The gong was rung three times, each louder than the last, and the murmuring in the colosseum stopped, gathering their attention as they waited for what would happen next.

Would it be a free-for-all? Xue Yueliang wondered. What would happen if the rest of the ninety bands together against the top ten?

While she entertained herself with her thoughts, the voice that would answer her questions sounded.

"Congratulations, young cultivators, on making it this far," a booming voice sounded, echoing throughout the hall and silencing everyone in the room.

The voice seemed to be coming from nowhere but everywhere, inspiring awe in the young geniuses that filled this colosseum. Xue Yueliang watched as billowing dust exploded from the middle arena, pushing away those near it as if by a giant storm, creating a clearing.

Amidst the billowing smoke, an untainted figure walked out, contrasting against the dirt-filled robes of the cultivators surrounding him.

First, the figure's pure white robes appeared, followed by his long silver hair, and although ethereal, it was not what caught everyone's eye. On his head, there were two horns, majestic and fear-inducing, clearly not belonging to a human.

Though he simply stood there, he was awe-inspiring, causing a sharp inhale from the crowd as they couldn't help but feel admiration from within them.

Admiration?

Xue Yueliang frowned; she did not know this man; she had no reason to admire him; these feelings couldn't be hers.

She circulated her cultivation sutra, consolidating her power and allowing her natural calm to return to her. Her eyes turned cold; she hated feeling controlled but being angry would not help her. She increased the speed at which she circulated her sutra and returned her attention to the still talking man.

"Out of the" the humanoid paused, "two and eighty-three people," he continued, frowning, "You hundred ranked at the top, earning yourselves some well-deserved reward, but to what extent you will be rewarded depends on your own ability."

An excited chatter sounded amongst the crowd, but not all the noise in the world could block his words from reverberating.

"You will commence a battle, ranking yourselves from number one to number one hundred. Feel free to challenge anyone of a higher rank than you; whatever your rank is at the end of three days will be your final ranking."

The man smiled, looking around, searching for questions, but no one spoke up until the third prince broke the silence: "What will be the rewards?" He asked, naturally taking up the position of the leader.

The man smiled, dampening his fearsome aura as he answered, "What you will be rewarded should have appeared next to your names, and everyone's rewards will be public. If there is something you want or need, take the rank of that person, and their reward will be yours."

As soon as his words landed, flashes of lights appeared as people looked through their screens, hoping to see what they would be awarded, and Xue Yueliang followed on; the only person who did not check was Mao Ya, causing her to dislike him more.

Pretentious.

Next to her name, Xue Yueliang found that she would be awarded one thousand mid-grade spirit stones, ten high-grade spirit stones, and ten fire kindlings - a type of herb that improved a cultivator's fire energy.

Though these rewards were generous, they weren't what she came here for, so she scanned the list until her gaze landed on one of the rewards for the first place, Ethereal Soul Jade.

According to the description, it would help heal and centre a person's soul; according to the legends, it could extend a person's destined time in the mortal plane, not allowing them to pass on.

From this, Xue Yueliang could infer that this was the treasure her master was looking for, but all the confirmation she needed was the slight vibration she felt from her ring.

In less than a moment, she felt the silver-haired man's gaze concentrate on her, and the ring on her finger flew off, "No outside influence," he said, letting it flow above his palm.

Xue Yueliang was startled at the sudden happenings and couldn't help but rub the finger where her ring went missing, "I apologise," she said, bowing deeply.

Though she had composed herself, she felt unsettled: that ring had been on her finger for over four years: it was the only constant since she recalled her memories.

Seeing that she was unnerved, the man smiled, waving his hand, "It'll be returned to you as soon as you're done."

Turning away from her, he continued, "This event will be witnessed by all people within the surrounding thousand li; it would be a chance for you to spread your fame and attract countless people. I wish you, youngsters, the best of luck."

Following his words, a giant screen appeared in the air, showcasing the arena from different angles, giving a comprehensive view, then the floor beneath them began to shake, separating into fifty platforms, allowing them all to fight simultaneously. The horned man then dissipated into the billowing dust he formed from, causing silence to fall on them.

This time, the first move was made by Shi Ling as he jumped onto the nearest platform, holding his halberd in his right hand and his flaming red hair settled wildly on his body, carrying the confidence of a general.

"I'm Shi Ling of the Xiuqi Kingdom; whoever wants to challenge me, do it now."

That's dumb. Xue Yueliang thought. He'll only tire himself out.

Though she was unimpressed, his fierce challenge won the hearts of many young women, at the forefront of them Li Hua, whose usually brash face blushed deeply.

Though she was higher ranked than him and had nothing to gain from this battle, Li Hua seriously debated whether or not she should challenge him, but before she could, another voice sounded, "It would be an honour to battle with you, Crown Prince Shi Ling," the black-robed young man walked forward, "I'm Zhou Shen, ranked eighth." He said, bowing slightly.

Shi Ling nodded lightly, "Take out your weapon."

"I don't have any," Zhou Shen smiled. Before the frown could fully form on Shi Ling's face, Zhou Shen struck first, relying on his speed as his fist closed on his face. Considering his tiny frame and Shi Ling's bulkiness, it didn't seem like he would be harmed, but he still took it seriously. He deflected the blow with his arm, but it went through.

An afterimage. The halberd swapped hands, covering the nape of his neck, but it still seeped through.

Seeped? Shi Ling questioned as his hair stood on end.

A sizzling noise of boiling oil meeting water resounded as soon as Zhou Shen reached his neck, startling them. They widened the distance between them as they eyed each other defensively. Both wanted to figure out the cause of the repulsion and how to best beat it.

Shi Ling noticed Zhou Shen's left arm turned into a sticky-looking black liquid, bubbling and sometimes disappearing. It was not something he had seen before, and he had no idea how to beat it.

At the same time, blazing flames erupted from his body, orange in colour, resembling the sun.

That is not a legendary or beast flame, Zhou Shen thought. But a flame formed from a cultivator's own essence, a true flame.

True flames were mostly cultivated by forgers and alchemists; they were easier to control and better for refining. They required a lot of time to form and strengthen, but they weren't explosive enough. Unless cultivators were of those two professions, they preferred acquiring the flames as that was more effective for them.

But his fire doesn't seem weak.

"You really are deserving of your reputation," Zhou Shen smiled.

"Sadly, I have not heard of you before."

"That makes our meeting very valuable," he replied, charging at him.

The two men turned cold as they resumed battling each other in earnest; they both felt this battle would not be as easy as they had assumed.

Xue Yueliang was forced away from enjoying the fight when a voice called out to her, "Xue Yueliang, ranked ninth, I challenge you to battle."

Xue Yueliang searched for where the voice came from, her gaze finally landing on an odd thirty-looking man with slicked back hair and an upright posture; though he was expressionless, a ferocious aura radiated from him. He had not introduced himself, so she had no idea who he was, but considering the disregard in other people's eyes, he was probably no one of note.

With a light gust of wind, Xue Yueliang appeared in front of him, unsheathing her sword; her actions were followed by a small cheer, "You can do it, Liang'er!"

Xue Yueliang could instantly feel an increase in the amount of attention she received, which was not something she liked.

"I know." She lightly replied, "Will you attack first?"

Her opponent remained silent, unmoving, but his aura grew fiercer. Seeing his complete disregard, Xue Yueliang found it amusing and did nothing.

I won't let you ignore me. She thought. Let's see how long you can continue; I have two days to kill.

It didn't make sense for her to fight in the first place until the time was about to run out, and if she could kill time like this, why not?

Besides, how long can he keep this up?

She had always been weirdly stubborn, and now was a chance that would reward her for her shortcomings. She pretended to drop her guard and took the time to look around, noting that the screen that was separated into fifty; displayed her and Shi Ling's battles while minimising the other arenas.

That's smart. She smiled; does that mean the whole kingdom can see me?

Seeing that ignoring him was not enough, she sat down, placing her sword on her lap, spectating the other battle, "Li Hua, who do you think will win?"

Though it had appeared before that Zhou Shen would not be able to land a hand on Shi Ling due to his True Flame, the two were exchanging moves faster than the eyes of mortals could keep up with, appearing like blurs of shadows.

The crowd laughed at her question, understanding her intentions, but Li Hua remained oblivious, "One is a prince, and the other is no one, I think it's obvious."

Hearing the answer, Xue Yueliang resisted the urge to roll her eyes; she had forgotten that Li Hua was such a fangirl for the red-haired prince, but looking at him, she could not blame her.

"A person's power isn't decided by their background, but by their ability." Shi Ling replied, defending himself.

Yeah, money doesn't matter - rich people. Xue Yueliang laughed but did not say anything aloud.

She was well-off herself, and Zhou Shen could defend himself; he seemed to care about social issues.

"Of course," Li Hua beamed, happy that he was talking to her, "Someone as exceptional as you would be great regardless of where you came from." Zhou Shen's jaw clenched more upset with each coming word but did not retort, showing his anger through the increasing intensity of his attacks. Watching his silence, Xue Yueliang was disappointed; it seemed like this wouldn't be as interesting as she had hoped.

Out of other ideas, her eyes landed back on her opponent, he was still motionless, expressionless, but the intensity and ferocity of his aura increased, causing slight tremors on the ground.

"Hey, I heard that men are supposed to lead; why are you not moving?" She asked, then widened her eyes incredulously, "Could it be that you're no longer a man?"

Her gaze looked down, not making any intentions to veil her meaning. A smile formed on her lips.

There's no way this would not anger such a proper man.

Though she knew what was in her best interests, she could not help but feel bored and wanted to get a rise out of his calmness.

The man frowned but did nothing further to prove his displeasure, treating her words like the buzz of bees and flies, a nuisance but easily ignored.

Her taunt caused a few giggles from the crowd, but seeing nothing further happening, they turned their attention elsewhere, finding opponents of their own or spectating others' battles.

Maybe he wants to kill time too?

Xue Yueliang was both surprised and intrigued by his silence, she did not know what he was planning, and his stoic expression did not give much away.

Oh well, I guess I'll just cultivate.

The quietness in her arena contrasted greatly against the noise surrounding her as challenges were uttered and battles won and lost, people cursed, and others cried, but all of that did not affect them. The silence seemed ever-lasting, and just as some felt they had banded together to protect their spots, the man's already fierce aura broke into bright hues of blue and green forming an almost palpable pressure on the cultivating Xue Yueliang, bearing her down.

The air enveloping her seemed to condense, stifling her breaths as her heart desperately pumped, hoping to make up for the lack of breath.

Pang.

Pang.

Pang.

Xue Yueliang's eyelids flew open, showcasing the bloodlust in her eyes.