The bloodlust coming from Kong Yuan was ferocious. Not a single person present was comfortable letting him out of their sight for long.

“There were people who wanted my Wan Clan gone in the past. I believe everyone is familiar with what happened to them. Today will be no exception,” Wan Qiuye’s composure was comforting.

“Cut the crap. Is everyone here? Then let’s start!” Kong Yuan snorted.

In the next second, three people stepped forward from Kong Yuan’s party.

Raised an eyebrow as he assessed them. Those three must be the ones participating in the battle today.

As had become the norm, Wan Feng whispered his introduction to Lin Yun.

“I know those two,” he said, pointing to the two on the left. “They’re Pei Xiuyuan and Kong Lingyuan. Those two are from the main branches of their respective clans and have been specially groomed. As for the one in the hood, I’m not familiar with him. He’s probably a hired fighter like you.”

“Wan Qiuye, where are your contestants?”

“Step forth,” Wan Qiuye’s voice rang out and Wan Feng, Wan Feiye, and Lin Yun obeyed.

When the trio stepped forward, everyone looked curiously at Lin Yun. They knew about Wan Feng and Wan Qiuye. The two were from the main branch of the Wan Clan, and they were pretty famous amongst Violet Flame City’s younger generation. Even with as large as Azure Sun County was, the two of them had some fame.

However, they were puzzled when they saw Lin Yun. They could tell Lin Yun wasn’t suppressing his aura and was only a first orifice cultivator.

“Wan Clan couldn’t find anyone better? You have to resort to sending out someone in the First Orifice of the Xiantian Realm? If you’re planning on losing, just forfeit. Save us the headache,” Kong Yuan burst into laughter, ridiculing the Wan Clan in an attempt to lower their morale.

However, Wan Qiuye faced Kong Yuan and replied, “Perhaps our Wan Clan will win before he even goes on the stage.”

“Is that so? Who are you going to send first then?”

The Wan Clan had prepared a strategy prior to leaving. In the next second, Wan Feiye stepped forward with his spear.

“I’m Wan Feiye. Please enlighten me.”

Swish!

Wan Feiye twirled his spear in a mesmerizing display before planting it’s pommel firmly into the ground.

“It has been months since we met. I wonder if you’ve improved at all,” Pei Xiuyuan, who was proficient in halberd, sneered as he stepped forward. The fight hadn’t even begun and the two of them were already at each other’s throats.

“Step back and stay on alert,” Wan Qiuye warned as he waved his hand. Following his instructions, the Wan Clan party stepped back and readied their weapons.

Wan Qiuye had talked to them before coming here. The two parties might have an agreement, but agreements can be broken. After all, this matter concerned a Spiritual Lake. Being careless now would carry heavy consequences.

In a nutshell, Wan Qiuye was afraid that the other party wouldn’t take the loss well.

The two parties stepped back and opened up a field for Wan Feiye and Pei Xiuyuan to fight.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The aura of their spiritual energies clashed, creating a violent storm that swept up the surrounding fallen leaves.

Clang!

In an instant, the spear and halberd clashed. This was a deathmatch, neither fighter dared to hold back. The attacks were fatal, all aimed at vital spots.

As they were fighting for their clans, they could not afford to take a single step back. If they knew they were going to lose, they would die biting a piece of flesh off their opponent to create an advantage for the person replacing them.

Lin Yun was shocked when he watched the battle. There was a drastic difference between a deathmatch and sparring. One careless attack, one lazy block, and your opponent would pierce your vitals. There was no room for mistakes.

But the two of them were using heavy weapons. Based on how ferocious they were clashing, Lin Yun guessed that it would not be long before they brought out their Martial Souls.

In the next second, Lin Yun’s speculation came true. Wan Feiye was the first to summon his Martial Soul.

Boom!

The spear in Wan Feiye’s hands glowed as it was overlaid by the image of another spear. His Martial Soul should be a spear as well, which was fully compatible with his weapon.

Upon seeing Wan Feiye summoning his Martial Soul, everyone from the Wan Clan grimaced. You would lose if you weren’t able to defeat your opponent in ten moves after summoning your Martial Soul in a deathmatch. Summoning the Martial Soul was taxing to the body and each attack exhausted precious spiritual energy. Summoning the Martial Soul was usually a cultivator’s last resort.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Wan Feiye executed nine moves in the blink of an eye. Although his opponent was in bad shape, his injuries weren’t substantial. Just as Wan Feiye was just about to throw his tenth move, Pei Xiuyuan summoned his Martial Soul with a sneer.

Fwoosh!

Flames enveloped Pei Xiuyuan’s halberd causing the surrounding temperature to surge. He swung out his halberd, which shattered Wan Feiye’s attack in a shower of sparks. The heavy blow sent Wan Feiye’s spear flying out of his hand.

However, Pei Xiuyuan did not stop with that. He had a sinister smile and lunged with his halberd. Instinct moved Wan Feiye’s body as fear controlled his mind. In a desperate backpedal, Wan Feiye staggered and fell to the ground.

“I admit defeat!” Wan Feiye yelled out. Unfortunately the halberd was already descending.

Wan Tian cried desperately, “Stop!”

The halberd stopped just shy of Wan Feiye’s chest. The sudden change in momentum shook loose embers that landed on Wan Feiye, igniting his clothes and forcing him to roll around in an attempt to extinguish the fire.

“Don’t worry, Uncle Wan. He’s quite good at rolling in the dirt so he should avoid any serious burns. Besides, he admitted defeat. Do you think I’m ruthless enough to kill him?” Pei Xiuyuan laughed. He clearly wanted to humiliate Wan Feiye.

“Terrific!” Kong Yuan’s laughter roared out, but he knew it was too early to celebrate. They still had two more opponents to face before they could bag the Spiritual Lake.

As this was a deathmatch, the participants would either have to admit defeat or die.

The faces of everyone from Wan Clan were sour. They never imagined that Pei Xiuyuan’s cultivation would have increased so drastically in only a few months.

They were also humiliated by the show Wan Feiye was putting on. Even Wan Feng had a grim expression while taking out a spear from his interspatial pouch.

Lin Yun, noticing it was just an ordinary mid-grade profound artifact, turned to him and asked, “Your Wan Clan is proficient in spears?”

“What’s the matter?”

“Use mine!”

Swish!

A deep chill swept over the area as Lin Yun retrieved the Clouded Ice Spear.

“Peak mid-grade profound artifacts!” Wan Feng shouted when he saw the weapon.

The Wan Clan only had seven or eight mid-grade profound artifacts, and none could be considered peak. Although the Wan Clan had a high-grade profound artifact, Wan Feng couldn’t use it.

Wan Feng never imagined that Lin Yun would actually possess a peak mid-grade profound artifact! Not to mention that it had rarely seen ice attributes. It was a perfect counter to Pei Xiuyuan’s Martial Soul.

“Thank you!” Wan Feng’s confidence soared when he gripped the Clouded Ice Spear. “I’ll see how you defeat me!”

Wan Feng stuttered his wrist, stabbing his spear at Pei Xiuyuan so quickly he left afterimages.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Pei Xiuyuan grimaced with each of Wan Feng’s attacks. Even after summoning his Martial Soul, he couldn’t gain an advantage as the Clouded Ice Spear entirely suppressed his flames.

Wan Feng ended the battle quickly without summoning his Martial Soul or expending much spiritual energy thanks to the Clouded Ice Spear.

“Kong Lingyuan, it’s your turn,” Kong Yuan said flatly when he saw Pei Xiuyuan’s defeat. No one could guess what was going on in his mind.

Does that fellow have something up his sleeves?

Wan Qiuye couldn’t help shifting his gaze at the last participant from the other party. Their hood obstructed their face and they were suppressing their aura. Wan Qiuye had no way of determining the other party’s strength.

Shortly after, Wan Qiuye regained his composure.

Why should I worry with Lin Yun around? That brat knows an Advanced Xiantian Martial Technique!

Advanced Xiantian Martial Techniques weren’t something that anyone could grasp.

He was jarred from his thoughts as the next battle erupted. Surprisingly, though, Kong Lingyuan was actually weaker than Pei Xiuyuan.

Gripping the Clouded Ice Spear tight, Wan Feng maintained his advantage with a dazzling smile on his face.

“Phew! So they placed Pei Xiuyuan first on purpose, and Kong Lingyun is their true standard.”

“In the end, they’re only small clans. How can they compare to the resources of my Wan Clan? They had already done a great job in grooming someone like Pei Xiuyuan.”

“Haha! We’ll only have to win one more after this.”

The elders of the Wan Clan had smiles plastered on their faces as they watched the battle. Kong Lingyuan was weaker than Pei Xiuyuan, and Wan Feng did not need to summon his martial soul for his battle.

“Go down!” Wan Feng stabbed forth. The spear trembled as the bud at the tip bloomed and spread its sharp petals.

Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!

After taking four stabs from Wan Feng, Kong Lingyuan stumbled several stabs back, his face pale. He was drenched in his own blood. As he teetered, an elder from the Kong Clan ran over to help Kong Lingyuan down.

Wan Feng was enjoying the momentum after defeating two opponents and raised his brow at the last one, “Hey, punk, it’s your turn.”

Hearing his words, the Wan Clan’s party started cheering.

The hooded figure chuckled as he pulled back his covering to reveal a sinister smile. In a tattered, raspy voice, he said, “My name is Yan Tianrui. I’m a newcomer here, so please take care of me.”

When Yan Tianrui took off his hood, the Wan Clan went silent. A crimson mask dotted with clouds covered half of his face.

“Blood Cloud Sect!” Wan Qiuye’s heart throbbed. The other party’s third participant was actually an elite from the Blood Cloud Sect!