On the stone pillar, the token was glowing. No one knew what the token was made out of, but when sunlight shone onto it, it would dazzle like a gem that attracted everyone’s attention.

At the same time, the profits that the two cities could bring were also dazzling. Blatantly speaking, the four sects had to defend their resources while snatching others. And an example would be the two cities governed by the Violet Ember Sect. If other sects were interested in the two cities, they could send out their seeded or reserve contestant to challenge the controlling sect.

There was no limit to the challenges, and it would come to an end when there were no other challengers. However, reserve contestants could only fight once, so they couldn’t keep going up. Although seeded contestants could go up as many times as they wanted, they would also exhaust their strength in the process, and it would be disadvantageous to them. In a nutshell, the contestants were like chess pieces.

So, everyone had to discuss if the two cities were worth it.

Whoosh!

All of a sudden, a figure jumped down from the high platform, onto the stage.

It was a reserve contestant from the Violet Ember Sect as he said pridefully, “I’m Gao Han from the Violet Ember Sect, and I would like to seek guidance from the Azure Sky Sect!” 

As he spoke, he unleashed his aura in the Eighth Stage of the Martial Path under the blazing sun. As his aura swept out, it spread to the surrounding area like a heatwave.

“Eighth Stage of the Martial Path!”

“It has been three years, and the inner disciples in the sects have all made great improvements.”

“This is only just the beginning, and they have already sent out such a strong contestant. I’m afraid that the Four Sects Tournament this year will be intense!”

Gao Han’s appearance had instantly lit up the atmosphere as his strong cultivation attracted everyone’s attention. Seated towards the rear, Lin Yun could hear Bai Yufan discussing with the other reserve contestants.

“Which one of you are going?” Bai Yufan asked as he turned around.

According to the rules, those who were named had to send someone out to fight. Otherwise, it would be equivalent to giving up the challenging rights over the two cities.

“Allow me!”

Swish!

One of the reserve contestants flew out and landed on the stage.

“I’m Zhang Qing of the Azure Sky Sect. Please enlighten me!” It was one of the ten reserve contestants of the Azure Sky Sect, he had a robust figure as he carried a huge blade behind him.

Squinting his eyes, Gao Han smiled, “And I was just wondering who it was, so it turns out to be my defeated opponent from three years ago. Come, I’ll let you have three moves.”

No wonder Zhang Qing was the first to stand out, so it turned out that there were grudges between them.

“How arrogant!” Zhang Qing snorted as he pulled his blade out.

The blade technique that he used was the famous Chilling Wind Slash. The moment he pulled his blade out, a cold wind permeated to the surrounding, lowering the surrounding temperature. However, Gao Han remained unfazed despite this scene.

He had only used mobility techniques to dodge Zhang Qing’s attack, and he was even nearly hit.

Swish!

However, Zhang Qing did not just let it go as he took a step forth and swung his blade once more.

This one was more shocking compared to the previous blade, and when he swung it down, it sounded like a howling ghost. As Gao Han’s face became solemn, he still did not attack but avoided with his mobility technique, causing a cry of exclamation from the surrounding.

The Chilling Wind Slash was known for being ferocious, and it would gradually grow stronger in battle. However, no one had expected that Gao Han really went along with his words and faced Zhang Qing’s attacks head-on.

“I’ll see how you dodge this one!” Zhang Han barked coldly. Shortly after, his aura surged as he planned on ending the battle with his next move.

When Lin Yun saw this scene on the high platform, his face changed as he knew that things were about to go bad. A sneer rose on Gao Han’s lips. Everyone thought that he would keep to his promise, and he would only make his move after Zhang Qing executed his third move.

“Ember Finger!” Gao Han tapped with his finger in an angle unimaginable to most people, directed at Zhang Qing’s chest, which caught Zhang Qing by surprise.

Zhang Qing did not expect that Gao Han would go against his words, so he did not put up any defence. As a mouthful of blood exited his mouth, he was blown out from that finger. At the same time, his violent blade aura crumbled.

“Go down!” Gao Han roared as he executed his second move.

His first move broke Zhang Han’s rib, while his second injured Zhang Han’s internal organs, leaving the latter in heavy injuries.

His ruthless means simply left the crowd speechless.

“This…” The audiences all sucked in a mouthful of cold breath as they had never expected that it would turn out this way.

Then again, it was just a gentleman’s agreement that Gao Han was letting three moves to Zhang Qing. If anyone was to blame, they could only blame Zhang Qing for falling into Gao Han’s trap.

“Gao Han of the Violet Ember Sect wins the battle! If there’s anyone else who wants to challenge the Violet Ember Sect, you can send out your disciples.” Bai Qiushui announced the results calmly.

On the Azure Sky Sect’s side, all  faces were unsightly to behold.

At this moment, Liu Yu looked over and smiled, “I’m really sorry about winning you guys.”

“Shameless!” Bai Tianming snorted.

“Haha!” Liu Yu laughed as he wasn’t bothered about that.

Next was the Profound Sun Sect and Mad Blade Sect’s turns to send out a reserve contestant. As Gao Han withstood the pressure, he won two battles in a row, dispelling the second sect and sending out more contestants. After all, it wasn’t profitable to swap two cities with two contestants. And if they still couldn’t win after sending two contestants, it would be a terrible loss instead.

“Congratulations to the Violet Ember Sect for guarding their cities.”

Once more, Bai Qiushui announced the results calmly.

“Thank you, everyone.” Gao Han chuckled as he leaped and seized the token that was on the pillar.

“The Violet Ember Sect has truly become different from before. They only used one reserve contestant to guard two of their cities!”

“They seem a little too strong. Logically speaking, they will need at least two reserve contestants in order to keep the two cities.”

“Then again, it was truly tragic for that Azure Sky Sect’s disciple.”

“Everyone’s saying that he’s too young, but in my view, he’s just plain stupid.”

Listening to the discussions, the disciples of the Azure Sky Sect gritted their teeth.

“I should’ve gone out myself if I knew about this outcome. At the very least, I could’ve had a good fight with him.” said Zhang Yue, the seeded contestant.

Shaking his head, Bai Yufan replied, “This is just the beginning, and as seeded contestants, we need to conserve our strength for the right time.”

This was only just the first match, and they already had a contestant heavily injured, which shrouded the hearts of everyone from the Azure Sky Sect in a gloomy cloud. This was just the beginning of the Four Sects Tournament’s brutality.

Next up, it was the Mad Blade Sect’s turn, and they also had two cities up for challenge as well. At the cost of using up two of their reserve contestants, the Mad Blade Sect successfully defended their cities from the three sects. Among the four sects, the Profound Sun Sect suffered the worst as they nearly failed to defend their cities even after they sent out three reserve contestants. In the end, they had to send out their seeded contestant before they could protect their cities from being taken.

“Next will be the two cities under the Azure Sky Sect’s control. After this battle, the first round will come to an end.”

As the City Lord spoke, the Azure Sky Sect’s party immediately felt a mountain weighing down on them.

“Who’s going up first?” Bai Yufan looked at the eight reserve contestants.

“Let me have the honor!”

As the voice sounded out, a person walked out. It was Feng Daoyu, who was previously defeated by Zhang Ye. With Feng Daoyu’s strength, he was ranked among the top within the ten reserve contestants.

Among the inner disciples, he was ranked on the eighth, and he had reached greater mastery in his Vajra Fist. It wasn’t because he was weak when he lost to Zhang Ye, but Zhang Ye was too strong, and he was someone at Hu Zifeng’s level.

“Go for it!” Bai Yufan trusted Ma Daoyu’s capability as he nodded his head.

“I’m confident in this round, and I will defend the two cities for the sect!” Feng Daoyu spoke with his words brimming with confidence as he executed his mobility technique and landed on the stage.

Sweeping his glance out, Feng Daoyu looked in the direction of the Violet Ember Sect, “Feng Daoyu of the Azure Sky Sect, and I would like to seek guidance from the Violet Ember Sect!” 

Evidently, Feng Daoyu was trying to get back at the Violet Ember Sect for how they defeated Zhang Qing previously.

“You’re courting death.” A cold bark sounded out as a figure soared into the sky.

When that person landed on the stage, his presence had instantly caused a huge uproar.

“A seeded contestant!”

Facing Feng Daoyu, the Violet Ember Sect had actually sent out their seeded contestant without any hesitation. No one had expected that a seeded contestant would go right off the bat. As for Feng Daoyu, the confidence that he had on his face previously had instantly turned into despair.

When Lin Yun saw this scene, he sighed inwardly as the Violet Ember Sect had probably prepared a trap for the Azure Sky Sect...