the White Lotus Mark again, I’ll have to slay at least two more Barbaric Beasts or kill at least two more Martial Artists of the Condensing Vein Realm!’

Suppressing these thoughts, Qin Feng looked around, then rose and sped off toward the depths of Heaven-Reaching Ridge.

The mountain forest was filled with the lingering auras of powerful Fierce Beasts. Following them, it wouldn’t be difficult to find prey.

Half a li later, Qin Feng’s figure suddenly froze. The next moment, his expression shifted slightly as he looked up toward the depths of the distant forest. He then moved like a wisp of gentle breeze, hiding himself among a jumble of messy rocks.

Near the rocks was a bear cave, where a Fierce Beast—a black bear—was sound asleep. Expressionless, Qin Feng took a step forward and, with unparalleled brute force, directly crushed the bear’s neck.

The black bear died without a sound.

A few minutes later, several hundred zhang away, a tremendous explosion rang out. A shockwave rolled forth, toppling the surrounding trees, and a figure was violently thrown into the woods.

At the same time, a graceful but cold figure followed close behind.

The sound of someone coughing up blood followed!

SHH, SHH... The sound of footsteps approached, carrying with it an unconcealed, bone-chilling killing intent.

Hiding behind the rocks, Qin Feng peered through a crack, his gaze neutral as he watched the two people who had suddenly started fighting near him.

Lying on the ground was a young woman in a colorful robe with a charming face.

’Yu Hong?’ Qin Feng’s eyes narrowed. He was surprised to find that he had run into an acquaintance.

The person on the ground was indeed Yu Hong, Yu Yao’s older cousin.

Yu Hong had already reached the Peak of Martial Arts Sixth Realm, a Half-Step into the Martial Arts Seventh Layer Heaven.

At this moment, Yu Hong was injured. Her delicate, pretty face was pale and bloodless, but her expression was stubborn. She had already lost the ability to resist.

The one who had chased her down was a young woman dressed in black, her eyes filled with a cold, vicious light.

The Martial Arts Thirteen Heavens Realm!

The black-robed young woman exuded a decisive and murderous aura; one look was enough to tell that she was a true expert who had been bathed in blood.

"Give up, or die!"

The young woman’s gaze fell upon Yu Hong. Her face was cold, her eyes as sharp as a blade, leaving no room for argument.

A peculiar glint flashed in his eyes. Qin Feng realized that, as if by some unspoken consensus, the first thing these geniuses from All Stars Academy did upon entering the jungle wasn’t to hunt Fierce Beasts.

Instead, they immediately pointed their longswords at their fellow disciples.

Eliminate the competition!

’Should I help her, for the sake of us being from the same hometown?’ Qin Feng pondered, but quickly shook off the pointless thought.

’What a joke. This Yu Hong was dead set on helping Ao Fang go against me before.’

’Besides, I don’t have a habit of carrying dead weight.’

Yu Hong clutched the White Lotus Mark in her hand, her pretty face filled with indignation as she angrily demanded, "Why? I don’t understand! As far as I know, there’s no grievance between us. Why are you pursuing me so relentlessly?"

A flush of red flickered across Yu Hong’s pale face from her anger.

"Junior Sister, you’re too naive. Do you really think this Hidden Dragon Points Competition is some grand opportunity for stragglers like you?"

A trace of cold indifference flashed in her eyes as the black-robed woman sneered. "Impossible. I don’t mind telling you, either. This time, all experts who aren’t part of the Top Ten Teams are our targets for elimination!"

"And don’t blame us. The competition in All Stars Academy is too fierce. There are never many spots to successfully enter the Star Sect each year. The more people we can eliminate, the better our own chances become!"

’Clearing the field?’ Hiding in the shadows, Qin Feng’s expression changed instantly upon hearing the young woman’s words. A sense of crisis suddenly surged in his heart.

Evidently, according to her, students like Qin Feng who were not part of the Top Ten Teams were the very targets of this purge.

’Should I save her?’ Looking at Yu Hong, a trace of hesitation once again surfaced in Qin Feng’s mind.

’The power of the Top Ten Teams is no small matter. I can’t stand against them alone. I’ll have to unite with other experts to resist this purge by their geniuses.’

His eyes flickered, but a moment later, Qin Feng dismissed the idea.

’Forget it. Not only is Yu Hong’s Cultivation weak, but more importantly, she’s prejudiced against me. If I save her, I probably won’t gain an ally. Instead, I might end up with a useless teammate who’ll just drag me down!’

With that, Qin Feng decided to remain a detached observer.

Forced into a corner, a hint of resentment flashed in Yu Hong’s beautiful eyes. Gritting her silvery teeth, she crushed the White Lotus Mark and vanished from the mountain forest, transforming into a white lotus.

The black-robed young woman glanced over. Seeing that Yu Hong had disappeared, she was about to turn and leave when her expression suddenly changed drastically.

Without a sound, a young man in a black robe had appeared, expressionless, about thirty feet away from her...