Chapter 94: The Wealthy Heir

The scorching midday sun beat down upon the massive green-stone arena. The heat matched the boiling, bloodthirsty atmosphere of the tournament.

The preliminary rounds had concluded. Out of ten thousand hopefuls, only one hundred remained. These were the true elites of the Outer Sect—disciples with firm Dao Hearts, sharp intellects, and ruthless martial prowess.

The Quarter-Finals had officially begun. Fifty one-on-one duels. The fifty victors would earn the right to enter the Inner Sect.

Lin Tian stood calmly within his designated ring. His hands rested casually behind his back. The heavy broadsword remained stabbed into the stone floor beside him, untouched. He had not drawn it once in the previous rounds.

Under the flawless concealment of the Abyssal Shadow Veil, his Foundation Establishment liquid Qi remained an undisturbed lake. His breathing was slow and rhythmic.

Across from him stood his opponent, a youth named Jin Yan. He was the heir to a wealthy merchant clan affiliated with the Crimson Nimbus Sect.

Jin Yan wore an extravagant robe woven from profound-ice silkworm silk, granting passive resistance to fire and physical blows. But what was truly dazzling was the sheer number of high-grade talismans plastered across his chest, arms, and thighs.

"Lin Tian," Jin Yan sneered, tossing a heavy pouch of spirit stones aside. "I saw your previous matches. You possess terrifying brute strength. You crush opponents before they can cast spells. But brute force is the path of barbarians. Today, I will teach you the true power of wealth and resources!"

Buzz!

Jin Yan crushed a jade talisman in his palm. Instantly, three layers of thick, golden spiritual barriers erupted around his body. The barriers pulsed with the heavy, unmovable aura of the earth element.

"The Heavy-Earth Tortoise Shield," a disciple gasped from the stands. "A single talisman costs five hundred low-grade spirit stones! And Jin Yan activated three at once! Even a half-step Foundation Establishment expert would need dozens of strikes to break through!"

Jin Yan laughed arrogantly, pulling out a handful of crimson talismans. "Let us see if your mortal flesh can withstand the fury of the heavens!"

He threw the talismans into the air. They ignited instantly, transforming into dozens of blazing fireballs and sharp wind blades that rained down upon Lin Tian like a catastrophic storm.

---

High above, on the white jade VIP platform, the three female Peak Masters watched intently.

Elder Liu, Master of the Alchemy Peak, narrowed her sharp eyes. "That Jin boy is squandering his wealth, but his strategy is sound. Lin Tian relies on close-quarters combat. By creating distance and overwhelming him with ranged attacks, Jin Yan forces him into a corner."

Elder Bai remained silent, but her weary eyes observed Lin Tian’s every movement. She searched for the same profound harmony she had witnessed in the Array Labyrinth.

---

Down in the ring, the storm of fire and wind arrived.

Just as the blazing projectiles were about to incinerate him, Lin Tian finally moved. He did not charge forward. He did not roar in defiance. He simply took a single, casual step to the right.

Whoosh!

Three fireballs slammed into the spot where he had been standing, blasting a crater into the green-stone floor. Before the smoke could clear, Lin Tian took a half-step backward, bending his torso slightly. Two sharp wind blades whistled past his chest, slicing empty air.

He moved like a phantom leaf caught in a chaotic tempest. No wasted movements. No flashy leaps. He stepped, ducked, and swayed with microscopic precision. Every step harmonized with the flow of the wind and the gaps between spells.

"System," Lin Tian commanded silently. "Activate Insight Eye."

Crimson runes flared within his pupils. The world of chaotic fire and wind slowed in his vision. The Insight Eye revealed the spiritual nodes and fluctuating energy currents of the talismans Jin Yan was burning.

"Rich, but reckless." Lin Tian remained calm as he watched Jin Yan burn through talisman after talisman. His attacks lacked rhythm and coordination, relying solely on overwhelming spiritual energy in the hope that something would eventually strike its target.

For five minutes, the ring was a chaotic spectacle of explosions. Jin Yan laughed maniacally, throwing talisman after talisman, expending thousands of spirit stones in moments.

Yet as the smoke gradually thinned, the arrogant smile on his face froze completely.

Lin Tian was still standing in the center of the ring. His obsidian robes were not even singed. His hands were clasped casually behind his back. His breathing was as calm as an ancient mountain. He had not expended a single drop of spiritual Qi. He had merely used the pure, raw flexibility of his mortal shell.

"Impossible!" Jin Yan shrieked, his forehead covered in cold sweat. His hands trembled as he reached into his spatial ring. He realized he had completely exhausted his entire stockpile of offensive talismans.

"You rely on external objects to mimic true power," Lin Tian’s voice cut through the silence, deep and vibrating with martial authority. "But external objects are finite. When your wealth runs dry, what is left of your Dao Heart?"

Jin Yan gritted his teeth, his face turning pale. "Don’t be arrogant! I still have three layers of the Heavy-Earth Tortoise Shield! Even if I have run out of attacks, you can never break my defense!"

"Is that so?"

Lin Tian finally unclasped his hands. He took a step forward.

BOOM!

The green-stone tile beneath his foot shattered into fine dust. Lin Tian did not draw his broadsword. He simply clenched his right hand into a fist. His muscles coiled and bound together like ancient dragons awakening. The pure physical might of his Primordial Yang-Tyrant Body condensed entirely into his knuckles.

Through the Insight Eye, he saw the overlapping array runes of the three golden shields. Where the shields intersected, there was a single microscopic node where the earth-element spiritual energy was bottlenecked—the absolute weakest point.

Lin Tian thrust his fist forward.

There was no blinding light. No roaring flames. Only the pure, unadulterated manifestation of absolute physical violence.

His fist struck the exact intersecting node of the three golden barriers.

CRACK!

A sound resembling a massive crystal mountain shattering echoed through the entire arena. To the horror of everyone watching, the three layers of the Heavy-Earth Tortoise Shield spider-webbed with cracks before violently exploding into millions of golden specks of dust!

The residual force of the punch traveled straight through the shattered barriers and slammed against Jin Yan’s chest.

He did not even have time to scream. His profound-ice silk robe tore apart instantly. He was blasted off his feet, flying backward like a cannonball, clearing the boundaries of the ring before crashing into the spectator stands. He was unconscious.

The battle was over. One punch. Absolute devastation.

---

High on the VIP platform, Instructor Qing abruptly stood up. Her chest heaved. Her eyes were wide with martial shock.

The way Lin Tian had dodged spells without wasting energy. The flawless, precise strike that shattered the shields. It was the apex of martial combat!

But more importantly, as Lin Tian unleashed his pure physical might, a faint wave of his Irresistible Yang Scent rippled upward through the arena. Instructor Qing inhaled sharply. The moment that scent brushed against her spiritual perception, the Fire-Poison in her meridians whimpered in fear and went completely dormant.

The agonizing pain she suffered daily was erased. It left behind a hollow, desperate emptiness that craved to be filled by his burning Yang energy.

Her legs weakened. She gripped the armrest to keep herself standing. Her face flushed with a heavy, intoxicating red hue.

Such flawless martial instinct... and such a tyrannical Yang physique....she bit her lower lip, her heart pounding. He must enter the Inner Sect. I must find an excuse to bring him to my private quarters for a ’martial assessment’.

Beside her, Elder Liu of the Alchemy Peak was also staring at the youth with profound intrigue.

A pure body-refining path? she analyzed, her sharp eyes noting the complete lack of spiritual energy fluctuations from Lin Tian. To possess such boundless stamina and explosive physical might without relying on a single pill or elixir... his bodily foundation is flawless.

He is a walking cauldron of pure Yang vitality. If I could use his blood or essence as a catalyst for my pills, perhaps it could extinguish these cursed ’Phantom Burns’ in my chest.

The three most powerful matriarchs of the Inner Sect gazed at the youth in obsidian robes, each harboring their own secret desires and hidden flaws.

Down in the arena, the overseeing elder raised his hand. "Winner of the Quarter-Finals, Lin Tian! He has officially secured his place in the Top 50! Lin Tian is hereby granted the qualifications to enter the Inner Sect!"

Lin Tian slowly un-clenched his fist. He did not cheer. He did not boast. He merely tilted his head upward, his golden, predatory eyes locking directly onto the VIP platform.

The Outer Sect had been conquered. The true hunt within the Inner Sect was finally about to begin.