A Name Resounds, Killing a Chicken with a Butcher's Knife

Chapter 632: A Name Resounds, Killing a Chicken with a Butcher’s Knife

“That’s Junior Disciple Xun, who only joined a few years ago!”

“I heard this Junior Disciple has a Heavenly Yang Fire Meridian. I wonder if it’s true?”

“The Xun family is one of the most famous cultivation clans in our Xi Kingdom! He probably has quite a few powerful magical tools on him, doesn’t he?”

“Who is that surnamed Han? I’ve never seen him before. Did he join just recently?”

“That guy called Han Li is about to be in trouble. He’s run into such an opponent!”

…

Even before the fight began, a string of murmurs and discussions clearly reached Han Li’s ears through the restrictive light barrier.

“Heavenly Yang Fire Meridian?” Han Li’s expression shifted slightly upon hearing this. He sized up his opponent with considerable interest.

Besides being handsome and tall, the man’s cultivation was also quite good, around the twelfth layer of Qi Condensation.

The white-robed youth across from him glanced at Han Li—unremarkable in appearance and with only about the tenth layer of Qi Condensation—and a flicker of disdain passed through his eyes. Nevertheless, he gave Han Li a formal salute on the surface.

Seeing this, Han Li curled the corner of his mouth slightly, let out a cold laugh inwardly, and casually returned a perfunctory cupped-fist salute.

The white-robed youth’s face faintly showed an expression of anger.

It was then that the gaunt old man above spoke at last, his voice flat:

“Let the match begin!”

At these words, a fierce look surged onto the white-robed youth’s face. He immediately formed a hand seal with both hands. In a flash, flames flickered over his entire body, and a layer of scorching, crystalline shield materialized around him.

Following this, he raised a hand and opened his five fingers. A red orb, about the size of a chicken egg, floated up from his palm.

Incantation after incantation began to flow from the white-robed youth’s mouth as he prepared to activate this magical tool to attack Han Li.

Watching this set of familiar techniques, Han Li felt a bit speechless inside.

Meanwhile, quite a few exclamations of surprise rang out from beyond the arena!

“Look! Junior Disciple Xun lives up to his Heavenly Yang Fire Meridian! He can release a fire-element protective shield instantly without using a talisman!”

“That’s nothing. The orb in his hand looks like the Xun Clan’s famous Flame Wave Pearl. That kid opposite him is definitely going to lose. Maybe the match will be decided in the blink of an eye!”

…

Han Li’s expression remained unchanged. A trace of mockery flashed through his mind. Unhurriedly, he reached out and pulled a thick stack of talismans from his storage pouch—a good thirty to forty of them.

He looked up at his opponent. The white-robed youth was fully focused on activating his magical tool and paid no attention at all to Han Li’s actions, apparently brimming with confidence in his own shield.

Since that was the case, Han Li didn’t bother being polite. He rubbed his hands together and, in the same motion, flung them upward.

A red glare filled the air as thirty or forty fist-sized fireballs shot out from his hands like a swarm of bees, hurtling straight toward his opponent in a dense wave.

“Ah!” Numerous cries of astonishment rose from outside the arena simultaneously.

At that moment, the Flame Wave Pearl floating in the white-robed youth’s hand had just begun to take on flames, ready to be deployed to attack his enemy. In the midst of his great delight, he suddenly heard the exclamations from outside the arena. Frowning in puzzlement, he looked up—only for his eyes to meet the shocking sight of several dozen fireballs simultaneously striking his shield.

A series of rumbling explosions erupted at once. A blinding red light flashed before his eyes, leaving him almost unable to see.

The crystalline shield around him lasted only a few seconds before it shattered with a painful crack.

In the next instant, the unbearably scorching flames surged forward, about to engulf him completely.

This prodigious talent of the Heavenly Yang Fire Meridian—trained meticulously by his family’s elders since childhood—had never in his life truly faced a life-or-death moment like this.

His face went pale as he cried out in alarm and instinctively turned to flee in terror.

But in that split second of life and death, the youth suddenly felt a tight grip on the back of his neck. His body jerked upward, and he was lifted directly into midair.

The wave of flames rushed past just beneath him.

The white-robed youth turned his head in shock to see the gaunt old man holding him by the back of his collar with one hand.

“Heavenly Spring Peak’s Han Li wins,” the gaunt old man announced coldly.

Only then did the youth realize he had already lost—and to a bunch of the lowest-grade Fireball Talismans, no less. His face instantly became deathly pale!

As for the other cultivators watching, after their initial cries of surprise, they simply exchanged stunned, speechless looks.

A Fireball Talisman, even if it was the simplest low-grade elementary talisman, still cost at least one spirit stone apiece. And this guy had just thrown out thirty or forty of them in a single move.

That meant thirty or forty spirit stones, burned through in one battle.

Calling it extravagant wouldn’t be enough. Describing him as a prodigal son would be more accurate.

After all, a decent low-grade magical tool cost about the same price.

Had this man really gone all out, bankrupting himself just to win within the sect?

Beneath the strange, scrutinizing gazes of the other Fallen Cloud Sect disciples, Han Li gave a brief bow to the gaunt old man and walked out of the light barrier with an unchanged expression.

As for the white-robed youth surnamed Xun, he glared hatefully at Han Li’s receding back, filled with resentment and unwilling to accept his defeat. But under the icy sweep of the gaunt old man’s gaze, he could do nothing but leave the arena in frustration.

Since his first match was already over, Han Li had no interest in watching the other fights. He turned and went straight back to his own dwelling.

The first round of competition ended two days later.

Quite a few spectacular and exciting duels had taken place, leaving many of the watching Fallen Cloud Sect disciples endlessly talking about them.

As for Han Li’s match—where he had defeated his opponent with several dozen low-grade Fireball Talismans at once—it naturally left many people speechless while secretly envying him. They all assumed Han Li must be the disciple of some major clan to be capable of such a lavish display.

All in all, after this battle, Han Li had at least managed to get himself known by a portion of the sect’s disciples, gaining a bit of a small reputation.

Han Li’s match in the second round came early, scheduled for the afternoon of the first day.

When he once again took his place in the center of the arena with a calm expression, some disciples who had watched his previous match began whispering among themselves.

“That’s the guy from Heavenly Spring Peak. A couple of days ago, he threw out several dozen talismans at once just to beat his opponent.”

“Really? For real? This guy doesn’t look anything special. Wasn’t he heartbroken over it?”

“Huh. It doesn’t seem like there are any major cultivation clans with the surname Han in our Xi Kingdom. Did he join the sect from another country?”

…

Listening to these remarks, Han Li’s expression remained unchanged. He simply narrowed his eyes slightly to size up his opponent for this round.

He was a fresh-faced young male disciple, looking only about seventeen or eighteen.

Dressed neatly in a clean blue shirt, he carried nothing on him except a storage pouch at his waist. His still somewhat youthful face wore a tense, serious expression as he stared at Han Li.

It seemed the gossip from outside had also reached his ears.

Looking at this opponent who seemed barely out of boyhood, Han Li’s brow creased slightly. But as soon as the cold “Begin” rang out, his hand immediately shot toward his storage pouch.

At the same time, in that very instant the match began, the young disciple opposite him struck first. With a double-handed toss, two gleaming ice cones shot toward Han Li in a flash of white light. Then, with a flicker of azure light around his body, he charged directly at Han Li like the wind.

This junior had learned from Han Li’s previous tactic: first use two Ice Cone Talismans to force Han Li into a defensive position, then cast a Light Body Technique on himself and rush straight in while Han Li was occupied.

Han Li was momentarily taken aback, then couldn’t help but let out a quiet laugh.

Unhurriedly, he swayed his body slightly. The two ice cones brushed harmlessly past him. Then, as the youth in front of him approached with a delighted expression, the young man raised his hand, a yellow light appearing in his palm. But before the object in his hand could even be deployed…

Han Li’s form blurred as he executed the Smoke Step and vanished from his spot without a trace.

Caught completely off guard, the young disciple missed his target entirely. Greatly startled, the yellow light in his hand involuntarily dimmed, revealing what looked like a net-type magical tool.

Before the young cultivator could even look around for Han Li’s whereabouts, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. His vision went black.

He collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

“Heavenly Spring Peak’s Han Li wins!” the gaunt old man announced calmly, a flicker of surprise passing through his eyes.

Just moments ago, Han Li had silently appeared behind his opponent and knocked him out with a single, light-handed blow to the back of the head.

At this point, several cultivators quickly entered the arena. After a brief examination of the unconscious young man, they nodded slightly to the gaunt old man in the air to indicate he was fine, then carried him out of the arena.

Naturally, this sparked another wave of commotion outside.

“Did you see that? What technique did that Junior Disciple from Heavenly Spring Peak use? How did he suddenly appear right behind his opponent? That’s unbelievable!”

“Idiot. That’s not a technique at all. It’s clearly a martial arts movement skill from the mortal world. But one this refined… I’ve never seen the like.” Some of the more experienced Fallen Cloud Sect disciples recognized the origin of Han Li’s movement.