Te Rin breathed in and then stood up from her seat. She glanced at Sou Rou and her expression grew cold as her whole body tensed up: this was a chance. A chance to let the whole world know that her power had grown!

She walked forward, her hands were clearly shaking, however her expression was firm. Up above, circling on top of the Arena, Mu Gu couldn't help but nod in approval.

"The little jewel has grown... Her talent is a match to many geniuses. It is just too bad her age is not on par with the three monsters, otherwise she would have undoubtedly become a Successor as well..."

The old man's robes, green and made out of leaves, fluttered in the wind as he sighed in reminiscence "Shui Jing... If only you could see her now, you would regret your decisions without a doubt... You actually were able to teach such a genius!"

The wind carried away the Second Protector's words as the old man focused once again on the events below.

Sou Rou pursued her alluring lips and stretched "Fu Yin, you were the luckiest amongst the three of us it seems! You got nobody in your group able to harm you... Te Rin. I will have to be careful with her!"

Fu Yin's eyes glittered and turned an electric blue as sparks went off from the nails embedded in his temples. The boy turned his gaze to examine the young girl on the other side of the Arena and his pupils, now a pair of inverted triangles, came to a rest on the girl's hands  "Yeah Big Sis, you definitely should... That girl, I didn't think that she would actually be this smart!"

Sou Rou frowned and turned to face the white-haired boy "What... Do you mean?"

"Mmmm, I wonder..." the boy smiled enigmatically "I won't spoil the fun. Don't worry, you will find out soon... Sooner than you might think!"

The older woman sighed "It's almost as if you still don't see me as a sister..."

Fu Yin chuckled and Xiao Wu also couldn't help but shake her head smiling. The young girl sighed and her green eyes glinted with flashes of purple light "Oh, no. It is exactly because he sees you as a sister that he isn't telling you anything..."

Xiao Wu's expression turned into disgust as Sou Rou tilted her head. 

"Why?" Xiao Wu scoffed "It's because towards those he does not care about he usually just gives wrong information..."

Fu Yin chuckled bitterly "You sure know me well, Sis..."

The two children began bickering and Sou Rou smiled warmly. Her gaze then turned serious as she also turned to walk towards the Arena: her blue robes fluttered and the air surrounding her couldn't help but tremble under the pressure the young woman gave off.

The crowds cheered and the people in the audience couldn't help but feel excited: a face-off between the Sect's top beauties? How often would they actually have the occasion to see something like this?

That was why, when the two girl finally walked on top of the stage, the cheering suddenly stopped, the loud roars coming from the huge crowd of people slowly dissipated until the only thing that could be heard was the faint sound of the wind.

Lao Jianghu then jumped on top of the stage and his usual laid-back countenance changed as his golden eyes glittered coldly...

"Everyone! The first battle is about to start! Now, I would like to clarify something..." The old man yelled, each of the words crystalline and as clear as the day.

"These fights are not without meaning! We are not hosting a tournament just because we wanted or could. It's also because we felt that our top disciples have too little experience when it comes to fighting." Lao Jianghu waved his hands and, to everyone's surprise, a corpse fell down on top of the golden stage.

Most people there had either already seen blood or had even killed already, however very few people could hold in the exclamations of surprise and shock that came out of their mouths.

Lao Jianghu paid no mind to the reaction of the crowds of cultivators surrounding him. He waved his hand once again and a badge in front of him.

"This is a cultivator we have found in the Sect and he is not alone. There are many like him but they all committed suicide before we could find out anything, however one thing we do know for sure is that..." He pointed at the badge, a small metallic object that could be hidden in one's palm.

A large character, the symbol for Zhao, was carved on both sides. 

"These people have already been hiding in the Sect for three months. They most likely belongs to the Zhao Clan... Some of you might remember the young Zhao Bu. Back then, the Zhao Clan had allied with the Chaos Dragon, the calamity this Sect had to face three months ago!

"We shed blood and fought long and hard for our right to live! Now, these guys are challenging us to take away that one right!" Lao Jianghu yelled, his eyes burning with anger "Tell me everyone... What should we do?"

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The members of the audience felt their blood boil as each and every person stood up and threw their executed their most powerful techniques upwards. 

"Kill them all!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

"They shall all die!"

Xiao Wu watched in amazement as the crowds of people yelled nonstop, their voices akin to the thunderous roars of an enraged beast.

Lao Jianghu smiled fiercely and then turned towards the twelve contestants down below "Fight! Show that Zhao Clan that our Golden Emperor Sect isn't someone they can bully without expecting repercussions!"

Down below, Fu Yin's eyes glittered "So it was like this... He actually only called us here to increase our fighting experience as well as give a boost to everyone's morale..."

Xiao Wu smiled bitterly "Seriously, I should have just stayed asleep... This looks troublesome!"

Fu Yin flinched "Don't take after Goldy's laziness! It is literally the one thing that stops him from becoming one of the most powerful beings under the Heavens!"

Xiao Wu rolled her eyes "Whatever... Let's just focus on the match!"

Fu Yin nodded and then turned to look at the two women facing each other, each of them staring in her opponent's pupils as if they were having a staring contest.

"Very well, everyone! We felt the warmth of your spirit! Focus everyone! The battle will start..." Lao Jianghu looked up and nodded. Mu Gu nodded back and then made a hand seal: a shield of green light appeared around the stage, enveloping the two girls and the golden-eyed old man within.

"Now!"

The two women kept staring into each other's eyes, as if they hadn't heard the words that had just been spoken. Finally, Sou Rou grinned and entered a fighting stance, her cultivation base exploded outwards revealing the strength of the mid level Superior stage!

Three big symbols floated behind her: a lion, a sea and a rose. They were respectively the Strength Lion, Ever-Changing Sea and the Retaliation Rose!

Te Rin, on the other hand, simply waved her sleeves and the air seemed to twist, as if a curtain had just been lifted and had revealed what was hiding underneath. After that, she blew in her hands and a thin mist covered the whole stage...

After that, a shining object appeared above her head: it was a bird made out of crystal, its shape resembled that of a young phoenix.

The girl then made a single hand seal and the bird cried... As it split apart! The two halves then both turned into another pair of crystal phoenixes and then split apart, the process repeating countless times.

Soon, the whole sky had been blotted out by the countless crystal birds, each of their small, lifeless eyes gleaming hatefully. Te Rin closed her eyes and then changed her hand seals: the birds let out a loud crus as they all began to spiral around a stunned Sou Rou.

The spiralling had a rhythm, as if all birds were moving in the same way...

'A Formation! They are probably setting up a formation!' Sou Rou felt her body shake: a Formation would greatly increase the power of what makes up the Formation itself: the crystal phoenixes were already so powerful like that, how strong would they become if they were to set up a Formation?

The girl regained her senses and immediately dashed madly towards Te Rin: the power of a single crystal phoenix, she would not have put it in her eyes. However, this was not a single bird. Their numbers were constantly growing and she already couldn't make out her surroundings due to the birds blocking her view.

Sou Rou gritted her teeth: she had been careless! She finally realised why Fu Yin had warned her not to let her guard down, this girl had indeed grown more powerful than she remembered! 

'Tsk! She might have a powerful technique, however her cultivation base is inferior to mine! Let's see how you are going to resist an head-on clash!'

Thinking that, Sou Rou dashed forward as the Strength Lion Seal brightened up and the woman's body began to glow a bright red!

Fu Yin scoffed "Idiot... Fell right for her trap!"

Xiao Wu frowned and turned to look at Fu Yin "What do you mean, brother?"

Fu Yin grinned "Te Rin's technique is indeed amazing... However what I a praising is not the power of the technique... If I wanted, I could break it by simply waving my sleeve!"

Xiao Wu stared wide-eyedly for a bit and then shook her head chuckling "I know you are powerful, however you don't have to brag in front of me..."

"If I were you, I would be acting a lot humbler after witnessing such a complicated plan being executed so perfectly! This girl, she sure has grown!" 

Fu Yin smiled knowingly and looked at Te Rin... Not! What he was looking at was actually another side of the Arena, right beside Lao Jianghu. The old man at the moment was actually trying his best to hold his laughter in, his eyes sometimes darting to his right as his mouth's sides jerked upwards.

'Brat, you really have outstanding brothers and sisters!' The old man laughed in his mind 'To think so far ahead... Although not on your level, she is still a true genius!'

Sou Rou gritted her teeth as she charged towards Te Rin's location, pushing her body to its limit, her hands resembling a lion's claws. She dodged the birds by jumping left and right, up and down, the Ever-Changing Sea Seal letting off a bright azure glow. 

At one point, she found herself fifty feet from Te Rin's figure... 

Forty feet. 

Thirty feet. 

Twenty feet. 

Ten feet! 

The woman lifted her hand and clawed towards the woman's neck, in an attempt to stop her spell and destroy the terrifying formation the countless birds had been attempting to set up, a formation that would ensure her defeat!

The attack was incredibly fast, Sou Rou's hands gradually approaching Te Rin's neck...

Suddenly, the woman's expression changed as her eyes widened in shock.

'What?'

Boom!

The crowd watched in astonishment as a cloud of smoke rose up. When the cloud dissipated, they gaped at the scene: Te Rin looked down on the unconscious Sou Rou, her figure clean and without the slightest trace of any injury.

Lao Jianghu stepped forward and announced "The winner of the first match... Is Core Disciple, Te Rin!"

Silence.

Fu Yin smiled as Xiao Wu gaped at the scene "Told you, didn't I? The girl has grown... Wonder if I should worry for big brother in his stead? This one, even he might have to look out for, otherwise he might be in for trouble! Especially if she were to turn rogue..."

Suddenly, thunderous roaring could be heard coming from the spectators.

"A Successor is out this early on!" 

"Incredible! This fight lasted so little!" 

"Look! Sou Rou is completely unconscious! What in the world..."

Shock. Fear. Respect. Envy.

Many different gleams flashed through everyone pupils. However, no matter who or what they were yelling, what they were thinking or what they felt, a single question still passed through everyone's mind at that moment.

A Core Disciple, one of the remaining eleven participants, gave voice to everyone's thoughts: 

"What has just happened?"