Suddenly, Zhou Wenjie felt as if struck by a massive boulder. He was sent flying backward, tracing an arc through the air before crashing into the plaza hundreds of meters away. Covered in blood and with a faint breath, he was already in a severely injured state.
On the arena, Lin Xuan slowly withdrew his palm, his expression calm. It was as if he had merely done something trivial.
The spectators in the stands watched this scene, first falling silent, then erupting into lively commotion. "Zhou Wenjie was defeated just like that? A one-shot kill?!" "As expected of the fifth公子-level genius of our Red Sun Domain—so powerful!" "This probably isn't far off from the other four公子, right?" "And he achieved this at the Spirit Opening Realm, which shows Lin Xuan's talent might even surpass the four公子!" "It seems our Red Sun Domain might produce another prodigy!" "..."
The crowd exclaimed endlessly, buzzing with discussion. All eyes were fixed on Lin Xuan, filled with extreme shock.
Given Lin Xuan's previous astonishing feats, everyone knew he would win this match. The only suspense was how many moves Zhou Wenjie could withstand. In their view, although Zhou Wenjie would ultimately lose, he should at least hold out for a dozen exchanges. After all, Zhou Wenjie wasn't far behind. As the second-ranked junior disciple of the Red Flame Kingdom's royal family, he was a top-tier genius in the Red Sun Domain, second only to the four公子. He even had a record of holding his ground for over ten moves against an early Spirit Yuan Realm opponent.
But no one expected that under Zhou Wenjie's full-force strike, Lin Xuan casually swatted away his attack with a single palm. Then counterattacked, sending Zhou Wenjie flying and heavily injured on the spot. It was a clear one-shot kill. The gap was so vast that the two seemed to be on completely different levels. And this was despite Lin Xuan being a whole cultivation level lower than Zhou Wenjie.
The onlookers stared from afar, stunned for a long time, unable to accept it. Lin Xuan's strength seemed to surpass even some early Spirit Yuan Realm cultivators. Yet his cultivation was only at the eighth layer of the Spirit Opening Realm, not even at its peak. This highlighted his extraordinary talent, likely surpassing even the four公子 by a notch. If that were the case, wouldn't that mean Lin Xuan was the number one genius of the Red Sun Domain, not Zhang Yuchen?
At this thought, the crowd grew even more horrified. They were utterly shaken by Lin Xuan's terrifying talent, unable to contain themselves.
On the surrounding stands, the four公子 also fixed their gazes on Lin Xuan, their expressions solemn. In this match, Lin Xuan clearly hadn't used his true strength. A casual palm strike had sent Zhou Wenjie flying and gravely injured. Its power had already surpassed the Spirit Opening Realm, reaching the level of the Spirit Yuan Realm.
And they could discern some clues from Lin Xuan's strike. It was clearly a very ordinary palm, without any martial arts, true qi, or intent—just the sheer force of his physical strength creating a gust of wind. Yet even so, its power was this terrifying. His physical strength was so formidable that even the four公子, including Zhang Yuchen, felt inferior.
Though they didn't know if physical strength was Lin Xuan's strongest attack, it was undeniable that he was still hiding most of his power. He was already on par with them, the Spirit Yuan Realm cultivators, without any disadvantage. And Lin Xuan was only at the eighth layer of the Spirit Opening Realm, a full major realm and several minor realms below them. They too were secretly alarmed by his talent. At the very least, when they were at the Spirit Opening Realm, they couldn't achieve such strength.
At the same time, their hearts grew heavy. If they were to lose to Lin Xuan like this, their reputation as the four公子 would be utterly ruined. But they had little confidence in defeating Lin Xuan. All they could do was give it their all. Even as the four公子, they no longer dared to underestimate Lin Xuan in the slightest.
At the top of the eastern platform, Fire Yuan True Person glanced at Lin Xuan, his smile deepening. He gave an almost imperceptible nod.
On the arena, Lin Xuan looked at the attribute panel floating in the void before him, watching the energy points surge, and a hint of amusement flickered in his eyes. Not bad this time. This was exactly the effect he wanted.
Then, he dismissed the attribute panel and turned to the referee beside him. The referee was still in a daze, snapping back to reality only when he felt Lin Xuan's gaze. He glanced at Lin Xuan with a complex expression, never expecting the match to end so quickly. Lin Xuan's strength was so great that even he might not be able to take him down. He was undoubtedly a formidable rival for the sect's prodigy, Zhang Yuchen.
But then he recalled that Lin Xuan was only at the eighth layer of the Spirit Opening Realm, not even at its peak, and still far from the Spirit Yuan Realm. Meanwhile, Zhang Yuchen was at the second layer of the Spirit Yuan Realm and could fight above his level, rivaling many mid-Spirit Yuan Realm cultivators. Even he was no match for Zhang Yuchen. With that thought, he relaxed.
Then, he announced loudly: "This match, Lin Xuan wins, advancing to the top ten!"
As the words fell, the arena erupted into another wave of noise. Lin Xuan used this opportunity to harvest another batch of energy points. He leaped off the arena and, under the gaze of nearly everyone present, returned to his seat in the stands.
The second round continued. Time flowed like water. Unnoticed, several dozen minutes passed.
The second round, from twenty to ten, consisted of only ten matches. Before long, it neared its end and concluded entirely. Among those advancing to the top ten, only Lin Xuan and Liu Qianyu remained from the Cang Yuan Kingdom. Chen Hanshuang and Sun Yuwen were both eliminated. And since both were disciples of the Flowing Cloud Sect, it made the various forces marvel at the sect's rising prominence.
As for the non-eight-major-force disciple who had entered the top twenty, he too was eliminated. The remaining eight in the top ten were all disciples of the Red Flame Kingdom's three major forces. This showcased the Red Flame Kingdom's strength, far beyond that of the Cang Yuan Kingdom and other forces.
On the eastern platform, the Great Elder of the Sun Origin Sect once again descended onto the third arena, scanning the crowd, and said: "The second round ends here. Zhang Yuchen, Chen Feng, Zhou Wenhao, Wu Xin, Lin Xuan... ten have advanced to the top ten. Next is the third round: one-on-one matches to advance to the top five. The matchups have been decided. Let's begin!"
With that, he leaped off the arena and returned to the eastern stands. The five mid-Spirit Yuan Realm referees each jumped onto their respective arenas and announced: "Arena one: Wu Xin versus Liu Qianyu!" "Arena two: Zhang Yuchen versus Zhou Ran!" "..." "Arena five: Lin Xuan versus Chen Xing!"
As expected, across the five arenas, Lin Xuan and the four公子 all took the stage. But they didn't clash with each other, instead facing the other five contestants. This was to avoid an early confrontation between Lin Xuan and the four公子. The crowd understood this and waited silently. This round wouldn't take long to yield results. The truly exciting matches would come in the next round.