Everyone could clearly hear the sound of blood dripping from his sword. They were all silent, so much so that the fight on the other stages had temporarily been forgotten about. All eyes were on Lin Yun, his sword, and the decapitated Qin Yang.

Just like that, a top-tier genius and core disciple of the Profound Yang Palace had died. The one who claimed that he would make Lin Yun beg for his life was killed by Lin Yun in just one attack. This had a massive impact on everyone and they could feel their throats tightening up.

Although many people were killed in the banquet, those who died were mostly nameless people. So, their deaths didn’t cause any ripples. In comparison, it was easy to see the impact of Qin Yang’s death. Even the newly risen geniuses who were weaker than Qin Yang didn’t die.

Many people were defeated, but not many died. So no one had expected this scene. The faces of everyone from the Profound Yang Palace were ugly. Even some of the elders couldn’t help standing up with flames gushing out of their pupils. After all, Qin Yang would definitely make it into the second round with a high chance of making it into the ranking battle. But, he was killed by Lin Yun.

“Qin Yang didn’t die in vain. Lin Yun is clearly on a higher level.”

“How terrifying. Lin Yun looks like he just killed a dog. It’s like he placed no achievement in killing someone like Qin Yang.”

“Now that we look at it, he should be stronger than Feng Wudao in the seventh group.”

“That’s possible. But Feng Wudao isn’t a pushover and the outcome is uncertain if the two of them run into each other.” The audience exploded after a brief silence. Everyone looked at Lin Yun in shock and began to discuss things with each other.

“Say, how much strength do you think Lin Yun used?”

“At least 80%, but he should have a few trump cards. He should be able to make it into the top thirty or even the top fifteen.”

“This banquet is really shocking. Top-tier geniuses are actually being defeated one after another. The newly risen geniuses are really shocking. I’m looking forward to the elimination round and ranking battle now.”

“I wonder how high he can make it on the ranking.” Lin Yun’s performance had shocked everyone and they began to discuss how far Lin Yun would go in the Draconic Banquet. Someone wanted to place him first, but Yue Weiwei’s supporters immediately disagreed. Some also felt that Bai Lixuan wouldn’t be any weaker than Lin Yun because the former possessed the saint physique.

The performances of Feng Wudao, Fang Hanluo, and the rest were also breathtaking. No matter how long they discussed things, they couldn’t reach a conclusion. This made everyone even more excited for the upcoming battles.

Everyone wanted to see the intense battles of the newly risen geniuses and their clash with the three kings and seven geniuses. Anything was possible and the newly risen geniuses could potentially defeat the top ten.

Time passed quickly under the heated discussions and the first round was coming to an end. Lin Yun, Feng Wudao, and an expert on the Dragoncloud Ranking were the only geniuses from the seventh group that won ten matches in a row. If Qin Yang didn’t run into Lin Yun, he would surely have a perfect record as well. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t be able to regret this since he no longer existed.

Outside of the seventh group, there were other geniuses that also won ten matches in a row. These geniuses had profound amber aura that dazzled and made them stick out. After the judges finished checking on everyone, they announced those who made it to the second round.

At the very beginning, about a hundred thousand people from the Ancient Southern Domain were participating. However, that number dwindled down to only a few thousand. There was no doubt that these thousand were the true elites of the Ancient Southern Domain. With a group this large, there were bound to be many underdogs and dark horses.

After all, anything was possible and the tables could be turned at any moment in battle. After one night of rest, the elimination round was beginning. When the sun shined on the Nine Dragon Lake, hundreds of thousands of cultivators got excited. The official competition rules were about to be revealed.

For the elimination round, the tenth group would face the first group, the second group would face the ninth group, the third group would face the eighth group, and so on and so forth. Everyone had to undergo ten rounds that were governed by brutal rules. Those who lost three matches would be eliminated, which meant that no one could lose more than twice.

Each group had a hundred participants and only two hundred people would make it to the third round. This meant that the odds were one in ten. This was brutal for the competitors.

Not only was the second round full of bonafide geniuses, but there weren’t any weaklings that slipped through the cracks. Even worse, the rules for the second round would cause many people to lose their qualifications to continue. So, no one could lose strategically like in the first round. This time around, each battle was the equivalent to life and death. Knowing this, it was easy to imagine how brutal the fights would become.

According to the rules, the seventh group will face the fourth group. Lin Yun began to ponder inwardly. In the seventh group, there were two others who achieved a perfect win record. The first one was Feng Wudao whose lightning intent was comparable to his xiantian sword intent.

The other person who achieved a perfect win record was Yan Ziqing who was ranked fourteenth on the previous ranking. This fellow was rather low profile as most of his opponents would admit defeat before anything happened, so Lin Yun couldn’t determine how strong he was. The only other expert that he had to keep an eye on was Yang Teng. He was another top-tier genius who was ranked twenty second with a single loss to Feng Wudao.

As for the fourth group, they were even more terrifying. There was Fang Hanluo, the Azurewood Pavilion’s rising star Bai Ling, the Indigomoon Elysium’s core disciple Ye Qingfeng, and several other newly risen geniuses. All of their performances were similar to Lin Yun.

But what made the fourth group most terrifying was that it had the Azurewood Pavilion’s chief disciple, Jue Chen. He was one of the seven elites and was ranked number eight in the previous banquet. If anyone ran into him, they would have no chance of winning.

The Sacred Alliance probably expected this situation so they set the rules up to eliminate those who had three losses. After all, it would be a pity if someone lost in the first round because they were matched with Jue Chen.

Then again, aside from those in the fourth group, Lin Yun would also run into experts in the seventh group. This made the second round even more dangerous.

“First round of elimination, Yang Teng VS Ye Qingfeng!” The atmosphere of the first match was so tense. Yang Feng only lost one match in the first round, while Ye Qingfeng won ten matches in a row. Additionally, Ye Qingfeng was from the Indigomoon Elysium.

Yang Teng’s face turned grave when he was called, but he didn’t dare to be careless. Four years ago, Ye Qingfeng was still a nobody, so achieving ten wins in a row was impressive.

“Indigomoon Elysium’s Ye Qingfeng!” Ye Qingfeng attacked first as a purple moon enveloped the entire stage. He moved as if he teleported and appeared before Yang Teng, raising his thumb, index finger, and middle finger on his right hand in the form of a claw. Then, he reached for Yang Teng’s face.

Yang Teng was surprised by Ye Qingfeng’s speed. But he swiftly reacted by executing his sword sutra and unsheathing his sword instantly. His sword ray clashed with Ye Qingfeng’s attack, but Ye Qingfeng’s hand seemed like it was made of steel. After all, no one dared to hold back in the elimination round.

With the rule of three losses, no one was willing to lose a single battle, even if they were facing the three kings and seven elites. After all, losing once was the same as being pushed to the corner. So the battle was intense on the stage.

“Three Fingers Heart Claw!” Ye Qingfeng roared and he suddenly curled up in mid-air before he was enveloped by the purple moon. Under the purple moon, he looked like an eerie cat. So when he swung his hands, countless claws flew out and clashed with Yang Teng’s sword.

Ye Qingfeng’s attacks were ruthless and one would have their heart clawed out if they were careless. On the other hand, the sword image behind Yang Teng slowly dissipated as he continued to retreat.

On the stage, the purple claws were constantly being shattered by the sword ray as moonlight scattered down on the stage like an ethereal dream. But this was a nightmare to Yang Teng as he already suffered several wounds on his body.

“Lin Yun, who do you think will win?” Azurewood Pavilion’s Bai Ling suddenly asked Lin Yun. All the competitors in the two groups were clumped together. So, Bai Ling’s words instantly put many gazes onto Lin Yun. For example, Feng Wudao, Fang Hanluo, Yan Ziqing, and Jue Chen were all looking at him with interest.

After all, competition existed all the time between geniuses and Bai Ling was testing Lin Yun’s eyesight. This was also a form of provocation as many people wanted to see how Lin Yun would react.

Lin Yun glanced at Bai Ling calmly and replied, “You first.”

“Ye Qingfeng will be in a passive position in three moves and then he will lose,” smiled Bai Ling. He then looked at Lin Yun with provocation in his eyes as if he was mocking Lin Yun for not daring to speak first. Bai Ling’s judgment was also rather fresh. After all, Yang Teng was in a disadvantageous position on the stage.

Many geniuses agreed in their hearts with Bai Ling. Yang Teng might look like he was in a disadvantageous position, but he was calm and had been accumulating his sword aura. Knowing this, they thought that Yang Teng could turn the tables around in three more moves.

“Yang Teng will lose within two moves,” replied Lin Yun.

“Flower Burial, you don’t seem that impressive at all. Your eyesight is pretty bad.” Bai Ling looked at Lin Yun with a playful smile and disdain written on his face. Many people also gave Lin Yun strange looks and disagreed inwardly. After all, none of them trusted Lin Yun’s judgment.