As the first round of arena battles concluded one after another, the second round's matchups immediately appeared on the massive main light screen at the center of the martial grounds. Golden names began their frantic scrolling once more.

  "Ding!"

  With a crisp chime, the screen froze, revealing a matchup that instantly sent the entire venue into an uproar.

  [Second Arena: Punishment Hall's Lin Yan VS Inner Sect Elite Lin Cheng]

  As the first heavyweight among the four seeded contestants to take the stage, the moment Lin Yan's name appeared, it acted like a magnet, instantly drawing the gazes of thousands.

  "Roar—!"

  The Punishment Hall disciples, silent for two full months, erupted with earth-shaking roars.

  They had been stifled for too long.

  The humiliation at West Mountain Swamp, and the frustration of being suppressed by the Medicine Hall during this period—they desperately needed a crushing, overwhelming victory to wash it all away!

  Yet amid the fervent cheering, rational doubts and whispers also circulated below.

  "Senior Brother Lin Yan has been in seclusion for so long. Has that fire poison really been completely purged? I hope it hasn't damaged his foundation."

  "I'm skeptical. Besides, his opponent is no pushover. Senior Brother Lin Cheng is at Rank 1 Upper Stage cultivation, and his mastery of the Wood Shield Gu is absolutely flawless. His defense is extremely solid—it's the perfect counter to this kind of aggressive, wide-open fighting style."

  "Exactly. If Lin Yan can't break through after prolonged attacks and exhausts his Primeval Essence, he might capsize in the gutter."

  Under gazes filled with anticipation or doubt, both combatants took the stage.

  Lin Cheng vaulted onto the platform first, his movements agile, his bearing neither humble nor arrogant.

  In his hands, he secretly gripped two Gu worms—the defensive Wood Shield Gu in his left hand, and the offensive Iron Leaf Gu in his right.

  This was Black Blood Stockade's most orthodox and solid style combination.

  He took a deep breath, struggling to calm his racing heart, ambition gleaming in his eyes.

  "If Lin Yan truly hasn't purged the fire poison and is strong on the outside but hollow within, as long as I can withstand his initial onslaught..."

  "By stepping on a seeded contestant to rise, I, Lin Cheng, will make my name resound throughout the entire stockade today!"

  Just as Lin Cheng was calculating his chances, Lin Yan ascended the stage.

  No flashy acrobatics, no showy displays of Primeval Essence. Lin Yan simply walked up step by step, his footfalls heavy, climbing the stone stairs onto the arena.

  The moment he stood still, the air around the entire second arena seemed to grow scorching.

  Oppressive.

  Extremely oppressive.

  Lin Yan wasn't wearing Punishment Hall's standard leather armor—just a thin martial robe. His exposed muscles still bore faint dark-red fire poison scars that hadn't fully faded.

  His eyes were bloodshot, staring fixedly at Lin Cheng across from him, not uttering a single word.

  That gaze wasn't looking at a junior martial brother at all.

  It was the gaze of a mad lion—caged in a cramped iron prison for two full months, starved, singed by torches—finally seeing living flesh and blood.

  The violent heat waves radiating from his body and his undisguised killing intent made Lin Cheng's breath hitch, his heart sinking heavily.

  "Ready—Begin!"

  The instant the referee's arm swung down, Lin Cheng didn't dare show the slightest carelessness, instantly channeling all his Primeval Essence.

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  "Wood Shield, Condense!"

  A thick, arc-shaped light shield emanating deep green vitality instantly formed before him, protecting his entire body tightly. He adopted the safest defensive stance, preparing to weather the storm.

  However, Lin Yan needed no probing attacks whatsoever.

  "ROAR!"

  Lin Yan raised his head and let out a deafening roar. The Primeval Essence within his aperture erupted like a volcano, instantly boiling over.

  Explosive Flame Gu and Iron Leaf Gu—activated simultaneously!

  In his hands, these two Gu worms didn't simply work independently. Instead, they formed a terrifying "fire attribute infusion."

  Sharp blue-black iron leaves instantly wrapped layer upon layer around his fists, like Wolverine donning a pair of barbed steel gauntlets. Then raging flames burst from between his fingers, burning wildly upon the iron leaves, the intense heat turning them glowing red.

  A pair of terrifying "Blazing Iron Fists" took form!

  "Shatter for me!"

  Lin Yan transformed into a raging fire meteor, instantly crossing several zhang of distance, unleashing a tempest of blows upon that deep green wood shield.

  BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

  Dull impacts mixed with fiery explosions echoed throughout the martial grounds.

  Lin Cheng's prized traditional defense looked so laughable and fragile before this absolute violence.

  With each punch, the iron leaves' cutting force and the flames' explosive damage erupted simultaneously, and the "fire conquers wood" elemental suppression was pushed to its extreme.

  The wood shield trembled violently, its surface's green glow visibly dimming and peeling away under the flames' incineration.

  "I... I can't hold it!"

  Lin Cheng was forced back again and again by that terrifying force, his arms numb, his Primeval Essence draining wildly.

  He had no strength left to parry or counterattack. He couldn't even throw the Iron Leaf Gu in his right hand—he could only desperately maintain his collapsing shield.

  "Too weak! Too weak! A piece of trash like you dares to block my path?!"

  Lin Yan roared madly, his fists whirling like windmills, venting two months of accumulated humiliation and rage.

  Finally, accompanied by a tooth-aching crack—

  "BANG!"

  The deep green shield shattered with a thunderous explosion, dissolving into countless points of light.

  Lin Cheng's guard was completely broken. In his pupils reflected that blazing iron fist growing larger and larger.

  "Hiss—"

  The fist stopped dead, one inch from Lin Cheng's face.

  The scorching fist wind swept past, directly singeing Lin Cheng's hair and eyebrows. The stench of burning flesh spread through the air.

  That overwhelming sensation of imminent death completely shattered Lin Cheng's psychological defenses.

  "I... I surrender..."

  Lin Cheng's legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground like a puddle of mud, his voice trembling beyond recognition.

  "Second Arena—Lin Yan wins!" the referee announced loudly.

  At the highest point of the stands, Punishment Hall's Grand Elder Lin Nuo finally exhaled a long breath of turbid air.

  He stroked his beard and laughed heartily, making no effort to hide the satisfaction in his eyes, even casting a provocative glance toward the Medicine Hall elders nearby.

  Lin Yan had used the most direct, most brutal method to announce to all of Black Blood Stockade: The mad lion had returned!

  Meanwhile, in the crowded masses below the stage, Lin Mu's expression remained calm.

  Only his fingers hidden within his sleeve lightly flicked the combination betting slip he'd placed on Lin Yan for "top three in win rate," the corner of his mouth curving slightly upward.

  "Amateurs watch the spectacle; experts watch the technique."

  Lin Mu silently reviewed the match in his mind.

  "Though Lin Yan suffered a setback in the swamp, his combat instincts and this dual fire-iron Gu configuration... against an orthodox, defense-only disciple of the same rank, it's a dimensional crushing."

  "Betting on him might not have odds as dramatic as betting on an upset, but it wins on one word: 'stable'."

  One cold bet (Lin Wuxie), one hot bet (Lin Yan). One risky, one stable.

  Lin Mu's assets, in this short half-hour, were snowballing at a terrifying rate that outsiders couldn't possibly imagine.

  As the first elimination round continued to progress, battles on eight arenas rotated like a revolving lantern.

  Finally, the atmosphere reached its true peak.

  "First Arena! Lin Feng versus Inner Sect Disciple Lin Wu!"

  With the referee's call, the son of the Supreme Elder—Lin Feng, the highest favorite to win the championship—finally made his appearance.

  Lin Wu was also at Rank 1 Upper Stage cultivation and had performed excellently in previous hunting missions. Many expected a clash of titans.

  However, the course of this battle was anticlimactically suffocating.

  Lin Feng ascended in flowing white robes. He wasn't violent like Lin Yan—there wasn't even much fluctuation in his gaze.

  Facing Lin Wu's guarded, probing defense—

  Lin Feng struck only once.

  White robes fluttering, sword light like snow.

  In that instant, dazzling Metal Rend Sword Qi cleaved through the air, tearing through Lin Wu's defensive Gu as easily as cutting tofu.

  That unmatched sharpness flashed past Lin Wu's throat and vanished.

  Lin Wu hadn't even touched the hem of Lin Feng's robe before being forced off the arena by the residual sword qi, crashing to the ground below.

  One move to defeat his enemy.

  A battle without any trace of mortal struggle, yet displaying a dominance even more despairing than Lin Yan's violent crushing.

  This was the result of orthodox family heritage and absolute resource accumulation.

  "Ceiling-level composure."

  Lin Mu watched Lin Feng on stage sheathing his sword and accepting the cheers of thousands, his gaze deep and contemplative.

  With Lin Feng's victory, the first elimination round gradually drew to a close.

  The weak were mercilessly eliminated; the strong continued forward, stepping on their fellow disciples' faces.

  Lin Mu gathered his thoughts and properly stowed the secret ledger filled with odds and data hidden in his sleeve.

  His gaze passed over the noisy crowd, falling upon the last few heavyweights in the preparation area who had yet to appear.

  Medicine Hall's young lady, Lin Xue.

  The young master of the Storage lineage, Lin Ze.