The next day.
Another intense battle between dragons and tigers was set to begin.The remaining fifty young clan members would compete to determine twenty-five winners.
Today's clan competition promised to be just as exciting—but Hun Xiu didn't attend.
Instead, he arrived early at the peak of the back mountain, where he quietly absorbed the essence of heaven and earth to recover from his injuries.
He was preparing—preparing to face tomorrow's unknown battles in his best possible state.
Why watch others fight?He had no interest.If he had the energy to watch, wouldn't it be better spent growing stronger himself?
The day after that.
It was now the third day of the clan competition.
The familiar dueling platform stood unchanged—but the number of contestants had halved.
Among those remaining were Hun Xiu, Hun Feng, Hun Huan'er, Hun Dan, Hun Qiu, and other promising youths of the Hun Clan.
Elder Hun Dun looked over the gathered youths, lifting his eyelids slightly.With a wave of his hand—fifty glowing orbs appeared and floated in the air above.
He spoke plainly:
"Inside these orbs are numbers from 1 to 50.""1 faces 50, 2 faces 49, and so on.""Now—grab one."
Whoosh!Whoosh!...
Everyone reached out, drawing their orbs through different methods.
Hun Xiu, as always, waited until the very end.He let everyone else choose first, then simply reached out and drew the final orb into his palm.
"Number 1."
Looking at the glowing number, Hun Xiu paused for a moment.
Last time, when he had picked last, his number had been 100.This time, also picking last, his number turned out to be 1.
Was this fate's strange design—or someone's deliberate arrangement?
He didn't believe in coincidence.
Once everyone had their orb, Hun Dun shouted:"Number 1 and Number 50, step forward!"
Hun Xiu walked out calmly, cradling his wooden sword.Seeing this, many spectators blinked in surprise—then quickly recovered and offered three seconds of silence for whoever had the misfortune of being his opponent.
To run into Hun Xiu right in the first round... what kind of bad karma is that?
A chubby youth—Hun Dan—stared at the 50 glowing on his orb, looking utterly defeated.He muttered in anguish:
"Why am I so unlucky? Of all people, I get Hun Xiu—and in the first match too."
"Crap..."
Yes, grass—a plant, sure, but it carried all the emotion Hun Dan was holding back.
He trudged forward with heavy steps.
Seeing Hun Dan emerge, everyone silently mourned for him—and privately rejoiced that they weren't the unlucky ones.
"Go get 'em, Hun Xiu-gege!"
Up in the stands, Gu Xun'er pumped her little fists and cheered with bright eyes.
The adorable sight melted the hearts of everyone watching.
Hun Xiu heard her voice and glanced up, giving her a gentle smile and a small nod.
Then, turning toward the approaching Hun Dan, he had no intention of being merciful—not one move, not three moves.
He gripped his wooden sword tightly and said calmly:
"Hun Xiu. Please, give me your best."
"Uh…"
Hun Dan froze.
He hadn't expected Hun Xiu to be so formal—it startled him, and he instinctively stepped back.
Looking at the sword-wielding Hun Xiu, standing like a banished immortal descended from the heavens, Hun Dan felt all resistance melt from his body.
Gulp.
He swallowed nervously and stammered:"H-Hun Dan... My name's Hun Dan…"
Elder Hun Dun saw that both contestants were in place.He stepped back a few paces, giving the stage to the youths.
He spoke with a hint of amusement:
"Begin your performance!"
"Mm."
The moment Hun Dun finished speaking, Hun Xiu activated his Dou Wings.A terrifying surge of Dou Qi exploded from his body as he rose into the air.
The entire atmosphere shifted—the forces of heaven and earth stirred with violence.
Before, Hun Xiu might have seemed like a strikingly handsome youth.But now—he radiated dominance, a sword saint who reigned over the heavens, his wooden sword seeming capable of splitting the sky with a single stroke.
Hun Dan looked up at this overwhelming presence.He swallowed again, voice trembling:
"Wait—"
"Hun Xiu, wait a second—let me say something first!"
He could feel it. Hun Xiu was building up for one devastating sword strike.And once that attack was complete, he'd be lying flat on the ground.
No way was Hun Dan going to let that strike finish forming.If it did, he was doomed.
But Hun Xiu didn't seem to hear him.
He continued preparing that single sword strike.
Wait?Wait for what?
Did Hun Dan think Hun Xiu would just pause because he asked nicely?This wasn't tea time—this was a fight.
Power from the heavens surged toward Hun Xiu, condensing into the wooden sword in his hand.
Once plain and unremarkable, it now pulsed with the potential to tear the heavens apart.
"Uh..."
Hun Dan froze.
This… wasn't in the script.
He had clearly asked Hun Xiu to wait, but Hun Xiu had no intention of stopping.
Sensing the dreadful power in that sword, Hun Dan realized—there was no way he could block it.
His legs trembled.Cold sweat soaked his back.His forehead glistened.His fear was written all over him.
Hun Xiu's presence alone was enough to terrify him.Now that he was charging such a fearsome attack—
Hun Dan was scared out of his mind.
He wanted to surrender, to speak, to do something—but nothing would come out.
Many in the crowd began noticing that something was wrong with Hun Dan.
Hun Qiu looked over at the frozen, sweating youth and said blankly:
"What's Hun Dan doing?"
"Hun Xiu's about to strike—yet he's just standing there like a fool. Is he planning to catch the sword with his bare hands?"
"Catch Hun Xiu's sword?!"
Beside him, Hun Tianlin scoffed:
"Catch it with bare hands? Against Hun Xiu?"
"Hun Dan's already lost. I think just seeing Hun Xiu was enough to scare the wits out of him."
"If it were me, I'd have done better."
That last part, of course, was more about raising himself up than making a fair comparison.
"Mm."
The others nodded at Hun Tianlin's commentary.
Then they each began to imagine:
If it were me in Hun Dan's place... and Hun Xiu was my opponent... what would I do?
Back on the stage.
At the tip of Hun Xiu's sword, a small glowing sword orb had begun to take form.
At first, it was no bigger than a thumb.
But as the energy of heaven and earth surged in, it grew to the size of a fist—and it wasn't stopping.
With each passing second, more power poured in, and the orb grew more terrifying.
By now, it contained enough strength to annihilate every single youth in the arena.