Chapter 51: One Against Eight, the Advantage is Mine

"Hahaha, good."

Mr. Ximen burst into laughter.

Ren Baichuan and Yi Fuyao also wore expressions of relieved satisfaction.

The disciples of the Taiyuan Sect erupted into cheers, shouting the title of Holy Son.

Indeed, even among the members of the Taiyuan Sect themselves, none had expected Lin Hao's combat prowess to be so terrifyingly high.

After all, the true horror of a Ten-Zhang Dragon Gate talent was something no one had ever witnessed before.

Furthermore, his opponent was no weakling; Ma Yiqing was a proud prodigy of the Seven-Zhang Dragon Gate and a rare genius of the Invincible Gate.

His cultivation had even reached the peak of the Qi Sea Realm, just a single step away from transforming into the Yuan Realm.

It was common knowledge that such a prodigy inherently possessed the foundation to contend against those in the Transforming Yuan Realm.

Yet, Ma Yiqing had lost.

He died a miserable death on the battle arena, utterly annihilated by Lin Hao, defeated completely.

Granted, Ma Yiqing might have been guilty of underestimating his enemy, but the entire course of the battle had unfolded clearly before everyone's eyes.

Lin Hao was decisive and ruthless, striking as fast as lightning. Once he seized the upper hand in a single move, he gave his opponent no chance of a comeback.

The disparity in combat power was vast, and from beginning to end, Ma Yiqing was left entirely without the ability to fight back.

This was an undeniable fact.

"Big Brother Hao, awesome!"

"Big Brother Hao is too handsome! We're here to cheer you on!"

In the distance, two figures appeared, stretching their necks and shouting toward the battle arena at the top of their lungs.

How dreadfully familiar those voices were.

Lin Hao snapped his head around and saw that Lin Yang and Lin Shuang had somehow climbed to the top of a nearby hill, waving vigorously to signal him.

"Big Brother Hao, you're too fierce! You're my idol, I worship you!"

Lin Shuang raised his arms high, waving them back and forth.

Lin Hao smiled, a smile born from the depths of his heart.

They were brothers, after all. Knowing that he was participating in the grand tournament today, they had traveled across mountains and rivers just to appear at the scene.

A wave of warmth washed over Lin Hao. Though these two younger brothers of his were somewhat good-for-nothing, their affection for him was completely genuine.

"With their low cultivation levels, Tianbao City is a far cry from this place. They must have set out long ago, traversing mountains and rivers just to reach here, solely to give me a surprise and cheer me on."

Lin Hao mused with deep emotion, feeling a profound warmth in his chest.

On the other side, the expressions of the people from the Ling Clan and the Invincible Gate grew increasingly grim.

"How could this happen?"

An elder of the Invincible Gate gritted his teeth, still unable to snap out of the shock of the moment.

The prodigy they had nurtured with all their might—the one carrying the hopes of their entire sect—had been instantly eliminated the moment he stepped onto the stage.

"This boy's strength cannot be underestimated."

An elder of the Ling Clan frowned, then looked straight at Ling Que and transmitted his voice directly: "The Qi Sea Realm is by no means his match. We underestimated the potential of the Ten-Zhang Dragon Gate."

"It's not that we underestimated him; the entire Cangyuan Realm has never produced anyone with a Ten-Zhang Dragon Gate talent before. Naturally, we had no way to gauge it."

Ling Que replied, "Calm yourselves and do not worry. The good show is yet to come. Ma Yiqing was not the peak-tier combatant among this group."

Following this, Ling Que glared fiercely at Ling Wu, gritting her teeth as she demanded, "Just how many of the Ling Clan's combat techniques has he learned?"

Ma Yiqing's death was practically the greatest irony possible for the Ling Clan.

During the process of killing Ma Yiqing, the two consecutive combat techniques Lin Hao displayed both originated from the Ling Clan.

The very person the Ling Clan desperately wanted to eradicate was now using the Ling Clan's own methods to slaughter their people.

What kind of absurd situation was this!

Ling Wu had nothing to say; he currently felt worse than if he had been forced to eat filth.

"You had better pray that he hasn't learned the Hand of the Firmament."

Ling Que stated coldly. The Hand of the Firmament was a foundational secret technique of the Ling Clan. Once it fell into Lin Hao's hands, the consequences would be unimaginable.

That was a Ten-Zhang Dragon Gate talent; his comprehension of anything far surpassed that of ordinary people.

If Lin Hao were to acquire the Hand of the Firmament, the power he could unleash with it would likely be even more terrifying than that wielded by the geniuses of the Ling Clan.

"That's absolutely impossible. The Hand of the Firmament has restrictions placed upon it by clan elders in the Divine Yuan Realm. If he were to touch it, we would know instantly."

Ling Wu replied.

"The Ten-Zhang Dragon Gate... rather interesting."

The Ninth Prince sat comfortably in a wide rattan chair, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"Such talent is rarely seen in this world. It's just a pity that he had to go and offend the Ling Clan."

Someone shook their head and sighed, feeling a sense of regret for Lin Hao.

In their view, a generation's prodigy was destined to fall; the Ling Clan would never afford him the opportunity to grow up.

The first round of the grand tournament continued. The combat power of many prodigies on various arenas was closely matched, resulting in a fierce stalemate that quickly escalated into a white-hot phase.

Those top-tier prodigies, much like Lin Hao, achieved victories with near-absolute suppression.

Before long, the first match of the first round concluded, leaving six individuals remaining in Group Nine.

The six drew lots for the next pairing, and Lin Hao's opponent turned out to be a prodigy at the peak of the Eighth Qi Sea Realm hailing from the Wind and Thunder Sect.

Being sensible, his opponent directly conceded defeat.

In an arena like this, everyone fought for themselves and their sects, carrying the glory of their respective factions upon their shoulders.

Conceding defeat here was deeply disgraceful and would invite the contempt of others.

Yet, when the disciple of the Wind and Thunder Sect surrendered, no one felt it was inappropriate; in fact, the members of the Wind and Thunder Sect even breathed a secret sigh of relief.

A desperate fight was only possible when there was a fighting chance.

Facing a monstrous entity capable of instantly slaying Ma Yiqing, he didn't even possess the capital to put up a fight.

To force a desperate battle under such circumstances would be completely meaningless.

Knowing the outcome was a guaranteed defeat, it was far wiser to preserve his strength and build momentum for the next match.

Besides, due to good fortune in the previous round, the Wind and Thunder Sect had already secured a win.

The tournament of the one hundred and eight sects only required qualifying a portion of the sects; as long as they won a single match, their standing was secured.

In the end, simply by killing Ma Yiqing, Lin Hao smoothly secured first place in Group Nine.

"All hail the Holy Son!"

The disciples of the Taiyuan Sect were beside themselves with excitement. Some even had tears welling in their eyes, unable to contain their overwhelming emotions.

The moment they learned the Taiyuan Sect lacked even the qualifications to participate, the skies had turned pitch black for everyone in the sect.

Lin Hao's appearance had torn open a bright opening for them, allowing them a glimpse of hope.

Today, on the arena of the Grand Sect Tournament, their Holy Son had astounded the world by seizing first place in his group.

What did group first place mean? Such an achievement was enough to secure the Taiyuan Sect's safety and vastly elevate its ranking among the sects.

Immediately following this, the second round of trials commenced.

All nine group winners stood together, facing the ultimate showdown.

On the central battle arena, Lin Hao, standing at the Fifth Qi Sea Realm, appeared somewhat out of place compared to the other eight individuals.

Yet by this point, who would still dare to look down upon this teenager at the Fifth Qi Sea Realm?

The gold standard of the Ten-Zhang Dragon Gate talent continued to soar in the estimation of onlookers.

Those eight individuals hailed from the most prominent sects among the one hundred and eight factions, and all of them were disciples of the Great Xia Academy, with each one having half a foot already stepping into the Transforming Yuan Realm.

In fact, some of them could have already undergone the transformation, but had deliberately suppressed their cultivation specifically for the sake of this Grand Sect Tournament.

What kind of place was the Great Xia Academy? It was the true gathering place for prodigies, selecting only the elite from across the entire nation, with not a single weak individual among them.

"I now announce the commencement of the second round."

Ling Que swept her gaze across the arena and spoke, "In today's grand tournament, the first-place winner will be directly and exceptionally admitted into the Great Xia Academy and receive special rewards from the academy. If they are already disciples of the academy, they will be exceptionally promoted directly into the Academy's Prodigy Camp."

When Ling Que announced the rewards for first place, the words "Prodigy Camp" caused the blood of the eight individuals on the stage to boil with fierce excitement, leaving them barely able to contain themselves.

"The second round will adopt a melee format. The last person remaining standing on the battle arena shall be the victor."

Ling Que's voice rang out like a great bell: "Begin now."

On Mount Ziyun, battle drums began to roll.

The true showdown of the Grand Sect Tournament had finally drawn back its curtains.

Swish...

On the massive battle arena, the eight individuals hesitated for barely a moment before surrounding Lin Hao, boxing him right into the center.

The corners of every single one of their mouths bore a deeply meaningful smile.

"This is unfair!"

The members of the Taiyuan Sect could no longer stand by and watch. Ren Baichuan shouted out furiously.

"Damn it! The targeting is far too obvious! Eight against one, and they are all top-tier geniuses from the Dragon Gate Rankings—some of them are probably even products of the Prodigy Camp!"

"This is a tactic orchestrated by the Ling Clan, meant to take the Holy Son's life!"

Indignation filled the ranks of the Taiyuan Sect, accompanied by countless sighs of frustration echoing across Mount Ziyun.

Everyone understood that this was a plot by the Ling Clan—no, an open conspiracy.

Yet, it complied with the regulations; these were the established rules of the Grand Sect Tournament.

As long as it adhered to the rules, any objections raised by the Taiyuan Sect were entirely futile.

However, standing upon the battle arena, Lin Hao remained calm and unruffled, the corners of his mouth curving upward into his signature smile, devoid of the slightest trace of panic.

He glanced around at the eight individuals and spoke indifferently, "One against eight? The advantage is mine!"