A dark glint shot toward the back of Lu Chao’s head. It was the killing blow of a terrifying assassin, a life-stealing hidden blade.

But...

When the dark glint pierced the back of Lu Chao’s head, the person behind him discovered that Lu Chao was merely an afterimage.

The hidden blade had struck nothing but air.

The next instant, Lu Chao’s voice sounded in the man’s ear. "I too was a Death Warrior Assassin for a time. A technique like yours is merely entry-level."

As his voice faded...

The assassin subconsciously glanced to his left, but a sharp pain suddenly erupted from his right.

Then, Lu Chao’s voice echoed in his ear once more. "Just a little trick of Shifting Form and Shadow. You are... the seventh!"

The assassin’s eyes widened. Slowly, the color drained from them as he collapsed.

Lu Chao was back where he started, as if he had never moved. The only difference was that the long spear was no longer in his hand; it was still embedded in the sixth man’s body, dripping with blood.

He stood there silently amidst the seven corpses, yet not a single drop of blood stained his clothes.

The entire martial arts arena fell deathly silent.

Whether it was Zeng Quan and the other Beast Flame higher-ups, the members of the University and Small Institutes, or the crowd from Dragon Flame Academy, everyone stared dumbly at Lu Chao. One by one, subconsciously... GULP!

The sound of swallowing broke the dead silence, yet no one uttered a word.

Even Zheng Zhuhe, the top prodigy of the Saint Bone Zheng Family, had a pale face. He roared inwardly, ’This is fake. It’s impossible.’

He was in the Transformation Realm, arguably the strongest student at Beast Flame Academy.

But now, a deep-seated fear suddenly bloomed in his heart.

Marquis Longyin murmured, "That last one was the assassin from the Leopard Institute I told Lu Chao about... but wasn’t that a little too easy?"

Meanwhile, Dongfang Ren stood at the very top of the spectator stands, his pupils constricting repeatedly.

’How does someone even train to have such killing techniques and reflexes?’

Even Dongfang Ren found Lu Chao terrifying. So young, yet so dreadful. Not one of them had been able to withstand a single move. All seven of the Innate Ninth Layer experts had been killed instantly.

In the section with the Beast Flame Academy higher-ups, Li Wumian’s voice trembled. "The fake Lu Chao... he must die. We have to kill him."

His voice finally snapped everyone back to their senses.

GRIND... CRACK...

The sound of grinding teeth and cracking knuckles emanated from every one of the Beast Flame higher-ups.

It was as if they were looking at some terrifying entity.

It was as if they were seeing a vision from ten years in the future, a vision of Lu Chao, having caught up to their realm, slaughtering them one by one.

Just then, Lu Chao’s voice rang out. "Zeng Quan, shouldn’t you be announcing that Liyan Academy has become the first Outer Courtyard?"

The moment he spoke, everyone from Liyan Academy stared with their mouths agape. ’We... we made it into the Beast Flame Outer Courtyard?’

Zeng Quan took a harsh breath and announced in a low voice, "Liyan Academy has passed the third trial and secured the first Outer Courtyard spot."

One of the twenty Outer Courtyard spots had been claimed.

The members of Liyan Academy couldn’t help but erupt... ROAR!

However, they only cheered for a single breath before stopping. The atmosphere felt wrong. There was none of the elation they expected; the way they had passed was simply too passive, too bizarre.

Suddenly, Zeng Quan’s voice boomed across the arena again. "Third trial, second match: Dragon Flame Academy."

At his words, the entire arena was stunned.

’Didn’t Dragon Flame Academy draw number thirty?’

The next moment, Zeng Quan’s voice rose again. "I am now moving Dragon Flame Academy to the second match. Does anyone have any objections?"

’This is getting more and more absurd!’

"Fake Lu Chao, do you object?" Zeng Quan demanded.

He had completely dropped the pretense, moving the final showdown forward.

They planned to send out the legendary strongest Innate realm cultivator from the Tiger Institute to eliminate Dragon Flame Academy in one fell swoop.

Lu Chao raised his head, his gaze cold, and replied on the spot, "I agree."

THUD...

Zeng Quan took a step forward, his gaze sweeping over the remaining academies that had passed. "And you?" he asked.

The representatives from the other academies glanced at each other. ’Do we even have the right to object?’ they thought.

In the end, of course, all the deans came forward and voiced their agreement.

"Good. Since everyone agrees, the students of Dragon Flame Academy may now come forth," Zeng Quan announced heavily.

Luo Wendeng and the others slowly rose, flashing one by one into the martial arts arena. Including Wu Caicai, there were ten of them in total.

With Lu Chao, that made eleven.

In the stands, Cheng Yunsu also slowly rose to her feet.

But Lu Chao suddenly looked over. The couple’s eyes met in midair, and Cheng Yunsu sat back down.

She spoke softly to Sun Shijin beside her. "Lu Chao is telling me to wait. This second match will be anything but simple."

Of course, Cheng Yunsu understood the meaning in Lu Chao’s eyes.

He wanted her to be a trump card, to wait and see what kind of opponent Zeng Quan would send out in this second match.

If Lu Chao could handle it alone, there would be no need for her to intervene. But if Luo Wendeng and the others couldn’t cope, she could strike when least expected.

Once the Dragon Flame students were in place, Zeng Quan spoke again. "Now, the seven Innate Ninth Layer students from the Seven Great Inner Courtyards, come forth!"

And so, six students—one from the Celestial King Institute and one from each of the other five institutes—walked into the martial arts arena.

This time, they weren’t older, more experienced fighters, but actual students from their Inner Courtyards.

Time had been too short the previous night. The best they could find had already been chosen, and Lu Chao had just killed all of them. This wasn’t to say, of course, that the Seven Great Inner Courtyards had no other Innate Ninth Layer cultivators with ample combat experience.

It was just that the remaining ones were all obviously too old.

And since they weren’t as skilled as the first seven, they weren’t that much stronger than the students anyway.

If they were too old, Fan Jinhua from Dragon Flame Academy would likely jump out and point out that they were mentors, not students.

But the main reason, of course, was that Zeng Quan and the others had absolute confidence in the champion from the Tiger Institute.

At this moment, the champion from the Tiger Institute had been summoned by the Dean of the Tiger Institute to stand with Zeng Quan and the other higher-ups. He looked to be about thirty years old.

A long scar ran across his face, and the corners of his mouth were twisted into a cruel smirk.

The Dean of the Tiger Institute asked in a low voice, "Chang Yuan, you saw the fake Lu Chao’s fight. Are you confident?"

Chang Yuan gently stroked the scar on his face and couldn’t help but laugh. "A decent opponent," he replied. "It’s a shame he’s only at the Innate Sixth Layer. It would be more interesting if he were at the Innate Ninth Layer."

With that, Chang Yuan threw on the robes of the Tiger Institute and strode toward the center of the martial arts arena.

His words had already answered the question of his confidence. To him, the fake Lu Chao, at a mere Innate Sixth Layer, wasn’t enough of a thrill.

And just like that, Chang Yuan appeared before the entire crowd.

His appearance immediately drew every eye. It was as if he was the natural center of attention, possessing an aura that commanded notice and made one’s skin crawl.

Suddenly, a voice cried out, "It’s him! He’s Tiger Flame Chang Yuan!"