In Zhu Xian, people start to rise from plundering entries

laugh--!
It was like a hot knife cutting through butter. The terrifying, ghostly blue shadow, the insidious and soul-corroding sword intent, vanished instantly like ice and snow when it touched the point of starlight condensed to its extreme at the tip of Su Han's sword! Dark red flames spread along the sword, and the ghostly blue longsword in Li Kui's hand let out a mournful cry as cracks appeared on its surface.

"No!!!" Li Kui screamed in terror, feeling a scorching and violent sword intent, yet carrying an aura of annihilation, rushing into his body along the longsword and his arm. Wherever it passed, his meridians ached terribly, and his stellar energy became disordered. The heart-corroding sword energy he had painstakingly cultivated was defeated and dissolved as if it had encountered its nemesis.

He wanted to let go and discard the sword, but it was too late.

Su Han flicked his wrist, and a dark red sword light was released.

boom!
Li Kui flew backward like a broken sack, crashing hard into the protective light shield at the edge of the arena before sliding to the ground. Blood gushed from his mouth, his longsword shattered inch by inch, and his aura instantly weakened. His meridians had been invaded by that strange sword intent, suffering severe damage. Without several months of recuperation, he would likely not recover.

The entire room fell silent.

No one expected that the formidable Li Kui would be so easily defeated by Su Han's seemingly casual sword strike, and in such a devastating way.

The referee stepped forward to check and, confirming that Li Kui was no longer able to fight, announced loudly: "The winner of the thirty-seventh arena is Su Han of the Ziyang Sect!"

The commotion below the ring paused briefly after the referee's announcement, before erupting into even more clamor.

"What kind of sword technique was that? Li Kui's Soul-Eating Technique was actually broken by a single sword strike?"

"It looks like a fire-attribute sword intent, but ordinary fire sword intent could never suppress the Heart-Corroding Sword Qi so effectively..."

"When did the Ziyang Sect produce such a monster? A mid-stage Star Sea Realm cultivator with such strength?"

Many eyes were focused on Su Han, including elders and prodigies from various sects. Su Han remained calm, ignoring Ye Lingxiao's excitement and the surrounding gazes. He merely nodded slightly to Master Ziyang before heading towards the area where the Ziyang Sect disciples were gathered.

A hint of relief flashed across Master Ziyang's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by solemnity. He transmitted his voice, "Han'er, your sword strike just now has attracted attention. Your next opponent will probably not underestimate you anymore."

"Disciple understands," Su Han replied. He had no intention of hiding his strength—in a gathering of geniuses like the Hundred Sects Conference, concealing one's abilities would only embolden others. Appropriately displaying one's prowess would actually make some petty villains wary.

On the distant viewing platform, several gazes fell upon Su Han.

A middle-aged woman in a light blue robe, with a gentle demeanor, let out a soft "Eh," and said to her companion beside her, "This disciple of the Ziyang Sect has a refined sword intent and a solid foundation. That sword strike just now seemed simple, but in reality, his control over power has reached a level of subtlety. It is rare for someone in the mid-stage of the Star Sea Realm to have such attainments."

Beside her sat an elderly man with white hair and a youthful face, holding a whisk. Hearing this, he nodded slightly: "What Fellow Daoist Shuiyue said is correct. This child's sword intent is upright and peaceful, yet it contains the potential for annihilation. It seems different from the orthodox Ziyang True Fire Sword Technique of the Ziyang Sect, but it has a bit of the charm of ancient methods."

On the other side, a middle-aged man in a golden robe with a dignified face sneered, "Just a clever trick. The Heart-Eating Sword Sect's techniques are insidious and most vulnerable to pure Yang fire, and he just happened to run into an element that counters it. If he encountered a disciple of my Vajra Sect, his little bit of fiery sword energy would be nothing more than a tickle." The Water Moon Sect Master smiled slightly and said no more. The man in the golden robe was the Vajra Sect Master, whose body-refining techniques were unparalleled, so it was normal for him to look down on sword cultivators.

But many more discerning people saw something deeper in Su Han's seemingly simple sword strike.

In the direction of the Heart-Eating Sword Sect, Li Wuhen's face was ashen. A disciple beside him whispered, "Senior Brother Li, that kid..."

"Shut up." Li Wuhen's voice was icy. "Li Kui is a piece of trash, a waste of the sect's training. But—" He stared at Su Han's back, his eyes surging with killing intent, "This is fine too. If he were too weak, it would be boring. I will personally crush every bone in his body on the arena, and let everyone know the consequences of offending my Heart-Eating Sword Sect."

Youmingzi kept his eyes closed, seemingly indifferent to everything. But if someone with keen senses observed carefully, they would notice that the light within three feet of him seemed to be slightly dimmer than the surrounding light, as if it were being slowly swallowed up by something invisible.

Su Han returned to the Ziyang Sect disciples, sat cross-legged, and began to recover. He hadn't expended much energy in the battle; his focus was more on understanding the effectiveness of the Primordial Star Power in countering the Heart-Eating Sword Qi. Inside the Star Palace, on the hazy base, starlight flowed, the moonlight was cold, and sword shadows rose and fell. The feeling of the Heart-Eating Sword Qi that had invaded his body being easily dissolved by the Primordial Star Power during his battle with Li Kui still lingered—it wasn't a simple attribute counter, but more like the natural suppression of a lower-level power by a higher-level one.

"The Primordial Ancient Scripture..." Su Han murmured to himself. This cultivation technique, obtained from the mysterious gray pearl, likely had an origin far beyond his imagination. He wondered if it would have the same miraculous effect against cultivation techniques of other attributes.

As he was pondering, the light screen above the square flickered, and the match-up list for the second round of the arena battles began to be announced.

Ye Lingxiao leaned closer and whispered, "Su Han, look over there."

Su Han followed his gaze and saw that Li Wuhen was talking quietly with a black-robed disciple in the direction of the Heart-Eating Sword Sect. The black-robed disciple had an ordinary face, but his eyes were an eerie gray-white, devoid of any spirit, and his aura was quite obscure, making it difficult to accurately judge his cultivation level.

"That person is called 'Yin Kui,' a rather mysterious disciple of the Heart-Eating Sword Sect in this generation. It is said that he rarely makes a move in public, but in the sect's internal competitions, no one has ever been able to force him to use his full strength." Ye Lingxiao had obviously done a lot of research, and his tone was worried. "He ranked 241st in the first round of the secret realm battle, which seems low, but I have heard that he doesn't seem to have actively collected battle tokens at all. This ranking is very likely just something he did arbitrarily."

Su Han's gaze narrowed slightly. His divine sense far surpassed that of his peers, and he could vaguely sense an extremely uncomfortable, deathly aura emanating from the "Yin Puppet," which was different from the sinister and unpredictable aura of ordinary Heart-Eating Sword Sect disciples.

"If we face them, we'll be careful," Su Han said calmly. We'll meet force with force, and water with earth. The Hundred Sects Tournament is about competing against all the prodigies out there; worrying beforehand is pointless.

Soon, Su Han's second opponent was determined—Meng Qingsi, a disciple of the Divine Dream Pavilion. Ranked 182nd, she was in the late stage of the Star Sea Realm.

“Shenmeng Pavilion?” Ye Lingxiao’s expression was somewhat strange. “This sect specializes in soul illusion techniques, which are difficult to defend against. Moreover, most of its disciples are female. Meng Qingsi is said to be extremely beautiful, but she is ruthless when she fights. She has caused many opponents who underestimated her to fall into illusions and be defeated without a fight.”

Su Han nodded. Soul attacks are indeed more difficult to deal with than simple sword techniques. However, with the Moonlit Serenity guarding his Star Palace, he fears nothing more than soul intrusion. He just wondered what was so unique about the illusions of the Divine Dream Pavilion. (End of Chapter)