The next day, before dawn had even broken, Liuxian Island welcomed its liveliest day of the year — the newly-risen-power ranking battle!

The arena for the ranking battle was enormous — a great circular platform at the center, surrounded by a ring of smaller platforms, some ten or so in number when counted, and beyond that, three tiers of spectator stands, each level rising higher than the last.

The judges’ platform stood due east, with the three great clans seated to the northwest and south, positioned just slightly below the judges’ platform. Below them sat the lesser clans and houses, tier upon tier — a scene that made it abundantly clear this was, without question, a world where martial strength alone determined status.

Ziqing, led by the hand by Jun Beiyue, made her way through the crowd toward their seats. At the entrance, they happened to cross paths with the Yu clan patriarch arriving with his disciples!

There was only one entrance, and only one group could pass through at a time — this, after all, was a special passage reserved exclusively for members of the three great clans. Inside that entrance lay a spectacle that would draw every eye in the place.

After all, even now, the competitor roster had only been obtained by Patriarch Gu through bribing the guards of the Qinse Sea Valley — very few people actually knew who was on it, and everyone was eager to catch a glimpse of just who the three great clans had produced this year.

Because any competitor was required to be present at the opening ceremony without fail!

Inside the entrance, the crowd buzzed with noise, while outside it was eerily quiet. Both groups came to a halt — judging by position, the Yu patriarch had arrived just slightly ahead of Patriarch Gu.

The Yu patriarch’s sharp eyes swept over the group once, taking careful note of every one of the Gu clan’s competitors, then spoke in his usual flattering tone toward Patriarch Gu, “Old Gu, it’s been a while — you’re looking well!”

Patriarch Gu laughed heartily. “I thought you’d be the last to arrive — didn’t expect you to be running just as late as us.”

The Yu clan had always been the third house of Liuxian Island, forever playing peacemaker between the Gu and Bai clans, though leaning somewhat more toward the Gu side — especially after the young Yu heir had been humiliated by Bai Feiyao at Qinse Valley last time, which had pushed the Yu clan even more firmly onto the Gu clan’s side.

Practically everyone on Liuxian Island believed that, this time around, the Yu clan would surely lend the Gu clan a helping hand in the ranking battle.

“Held up along the way — otherwise I’d have arrived earlier, ha ha.” The Yu patriarch smiled broadly. Whether it was Patriarch Gu himself, or Jun Beiyue and Ziqing standing quietly off to the side, everyone instinctively assumed the Yu patriarch would yield the way — but to their surprise, his next words were: “Old Gu, this old man will go on ahead.”

With that, he strode off boldly, leading his disciples away first.

Patriarch Gu stood utterly stunned, unable to recover for a long moment. Where had the Yu clan suddenly found the nerve not to yield the way?

Even though the Gu clan lacked manpower, its three hall masters combined were more than enough to handle the Yu clan without even needing Jun Beiyue!

The Yu clan’s young heir, Yu Xiao, passed by Ziqing’s side, seeming to want to say something but holding back, an apologetic look on his face — though Ziqing, unfortunately, didn’t notice, as she was looking toward Jun Beiyue at that moment, and he was looking back at her with the same silent understanding, both their expressions complicated.

Their eyes were even sharper than the Yu patriarch’s — they had already carefully studied every single person who’d walked past with the Yu clan, and it matched exactly with the roster Patriarch Gu had obtained.

And this was precisely what left them so astonished — according to that roster, the Yu clan had no chance of winning whatsoever.

For the Yu patriarch, who had always shown the Gu clan such deference, to suddenly turn hostile like this was, without question, a declaration of war — a message to the Gu clan that this time, the Yu clan too had come to fight for first place!

Whatever gave the Yu clan such arrogant confidence, one thing at least was certain — they had some card up their sleeve worth being this bold about!

The moment the group had gone, Situ Haonan erupted at once. “Old Gu! Didn’t you say we didn’t need to worry about the Yu clan? Didn’t you swear up and down that the Yu clan was absolutely on our side?”

It was precisely because of this that Jun Beiyue’s whole focus had been fixed on the Bai clan — with the Gu clan already short-handed, dealing with the Bai clan alone would already require no small amount of effort!

And now, before they’d even entered the arena, the Yu clan had already dealt them a blow!

Patriarch Gu’s face was a picture of mortification, still utterly unable to believe it, let alone offer any kind of answer. Jun Beiyue’s expression had turned grim, and Ziqing was gritting her teeth — though neither of them said anything, anyone could tell this couple was thoroughly displeased right now.

The moment the Yu clan stepped out, cheers, applause, and shouts of support erupted at once, wave after wave without pause — the Yu clan’s supporters cheering them on.

If the Gu clan were to follow right behind them now, it would mean losing face before they’d even entered the arena.

They had no choice but to wait!

Just then, however, the sound of lively laughter and chatter came from behind — the judges had already taken their seats, and without even looking, it was obvious the Bai clan’s party had arrived.

Ziqing and Jun Beiyue turned to look, and sure enough, the group that appeared matched their expectations — exactly as the roster had said.

The Bai patriarch walked in front, with Bai Feiyao, still disguised as a man, cutting a dashing, carefree young hero’s figure, chatting easily and openly with two young men beside her.

These two young men — one in black, one in white — both had fine, handsome faces. The one in black looked stern, the one in white looked amiable, and neither appeared to be carrying any weapons.

Jun Beiyue’s gaze didn’t linger on them for long. He turned and gestured for Patriarch Gu to head in.

But just as Patriarch Gu took a single step forward, a black thorny vine suddenly shot up from the ground beneath his feet, sealing off the archway of the entrance with astonishing speed!

Patriarch Gu’s internal cultivation had barely recovered to forty percent strength, and he instinctively retreated behind Jun Beiyue.

Jun Beiyue’s gaze turned cold, ignoring Bai Feiyao entirely, fixing his stare on the black-clad young man instead. Though the man’s movements had been fast, they hadn’t escaped Jun Beiyue’s notice.

No one spoke. The provocation and the icy, hostile gazes alone were enough to freeze the very air. Everything unfolded in complete silence.

Situ Haonan moved to Patriarch Gu’s side, drawing him into his protective range. Ziqing stepped forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with Jun Beiyue, both of them fixing their eyes on Bai Feiyao and the Bai patriarch. The couple, already seething from the Yu clan’s inexplicable strike against them moments earlier, now found the Bai clan practically delivering themselves up to be dealt with!

The ranking battle hadn’t even officially begun yet, but a ruthless man like Jun Beiyue would never care about any of the so-called rules.

Without wasting another word, silently and without warning, a wind blade forced out by his internal energy suddenly appeared before the black-clad young man — with a sharp whoosh, it sliced upward from below!

The black-clad young man, however, was no pushover either, tilting his head back and dodging with the motion. At the same instant, black thorny vines suddenly shot out from between Jun Beiyue’s own feet, wrapping tightly around his legs — and at the very same moment, the white-clad young man reached out, and two white thorny vines shot from his sleeve, coiling around Jun Beiyue’s throat!

In an instant, Jun Beiyue was bound above and below by black and white thorny vines, unable to move at all!

The black and white pair seemed to have no intention of killing Jun Beiyue outright. The black-clad man kept his expression cold throughout, while the white-clad man smiled disdainfully. “The famous adopted son of the Gu clan, Da Zhou’s Prince Yao — turns out to be nothing much after all.”

But no sooner had those words left his mouth than Jun Beiyue hooked his left foot and yanked with his right hand, and with astonishing speed, dragged both black and white men toward himself — giving them not even a moment to catch their breath — before hurling them both viciously toward the archway of the entrance!

“Crack!” A tremendous crash sounded from the arena outside. Patriarch Gu, overjoyed, immediately moved to head in — this, after all, would be the most face-saving moment to make their entrance.

But Jun Beiyue and Ziqing’s expressions suddenly changed. Both of them turned sharply to look off to one side — at the spot reserved for the Gu clan’s three hall masters, there was no sign of the three men at all. Instead, three man-eating flowers stood there, gaping bloody maws bared, claws and fangs at the ready!

They hadn’t even noticed these three man-eating flowers appear — and even more terrifying, only now did they realize there was yet another stranger among the Bai clan’s party.

He… who was he?