"Red bottom, number seven!"
At the Strong Ranking Competition arena, Yan Qingshan quietly called out his number, then began to search for his opponent in the field. He quickly locked onto another individual.
"It's Deng Yan, Ranking List number twenty-eight, a Seven-star Dou Spirit!"
Yan Qingshan's gaze quickly caught the other party's attention. Their eyes met, scrutinizing each other, testing the other's strength.
Soul-Locking Hook Deng Yan, Ranking List number twenty-eight, was a rare dark-attribute cultivator, possessing the unique weapon known as the Soul-Locking Hook. His strength within the Ranking List was not weak.
"First match, number five."
When the last person completed their drawing, Elder Su Qian, the Great Elder, personally presided over the opening of the competition. The first number called was five. Soon, the two individuals, Blue Bottom Number Five and Red Bottom Number Five, immediately stepped onto the stage to compete.
"Will you step down yourself, or shall I send you down?"
The owner of Red Bottom Number Five was a Dou King expert ranked fifth on the Ranking List. With his strength, unless he encountered another expert from the top six, it was basically impossible for him to lose. Hence, he appeared quite confident.
"Yan Hao, I look forward to your guidance!"
Across from this person, a burly giant man held a massive iron hammer. The Dou Qi emanating from his body showed an unusual brown color, his aura not inferior to Lin Xiu Ya or Liu Qing. He was also a master at the Three-star Dou Spirit level.
"Earth-attribute Dou Qi. You certainly have some courage."
The expert ranked fifth on the Ranking List was named Wu Kai, a ice-attribute Dou Qi expert. A faint chill lingered around him. Seeing that Yan Hao actually intended to challenge him, he somewhat shed his slight disdain and became a little more serious.
"Take this!"
Yan Hao actually took the initiative to attack, leaping into the air, raising his dark iron hammer, and smashing it down towards Wu Kai.
"You're too weak!"
Wu Kai merely raised his hand slightly, unleashing a blast of ice-blue Dou Qi. Yan Hao was directly sent flying. As he flew, frost rapidly condensed all over his body, as if he was about to turn into a giant ice block.
"Break open for me!"
Yan Hao roared, fiercely smashing the ground and unleashing his Dou Qi. The light brown Dou Qi quickly spread throughout his body, making him appear as if he was clad in the sturdiest rock armor. The frost on his body rapidly dissipated.
"This battle is meaningless. Let me send you down."
Wu Kai, of course, had no interest in continuing to entangle with Yan Hao. He leaped forward, pressing down with a palm. A gigantic snow-mist palm print condensed in mid-air and slapped towards Yan Hao.
The dark iron hammer in Yan Hao's hand was swung out almost instinctively. The hammer tore through the air, emitting a sharp screech that even made Xiao Yan, hiding in the forest, frown slightly.
"Bang!"
The palm print and the iron hammer collided fiercely. Amidst a tremendous roar, ice shards splattered everywhere. Yan Hao's figure rapidly shot backward, his feet leaving two shattered, deeply sunken cracks on the stone slab along the way. Arm-sized fissures quickly spread.
He finally managed to stop his retreating figure, raised his face, and a faint trace of blood could be seen at the corner of his mouth. "Good, truly worthy of being a Dou King expert. But if you think you can defeat me with just that move, you're still lacking."
Yan Hao wiped away the blood from the corner of his mouth and grinned. He didn't care about his internal injuries, and once again gripped his iron hammer. Like a human tank, he charged towards the frowning Wu Kai.
Wu Kai spun around, dodging Yan Hao's heavy hammer, and then with another palm strike, sent him flying back. "You have no chance of winning at all. What's the point of continuing this kind of battle?"
Yan Hao did not give up, and again raised his warhammer, charging at Wu Kai. "I don't want to fall so quickly, and I also really want to know the gap between myself and a Dou King."
"Since you have such a thought, then I shall satisfy you."
Wu Kai's face straightened. With a flip of his hand, an ice-blue battle-axe flew out from his storage ring. He gripped the axe handle and simply swung it, cleaving towards Yan Hao's iron hammer.
With a muffled crash, Yan Hao's iron hammer flew out as if he had been hit by a heavy blow. His arm was also dislocated by the flying hammer, and he himself was then sent out of the arena by a subsequent kick.
It was clear that Wu Kai was somewhat annoyed with his disobedient junior, and directly used a heavy hand to send him out of the arena.
"First match, Wu Kai wins!"
Elder Su Qian merely glanced at the fallen Yan Hao. After confirming he was not in mortal danger, he made no further movements, quickly announcing the result of the first match.
Although killing was taboo in this Ranking Competition, Yan Hao's situation was entirely self-inflicted. Moreover, Wu Kai had maintained a sense of proportion, and no one felt that Wu Kai had been too heavy-handed even though Yan Hao was severely injured. Of course, no one would want to stand up for him either.
The first round of the Ranking Competition continued, match after match. Yao Sheng, Qian Mo, Lin Yan, and Liu Qing successively entered and competed. There were wins and losses; some successfully advanced, others failed to qualify. This time, everyone was just trying their luck, so they weren't too disappointed.
Soon, it was Yan Qingshan's turn for his first round. As Elder Su Qian announced number seven to take the stage, he and Deng Yan, the Soul-Locking Hook, almost simultaneously landed on the martial arts platform.
"Deng Yan, please guide me!"
Deng Yan seemed to bow respectfully to Yan Qingshan. Just as Yan Qingshan also slightly lowered his head, a black shadow, like an extension of a true shadow, rapidly attacked towards Yan Qingshan.
"This is your method!"
Yan Qingshan was well-prepared. He spun around, dodging the strange dark Dou Qi, while Deng Yan on the opposite side had already revealed his weapon.
The Soul-Locking Hook was a strange, claw-like weapon, with dark Dou Qi coiling around it. A several-meter-long iron chain was attached to its end, while the other end of the chain was in Deng Yan's hand.
"Demonic Claw Soul-Lock!"
The long rope in Deng Yan's hand suddenly flickered. The entire Soul-Locking Hook shot out, attacking Yan Qingshan's face. The dark Dou Qi coiling around it rapidly expanded as it neared Yan Qingshan's face, instantly forming a giant dark claw shadow that struck.
Deng Yan's attack methods were distinctive, and his movement technique was extremely peculiar. He was a more troublesome opponent than Yang Sheng, but this time, he was up against Yan Qingshan.
A hand fully enveloped in Dou Qi accurately gripped the so-called demonic claw. Then, holding onto the iron chain of this demonic claw, Yan Qingshan exerted force and pulled. Deng Yan immediately planted his feet and exerted force to resist.
A struggle of strength began between the two. After three breaths, the more cultivated Deng Yan was instead dragged flying towards Yan Qingshan.
A fist fiercely struck his chest. Surging Dou Qi burst forth like a raging flood, directly sending Deng Yan out of the competition grounds.
"Yan Qingshan wins!"
From start to finish, Yan Qingshan's match didn't even last ten minutes. Deng Yan's swift and decisive defeat surprised everyone. One by one, they looked at Yan Qingshan with apprehension.
"Cough cough... This guy's cultivation method is definitely not ordinary."
Deng Yan finally managed to climb up from the ground. After a distant glance at Yan Qingshan, he silently went to the high platform to recuperate.