The Demon King is back, leading adorable kids on an adventure around the world!

Nian Nian held the Morning Dew Sword and stood in the center of the arena.

The silver light on the sword was gradually brightening, and the newly appeared sword pattern slowly extended along the spine of the sword, strange and mysterious.

The wound on her right leg was still throbbing, but it wasn't as severe as before.

Suddenly, she heard a voice.

The sound didn't come from outside; it came from inside her body.

Niannian paused for a moment, then separated a wisp of her divine consciousness and entered her dantian.

The nine-leaf lotus floated quietly in the center of the dantian, and a small figure appeared on the lotus platform.

It was a little girl who looked about three or four years old, wearing a bright green lotus leaf dress and barefoot.

He was sitting cross-legged on the lotus platform, resting his chin on his hand as he looked at her.

The little girl winked at Niannian, her voice soft and childish, as if she had just learned to speak not long ago:

"Little master, you...you fight so slowly."

Niannian almost lost her balance. She blinked twice to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

"Little sister, who are you? How did you get into my body?"

Wait, you called me master? Then you are the consciousness of the Nine-Leaf Lotus?

Niannian's big eyes widened in disbelief.

The little girl tilted her head and looked at her, then nodded.

"Little master, you guessed right, I am the lotus spirit of the Nine-Leaf Lotus, and my name is Xiao Lian."

Are you tired? Let me help you, but don't move around too much.

As she spoke, she stretched out her short little hand and gently patted the nine-leaf lotus beneath her.

Niannian felt a clear stream surging from her dantian. It wasn't spiritual power, but a power she had never seen before.

The impurities accumulated on the walls of the meridians were washed away by this force and gradually disappeared.

As her meridians were repeatedly washed by this force, they became wider and smoother, and the barriers of her meridians also became much harder.

Her aura surged upwards at that moment, her cultivation barrier loosened, and she progressed from the mid-stage of Mahayana to the late-stage of Mahayana.

Then, the wound on her right foot visibly healed.

Someone in the audience noticed something was wrong and gasped:

"Why has her aura changed?"

The elder in the gray robe on the high platform put down his teacup, and his previously nonchalant expression changed slightly.

Someone nearby chimed in, "This girl...broke through a breakthrough right before battle?"

Niannian looked down at her palm and clenched her fist.

The pale golden light in his palm was twice as bright as before.

The flow of spiritual energy in the meridians was no longer sluggish; everything was unobstructed.

The nine-leaf lotus inside her body slowly rotated once, and the little girl on the lotus platform was gone.

But Niannian could sense that she was still there, only she had retreated deep into the lotus heart.

The Morning Dew Sword also changed at the same time, with two sword patterns lighting up simultaneously.

The sword trembled and emitted a clear, ringing sound.

The sound waves rippled outwards, sending pebbles flying from the edge of the arena.

Niannian could feel an extra layer of power inside the sword, making it heavier and sharper than before.

Chu Xuan took a half step back, looking at the Morning Dew Sword in Nian Nian's hand with a look of surprise and uncertainty.

He could sense the change in the breath, which jumped directly from the early stage of Mahayana to the late stage of Mahayana.

It was a leap of two minor realms, and his entire aura had completely changed, as if a different person was standing in front of him.

He was silent for a moment, then spoke: "You were hiding your strength just now?"

Niannian tilted her head and glanced at him:

"No, I just broke through. You're just unlucky, hehe..."

She grinned, a smile tinged with a hint of smugness, her pearly teeth gleaming in the sunlight.

She took a step toward Chu Xuan, holding the Morning Dew Sword horizontally in front of her, the two patterns on the sword lighting up simultaneously.

A silvery-white light flowed across the surface of the sword, like a layer of mercury slowly gathering.

Chu Xuan looked at the silvery-white light and no longer hesitated. He struck out with both palms, and gray spiritual power surged toward Nian Nian like a torrent.

Niannian did not retreat, but instead slashed down with the Morning Dew Sword, and two sword patterns lit up at the same time.

The sword light pierced the sky, splitting the gray spiritual energy in two and scattering it to both sides.

Someone in the audience shouted, "I can't withstand that sword strike!"

Chu Xuan was forced back several steps by the sword strike, his arm trembling slightly.

He looked at Niannian, a barely perceptible hint of hesitation in his eyes.

Niannian did not press her advantage and stood still. The silver light of the Morning Dew Sword was slowly fading, receding, and returning to nothingness.

"Hehe, two minor realms of advancement—perfect for using you guys as practice targets. Let's see how much I've improved lately! And at the same time, I can finally fight without restraint!"

Niannian's gaze swept over the edge of the arena, where several figures stood.

Besides Chu Xuan and Wang Qiang, there were also a few other people who came by flying boat, all from the Southeast Region.

Just then, a commotion arose below the arena.

A middle-aged monk dressed in a dark gray robe stood up from the spectator stands.

He sat in the southwestern region, his face gaunt, with a thin, old scar between his eyebrows.

His aura began to rise the moment he stood up, and the bottleneck of the Great Ascension Peak was loosening.

The protective light barrier surrounding the arena rippled slightly, as if sensing the rising power within it.

He stood at the edge of the ring, not going up, but just looking in Nian Nian's direction:

"Little girl from the Southeast, I'll have a go at you."

As soon as he finished speaking, he stepped onto the arena.

His aura completely broke through the moment he stepped onto the arena.

The oppressive aura of someone in the early stages of tribulation spread out like a tide, causing the protective light barrier of the entire arena to flicker violently.

Someone stood up on the platform, but immediately sat down again.

The old man in the dark red robe merely glanced at the person next to him without saying a word.

Someone in the audience gasped in surprise:

"The period of transcendence?!"

Another voice chimed in:

"That's Zhang Ting from the Southwest Region. This guy has been stuck at the peak of the Mahayana stage for decades, but I didn't expect him to break through during the Nine Regions Grand Competition."

Someone nearby sneered:

"This is all about killing people. Breaking through at this point is for the purpose of making a move in the arena."

Without saying a word, Zhang Ting raised her hand and slapped Niannian.

The palm strike, imbued with spiritual energy, pressed down on the top of Nian's head, a force that was present from the early stages of the tribulation.

The ground of the arena cracked with spiderweb-like patterns the instant the palm strike landed.

Without taking a single step back, Niannian unleashed a horizontal slash with her Morning Dew Sword, two sword patterns lighting up simultaneously.

The silver-white sword light and the dark red palm force collided in mid-air, creating a shockwave visible to the naked eye.

Niannian was forced back several steps by the force of the palm strike, her boots leaving two deep marks on the ring.

She steadied herself, her right arm slightly numb, but the warm, gentle power within her surged forth again.

After the Nine-Leaf Lotus awakened its consciousness, its entire dantian was different.

The flow of spiritual energy was much smoother than before, and even the effect of washing away the impurities after her meridians were widened was continuously consolidating her foundation.

"Uncle, so this is all there is to the Tribulation Transcending Stage!"

Niannian shook her numb right arm, and the Morning Dew Sword lit up again.

This time, a layer of pale golden light appeared on the sword, slowly spreading along the two patterns.

"Stars—fallen!"

Niannian opened her little mouth and a tender voice came out.

The sword energy instantly split into dozens of starlight beams, each as thick as a forearm, crashing down on Zhang Ting like a meteor shower.

The dark red palm force barrier trembled violently under the impact of starlight.

A fine layer of cracks appeared on the surface, like a piece of glass shattering.

Zhang Ting withdrew his attack, dodging to the side. Starlight fell on the arena floor beneath his feet, exploding into a shower of rubble and dust.

Nian Nian gave him no chance to catch his breath. As the starlight landed, she had already taken to the air, and the silver light on the Morning Dew Sword surged:

"Battle Against Heaven - God-Slaying Sword!"

A golden sword aura, stretching across the sky, surged from the tip of the sword, carrying an overwhelming momentum that pierced through the entire arena.

Zhang Ting braced himself against the force of the palm strike, and the barrier shattered with a piercing sound the instant the golden sword energy struck.

Then, the surface cracks continued to expand, and with a series of popping sounds, it exploded into fragments.

His body was forced to kneel on one knee by the sword, his knee shattering the stone slab beneath his feet, sending shards of stone flying.

He looked up at Niannian, his eyes filled with disbelief.

The audience was completely silent. After a moment, someone stammered and asked:

"Late-stage Mahayana... defeated an early-stage Tribulation cultivator with a single sword strike?"

Another voice chimed in:

"Actually, it's not that exaggerated. Zhang Ting just broke through and hasn't undergone the tribulation of lightning, so his strength is naturally inflated."

The old man in the dark red robe on the high platform narrowed his eyes slightly.

The hand holding the teacup paused in mid-air, hesitated for a moment, and then brought it to the lips.

Niannian landed slowly, the sword tip hanging at her side, the silvery-white sword light slowly receding into the depths of the sword.

She stood there, her robes somewhat torn, the blood on her right leg wound already dried.

Zhang Ting knelt on one knee, panting heavily.

He tried to stand up, but the strength in his knees was no longer enough to support him and allow him to do so.

There was a deep wound running through his palm, and blood was dripping from his fingers into the cracks of the broken stone slabs.

On the high platform, the old man in the dark red robe placed his teacup on the table.

An elder standing nearby turned his head to look at the old man, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself.

The old man in the dark red robe slowly stood up, his gaze passing over the arena and landing on Nian Nian.

He spoke, his voice amplified by spiritual power, resonating throughout the entire area:

"This woman's methods are strange; she may have used forbidden techniques. There is no room for cheating on the arena."

He slowly walked down the platform and headed towards Niannian.

Niannian looked up at him, without taking a single step back, but simply gripped the Morning Dew Sword even tighter.

Whispers rose and fell from the audience, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake.

Xiao Xiao ran over from the direction of the combined group's arena, with Qi Qi following closely behind. Qian Qian had already silently appeared behind and to the side of Nian Nian.

Several people stood in the same spot, forming a semi-circle, facing the high platform.

Several other elders on the platform also stood up, their gazes falling on Niannian, but no one spoke.

The atmosphere at the scene is undergoing a subtle change.

Niannian stood at the edge of the arena, the silver light of the Morning Dew Sword gleaming faintly.

The old man in the dark red robe remained below the arena, without stepping onto the stage.

But the elders behind him had already come down from the platform and stood behind the old man.

That position perfectly blocked Niannian's escape route, as if everything had been planned in advance.

Niannian glanced at Xiaoxiao, who didn't move, but a layer of green light had seeped from the ground beneath her feet.

It is spreading outwards along the gaps at the edge of the ring, slowly extending towards the high platform.

The figure in blue robes at the edge of the crowd in the distance was still leaning against the stone pillar, his eyes fixed on the arena. When he saw the movements of those people, a smile appeared on his lips.

Luo Tian murmured softly:

"Finally couldn't hold back any longer? I've been waiting for you for a long time..."