When Li Xiuwen and Mu Rong Jian decided to make their move, they both lunged into the combat without hesitation. Mu Rong Jian gracefully drew his silver sword, while Li Xiuwen prepared to use his Demon Blood Shackles to control the situation.
"I'll handle the strongest fighter myself!" Mu Rong Jian said with a confident voice, before he charged straight at the large man wielding a hammer, Liu Ming.
"And I'll handle the fighter who uses poison," Li Xiuwen thought to himself quietly before he began to use his Qi to slowly envelop the area around Hong Mei.
The fight started quickly. Liu Ming was a man of immense physical strength. He paid no heed to any strategy other than his own power. The hammer in his hand was quickly raised before being slammed down onto the ground, creating a powerful shockwave.
Boom!
The ground around Mu Rong Jian cracked into pieces, but Mu Rong Jian was able to nimbly dodge the attack like the wind. His sword art did not focus on destruction, but on speed and grace. He was able to precisely strike the joints of Liu Ming's armor with his blade.
While Mu Rong Jian was fighting Liu Ming, Li Xiuwen began to move quietly. Hong Mei was a clever fighter. She didn't charge directly at Li Xiuwen but instead used her venomous needles to attack him from a distance.
"Do you think your venomous needles can do anything to me?" Li Xiuwen muttered to himself softly before using his Qi chains to quickly defend against them. Each of his chains was able to completely block the needles, but what was even more surprising was that his Qi chains could absorb the poisons unbelievably well.
When Hong Mei saw that her needles couldn't do anything to Li Xiuwen, she started using a more potent poison. She threw a purple smoke bomb onto the ground, creating a poisonous fog that covered the entire arena.
"Die!" Hong Mei said with a terrifying smile before she used her venomous needles to attack Li Xiuwen in a frenzy.
"What a pity," Li Xiuwen said with a cold voice. "But your poison is of no use to me."
Li Xiuwen used his Qi chains to defend against the needles once again, and he was able to absorb the poisons with incredible ease. But at that moment, his Qi chains began to turn black and became many times stronger than before.
"Demon Blood Shackles… Second Stage! Blood of the Demon!"
Whoosh!
Li Xiuwen's Qi chains shot out and quickly bound Hong Mei. She tried to use her venomous needles to break the chains, but Li Xiuwen's Qi chains were too strong for her to do anything. She was shackled within a ring of Qi chains filled with her own poison.
Meanwhile, Mu Rong Jian was fiercely fighting Liu Ming. Liu Ming used all his strength to attack Mu Rong Jian with a frenzied madness, but none of his attacks could even touch Mu Rong Jian.
"If that's all you have… you wouldn't be the chief disciple of the Iron Demon Sect," Mu Rong Jian said with a confident voice.
"Moonlight Sword Art… Third Stage! Killing Moon!"
Whoosh!
Mu Rong Jian's silver blade shone brighter than moonlight. He used a speed that surpassed an ordinary human to attack Liu Ming quickly. He did not use his sword to strike Liu Ming's body but instead used his blade to precisely strike the joints of Liu Ming's armor.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Mu Rong Jian's sword struck the joints of Liu Ming's armor, causing it to break into pieces. Liu Ming felt immense pain. He collapsed onto the ground exhausted, but at that moment, he used his powerful Qi to launch a frenzied attack at Mu Rong Jian.
"Die!" Liu Ming said with a voice full of vengeance.
Li Xiuwen saw that Mu Rong Jian was in danger. He quickly used his Qi chains to wrap around Mu Rong Jian. Li Xiuwen's Qi chains were able to completely defend against Liu Ming's attack, but what was even more surprising was that his Qi chains began to absorb Liu Ming's Qi.
"What?!" Liu Ming exclaimed in shock. "What kind of technique is this?"
"A technique you shouldn't know," Li Xiuwen replied with a cold voice before he used his Qi chains to quickly strike Liu Ming.
Clang!
The Qi chain struck Liu Ming's body, causing him to finally fall unconscious.
When the fight ended, Li Xiuwen and Mu Rong Jian were the last ones standing in the first round of the Underground Tournament. They received applause from the hundreds and thousands of people watching the match.
"Thank you very much, friend," Mu Rong Jian said, bowing to Li Xiuwen. "Without you, I would have been seriously injured for sure."
"No need," Li Xiuwen replied in a level voice. "We are allies now… helping each other is only normal."
Mu Rong Jian smiled with satisfaction. He no longer thought of Li Xiuwen as just an ally they had to cooperate with; he felt that Li Xiuwen was a true friend.