Lu Qianqian lost.
Because her landing speed was faster than Linglie’s.
According to the official competition rules, when it’s impossible to determine whether a contestant still has fighting capability, the judgment goes to whoever leaves the arena platform first loses.
Actually, given the situation at that moment, everyone could see that Linglie had lost—had even been brutally beaten beyond recognition—but rules are rules after all.
The audience erupted.
She could clearly have won, so why surrender?
This Eternal Sect disciple’s actions were completely incomprehensible!
Or perhaps.
She wanted to leave him for other disciples?
Fine.
One person beating him wasn’t satisfying enough, so she wanted to switch to fellow disciples to continue the thrashing.
But this was the Galactic Tournament proper! Forget about entering the loser’s bracket with hopes of advancement—wouldn’t taking a top ten position as a seed contestant be nice?
“Look!”
“She even made her own sect master cough up blood in anger!”
“This is absolutely absurd!”
The crowd couldn’t understand Lu Qianqian’s deliberate surrender, even thinking it completely unnecessary.
“Sect Master Jun…”
Gu Tianxing turned his head and said, “This is too reckless, isn’t it?”
“…”
Jun Changxiao remained silent.
At this moment, he was being treated by Sun Bukong, having needles inserted for a blood transfusion.
Dog Leftover could tell—his disciples weren’t here to compete for the championship in the Galactic Tournament; they were here to perform for themselves!
Of course.
Jun Changxiao understood Su Xiaomo and Lu Qianqian’s intentions. Unable to accept Li Shangtian being brutally beaten, they planned to have their fellow disciples take turns thrashing Linglie, but… ah, forget it. If they want to play, let them play.
Losing just meant going to the loser’s bracket.
With Lu Qianqian and the others’ strength, they would definitely advance without question.
If they could beat that guy until he doubted his existence and developed psychological trauma, it would count as avenging their fellow disciple.
Actually, the reason Jun Changxiao feared being performed at was because of the epic quest—after all, he needed at least two disciples to obtain Sacred War entrance tickets. If he exceeded the requirements, he’d receive even more rewards.
If all the disciples performed.
And only a few advanced in the end, wouldn’t that be terrible?
…
“So… detestable…”
Linglie collapsed outside the arena platform, his eyes showing both pain and fury.
Su Xiaomo had deliberately let herself be knocked away earlier—he hadn’t noticed. But this time, Lu Qianqian’s deliberate surrender was obvious.
Three words.
Unwilling to accept it.
“You are the adopted son I value most. Participating in this Galactic Tournament, you must win the championship.” His adoptive father’s words echoed in his ears.
I cannot lose.
I still need to win the championship for my adoptive father!
“Can you still fight?” The referee came over to check his condition.
“Hah!”
Linglie forcefully suppressed the pain on his face, struggled to stand up, and said, “Yes!”
Although severely injured, bearing this mission, he would fight on even if it meant dying on the arena platform.
This wolf was very tenacious.
However, the moment he stood up, a pack of lions looked over.
Ye Xingchen thought darkly, “If I face you, I’ll make you lose the ability to speak.”
The eldest senior sister deliberately jumping off the platform made him very excited, because there was another chance to brutally beat that guy!
Honestly.
Lu Qianqian’s thrashing was already quite fierce.
But in Night Emperor’s view, it wasn’t intense enough. Only by personally doing it himself could he make the world understand what a blessed thing death was!
…
The matches continued.
Eternal Sect disciples fought one after another, smoothly winning their battles.
As things stood currently, aside from encountering a few top-tier geniuses, the other battles weren’t worth describing.
The next round of lots was drawn.
Ye Xingchen walked down holding his token.
His gaze fixed intently on Linglie until he confirmed he hadn’t drawn him, then he said resentfully, “Let him live a little longer!”
“Senior Brother.”
He Wudi walked over and said, “I drew him.”
Ye Xingchen quickly turned his head. Seeing that this guy’s number two corresponded exactly to Linglie’s number one, he couldn’t control his emotions and roared, “Damn it!”
…
Arena platform.
Following the referee’s call.
He Wudi, holding the number two token, was first to ascend the platform.
“Step.”
Linglie also walked up.
Because he’d been beaten so miserably by Lu Qianqian, he swayed unsteadily standing on the arena platform, both hands hanging down.
“Are you certain you can still fight?” The referee inquired again.
“Certain!”
Linglie’s voice was hoarse.
He Wudi remained silent, raising his head to look at the sect master receiving a blood transfusion. Enlightenment suddenly dawned in his heart.
If Dog Leftover knew what he was thinking at this moment, he would definitely roar, “I didn’t give you any look! What are you becoming enlightened about!”
…
“Encountered an Eternal Sect disciple again?”
“This guy is in trouble.”
“In such a condition, even the most ordinary contestant could defeat him, right?”
The crowd discussed in low voices.
No one believed Linglie still had fighting capability. Insisting on going up to the platform, he was definitely just offering himself for a beating.
Moreover.
This He Wudi also seemed quite formidable.
“Heh heh…” Hearing people discussing him, Linglie lowered his head with hands hanging, strange laughter emerging from his mouth.
“Hmm?”
He Wudi furrowed his brow.
“Do you think I’ve run out of strength to fight? Do you think I came here to offer myself for a beating?” Linglie suddenly raised his head, revealing a face twisted to the extreme.
“…”
He Wudi remained silent for a moment, then straightforwardly said, “Yes.”
“Ha ha ha!”
Linglie covered his face and laughed loudly, laughing until tears came out. Laughing and laughing, his thoughts returned to his childhood years, back to the past when he killed to survive.
This clearly required an anime team to fill in flashback scenes, so as the original work, there’s no need to elaborate further. In any case, according to convention, whether protagonist or antagonist, as long as they emerge from memory flashbacks, their combat power definitely skyrockets.
“Whoosh whoosh!”
Sure enough, a blood-like aura gradually permeated around the swaying Linglie. The tattoo on his chest also flashed with radiance.
His eyes turned blood-red, his hair turned blood-red, his fingernails became elongated and sharp—as if he’d transformed from a person into a wolf.
“This is…”
Gu Tianxing said in surprise, “Heavenly Demon Emperor bloodline?”
Jun Changxiao pulled out the blood transfusion tube, his expression also becoming serious.
That guy seemed to suddenly go berserk, very similar to his own bloodline.
“Don’t misunderstand.”
The system immediately explained, “Dog Leftover once fused with Heavenly Demon Blood previously. Everyone please don’t overthink any blood relationship between him and the Heavenly Demon Emperor.”
“Uncle.”
Jun Changxiao said, “How would an adopted son have the Heavenly Demon Emperor bloodline?”
“Anyone who survives the slaughter, anyone taken as an adopted son, will be granted the Heavenly Demon Emperor bloodline.” Gu Tianxing explained.
“I see.”
Jun Changxiao stroked his chin and said, “So he’s using his trump card?”
“Correct.”
Gu Tianxing’s tone was exceptionally grave: “Though this boy has only inherited a trace of the Heavenly Demon Emperor’s bloodline, once awakened, his strength improvement is extremely terrifying. Your disciple, I’m afraid…”
“Whoosh!”
“Whoosh!”
Just then, Linglie’s entire body seemed injected with adrenaline. Not only did he stop swaying, he straightened his back. His hair, pupils, eyebrows, and skin all turned blood-colored, looking extremely frightening.
“Remember.”
“I am Linglie.”
“Heavenly Demon Emperor’s adopted son!”
At that moment, fully revived at maximum condition, Linglie became even more arrogant than before. The powerful aura emanating from him made quite a few top-tier geniuses’ hearts tremble with fear.
“Finished talking?”
He Wudi’s expression remained indifferent.
“Swoosh—” Suddenly, Linglie transformed into red light and charged forward, roaring, “Everyone open your eyes wide and watch clearly—in this battle, who’s beating who!”
“Whoosh whoosh!”
“Whoosh whoosh whoosh!”
In an instant, bloodthirsty gale winds swept across the arena platform.
He Wudi stood in place, his hair blown into disarray by the wind, then… he sidestepped to evade, his right hand clenched into a fist, fiercely smashing down toward the charging Linglie.
“BOOM—”
“Crack crack crack!”
“Crack crack crack crack crack!”
The arena platform reinforced by multiple formations instantly collapsed. The outer ground spread like a spider web in dense cracks, even extending to the spectator stands, nearly frightening the audience into flight.