"Of the ten who made it through my 'raindrop' trial, the other nine were all at least peak tenth level of the True Martial Realm. Only that young man was still at the peak of the ninth level. And yet, compared to the rest, he looked way more relaxed blocking the raindrops." Sua added.
One had to know—several of those cultivators on the field were panting hard after blocking Sun's "Raindrops," clearly struggling through the process.
But Zihua?
His face wasn't flushed, and he wasn't even out of breath.
Throughout the entire trial, Sun could tell that Zihua had remained remarkably casual.
"Besides Wei, Zihua looked like the one who handled the 'Raindrops' with the most ease. And he's only at the peak of the ninth level of the True Martial Realm."
"Well, now this just got interesting."
Sun's expression turned a little strange.
Fifteen minutes passed quickly, and the ten persons who had endured the "Raindrop" trial stepped forward once again.
"For the second round, it's one-on-one elimination. The ten of you, come draw lots to determine the order of your matches," Qiang announced loudly.
But just as he finished speaking—
"No need for all that trouble."
A cool, slightly arrogant voice rang out. Wei stepped forward.
"What's he up to now?"
Everyone in the training ground—including the other nine contestants—turned to look at him.
"Third Elder," Wei said calmly, "this family competition is just about selecting the strongest among the Bai family's younger generation to inherit the Sword Token. The rest of the rankings don't matter. If that's the case, then there's no need to make the second round so complicated."
"Wei, what exactly are you trying to say?" Qiang asked coldly.
"It's simple—I want that Sword Token. And within this generation of the Bai family, no one qualifies to be my opponent. One-on-one? That's boring. Let's make it easier—anyone who wants to fight me for the token can just come at me together. I'll take you all on at once." Wei's voice rang clear and cold, echoing across the training ground.
For a moment, there was stunned silence. Then—uproar.
"Did he just say... he'll take on everyone at once?!"
"Arrogant! Completely arrogant!"
"Who does he think he is?! Does he think the Bai family's top talents are nothing but weeds?!"
The core members of the Bai family were furious.
Even the senior cultivators in the Sea Transformation Realm watching from above looked grim.
He wanted them all to attack at once—did he think so little of their geniuses?
Qiang frowned and glanced at Yifeng. When the latter gave a slight nod, Qiang stepped forward and announced, "Since that's your request, we'll do it your way. The second round will now be a stage battle. You'll take the central platform as the main challenger. The other nine who made it through may team up to fight you. If you win against them all, the Bai family's Sword Token is yours."
Wei's lips curled into a cold smile.
"Hah. We don't really care much for the Sword Token anyway. We'll leave it to Young Master Wei," one of the participants said, chuckling as he stepped back.
The new rule had just been announced, and already four contestants chose to forfeit.
Those four all came from the Retainer Faction—they were never going to fight Wei seriously.
With Wei and the four who had stepped down, that left five people still eligible to compete. From those five, four stepped forward now—Huo, Wan'er, and two other Bai family members who had reached the peak of the tenth level of the True Martial Realm.
Earlier, they'd been called up to the viewing platform by the elders—clearly, these four were the most promising candidates in the family's eyes.
"You're too arrogant, Wei!" With a furious roar, Huo—standing at the center of the four—glared at Wei as if flames were about to burst from his eyes.
A surge of wild, overpowering spiritual energy exploded from his body, sweeping out like a storm.
That surge had clearly reached the peak of the tenth level of the True Martial Realm.
Wan'er and the other two also unleashed similarly powerful spiritual energy.
"Huo?" Wei gave him a glance, then let out a scornful chuckle. "So your cultivation really has reached the peak of the tenth level. Too bad you're the only one. If the rest of your Bai family peers had your level of strength, I might actually take you a little seriously."
"Arrogant bastard!" Huo shouted, then turned his gaze toward the others. "The family's honor rests on us. Just like the Second Elder instructed—no matter what, even if it costs us our lives, we have to bring him down!"
"Maybe none of us could beat him one-on-one," Wan'er said grimly, "but four against one... we're all at the peak of the True Martial Realm, and we're the same age. If the four of us still can't take him down, we might as well slit our own throats."
"Wei is way too full of himself. Today, we're going to make him pay for it!" The other two Bai family members nodded heavily in agreement.
"Go!"
All four moved at once—the battle erupted in an instant.
Huo and Wan'er each wielded a long sword. Huo, being the strongest, charged in first. With spiritual energy bursting from his body, he slashed out with a brutal, heavy strike, clearly aiming to clash head-on with Wei.
Wan'er appeared on Wei's flank. Her sword swept out cold as frost, her blade drifting like falling snowflakes as she executed the Snow-Cleaving Strike, the most powerful move from the Snowfall Sword Technique.
The remaining two Bai family members attacked Wei from other angles, surrounding him on all sides.
Yet, faced with the combined assault, Wei only let out a chilling smile. Then, stepping forward, he clenched his right fist—raw power gathered—and he swung it straight toward Huo's incoming sword.
"He's not even drawing his weapon?!"
Gasps erupted from the spectators.
It was already outrageous to take on four people alone—but to not even draw his blade during the fight? That was pure, unfiltered disrespect.
And yet—Boom!
A deep impact rang out. Huo felt a massive force slam into his blade, shaking his entire arm to the bone. The shock nearly knocked the sword from his hand, and he was forced to stagger back.
Huo looked utterly stunned.
No way! We were both at the peak of the tenth level, but his strength... it was at least twice mine!
But right after blasting him back with that one punch, Wei turned, swung his arm wide—clang! clang! clang!—and effortlessly shattered the attacks coming at him from Wan'er and the others.
"Stop holding back! Go all in—use your strongest techniques!" Huo roared and charged forward again.
His long sword sliced through the air, its force like a towering mountain pressing down on Wei.
Myriad Sword Technique—a defensive sword art.
But Huo wasn't using it for defense. He was trying to absorb Wei's attacks head-on, to lock him in place and give the other three an opening.
And it worked. As Huo clashed with Wei again, the other three moved in and unleashed their strongest moves.
Wan'er leapt high into the air, her figure graceful and imposing as she launched her strongest move—Phoenix Descent Sword Technique.
It was like a phoenix descending upon the world. Though it no longer held the same ethereal beauty as before, the power behind it was even greater.
Half a month ago, outside the True Martial Tower, Wan'er had received guidance from Storm. Since then, she had reflected deeply on her weaknesses, corrected the flaws in her swordsmanship, and made tremendous progress. In just that short time, she had successfully cleared the ninth level of the True Martial Tower.
The other two men also unleashed their most powerful techniques.
But the result...
"What a joke!"
Wei's body shook slightly. With spiritual energy surging around him like a tidal wave, he struck with lightning speed.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Four sharp impacts echoed across the training grounds as Wan'er and the others were all blasted backward, their bodies flung through the air. Even Huo, who had been fighting Wei head-on, was sent flying by a single punch. All four looked battered and disheveled.
"How is he this strong?"
Huo, Wan'er, and the others stared at Wei in utter disbelief.
They had given it their all. Huo engaged Wei from the front to create an opening, while the other three flanked him with their ultimate moves. Their coordination had been flawless—yet Wei had still repelled them effortlessly. And even now, he still hadn't drawn his blade.
"This is the best you've got?" Wei stood there with his arms crossed, his expression filled with disdain as he looked down at the four of them.
"I thought the four of you working together might at least give me some pressure. But now it's clear—you're all weaklings. Not even worth the time." As he spoke, Wei slowly reached behind his back and began drawing the blade he had carried there the whole time.
The four watched in silence, their hearts sinking.
He had already defeated them without drawing his sword—
And now... he was drawing it.
Whoosh!
Though they were still a distance away, Wei swung his blade through the air. A dazzling arc of light shot forward, crackling with a suffocating and overwhelming force, slashing straight toward the four.
Terror flashed across their faces.