After the Great Elder finished speaking, not a single person moved.
Instead, all eyes turned toward Xiao Jietian.
He understood immediately. They wanted him to draw first.
Without any pretense of modesty, Xiao Jietian stepped forward and reached into the bamboo tube. His fingers closed around a slip, pulling it free.
Blue-backed. Number three.
Han Yue followed. Her slender hand emerged with a blue-backed number eighteen. After drawing, she quietly retreated to stand beside him.
One by one, the others stepped forward. Some even paused before the tube, lips moving in silent prayer.
"Ancestors above, protect me… please, anything but number three…"
"NO—WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?!"
A Five-Star Dou Ling stared at the red-backed number three slip trembling in his hand, his expression one of utter despair. His entire body shook uncontrollably.
Half a year ago, Bai Cheng—a Six-Star Dou Ling—had been obliterated in an instant. And now, he, a mere Five-Star, had drawn the very same opponent.
Half a year had passed. Who knew how much more terrifying Xiao Jietian had become?
In his mind, he could already see it: instant elimination. No suspense. No mercy.
The surrounding contestants stole glances at the slip in his hand, then exhaled in collective relief.
They would rather face Lin Xiuya. At least Lin Xiuya was still a Dou Ling—same realm, same limits.
Xiao Jietian… was something else entirely.
The man walked off the stage like a walking corpse, his soul having already left his body.
When the final slip was claimed by a small, delicate hand, the drawing ceremony concluded.
Fifty contestants. Fifty expressions. Some smiled; others looked as though they were marching toward their own execution.
"Congratulations, Senior Han Yue," Xiao Jietian said lightly, a faint smile curving his lips. "You've already secured your advancement."
Han Yue blinked. Her opponent was a Two-Star Dou Ling. The gap between them was like heaven and earth. Unless that man was some freakish anomaly blessed by fate itself, victory was already hers.
"As long as I don't run into you, I'll be fine." A trace of humor flickered in her cool voice. "I don't think I'm unlucky enough for that. At least… the past six months have been kind to me."
And it was true.
Ever since she met Xiao Jietian, her fortune had turned remarkably favorable. Her cultivation had advanced. Her faction, Moon Spirit, had risen from a mid-tier force to one even the upper echelons dared not slight.
Her gaze flickered toward him—lingering, searching.
Then his head turned.
She snapped her gaze away, guilty, her heart hammering against her ribs.
"If Senior Sister does end up facing me," Xiao Jietian's tone was light, teasing, "I won't go easy on you, you know. Don't cry."
Han Yue shot him a glare. "I'm not some fragile little flower."
Wu Hao drew blue-backed number twenty-one. His opponent was a One-Star Dou Ling—someone he had already defeated before. His luck was almost absurdly good.
Xiao Yan, as if bound by fate itself, drew red-backed number fifteen.
His opponent: Bai Cheng.
Bai Cheng's expression was grim. Though his realm was now a full star higher than Xiao Yan's, that terrifying speed he had displayed earlier… even now, Bai Cheng wasn't certain he could catch it.
Xiao Yan, for his part, did not underestimate his opponent.
His brother had crushed Bai Cheng like an insect. But Xiao Yan was not his brother.
A Seven-Star Dou Ling was no joke. Even a lion used full force against a rabbit.
"Xiao Jietian!"
A crisp, clear voice cut through the tension, brimming with fighting spirit.
"I really, really want to fight you! You can't refuse me this time—hmph!"
Zi Yan stood with her hands on her hips, her tiger teeth glinting as she grinned up at him.
She could feel it—the pressure radiating from him, even when he stood perfectly still. It thrilled her. Itched at her fists.
Ever since her old sparring partners had graduated one by one, she had been left with no one to fight. Even Lin Xiuya, ranked second, either surrendered immediately or fled the moment he saw her.
"There will be a chance." Xiao Jietian reached out and ruffled her hair, his smile indulgent. "Let me see this monstrous strength of yours."
"Then it's a deal! Or I'll get really, really angry!" Her lips curled into a delighted grin.
Xiao Jietian looked at her adorable, fierce expression and thought, So cute. If I punched her, she'd probably cry for a long time.
Zi Yan's slip was red-backed number six.
Her opponent was an unfortunate dark horse—one who, in another timeline, might have risen far.
Xiao Jietian glanced at a young man among the contestants, who was currently grinning from ear to ear, oblivious to his fate.
Poor unlucky bastard.
The man, overjoyed, failed to notice the countless pitying gazes fixed upon him.
"Since the lots have been drawn, all contestants, please return to your positions."
The Great Elder's aged, resonant voice echoed across the plaza. His hand plunged into the bamboo tube before him, emerging with a slip.
"Twelve."
"Contestants holding red and blue number twelve, please enter the arena."
Two figures shot onto the stage.
Both were Three-Star Dou Lings. One water-attributed. One metal-attributed.
They bowed briefly, then erupted into action.
Weapons flashed. Dou Qi surged. The stone platform rumbled under the force of their clash.
The metal-attributed fighter pressed the offensive relentlessly, blue and gold Dou Qi colliding in explosive bursts. For half an hour, they fought evenly, neither gaining a decisive edge.
Both were panting now, drenched in sweat, lips pale. But the metal-attributed fighter still held the momentum.
"He's going to lose."
Xun'er's voice drifted softly from beside Xiao Jietian.
Han Yue turned, startled.
"Though he seems to have the advantage," Xun'er continued calmly, her gaze fixed on the stage, "water emphasizes endurance. Metal burns hot and fast. He should have gone all out from the start. Now that he's failed to secure a quick victory… his stamina is failing."
Five minutes later, the metal-attributed fighter was swept from the stage by a surging water vortex, crashing heavily to the ground.
Eliminated.
Han Yue stared at Xun'er, a newfound wariness in her eyes.
This quiet, elegant woman… her insight into battle was terrifyingly sharp.
No wonder she stood beside Xiao Jietian.
"First match: Kong Yu. Victor!"
As the Great Elder announced the result, Kong Yu swallowed a pill and slowly descended from the stage.
Several more matches followed. Xiao Jietian and his group were not called.
Some matches were one-sided slaughters. Others were fierce, evenly matched duels that set the audience ablaze with excitement.
"Next, please welcome contestant number six."
Su Qian's hand dipped into the tube. He withdrew a slip, glanced at the number, and read it aloud.
A man with a cocky, defiant smirk strode onto the stage.
Then Su Qian saw his opponent emerge.
The Great Elder's expression flickered—a strange, unreadable look crossing his aged features.
"Contestants are strictly forbidden from taking lives carelessly," he said.
"Don't worry, Great Elder." The man tilted his chin upward, arrogance dripping from every syllable. "I won't kill him."
He didn't notice the ripple of pity that passed through the crowd.
He didn't notice the way several contestants subtly shook their heads.
He didn't notice that his opponent was a little girl in a white dress, chewing contentedly on something, her dark eyes bright and curious.
Zi Yan tilted her head.
And smiled.