Chapter 41: Battle Begins: Liuli Duo Prodigies

Taking money to resolve misfortune—trading five thousand spirit stones for a clear path—they intended to kill off all the remaining contestants!

As the two of them pressed further into the island’s interior, they had no idea that outside, chaos was already erupting!

On the high platform, the Third Prince’s face was deathly pale as he stared at the glowing screen.

Under his name, all the numbers had been reset to zero!

At the same time, the Second Prince Zhou Rong’s tally had skyrocketed!

This meant he had completely lost his lead.

And clearly, such a raid must have involved fighting—none of his guest disciples might even survive the hunt!

Thinking of that, his fury towards the Second Prince Zhou Rong grew uncontrollable.

Even a fool could tell what had just happened!

“Alright then, Second Brother! Truly impressive tactics!”

Zhou Rong was inwardly overjoyed.

But in front of the Third Prince, he wore a look of innocence.

“Junior Third Brother, what do you mean by that?”

“Don’t play dumb! I’ve been wiped clean—your numbers shot up. Second Brother has found a treasure: the ‘Demonic Twin Stars’!”

Gradually, Zhou Rong’s expression grew cold and calm.

“Junior Third Brother, do watch your tongue. I only sent in two guest disciples—are yours all trash? Five versus two, and they still got robbed?”

At that, the Fourth Prince Zhou Qin scoffed.

“Second Brother makes sense—five against two and they were totally overwhelmed. You’ve no one to blame but yourselves!”

“The Junior Third Brother lost his temper. If he fails Autumn Wild Hunt this year, there’s always next year.”

The Crown Prince added in a tone of mock sympathy.

Empty words to belittle.

The Third Prince stared at the two of them and fell silent.

A loser had no standing.

Now he basically had no chance of competing to succeed to crown prince.

If he offended all three at once, no matter which of them eventually succeeded, his fate would be dire.

Better to humble himself.

“Fine, then this matter is no longer related to me. Everyone, keep going.”

He flicked his sleeve, returned to his seat, closed his eyes, and pretended to nap.

This surprised the other three.

They hadn’t expected Zhou Sheng to give up so quickly.

But then they exhaled—it was over.

Venting would do no good.

The princes had quieted down, but the surrounding spectators kept guessing.

“What’s going on? In just half a day, the Third Prince’s disciples all got wiped out? Even if they’re still alive, they won’t catch up!”

“Impossible—a big upset!”

“I remember the Third Prince had top squads from the righteous Five Sects: Frostwind Tower and Jialan Gate. How could five disciples get beaten so fast?”

“No doubt—the facts are glaring. I guess the Third Prince’s disciples are completely annihilated, and he’s lost the eligibility to be Crown Prince!”

“Pitiful those ministers who chose the wrong side and put all their weight behind him—they’re in for a reckoning.”

“Look! The Second Prince’s numbers went up a lot—it’s not much behind the Fourth now!”

“Heh, looks like the ‘Demonic Twin Stars’’ strength has been greatly underestimated…”

“Could the Second Prince be the biggest dark horse?”

One voice raised a different perspective.

“It’s all in vain. Don’t bring up the Fourth Prince—although the Twin Stars beat his disciples, don’t forget: the Crown Prince’s own disciple Lian Huo is already half‑step Primordial‑Yang.”

“That’s right. Shangqing Sect stands at the top of the righteous path, and its disciples are extremely strong. Even one Lian Huo at half‑step Primordial‑Yang is more than enough to take those twin stars down!”

“Haha, now it seems we worried too much. As long as Lian Huo’s around, those Twin Stars won’t endure long. The Second Prince cannot defy fate!”

So the discussions ran on—some joyous, some worried.

At the arena, it buzzed with excitement.

Meanwhile—

Inside the island, Gu Fan and his companion encountered opponents again.

Opposing them were the Fourth Prince’s guest disciples—the five from Liuli Yuan and Chiyang Palace!

“Gu Fan? Didn’t expect us to have such luck—to be the first to meet you!”

The eldest disciple of Liuli Yuan, Fang Qing, looked down on the duo, a contemptuous smile on his face.

The “Demonic Twin Stars” must possess real power—but facing a full team of five, Gu Fan and company could only die.

Thus Fang Qing and his four assumed they were the first team to run into Gu Fan.

Unbeknownst to them, Gu Fan and Lin Yi had just been lamenting the lack of people to kill.

Seeing Lin Yi growing anxious, their prey delivered itself to the door!

“Brother Fang, no need to waste time talking with them—just kill them!”

The disciple from Chiyang Palace, Yu Hua, said casually, as if squashing a few ants.

As he spoke, he drew his sword and flamboyantly spun it with flair.

But then—

Puchi!

Fang Qing felt a sudden heat on his face. He instinctively touched it—blood!

Looking up, he saw that Yu Hua, who had just been showing off, had already become a headless corpse!

A rounded object spun into the air—Yu Hua’s head—skewered clean through by a long sword.

Lin Yi floated in midair, his expression full of disgust.

The tip of his sword held Yu Hua’s severed head aloft.

“All flash, no substance—and you call yourself a sword cultivator?”

This scene froze the remaining four in place.

What had just happened?

They hadn’t even seen the attack. Yu Hua of Chiyang Palace had been decapitated instantly?!

The surviving four’s hearts sank.

They realized the strength of the two before them had far exceeded all expectations!

They had originally thought only Gu Fan had real power, but now it turned out that Lin Yi was also terrifyingly strong!

Fang Qing’s face darkened.

“Everyone! Prepare for battle—pair up and kill these two demonic cultivators with full force!”

“Yes!”

The four took a deep breath. In the next moment, they all erupted with the aura of the eighth layer of the Spirit Sea Realm!

“Brother Gu, two each!”

“Fine by me. Whatever.”

Their tones were casual—like discussing evening drinks.

Just a few words had already sentenced the four to death.

Still, Gu Fan admired their spirit. At least compared to the previous groups, they had more fighting intent.

Across from them, Fang Qing already sensed the oppressive pressure radiating from the two.

There was no other option!

They had to go all out. Otherwise, he might not even have time to reveal his trump card before dying!

With that in mind, Fang Qing gave a low shout.

“Glazed‑Gold Body, Fifth Transformation!”

His aura surged instantly.

The immense power caused dozens of bloody fissures to burst open across his body.

“Kill!!”

Fang Qing locked onto Gu Fan and charged in a blur.

He moved with such speed that it whipped up a gale—tearing across the ground like a plow!

Gu Fan’s eyes lit up, laughing heartily:

“Not bad! First time encountering a body-cultivation technique!”

“Then let me give you a proper taste! Kill!!”

Boom!!!

The moment their fists clashed, the earth quaked violently.

The entire hundred-meter area around their exchange sunk down, cracks spiderwebbing outward.

Fang Qing struck with all his might, but the instant their fists met, he was sent flying by the sheer force.

Even his Glazed‑Gold Body started to show cracks!

“Impossible! How can your physical body be this strong?!”

Gu Fan let out a light “Oh?”

His cultivation wasn’t even at the peak of the Spirit Sea Realm, and yet he could take a punch like that?

“Looks like you’ve trained in a pretty decent body-cultivation art. You actually took one of my punches!”

At that moment, a silver blade flash streaked toward Gu Fan from behind—another attacker alongside Fang Qing!

“Die!!”

Gu Fan didn’t even blink. With a wave of his hand, two Soul Puppets materialized, blocking the surprise blade strike.

Then he stepped forward, charging toward the distant Fang Qing.

“Let’s see if you can take another punch!”

Fang Qing’s soul nearly left his body. A massive sense of death engulfed him.

“Glazed‑Gold Body! Sixth Transformation!!”

BOOM!!

A massive explosion roared across the island.

As the smoke cleared—

Fang Qing’s figure had vanished from his original spot.

A nearby mountain peak had been struck by some enormous force, reduced to rubble.

Gu Fan hovered midair above the shattered rocks.

On the ground, Fang Qing’s body lay twisted over a massive boulder.

With that single punch, Gu Fan had shattered all his bones and meridians.

He was dead.

Utterly and completely.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep