The second round was quickly finished. Half the contestants dropped out of the tournament, but still the casualties this time around had been low. In total, less than a hundred experts had died.
Wan Qiang was anything but happy about this, but he could do nothing about it. He could not come out and force them to kill one another, nor could he act with underhanded means and kill the experts that had gathered in the fort.
Realizing that too many of the experts were surviving, the expression on Wan Qiang's face was ugly. But when his eyes landed on Xue Wei and Hei Gou, a smile sprouted on his face instead.
"Even if my plan has to be changed, something good has come from it," he muttered to himself. "This kid is indeed his mother's son. He is exactly what we need, but we cannot harvest him yet. We need to let him grow and mature first."
Chu Huiyin was next to him, and her eyes displayed madness and hatred when she looked at Xue Wei. "I want him to die!" she said with a shrill voice, her teeth itching with the desire to kill him herself. Wan Qiang completely ignored her.
"I heard that the one he runs around with is a Celestial Dog, but he clearly is a mutated specimen. I assume that he has undergone the evolution from the blood rites. It is indeed strong!"
"He is being chased by the other Celestial Dogs since he ran away from his duties," Chu Huiyin snorted and shook her head. "I do not even have to move. Eventually, both will be killed by the Celestial Dogs. Their clan’s rank is too low to be in the know about Xue Wei's true identity, and thus they will have no qualms about killing him when they encounter him."
"Go to the Celestial Dogs and tell them that Hei Gou is no longer to be chased," Wan Qiang ordered, much to Chu Huiyin's displeasure. "Tell them that the Elders have given him a new task and that it is to be treated with utmost care. That no one is allowed to talk about it."
Chu Huiyin gritted her teeth and cursed herself for having mentioned what she said earlier, but she dared not go against Wan Qiang. If she did, it was likely that the next Primordial Beast that Wan Qiang brought back as a trophy would be her.
Xue Wei was unaware of what was happening where Wan Qiang was; he just observed the stages and the battles. No one from the Cerulean Starlight Sect, the Crimson Sunshine Sect, or the Argent Moon Sect had died today, and none of them had killed their opponent either.
Some of the independent cultivators had tried their best to kill their opponents but had not had the strength to do so, and others had not wished to kill their opponents.
The day ended just like that. The following day, Xue Wei was up against an expert from the Crimson Sunshine Sect. This person died after Xue Wei toyed around with them for half an hour.
During this half an hour, it looked as if Xue Wei was at the losing end, only to suddenly turn it around and kill his foe by fluke. Of all the cultivators present, many started to take him seriously. It was one thing if he only managed to get through the battle royale at the beginning, but here he was, alive and kicking.
The ones before this had died, and then this one ended up dying as well. It was clear that Xue Wei was hiding his strength, but it was unclear as to how much of it he was hiding.
This time, a few of the three great sect's members had been forced to forfeit because they had fought against one another. The Argent Moon Sect was the most unfortunate, as two of their experts had been forced to face off against each other.
The days went by one after another. Eventually, it was the final day, and only fifty experts remained. It was finally time for Xue Wei to face off against the leader of the Crimson Sunshine Sect.
Xue Wei was not expecting to be put up against one of the major forces this soon, but he knew that he could not keep hiding his strength.
He wished to use Tianyi, but Tianyi was currently unavailable. He had absorbed all the souls that had been killed during the tournament and was currently digesting them, making it impossible for him to split his focus onto something else.
Since he could not use Tianyi, Xue Wei knew that he could only use his Inner Might to create a sword if he wished to fight with a weapon.
Inner Might!
Standing on the stage, Xue Wei extended a hand and gripped the empty air. Qi flowed out from the emptiness in his grip, shaping into a sharp sword.
Windwolf Sword Slash!
Xue Wei did not hesitate for once and unleashed all his strength. He dared not take this expert lightly. In fact, he was certain that he was anything but simple.
Xue Wei was only a fourth layer Sky Warrior, while his opponent was a sixth layer Sky Warrior. Furthermore, he was from a major sect, so he was not as simple as most sixth layered Sky Warriors.
The Crimson Sunshine Sect's leader, Ling Mo, was surprised when he saw Xue Wei advance so aggressively.
Although Xue Wei was only a fourth layer Sky Warrior, Ling Mo had taken him seriously from the beginning. He had felt a threatening air coming from him, so he had raised his guard preemptively.
Sensing the Windwolf Sword Slash, Ling Mo turned around and quickly avoided it. Yet despite avoiding it, a lock of his hair was cut off neatly by the fast slash.
Xue Wei watched solemnly as his attack was dodged. His eyes turned serious. Unbeknownst to him, a great smile spread on his lips. However, the smile was also bone-chillingly cold and sinister.
Forbidden Rush!
Xue Wei activated his movement technique at the same time as he threw out another Windwolf Sword Slash. This time, the sword attack was merged with the wind just like his movements, and the speed with which it moved was even faster than before.
"You are not the only one with a movement technique!" Ling Mo yelled out, and then stepped hard on the ground and activated his own movement technique.
Where Xue Wei's was to merge with the wind, Ling Mo’s was more focused on short-range teleportation, and he fully used its might to display why he was from one of the three great sects.
Xue Wei frowned and canceled Inner Might. He then observed Ling Mo's movements and started flashing after him.
Arcane Fist!
He tried throwing out the Arcane Fist to see whether or not the illusions that were created were enough to confuse Ling Mo. Unfortunately, that was not the case.
Closing his eyes, Xue Wei focused on feeling the wind instead. Every time Ling Mo teleported, the wind would fluctuate. A few heartbeats later, Xue Wei could accurately pinpoint Ling Mo’s position at the very moment he appeared after a teleportation.
Kick of Forgotten Kings!
Shattering Mountain Palm!
Azure Lights Finger!
Xue Wei used all three attacks in a series of attacks, and for once Ling Mo could not teleport away. The three strikes struck their target, but then a big red flame appeared on Ling Mo’s body that ate up the three attacks that rained down upon him.
Although the fire provided him with a defensive barrier, Ling Mo still staggered backward five steps. When he regained his balance, he wiped the corner of his mouth where a small trail of blood was evident.
"You are stronger than I expected!" Ling Mo praised him, but when he lifted his eyes and looked at Xue Wei, his eyes widened in surprise and slight fear.
In front of him was a young man both below him in age and cultivation base, but there he was, revealing a sinister, ferocious smile in front of great adversity. His eyes gleamed dangerously in the light, and his teeth were bared, displaying his white teeth.
Looking at this young man, Ling Mo felt fear for the first time. It was not enough to completely demoralize him but it was more than clear to him that his opponent wanted nothing more than to pulverize and kill him.
Never before had he seen such a killing intent in a human being. It was even worse than the times he had stood in front of the Fierce Beasts. A shudder ran through his body. He feared that if he continued to fight, it would end up being a fight to the death, and he wasn’t certain about who would come out on top.
"I forfeit," he said before realizing what words had escaped his lips. But even when he understood that he had forfeited, he did not regret it.
When he walked down the stage, Xue Wei's face displayed an expression of absolute disappointment and annoyance. He even growled slightly before he sighed and finally managed to get a hold of himself and his emotions again.
It was clear that the bloodlust was running rampant, but the fight had only just started. There was no reason for him to forfeit already.
Xue Wei stepped off the stage in a bad mood. He lowered his head as if he was in deep thought. When Tianyi was done with his cultivation, Xue Wei needed to ask him about how to placate his rising killing intent.
"If you meet this young man in the future, forfeit right away," Ling Mo said to his fellow sect members, looking at Xue Wei with horror in his eyes. "He is not someone we can fight against. And he seems to have killed quite a few humans before."
Ling Mo had had his share of arguments with other cultivators. He had even been in fights with other human cultivators before, but he had never killed anyone.
He had been raised with the idea of how the beasts were their enemies and that humans had to be united. All humans were his brothers in arms, even if they did not agree on some matters.
He was not the only one who had experienced such things. The others from the three great sects were the same. Although they fought against each other, deaths were infrequent and almost nonexistent.
"Give up when you meet him," were also the words Xiong Bing and Lin Yuelong told their followers. "He is much more dangerous than I expected," Lin Yuelong said, and had a lingering fear in his heart when he remembered the interaction he had had with this young man previously.
Looking at him fight seriously, it was clear that he was not someone they could afford to insult.
When Wan Qiang saw him fight, a smile appeared on his lips. He rubbed his chin with curiosity and deep thought
"He is just like his mother," he praised and nodded his head. "One day, he will be a worthy successor!"
The remaining participants seemed to understand that Xue Wei's strength was above theirs, but what made them decide on such a thing was mostly their fear of him. To have such a killing intent at his age, and even displaying it when facing a human, it was clear that he had killed humans before.
But if he had killed humans before, did this not mean that he was as much of an enemy as the Fierce Beasts were?
It did not take long before everyone present looked at Xue Wei with strange gazes, yet Xue Wei ignored them all. He did not fear them, but he did worry about the owner of this fortress, Wan Qiang.
Since Wan Qiang wanted them all to die, then Xue Wei showing killing intent should be welcome, but why he wanted that was still a major mystery. And what did he want the winner to do? That was an even bigger mystery.