In Zhu Xian, people start to rise from plundering entries

The thunderous roar of the breakthrough echoed only within his body; the outside world remained silent, save for the flickering light of flowing starlight on Su Han's body. The Star Palace, now formed, resembled a miniature, dazzling palace, steadily suspended in the original location of the Star Sea within his dantian. Not only was it more solid, but the total amount and purity of starlight it could hold were more than ten times that of the Star Sea Realm! More importantly, the Star Palace's efficiency in communicating with the power of heaven and earth was greatly increased, propelling his cultivation into a new fast track.

However, when Su Han examined himself internally, he discovered something different. The star palaces of ordinary Star Palace Realm cultivators are mostly monochromatic, with attributes determined by their cultivation techniques. But the foundation of his star palace was the mysterious, hazy "Primordial" star power. On the palace walls, faint starlight flickered. Upon closer inspection, the arrangement of those starlight points subtly echoed the star acupoints that had awakened within his body. Furthermore, a faint yet real moonlight glow and an incomparably sharp sword intent phantom lingered between the beams and pillars of the star palace.

"Is it because of the *Primordial Ancient Scripture*, or because of the Moon Goddess Pendant and my understanding of the sword path?" Su Han realized. His path had been different from ordinary people from the very beginning. Whether this strange star palace was a blessing or a curse was still unknown, but the power it contained stirred his heart.

He didn't stop, continuing to circulate his cultivation technique to consolidate his realm. As the sky outside the window began to lighten with the first hint of dawn, Su Han suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze flashing like lightning, before quickly subsiding and returning to calm. Overnight, he had not only solidified his early-stage Star Palace Realm, but his cultivation had also taken a significant leap forward.

"It's time." Su Han stood up, stretched his limbs, and felt a surge of immense power coursing through his body. He pushed open the door, and the morning light was faint. The courtyard, ravaged by the oppressive aura of a Star Realm expert the previous night, appeared even more dilapidated, but the oppressive atmosphere that had permeated the area had already dissipated.

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

In the center of Qingyun City, the massive bluestone plaza has been shrouded in an array and divided into hundreds of arenas of varying sizes. Surrounding the plaza are high, circular grandstands capable of holding hundreds of thousands of people. At this moment, the place is bustling with activity. Cultivators and representatives from various parts of the Eastern Region, and even other major regions, have already taken their seats to witness the ceremony. Many magnificent ships and flying pavilions float in the sky—the vehicles of top-tier sects.

Led by Master Ziyang and several elders, the disciples of the Ziyang Sect arrived at the designated area. Su Han followed in the group, feeling countless gazes sweeping over him, some openly, some secretly, some with curiosity, some with scrutiny, and some with cold malice emanating from the direction of the Heart-Eating Sword Sect. Youmingzi sat high on the flying pavilion of the Heart-Eating Sword Sect, closing his eyes to meditate, as if the events of the previous night had never happened.

Master Ziyang's expression was solemn as he addressed his disciples in a deep voice: "The Hundred Sects Assembly aims to facilitate exchange and learning, but swords have no eyes, and on the arena, life and death are left to fate. You must give your all to uphold the prestige of our Ziyang Sect, but if things become unavoidable, prioritize your own safety. Remember this!"

"Yes, Master (Sect Leader)!" the disciples replied in unison.

Soon, the host of the tournament, a highly respected senior rogue cultivator from Qingyun City, announced the competition rules. The Hundred Sects Tournament consists of three rounds: The first round is a free-for-all elimination. All participating disciples will be randomly transported to a fragment of a secret realm called "Hundred Battles Mountain," which has a complex terrain, including mountains, forests, deserts, and swamps. Within three days, disciples must seize "Battle Talismans" from other participants (each person starts with one) and search for as many additional "Battle Talismans" scattered throughout the secret realm as possible. After three days, the top one thousand disciples with the most Battle Talismans will advance. This round does not prohibit fighting, but if one crushes their personal teleportation jade talisman, they can immediately withdraw, but this also means elimination.

The second round is the ranking battle in the arena. The 1,000 who have advanced will be paired up by drawing lots, with the winners advancing until the top 100 are determined. This round is supervised by referees, and intentional death or maiming is prohibited in principle, but the battles are dangerous and accidents are inevitable.

The third round is the ranking battle for prodigies. The top 100 prodigies will compete in a round-robin tournament or a challenge match to determine the final rankings. The top ten will receive generous rewards, especially the top three, whose rewards are so valuable that even Star Realm experts will be envious.

After the rules were announced, a massive teleportation array lit up in the center of the plaza. Disciples from various sects transformed into streaks of light and entered the array. Su Han felt a blur before his eyes, followed by a slight tearing sensation in his body. The next moment, his feet were firmly planted on solid ground. The air was filled with a faint fragrance of grass and trees, along with a subtle, ancient aura; the concentration of star power was two to three times higher than in the outside world.

He quickly surveyed his surroundings. He found himself on the edge of an ancient, towering forest, with rolling mountains in the distance and the faint roars of beasts echoing in the distance. A warm, smooth cyan jade talisman appeared in his hand—a battle talisman. At the same time, a slightly larger white jade talisman, a life-saving teleportation talisman, also hung at his waist.

"First, familiarize yourself with the environment, then act when the opportunity arises." Su Han did not act rashly. He concealed his aura, leaped onto a giant tree, and hid in the dense canopy, his divine sense cautiously probing outwards like ripples.

Within the secret realm, the battle erupted almost the instant the teleportation was completed. Not far away, the light of colliding star power flashed, and shouts and the sounds of weapons clashing could be heard, before quickly returning to calm. It was unclear whether someone had obtained the battle token or whether both had withdrawn.

Su Han waited patiently. His goal wasn't to rob aimlessly; that would be too inefficient and make him a target for everyone. He was looking for a suitable target, or... waiting for someone to come to him.

About half an hour later, a team of three entered Su Han's spiritual sense range. The three were dressed uniformly and came from a mid-level sect called "Blazing Sun Sect." Their cultivation levels were all at the late stage of the Star Sea Realm. They cooperated well with each other, clearly acting as an alliance, and were cautiously searching and advancing.

"Senior brother, there seem to be signs of a battle here, but the people are gone," one of them whispered.

“Be careful, there might be people hiding in this forest. The three of us together should be able to protect ourselves and even seize the battle token, as long as we don’t run into those freaks or their large group.” The young man in the lead had a sharp look in his eyes.

Su Han's mind raced. The three of them working together would indeed be a considerable trouble, but it would be a good opportunity to test his skills after his breakthrough and also to examine the results of his "hibernation."

Just as the three passed under the large tree where Su Han was hiding, Su Han moved. There was no earth-shattering sword light, no howling star power; his figure seemed to blend into the wind. The leaves rustled slightly, and he appeared behind the three like a ghost, his speed far exceeding that of his Star Sea Realm days!
"Who?!" The leading youth sensed something amiss in the breeze, turned around sharply, and saw only a faint, almost imperceptible shadow.

puff!puff!
Two muffled thuds sounded. The two Blazing Sun Sect disciples standing to the side and behind didn't even see who it was before they felt a sharp pain in the back of their necks, their vision went black, and they collapsed to the ground. Su Han pointed his fingers like a sword, precisely using his star power to temporarily seal their ability to move. At the same time, he reached out and took the battle talismans from their arms.

The leading youth was terrified, flames erupting from his body as he threw a punch at Su Han's face: "Hiding your head and showing your tail, despicable!" (End of Chapter)