Chapter Forty-Nine: Finally, the Fight Can Begin

Mount Ziyun trembled, and countless gazes turned toward the imperial capital.

In the direction of Mount Lingyun, a massive pillar of light soared into the sky, accompanied by the roaring of endless thunder and the frantic dancing of lightning serpents.

Terrifying energy raged, and one of the main peaks of Mount Lingyun exploded.

The Ling clan was thrown into utter chaos. A series of formidable figures soared into the air, rushing to the scene instantly.

"The Thunder Pool has exploded! Why was there not the slightest warning beforehand?"

A clan elder at the Divine Origin realm roared in fury.

Other clan elders, fresh out of seclusion, joined forces to forcefully seal the Heavenly Thunder Arena and prevent the energy from leaking outward.

The Thunder Pool had accumulated thunder power for many years, especially the liquid energy, which was exceptionally pure and yang-bound. The sheer destructive force generated by an instantaneous explosion was completely unimaginable.

Had the higher-ups of the Ling clan not reacted swiftly and intervened immediately, the resulting energy shockwave would have blown apart a good half of the Ling clan's territory.

"Oh no! The Heavenly Thunder Arena has exploded!"

On Mount Ziyun, Ling Que was the first to sense what had happened, and the expressions of all the members of the Ling clan transformed drastically.

In the next instant, every single gaze from the Ling clan fell upon Lin Hao—the smug, high-spirited youth who still wore a brilliant smile on his face.

"It was you... You bastard, what did you do to the Thunder Pool?"

Ling Wu could no longer bear it. He suffered a total mental collapse on the spot, acting like a madman who threw all regard for his image and consequences to the wind as he charged straight at Lin Hao to kill him.

He had almost completely lost his sanity. He was all too aware of the Thunder Pool's immense importance to the Ling clan. Now that it had been completely destroyed in a single day, the clan would inevitably hold him accountable.

Lin Hao had to die.

Yet, he himself no longer had any hope of living well either.

The root of all this chaos lay with him. Whether it was the Lingyun Pavilion, the inner clan's scripture repository, or the Thunder Pool, every single one of them had been arranged by his own hands.

What was worse, he had personally arranged for Lin Hao to enter the Thunder Pool twice.

Life was simply unlivable anymore.

He would fight to the death just to take Lin Hao down with him.

Boom...

Mr. Ximen stepped forward with ferocious determination, slamming his palm toward Ling Wu.

The gentle benevolence vanished from his face, replaced by a fierce, murderous glare in his eyes.

"The Holy Son of my sect is here to participate in the Grand Tournament of a Hundred Sects. Who dares lay a hand on him?"

Mr. Ximen shouted sternly, "Is the Ling clan so almighty that they treat the Grand Tournament arena as their own backyard? Is there no one from the Great Xia Academy to manage this?"

Mr. Ximen's voice was sharp and stern. Several Heavenly Origin realm elders of the Taixuan Sect all stepped forward, forming a horizontal line while gripping their battle weapons.

After shouting at the Great Xia Academy, he shifted his gaze into the distance. A group of people stood over there, led by a youth in yellow robes holding a folded fan, guarded by several Heavenly Origin realm experts.

"Your Highness the Ninth Prince, will you please step forward and uphold justice?"

Mr. Ximen said.

Clack!

The yellow-robed youth snapped his folded fan shut and stepped forward through the air. He appeared to be around twenty years of age, and his cultivation had already reached the Transforming Origin realm.

"The Grand Tournament of a Hundred Sects was established by the imperial family. The tournament has its rules, and no one is permitted to act lawlessly."

The Ninth Prince spoke up, saying, "Ling clan, keep your personal grievances with Lin Hao away from the Grand Tournament arena. Once the tournament concludes, you may handle your private matters yourselves."

"Anyone who disrupts the Grand Tournament again, do not blame this prince for being discourteous."

The Ninth Prince's voice rang like a giant bell. As soon as he made his declaration, the scene instantly fell into silence.

As a prince of Great Xia representing the dignity of the empire, once he personally stepped forward to speak, who dared to say another word?

In truth, the Ninth Prince had no desire to get entangled in the feud between the Ling clan and Lin Hao.

However, since he was standing here now, he could not simply turn a blind eye; anyone attempting to disrupt the grand tournament was essentially striking the imperial family in the face.

Ling Wu was so enraged his eyes split at the corners and his entire body trembled violently, looking as though he had no intention of letting the matter rest.

"Enough! Are you still not humiliating us enough?"

Ling Que roared. Although he was a member of the Ling clan, at this moment he represented the Great Xia Academy and served as the host of the Grand Tournament.

Though he harbored a deep hatred for Lin Hao in his heart, he could not act as recklessly as Ling Wu and cause the Ling clan to lose further face.

On Mount Ziyun at this moment, at least tens of thousands of people stood watching, sighing endlessly. None of them had expected this Grand Tournament to be so thrilling; before it had even officially begun, they had already witnessed such a spectacular show.

Crucially, this show was far too entertaining, surpassing the excitement of the upcoming tournament itself by a thousand fold.

Gaze after gaze turned toward Lin Hao, secretly giving him a thumbs-up. The younger generation in particular looked at him with fanatical eyes, bordering on worship.

"He's utterly ruthless! He actually blew up the Ling clan's sacred arena!"

"Such uninhibited dominance. He's simply my idol."

"An abandoned son of a marquis's household who stays silent until he makes a deafening roar. The Ling clan had long since declared they wouldn't let him leave the imperial capital alive anyway. Since they are mortal enemies, he has no scruples left."

"That may be true, but looking across the entire realm, who else could possibly have the nerve, using their own strength alone, to inflict such catastrophic losses upon the premier aristocratic clan?"

"The Ling clan's losses this time are simply too massive, and their dignity has been completely trampled. I truly have no idea how Lin Hao managed to pull this off. But because of this, the Ling clan's determination to kill him will only become even more unyielding. I really wonder how he plans to walk his path hereafter; I'm afraid the Taixuan Sect won't be able to protect him at all."

"Lin Hao made the right choice. If I were in his shoes, I would have done the exact same thing. After all, whether he did this or not, the Ling clan was never going to spare him."

......

The three great aristocratic clans, the one hundred and eight sects, the Great Xia imperial family, and the dignitaries of the imperial capital—there was not a single soul who was not shaken.

That abandoned son of a marquis who had walked out from some obscure place had thrown a thunderous bomb on his very first move, shaking the skies of Great Xia to their core.

"Look over there! It's that mule, the one that appeared in the secret realm."

A disciple of the Ling clan caught sight of Lord Nine, reigniting the fury blazing in his chest.

"He's Lin Hao's accomplice! Go, a few of you, and kill him!"

Someone shouted.

Swish, swish, swish...

Seven or eight Transforming Origin realm powerhouses from the Ling clan struck simultaneously, charging toward Lord Nine's location.

They had lost all their dignity today, and while the rules of the grand tournament prevented them from attacking Lin Hao, that wretched mule could not be let off the hook.

"Hehehe... You want to kill your grandpa? Come and get me!"

Lord Nine waggled his backside and shook his tail in provocation, then transformed into a streak of white light and vanished into the surrounding mountains.

Meanwhile, amidst the aggrieved humiliation of the Ling clan, the Grand Tournament of a Hundred Sects officially commenced, pulling back its curtain.

One hundred and eight contestants stood upon the central battle stage, their burning gazes fixed upon Ling Que.

"Now, I announce the rules of the Grand Tournament."

Ling Que proclaimed in a clear voice, "They are very simple: victory is decided upon the arena stage."

"The one hundred and eight sects will be divided into nine groups of twelve people each. You will draw lots for your duels. Anyone who suffers two consecutive defeats will be eliminated, and the Great Xia Academy will eliminate one person from each group based on your performance on the stage."

"The first round will eliminate nine contestants, from whom one final person will be chosen whose sect will rank at the very bottom of the hundred sects. The remaining eight sects will face systemic reform."

"The group assignments are now being announced."

Ling Que flicked his arm, and a wide golden scroll, measuring roughly a zhang in length, automatically floated into mid-air. Written clearly upon the scroll were the names of all one hundred and eight sects, neatly divided from Group One through Group Nine.

"Judging by the current sect rankings, the top nine sects have been completely separated, and those ranked tenth through eighteenth have also been separated. It's quite fair, all things considered."

"Fair though it may seem, anomalies are bound to occur. Most sects will likely preserve their status, but who knows which eight will end up facing reform."

"The Taixuan Sect doesn't stand a chance, I'd wager. I admit that Lin Hao possesses exceptional talent, but his cultivation realm is still far too low—he's only at the fifth tier of the Qi Sea realm. I checked the roster, and the youngest genius disciples participating in this tournament are at the peak of the eighth tier of the Qi Sea realm."

Almost no one favored the Taixuan Sect because Lin Hao's cultivation was simply too weak, making him the weakest among all one hundred and eight participants in the entire arena.

Coupled with the fact that the Ling clan would undoubtedly meddle behind the scenes, there was no way they would give Lin Hao a chance.

"You carry the life and death of your respective sects upon your shoulders. I know that in the heat of battle, all of you will give it your absolute all."

Ling Que spoke once more, "Those who give their all will inevitably fight to the death. Therefore, should casualties occur during the matches, you shall bear the consequences yourselves."

Hearing this, the crowd's gazes shifted toward Lin Hao.

Sure enough, these rules were clearly tailored to target him.

Yet, no one felt that such rules were improper.

Cultivation had always been thus; mortal combat was a path one had to walk entirely on one's own.

Furthermore, everyone bore a sacred mission. They represented their own sects and homelands, making them entirely worthy of defending with their lives.

Just as Ling Que had stated, every individual would fight with everything they had until the very last moment.

"The first-place winner of each group will receive a reward and advance to the ultimate showdown of the second round."

Ling Que declared.

Upon the central battle stage, the one hundred and eight gifted contestants brimmed with high morale, their fighting spirit soaring into the heavens.

Lin Hao stretched his limbs: Finally, he could fight out in the open.

He wanted to see just how much these top-tier geniuses, selected through layers of rigorous trials, were truly worth.