Chapter 1003: The Sword Saint Statue

To most ordinary demon and nymph spectators, the Blue Gold Tree clan was relatively unknown. Their understanding of Tang San only came through the recent mega-auction. This was the very first time they were seeing this city lord display his abilities.

Such an intense aura of life... it felt

too damn good

. So this Blue Gold Tree clan leader wasn't just wealthy, but also capable of concentrating life energy to such a terrifying degree!

Even the Emperors nodded slightly as they gazed at the colossal tree rising behind Tang San. Such potent life energy could benefit even them; even if the increase in lifespan was only by a small fraction, it was still something.

Then, Tang San gently lifted the object in his hands, infusing it with his boundless life force. In the next instant, a sky-piercing, razor-sharp sword intent erupted into the heavens.

Yes, what he held was none other than the Sword Saint Demon Emperor's statue, which he had purchased at a high price during the auction. An artifact that could launch a single full-power strike of the Sword Saint Demon Emperor.

As that sword intent surged skyward, the Darksky Rhino King couldn't help but curse aloud. He had completely forgotten that this Blue Gold Tree clan leader had bought that statue. And now he was using it just like that? In the very first match?! But on second thought, it made sense. If he didn't use it now, he'd probably lose anyway. After all, this guy wasn't expected to make it through the first round to begin with.

Then he saw Tang San give him a big grin and say, "Brother Rhino, wanna surrender? I really can't control the power of the Sword Saint Demon Emperor. If this strike ends up killing you, you can't blame me. I suggest you give up now. Just look at that sword light."

The statue now radiated a sword beam over a hundred meters tall. The terrifying sword intent caused space around it to distort.

The Darksky Rhino King stared at the scene in stunned silence, recalling the terrifying World-Sundering Sword used earlier by the Red-Crowned Crane King Qiu Zixuan. The cheerful, self-confident expression on his face immediately crumbled.

And at that moment, Tang San turned to the Rainbowglaze Nymph Emperor and nodded. "Your Majesty, I'm ready."

"Wait! I surrender!" The words burst out from the Darksky Rhino King the instant Tang San said he was ready.

Despite the pain and humiliation those three words brought, what choice did he have? He firmly believed that he could crush the Blue Gold Tree clan leader in a single blow under normal circumstances, but he wasn't at all confident he could survive a strike from the Sword Saint Demon Emperor, especially not when his opponent outright admitted he couldn't control it. If he really died under that sword, wouldn't that be the biggest joke of the year?

The hundred-meter-tall sword light flickered. At the moment Tang San declared his readiness, the Rainbowglaze Nymph Emperor had already withdrawn its aura in order to allow the match to begin... which also meant the sword intent was no longer restrained.

The rhino demon felt that he'd never been as close to death as he was right now.

Pain appeared on Tang San's face as his powerful life force continued pouring into the statue. Only at massive energy cost was he able to restrain the sword light from descending. Carefully, he retracted the sword intent and sealed it back into the statue.

"You could've said so earlier! I wouldn't have had to go through all that trouble!"

After laboriously sealing the sword back into the statue and storing it in his spatial ring with the utmost care, Tang San muttered his complaint at his opponent before flying off the field.

"Blue Gold Tree clan's Jin Miaolin is victorious," the Rainbowglaze Nymph Emperor announced.

The Darksky Rhino King slunk away in defeat, utterly humiliated. This was the first and only match of the tournament where one side surrendered without a single blow being exchanged.

But he truly didn't want to die!

The audience, meanwhile, was dumbfounded.

He actually won? Jin Miaolin actually won his match?

Right, how could I forget? He paid a good couple thousand coins for it. Well, I suppose the statue just paid for itself now, hasn't it...

Even Tang San hadn't expected his opponent to fold so easily.

That Darksky Rhino King sure is cowardly. How could he be so sure he couldn't withstand the sword? Well, in all fairness, he probably couldn't, but still, that was a little ridiculous.

He hadn't even unleashed the strike, yet he'd still won the match. It couldn't have gone any smoother. And more importantly, the power in the Sword Saint Demon Emperor's statue remained unused.

Ironically, he owed part of this victory to Qiu Zixuan's earlier display of the World-Sundering Sword. That strike had left all the contestants deeply shaken. So when Tang San summoned the Sword Saint Demon Emperor's statue, it had a multiplied effect. If Qiu Zixuan was already that strong, then what must the Sword Saint Demon Emperor be like? The Rhino Great Demon King must have reasonably imagined himself being cleaved in half. Who could blame him for his surrender?

Thus, Tang San smoothly entered the second round and into the top forty.

What he didn't know was that, thanks to this match, he had earned a new nickname: the Amethystine Warrior. This would have sounded rather fancy, had it not referred to the sheer amount he had spent to win this match.

Yes, he had won purely with money. A statue purchased for thousands of amethystine coins had secured him a win. Simple as that.

Many powerhouses who had attended the auction were now bitterly regretting their choices. If only they'd known how powerful the Sword Saint Demon Emperor's disciple was, they would've bought that statue no matter how expensive it was! It was practically a guaranteed win in the Battle for the Throne.

And now, whoever draws this kid next will have to face that sword. Seriously now?

In any case, regardless of the participants' grumbling, the Amethystine Warrior had claimed victory. When Tang San returned to the resting area, Jin Miaosen and the elders were overjoyed.

"Amazing, Big Brother! You actually won a match. I completely forgot you had the Sword Saint Demon Emperor's statue. Can you still use it in the next round?" Jin Miaosen asked eagerly.

Sensing their hopeful gazes, Tang San smiled and nodded. "That guy gave up before I could use it. I had to force the sword intent back in, but that's fine, it's still good to go. Hopefully, next round I get another one who can't take the heat."

"That's fantastic! Hahaha! Big Brother, just imagine if you actually make it to the top eight! People are going to be totally shocked!"

Tang San shook his head, chuckled, and replied calmly, "Let's take it slow. No need to rush."

To reach the top eight, he would need at least three wins. As for how that would work... remained to be seen.

Still, although he had won this match, it didn't stir up too much commotion. After all, it was a victory by external means. Unimpressive, but at the same time perfectly legitimate. He had money, and that was part of the preparation for the Battle for the Throne. The auction items were being put to use; who could argue with that?

Most importantly, a Blue Gold Tree clan leader making it to round two wasn't going to upset the overall balance. In the end, the real contest lay with the seed players.

The tournament continued. Powerhouses stepped forward one after another. Each match was fiercely contested, bloody and brutal. Few matches were one-sided enough to end quickly. Qiu Zixuan's one-strike win remained an exception. Tang San's match was an even rarer case—the Darksky Rhino was not among the very strong to begin with, and also lacked the will to fight.

Tang San kept observing the opponents quietly. He had to admit, the Ancestral Court's seed selections were very accurate. All ten male seeded contestants won their matches with no surprises or upsets. But aside from those ten, Tang San also noted a few extremely strong contenders. Among them, dragons stood out.

Out of all eighty-seven participants, seven were dragons—meaning there were seven Great Demon King dragons in the tournament. All seven passed the first round and none had faced each other yet. That was the advantage of a powerful race's heritage.

The Sky-Splitting City Lord Jin Anguo and Lan Moqian also advanced smoothly. Ning Chen'en won his match rather easily too. He didn't even need to display much offensive power; his opponent simply couldn't break through his defenses and was eventually knocked off the platform by Ning Chen'en's charge.