Shock... and more shock.

Everyone stared at the scene on the stage in disbelief.

No one had expected the fight to end like this.

That saber strike was simply breathtaking!

"The Blood Tiger Saber?"

Shi Bai Mountain’s eyes narrowed. He recognized the origins of Bai Yuan’s martial arts at a single glance.

He turned to Dong Wanjun with a grim expression. "This boy is using an Evil Saber Technique. Peak Master Dong, you should clean your own house."

Dong Wanjun didn’t even raise an eyelid. "You’ve cultivated evil techniques yourself. Should I, this old man, kill you too?"

Shi Bai Mountain was instantly choked with anger.

He had, in fact, practiced evil arts—and more than one.

In reality, most of the Thirteen Peaks Peak Masters had practiced evil arts. It was an open secret.

A flash of surprise also crossed Murong Tian’s eyes.

However, he wasn’t surprised by Bai Yuan’s saber technique, but by his cultivation level.

The Strong Organ Pass!

The young man looked no older than twenty, yet he had already reached the Strong Organ Pass. Such progress was nothing short of genius.

Of course, the Divine Mansion Sect did have a few other monstrous talents like Bai Yuan.

Without exception, they were all descendants of the Thirteen Peaks Peak Masters.

These individuals began their martial training from childhood, never lacking for Spirit Pills or monster meat. Their progress was naturally a thousand miles a day. The fastest among them had broken through to the Strong Organ Pass at the tender age of eighteen.

This was something unimaginable in Qinghe County.

An eighteen-year-old Strong Internal Martial Artist was simply too terrifying.

Progress in the Martial Dao was a matter of one step fast, every step fast. The children of poor families simply couldn’t compare to the scions of great clans.

Below the stage, You Shengnan and Xiongshan were even more shocked.

Others might not know, but how could they not? This junior brother of theirs had only broken through the Tendon Changing stage a year ago. Just half a year after entering the sect, he had broken through to the Strong Organ Pass.

This rate of advancement was no slower than that of Old Dong and Murong Tian back in their day!

"A monster. A true monster."

You Shengnan murmured.

Dong Wanjun continued to gaze at the Dragon Gate Platform, his expression unchanging.

Although Bai Yuan had concealed his breakthrough to the Strong Organ Pass well, it hadn’t escaped his eyes. He had known about it for some time, so of course he wasn’t surprised.

The Feishi Peak disciple whose arm had been severed was covered in sweat from the pain.

He struggled to his feet, intending to leave the stage.

But just as he stood up—

a shadow fell over him.

Bai Yuan stood there, his face cold, as beads of blood dripped from the tip of his curved saber.

"You... what do you want?"

The Feishi Peak disciple looked up at the young man looming over him, and a sense of terror welled up in his heart.

Before the horrified eyes of the crowd, Bai Yuan raised his curved saber once again.

"AHH..."

A bloodcurdling scream rang out as the Feishi Peak disciple’s right foot was severed at the ankle!

Missing a hand and a foot, the Feishi Peak disciple was now crippled for life.

GULP...

The crowd below the stage swallowed hard.

’As expected of Dong Wanjun’s disciple. So ruthless, so cold-blooded.’

He had clearly already won, and his opponent had already paid a price, yet the young man on the stage still moved to cripple him completely. Such vicious and cruel methods were bone-chilling.

In the end, it was Murong Tian who had his disciples go on stage and carry the Feishi Peak disciple away.

A dead silence fell before the Flying Dragon Platform.

For a moment, no one else was willing to go on stage.

The young man on stage was simply too brutal. The scene just now had made the hands of these disciples, who had not witnessed much slaughter, tremble.

Seeing this, the corners of Murong Tian’s mouth curved upward.

’Good kid.’

The best way to deal with a wolf pack is to kill the lead wolf as quickly as possible. Only by suppressing the pack with sheer momentum can one survive. The same is true for dealing with people.

No one was willing to be the first to go up and be crippled by Bai Yuan, only to create an opportunity for others.

Human nature has always been this way.

Shi Bai Mountain’s expression turned extremely ugly. He had not expected today’s events to develop to this point.

Just then, a man with a chiseled face leaped onto the Dragon Gate Platform.

Seeing who it was, the crowd below let out a collective gasp.

The man was none other than Dao Ji, currently the number one Outer Disciple in the Divine Mansion Sect.

It was said he was originally a Ghostwriter from an Outer State who had been noticed and taken in by a Peak Master. Unlike the Martial Artists from the great clans within the Divine Mansion Sect, who had never weathered real storms, he had killed countless people. An absolutely ruthless character.

All the Outer Disciples believed that once the Dragon Gate Platform opened, his promotion to Inner Sect Disciple was a foregone conclusion.

They never expected Dao Ji to actually show up.

Seeing Dao Ji ascend the Dragon Gate Platform, Shi Bai Mountain’s smile returned.

Although Dao Ji was not a disciple of his Feishi Peak, he had heard of him. Every Ghostwriter was a hardened killer who lived on the edge, possessing immense killing power.

Of course, it was precisely because they pursued ultimate killing power through mixed and impure methods that their breakthroughs were generally very slow.

Dao Ji was already considered a genius, yet he only broke through to the Strong Organ Pass at the age of thirty.

As for Blood Refinement, that would be even slower. He might even be stuck at the Strong Organ Pass for the rest of his life. This was all too common for Ghostwriters. Otherwise, if being a Ghostwriter was so great, the world would have long since swarmed to become them. Who would bother being a disciple of the Divine Mansion Sect?

However, on the Dragon Gate Platform, these shortcomings were irrelevant.

Because here, only absolute strength mattered.

An interested expression finally appeared on Dong Wanjun’s face.

He had some impression of this disciple named Dao Ji, as they walked a similar path. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that Dong Wanjun was the pinnacle of all Ghostwriters in Huanglong Prefecture.

But to everyone’s surprise—

after stepping onto the Dragon Gate Platform, Dao Ji neither drew his saber nor made any other move. He simply sat down cross-legged.

The man actually began to sleep...

Everyone who saw this felt their mouths twitch uncontrollably. What a fucking weirdo.

Bai Yuan watched his opponent with great interest.

’He knows what Dao Ji is thinking. It isn’t posturing, nor is it foolish. It is simply the pursuit of maximum advantage.’

If Dao Ji were to fight now, he would have to face new opponents even if he won. It was better to drag things out until the very end. Sleeping was a way to recover his energy to its absolute peak.

As a Ghostwriter, the first rule was to respect every opponent, because every Ghostwriter who didn’t respect their opponents was already dead.

Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit.

Even if his opponent today had been a mere Skin Grinding Martial Master, Dao Ji would have done the exact same thing.

Bai Yuan wasn’t in a hurry to act either. Someone was helping him stall for time, so he had no reason to refuse. He simply lay down as well.

Sleeping on the Dragon Gate Platform was actually quite comfortable, if a little too sunny.

Murong Tian chuckled when he saw this.

"Two interesting little fellows."

Shi Bai Mountain snorted coldly.

’You’d better win.’

He only hoped Dao Ji could defeat Bai Yuan. If his hand "slipped" and he killed him, that would be even better.

Just as the crowd was growing impatient, Dao Ji slowly opened his eyes.

He glanced at the sky. The time was right.

Just enough time for him to defeat the young man before him.

Now, only he and Bai Yuan remained on the stage. According to the rules, no third person could come up.

Bai Yuan also stood up and faced Dao Ji.

"Junior Brother Bai, please..."

Before the word "please" was even finished, the long saber at Dao Ji’s waist had somehow appeared three feet from Bai Yuan’s face.

BANG...

With a flick of his right hand, Bai Yuan unleashed a large cloud of red mist that exploded outward.

Dao Ji: "Fuck!"