In Zhu Xian, people start to rise from plundering entries

The next day, as the first rays of dawn shone into Qingyun Courtyard, Su Han had already awoke from his meditation.

After a night of recuperation, his depleted star power had recovered to about 70-80%, and the superficial wounds on his body had scabbed over. He got up and stretched his limbs, feeling the surging power within him, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

Today is the first day of the official arena competition of the Hundred Sects Tournament.

According to the tournament rules, the Hundred Sects Tournament is divided into three stages: the preliminary selection arena, the secret realm trial, and the final ranking. The preliminary selection arena will last for seven days and adopt a defense system. The ten people who successfully defend their positions in each arena will advance to the next round.

Qingyun City has ten arenas, each corresponding to a different cultivation level. Su Han registered for the "Star Palace Realm Arena"—although his actual cultivation level is still at the peak of the Star Sea Realm, his combat strength is already comparable to that of an ordinary early-stage Star Palace Realm cultivator.

"Junior Brother Su, are you ready?"

Liu Ruyan's voice came from outside the door. Su Han pushed the door open and saw that she had changed into a tight-fitting outfit, with a sword at her waist, looking heroic and imposing.

"Senior sister, I've kept you waiting." Su Han cupped her hands in greeting.

Liu Ruyan glanced at him a few times and nodded slightly: "You've recovered quite well. Elder Ziyang already knows about what happened last night. He has lodged a protest with the Heart-Eating Sword Sect, but they vehemently denied it, saying that those people acted on their own and had nothing to do with the sect."

Su Han sneered: "As expected."

"The elder asked me to remind you that the Heart-Eating Sword Sect is vengeful, so you must be careful in the days to come." Liu Ruyan's expression was solemn. "Especially on the arena, although killing is strictly forbidden, swords have no eyes, and if you 'mistake'..."

“I understand,” Su Han nodded.

The two walked out of the courtyard side by side and headed towards the city's central square. Along the way, they saw many cultivators hurrying along, clearly all there to participate in or watch the Hundred Sects Assembly.

The central square of Qingyun City is vast, large enough to accommodate hundreds of thousands of people. At this moment, the square is already packed with people, and the noise is deafening. In the center of the square, ten huge blue stone arenas are arranged in a circle, each covered by an array to prevent the aftershocks of the battle from injuring the spectators.

To the north of the arena stood a tall platform, upon which sat dozens of elderly men with profound auras, all of whom were elders or sect leaders from various sects. Master Ziyang was prominently among them, seated third from the left.

"Look, that's Liu Ruyan, the genius disciple of the Ziyang Sect!"

"Who is that boy next to her? I've never seen him before."

"I heard his name is Su Han, a newly accepted disciple of the Ziyang Sect. Yesterday, he defeated Ghost Shadow of the Heart-Eating Sword Sect with a single sword strike at the registration point!"

"What? Ghost Shadow was at the peak of the Star Palace Realm, and he was defeated by an unknown kid?"

“It’s absolutely true! I was there at the time…”

Whispers arose from all around, and many eyes fell on Su Han—some curious, some scrutinizing, and some hostile. Su Han remained calm, as if he hadn't heard a thing.

"Su Han!"

Suddenly, a cold voice rang out. Su Han turned his head and saw several black-clad cultivators approaching. The leader was a young man with a sinister face. Under his right eye was a blood-red tattoo similar to that of the black-robed man from last night, only more detailed and shaped like a coiled snake.

"Senior Brother Ghost Cry, it's him!" Behind the sinister young man, a black-clad man with a missing arm gritted his teeth and said, it was none other than Ghost Fiend, whose right hand had been crippled by Su Han last night.

Ghost Cry stared at Su Han with eyes as sharp as a venomous snake: "So it was you who injured my Heart-Eating Sword Sect disciple?"

"It was just self-defense," Su Han said calmly.

"What a fine self-defense excuse." Ghost Cry sneered. "On the arena, I will show you what price those who hurt my Heart-Eating Sword Sect will pay."

"I'm ready anytime." Su Han said without backing down.

Their gazes clashed in mid-air, sparks flying. The surrounding cultivators quickly retreated, fearing they would be caught in the crossfire.

"quiet!"

On the high platform, an elderly man with white hair rose. His voice, though not loud, carried clearly throughout the entire plaza. In an instant, the noisy plaza fell silent. "I am Yun Tianhe, the Lord of Qingyun City." The white-haired elder surveyed the surroundings. "Welcome everyone to the once-in-a-century Hundred Sects Tournament. I presume you are all already familiar with the rules, so I will not repeat them. There is only one rule—on the arena, all attacks must be stopped when the opponent is certain of victory. Intentional killing is strictly prohibited. Violators will have their cultivation abolished and be expelled from the tournament!"

As he finished speaking, his voice suddenly turned sharp, carrying a chilling killing intent. Everyone felt a chill run down their spines and nodded in agreement.

"Now, the defense of the title begins!"

At Yun Tianhe's command, all ten arenas lit up simultaneously. The cultivators who were already prepared leaped onto the arenas to compete for the right to defend their positions.

Su Han didn't rush to make a move, but instead stood below the stage to observe. Liu Ruyan went to the third arena, the "Star Realm Arena." With her early Star Realm cultivation, defending the arena shouldn't be difficult.

The Star Palace Realm Arena is the fifth one. At this moment, a burly man is already on the stage, wielding a giant axe and exuding a menacing aura.

"I am Wang Meng of the Mad Saber Sect! Who dares to come up and fight me?"

Before the words were even finished, a figure leaped onto the arena: "Li Qing of the Heavenly Sword Sect, please enlighten me!"

The two clashed instantly. Wang Meng possessed immense strength, his giant axe whistling through the air as he swung it; Li Qing's swordsmanship was light and agile, using skill to overcome brute force. After more than thirty moves, Li Qing struck Wang Meng's wrist with his sword, sending the giant axe flying from his grasp.

"You flatter me." Li Qing sheathed his sword and clasped his hands in a fist salute.

Wang Meng's face flushed red as he picked up the giant axe and jumped off the stage.

Next, several more people went up to challenge him, but all were defeated by Li Qing. After winning five matches in a row, Li Qing was a little out of breath, but his eyes remained sharp.

"It's my turn." Just as Su Han was about to go on stage, a figure suddenly stepped forward first.

It's Devil May Cry.

He landed gracefully on the arena, his cold gaze sweeping over Li Qing: "Heart-Eating Sword Sect, Ghost Cry. I'll give you three breaths to get down here."

Li Qing's expression changed, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "Arrogant! Take this!"

A flash of sword light appeared, like a torrential downpour. Li Qing immediately unleashed his strongest killing move, clearly knowing that Ghost Cry was a formidable opponent.

Ghost Cry's lips curled into a mocking smile. He neither dodged nor evaded until the sword light was upon him, at which point he slowly raised his hand.

"The first move of the Heart-Eating Sword Technique - Heart Chaos".

Without him making any move, a black sword light silently appeared, piercing through Li Qing's sword net and heading straight for his chest.

Li Qing was shocked and quickly parried with his sword, but felt a strange force coming from the sword, causing his blood to surge. Even more terrifying, a chilling aura entered his body through the sword, rushing straight to his heart.

"puff--"

Li Qing coughed up a mouthful of blood, staggered backward, his face deathly pale, his eyes filled with terror.

"Heart-Eating Sword Qi... You've mastered the Heart-Eating Sword Qi!"

Devil Cry sheathed his sword and stood with his hands behind his back: "Who else?"

The audience was completely silent. The Heart-Eating Sword Qi was the supreme martial art of the Heart-Eating Sword Sect, specifically targeting the heart meridian. It was incredibly insidious; those struck by it would suffer severe injuries at best, and complete loss of cultivation at worst. It was unexpected that Ghost Cry, at such a young age, had already mastered this technique.

Su Han's expression turned serious. He could sense that Gui Qi's cultivation had reached the peak of the Star Palace Realm, and his aura was solid, far surpassing that of the three Ghost Fiends from last night. Coupled with the Heart-Eating Sword Qi, this battle would be anything but easy.

But so what? (End of Chapter)