Zheng Beihong had always been arrogant, believing his natural talent and endowment to be rare in the world.
But now, a Li Hai, who had reached the Grandmaster Realm at merely eighteen years old, had suddenly appeared.
How could the always arrogant Zheng Beihong possibly tolerate this?
He absolutely could not accept the fact that he was indeed far inferior to Li Hai.
So, what to do if he couldn't accept it?
Only kill!
One kill to solve a thousand sorrows.
As long as Li Hai was killed and completely vanished from this vast world,
Then Zheng Beihong would still be the world's top Prodigy, beyond reproach.
"Li Hai, don't blame me."
Zheng Beihong looked at the quiet, seemingly detached Li Hai opposite him and murmured, "If you must blame someone, blame yourself for being too Heaven-Defying, blame yourself for obstructing others' paths."
In fact, at this moment, there were quite a few people with a similar mindset to Zheng Beihong, including Oriental Smile.
Though seemingly broad-minded and magnanimous, when the robotic host announced that Li Hai, a Demon Slayer Division Heavenly Rank Commandant, was only eighteen years old, a torrent of shock and jealousy surged within him as well.
Thus, he also looked with killing intent from afar towards Li Hai, who was quietly seated on the opposite grandstand.
"This person's talent has exceeded common sense, like the protagonist of an era. If he is allowed to grow, he will surely make everyone in the same era feel overshadowed and insignificant."
Oriental Smile thought coldly in his heart, "Such a person should not exist, and if they do, it can only be me, Oriental Smile!"
"—Next, we would like to solemnly introduce—where is the person?"
The robotic host on the floating platform was about to say something with the microphone, but after looking around, it announced in confusion, "My apologies to everyone present, it seems that the contestant who came all the way from Lotus Continent has not yet arrived—perhaps he is late."
Upon hearing this, He Shengtian on the grandstand below immediately raised his head and loudly declared:
"In that case, let's just start directly. Don't wait for that Lotus Continent fellow."
With He Shengtian taking the lead, the others immediately clamored as well, demanding that the robotic host quickly start:
"That's right, everyone is very busy, let's start quickly."
"Exactly, why talk so much nonsense?"
"Let's fight what needs to be fought and kill what needs to be killed. After we're done, everyone goes home. Why are we dawdling?"
As these shouts reached the sky, the robotic host couldn't help but scratch its head in a lifelike manner and said awkwardly:
"Well, it seems everyone wants to start quickly, right? Alright then, after I announce the specific rules of this Tianjiao Ranking, the duels will officially begin."
Saying that, it cleared its throat feigning seriousness and began to announce loudly:
"The rules of this Tianjiao Ranking are very simple. Firstly, all contestants must duel one-on-one, and no calling upon friends to assist in combat; secondly, any contestant may choose to forfeit or surrender before or after entering the arena. After one party surrenders, the other contestant on the same arena must not launch any form of attack. Once an attack is launched, the contestant will immediately lose their qualification; thirdly, contestants who have already been reported and registered by various departments and units in advance cannot be swapped midway. Forcibly swapping will be considered a forfeiture; fourthly, since the Tianjiao Ranking is named after Prodigy, there naturally exists a defending arena mode. If a contestant is confident enough, they can ascend the arena alone to become the arena master and accept turn duels from other contestants—
"Host, stop for a moment."
At this moment, Li Hai, who had been sitting quietly somewhere in the grandstand, suddenly stood up. Then, under the gaze of thousands of bewildered, surprised, and cold eyes around him, his figure flashed, instantly covering hundreds of feet, and he appeared out of thin air on that massive arena.
Immediately, he calmly surveyed all directions and said serenely:
"I, Li Hai, Young Military Supervisor of the Demon Slayer Division, declare myself the arena master of this arena.
My time is quite limited, so one-by-one turns are unnecessary. All contestants, come at me together."
As soon as Li Hai uttered these words, the entire venue erupted in an uproar.
Everyone present looked at him with incredible eyes.
Then, a moment later, the entire arena boomed with waves of earth-shattering noise:
"Good! What an arrogant fellow!"
"Hmph, hmph, I knew someone like this, seeking attention, would appear.
"He wants to challenge all contestants? Is this Li Hai crazy or stupid?!"
"He wouldn't really think that just because he's an eighteen-year-old Grandmaster, he's invincible, would he?!"
"If all the contestants really put aside their pride and all go up later, he won't even know how he died!"
"I'd like to see how this Li Hai will handle this later."
And amidst this clamor, He Shengtian, Oriental Smile, Shan Xiuran, and Zheng Beihong, a total of four contestants, all stood up from the grandstand with killing intent on their faces.
"Old Zheng~"
He Shengtian looked at Zheng Beihong across from him and chuckled, "You hypocritical fellow, you must really want to kill this guy named Li, right?"
"What a thing to say."
Zheng Beihong asked indifferently, "You don't want to kill him?"
"Nonsense."
He Shengtian scratched his ear, "Of course I do."
"Then let's do it together."
Zheng Beihong said lightly, "After we deal with this guy named Li, we'll have our official duel."
"Wait."
Oriental Smile smiled and interjected, "Add me too."
"Oriental Smile?"
Zheng Beihong looked at him in surprise, "I've heard of your name. I never thought you would also become a Martial Dao Grandmaster."
"Heh heh heh~"
Oriental Smile chuckled softly, "The feeling is mutual."
"Everyone, why not add me as well."
At this moment, Shan Xiuran also smiled and chimed in, "One more person means one more source of strength."
"Oh~"
Zheng Beihong surveyed him from afar, "From the Divine Armory, his body is already mostly non-human, and his Realm cultivation is also unclear, but since you dare to participate in a Grandmaster battle, it means you must have something to rely on. Alright, I'll add you."
"No more nonsense."
He Shengtian shook his neck nonchalantly and said, "Since it's decided, the three of us will go to the arena. Everything else can be discussed after we kill this Li Hai."
Saying that, he floated into the air and flew towards the massive arena below.
Zheng Beihong nodded, also suddenly floated up, and instantly flew towards that arena.
But as Oriental Smile was about to fly over, his Junior Sister, Ke Qing, hurriedly called out to him:
"Senior Brother, you should seize the opportunity and not rush in. Let them go first!"
Oriental Smile nodded, then flew down to the arena below.
Similarly, as Shan Xiuran was about to set off, his Junior Sister, Dan Xiuxiu, also stopped him.
"Brother."
She suggested, "Just let them fight. You conserve your strength and deploy that secret weapon at the critical moment. Remember that."
"I remember."
Shan Xiuran nodded, "Don't worry."
Immediately, two streams of light shot out from under his feet, and he flew down below.
Whoosh—And when the last one, Shan Xiuran, also slowly landed on the arena, Li Hai's slightly closed eyes suddenly opened.