"If that’s really the case, then that Ji Li... he’s being a little too vicious."
Wu Jianfei, having finished his Breath Regulation, stood up and said in a booming voice, "With Chu Bai gone, the third round will be a lot less fun."
The three of them exchanged a look, all feeling a bit regretful.
However, just as they thought the freshman who had stunned the entire first year had already made a quiet exit...
BOOM!
From behind a dense forest in the distance, an earth-shattering fluctuation of Spiritual Power suddenly erupted.
That wasn’t the aura of a Demon Beast. It was... two cultivator auras, so overwhelmingly powerful they were terrifying!
One was as sharp as a Celestial Sword, the other as savage as a God of Slaughter.
"That’s..."
Lü Qing whipped his head around, his pupils contracting violently.
"That direction... How could there be such intense waves of combat coming from there?!"
On the once-raucous mountaintop, the incessant screams and battle cries gradually grew sparse.
Streaks of white light, each signifying an elimination, flickered, rose, and vanished over the land stained red by blood and Evil Qi, like fireflies on a midsummer’s night.
And it wasn’t limited to Chu Bai and Ji Li’s area.
As the last Demon Beast fell, the other areas of the mountaintop also descended into chaotic infighting.
The squads that had been maintaining fragile alliances, no longer tempted by external prey, finally dropped all pretenses and turned on one another, fighting over the few remaining spots for advancement.
But no matter where else the fighting raged, none was as brutal or as terrifying as what was happening here.
The Alliance Army of more than twenty people, which had so menacingly set out to corner the strong, was now all but wiped out!
Chu Bai stood amidst the devastation, the ground beneath his feet scorched black as if seared by flames.
The Evil Qi swirling around him was no longer the dark red it had been before. It had condensed to an extreme, undergoing a chilling, qualitative transformation—
It was utterly pitch-black!
It was a blackness like ink, so deep it seemed to devour light, faintly coalescing behind him into the blurry, terrifying phantom of a Demon God.
And on the other side.
The same was true of Ji Li.
In pursuit of the ultimate killing speed, he had recklessly abandoned all defense, allowing attacks to land on his body. The white robes he wore, normally spotless, were now tattered and stained with blood and dirt. His long hair whipped wildly in the wind, giving him the appearance of a mad demon.
This was likely the most wretched and humiliating moment of this young noble’s entire life.
But he didn’t care.
Because the Power of Primordial Magnetism surging around him was also entwined with a black Evil Qi so dense it was inextricable.
The two of them had well and truly entered a killing frenzy.
And between them, all that remained of the once-vast pursuing force was a single person, standing all alone.
The student had long since collapsed to the ground, his eyes wide and pupils filled with unconcealable terror and despair.
The only reason he was still alive was not that he was stronger than Chem Wangming, nor was it because he possessed some heaven-defying technique.
It was purely... good luck.
An incomparably sharp silver Sword Qi whistled through the air, aimed straight for the spot between his eyebrows.
However, just as the tip of the sword was less than half an inch from his skin, a large hand condensed from pitch-black Evil Qi and Cloud Qi appeared out of thin air. It firmly gripped the blade, stopping it from advancing another inch!
At this moment, this last survivor had become a pawn in the power struggle between Chu Bai and Ji Li!
Neither was willing to let the other claim the final kill.
The student stared at the hovering Flying Sword and the terrifying giant hand, trembling so violently he couldn’t even utter a plea for mercy.
This feeling—of having no control over his own life or death, of only being able to watch two titans clash, knowing he could be obliterated at any moment—was simply more agonizing than death itself.
"So be it."
Ji Li looked at the Flying Sword blocked by Chu Bai. He wasn’t angered. Instead, he slowly withdrew his hand, his lips curling into a savage yet delighted smile.
"Now that the small fry have been cleared out, it’s time for you and me to have our real battle."
The fighting spirit in his bloodshot eyes burned like a flame.
"Bring it on."
Chu Bai dispersed the Cloud Qi from his hand as well. Though the toll had been enormous, the Evil Qi now blanketing his body made him feel better than ever.
He looked at Ji Li, his gaze unwavering.
The air between them seemed to solidify. An earth-shattering battle was on the verge of erupting.
However, at that very moment.
DONG—!
A deep, ancient tolling of a bell echoed between heaven and earth without warning.
It was followed by a second toll, then a third...
DONG! DONG! DONG...
Nine tolls in succession, the sound shaking the land and echoing across the sky above the entire Black Cloud Mountain Range.
At the same time, a majestic, grand voice that permitted no doubt pierced the clouds, reaching every corner:
"The top ten have been decided ahead of schedule."
It was the voice of Judge Li.
Chu Bai and Ji Li froze, the killing intent surging from them abruptly stagnating.
"The second round is over!"
With that declaration...
The sky overhead shattered like a mirror. The surrounding mountain forest, once so incredibly real, began to rapidly distort and dematerialize.
The Spirit Realm shattered.

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