Chapter 629: Using a sledgehammer to kill a chicken

"That's Disciple Xun, who only joined the sect a few years ago!"

"I heard Disciple Xun possesses the Yang-Fire Meridian. Is that true?"

"Isn't the Xun family a famous cultivation family in our Xi Country? He probably has many powerful magical artifacts with him!"

"Who's that Disciple Han? I've never seen him before. Did he just join the sect recently?"

"That guy named Han Li is in for trouble. He's actually facing such an opponent!"

Before the fight even began, a string of discussions reached Han Li's ears clearly, even through the energy barrier.

"Yang-Fire Meridian?" Han Li's expression shifted slightly upon hearing this, and he eyed his opponent with interest.

Besides his handsome and well-built appearance, his cultivation was also good, roughly around the twelfth level of the Qi Condensation stage.

The white-robed youth opposite, seeing Han Li's unremarkable appearance and cultivation only around the tenth level of the Qi Condensation stage, a flicker of disdain crossed his eyes, but he still courteously saluted Han Li.

Han Li saw this, his lips curled into a faint smile, and after a cold chuckle inwardly, he casually cupped his hands in return.

Seeing this, the white-robed youth's face subtly showed annoyance.

At this moment, the gaunt cultivator above them calmly announced:

"Let the match begin!"

Hearing this, a fierce glint appeared on the white-robed youth's face. He immediately formed a hand seal, and a flash of fiery light enveloped him, causing a scorching, crystalline energy shield to instantly appear around his body.

Then he raised a hand, spreading his fingers, and a red, egg-sized orb floated from his palm.

Chants of incantations emerged from the white-robed youth's mouth as he prepared to activate this magical artifact to attack Han Li.

Han Li watched this set of combat methods, finding them vaguely familiar. He couldn't help but feel a bit speechless.

At this moment, many exclamations suddenly erupted from outside the arena!

"Look quickly! Disciple Xun is truly worthy of the Yang-Fire Meridian! He can instantly release a fire-attribute shield without using a talisman."

"That's nothing. The orb in his hand seems to be the Xun family's famous Firewave Orb. The kid opposite is doomed now. Maybe the outcome will be decided in a flash!"

Han Li's expression remained unchanged, but a hint of sarcasm flickered in his heart. Unhurriedly, he reached into his storage pouch and pulled out a thick stack of talismans, easily thirty or forty of them.

He looked up at his opponent; the white-robed youth was completely focused on activating his magical artifact, paying no attention to Han Li's actions, seemingly full of confidence in his own shield.

Since that was the case, Han Li saw no need for politeness. After rubbing his hands together, he raised them simultaneously.

After a burst of red light, thirty or forty fist-sized fireballs shot out like a swarm of bees from his hands, densely striking towards his opponent.

"Ah!" Numerous exclamations of surprise simultaneously erupted from outside the arena.

At this moment, the Firewave Orb floating in the white-robed youth's hand had just begun to emit flames, ready to be activated for attack. Just as he was secretly overjoyed, he suddenly heard the exclamations from outside and couldn't help but look up curiously. What met his eyes was the astonishing sight of dozens of fireballs simultaneously striking his energy shield.

A series of "boom" sounds of explosions erupted, and blinding red light flashed before his eyes, almost making it impossible for the youth to see.

His crystalline shield, moreover, only held for a few seconds before painfully shattering.

He watched as boundless scorching flames were about to surge forward and completely engulf him.

Although this talented individual with the Yang-Fire Meridian had been meticulously cultivated by his family elders since childhood, he had never truly experienced such a life-or-death situation.

His face turned pale as he shrieked, about to turn and flee in extreme fear.

But at this critical moment, the youth's neck suddenly tightened, and his body abruptly lifted. He was directly hoisted into the air.

The wave of fire surged past beneath him.

Still shaken, the white-robed youth looked back and saw that it was the gaunt cultivator, gripping the back of his collar with one hand.

"Han Li of Tianquan Peak wins," the gaunt cultivator stated coldly.

Only then did the youth realize he had lost, and what's more, he had been easily defeated by some of the lowest-grade Fireball Talismans.

The youth's face instantly turned ashen.

As for the other cultivators watching, after their exclamations, they all exchanged glances.

One must know that even the simplest low-grade Fireball Talisman costs at least one spirit stone to purchase.

Yet, this person had thrown out thirty or forty at once. This meant thirty or forty spirit stones were just discarded in a single battle.

This couldn't even be called luxury; describing him as a prodigal son would certainly not be an exaggeration.

A decent low-grade magical artifact would cost around that price.

Could this person really be willing to spend his entire fortune just to win a match within the sect?

Under the peculiar gazes of the other Luoyun Sect disciples, Han Li calmly walked out of the energy barrier after giving a slight bow to the gaunt cultivator.

As for the white-robed youth named Xun, he glared resentfully at Han Li's retreating back, filled with dissatisfaction, but under the gaunt cultivator's icy stare, he could only grudgingly leave the arena.

Since the first match was over, Han Li had no interest in watching the other fights and returned to his dwelling.

The first round of matches concluded quickly, two days later.

Many exciting fights in the round became popular topics of discussion among the numerous Luoyun Sect disciples who watched.

As for Han Li's match, where he defeated his opponent with dozens of low-grade Fireball Talismans at once, it naturally left many speechless while also filling them with extreme envy. They all naturally assumed Han Li was a disciple from a powerful family, which would explain such a grand display.

Overall, Han Li gained some minor renown after this battle, as some people finally recognized him.

Han Li appeared early in the second round; it was his turn on the afternoon of the first day.

When he calmly stepped into the center of the arena again, some of the disciples who had watched Han Li's previous match immediately began to whisper among themselves.

"That guy from Tianquan Peak, just two days ago, he actually threw out dozens of talismans at once to defeat his opponent."

"Really? Is that true? He looks so unassuming. Doesn't it pain him to spend so much?"

"Huh! It doesn't seem like there's any major cultivation family named Han in our Xi Country! Could he be from another country and joined our sect?"

Han Li listened to these words, his expression unchanged, merely narrowing his eyes as he surveyed his current opponent.

It was a refined-looking male disciple, who appeared to be only seventeen or eighteen years old.

Dressed neatly in a green robe, he had nothing else on him apart from a storage pouch at his waist.

On his still-youthful face, a solemn expression was fixed on Han Li.

It seemed the discussions from outside had also reached his opponent's ears.

Han Li looked at his opponent, who seemed to have only recently left his adolescence, and frowned slightly. But after a cold "Begin" was called out, he immediately reached into his storage pouch.

At the same time, the moment the match began, the young disciple opposite him swiftly raised both hands. After a flash of white light, two gleaming ice cones shot towards Han Li. Then, a green light flashed around him, and he charged at Han Li like the wind.

This opponent had surprisingly mimicked Han Li, first using two Ice Cone Talismans to force Han Li into reacting, preventing him from attacking, and then applying a lightfoot technique to himself, intending to rush directly in front of Han Li.

Han Li paused for a moment, then couldn't help but smile.

He calmly swayed his body, and the two ice cones whizzed past him. Then, seeing his opponent rush towards him with a joyful expression, he raised a hand, and yellow light emitted from his palm. But before the object in his hand could be deployed,

Han Li's figure blurred, and he vanished from his spot without a trace, having used the Luo Yan Steps.

At this, the extremely young disciple swung at empty air. Greatly startled, the yellow light in his hand dimmed, revealing a silk-net-like magical artifact.

Before the young disciple could search for Han Li's whereabouts, he suddenly felt a sharp pain at the back of his head, and then his vision instantly went black.

He collapsed to the ground, unconscious!

"Han Li of Tianquan Peak wins!" the gaunt cultivator announced calmly, a flicker of surprise having passed through his eyes.

Just now, Han Li had suddenly appeared behind his opponent and, with a light hand chop, knocked him unconscious on the spot.

At this point, several cultivators quickly entered from outside the arena. After a brief check on the unconscious young disciple, they nodded slightly to the gaunt cultivator in the air, indicating he was fine, and then carried him out of the arena.

Meanwhile, outside the arena, a commotion naturally arose again. "Did you see that? What kind of spell did that Disciple from Tianquan Peak use? How did he instantly appear behind his opponent? It's simply incredible!"

"Idiot. That's not a spell at all; it's clearly a martial arts movement technique from the mortal world. Though I've never seen one so sophisticated!" Some Luoyun Sect disciples with a bit more experience actually recognized the origin of Han Li's movement technique.