The setting sun blazed like blood, dyeing half the sky crimson.
The much-anticipated "Battle of Two Kings" finally commenced amid thunderous cheers.
To display the prestige of a Rank 4 expert and showcase Black Blood Stockade's strength to neighboring factions, this final match was elevated to the highest spectacle.
Patriarch Lin Cang not only opened the outer viewing areas but even sent formal invitations to several nearby small and medium-sized forces.
The most eye-catching guests were White Bone Stockade's Patriarch, Li Mang, seated in the honored guest position, and the white-haired young master Li Huang beside him.
Outwardly, the old ghost came under the banner of "fostering friendship between our two stockades and admiring Black Blood's younger generation," exchanging flattery with Lin Cang.
But in truth, his cloudy old eyes covertly and greedily swept across the underground terrain of Black Blood Stockade's core area, secretly searching for any trace of the "Black Bone King's inheritance."
Lin Mu wore a crisp blue Steward's uniform, blending into Lin Feng's massive cheering squad.
Countless supporters screamed wildly, some nearly coming to blows over seating positions.
Yet amid this fervent atmosphere, Lin Mu's heart remained still as dead water.
"Who takes first place—what's it to me?"
Arms crossed, his gaze clear.
"It's not like the so-called 'True Inheritance disciple benefits' will fall into my hands anyway."
Boom—!
With an earth-shaking drum beat, the final officially began.
Lin Feng and Lin Xue, surrounded by massive crowds of supporters from their respective halls, made grand entrances onto the widest blue-steel rock arena.
Lin Feng still wore white robes pure as snow, sword in hand, sleeves fluttering.
A confident, composed smile hung at his lips, as if the True Inheritance position was already his.
Lin Xue, however, had undergone a dramatic transformation.
This Medicine Hall leader who had always appeared cold and delicate had shed her cumbersome long dress for a form-fitting black combat suit that accentuated her graceful yet explosive curves.
Even more surprising—she had drawn weapons.
Her right hand gripped a fine steel dagger in reverse, gleaming with faint green light, clearly coated in deadly poison. Between her left fingers, she held three dark-green Iron Leaf Gu.
This was no healing immortal—this was a cold-blooded assassin armed to the teeth!
"Begin!"
The moment the referee's arm dropped, the battle instantly turned white-hot.
Hum!
Green light blazed within Lin Xue's aperture as the Spring Revival Gu was once again activated like a stimulant.
With blood and qi surging violently through her body, she transformed into a black bolt of lightning, displaying terrifying speed far exceeding her match against the little tyrant Lin Lan!
"So fast!"
Below the stage, Lin Mu's pupils contracted slightly, secretly alarmed.
This speed—abandoning all defense to pursue extreme close-quarters combat—rivaled his own explosive power when activating "Earth Ring Body"!
On the arena, Lin Feng clearly hadn't anticipated such a fierce assault.
Clang clang clang clang!
Sparks flew wildly between them. Lin Xue stuck to Lin Feng like glue, her poisoned dagger never straying far from his throat and heart.
Lin Feng's original strategy crumbled.
He had planned to fight steadily, using his proud swordsmanship to maintain distance, relying on his Rank 1 Peak cultivation to wear down this "support-type" junior sister through attrition.
However, after dozens of exchanges and weathering several of Lin Xue's fierce attacks, Lin Feng discovered with shock that her Primeval Essence output showed no signs of faltering—in fact, she seemed to be gradually gaining the upper hand!
"You..."
Lin Feng forced Lin Xue back with a sword strike, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Lin Xue gripped her dagger in reverse, chest rising slightly.
Seeing the shock in Lin Feng's eyes, a cold smile curved her lips as she stopped concealing her aura.
Boom!
A surge of Primeval Essence no weaker than Lin Feng's—even slightly more refined—erupted from her without reservation.
"Rank 1 Peak?!"
The crowd erupted in uproar. Lin Xue had somehow broken through to Lin Feng's level without anyone noticing!
Wear her down through attrition? Dream on.
Lin Feng's gaze turned sinister. He shed all contempt and composure, tightening his grip on his sword.
He realized he'd encountered a true challenge today—this True Inheritance position wouldn't come easily.
With neither holding back, the battle's intensity skyrocketed.
No flashy visual effects—only the most primal, brutal exchange of flesh against blade.
Through the grinding war of attrition, both depleted their Primeval Essence rapidly.
Lin Feng's prized silver armor now bore several gashes from the poisoned dagger, toxins seeping through the wounds.
Lin Xue's combat suit was torn in multiple places by sword qi, angry red wounds marking her pale skin.
Their breathing grew heavy, their footwork no longer as light as at the start.
Lin Feng especially struggled.
Accustomed to dominating his opponents, this prolonged high-pressure defense and close-quarters combat drained his stamina and focus. His once-flawless swordwork began showing subtle flaws.
Below the stage.
Lin Mu observed the brutal fight with cold detachment, a strange sentiment welling up within him.
"So this is the essence of low-rank Gu Master combat."
Watching the two fighters clash amid mud and blood, understanding dawned.
"At Rank 1 and Rank 2, Gu worms have limited power and serve mostly auxiliary roles. The essence of battle remains mortal flesh against flesh, reflexes, and technique."
"Only at Rank 4, Rank 5, or even the lofty Gu Immortal level—when accumulated Dao marks reach a qualitative transformation—can one truly experience battles that move mountains and fill seas, crushing opponents through the sheer might of laws."
With this thought, Lin Mu's gaze toward the two fighters gained a complex sigh.
"Their talent, intellect, and combat proficiency are absolutely top-tier for this remote Soul-Severing Mountain."
"What a pity... If they'd been born in Qing Mao Mountain's Gu Yue Clan, or a grand stage like Shang Clan City with mountains of resources, with their aptitudes, they wouldn't still be stuck below Rank 2 at twenty."
"A person's fate is nearly sealed the moment they're born."
On the arena.
The battle had reached its final throes.
Both clutched their trump cards, neither daring to expose an opening first, watching each other like patient vipers, waiting for that fatal mistake.
However, Lin Feng—who had always prided himself on perfection and basked in adoration—couldn't bear the humiliation of being pressured by a "support type."
His need to maintain his image as the supreme genius won out.
"Fall!"
Lin Feng roared, desperately squeezing the last dregs of Primeval Essence from his aperture into his sword.
He attempted to use his Metal Rend Gu combined with his strongest sword technique to forcibly break Lin Xue's defense and end this mortifying match.
Golden light blazed, sword qi arcing like a rainbow!
But.
Any powerful killing move requires a brief wind-up and moment of rigidity before release.
This fraction of a second was exactly what Lin Xue had been waiting for throughout the entire match!
"Now."
Brilliance exploded in Lin Xue's eyes as she ignored the lethal sword qi descending toward her.
Trump card, revealed!
A Gu worm buried deep in her aperture—one never shown to anyone—roared to life!
Flash Step Gu!
No dazzling visual effects, no warning fluctuation of Primeval Essence.
Lin Xue's figure simply vanished from where she stood!
The next instant, she appeared with jarring abruptness—no physical trajectory whatsoever—crossing the six feet between them to materialize like a ghost in Lin Feng's embrace, his guard completely open from raising his sword with both hands!
This was a high-stakes gamble with her life.
Though the Flash Step Gu's effect seemed heaven-defying, it demanded precise timing and immense physical tolerance.
Once used, the violent spatial tearing force would cause muscle spasms and complete collapse within seconds.
Lin Xue was betting her life on Lin Feng's split-second opening!
Victory was decided.
Lin Feng's pupils shrank to pinpoints, terror flooding his face.
His magnificent sword qi hadn't even completed its descent. The trump card hidden in his robes never had a chance to emerge.
Because.
Lin Xue's left hand, holding the Iron Leaf Gu radiating bone-chilling cold, was already pressed steadily—without a single tremor—against the vulnerable artery of his throat.
One light slash, and this generation's genius would bleed out on the spot.
Feeling the suffocating lethal chill against his neck, and Lin Xue's arm beginning to tremble slightly from the Flash Step's backlash—
Lin Feng's face went pale as paper.
Pride shattered, vanity trampled.
He ground his teeth until he tasted the coppery tang of blood. Finally, under the threat of death, he spat out two words with infinite humiliation and unwillingness:
"I... concede."
Clang.
The sword fell.
"Finals! Medicine Hall's Lin Xue—wins!"
As the referee's nearly cracking voice rang out, the entire arena first fell into deathly silence, then erupted into chaos!
The Medicine Hall disciples especially—never known for combat prowess, always overshadowed by the Punishment Hall and others—descended into near-hysterical celebration.
"We won! Our Medicine Hall won!"
"Senior Sister Lin Xue is invincible!"
The landscape underwent a massive change.
No one expected that a woman considered the "weakest seed" before the match, a support originating from the Medicine Hall unsuited for combat, would rely on extremely pure combat techniques and courage beyond ordinary reach to frontally defeat the imposing, insufferably arrogant number one seed Lin Feng!
Amidst the deafening cheers of the entire venue, Lin Mu stood off-stage, quietly looking at the black-clad woman on stage who, although she won, was kneeling on one knee and panting heavily due to the backlash.
First place in the Grand Competition had changed hands.