By the fourth round, Li Fan had faced spear users, poison hand artists, and windblade cultivators. None had lasted more than two exchanges.
The elders murmured.
> "His battle sense is unnatural."
"It's the Wind Cauldron. His nerves are faster than thought."
"He fights like a beast who remembers every wound."
And now, the fifth round approached.
His opponent: Yan Yue, the Azure Blood Tiger.
One of the top three inner disciples. Silent. Deadly. Born with a Dual Vein Constitution—Blood and Ice. He was famed for crushing entire squads during outer sect missions.
Yan Yue stood barefoot in the ring, a crimson clawed gauntlet on one hand.
He said nothing.
But Li Fan sensed it.
> He's like me. A predator forged in exile.
The bell rang.
Yan Yue blurred forward, claw dragging red sparks on stone.
Li Fan raised his arms to guard—
Slash!
Too slow.
Blood splattered. A shallow line opened across Li Fan's forearm.
He grinned.
> "Finally. Someone who can make me bleed."
---
The fight that followed stunned the crowd.
They clashed like titans — claw against fist, flesh against will. Yan Yue's claws split stone and air alike, but Li Fan's body deflected each strike by the barest margin, countering with precise, wind-guided blows.
They moved too fast to follow.
Only the top elders could keep up.
After twenty brutal exchanges, both stood panting. Yan Yue bled from his mouth. Li Fan's ribs were cracked.
Then Yan Yue spoke, quiet as snow.
> "You're not from this world."
> "Neither are you," Li Fan replied.
They smiled at each other.
Then clashed again—one final time.
And this time…
Li Fan landed the Heaven Suppressing Palm.
CRACK!
The force didn't throw Yan Yue—it pinned him to the ground as if the sky had dropped on him. His claw shattered. His body went limp.
Victory.
---