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Lan Minghua's gaze lingered on Qian Renxue for a moment. A faint, meaningful smile curved his lips.
"Qian Renxue, Qian Renxue… could it be that a 100,000-year spirit bone is enough to make you lose your patience? Or are you planning to seize this opportunity to join forces with the top three sects to kill me and avenge Serpent Spear Douluo and Pufferfish Douluo?"
Serpent Spear Douluo and Pufferfish Douluo were the Titled Douluo secretly protecting Qian Renxue and were like grandfathers to her.
Lan Minghua was not surprised she would think this way.
He could sense the situation outside the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect; there were at least five Titled Douluo. Adding those within the sect, the total number of Titled Douluo now exceeded ten.
Titled Douluo were a rare sight, yet so many had appeared at Tang San and Ning Rongrong's banquet.
Still, Lan Minghua's expression remained unchanged. He would counter soldiers with generals and floods with earth.
He was confident he had enough strength that this number of Titled Douluo posed no real threat to him.
Turning away from Qian Renxue, his attention shifted to the arena stage where Dugu Yan and Yu Tianxin were.
From the Heaven Dou Empire's viewing platform, Xue Qinghe felt a sixth sense that someone was watching her.
"Why do I have this feeling? Could it be Grandfather watching me? No… Grandfather's gaze has never felt like this."
Yet, no matter how she searched, she could not find who was observing her.
Meanwhile, the final match of the first round had reached a fever pitch.
On the arena, Dugu Yan and Yu Tianxin stood opposite each other after a brief exchange, the atmosphere heavy with tension.
Dugu Yan's eyes were cold, a faint poisonous mist emanating from her body, like a coiled serpent ready to strike.
Yu Tianxin, in contrast, crackled with lightning, his aura overwhelming.
"Dugu Yan… you killed Tianheng, didn't you?" Yu Tianxin's voice was frigid as he stared her down.
Dugu Yan was no fool. Even if she had killed him, she would never admit it in public.
As long as the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect had no conclusive evidence, they could not convict her of any crime.
"Heh. Yu Tianxin, you need evidence to back up your words. If you slander me without proof—even as the young sect master—you will pay a price for it," Dugu Yan responded forcefully, showing no fear.
Hearing this, Yu Tianxin was left speechless.
Setting aside the fact that Dugu Yan was Dugu Bo's granddaughter, she was now also Lan Minghua's disciple.
Attacking her under normal circumstances was truly impractical.
However, here on the arena stage, accidents could happen.
"Hmph… Let's see if you can keep that tough act up!"
Yu Tianxin snorted and was the first to attack.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon spirit instantly possessed him. In a flash, his body was overflowing with lightning as he thrust a claw forward with thunderous momentum.
Dugu Yan lightly tapped her toes on the ground, her figure flashing as she easily dodged the blow.
With a wave of her hands, a vast, emerald-green cloud of Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor venom rapidly spread across the arena.
As a Control-type Soul Master, Dugu Yan wasn't foolish enough to fight a Power Attack-type like Yu Tianxin head-on.
"Hmph, childish tricks!"
Facing the venom blocking his path, Yu Tianxin snorted, covering himself in an armor of lightning as his arms instantly transformed into dragon claws.
With a single swipe, he tore a massive opening in the green toxic mist.
He rapidly closed the distance to Dugu Yan, launching a barrage of punches that came on like a torrential tide, their power horrifying.
However, Dugu Yan had survived being hunted by Titled Douluo; an assault of this level wasn't enough to throw her off balance.
Their battle raged fiercely, lightning and toxic mist intertwining on the stage as the audience watched, mesmerized.
But Yu Tianxin was overconfident in his lightning armor. Corroded by the venom, his movements began to slow.
"What's happening? I tested this! My lightning armor should be able to resist Jade Phosphor Serpent venom! Why am I still poisoned?!"
What he didn't know was that Dugu Yan's spirit had evolved from the Jade Phosphor Serpent into the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor.
Its toxicity had already undergone a complete metamorphosis.
Seeing her chance, Dugu Yan released more venom, trapping Yu Tianxin within it.
In an instant, Yu Tianxin felt a wave of dizziness, and the circulation of his soul power became sluggish.
"Not good!"
Alarmed, he frantically urged his soul power, and his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon spirit erupted in a dazzling light.
His entire body became like a bolt of lightning, forcibly breaking out of the toxic mist.
Dugu Yan gave him no chance to breathe. Her third spirit ring lit up.
In an instant, dozens of green vipers condensed from the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor venom shot out from the mist, striking toward Yu Tianxin's back.
Yu Tianxin's pupils shrank, and his fourth spirit ring lit up.
"Fourth Spirit Ability, Blue Lightning Dragon's Rush!"
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon soared into the sky, opening its mouth to spit out a brilliant pillar of lightning.
The lightning beam instantly swept over the attacking vipers, blasting them back into the toxic mist.
With a deafening roar, the dozens of vipers and the lightning dragon dissipated simultaneously, and the arena was filled with dust and smoke.
Yu Tianxin's eyes narrowed as he tried to find Dugu Yan's figure.
However, his vision was obstructed by the smoke, with visibility limited to just a few meters.
"Damn it, where did she go?"
Just as he spoke, Dugu Yan's cold voice sounded by his ear.
"Yu Tianxin, are you looking for me?"
Dugu Yan had appeared behind him at some unknown point, and her ten-thousand-year spirit ring was already glowing.
At that moment, Yu Tianxin felt a chill shoot up his spine to the top of his head.
"It's over," Dugu Yan said softly, her palm stabbing straight into Yu Tianxin's back like a scorpion's stinger.
At that critical moment, Yu Yuanzhen, in the audience, shot up from his seat.
In an instant, the oppressive might of a Titled Douluo swept towards the arena, trying to stop Dugu Yan's attack on Yu Tianxin.
However, just as his pressure was about to reach the stage, it was torn apart by an even stronger aura.
Before Yu Yuanzhen could even register his shock, a single chopstick shot through the air like an arrow, aimed directly at his head.
His eyes narrowed, and he summoned barriers of lightning in front of him.
But the chopstick passed through them as if they were nothing, continuing straight for his head.
Startled, Yu Yuanzhen's arm instantly dragonized, and only by using his full strength to swipe with his claw did he manage to shatter the chopstick.
He looked up and saw Lan Minghua watching him with a mocking smirk.
On the stage, Dugu Yan's palm pierced Yu Tianxin's body, releasing venom from her fingertips.
Then, she struck him with her palm, sending him flying like a kite with a broken string to crash heavily onto the arena floor.
Yu Tianxin struggled to get up, but the poison in his body erupted instantly.
"No!" he roared, his eyes filled with unwillingness.
As the poison fully activated, his skin began to bubble with a yellowish-green foam, like melting wax.
His fingertips fell off first, revealing the stark white bone beneath, and the decay spread rapidly like ink dropped into clear water.
His rotting flesh sizzled as it peeled off in the viscous venom, until finally, he dissolved into a puddle of foul-smelling toxic liquid on the stage.
Seeing this, the audience erupted in an uproar.
No one had expected the young sect master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect to die on the arena.
At that moment, Yu Yuanzhen's face was terrifyingly grim. He stared daggers at Dugu Yan, a murderous glint in his eyes.
For the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect, this was undoubtedly a massive blow.
Both of his most favored successors were now dead. How could he possibly remain calm?
Next to him, Gu Rong seized the ill-timed opportunity to mock him in return: "Well, well, he's dead. It seems your Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect will need to find a more suitable successor."
Yu Yuanzhen snorted, ignoring Gu Rong's taunt.
But his fists had clenched tightly without him realizing it, a clear sign of his inner fury.
However, he wasn't blinded by rage. After all, he had just witnessed Lan Minghua's power.
If he were to act now, not only would he fail to avenge Yu Tianxin, but he would also completely disrupt the plans of the top three sects.
And so, Yu Yuanzhen could only be a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.
Seeing this, Lan Minghua pursed his lips.
"Tch, another Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. And here I thought you, Yu Yuanzhen, would have a bit more backbone."
But Lan Minghua didn't dwell on the matter. The tournament continued.
The subsequent matches went by quickly, and the top four for each half-bracket were decided.
The top four of the upper bracket were Oscar, Tang Long, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Wuchen.
Yan was defeated by Tang Long, and Feng Xiaotian was defeated by Ning Wuchen, but neither of the losers' lives was taken.
The top four of the lower bracket were Dugu Yan, Meng Yiran, Xie Yue, and Hu Liena.
During this time, Lan Minghua took on another disciple: Shui Bing'er of Tianshui Academy.
(End of Chapter)