"Look, a deathmatch!"
Crowds flocked as Ling Tian and Han Jian mounted the stage.
"Elder Su is overseeing it!"
"It's Han Jian versus Ling Tian!"
Excitement surged; everyone knew them as yesterday's top recruits. The rumors of Ling Tian taking the golden token over the formidable Han Jian drew them in.
"Are the two of you ready?" Elder Su asked the two on the stage.
"Ready!" Han Jian tightly held the sword in his grasp; his breathing patterns changed.
Ling Tian played around with the steel sword in his hands; it was a borrowed weapon just for this fight since he only had a wooden sword.
"Before we start, I'd like to tell you something... Next time, don't think you're above everyone, just because you are noble, you pathetic man," he said, mocking Han Jian.
"I will fucking kill you, Ling Tian!" Han Jian threw away his fighting stance and charged at Ling Tian like a madman with red eyes.
He was so angry that it made him blind and unable to see the blade slashing down at him.
Ling Tian smiled at his action, and he lifted the sword in his hands.
"!!!"
Suddenly, Elder Su's eyes snapped open, his gaze filled with shock and disbelief.
"What's that glow surrounding his sword?"
"I have never seen anything like that before..."
Disciples watched, bewildered, as Ling Tian's steel sword emanated a space-twisting aura of overbearing and tyrannical pressure.
"Impossible! That looks like Sword Intent!" Elder Su recognized the aura surrounding the sword.
However, his knowledge only further confused him, even shocking him to the core.
Sword Intent represents complete mastery, emerging only when a user fully comprehends their blade. Such skilled practitioners are renowned and respected as Sword masters.
"How could it possibly be Sword Intent?! He's just 18 years old! Not even experts at the Heavenly Spirit Realm would be able to learn Sword Intent!"
Disbelieving a youth could use Sword Intent, Elder Su desperately convinced himself that Ling Tian's display was merely a deceptive, cheap trick.
Ling Tian casually swung his sword, and a tyrannical pressure swept the place, sending chills down the spine of everyone there — Elder Su included.
"Wait!" Elder Su hastily called out, but alas, it was too late.
The tip of the sword in Ling Tian's grasp gently touched the ground, and a beautiful arc of light appeared, cleanly cutting Han Jian in half from top to bottom.
Shocked gasping resounded as organs fell. Blood splattered all over the arena and covered Ling Tian, and everybody stared at the horrifying scene with wide eyes and dropped jaws, looking as though they were watching a scene from hell.
Nobody there, Elder Su included, has seen such a merciless strike occur on this stage before.
Ling Tian approached Elder Su, who stood there with a dazed face, and returned the bloody steel sword to him before calmly walking off the stage.
[Ding!]
[Mission: Kill Han Jian in one attack in a death match.]
[Reward: Weapon Coupon & Abilities Coupon.]
[Penalty: Death.]
[Mission Completed! Would you like to receive the rewards?]
Yes.
[You receive a Weapon Coupon.]
[You receive an Abilities Coupon.]
****
After the deathmatch between Ling Tian and Han Jian that ended immediately after it started, Ling Tian's name quickly became the center of attention.
Those who witnessed Ling Tian's display of dominance began spreading the word about the event like wildfire.
They portrayed Ling Tian as though he were a devil from hell who could kill without batting an eyelid.
They also mentioned the cruel scene of Han Jian splitting into two pieces, causing many who heard it to nearly vomit from disgust and shock.
However, what scared these disciples the most was not Ling Tian's cruelty, but his power; the rumor said he could use sword intent, which allowed him to kill with ease.
Very quickly, the name Ling Tian became something to be feared by the Outer disciples.
Meanwhile, Ling Tian heads back to his villa, ignoring the murmur of the outer disciples as he passes by them.
The whispers followed him like flies.
Outer disciples scattered from his path, their eyes wide and fearful as they pressed themselves against the sect buildings.
Ling Tian could feel their stares on his back. His robes were still speckled with drying blood, but he didn't bother to clean them. The metallic smell was just another detail in the air.
Without realizing that he had already reached his villa.
Inside, Yun Xi was pacing the main room, her hands clenched. She spun as he entered, her eyes immediately going to the blood on his robes.
"Tian!" she rushed forward, then stopped, her gaze searching his face. "I heard… they said you…"
"He's dead, Xi'er. You don't have to worry about it anymore," Ling Tian smiled at her to reassure her.
Then he walked past her to the bathtub room, starting to unbuckle his robe.
Yun Xi followed, her worry shifting into something darker. "His family… his sister is an elder here."
Ling Tian tossed the bloody robe aside. "Let them come, but I think you don't have to worry about her sister."
"Huh? Why?" Yun Xi tilted her head, hearing what Lin Tian said.
"I heard that her sister came to the men's dorm to punish Han Jian. When I saw him, he had a scar on his face and wore an eyepatch." While he said that he started to disrobe Yun Xi.
He stepped into the tub, the hot water already waiting. Yun Xi follows him into the tub and watches him.
The lingering terror that had gripped Yun Xi's features vanished, replaced by an intoxicating, fierce heat.
Her gaze, once clouded by the frantic shadows of anxiety, now burned with a newfound, fervent pride as she stared at the man who commanded his own destiny with such terrifying ease.
"You have no fear, do you?" she whispered, her voice trembling with an illicit mixture of awe and building anticipation.
"My dear Xi'er," he murmured, "If it means to protect my loved one, then I don't know the meaning of fear. I only see a prey waiting to be killed."