However, the top-ranked seeds such as Ling Han and Gu Daoyi were all divided into the 16 different brackets. This way, they wouldn’t come across each other until the final group of 16.
The compet.i.tion began, and everyone wanted to make a name for themselves. Each battle was of utmost importance, and each compet.i.tor fought with their full power. All kinds of secret techniques were unleashed, and high-level G.o.d Tools also appeared one after another. There were many cases of underdogs emerging as the final victor.
If they possessed a G.o.d Tool or Saint Tool, those at the Heavenly Body Tier could also unleash a battle prowess that was on par with the Eternal River Tier. Thus, if their opponents weren’t at the Eternal River Tier, or if they didn’t also possess a G.o.d Tool, they would naturally suffer defeat.
However, Ling Han didn’t come across any such opponent. He won the first battle with ease, and it was much the same for the second battle.
At this moment, the number of compet.i.tors had already been reduced to just 225 people.
They drew lots again. 31 people had no opponent, and could thus automatically advance to the next round. After this round, the number of compet.i.tors would be further reduced to just 128 people. At that time, there would be no weak compet.i.tors remaining. They would all be rank two or rank three king tiers. Meanwhile, most rank two king tiers possessed powerful G.o.d Tools, so they wouldn’t necessarily be afraid of the rank three king tiers, either.
Ling Han’s next opponent was one such a rank two king tier. They were at the consummate level of the Heavenly Body Tier, and they were more so holding a Pseudo-Saint Tool in their hands.
This person was none other than Nie Tiancheng.
“Ling Han!” There was a dark expression on Nie Tiancheng’s face. He had been “ambushed” by Ling Han in the Sunken Abyss Valley, causing him to fall to the floor of the valley. That had been utterly humiliating!
He didn’t feel that he was weaker than Ling Han. Rather, he felt that he had only been defeated because his cultivation level had been suppressed too much. If they had battled against each other at full power, he was confident that he could have suppressed Ling Han with a single hand! However, in the end, Ling Han had ascended the golden boulder and obtained the bulk of the benefits. Meanwhile, he had fallen to the floor of the valley again. This caused him to detest Ling Han even more.
Right now, his cultivation level wasn’t being suppressed anymore. Moreover, he also had a Pseudo-Saint Tool in his hands. Thus, suppressing Ling Han would be mere child’s play!
So what if Ling Han was the second disciple to be recruited? Humph!
“Today… I’m going to exact my revenge!” he said balefully.
Ling Han shook his head. This person was truly a self-centered being. What had he done wrong?
They had been teammates at that time, yet Nie Tiancheng and Shan Jingyi had actually tried to steal Empress Luan Xing from him. Afterward, they had committed all kinds of reprehensible acts, trying to ambush and attack Ling Han. Thus, Ling Han had no choice but to act first.
How could they blame him?
“You’re asking for a beating!” Ling Han had never been a good-tempered person, and his expression instantly became cold. He reached toward Nie Tiancheng.
Nie Tiancheng still thought that Ling Han was only at the medium extreme of the Heavenly Body Tier. However, after the compet.i.tion in the Sunken Abyss Valley, Ling Han had already advanced to the pinnacle level of the Heavenly Body Tier. He had advanced even further now, and he had already broken through to the Eternal River Tier.
Even if Ling Han hadn’t engraved 10 killing formations inside his body, he would have still possessed the ability to battle against an Eternal River Tier cultivator, even if they possessed a Pseudo-Saint Tool. Right now? Heh, the result was already set in stone.
A cold smile stretched across Nie Tiancheng’s face. Ling Han was actively charging over to attack him? Just how audacious was he?
However, a stunned expression instantly appeared on his face.
What? Why was Ling Han’s attack so overwhelming? It was as if even heaven and earth were about to collapse!
‘Holy f*ck! This isn’t the medium extreme of the Heavenly Body Tier!’
He hurriedly activated his Pseudo-Saint Tool. The peach branch lit up, releasing a fragrance that spread five kilometers into the surroundings.
Peng!
He was instantly sent flying back. However, his Pseudo-Saint Tool finally managed to unleash its might and block Ling Han’s attack. After all, Ling Han was afraid of accidentally killing this ant, so he hadn’t attacked with his full strength.
“Pu!” Nie Tiancheng coughed up a mouthful of blood. He had only been struck by the remnant shock waves, but just how powerful was Ling Han at this moment? He had only been sc.r.a.ped by the shock waves, yet he was still wounded.
“How is this possible?!” he shouted. There was a dumbfounded look on his face.
How could he not be stunned?
Around 11 or 12 years ago, Ling Han had still only been at the medium extreme of the Heavenly Body Tier. Now, however, he had actually advanced to the Eternal River Tier? How could this be? It was simply unfathomable!
He had definitely received huge benefits from the gigantic golden boulder!
Nie Tiancheng gritted his teeth in anger. At that time, he had fallen to the floor of the valley, and failed to receive any benefits. Thus, he had left in disappointment and despondence. He hadn’t returned after that, and thus he wasn’t aware that Ling Han had engaged in an intense battle with Gu Daoyi.
Upon seeing Ling Han being recruited second, he had thought that this was because he had ascended the gigantic golden boulder. In other words, he had never taken Ling Han’s strength seriously.
Only now did he finally realize that Ling Han’s cultivation level had already surpa.s.sed his!
“Detestable brat!” he spat through gritted teeth. In his eyes, if it weren’t for Ling Han, he could have definitely obtained huge benefits in the Sunken Abyss Valley and reached the Eternal River Tier by now.
He didn’t reflect on his own actions at all, instead s.h.i.+fting all of the blame onto Ling Han. The more he looked, the more detestable Ling Han appeared. He waved his right arm and activated his Pseudo-Saint Tool with all of his might.
If he could activate the full power of the Pseudo-Saint Tool, the might that he unleashed could be on par with the pinnacle level of the Eternal River Tier. It would be equivalent to forming 2,000,000 heavenly bodies. However, it was a shame that his cultivation level was still far too low. After using his full strength, he could only unleash a might that was on par with the early stage of the medium extreme of the Eternal River Tier.
However, this was already very impressive. This was enough to kill elites at the low extreme of the Eternal River Tier and rival elites at the medium extreme of the Eternal River Tier.
“Die!” He raised the peach branch and swept it toward Ling Han. A pink halo burst into the surroundings, bringing with it a devastating might.
Of course, he was only shouting this in anger. Even if he were 100 times more courageous, he still wouldn’t dare to kill someone in the academy—unless it was by accident. However, he detested Ling Han far too much, so he wouldn’t feel comfortable unless he shouted for him to die.
Pa!
Ling Han’s palm lashed out, and he slapped him across the face. There was a loud and crisp crack.
Nie Tiancheng was instantly sent flying. His mouth hung wide open, and he couldn’t help but spit out several broken teeth. There was a shocked expression on his face.
He had activated his Pseudo-Saint Tool with his full power, yet he had still been struck by Ling Han?
He genuinely couldn’t defeat him!
There was a bitter feeling in his mind. However, he could continue to bide his time and exact his revenge in the future!
The Star Sand Martial Arts Academy was a place of boundless miracles. Perhaps he was no match for Ling Han now, but this didn’t represent that he would be no match for him forever. He was a rank two king tier, and he had the potential to become a rank three king tier. Once he broke through to the Eternal River Tier, his strength would be no weaker than that of Ling Han.
As such, was there any need to be stubborn now? Since Ling Han could surpa.s.s him, why couldn’t he also surpa.s.s Ling Han?
“I admit—”
Pa!
He was just about to admit defeat, yet a large shadow instantly appeared before his eyes. This was a large hand, and it aggressively forced him to swallow the words on the tip of his tongue.
‘This… Are you trying to f*cking torture me? I was just about to admit defeat!’
Nie Tiancheng was infuriated. He hadn’t imagined that Ling Han would be so sinister!
Peng!
With this thought in mind, he suffered another blow to his face. He was almost about to be knocked silly.
According to the rules, there were three ways that a battle could end. The first was if someone was pushed off the arena, the second was if one lost the ability to battle, and the third was if someone actively admitted defeat. However, Ling Han had forcefully stopped him from admitting defeat, and he didn’t push him off the arena, either. Instead, he focused on smacking his face around. However, he didn’t use too much power, and nothing he did would cause the battle to end.
Thus, even though there were many Eternal River Tier elites observing the battle, there was nothing more they could do to help.
Ling Han and Nie Tiancheng were still battling, so how could they conclude the battle?
“Impressive! I respect that you’re a true man. You’re unwilling to yield even in the face of death!” Ling Han said as he continued to slap Nie Tiancheng.
‘Respect your mom! Unwilling to yield my a*ss!’
Nie Tiancheng was already on the verge of tears. This was far too vexing. Ling Han had already won, so why was he still intent on torturing him?
Pa, pa, pa!
Ling Han continued to slap his face.