11: Second round of assessment

"The first match is Yang Lingchen versus Xiao Jijun," the City Lord of Hanyang City said.

Upon hearing his name, Xiao Jijun did not hesitate; he leaped up and landed cleanly on the Arena.

At the same time, he glared at Yang Lingchen with icy, malicious eyes and viciously said, "Yang Lingchen, come up and die!"

Yang Daolin frowned, his expression grave, and asked in a deep voice, "Chener, are you confident?"

"Father, if I slaughter him, can you cover for me?" Yang Lingchen asked with a smirk.

"No matter who you slaughter, your father can cover for you," Yang Daolin replied, his eyes filled with a confident, world-dominating Aura.

"Father, don't brag!"

After saying this, Yang Lingchen flashed, soaring like a roc spreading its wings, and leaped onto the Arena.

"Young Master Dongfang, Fairy Ling, there is one thing I would like to clarify first," Yang Lingchen said, cupping his hands respectfully.

"Speak if you have something to say," Dongfang Jie said with a flat expression and a calm tone.

"Xiao Jijun declared that he wants to kill me. If I kill him, does that count as a violation?" Yang Lingchen asked, his gaze firm.

"It does not count as a violation. Heavenly Origin Palace will not interfere with your life or death," Dongfang Jie said slowly, his expression remaining indifferent.

"The match begins," the City Lord of Hanyang City announced loudly.

"Yang Lingchen, go to hell!"

As soon as the City Lord of Hanyang City finished speaking, Xiao Jijun instantly unsheathed his long sword. The blade flashed with a cold glint under the sunlight as he struck fiercely at Yang Lingchen.

"Clang..."

Yang Lingchen let out a cold snort, his lingxiu sword instantly unsheathed, and he utilized his Phantom Movement Technique, moving like a ghost as he charged straight at Xiao Jijun.

"Clang, clang, clang..."

"Swish... swish..."

"Clang..."

In less than two exchanges, Yang Lingchen's lingxiu sword was quickly sheathed, and he turned to walk off the stage with a composed stride.

"Bang...!"

When Yang Lingchen reached the bottom of the stage, Xiao Jijun's body finally collapsed heavily onto the Arena, blood gushing from his neck. By now, Xiao Jijun had long since stopped breathing, his eyes wide open.

"Hiss...!"

At this moment, the scene was deathly silent; not a sound could be heard.

Even Ling Yanyun and Dongfang Jie on the viewing platform couldn't help but take another look at Yang Lingchen, their eyes filled with astonishment.

"Juner."

Xiao Shuoming was devastated; he rushed onto the Arena and held Xiao Jijun's body tightly, the pain in his eyes evident and moving.

"Little Bastard, return my son's life!"

Xiao Shuoming glared with wide, angry eyes and shouted fiercely. He charged at Yang Lingchen like a madman.

"Father, take care of him."

Yang Lingchen flashed, his figure moving like lightning as he hid directly behind Yang Daolin.

"Xiao Shuoming, you are courting death."

Yang Daolin let out a cold shout. Suddenly, an incredibly terrifying Aura erupted from his body. With a wave of his hand, he unleashed a powerful wave of Qi that struck Xiao Shuoming with the force of an overwhelming tide.

"Puff..."

"Ah... ah... ah..."

Xiao Shuoming let out a miserable shriek. While still in mid-air, he was sent flying back by Yang Daolin's casual strike, like a kite with a broken string.

"Xiao Shuoming, listen to me: if you dare to touch my son again, I will wipe out your entire Family," Yang Daolin said, his voice ice-cold as if from the Nine Nether Abyss, making everyone shudder.

At this moment, the onlookers were completely shocked, stunned into silence. Even the City Lord of Hanyang City and Lin Yaoyang, the head of the Lin Family, were frozen in place, unable to recover for a long time.

Even in the eyes of Ling Yanyun and Dongfang Jie, a hint of wariness appeared.

Although they were one of the four major families, in the eyes of the people of Hanyang City, the Yang Family should have been the weakest, both in the younger generation and in overall strength.

But the Combat Power Yang Daolin just displayed made it clear that crushing the other three major families would be easy, requiring no effort at all.

"Yang Daolin, I never expected you to have reached the Void Seeking Realm."

Xiao Shuoming's eyes widened in terror. After saying this, his vision went black, and he fainted.

"The second match is Lin Beiyang versus Lin Beichen," the City Lord of Hanyang City announced, stepping forward again.

This match was between Lin Yaoyang's two sons. Regardless of who won or lost, it made no difference to Lin Yaoyang, as both were his sons.

"I concede."

Lin Beiyang did not hesitate and chose to concede immediately. He was only at the first layer of the Bright Profound Realm, while Lin Beichen was at the second layer. The gap in strength between the two brothers was quite significant.

"The next match is Yang Lingchen versus Lin Beichen," the City Lord of Hanyang City announced loudly.

Hearing his name, Yang Lingchen walked onto the Arena again, his expression calm.

"Kid, you were the one who injured my second younger brother?" Lin Beichen said in a detached tone, his eyes filled with arrogance.

"I hit him, so what?"

Yang Lingchen smirked. He hated nothing more than people putting on airs in front of him.

"You don't know when to die. Just because you defeated that trash Xiao Jijun, you think you have the qualifications to be arrogant in front of This Young Master? Today, This Young Master will let you know that there are always people better than you."

Lin Beichen's eyes were cold. As the number one Genius of Hanyang City, he did not expect Yang Lingchen to dare speak to him in such a tone.

"Your brother was acting just as pretentious back then, but in the end, he was beaten into a dead dog by me," Yang Lingchen laughed disdainfully, his tone full of mockery.

"You are courting death." Lin Beichen was burning with rage. He suddenly struck out with a palm, and the biting Palm Force, carrying a cold killing intent, instantly swept toward Yang Lingchen.

"Stop," Yang Lingchen shouted, simultaneously flashing his figure and agilely dodging to the side.

"What, only now thinking of begging for mercy? Isn't it too late?" Lin Beichen said with a hint of mockery, his face full of contempt.

"The City Lord hasn't announced the start yet! Do you know that this is a violation? With this kind of behavior, the organizers can revoke your qualification for the assessment," Yang Lingchen shouted sternly and righteously.

"This...?" Lin Beichen turned to look at the City Lord of Hanyang City.

"Begin," the City Lord of Hanyang City said in a deep voice, his expression gloomy.

"Whoosh."

"Slap." As soon as the City Lord of Hanyang City finished speaking, Yang Lingchen turned into a blur and instantly slapped Lin Beichen across the face with lightning speed.

"Ah... ah..."

Lin Beichen let out a miserable scream as he was sent flying, crashing heavily off the Arena and fainting on the spot.

"Family Head Lin, don't be so agitated! Your son only has some external injuries," Yang Lingchen chuckled, looking very proud of himself.

"Hmph!" Lin Yaoyang snorted coldly. He was furious! This brat had actually taken the opportunity to ambush his son.

Lin Beichen was his son with the best hope of entering Heavenly Origin Palace. Now that he had been knocked unconscious, he would basically be unable to participate in the remaining assessments of the second round.

"The next match is Han Ruoxue versus Lin Beiyang," the City Lord of Hanyang City announced.

"Little Sister Ruoxue, you should just concede! You cannot be my opponent," Lin Beiyang said with a smile.

Although he liked Han Ruoxue, for the sake of the Heavenly Origin Palace assessment spot, women were not that important.

After all, entering Heavenly Origin Palace meant leaping over the Dragon Gate, and his future prospects would be limitless.

"That might not be certain!" Han Ruoxue's lips curved into a smile, and her beautiful eyes radiated a confident glow.

"Begin," the City Lord of Hanyang City announced.

As soon as the City Lord of Hanyang City finished speaking, Han Ruoxue and Lin Beiyang immediately began to fight.

Both were at the first layer of the Bright Profound Realm, but Lin Beiyang had entered the Bright Profound Realm several months earlier than Han Ruoxue.

However, Lin Beiyang was clearly holding back; he did not want to hurt the woman he liked.

But Han Ruoxue was attacking without any mercy.

The two exchanged blows, attacking back and forth for dozens of rounds, neither gaining an advantage.

Gradually, Lin Beiyang lost his patience, so he unleashed his best trump card, preparing to take down Han Ruoxue in one fell swoop.

Lin Beiyang's sword traced an arc as he lunged fiercely at Han Ruoxue.

At this moment, Han Ruoxue dodged to the side and met the attack head-on with her battle sword without hesitation.

Just as their battle swords were about to collide, Han Ruoxue's sword stance suddenly changed, flashing a white light as she flicked her blade at Lin Beiyang's wrist.

Instantly, Lin Beiyang's battle sword was knocked to the ground. Then, Han Ruoxue kicked him in the chest, sending him flying off the Arena.

"You actually broke my Jinghong Sword Technique." Lin Beiyang looked on in disbelief, his eyes wide.

"This Jinghong Sword Technique of yours was already thoroughly studied by This Young Lady," Han Ruoxue said, her eyes filled with disdain.

During this time, Lin Beiyang had been pursuing Han Ruoxue, and the two would often spar when they had free time.

Lin Beiyang had held nothing back from Han Ruoxue. In order to show off in front of her, he had used the Jinghong Sword Technique many times in her presence.

Back then, Lin Beiyang had greatly enjoyed the look of admiration in Han Ruoxue's eyes, but he never expected that Han Ruoxue had actually been studying the flaws in his sword technique the whole time.