Wang Xingze’s attacks grew increasingly frantic, and his openings gradually became more frequent.

He felt his Qi and Blood gushing out like a flood from an open sluice gate. His twin hammers no longer carried their initial might as he swung them.

As Wang Xingze weakened, Xu Wuyi grew more composed.

Finally, after another fruitless attempt to forcibly shake off the flames on his shoulder, a clear lag appeared in Wang Xingze’s movements.

His massive body swayed slightly due to the excessive consumption of his Qi and Blood.

How could Xu Wuyi let this opportunity slip by?

He activated Instant Shadow Step, closing the distance in a flash!

The spear struck like lightning, bypassing the sluggish twin hammers and aiming straight for Wang Xingze’s chest!

Wang Xingze tried to block, but his arms felt as heavy as mountains. In the end, he could only watch helplessly as the spear tip pierced his chest.

Wang Xingze retreated several steps. Although the wound wasn’t immediately fatal, the Undying Flame had already begun to burn inside him. It was only a matter of surviving for a few dozen more seconds.

A bitter and helpless expression appeared on his face. He panted heavily and said, "Junior... your flames are just too dirty! Forget it, I give up!"

As his words fell, the AI judge determined the victor, and the patches of Undying Flame still burning on his body slowly extinguished.

[Victory! Advanced to the top 64!]

Xu Wuyi let out a long sigh of relief. It seemed like he hadn’t fought head-on in this battle, but it had required immense concentration and extremely precise control over his Body Technique and timing. The toll on his Spirit had been significant as well.

Defeating a senior from his own university who was ranked 101st in the preliminaries and almost four Levels higher than him was undoubtedly a major victory.

...

By successfully advancing to the top 64, Xu Wuyi had already far exceeded many people’s expectations, as well as his own preliminary ranking.

For a first-year freshman, this achievement could be described as brilliant.

In the rest area, he sat cross-legged and regulated his breathing, recovering from the exertion of the previous battle while waiting for the next round’s matchups.

On the light screen, names lit up one by one, only to dim again.

Every person who made it into the top 64 was a true elite, with the lowest-ranked among them having placed in the top 100 of the preliminaries.

Finally, the full bracket for the top 64 was released.

The light screen flickered. Xu Wuyi saw his name, and next to it, his opponent.

[Main Tournament, Fourth Round, Match 4: Xu Wuyi (Star Martial University) vs. Hong Nianyi (Black Stone Academy).]

The moment he saw the name "Hong Nianyi," the corner of Xu Wuyi’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch.

It wasn’t just him. A collective, quiet gasp seemed to echo throughout the entire waiting area. Many eyes subconsciously turned toward Xu Wuyi, filled with a hint of pity.

Hong Nianyi. The number one senior sister of Black Stone Academy’s second year. And not just by title—it was widely acknowledged that her strength was in a league of its own, far surpassing Black Stone’s number two.

Her preliminary ranking was—first!

With a Life Energy Level as high as 37.3, she was the undisputed favorite to win this year’s youth tournament.

’This luck...’ A helpless smile touched Xu Wuyi’s lips. ’Oh well. Winning three matches in a row already had an element of luck to it. I guess I’m just paying it all back now.’

After a brief moment to compose himself, he was teleported to the arena.

Across the arena, a figure quietly coalesced.

It was a woman dressed in the black combat uniform of Black Stone Academy. Her posture was ramrod straight. While her face wasn’t breathtakingly beautiful, her eyes held a calm, abyss-like quality.

At her waist hung a long, sheathed saber of antique design. The scabbard was a dark purple, with faint, barely visible patterns etched upon it.

She just stood there quietly, releasing no imposing aura, yet she seemed to be the absolute center of the entire arena.

Hong Nianyi’s gaze fell upon Xu Wuyi, and she gave a slight smile. Apparently, she recognized his name.

"Junior Xu Wuyi." Her voice was calm and held a hint of amusement. "I heard your name during the preliminaries. A first-year Martial Artist, very impressive. We didn’t have anyone as strong as you last year."

She paused, looked at Xu Wuyi’s helpless expression, and smiled. "Don’t feel any pressure. You’ve already proven yourself by making it to the top 64. Come back next year, and you’ll have a shot at the championship."

Had these words come from anyone else, mentioning the championship might have seemed abrupt, but coming from Hong Nianyi, it felt perfectly natural.

Because she was here this year with the sole purpose of taking that championship.

Xu Wuyi took a deep breath, suppressed the roiling emotions in his heart, and tightened his grip on the Meteor Iron Long Spear in his hand.

He knew the gap between them was enormous, but that didn’t mean he was going to give up the fight.

"Thank you for the guidance, Senior Sister Hong," Xu Wuyi said in a low voice. "Please, instruct me!"

Hong Nianyi nodded slightly. Her right hand rested casually on the hilt of the saber at her waist, showing no intention of drawing it. She simply gestured to Xu Wuyi. "You can make the first move. Let me see how far you’ve progressed with your Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace."

She had clearly seen him fight before. Xu Wuyi wasn’t surprised that Hong Nianyi could recognize his technique, so he didn’t hesitate any longer and brought his condition to its peak.

Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace activated at full power, his Qi and Blood surging like molten lava!

Melting Furnace Boiling Blood activated instantly, and a violent, scorching aura erupted skyward!

Within his sea of consciousness, the two True Intentions of Mountain and Blazing Fire seethed simultaneously. A Dark Gold Flame, the Undying Flame, poured from his palm and coiled around the tip of his Meteor Iron Long Spear, burning fiercely!

He stomped his foot, causing the arena floor to tremble slightly, and his body transformed into a dark red afterimage as he pushed his speed to the absolute limit.

The spear tore through the air with unhesitating resolve, carrying the Dark Gold Flame that could incinerate all, and thrust straight toward Hong Nianyi!

This was the strongest attack he could currently unleash, holding nothing back!

Facing an attack that would force an ordinary Level 35 Martial Artist to be on high alert, Hong Nianyi’s expression remained calm, holding only a hint of appreciation.

Only when the spear tip was about to enter a ten-foot radius in front of her did she finally move.

Her movements didn’t look fast. She simply raised her hand, grasped the saber’s hilt, and then—

Drew her blade.

"This strike is called ’Life and Death’."

Hong Nianyi hadn’t opened her mouth, yet Xu Wuyi inexplicably heard those words as if they had sounded directly in his mind.

There was no earth-shattering power, no dazzling brilliance.

He couldn’t even see the shape of the blade itself.

Xu Wuyi only felt that in the instant Hong Nianyi drew her saber, everything before his eyes—the scene of the arena, the figure of his opponent—rippled and distorted like a reflection in water after a stone had been tossed in. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

An extremely bizarre sensation enveloped him, as if time had been stretched out, and then compressed.

He saw the flame on his spear tip flickering in and out of existence, he saw the boundaries of the arena blurring and fading away, he saw... the ultimate speed of all things, from birth to extinction.

The Life and Death of all creation, like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow.

He felt no impact, heard no sound.

The next moment, all the strange phenomena vanished instantly.

Xu Wuyi found himself still in the posture of his forward thrust, but the Undying Flame on his spear tip had been extinguished.

And he was no longer on the arena platform. Instead, he was standing in the void outside of it, in front of the transparent light screen that cordoned off the stage.

On the arena, Hong Nianyi still stood in her original spot as if she had never moved. Her saber was already sheathed.

She looked at Xu Wuyi outside the light screen and gave another slight nod.

[Defeat! Eliminated at the top 64.]

The system’s cold notification tone rang out, pulling Xu Wuyi completely back to reality from his dazed state.

He looked down at his perfectly intact virtual body, then back at Hong Nianyi on the stage. An indescribable shock instantly swept through him.

He hadn’t even seen how she drew her blade, much less felt how he had been "killed" and removed from the arena.

That single strike had transcended speed, transcended power. It seemed to have touched upon some kind of more fundamental law.

A sheer, unscalable cliff.

’What a fast blade!’