After exchanging a few words with his wife and daughter, Shangshu Tianye left the main hall and went to the area where the Azure Dragon Castle Disciples resided. He nodded to a Disciple, then entered a pavilion.
"Shangshu Chunxie greets the Clan Chief." The Disciple who entered the pavilion bowed respectfully to Shangshu Tianye.
"After watching their battles today, what are your thoughts?" Shangshu Tianye asked the tall young man with a hint of wickedness in his eyes.
"Qin Chu of the Vermilion Bird Saint Clan is not easy to defeat. That Shang Tiandu Disciple can hold his own; I wouldn't dare say he'd win, but at least a mutual destruction is not a problem. As for Zhen Ji of the Black Tortoise Saint Clan, your subordinate can take her down," the young man with a hint of wickedness in his eyes, Shangshu Chunxie, said after a moment of thought. Shangshu Tianye nodded, "When you go out to battle tomorrow, if you encounter Qin Chu, surrender immediately. If you encounter Zhen Ji first, kill her directly. If you encounter Shang Tiandu, withstand one of his attacks, then kill him or gravely injure him."
"Yes, this Disciple is willing to fight to the death for the Azure Dragon Saint Clan!" The wickedness in Shangshu Chunxie's eyes intensified.
"No need to fight to the death! You must live; only by living can you be of great use. This is a heart-guard mirror polished from a diamond. Keep it close to your body; it can block a fatal attack." Shangshu Tianye tossed a round heart-guard mirror to Shangshu Chunxie, then left the pavilion. Every power had its trump cards, and Shangshu Tianye had his as well.
After Cultivating all night, Qin Chu washed up and came to the main hall of the Vermilion Bird Saint Clan's stronghold.
Qin Longhan and others were already waiting.
"Qin Chu, you should wear your Vermilion Bird battle attire now." Qin Lingxi took out a stack of robes and handed them to Qin Chu.
"Aunt, are my current robes not proper?" Qin Chu looked at himself.
Qin Lingxi smiled, "No, they're fine. It's just that we, the Vermilion Bird Saint Clan, have special attire for formal occasions, just like we wear Vermilion Bird feathers when fighting."
Qin Chu nodded, took the robes, and went into the inner room to change. Qin Lingxi had prepared a pure white battle robe for him, embroidered with a Vermilion Bird on the shoulder in silver thread. The golden thread Vermilion Bird was the Clan Chief's royal robe.
"Very good, full of heroic spirit! This is truly our Young Lord of the Vermilion Bird Saint Clan!" Seeing Qin Chu emerge from the inner room, Qin Lingxi nodded in satisfaction.
"Qin Chu, wear this from now on. While coarse linen battle robes are more casual, they don't suit your status," Qin Longxuan said to Qin Chu.
After preparing, the group set off and arrived at the plaza in front of the City Lord's mansion. The Vermilion Bird Saint Clan members took their seats in the spectator area, while Qin Chu and Qin Mo sat in the combatant's area.
"Qin Mo, pay attention to your safety. Some people have murderous intentions. If things become unmanageable, retreat. This is a critical moment for our Vermilion Bird Saint Clan's resurgence; we should avoid losses if possible," Qin Chu said to Qin Mo and the others.
Qin Mo hesitated, "If we do that, they might look down on our Vermilion Bird Saint Clan."
"They won't. Whether the Vermilion Bird Saint Clan is looked down upon depends on us, not on others," Qin Chu said.
Qin Mo nodded. Qin Chu was the Young Lord of the Vermilion Bird Saint Clan, and he simply needed to follow Qin Chu's orders.
At this moment, Shangshu Yu, on one side of the contestant seats, looked towards Qin Chu.
Noticing Shangshu Yu looking at him, Qin Chu mouthed a warning to be careful.
Seeing Qin Chu's gesture, Shangshu Yu smiled. She was very happy because, regardless of his background, Qin Chu cared about her safety.
"Bitch!" Zhen Ji of the Black Tortoise Saint Clan, who noticed Qin Chu and Shangshu Yu's interaction, cursed.
Zhen Ji's words brought a chill to Shangshu Yu's eyes. She hated it when others bullied or insulted Qin Chu.
Qin Chu shook his head at Shangshu Yu. He felt there was no need to get angry; they would settle it on the arena.
At this moment, Ye Ming stepped onto the arena and announced the rules for drawing lots and battling. Then, Gongyang Yi drew lots. Whoever was drawn would go up to battle. The winner would advance to the next round, and the loser would be eliminated. This continued until twenty people remained, who would then proceed to tomorrow's ranking battles.
Qin Chu closed his eyes to rest. If he was drawn, he would go up. If not, he would wait!
Gongyang Yi's voice calling out names continued, and combatants constantly stepped onto the arena. Three arenas were simultaneously engaged in fierce battles, so the competition progressed very quickly.
Those with significant gaps in strength quickly produced results, and there were also many contestants who retreated without fighting. If they were from the same clan or knew their opponent was powerful, there was no need to fight.
After a little less than half an hour, Gongyang Yi called Qin Chu's name for arena number two.
After Qin Chu stepped onto the arena, his opponent's name was also announced: a Loose Cultivator who had fought alongside Qin Chu yesterday.
After this Loose Cultivator stepped onto the arena, he cupped his fists at Qin Chu and immediately conceded. He knew he was no match for Qin Chu, and he also owed Qin Chu a favor from yesterday.
Nodding to the Loose Cultivator who conceded, Qin Chu stepped down from the arena, and his name tag was placed into the next round's drawing cylinder.
Intense battles also occurred frequently. When members of the major Saint Clans faced each other, it was a fight to the death, with no talk of retreat.
The Black Tortoise Saint Clan, who had previously acted like cowards, directly struck hard when facing members of the Azure Dragon Saint Clan. Although they had retreated from the Azure Dragon Saint Clan due to circumstances, they still wanted to vent their anger by killing fiercely within the allowed rules.
Whenever there was an intense battle, Qin Chu watched carefully, observing the special moves and fighting styles of other Saint Clans, which was helpful to him.
The first round quickly concluded, and the remaining hundred people began the second round of duels.
In the first match of the second round, a member of the Azure Dragon Saint Clan died, killed by Zhen Ji of the Black Tortoise Saint Clan. Killing intent appeared in Zhen Han's eyes, but Shangshu Tianye's face was still full of smiles.
Subsequently, powerful combatants appeared one after another, and casualties continued to occur. Except for those who directly conceded, almost all shed blood on the arena.
When Shangshu Chunxie killed a member of the Blazing Thunder Saint Clan, Qin Chu clenched his fists. Shangshu Chunxie's last sword strike made him feel a certain danger, especially the unique Qi carried by the longsword, which was neither Sword Intent nor Battle Intent.
Noticing Qin Chu's gaze, Shangshu Chunxie glanced at Qin Chu and then stepped down from the arena.
"Qin Mo, if you encounter him, do not fight. You are not his match," Qin Chu instructed Qin Mo and the others.
Next, Shangshu Yu entered the battle. After stepping onto the stage, Shangshu Yu defeated a Loose Cultivator.
After Shangshu Yu's battle, Gongyang Yu called Qin Chu's name.
Qin Chu walked onto the arena, his silver-threaded Vermilion Bird battle attire gleaming in the sunlight.
"Black Tortoise Saint Clan, Zhen Feng!" Qin Chu's opponent's name was announced.
"Little bastard, today is your death day." Zhen Feng swung his battle saber and slashed towards Qin Chu.
At this moment, killing intent appeared on Qin Chu's face, "You won't even get to die quickly."
Insulting his parents was something Qin Chu could not tolerate. He was truly enraged, and he felt it was necessary to give the Black Tortoise Saint Clan a severe lesson.
