"Brother Shen, that guy is so arrogant!" Long Zhen said indignantly, watching Gou Shi walk away.

Hearing this, Shen Haoran glanced at Long Zhen and said lightly, "There’s no need to waste words on him. Just teach him a proper lesson in the arena. Come on, the matches are about to start." With that, Shen Haoran descended from the Martial Arts Arena and quietly waited for the competition to begin.

A moment later, under the eager watch of the crowd, the final round of the Sect’s grand competition officially began!

"First match, number twenty-three versus number twenty-four. Contestants, to the stage!" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

As the announcement ended, two disciples walked onto the stage. Both of them were ranked in the top twenty of the Dragon and Tiger List. This match was destined to be a clash of titans!

At the referee’s signal, both fighters shot forward. The two figures slammed into each other in the center of the Martial Arts Arena, and a visible wave of Powerful Qi erupted outward from the point of impact.

The two of them went all out from the very start! It made sense. This was the final day of the competition, after all. There was no need for anyone to hold back or warm up. The surrounding atmosphere had already set their blood boiling, so the only thing to do was get straight to the fight!

The two figures clashed violently on the Martial Arts Arena, their speed so great it dazzled the spectators. At times, all the crowd could see were two afterimages against a blur of motion. But the constant "BAM! BAM!" of their impacts was enough to send a thrill through everyone’s heart!

Moreover, the fights today were completely incomparable to the first elimination round. The skill Level of the participating disciples was in another league entirely. This opening match alone was enough to completely ignite the crowd’s passion!

The battle on the Martial Arts Arena raged on, and the cheers from the audience shook the very heavens. The atmosphere was slowly building to a climax.

"BOOM!" After another fierce exchange on the Martial Arts Arena, the outcome was finally decided. The disciple with the higher rank on the Dragon and Tiger List won by a narrow margin, but he was left completely exhausted. After that battle, he had no energy left for any subsequent matches.

Following that, a series of even more intense battles unfolded before the crowd, much to their delight.

At one point, Shen Haoran also went up for a match against the disciple ranked thirtieth on the Dragon and Tiger List. His opponent was no pushover, and Shen Haoran had a thoroughly satisfying fight. He was nearly caught off guard by his opponent’s Secret Skill, but fortunately, Shen Haoran had held some power in reserve and managed to clinch a narrow victory.

"Brother Shen, you’re incredible! You actually forced your way into the top thirty of the Dragon and Tiger List with the strength of a Tier Four Spirit General. And from the looks of it, I bet you weren’t even using your full power!" Long Zhen said, his face full of admiration.

"Instead of focusing on that, you should be worrying about your own opponent," Long Mo said, giving Long Zhen a cool glance.

"Next match: Long Zhen versus Gou Shi!" The words had barely left Long Mo’s mouth when the referee called Long Zhen’s name.

"It’s my turn!" Long Zhen took a deep breath and stood up.

"Don’t push yourself. Fight if you can, but retreat if you can’t. Your life is more important," Shen Haoran advised in a serious tone as Long Zhen headed to the stage. ’Gou Shi is sinister and petty. He’ll probably be ruthless with Long Zhen.’

"I know!" Long Zhen replied with a nod, but his determined young face showed not the slightest hint of retreat.

Leaping onto the stage, he saw Gou Shi already standing opposite him, holding a small, embroidered fan and watching Long Zhen with a smirk.

"Little boy, are you ready? Big sister here just loves children like you... so fair-skinned and tender. I’m going to enjoy this immensely!" Gou Shi said with a sinister purr.

"Hmph, cut the crap, you disgusting pig! Let’s fight!" Long Zhen snapped, taking a combat stance. He had no desire to exchange another word with this freak.

"Since you’re in such a hurry to die, I’ll be happy to oblige!" Gou Shi sneered, and a violent aura suddenly erupted from him. The terrifying presence kicked up a storm of Spiritual Power, making the surrounding air feel heavy and oppressive. Gou Shi’s Spiritual Attribute had mutated to be partial to the Dark Attribute, which made his entire aura feel much more cold and sinister.

Seeing Gou Shi’s outburst, Long Zhen gave a sharp cry. A ghastly white flame surged forth, enveloping his body. Its scorching heat dispersed much of the surrounding chill.

This ghastly white flame was the companion Celestial Fire that Long Zhen had been born with. He called it the Netherworld White Flame. Like Long Mo’s Void Purple Flame, while it couldn’t compare to the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian, it was absolutely second to none and superior to all others in the Flame Realm!

Once the Netherworld White Flame surged forth, Long Zhen wasted no more time on words. He shot forward, charging at Gou Shi, the white flames on his body forming into a White Tiger that lunged with ferocious power.

Watching Long Zhen charge, a disdainful smile curled Gou Shi’s lips. His hands flew through a Seal Technique, and a curtain of black water roiled up behind him. Countless black water snakes shot out from it, twisting toward Long Zhen’s White Tiger.

The next moment, the tiger and snakes met. As incompatible as Water and Fire, they clashed with a series of sizzling hisses, and a great cloud of steam rose into the air.

Long Zhen glanced at the clash between his White Tiger and the water snakes, then charged directly at Gou Shi himself.

"BAM!"

He threw a punch that created sonic booms as it shot toward Gou Shi’s chest. But, faced with such a ferocious blow, Gou Shi didn’t even attempt to dodge, simply standing there with an unnerving calm.

"THUD!"

With a muffled sound, just as Long Zhen’s fist was about to strike Gou Shi, a cloud of black mist abruptly appeared and intercepted the attack!

Long Zhen frowned, flashed to the side, and attacked from a different angle. He became a shadow, unleashing a flurry of punches so dense it was like a wall, sealing off all of Gou Shi’s paths of retreat.

However, Long Zhen’s efforts seemed futile. Gou Shi had no intention of retreating at all. Black mist swirled around his body, and whenever Long Zhen’s attack was about to land, it would be blocked by the mist—even his most unexpected strikes!

"Absolute Defense. That’s Gou Shi’s Absolute Defense. An unbreakable defense, no matter where you attack from!" Zi Mo said grimly from below the stage.

Hearing this, Shen Haoran and the others all frowned. ’Absolute Defense isn’t truly absolute,’ Shen Haoran thought. ’It’s just that the power gap between Long Zhen and Gou Shi is too large for Long Zhen to break through. If he can’t get past that defense, he’s in real danger.’

"BOOM!"

Long Zhen attacked with another punch, but unfortunately, his attack was once again blocked by the black mist. Seeing this, he leaped back, his chest heaving. That flurry of attacks had consumed a great deal of his stamina.

"Hee hee hee, little boy, did you forget to eat today? Is that all the strength you have?" Gou Shi tittered, covering his mouth with a disdainful hand.

"Hmph! I haven’t even gotten serious yet. You just wait!" Long Zhen snorted, glaring at the black mist. He then took a deep breath, and the Netherworld White Flame within him began to rage. A violent aura exploded from within his body. The ghastly white flame enveloped his fist, and he transformed into a bolt of lightning, once again hurtling toward Gou Shi with ferocious momentum.

"White Tiger Roar!"