The morning of the Blood Trials Tournament arrived, bringing with it a charged atmosphere.
Xiao Lan and Xiao Qing stood at the massive iron gates of the tournament grounds, surrounded by hundreds of cultivators—each one brimming with power and dangerous intent.
The air was thick with tension.
The weak avoided eye contact. The strong measured each other with cold, calculating gazes.
And at the center of it all—Xiao Lan smirked.
"Smell that?" he muttered.
Xiao Qing raised an eyebrow. "Smell what?"
Xiao Lan's eyes gleamed. "The scent of battle."
She sighed. "You really are insane."
A booming horn suddenly rang through the air, signaling the start of the event.
The iron gates creaked open, revealing a massive coliseum-style battlefield.
It was far larger than the underground arenas of Black Hollow, designed to accommodate hundreds of warriors at once.
On a raised stone platform, a robed figure stood—his presence commanding absolute authority.
This was the Tournament Overseer.
"Welcome to the Blood Trials Tournament!" his voice thundered.
"You all have come here for one purpose—to prove your worth through battle. Some of you will rise. Some of you will fall. And some of you will never leave this arena alive."
A cold silence followed his words.
This was no mere tournament—it was a battlefield where only the strongest survived.
"Now…" the Overseer lifted his hand.
"Let the first round begin!"
The ground rumbled as the fighters charged into the battlefield.
The first round was simple:
Only half of the competitors would advance. The rest would either surrender—or die.
Xiao Lan wasted no time.
He vanished into motion, his feet a blur as he dashed toward the first opponent in his path—a dual-sword cultivator with a vicious grin.
The man slashed—
Too slow.
Xiao Lan dodged effortlessly, weaving through the attacks like a shadow in the wind.
Then, with one precise palm strike—
CRACK!
The man's chest caved in, and he crumpled like a broken doll.
Xiao Lan didn't stop.
He spun around, narrowly avoiding a spear thrust from another fighter—a muscular warrior with a bronze-ranked Dao aura.
"Die!" the man roared, thrusting his spear forward.
Xiao Lan caught it mid-air.
The warrior's eyes widened in horror—
Before Xiao Lan yanked the spear from his grip and snapped it in two.
Then came the counterattack—a brutal elbow strike to the jaw, followed by a devastating kick that sent the man flying across the battlefield.
The crowd roared.
One after another, warriors fell before Xiao Lan.
His movements were too fast, too precise, his strikes devastatingly lethal.
Within minutes—
He had already defeated seven cultivators.
But as he turned to find his next opponent—
He saw something that made his blood boil with excitement.
A true challenger had arrived.
A massive shadow loomed over Xiao Lan.
Draug—the brute from the tavern.
Blood dripped from his axe, the corpses of at least five fallen cultivators lying behind him.
He grinned, his teeth stained red.
"Still alive, brat?"
Xiao Lan smirked. "Disappointed?"
Draug laughed. "Not at all. It just means I get to kill you myself."
With a sudden burst of speed, Draug swung his axe in a monstrous arc—
A blow powerful enough to split a man in two.
But Xiao Lan didn't move.
He stood his ground.
Then, at the last possible moment—
He caught the axe with his bare hands.
The impact sent a shockwave through the battlefield, kicking up dust and debris.
Draug's eyes widened.
"What—?"
Xiao Lan grinned.
"Too slow."
Then, with a sudden twist of his wrist—
CRACK!
He snapped the axe handle in half.
Draug stumbled back in shock. "Impossible—!"
But Xiao Lan didn't let him recover.
He lunged forward, delivering a devastating series of blows—each one faster and heavier than the last.
A punch to the ribs—CRACK!
A knee to the gut—BOOM!
A final palm strike to the chest—BANG!
Draug collapsed to his knees, coughing up blood.
Xiao Lan stood over him.
"You talk too much," he muttered.
Then, with a final kick, he sent Draug crashing out of the battlefield, knocking him unconscious.
The Overseer raised his hand.
"Winner: Xiao Lan!"
The crowd erupted into cheers and whispers.
"The newcomer… took down Draug?"
"Who is this guy?!"
"He's a monster!"
Xiao Lan cracked his knuckles.
He wasn't just here to win.
He was here to dominate.
By the end of the first round, only fifty warriors remained.
Xiao Qing approached him, shaking her head.
"You just had to make a scene, didn't you?" she sighed.
Xiao Lan shrugged. "I'm just getting warmed up."
She chuckled. "You're unbelievable."
The Tournament Overseer stepped forward once more.
"Congratulations to the survivors," he announced.
"But do not celebrate just yet."
His eyes gleamed.
"The second round will be even more brutal."
A hush fell over the crowd.
Everyone knew—
The real battle was just beginning.
And Xiao Lan?
He couldn't wait.