"That's Junior Brother Xun, who only joined the sect a few years ago!"
"I heard this junior brother has a Heavenly Yang Fire Meridian. Is that true?"
"Isn't the Xun family one of the most renowned cultivation families in our Xi Kingdom? He must be carrying quite a few powerful magical artifacts, right?"
"Who's that junior brother surnamed Han? I don't think I've ever seen him before. Did he only join in recent years?"
"That guy called Han Li is going to be in trouble. Of all opponents, he gets matched with someone like this!"
……
Before the fight had even begun, a stream of chatter reached Han Li's ears with perfect clarity, right through the barrier of light.
"Heavenly Yang Fire Meridian?" The words caught Han Li's attention, and he studied his opponent with considerable interest.
Besides being strikingly handsome and tall, the young man's cultivation was decent — roughly at the twelfth level of the Qi Condensation stage.
The white-robed youth across from him saw that Han Li looked unremarkable, with cultivation only around the tenth level of Qi Condensation. A flicker of contempt passed through his eyes, but outwardly he still gave Han Li a polite bow.
Seeing this, Han Li's lips curled slightly, a cold laugh echoed in his mind, and he raised his hand in a half-hearted cupped-fist salute.
The white-robed youth's expression darkened with barely concealed irritation.
At that moment, the gaunt cultivator hovering overhead spoke in a flat tone: "Begin!"
The instant those words left his mouth, a sharp edge flashed across the white-robed youth's face. He formed hand seals in a rapid sequence, and the air around him erupted in a shimmer of fire. A blazing, translucent barrier of light materialized around his body.
He then raised one hand, spread his five fingers, and a red bead roughly the size of a chicken egg drifted up from his palm.
A stream of incantation words poured from the youth's mouth as he prepared to activate this magical artifact and strike at Han Li.
Han Li watched the whole routine and found it oddly familiar. He couldn't help feeling a little exasperated.
Just then, a flurry of exclamations erupted from outside the arena!
"Look! As expected of a Heavenly Yang Fire Meridian — Junior Brother Xun can release a fire-attribute barrier instantly without even using a talisman!"
"That's nothing! That bead in his hand looks like the famous Firewave Bead of the Xun family. The guy on the other end is done for. This fight might be over in the blink of an eye!"
……
Han Li's expression didn't change. A trace of derision flickered in his mind. Unhurried, he reached into his storage pouch and pulled out a thick stack of talismans — thirty or forty of them.
He glanced up at his opponent. The white-robed youth was entirely absorbed in channeling his artifact and paid no attention to what Han Li was doing, apparently brimming with confidence in his barrier.
Well then — Han Li saw no reason to be courteous. He rubbed the talismans between both hands and then flung them forward simultaneously.
A blaze of red light filled the air, and thirty or forty fireballs, each the size of a fist, shot from his hands like a swarm of angry wasps, hurtling toward the youth in a dense barrage.
"Ah!" A chorus of stunned cries rose from the crowd outside.
At that very moment, the Firewave Bead floating above the white-robed youth's palm had begun to glow with flame, ready to be unleashed against his enemy. He was just feeling a surge of elation when the cries from outside reached his ears. Frowning in confusion, he looked up — and what greeted his sight was the jaw-dropping spectacle of dozens of fireballs striking his barrier all at once.
A torrent of thunderous explosions erupted in rapid succession. Blinding crimson light flared before his eyes, nearly robbing him of his sight.
His crystalline barrier held for mere seconds before cracking apart with a miserable shatter.
The scorching flames were about to surge forward and engulf him completely.
This prodigy blessed with the Heavenly Yang Fire Meridian had been meticulously nurtured by his family's elders since childhood, but he had never truly experienced anything like this — a brush with death on a razor's edge.
His face drained of color, he let out a cry of terror and spun around, desperately trying to flee.
But in that critical instant, the youth suddenly felt a vice-like grip clamp around the back of his neck. His body lurched upward as he was hoisted straight into the air.
The flames surged past beneath him in a roaring wave.
Still trembling from the shock, the white-robed youth turned his head to look — and saw that it was the gaunt cultivator who had caught him by the collar.
"Han Li of Celestial Spring Peak wins." The gaunt cultivator's voice cut through the air, cold and flat.
Only then did the youth realize that he had lost — defeated no less by a pile of the most basic-grade fireball talismans.
The color drained from his face entirely.