Chapter 905: Killing Blow

"Looks like I may have underestimated you a little," Xu Shun scoffed instead of answering Han Li's question, then spat out a globule of bloodstained saliva onto the ground.

He stood up straight, then shook out his arms, and a string of loud cracks and pops rang out from his joints.

Han Li remained still on the spot upon seeing this, and a cold look flashed through his eyes.

Xu Shun let loose a thunderous roar as he crouched down slightly before launching himself at Han Li again.

At this point, a total of seventy-eight profound acupoints had lit up over his body, and they seemed to be resonating with one another, creating a membrane of light similar to a True Extreme Film over his entire body.

Instead of taking evasive measures, Han Li took a step forward to face Xu Shun head-on, and several profound acupoints lit up over his arms, causing the platform beneath his feet to shudder violently.

As he continued to step forward, more and more profound acupoints lit up on his arms, while the platform beneath him continued to shudder and quake.

A hint of fear finally appeared in Xu Shun's eyes at the sight of the ever-increasing number of profound acupoints on Han Li's body, and he didn't know if Yi Liya had intentionally deceived, or if his sources had been incorrect as well.

The distance between the two of them was rapidly shrinking, and Han Li let loose an explosive roar as he unleashed Tu Gang's Titan Vajra Arts, revealing all eighteen of the profound acupoints on his arms.

At this point, it was already too late for Xu Shun to turn back, so he could only inject all of his power into his fist.

A pair of profound acupoints lit up on the end of his fist in unison, giving off a resplendent gleam as it crashed toward Han Li's right fist.

Right as the two fists were about to clash, a white bone spike suddenly shot out from the gap between Xu Shun's middle and index fingers.

Han Li gave a cold harrumph upon seeing this, and he displayed no intention of taking any evasive measures.

Instead, he slightly extended the two fingers on his hand that had been refined from the Flower Branch domain, sending them crashing into the star bone that Xu Shun had concealed between his fingers.

A violent explosion rang out, accompanied by a sound akin to that of shattering ice crystals.

All of this had taken place in the blink of an eye, and all that the spectators could see was a vast expanse of radiant starlight, making it impossible for them to make out the two combatants on the platform.

However, in this instant, Xu Shun was clearly able to see the near-hundred profound acupoints that had lit up over Han Li's body, and his heart was filled with remorse and resentment.

He wanted to surrender, but it was already too late.

Han Li charged forward and plunged his fist through Xu Shun's dantian, destroying the nascent soul inside.

At this point, the six people on the elevated platform had also had their attention drawn to the massive explosion that had just taken place, but all they saw was Han Li stumbling back out of the eruption of starlight, while Xu Shun's lifeless body fell to the ground.

All of the spectators were astonished by what they had just witnessed, which was the first casualty of this edition of the Five City Martial Gathering.

I didn't know you were such a good actor, Fellow Daoist Li...

Chen Yang chuckled internally as he watched Han Li make a show of stumbling to the ground.

Both he and Daoist Xie were fully aware that Han Li was only putting on an act.

……

Moments later, Han Li was carried away by two armored guards for treatment.

However, on the way there, Han Li sat up on his own and revealed that he was actually completely unscathed.

After that, he sat down in a quiet corner as a cold gleam flashed through his eyes.

As time passed, the other seven battles also concluded one after another, and aside from Gu Qianxun and Yi Liya, the other two Green Goat City gladiators both suffered heavy defeats. Thankfully, they were able to surrender in a timely fashion, so they had survived their battles.

Gu Qianxun's opponent from Profound End City was a far inferior cultivator to her, and he was beaten halfway to death by just two or three blows from Gu Qianxun. Fortunately for him, she had no intention of killing him, and she allowed him to surrender the battle.

As for Yi Liya, he also displayed very impressive power, displaying only seventy profound acupoints to defeat a cultivator from Excess Passage City that had opened eighty profound acupoints. In the end, he was able to knock his opponent unconscious to secure the victory.

As the two of them returned to the lobby, all of the Green Goat City cultivators immediately gathered around to congratulate them.

Yi Liya returned to the lobby with an elated expression, and his elation was only further heightened by the absence of Han Li in the crowd.

A snide grin appeared on his face as he asked, "Where's Fellow Daoist Li? Wasn't he fighting earlier as well?"

"All eight battles are already over, but I haven't seen him come back..."

Toxic Dragon had been watching Gu Qianxun's battle this entire time, and only now did he notice Han Li's absence.

"He must've been carried away for treatment," a Green Goat City cultivator said.

"I'm not sure about that. I heard that one of the two combatants on his platform died..." another Green Goat City cultivator said, and his voice trailed off into a grim silence.

Yi Liya's smile widened even further upon hearing this, while Gu Qianxun's brows had become tightly furrowed.

Right at this moment, Xuanyuan Xing suddenly called out, "Fellow Daoist Li!"

Everyone turned to discover Han Li limping his way into the lobby with his robes in tatters, and the pleased smile on Yi Liya's face instantly turned to shock upon seeing this.

"Did you win, Fellow Daoist Li?" everyone asked as they gathered around him.

"I was very fortunate to have come out on top," Han Li replied with a smile, and a faint smile appeared on Gu Qianxun's face as well.

Han Li intentionally made his way past Yi Liya as he continued, "However, Xu Shun was not so fortunate."

For some reason, a chill ran down Yi Liya's spine, even though Han Li hadn't even taken a single glance at him this entire time.

……

Before long, all thirty-two battles of the first round had drawn to a conclusion.

There were no unexpected upsets, so there were no dark horses stealing the spotlight, nor had any of the hot favorites been prematurely eliminated. Having said that, there were still some interesting stories to have come out of the first round, the most amusing one of which was that Zhu Ziyuan's opponent for the first round had surrendered as soon as their battle began, making it the fastest battle in this edition of the martial gathering thus far.

Han Li and Gu Qianxun had been hoping to witness Zhu Ziyuan in action in his battle, but that plan obviously fell through.

After that, Han Li went to watch Toxic Dragon's battle against Zhu Ziqing.

Even though Zhu Ziqing was a woman who was only participating in the Five City Martial Gathering for the first time, her overall power was superior to Toxic Dragon, and even though she made some slight errors here and there, she was still ultimately able to emerge victorious.

What was rather surprising to Han Li was that Xuanyuan Xing, who had always kept a low profile, had managed to defeat a cultivator from Profound End City, joining Han Li, Gu Qianxun, and Yi Liya as the only four Green Goat City cultivators to reach the second round.

Green Goat City had only claimed four of the top thirty-two spots, which was the worst total out of all of the five cities, but thankfully, there had been no casualties.

……

Seven days flew by in a flash, and the second round of the Five City Martial Gathering commenced.

Countless citizens of Profound City flooded into the Asura Arena once again, followed by the representatives of the five cities.

The Green Goat City cultivators had also arrived at the venue, and due to their lackluster performance in the first round, Green Goat City had been made into a laughingstock, so there were many people pointing and jeering at them along the way.

All of the defeated Green Goat City cultivators could only trudge along with embarrassed expressions, while Chen Yang was also looking far from pleased, not just because of what had happened in the first round, but also because Han Li and the others were all facing formidable foes in their second round battles.

After entering the lobby, Chen Yang led everyone to a secluded area, then said, "Don't get too hung up over the results of the first round. There's a significant element of luck involved there, and it's not necessarily a bad thing to be made aware of your own shortcomings. From here onward, focus on spectating the rest of the battles. This is a very rare opportunity that I want all of you to make the most of."

He then turned his gaze to Gu Qianxun as he continued, "Fellow Daoist Gu, your opponent for today is Zhu Ziqing of Profound City. She is Zhu Ziyuan's sister, and even though she's nowhere near as powerful as him, I still want you to take her seriously."

"I'll be sure to do so, City Lord Chen," Gu Qianxun replied with a nod.

"Fellow Daoist Li, Hao Feng is Profound End City's second-most powerful representative, second only to Feng Wuchen, and my sources tell me that he's already opened more than a hundred profound acupoints. He was also able to reach the final eight during the last edition of the martial gathering, so be on your guard," Chen Yang continued.

Han Li merely nodded in response.

"As for Fellow Daoist Xuanyuan, your opponent for this round is Wu Cong of Excess Passage City. His powers rank in the top five among the Excess Passage City representatives, so just do your best," Chen Yang said, clearly not placing any high hopes in Xuanyuan Xing.

Xuanyuan Xing wasn't disgruntled by this at all, and he cupped his fist in a salute as he declared, "Rest assured, I'll be sure to give it everything that I have!"