Boom!!!
A deafening, fiery explosion swallowed the entire arena, the shockwave rattling the very foundations of the spiritual stage. When the blinding light finally faded into a shimmering orange haze, a single, charred, and smoking figure was unceremoniously teleported out by the ranking's laws. Over half his body was scorched black, the scent of singed hair and burnt silk hanging heavy in the air.
His robes were nothing but tattered rags clinging to his blistered skin. For a mortal, it wouldn't have been a life-ending injury, but for a resilient Golden Core cultivator, it was just a painful and minor setback. With two weeks of dedicated rest and the consumption of high-grade healing salves, he would be perfectly fine. There were no major, life-or-death battles left in the final decade of the Avenue's cycle anyway.
"Even worse than the first one. That guy was just unlucky."
Su Min stepped off the stage, her boots clicking softly on the jade floor. She let out a soft and dismissive chuckle, her voice carrying easily through the quieted crowd. Her first opponent had arguably brought his defeat on himself, foolishly trying to counter her Eastern Azure Wood with her own Nanming Lihuo in a flawed elemental gambit.
But this one? He was just plain weak.
A few precise sword strikes backed by the immense power of the Vermilion Bird Saint Avatar, and he was finished. He hadn't even managed to get within twenty feet of her before crumbling completely under her relentless and long-range assault.
With the boundless life force of the Eastern Azure Wood perpetually fueling her flames, Su Min fought like a living and breathing siege engine. Her style was overwhelming and merciless, characterized by a constant pressure that left no room for counterattacks. Pillars of white-hot fire and waves of distorting heat roared across the battlefield, forcing her opponents to raise their hands in surrender one after another. The spectators watched this display in a complex mix of genuine admiration and sheer, cold dread.
Before long, a new whisper slithered through the crowd like a serpent. A nickname, born from both a primal fear and a twisted sense of awe, began to take root among the watching cultivators.
"Crimson Blazing Bird."
Xie Yingying, who was standing watchfully at the very edge of the arena, heard the term first. She leaned against a pillar of solidified light, her black hair shimmering in the arena's glow. A flicker of wicked amusement crossed her pale face before she swiftly smoothed her expression back into its practiced neutrality. When she later relayed the title to Su Min during a break in the matches, the reaction was immediate and volcanic.
"Crimson Blazing Bird?!" Su Min's eyes blazed hotter than her own Nanming Lihuo flames as she whirled on the crowd. "What kind of half-baked and ancestor-defiling nonsense is that?! Who came up with this drivel?!"
Her furious glare swept over the gathered cultivators, her jaw tight with indignation. Not a single soul met her gaze. Some suddenly found the intricate and patterns of the arena's ceiling fascinating, while others coughed nervously into their silk sleeves and shuffled backward. It wasn't just fear of her combat power that kept them silent and submissive. Su Min possessed something far more dangerous and universal: leverage.
As the realm's premier master alchemist, she held the exclusive keys to the critical breakthrough elixirs and coveted life-extending pills that every person there desired. Her favor was priceless, and her displeasure was a spiritual and professional death sentence for any serious cultivator's future progress. No one was foolish enough to risk that eternal damnation for the sake of a mere nickname.
Su Min huffed in frustration, crossing her arms over her chest. "Cowards, the whole lot of you."
She never did find the culprit. And she definitely didn't notice the fleeting glimpse of Xie Yingying's poorly suppressed smirk, or the subtle and telltale curl of her lips that betrayed the truth.
Xie Yingying had been the one to quietly plant the name among the gossip-hungry loose cultivators. After all, what was the point of being the lover of the most terrifying alchemist in the realm if she couldn't tease her just a little? She felt a surge of territorial satisfaction.
This naming episode, however, was just a minor interlude in the mounting tension. Every single remaining contender carried their own immense pride and fearsome reputation. Su Min finally had the chance to witness that mysterious woman's combat style firsthand.
As many had predicted, the battle began with radiant and multicolored auroras flooding the sky. It was a beautiful yet ominous prelude that made the spectators' spiritual sense tingle with warning. This was followed by a cataclysmic and purifying rain of pure light that instantly and utterly obliterated her opponent. The attack left no room for resistance or even a desperate plea. When the defeated cultivator's consciousness returned to the stands, his eyes were hollow and vacant pits. His Dao Heart was shattered beyond any conceivable repair, his will to cultivate ground into dust.
"Shattered just like that. Fighting her really is a waking nightmare," Su Min murmured to herself. She shook her head in a mixture of pity and wary calculation.
Battles against her, Su Min, never evoked such utter and soul-crushing despair. Facing that woman was like a mortal challenging the heavens themselves. While Su Min had broken many opponents' wills through sheer force, none had collapsed so completely. They were spiritually annihilated without even managing to swing a single strike in return. But one critical detail stood out to Su Min's analytical mind as she watched the recordings.
"The Great Desolate Holy Body lost badly to her, yet he emerged completely unscathed. No psychological damage and no lasting spiritual injuries. She clearly held back significantly against him."
Seeing was believing, and Su Min's initial concerns eased somewhat. Like her, both Xie Yingying and the Great Desolate Holy Body advanced through their rounds without expending any visible effort. The tournament was intelligently designed so the strongest contenders avoided early and wasteful clashes. It functioned much like a seeded sports bracket where top players face lower-ranked opponents first to build momentum. The Golden Core Heavenly Ranking prioritized true and demonstrable merit over lucky flukes. Only the real and undisputed powerhouses would receive the grand final baptism from the Dao.
At this critical juncture, Su Min's next opponent was someone she could never forget.
Han Chaoyan.
The moment their names linked on the match display in a flash of golden light, Su Min's expression twisted with dark amusement. Her legendary one-versus-three battle a century ago had cemented her fame across the province. And Han Chaoyan? He had been one of the three humiliated victims, eternally immortalized as her stepping stone toward greatness.
It was like an infamous duel from history, where the victor claimed all the glory and the loser became a permanent cautionary tale. But unlike those stories, there were no rematches here that didn't end in further shame.
"Wait, that's the third ranked! Why are they matched already?" a spectator cried out, his voice echoing in the vast arena.
"Rankings are deceptive," another answered knowingly, his translucent form flickering. "He is high because he grinds nonstop, escorting his sect juniors through dungeons and hoarding every resource he finds. The real monsters barely bother competing until it matters."
"Getting taken down one-versus-three and still calling yourself a genius? It's embarrassing."
"Pfft—!"
The crowd erupted in mockery, the sound grating against the ears. Su Min had thrown these same taunts at the Wood Madman long ago, the man who had burned all his life-saving treasures in that same fight. The other two victims had fared no better in the eyes of the public. But not everyone doubted Han Chaoyan's resolve.
"Senior Brother, you have got this!!!"
His loyal sect juniors cheered with a fervent belief that bordered on desperation. Unlike the reclusive and aloof prodigies, Han Chaoyan had tirelessly fought for his faction, securing countless legacies for them over the years. His ranking was earned through sheer and grinding effort.
While most sect heirs avoided direct conflict to preserve their strength, he had brawled with nearly all of them over resources. Where Su Min enjoyed a privileged status as a master alchemist who others sought out, ordinary loose cultivators and sect disciples struggled even for basic herbs.
"This guy has groupies?" Xie Yingying muttered. She massaged her temples, her eyes narrowing as she watched the cheering crowd. "But his divine artifact is hard countered by Su Min's attributes. Are these people delusional?" She felt a prickle of annoyance. She didn't like the way the Azure Spirit Sect juniors were shouting, as if they could actually influence the outcome.
Still, she privately acknowledged that Han Chaoyan might actually force Su Min to reveal something new.
"Finally, a real fight," a seasoned cultivator in the crowd noted. "So far, she has only shown what is already recorded on the Heavenly Ranking. Nothing unexpected has come from her."
"Because that's all she has needed," his companion replied, leaning forward to get a better view. "Now, with only ten fighters left, we might finally see her true capabilities."
The spectators were here for a spectacle of power. At this late stage, so-called geniuses were mere cannon fodder for the real elites. The remaining ten were freaks who could legitimately challenge Nascent Soul cultivators and win. Xie Yingying was still the most enigmatic figure, followed closely by Su Min. One wielded the perfect Lunar Sovereign Body; the other harbored two divine artifacts with untested synergies.
What happened when dual divine artifacts merged into a single attack? Today, they might finally find out.
"Hah... Hah..."
Heavy and ragged breaths echoed through the silence as Han Chaoyan stared across the golden barrier at Su Min. His chest heaved with a mixture of exhaustion and adrenaline. Had he managed to avoid Su Min, Xie Yingying, the Great Desolate Holy Body, and that woman in white, he might have reached the top five through attrition. But fate was a cruel mistress.
Even though he was mentally prepared for this day, facing Su Min again sent tremors through his spirit. The last time they met, her Saint Avatar had crushed him without effort. Now, despite obtaining a divine artifact that could rival Nanming Lihuo in raw power, he knew his odds were desperately slim.
Su Min held two divine artifacts in her body. The traits of her Five Elements Holy Body had been mostly deciphered by the public, and her ability to freely switch between fire and wood attributes made her nearly impossible to counter with standard techniques. As the barrier dissolved into motes of light, Su Min's hands moved in that terrifyingly familiar seal.
The Vermilion Bird Saint Avatar materialized once more, its vast and flaming wings casting an ominous shadow over the jade stage. Throughout the entire tournament, Su Min had used only this single technique. It was a move others considered an ultimate and spirit-energy-draining finisher, a last resort. Yet she spammed it like a basic skill, her energy reserves seemingly infinite. The bird's fiery breath and the rain of burning feathers turned every battle into an explosive chaos that no one could navigate. No one had survived its final and inevitable self-destruction unharmed.
But Han Chaoyan had prepared for exactly this.
He activated the Flamewood Avatar Disc, an Earth-grade low-tier artifact that granted him extreme resistance to fire and wood attacks. It generated a renewable, shimmering barrier of translucent green energy. If he could keep it unbroken, it would nullify all damage from those two specific elements.
Instead of dodging the initial volley of feathers, he did the unexpected. He charged directly through the Vermilion Bird's scorching flames, his silhouette a dark streak against the red light. He closed the distance between them in an instant, his eyes locked on Su Min.
The disc wasn't invincible, and it wouldn't guarantee his victory against a monster like her. But it bought him one chance. It was a single and fleeting opportunity to force Su Min into close combat. Because at a distance, he stood no chance against her endless, overwhelming bombardment.
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LOL. She really dare to give her that ridickulous nickname..
"章 红色燃燃鸟"is translated "The Red Burning Bird". But I choose to use "The Crimson Blazing Bird". The original translation was too embarrassing. I can't bear it T_T
"Crimson Blazing Bird" (红色燃燃鸟) – A mocking yet awe-struck nickname highlighting Su Min's relentless fire attacks.
"Zed vs. Zed" (双劫大战) – Refers to Faker's iconic 2013 outplay, symbolizing an irreversible reputation-defining moment.