In an instant, the main doors at the entrance swung wide open. A squad of warriors strode out, looking absolutely badass—each one with their head held high and chest out, packing serious presence. Leading the charge was Ryan Ling, followed by his seven battle-ready teammates, all strutting like they owned the place. The vibe? Total wreck-the-arena energy.
“That’s what I’m talking about! I said Master Ling isn’t someone who’d get scared off by a rumor—what a joke! I’ve seen his skills with my own eyes!”
“Exactly! Master Ling is a top-tier powerhouse, no doubt about it. Sure, maybe it’s not certain he can beat Qin Yaowu, but holding second place? That’s a lock!”
“Right on! We in Min Province are backing Master Ling all the way. This year’s tournament is NOT going to be the usual Jinling one-sided slaughter—he’s totally flipping the script!”
...
With Ryan Ling and his crew swaggering in, contestants from several provinces started cheering like crazy. Just moments ago, they’d looked totally deflated, all hunched over and miserable. Now? Everyone’s bouncing around, fired up.
Cheers, applause, shouts—they all erupted one after another, like waves. It felt like half the arena was suddenly fired up, and not just here—people outside and in livestream chats were hyped too. Just photos of Ryan Ling’s entrance were blowing up every trending topic online.
Obviously, it’s way more fun when there’s real competition. Nobody wants to watch a martial arts tournament where one side just steamrolls everyone else.
“Screw that, what’s so great about him? Ryan Ling’s only here to get wrecked! Just wait—Young Master Qin and the Jinling Dream Team are about to show up. You guys are dead meat!” Several Jinling rich heirs on the stands gritted their teeth and shouted. But before they could finish, an even more excited voice rang out.
“Jinling’s youngest Earth-Tier Void Realm expert, Qin Yaowu, and his Jinling battle squad are entering—look!”
Instantly, the whole stadium exploded with wild cheers. Every Jinling spectator and rich guy jumped to their feet, spotlights blazed over the crowd, triumphant music blasted, and flower petals started raining down from the ceiling like some goddess was scattering them. The place went nuts.
Right across from the East River squad, an even more intimidating crew marched in, radiating pure dominance. Leading them was Quentin Qin, Earth-Tier Void Realm, not even bothering to hide his aura—it rolled out in waves and crushed the whole arena. Ryan Ling’s earlier swagger suddenly felt totally overshadowed. And it wasn’t just Quentin—the other seven Jinling main fighters all unleashed their Profound-Tier Void Realm auras. Seven out of seven, all Profound-Tier! The crowd was floored, and a bunch of out-of-province contestants looked totally shell-shocked.
A lot of folks here had been dreaming of making the tournament’s top ten—only the top ten get the honor of being called ‘National Champions,’ which is every young martial artist’s goal. Land that title and you’re set: some get into the national special forces, others at least score provincial VIP status.
But now, seeing Jinling’s stacked lineup, most people pretty much gave up hope. Top ten? Not happening. At best, everyone’s fighting for a shot at top twenty.
With Jinling’s squad in the arena, it was obvious—the real showdown was Jinling vs. East River. Everyone else? Basically sidelined.
“Young Master Qin, Young Master Fang, Young Master Shen—all you Jinling legends, these seats are the best in the house. Come on, sit!” Some Jinling rich heirs instantly started sucking up.
Soon enough, both sides settled into their seats.
A chubby host strutted out, all pumped up: “Ladies and gentlemen, this year’s martial arts tournament is bigger than ever—most contestants, strongest lineups, and the biggest VIP crowd we’ve ever had. I guarantee the matches are gonna be epic! Now, let me introduce the honored guests…”
As the host rattled off the intros, Ryan Ling started scanning the arena with his divine sense. Most other provinces only had Yellow-Tier Void Realm fighters; having even one Profound-Tier was a big deal. Jinling’s squad really was the strongest overall, but if Ryan actually threw down, aside from Quentin Qin, none of their top fighters could last more than three moves against him.
But Ryan wasn’t just watching Jinling’s team—he was eyeing the top dogs up in the VIP stands too. Some of them were Earth-Tier Void Realm monsters.
These Earth-Tier Void Realm guys aren’t newbies like Quentin Qin—they’ve been at this level for ages, totally rooted in their power. If it was one-on-one, Ryan Ling would have a shot against any of them, but if they all ganged up? Even he’d be in trouble right now.
So for now, his plan is simple: win the tournament first, take things step by step. If he really wants to go up against Jinling’s true heavyweights, he’ll need to reach Golden Core Realm. Heck, Ryan suspects Jinling might even be hiding Heaven-Tier monsters—and that’s a level he’s not messing with yet.
Soon, the host finished reading off the guest list, and finally—the real matches kicked off.
“Young Master Qin, let me go down and play with them first?” Shen Lian from the Jinling squad couldn’t hold back anymore and was the first to ask to fight.
“Chill, it’s just getting started. Why rush our own squad in? Let our allied provinces go first—let them stir up some trouble.” Quentin Qin grinned, treating the whole tournament like a casual game.
“Alright, we’ll do whatever Young Master Qin says!” Shen Lian gritted his teeth and held back.
(This chapter isn’t over yet~.~ Click next page for more awesome content!)
Meanwhile, the first battles on each platform had already started. Everyone knew the knockout rounds would only get tougher, so they scrambled to grab spots while they could.
“See that? Jinling and East River haven’t even moved yet—it’s just warm-ups right now. Everyone’s staying cool.” The editor-in-chief of a big Jiangnan newspaper told all his reporters over the walkie-talkie to keep calm.
“Boss, it’s just warm-ups, but things are already heating up! Damn, a Su Province contestant just had his arm blasted off!”
“No kidding, Huang Feitian from Yue Province is tough, but three Xiang Province experts kept ganging up on him—he’s already coughing blood!”
“Holy crap, Qian Province—the weakest team this year—just got totally wiped out! E Province is savage, that soul-hooking technique is maxed out!”
...
Reporters from all the newspapers around were going wild. Even if they’d covered stuff like this before, this time everyone was extra hyped.
Half an hour of brutal fighting, and two provinces were already wiped out—one dead, seven seriously injured. Fastest kill record in tournament history, right there.
Jinling and East River still hadn’t made a move, but tons of fighters were already clenching their fists, itching to get in.
“Ryan Ling! I’m Yinlong from E Province—I challenge you!” Suddenly, a voice from below started shouting straight at Ryan.
Ryan just smiled, didn’t even bother looking at him, and said coolly, “You’re not worthy.”
“What did you say? Do you even remember Yin Tian from the Shadow-Soul Cult? He was my brother, and today I’m here for revenge! If you’ve got the guts, come down here—I’ll show you what E Province witch-dao can do!” Yinlong snarled, yelling again.
“Oh, so you’re Shadow-Soul Cult scum? Looks like I’ll have to kill you then.” Ryan said it like it was no big deal.
“You—you think you can kill me? I just wiped out Qian Province’s top guy. You think you’re up to it?” Yinlong got even more pissed.
“Arrogant prick! You’re not even worth Ryan Ling’s time—let me take you out!” Right then, Angie Chen couldn’t hold back and jumped straight into the ring.
“A chick? Didn’t expect Ryan Ling to chicken out and send a girl for the first fight. What a joke!”
“She’s pretty hot, though. Yinlong, hurry up and take her down—make her your witch-dao wife!”
“Heard she’s Ryan Ling’s lover—bet she’s a wild ride!”
...
The Jinling rich heirs went wild when Angie Chen jumped in, whistling and shouting like crazy.
“Babe, you really wanna be my wife? Hahaha!” Yinlong laughed, reaching out to hook Angie’s chin.