Once I enter the pass, great Confucian scholars will surely debate the classics for me.

"3"

"2"

"1"

"The match begins!" the referee shouted.

The match officially began, but Ke Lan remained motionless, ignoring the referee's words. She simply stared at Zhou Qingfeng with a flickering gaze, frowning as she asked, "Are you going to fight me bare-handed?"

"Then we'll see if you can force me to unleash my magic weapon." Zhou Qingfeng smiled faintly, thinking that the Heavenly Pride Tournament had just begun, and there was no way to reveal all his trump cards right away.

Ke Lan snorted coldly: "Arrogant."

Although she called Zhou Qingfeng arrogant, Ke Lan was not careless at all, because the person in front of her did have the right to be arrogant, and was not some nobody just there to make up the numbers.

But Ke Lan is not some nobody just there to make up the numbers.

Ke Lan, a once-in-a-century sword prodigy of the Wudao Sword Sect, is not only the sect leader's personal disciple but also the chief disciple of the inner sect. He possesses exceptional talent and shoulders the highest mission of revitalizing the sect.

Alone, at the age of 18, he left Baidi City, traveled thousands of miles, wielded a million swords, slew ten thousand demons and exterminated a hundred ghosts, and walked for six years to reach Sword Tower City, all for the sake of participating in the Sword Tower's Heavenly Pride Tournament and seizing the top spot on the Heavenly Ranking.

In this turbid and evil world, there are two lists of outstanding talents.

In the north there is the Golden List, in the south there is the Heavenly List.

The Golden List was established by the Python Sparrow Royal Family, while the Heavenly List was first established by the Sword Tower.

Other city lords also hold similar competitions and similar rankings, but they are often highly unreliable. Even if a local gets first place on the rankings in their city, they will not gain recognition from the entire empire.

However, the Golden List of Pythons and the First List are exceptions. The former needs no further explanation; it is a list established by the royal family and is extremely prestigious. Whoever makes it onto the Golden List of Pythons and Birds will immediately become famous throughout the land, and their name will be known to everyone.

The latter gained recognition from everyone throughout the empire because the first family had a sufficiently high reputation, sufficient power, a strong enough army, a sufficiently developed economy, and a sufficiently long history in the Five Turbid World.

This has led to Sword Tower City constantly drawing talented individuals and families from the evil world to Sword Tower in search of development.

Especially in the last two thousand years, all kinds of geniuses have sprung up in Sword Tower City like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

In the past, every time the Sword Tower City held the Heavenly Pride Tournament, it was extremely fierce. Tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people could only make it to the top of the leaderboard, which can be described as a single-plank bridge for thousands of troops.

Everyone who makes it onto the Heavenly Ranking, even those at the bottom, is a genius, one in ten thousand.

As long as they don't die, they will all become peerless geniuses who stand out from the crowd.

Even today, whenever a competition is held, half of the geniuses from the corrupt world come to the Sword Tower to compete.

The host, number 1, is providing commentary on the scene: "The match has begun, but neither of them has made the first move."

Host #2 said, "Wow, Zhou Qingfeng is actually going to fight empty-handed. Is he showing contempt for the enemy?"

The host's eyes gleamed as he frantically leaked information about the opponent to his young master: "Zhou Qingfeng underestimated Ke Lan. According to the background check before the match, this person is a once-in-a-century sword prodigy of the Wudao Sword Sect."

"He learned swordsmanship before he could even walk; his talent in swordsmanship is terrifyingly exceptional."

"At the age of 18, he had already defeated all the geniuses of his generation in Baidi City. In the same year, he stepped out of Baidi City, slaying ten thousand demons and exterminating a hundred ghosts along the way, challenging sword cultivators of the same level, and fighting his way through eighty-eight hundred thousand miles to reach Sword Tower City."

"The sword box he carries is the Demon Sword Box of Life and Death, ranked second among the calamity-level magical artifacts. This sword box can nurture the sword intent of life and death. The life sword can bring the dead back to life and save people, while the death sword can destroy all laws and cause all things to perish."

"The sword box contains the swords wielded by his peers who were defeated by him; the exact number is now unknown."

Upon hearing the narration, the audience erupted in a chorus of astonished frog croaks: "Wow, wow, wow~~~"

"As expected of the competition for the greatest talents, it's already this exciting even though it's only just begun."

"Damn it, I suddenly feel a bit uneasy. I bet ten thousand coins on Zhou Qingfeng to win!"

“I also bet 10,000 coins on Zhou Qingfeng to win. Don’t panic. Ke Lan is strong, but Zhou Qingfeng is not weak either. We should have confidence in Zhou Qingfeng and believe in him. He is a peerless genius recognized by the city lord.”

Inside the arena.

Ke Lan untied the straps on his chest, grabbed the end of the rope with one hand, and pulled the sword box that was on his back to the front.

The sword box spun in the air and landed. Ke Lan gently patted the sword box, and it unfolded rapidly like a peacock spreading its tail. Inside were countless small swords, densely packed, obtained by Ke Lan defeating many sword cultivators of the same level.

"Sword One." Ke Lan flicked her finger, and a small sword flew out with a whoosh, circled once in the air, and flew towards Zhou Qingfeng.

Seeing this, Zhou Qingfeng stood still with his hands behind his back, letting the flying sword pierce his chest.

With a crisp metallic clang, the flying sword was flung away, and his outer garment was torn open by the sword, revealing the Bloodlight Armor, a high-grade Calamity-level armor, which was protecting Zhou Qingfeng's body from external damage.

Ke Lan was slightly taken aback, not expecting Zhou Qingfeng to be able to wear armor and magical artifacts. However, Ke Lan quickly understood. Given Zhou Qingfeng's status, it wouldn't be difficult for him to obtain a high-grade Disaster-level armor for protection.

No wonder Zhou Qingfeng was so confident and fought empty-handed.

With his calamity-level armor protecting him, it would be difficult for cultivators of the same level to break through his armor and injure him.

Let alone defeating him.

At the same time, Zhou Qingfeng reached out and grabbed the flying sword that had been launched, tossed it into his mouth, chewed and swallowed it: "Good stuff, tastes good, crunchy, like cherry-flavored fruit, icy cold and refreshing, is there any more?"

Upon seeing this, Ke Lan's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets in shock, and she cried out in alarm, "My sword!"

The chewed-up flying sword was enveloped and devoured by a large amount of Devouring Thief power in Zhou Qingfeng's stomach. After falling into his intestines, it turned into streams of essence and blood to nourish his body, which made Zhou Qingfeng instantly feel refreshed.

As a result, the physical body becomes stronger, the strength increases, and lifespan also increases.

Ke Lan was obsessed with swords, and seeing his sword devoured and never connected again, he was both shocked and furious: "You dare to eat my sword? Fine... I'll let you eat your fill until you're stuffed to death!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Ke Lan flicked her fingers, summoning one flying sword after another from the sword box, which shot towards Zhou Qingfeng in succession: "Sword Two, Sword Three, Sword Four, Sword Five, Sword Six..."

As Zhou Qingfeng watched the numerous flying swords hurtling towards him, a crimson light shone brightly from his body. A large amount of Devouring Thief blood seeped from his body, transforming into a blood-red vortex that swallowed all the incoming flying swords: "Taste what your own flying sword tastes like!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a large number of flying swords turned around and flew out of the blood-red vortex, heading towards Ke Lan.

"No!!!" Ke Lan's expression changed drastically. He did not expect that his flying sword would turn around and kill him. The two were only ten steps apart. It was too late to control tens of thousands of flying swords to turn around.

In the blink of an eye, tens of thousands of flying swords had pierced through his body.

Blood splattered across the arena. Ke Lan was pierced through by thousands of swords and was seriously injured. He couldn't even stand up, but he didn't lie down. Instead, he leaned against the sword box in front of him and stood up.

The scene instantly erupted in cheers for the bloodshed and the thrilling battle. They needed to witness violence, gore, and slaughter to vent their inner madness. They shouted in unison, "Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!"

Host #1 laughed heartily: "The atmosphere here is so lively! If Ke Lan doesn't admit defeat, he'll be killed. But it still surprised me quite a bit that he was seriously injured before he could even last three moves."

Host #2 said, "It was expected. How many geniuses like him have come to our Tower of Swords? He thought he was exceptionally talented and won the championship locally, and he thought he could win the championship in Tower of Swords again. But reality slapped him in the face."

Host #1 said, "That makes sense. Do you think Ke Lan will admit defeat?"

Host #2 said, "He has to admit defeat, unless he wants to die."

The sounds of battle cries filled Ke Lan's ears. He struggled to lift his head, and his blurred vision brought back memories of the past.

He learned to practice swordsmanship before he could even walk.

"Ke Lan, you are a once-in-a-century genius of my Wudao Sword Sect."

"From this day forward, you will sleep and eat with the sword."

"The sword is your lifelong companion; you cannot be without it for even a moment."

"You must swing your sword ten thousand times every day."

My master did not show any leniency because of my high talent; on the contrary, he became even stricter. My only memory of him since I can remember is constantly swinging my sword. I was with my sword even when I was eating and sleeping.

In his childhood, Ke Lan, with a mortal body, comprehended the essence of swordsmanship.

"Hahaha~~~Good, good, good, truly exceptional talent, comprehending sword intent at the age of six."

"The revival of my Wudao Sword Sect is promising! Revival is promising!"

"Ke Lan, starting today, enter the Sword Pavilion to read books. You must read all the secret manuals on swordsmanship and memorize them thoroughly. When you have read ten thousand sword manuals in the world, then no sword technique will hold any secret in your eyes."

So Ke Lan entered the Sword Pavilion and studied sword manuals diligently for eight years, reading sword techniques of all ranks.

When he was fourteen, his master began to teach him cultivation.

Ke Lan was also exceptionally talented. After entering the Food Turbidity Realm, his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, and he learned swordsmanship in no time.

In Ke Lan's eyes, the swordsmanship of a swordsman of the same level was full of flaws, and one sword strike was enough to defeat a swordsman of the same level.

However, his master strictly forbade him from drawing his sword and required Ke Lan to accumulate sword intent.

Unless he obtains his master's permission, Ke Lan must never draw his sword even if he is killed.

At the age of eighteen, his master finally allowed him to draw his sword.

"Ke Lan, go and participate in the sword cultivator competition in Baidi City."

"Master, I won! I won the sword cultivator championship!"

"Good, hahaha~~~ Eighteen years of forging a sword, and finally, an unparalleled sword has been forged!"

"Go, child, go to Sword Tower City to participate in the Heavenly Pride Tournament. Geniuses gather there. Defeat them, let the name of my Wudao Sword Sect resound throughout the Five Turbid Worlds, and let your name ascend to the top of the Heavenly Ranking!"

Memories flashed through Ke Lan's mind like a revolving lantern. Ke Lan lowered his head, blood dripping from his mouth. He said weakly, "Loss? How could I lose?"

He slowly raised his head to look at Zhou Qingfeng and said weakly, "I bear the responsibility of revitalizing the sect and the expectations of my master."

"I must win!" Ke Lan roared, his hands frantically forming hand seals, and the crimson light surrounding his body suddenly intensified as he frantically burned his magic power to unleash his strongest sword strike.

The tens of thousands of flying swords on the ground vibrated with their master's roar, and flew up and swirled around Ke Lan. Then, the tens of thousands of flying swords merged into one, transforming into a huge flying sword containing endless death energy.

"I originally intended to save that strike for the finals, but I didn't expect to have to use it in the very first match."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingfeng said calmly, "That's right, what's the name of this sword strike?"

Ke Lan grinned: "It doesn't have a name yet, but when I win the championship, someone will name this sword strike."

Zhou Qingfeng said indifferently, "Come on, let's see if I can block your sword."

Ke Lan pinched his sword fingers together, and with a slight movement, the huge flying sword containing death energy swung upwards, unleashing a sword beam.

In an instant, the wind and clouds changed color, and heaven and earth resounded.

Everyone present looked terrified, and even those in the audience couldn't help but want to kneel down and beg for mercy.

A sword beam carrying extreme death energy and invincible sword intent attacked Zhou Qingfeng.

Zhou Qingfeng stood with his hands behind his back, calmly extending one hand. He used the same trick again, and a large amount of Devouring Thief Blood quickly condensed in front of him, forming a blood-red vortex that completely swallowed the sword light.

With a casual wave of his hand, the sword beam flew back intact.

The sword beam passed by Ke Lan and flew towards the sky. As the distance increased, the sword beam grew larger and longer, and its true power began to manifest. The protective shield of the arena was shattered by the sword beam in an instant. It continued to fly towards the sky and then disappeared after entering the clouds.

However, the next second, the hundred-foot-thick cloud layer burst open, causing shockwaves that spread for miles around.

Everyone stared blankly at this scene, never imagining that this sword could possess such terrifying power.

Seeing Zhou Qingfeng standing proudly, unharmed, Ke Lan's face immediately turned bitter. She slumped to the ground, looked up at the direction of Baidi City, her eyes filled with melancholy, and sighed inwardly, "Master, I tried my best, but I couldn't win."

Zhou Qingfeng looked up, admiring the view from the sword strike, and said casually, "Not bad, that was a cool sword strike."

Ke Lan laughed and said, "What's the use of being handsome? You still lost. You couldn't even get me to use my magic weapon."

Zhou Qingfeng chuckled lightly: "You don't seem discouraged at all."

Ke Lan sighed: "Sigh, I'm so frustrated, but what's the use of being frustrated? Meeting you is my bad luck. Now all I can do is donate 100 million to participate in the revival competition. I hope we won't run into each other in the future competitions."

Zhou Qingfeng nodded slightly: "Good luck."

Ke Lan sat on the ground, raised her hand and said, "Referee, I'm exhausted. Could you please send two people to carry me off the field?"

The referee gestured, and two servants carried the seriously injured Ke Lan away on a stretcher. Ke Lan lay on the stretcher, clutching the sword box, and slowly closed her eyes, regretfully making a last-minute exit from the preliminary competition.

The audience erupted in thunderous cheers for the victor, realizing the power of Ke Lan's sword strike, but also recognizing that Zhou Qingfeng was even more formidable.

They stood up excitedly, raised their arms, and shouted in unison, "Zhou Qingfeng, Zhou Qingfeng, Zhou Qingfeng..."

Host #1 said, "That sword strike was absolutely stunning; it's truly unforgettable."

Host #2 said, "Yes, I admit that Ke Lan is indeed very strong. It's a pity that he met Zhou Qingfeng. If he had been on another stage, he might have made it to the finals."

Host #1 said, "I feel even more sorry for Zhou Qingfeng. He's so strong, yet he's ranked first. Fighting one match after another, no one can withstand such a relentless battle."

Host number 2 said, "That's right. Look, contestant number 3 is coming on stage."

With the appearance of contestant number 3, the temporary betting point opened, giving the audience a short time to place their bets. Once that time was up, the temporary betting point would close, and they would have to wait for the next round to begin before they could continue betting.

Contestant number 3 entered the arena, accompanied by explanations of the contestant's background by the two on-site hosts. This was a necessary pre-competition identity check, and the hosts had a copy of each contestant's basic information.

Contestant number 3 looked Zhou Qingfeng up and down and said, "Zhou Qingfeng, I advise you to admit defeat. You must be in a very bad state right now. Don't think you can fool me by pretending that nothing is wrong."

"Among those of the same level, no one can withstand such a terrifying sword strike without getting injured. You must not be able to withstand that damage, which is why you transferred the damage away. Otherwise, why didn't you absorb that sword beam as before?"

"Now I'm giving you a chance to leave gracefully. If you don't take it, don't blame me for not giving you any grace."

Zhou Qingfeng tilted his head slightly, his face calm and his eyes indifferent, and said to contestant number 3, "My dignity has always been earned by myself, and I don't need anyone's charity. I just hope that your strength will not disappoint me."