The next day.
The spacious martial arts arena remained packed to capacity. Everyone was filled with anticipation for today's showdown, because today marked the once-in-a-century Battle of Heaven-Seizing in Yangzhou City!
The protagonist of this battle was Su Qinghe of the Yun family, formerly the top prodigy of the younger generation in Yangzhou City.
Yet as everyone knew, Su Qinghe had suffered severe injuries that caused his cultivation realm to plummet, though his innate talent remained. Still, his lower realm was a fatal flaw, and virtually no one favored his chances. Even setting aside the present, back when Su Qinghe had single-handedly suppressed all the proud talents of Yangzhou City, he could not have fought so many talented rivals all by himself.
Yet today, that very scenario was about to unfold.
"Why hasn't Su Qinghe arrived yet? Could it be that he's scared?"
"Since he dared to initiate the Battle of Heaven-Seizing, I imagine Su Qinghe won't be cowardly enough to shirk the fight."
"Even if he shows up today, what difference will it make? Forget about now; even back in his prime, he probably would have ended up bleeding here."
Amidst the noisy murmurs of the crowd awaiting the start of the battle, not a single person bet on Su Qinghe.
"Thud, thud!"
In the distance, the Yun family contingent slowly entered, and a cold, composed youth stepped forward.
Su Qinghe had arrived.
"The challenger of the Battle of Heaven-Seizing, Su Qinghe, will face all the prodigies of this grand competition—a total of thirteen people, excluding Yun Yi."
Since Yun Yi was severely injured and unconscious, he naturally could not participate, but among the rest, Yun family members Yun Nantian and Yun Che could not refuse either.
"In the Battle of Heaven-Seizing, life and death are up to fate, and there is no surrender. However, being knocked off the arena counts as elimination." The black-robed elder's voice resonated with booming vigor across the entire martial arts arena.
"Now, let the Battle of Heaven-Seizing begin!"
Upon the arena stage, Su Qinghe smiled calmly and looked toward Yun Nantian and Yun Che among the thirteen young prodigies.
"Nantian, younger brother Che, do your absolute best!"
"Hmph, Su Qinghe, don't be so arrogant. To treat the rest of us with such contempt—don't blame us for being ruthless." Lin Hai glared at Su Qinghe's breezy demeanor and couldn't help speaking up first.
A cruel glint flashed in Zhou Qing's eyes. "Since you're seeking your own death, you can't blame us."
"Precisely. Su Qinghe, I admit that back in your prime you were indeed dazzling, but nowadays you don't even have the qualifications to enter the grand competition. I truly have no idea where you get the courage to challenge the rest of us." Lin Huan chimed in, picking up where Zhou Qing left off.
On the other hand, Liu Ruyan from the Liu family smiled sweetly. "Young Master Su, how is Yun Yi?"
Hearing this, Lin Hai and Zhou Qing let out cold snorts, while Su Qinghe made no reply.
"Come on, everyone. You keep saying I'm not qualified to enter the grand competition."
"Then today, I will show you that my not participating wasn't because I lacked the qualifications."
"It was because I disdained it!"
"Stop putting on a front. Let me test the depth of your cultivation."
As his voice fell, Lin Hai struck first.
"Shadowless Wild Sand Saber!"
In an instant, saber Qi filled the air. Lin Hai leaped high and brought his blade slashing down. Watching Lin Hai's move, riddled with countless flaws, Su Qinghe casually side-stepped to dodge it and swept a whip kick toward Lin Hai's chest. Lin Hai was startled.
"How can someone in the Pill Opening Realm move this fast?" Lin Hai's heart tightened as he retreated a step and raised his arms to block.
Yet he was wrong. Feeling the immense force transmitted through his arms, Lin Hai's entire body was sent stumbling backward out of control. Through this brief exchange, Lin Hai realized he had underestimated Su Qinghe after all.
Not only Lin Hai, but the others also wore startled expressions. Lin Hai's strength was already formidable, yet Su Qinghe had beaten him back head-on in a single instant.
On the stage, Yun Nantian and Yun Che looked up at the sky speechlessly. Taking Su Qinghe's kick head-on—was Lin Hai's brain not working right?
The two of them had personally experienced the devastating power of Su Qinghe's fists and kicks. In fact, when they watched Lin Hai raise his arms to try and block Su Qinghe's whip kick, both of them had been utterly speechless.
"Su Qinghe, I underestimated you. Next, I'll use my full strength." Lin Hai felt irritated by his own defeat.
With that, he lunged forward, his saber light shifting as he channeled his surrounding spiritual Qi into the blade.
"Wild Sands Covering the Sky!"
"Floating Light and Flickering Shadows!"
Su Qinghe moved like a swimming dragon, cutting in horizontally. As Lin Hai lost sight of Su Qinghe in his field of vision, he instantly felt an aggressive force approaching from the side, sending a shudder through his heart.
"Great Heaven Creation Palm!"
Su Qinghe showed no mercy!
"Ah! Ugh!" Before Lin Hai could react, he was directly blasted flying by the domineering palm print, rendering him unconscious!
"Gulp!"
Somewhere in the martial arena, the sound of someone swallowing echoed. The crowd was so shocked by the scene before them that they forgot to speak.
Even the prodigies present were slightly stunned.
"This Su Qinghe strikes fast, accurately, and ruthlessly, without a shred of hesitation. His grasp of combat timing is completely beyond Lin Hai's reach. How bizarre—at such a young age, where on earth did he get such rich combat experience?" Beigong Han narrowed his eyes, filled with doubt.
Seeing Lin Hai knocked out by Su Qinghe in the blink of an eye, the remaining participants no longer dared to underestimate him.
"Su Qinghe is far too peculiar. I propose we all attack together and kill him in one strike," Zhou Qing said to the surrounding prodigies.
The other prodigies nodded one after another. At this point, Yun Nantian and Yun Che could not refuse either; after all, these were the rules, and moreover, knowing how freakishly powerful Su Qinghe was, they had no worries.
"Since that's the case, come on then!" Su Qinghe's domineering aura leaked out, single-handedly facing all the prodigies without losing an ounce of momentum.
"Heavenly Steel Palm!"
"Azure Fall Sword Technique!"
"Wind God Kick!"
"Blazing Sun Art!"
Twelve young prodigies struck simultaneously, their palm techniques, saber skills, sword images, fist techniques, and leg strikes surging toward Su Qinghe from all directions.
In that instant, the color of the heavens and earth changed, and a dazzling array of cultivation arts and glinting cold points filled the arena stage.
With such formidable might, even someone at the Ninth Layer of Life Palace Realm would have had to expend considerable effort to block it, let alone Su Qinghe, who was merely in the Pill Opening Realm.
"Alas, Su Qinghe was talented enough. If he had been given a few more years, he surely could have surpassed the past and achieved the caliber of an peerless prodigy. Now, under the joint assault of twelve young geniuses, he'll likely be left either dead or crippled."
"He's courting his own death!"
Feeling the combat pressure erupting from the arena, the onlookers sighed inwardly, while members of the Lin and Xie families sneered mercilessly at Su Qinghe.
"Good! Excellent! It's been far too long since I've had such a gratifying and unrestrained battle!" Su Qinghe laughed out loud, appearing utterly arrogant.
"Life-Taking Shadow-Slaying Sword!"
With a voice as cold as the netherworld, Su Qinghe used his fingers as a sword. He slashed out a sword Qi with ethereal trajectory, splitting from one into two, then into four, until a full twenty-four streaks of sword Qi condensed and scattered outward to meet the surrounding attacks.
The assaults of the twelve young prodigies were mercilessly shattered by the first twelve streaks of sword Qi, immediately followed by the next twelve streaks pressing directly down upon them.
"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!"
Twelve figures on the stage were sent flying backward several hundred meters simultaneously, ultimately crashing down outside the arena.
Among them, Yun Nantian and Yun Che landed steadily without a single scratch on their bodies. The remaining nine prodigies all suffered varying degrees of injuries. However, one person coughed up a mouthful of blood as his right arm was severed clean off at the shoulder, leaving him disheveled and on the verge of death.
Indeed, that person was none other than City Lord Manor's Zhou Qing.
Seeing this, everyone finally understood!
Why did Su Qinghe initiate the Battle of Heaven-Seizing? It wasn't to fight for first place, nor to enter Bright Moon Academy, and certainly not for some empty reputation.
There was only one reason: to demand justice for Yun Yi of the Yun family. Zhou Qing had violated the rules to severely injure Yun Yi, so Su Qinghe severely injured Zhou Qing. Zhou Qing had used his right hand to injure Yun Yi, so Su Qinghe directly severed his right hand.