Everyone Shocked

Just as Ning Fan felt his fist connect with Personal Disciple Qingbo's head, a radiant light suddenly enveloped her.

The next moment.

Personal Disciple Qingbo's figure vanished. The impact against Ning Fan's fist disappeared, leaving him striking nothing but empty air.

Personal Disciple Qingbo had been eliminated!

Everyone stared at Ning Fan, solemn expressions settling over their faces. This Ning Fan showed no hesitation or mercy when he struck. It was simply terrifying.

Back on the first floor of the Martial Skills Pavilion, many disciples had fought among themselves. Where there was slaughter, there would naturally be eliminations.

But Personal Disciple Qingbo of Yin Yang Peak was unquestionably the first top-tier expert to be eliminated.

At the same time, in the outside world.

"Look."

"Ning Fan's name is shaking!!"

A voice rang out as a cultivator raised his hand, pointing at the Yin Yang Fire-Pattern Stele. Ning Fan's name was trembling violently.

The Peak Competition was an event of monumental importance for the Yin Yang Divine Sect. Aside from a few elusive grand figures who rarely showed their faces, almost everyone in the sect was present to observe.

"Hmph."

"That Ning Fan never deserved to have his name on the Yin Yang Fire-Pattern Stele in the first place. Tumbling down the ranks is only natural."

A mocking voice drifted through the crowd. The speaker was none other than the Ninth Elder-Zhao Bo. He slightly raised his chin, a self-satisfied smile curling the corners of his mouth.

In his eyes, no matter how outstanding Ning Fan's combat strength was, he still wasn't worthy of being ranked on the Yin Yang Fire-Pattern Stele. The trembling of the name meant a shift in the rankings.

He was undoubtedly about to plummet.

This was how it should be.

Yet in the very next breath, Ning Fan's name flashed brilliantly and surged upward, soaring a full hundred places to hover around the nine hundredth rank.

"Wh-what!?"

Ninth Elder Zhao Bo's eyes bulged, his pupils contracting to pinpricks. It was as if an invisible hand had seized him by the throat, causing his breathing to turn ragged.

What was happening!?

Ning Fan's ranking had actually gone up!?

Ah!?

"Pfft-"

A sneering laugh sounded nearby. The Ninth Elder was about to snap a furious rebuke, but when he saw that the one laughing was the Sixth Elder, Yu Ji, he forcefully swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue. His face turned exceptionally ugly.

Within the Yin Yang Divine Sect, elders also had a strict hierarchy. Sixth Elder Yu Ji's authority and strength were both far above Ninth Elder Zhao Bo's.

Furthermore, besides her clan backing, the Sixth Elder was supported by a main peak.

This made Zhao Bo even more fearful.

"Wait, look! The fire clusters behind Ning Fan's name are trembling. What does that mean!?"

A voice cried out. The speaker was a new disciple.

Many newer disciples like him were ignorant of what the flashing fire clusters on the Yin Yang Fire-Pattern Stele signified.

"It means the cultivator is currently engaged in a fierce battle, pushing their strength to the absolute limit," someone explained.

At this moment.

The number of fire clusters behind Ning Fan's name had increased to forty-four. These clusters danced and flared, looking as though they might burst off the Yin Yang Fire-Pattern Stele at any second.

"A battle?"

"With who? According to the usual pace, everyone should have only just entered the second floor of the Yin Yang Tower. How could they run into such a bitter fight this early?"

Several voices murmured in confusion.

Fierce skirmishes had broken out earlier, but those were between weaker disciples, causing no unusual reactions from the Yin Yang Fire-Pattern Stele.

This was the first time the flames had flared so violently on the stele. It was indeed far earlier than in any past Peak Competition.

"Look, right above Ning Fan's name! There's another name with flashing fire clusters!!"

Another shout went up.

The crowd followed the disciple's gaze. Sitting just above Ning Fan was the name Zhao Qingbo. Behind Zhao Qingbo's name burned forty-six fire clusters. This meant that, under the Yin Yang Tower's perception, Zhao Qingbo's strength was superior to Ning Fan's.

"That's Yin Yang Peak's Personal Disciple-Zhao Qingbo? They're only on the second floor. How could a clash at the personal disciple level already be happening?"

A disciple who had long since left the main peaks asked in bewilderment.

Someone quickly provided the answer.

"That disciple Ning Fan has a blood feud with the Zhao family. Zhao Qingbo moving against Ning Fan must be to settle that private grudge."

"Oh..."

For a moment.

Every gaze in the crowd locked onto the names of Ning Fan and Zhao Qingbo. It was as if their eyes could pierce through the leaping flames on the stele to witness the brutal combat unfolding within the Yin Yang Tower.

"Heh, that Ning Fan's luck truly is abysmal, actually running into that little girl from my Zhao family," Zhao Bo proclaimed with immense pride.

"'Little' girl?"

The Changming Peak Master, Yin Fengyue, slightly raised an eyebrow. She knew a bit about this Zhao Qingbo, and she certainly had nothing in common with the words 'little girl.'

"Hmph."

Zhao Bo snorted coldly, ignoring Yin Fengyue's teasing remark. He crossed his arms over his chest, muttering to himself with utmost confidence.

"It's just that Ning Fan's rotten luck to encounter a disciple of my Zhao family so early. It seems he will be returning empty-handed."

Hearing the Ninth Elder's bold claim, no one spoke up to refute it. The reason was simple: Zhao Qingbo's Combat Constitution was famous throughout the entire Yin Yang Divine Sect.

In the eyes of the crowd.

This battle.

Would be an incredibly bitter struggle for Ning Fan.

Yet in the next moment.

Whoosh-

Ning Fan's name surged upward once more. The fire clusters behind his name multiplied, rocketing past fifty and instantly eclipsing Zhao Qingbo.

"Wh-what!?"

"Just what realm is that Ning Fan in!?"

Zhao Bo, who had just been sitting there looking as though he held all the answers, shot out of his seat. He stared at the Yin Yang Fire-Pattern Stele's rankings with a face full of utter disbelief.

Impossible.

The fire clusters behind Ning Fan's name had already spiked once, which meant Ning Fan had unleashed a powerful technique. Usually, these were high-grade martial skills.

But for the fire clusters to increase yet again meant Ning Fan possessed another formidable trump card.

Two rapid spikes in fire clusters didn't look like two different martial skills being used. It looked more like a martial skill paired with an entirely different kind of power.

And exactly what that other power was, was something deeply intriguing.

The next moment.

The cultivators lingering near the Yin Yang Tower suddenly felt the sky darken. Many raised their heads, only to see a massive shadow plummeting straight down toward them.

"Quick, run!!"

"What is that thing!?"

Those with agile footwork managed to scramble away, while a few who reacted half a beat too slow were crushed squarely beneath the enormous shadow.

They were knocked cold instantly.

It was a true catastrophe out of nowhere. Who could have imagined that simply standing outside the Yin Yang Tower would result in being 'attacked' into elimination?

"Qingbo!!"

The Ninth Elder's eyes threatened to split at the seams. Not only had Zhao Qingbo lost, but she had actually been expelled from the Yin Yang Tower. Expelled by Ning Fan!

This...

How was this possible!?

But it wasn't over.

Another figure suddenly materialized in mid-air, plummeting toward the ground. Taking the previous unfortunate victims as a bloody lesson, the remaining crowd was incredibly cautious.

They immediately scrambled away to avoid the falling cultivator.

However, upon seeing the face of the fallen cultivator, the expressions of the Ninth Elder and the entire group of Zhao family disciples instantly turned exceptionally ugly.

88.181.249.5

ns88.181.249.5da2