The first round of the grand finals battle had begun—it should have been the liveliest moment, yet the entire venue suddenly fell into silence, as if someone had pressed the pause button.

“Dead?”

“A Heavenly Demon Emperor adopted son… was killed!?”

Countless pairs of eyes stared at the small light screen, slowly widening, slowly filling with shocked luster!

That’s right.

Ling Shi was dead.

From when the referee shouted “begin” to his last breath took only a few seconds.

This sacrificial speed was truly too exaggerated.

“…”

Gu Tianxing was dumbfounded.

That non-core disciple who had been brutally dominated by Ling Li in the preliminaries had now actually… instantly killed a Heavenly Demon Emperor adopted son in the first grand finals battle!

Was Ling Shi weak?

Not weak—very strong.

Much stronger than Ling Li who had participated in the preliminaries.

This level of opponent, by convention, would at least require an Eternal Sect core disciple to battle.

Yet he was precisely killed by Li Shangtian, and instantly at that.

Gu Tianxing didn’t understand internet slang, or else he would definitely shout loudly: “Did this guy use cheats!”

That’s right.

Li Shangtian had used cheats.

He directly deployed the SS-rank heroic soul Jing Ke.

As one of China’s most renowned professional assassins, unless he encountered the King of Qin who would run around pillars and give him a headache, he absolutely wouldn’t be sloppy when it came to killing.

That said.

Gaining the recognition of an SS-rank heroic soul was also exchanged for being brutally beaten countless times.

So Li Shangtian winning today’s match and advancing to the second round by stepping on a Heavenly Demon Emperor adopted son relied entirely on his own efforts, not cheats.

Li Qingyang, Xiao Zuiji, and the others were the same.

Over these years, they had all made sacrifices, all worked hard, and thus gained the favor of heroic souls.

Calling them cheaters was tantamount to directly negating their sacrifices and efforts.

On the contrary.

Due to restrictions, a certain someone hadn’t entered the Tianwei Secret Realm at all, yet in life-or-death moments was possessed by an SSS-rank heroic soul and beat down a Heavenly Demon Emperor avatar with one staff strike—that was the most genuine, most shameless cheater!

…

The Heavenly Demon Emperor’s adopted son being sacrificed to heaven shocked the entire venue.

So much so that although competitors in other venues were fighting intensely, no one went to watch.

“Whoosh, whoosh!”

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!”

Just then, terrifying demonic energy diffused from the suspended viewing platform.

As everyone’s scalps exploded in shock, they could immediately understand that this fury-laden attribute must be released by the Heavenly Demon Emperor.

Indeed.

The Heavenly Demon Emperor sat in his chair, waves of black energy diffusing outward.

Though his face couldn’t be seen clearly, from his reddened eyes one could tell he must be extremely furious.

“Stepping onto the venue is the same as stepping onto the battlefield—life and death are left to fate.” Jun Changxiao laughed heartily. “Is someone being a sore loser?”

“…”

Upon hearing this, the Heavenly Demon Emperor’s demonic energy gradually dissipated, then his voice turned cold: “Sect Master Jun, I hope the smile on your face can last until the competition ends.”

“Don’t worry.”

Jun Changxiao placed his fingers at the corners of his mouth and lifted them upward separately, maintaining an exaggerated smiling expression as he said, “This seat will definitely smile until the very end.”

“Really asking for a beating!”

Gu Tianxing and Jian Guixu muttered internally.

The Heavenly Demon Emperor didn’t bother with this shameless person and instead mentally transmitted to his other adopted sons: “If you encounter Eternal Sect disciples, you must tear them to shreds!”

He was enraged.

But he couldn’t take action personally.

So he could only rely on his adopted sons to vent his fury.

Coincidentally, Jun Changxiao also transmitted mentally to his disciples: “If you encounter Heavenly Demon Emperor adopted sons, do it like Shangtian—show no mercy and annihilate them!”

The two of them were enemies—no explanation needed. Whenever they had the chance to meet in the universe, they would definitely tear at each other like mad dogs.

…

“First round battle, Li Shangtian advances!”

When the referee announced this, Li Shangtian standing on the battle stage cried.

After being trampled and defeated by Ling Li, he had always lived under depression, always feeling guilty toward the sect, guilty toward the sect master.

For this reason.

He trained madly.

Losing wasn’t frightening—at worst, he’d just win it back.

Although this opponent wasn’t Ling Li, he was at least a Heavenly Demon Emperor adopted son. Instantly killing him was equivalent to washing away previous shame, and he could walk off the battle stage with his head held high!

Regarding Li Shangtian’s mental transformation and tempering during this period—the manga team needs to fill this in. I won’t describe it in detail here. In any case, gaining Jing Ke’s recognition was exchanged with suffering and hardship, blood and tears.

Including him and Li Qingyang and the others, two song lyrics could aptly describe them—”How can you see the rainbow without experiencing wind and rain? No one can succeed casually.”

However.

Without experiencing wind and rain, Jun Changxiao could!

…

Perhaps stimulated and encouraged by Li Shangtian, the Eternal Sect disciples repeatedly fought and won their matches with devastating force.

No difficulty, no challenge.

Of course, when dealing with other competitors, they would at most send them flying rather than directly taking their lives.

The Heavenly Demon Emperor’s adopted sons were the opposite.

Whenever they appeared, they would use ruthless methods to annihilate their opponents, giving the impression that because the Eternal Sect disciples killed Ling Shi, all other competitors had to accompany him in death.

“My son…”

A big shot witnessed his son’s tragic death on stage and could only show a pained expression.

Hateful?

Hated to the bone.

But the Heavenly Demon Emperor’s strength was too formidable—he could only silently endure without daring to resist.

“Sigh.”

Jun Changxiao shook his head helplessly.

When one’s own child is ruthlessly murdered yet one doesn’t dare stand up, these people have completely submitted to the Heavenly Demon Emperor’s tyranny.

…

The first round ended.

All Eternal Sect disciples advanced.

Because it was too easy, many didn’t even get battle footage.

All eighty of the Heavenly Demon Emperor’s adopted sons also advanced. They didn’t get footage because the scenes were too bloody.

The old routine.

The second round continued with lot drawing.

Because the numbers were still quite large, the Eternal Sect disciples and Heavenly Demon Emperor adopted sons didn’t directly encounter each other.

Thus.

Third round, fourth round…

Until only a few hundred competitors remained on the field, the probability of matching increased when drawing lots.

Especially after the fifth round lot drawing, He Wudi and Li Qingyang from the Eternal Sect matched with two Heavenly Demon Emperor adopted sons.

“Please competitors take the stage!”

Following the referee’s loud shout, He Wudi first entered the venue through the teleportation array. His opponent was named Ling Rui, short in stature, thin in build, looking quite crafty.

Rui.

Derived from wisdom.

From this, one could tell this guy should be quite sly.

Indeed, after the match began, he displayed a special movement technique, circling from left to right, from right to left, like an elusive loach.

This type of opponent was more suited to Su Xiaomo, because both of them…

“Boom—”

Before the narration could finish explaining, an explosive roar suddenly rang out.

Dust flew, covering the sky and earth.

When it gradually became clear, everyone saw through the projection light screen that He Wudi stood on the shattered battle stage, while that Heavenly Demon Emperor adopted son was embedded in a deep pit, his upper body clothes torn apart, his back sporting a large hole.

This was… another one down?

“Boom!”

Another explosive sound came from another projection light screen. The audience all shifted their attention and saw Li Qingyang’s opponent, that adopted son named Ling Tao, lying outside the venue. Apart from his clothes moving in the wind, his body, hands, and feet were all completely still.

“Swish!”

The referee flew over to check, then shook his head and signaled for workers to carry him away.

The entire venue fell silent once again.

At the very start of the fifth round match, just after taking the stage, the Eternal Sect disciples used the fastest speed and most domineering methods to instantly kill two Heavenly Demon Emperor adopted sons!

Bro!

Those were all star system preliminary champions!

Can you Eternal Sect disciples show them the minimum respect?

Coming up and instantly killing them.

Who the hell can handle this!