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Before Niannian could even catch her breath, her next opponent was already up.

The Mahayana group's round-robin tournament has no breaks, and the defending champion cannot leave the stage. The more consecutive wins a champion has, the higher their ranking.

Niannian turned around and glanced at her new opponent, a tall, thin young man with a cultivation level of mid-stage Mahayana.

He had two short swords hanging at his waist, stood casually, and his gaze swept across her face.

"Central Region, Chen Xiuping." He gave his name without saying anything more.

"Luo Niannian!" After saying that, she directly gathered sword energy with her fingers and engaged in battle with her opponent.

Within three moves, one of Chen Xiuping's two short swords flew out, while the other was pressed against his shoulder by Nian Nian's sword energy.

He took two steps back, looking at the split between his thumb and forefinger of the hand that held the sword, blood dripping from between his fingers onto the arena:

"What kind of sword energy is that? How come it's so strong?"

Nian Nian's little face hardened: "Morning Dew Sword Qi!"

After saying that, he sheathed his sword and took a step back, waiting for him to leave the arena.

Some people in the stands had already started talking; their voices weren't loud, but they could still be heard:

"This little brat is too lazy to even draw his sword?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, the Central Region is really weak, letting a little kid dominate them."

These sounds mingled with the crowd, rising and falling in pitch.

On the high platform, an elder in a gray robe was pouring tea for the person next to him:

"The Southeast region has struck gold this year, but it's uncertain whether it can make it to the second round."

The third and fourth rounds followed one after another, and Nian Nian began to feel that her spiritual energy circulation was not keeping up.

Her Chaos Nine-Leaf Lotus was already circulating faster within her body than usual.

With each sword strike, she channeled spiritual energy to cleanse her meridians. After repeated cleansing, her meridians became thicker than usual, but impurities also accumulated on the inner walls.

After the fifth match, her right shoulder was grazed by the opponent's palm, tearing her sleeve and revealing a faint red mark on her exposed skin.

Xiao Xiao glanced at the combined group from afar, but before Niannian could recover, she was dragged back by the next competition.

The noise from the stands grew louder and louder, and it was no longer just discussion; some people were starting to stir up trouble.

"That little girl is about to give up, isn't she?"

"Is the Southeast region really counting on a little brat this year?"

"There are also two or three fighting over with the fusion group; things aren't going well there either."

The sect leaders on the high platform continued their hushed conversation, their tone casual:

"The foundation of the early Mahayana path is solid, and the meridians have a stronger capacity than those of the same level."

But after such a winning streak, if his spiritual energy reserves can't keep up, defeat is only a matter of time.

The elder next to him smiled but did not refute.

Nian Nian's sixth opponent was a man from the Western Regions, who was burly and had a late-stage Mahayana cultivation level.

The opponent immediately delivered a powerful punch, the fist imbued with dark red spiritual energy, which slammed directly into Nian Nian's sword energy, bending the golden sword energy by two inches.

Niannian was pushed back half a step by the punch, and the sole of her boot left a shallow mark on the ring.

After she regained her balance, she felt numbness in her entire right arm, and the sword energy took a beat longer than before to re-condense.

She took two more punches, and by the time the third punch landed, she had already dodged it by sidestepping.

But the force of the punch grazed her shoulder, tearing a long gash in her sleeve and ripping the inner fabric.

In the seventh match, Nian Nian's opponent was a sword cultivator from the Northern Region.

The sword light, wrapped in frost, clashed with Nian Nian's sword energy more than a dozen times, leaving the arena floor covered with crisscrossing scratches and scorch marks.

Niannian was stabbed in the right leg, and the blood stained a patch of her trouser leg red.

She paused for a moment at the edge of the ring, glanced down at the wound on her right leg, and then stood up straight again.

Someone on the platform whispered:

"This kid has good resilience."

Meanwhile, on the combined team's side, Xiao Xiao is experiencing her third battle.

Her opponent was an extremely fast assassin-type monk who stabbed at her vitals three times from different angles.

Xiao Xiao stood in the center of the ring, without moving much.

The wooden shield in front of her shattered and then solidified, while the vines beneath her feet maintained a coverage area with a radius of one zhang (approximately 3.3 meters).

This forced the opponent to deal with the vines that suddenly sprouted from their feet every time they got close.

At the end of the third round, Xiao Xiao's left hand was cut, and blood dripped down her wrist.

She glanced down, then placed one hand on the arena floor, and emerald green light seeped from her palm into the cracks in the stone.

Like a root system unfolding, it covered the surface of the ring, and the ground cracked in several fine lines.

Qianqian is on another combined arena, where she faces two opponents.

The Fusion Group allows two people to team up and register, with the other person being two fellow disciples who have reached the late stage of Fusion.

They worked together seamlessly, with one person holding the enemy at the front while the other flanked them from behind.

Qianqian did not directly confront the attack, but dodged three times in succession, disappearing into the shadows just before the opponent's attack landed each time.

After dodging one last time, she didn't retreat but instead faced one of them head-on.

A silvery-white light exploded between the two, and the man's steps froze at the edge of the arena.

His gaze was fixed, as if he were frozen in place, while his companion circled behind Qianqian and slashed down with his knife.

The blade was only half a finger's width away from Qianqian's shoulder, but the man's hand stopped, as if frozen in mid-air.

Kiki is on another stage, her clay pot is broken.

When the jar was broken, the pills inside rolled all over the ground.

She paused for a moment, then bent down on the ground and rummaged through the spilled pills, stuffing them into her mouth.

Her cheeks were bulging as she chewed and raised her hand to block a spiritual force that came from the side.

Her opponent was a sword cultivator at the mid-stage of the Integration Realm, whose cultivation level was the same as hers, but whose strength was not inferior.

Qiqi was forced back several times, her shoulder was hit, she knelt on one knee and then stood up again, there was blood at the corner of her mouth.

After she finished chewing what was in her mouth, she stood up and slammed her palm on the floor of the arena.

A ring of earthy yellow spiritual energy ripples spread out, and the opponent was forced back several steps.

Niannian has now played ten games in a row.

Her spiritual energy was clearly insufficient, and her body was trembling slightly.

The wound on her right leg had not yet completely stopped bleeding, and the Chaos Nine-Leaf Lotus was slowly repairing the damaged meridians.

Someone whispered on the high platform:

"She's already overloaded. If she continues playing, she'll run into problems and won't be able to hold on for the next round."

Nian Nian gripped the sword hilt tightly, and the spiritual light in her palm was re-condensing.

Wang Qiang slowly walked onto the stage, stood opposite the other person, a smile playing on his lips, raised his hand in a perfunctory gesture of respect:

"Wang Qiang, from the Southeast Region, I look forward to your guidance."

A glint of fire flashed in Nian Nian's big eyes as she whispered:

"Shameless scoundrel, only good at taking advantage of others' misfortunes, utterly despicable!"

The first sword energy was gathering at her fingertips.

"Say what you want, as long as I beat you."

Wang Qiang grinned sinisterly, not in a hurry to make a move, but instead stood still and waited for the sword energy to take shape.

Someone in the audience laughed, the sound was very loud, as if they were afraid others wouldn't hear them:

"That girl's past her prime; she can barely muster any sword energy anymore. But the Southeast Region is full of talented people, isn't it? Do they all like fighting amongst themselves?"

"This Wang Qiang is a veteran player in the Southeast Region. He's a mid-stage Mahayana cultivator fighting against a mere early-stage Mahayana kid, and he even takes advantage of the situation. He's shameless."

Some people couldn't stand Wang Qiang's hypocritical face and stood up to mock him.

An elder on the high platform stroked his beard, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Nian Nian and Wang Qiang, before turning to the person beside him and saying:

"The rules of the gauntlet battle are designed to select the person with the most abundant spiritual energy reserves. The first ten rounds are already quite good."

"At her age, there aren't many players who can play a full ten games. It's such a pity!"

The person next to him nodded but didn't say anything.

On the stage, Wang Qiang finally moved.

He raised his hand and thrust out a palm strike, the palm wind carrying spiritual power slicing across the arena floor, kicking up a layer of gravel and dust.

Nian Nian stepped aside, and the sword energy slashed horizontally towards Wang Qiang's ribs from the side.

Wang Qiang did not retreat. He raised his hand and took the sword strike head-on. The spiritual energy in his palm collided with the sword energy, producing a loud explosion.

Niannian was knocked back two steps, and a sharp pain shot through the wound on her right leg.

She frowned, steadied herself, and glanced at the sword energy that had been worn away.

Wang Qiang's second palm strike came in quick succession, this one even faster than the first.

When Nian Nian blocked the attack, her knees bent slightly, and she half-knelt on the ground, using the blade of her sword to keep herself from falling.

The opponent's palm continued to press down, crushing a layer of the stone slab beneath her feet, sending fragments flying in all directions.

A moment later, she knelt on one knee, and with her other hand, she formed a sword shape with her fingers, condensing a thin, thread-like sword aura.

The blade thrust diagonally upwards, striking precisely where Wang Qiang's palm strike was weak, like a wedge wedged into a closing gap.

She used the force of the thrust to retreat and create distance again.

Someone in the audience shouted:

"That was close! He almost fell!"

A voice from the side chimed in:

"She was just lucky. She couldn't withstand the next blow. She's having a hard time even standing now."

In a distant corner, a blurry figure still leaned against a stone pillar, his gaze passing through the crowd and landing on Nian Nian. He narrowed his eyes but made no move.

Niannian regained her balance. Her robes were torn, and the blood on her right leg wound had dried.

Wang Qiang did not make another move. He stood there and glanced at the gap in his palm.

The sword energy left a faint white mark on his palm.

He gave Niannian one last deep look, then turned and walked off the stage without saying a word.

The sound from the stands paused briefly before rang out again, carrying an unbelievable echo.

Niannian stood in the center of the arena, slowly straightened her body, and bowed her head to put the Morning Dew Sword back into its sheath.

Turning to leave the ring, he had only taken two steps when a voice came from below:

"You can no longer hold your sword steadily."

She looked up and saw Chu Xuan standing on the stone steps at the edge of the arena, his gaze calmly fixed on her.

Niannian stopped and looked at Chu Xuan. He looked at her too. Their eyes met, and lightning seemed to dance in their gazes.

A moment later, he turned around and went up to the arena, standing opposite Nian Nian, with no more than three zhang between them.

The silence on the platform lasted for a moment, then someone whispered:

"They're all from the Southeast Region, what's going on here? Are you enjoying slapping yourselves in the face?"

"Perhaps this is just their taste in the Southeast? Hahaha..."

Someone chimed in, bursting into unrestrained laughter.

Nian Nian looked at Chu Xuan and reassembled her sword energy.

Chu Xuan saw this scene and frowned slightly, but still did not retreat.

Niannian took a step forward, the Morning Dew Sword appearing in her hand. A sharp pain shot through the wound on her right leg, but she did not slow her pace.

The Chaos Nine-Leaf Lotus within her body suddenly trembled, as if something was awakening.

The morning dew sword in his hand suddenly shone brightly, and another pattern appeared on its blade...