Liang Wei slowly flew upwards, while his dark gold Qi gently carried his chosen ones.
"Brother Jian, I have made my choice."
A few seconds later, Tian Jian flew out, carrying five people with him.
"I have also made my choice."
His voice sounded sharp, and as he said this, his hands moved downwards decisively, putting his champions in a straight line.
Liang Wei elegantly smiled while mirroring his actions.
"I see some familiar faces, isn't that your younger brother?"
Tian Jian nodded.
"Yes, father thought this was a good opportunity to make him grow."
Liang Wei started fanning himself, while keeping a teasing expression.
"If he survives. I have some good fighters among my men."
Tian Jian let out a cold umph.
"He will survive. I don't see anyone threatening here. Besides, I also saw some familiar faces. Are you still resolving those old family issues?"
Liang Wei's smile froze.
In the past, the relations between their nations were friendlier, and diplomatic meetings between the Liang, Mo, and Tian families weren't uncommon. At the time, Tian Jian obviously had the occasion to meet both Sun and Liang Wei.
He continued fanning himself.
"Brother Jian, I'm not the only one that has some family issues. Didn't your second brother die a few days ago..."
Tian Jian looked away, anger briefly flashed in his eyes before quickly disappearing.
"Whatever. Let's start this."
He infused some Qi in his voice, letting the soldier below hear his commanding voice.
"Wu Zong, you are first."
Below them, a tall man with broad shoulders and a plain face bowed to Tian Jian before confidently walking forward. He had a two-handed sword tied to his back, a peculiar weapon that was rarely seen in the south.
Liang Wei squinted his eyes, seemingly analyzing Tian Jian's choice. He originally planned to send Sun and Yun Qiang as his first and second fighters; however, the situation had changed.
Sun wasn't participating, and Liang Wei couldn't send Yun Qiang out as his first pick. If he did that, everyone would see it as a spiteful move, staining his righteous and noble reputation.
He closed his eyes.
"Su Lei, go forward."
After bowing, a small bearded man walked out of line and came before Wu Zong. Su Lei was on the thinner side, making him look like a fragile individual. His weapons of choice were two small daggers that seemed covered in an oily-looking substance.
Tian Jian locked eyes with Liang Wei. He took out a small white cloth.
"I will do the honors."
Liang Wei continued fanning himself. His face was smiling, but a hint of annoyance could be seen in his eyes. Obviously, Tian Jian suspected Liang Wei could use the cloth to send signals to hidden allies or trigger some kind of arrays. This wasn't just about doing the honors. It was about blocking him from communicating with outsiders.
Still, he nodded. If his schemes could be undone so easily, then his reputation would be all for naught.
"I have no problem with that."
By the time he finished saying these words, the cloth had already reached the ground.
The fight started.
Yun Qiang looked at the fight with an attentive look, trying his best to learn new strategies and attack patterns. He had to admit that this fight was an interesting one to watch.
Both fighters had very particular and opposite fighting styles. Wu Zong focused on strength, keeping his enemy at bay with imposing and grand strikes, while Su Lei focused on speed, relentlessly attacking his opponent with vicious strikes done at strange angles.
One was speed, the other was strength. It was a fascinating sight for someone like Yun Qiang, who wasn't used to this kind of style.
Suddenly, Su Lei's speed increased, while his daggers started emitting a green, noxious aura. For a brief second, Su Lei had the advantage and managed to close in on Wu Zong; however, when he was about to strike his enemy, Wu Zong let out a loud battle cry, while emitting a blood-red aura, pushing Su Lei back a few feet.
Su Lei's eyes shined with deviousness, while Wu Zong's eyes were filled with a savage fury.
The two had stopped testing each other. The real fight had begun.
Liang Wei watched as the two champions fought with all their might. His gaze was fixated on Wu Zong.
"I didn't expect you to have a warrior from the north."
Tian Jian instantly retorted.
"And I didn't expect you to have a disciple from the Poison Sealing Sect. How did you convince them to go out of isolation?"
Liang Wei shook his head.
"I didn't. Su Lei is just an outer disciple that was banished. And Wu Zong, how did you get him?"
Tian Jian let out a light umph.
"Similar story. He was banished from his tribe and started wandering south. Eventually, he joined the army."
Suddenly, Wu Zong let out another scream, and a phantom of an eagle formed behind him. The phantom was fuzzy and almost transparent; however, everyone could clearly see the greed in the eagle's eyes and the bloodlust hidden in his smile.
However, it all looked less like an eagle and more like a human, as if a deranged human had transformed into the eagle.
Sweat started forming on Wu Zong's forehead. This was clearly his final move.
Wu Zong charged at Su Lei. In an instant, he reached his enemy, attacking him with a mighty downward swing.
However, when Wu Zong's two-handed sword hit Su Lei, it was as if nothing was there, letting the sword pass right through him, hitting the ground with a loud boom.
In that brief moment, Su Lei reappeared behind Wu Zong, stabbing him in the back with his poisonous daggers.
The poison instantly started having an effect, turning Wu Zong's veins black as it corrupted them.
A satisfied smile bloomed on Su Lei's face. He knew he had won this fight. He was about to announce his victory when Wu Zong's blade fell on him, cutting his body in half. Wu Zong had managed to suppress the poison, giving him another chance to strike.
However, this swing was just Wu Zong's last struggle because after it, the poison expanded completely, turning his veins black.
Killing him.
The result of the first fight was a draw; both sides had killed each other!
Silence fell on the surroundings. Nobody had expected the fight to end in a draw. However, this was valid only for those present on the ground, as both Liang Wei and Tian Jian didn't seem surprised; in fact, after just a few seconds, they pushed the dead bodies where they wouldn't hinder the duels and called out the next combatants.
However, something even more shocking happened half an hour later. Because the two new fighters were also equally matched. And after a long and drawn-out fight, both of them lost consciousness.
The second fight was also a draw. It was something completely unexpected by all.
A tense silence fell on the surrounding participants. As veterans and experienced cultivators, they knew not to underestimate their enemies and already expected some tough and deadly fights. However, two draws where each participant died were absurd.
They looked at each other, fear started appearing in their eyes.
Liang Wei smiled.
"Yun Qiang, you are up next."
Yun Qiang bowed before moving towards the center of the ring. His eyes were fixated forward as his mind raced to try and uncover Liang Wei's scheme.
One draw was something unlikely but possible, but two draws? Something was definitely wrong with it. He was sure Liang Wei was behind this.
However, he didn't have to think about it for long because when Tian Jian was about to announce Yun Qiang's opponent, Liang Wei spoke again, revealing part of his scheme.
"Since you managed to kill Tian Lao, I'm sure you will manage to win against any opponent."
Yun Qiang's face darkened. He screamed in his mind.
'His older brother is standing besides you. How dare you say that!!!'
He was tempted to shout in rage, but he remained calm. Only the tight grip on his spear gave away his true emotions.
A series of surprised murmurs came from the Sacred Empire side. Even if most of them didn't personally know Tian Lao, they had heard of the man's reputation as a strong and cruel hunter.
"So it was you..."
When he heard this voice Yun Qiang's pupils trembled. His gaze started to slowly move upwards towards Tian Lao. A cold shiver ran down his spine, making him feel cold all over his body.
The moment he saw Tian Jian's eyes, he couldn't help but tremble in fear. It was like a dangerous animal had just looked in on him.
His heart skipped a beat as he saw thousands of swords come down from the sky.
Before he could even react, these swords pierced his heart, making him feel the pain of getting stabbed in the chest.
Then, just as he was about to lose consciousness, the swords disappeared.
Yun Qiang took a step backward, instinctively closing his eyes that were still fixated on Tian Jian. His complexion had become pale, and he could feel his legs trembling uncontrollably. His mind started spinning, and he was forced to use his spear to support himself lest he fell.
'A vision?!'
Fear gripped Yun Qiang's heart. He had met Tian Jian's eyes for just a moment; however, that was enough for Tian Jian's killing intent to overwhelm him and trap him in a vision. The only reason he had survived was because Tian Jian had decided to spare him. If he really wanted to kill him, then even Liang Wei wouldn't be fast enough to save him.
Yun Qiang's expression became grim. He knew that even if he survived this duel, the Tian family would definitely come for him to get revenge.
Then Tian Jian spoke.
"Tian Lei, you will fight this duel."
Somehow, Yun Qiang's expression became even more serious and grim. If he won this duel, then Tian's family grudge towards him would only become bigger.
For a moment, he thought about running away; however, he knew that it was impossible.
Tian Jian had already let go of the white cloth. Yun Qiang's duel was about to start.