On the Immortal Martial Stage, the next match began immediately.
"Lin Yexing of Burial Sword Pavilion versus Su Mo of Killing Heart Sacred Court."
Upon hearing this, Ji Honghao immediately stood up, his expression growing even more grim.
Su Mo was his most valued disciple. He had initially hoped Su Mo would make it into the top five, but he had unfortunately run into Lin Yexing of Burial Sword Pavilion.
Now, the Killing Heart Sacred Court's hope of entering the top five had become slim.
If Li Jianxing was steady and reserved, then Lin Yexing was sharp and flamboyant.
The moment he stepped onto the Immortal Martial Stage, he unleashed a vast and boundless sword intent that shot straight into the sky. His black hair danced wildly, and pure fighting spirit blazed from his eyes.
Su Mo was instantly intimidated by Lin Yexing's overwhelming presence and took two steps back.
"Is this the other peerless prodigy of Burial Sword Pavilion, Lin Yexing? He's already giving Su Mo a stern warning right from the start."
"It looks like Lin Yexing intends to go all out and not hold back."
"Su Mo is in trouble now, and Killing Heart Sacred Court is even more unlikely to succeed."
"Su Mo is already the strongest disciple of Killing Heart Sacred Court. If he loses, they will be eliminated early, just like Xuan Kong Mountain."
...
The disciples of the various sacred lands chattered amongst themselves.
Su Mo's expression was incredibly awkward. He instinctively glanced at Ji Honghao on the main platform and saw the solemn look on the Sacred Lord's face.
He knew that if he surrendered, it would not only be a personal disgrace but also a complete loss of face for the Killing Heart Sacred Court.
Yet, even if he didn't surrender, he was incapable of dealing with Lin Yexing's formidable strength.
For a moment, Su Mo was caught in a dilemma.
Xin Ci and Mu Qingqing could both see Su Mo's struggle.
Before the match had even begun, Su Mo's state of mind had already wavered.
It was certain that Su Mo would lose this match.
The subsequent battle unfolded as they had predicted. Su Mo's strength was inherently inferior to Lin Yexing's, and he was also preoccupied throughout the fight.
Facing such an opponent with a weak will to fight, Lin Yexing was displeased.
He craved a thrilling and satisfying battle.
This kind of dull and uninteresting fight only served to ignite his anger.
Suddenly, Lin Yexing produced a green sword in his hand. A fierce green sword energy surged forward. As the sword intent crisscrossed the air, the spiritual energy on the Immortal Martial Stage vanished instantly.
Without giving Su Mo a chance to be shocked, Lin Yexing swung his green sword forward.
"Soaring Heaven Swordplay, One Sword Buries the Sea!"
Lin Yexing unleashed Burial Sword Pavilion's top true essence, Soaring Heaven Swordplay, without any reservation.
Su Mo, unable to react, was sent flying out of the Immortal Martial Stage by this astonishingly powerful sword strike.
"Bang."
With a heavy thud, Su Mo crashed to the ground. Blood splattered all over him. His defensive true artifact and protective golden armor were shattered by this single sword strike, leaving him in a pathetic state as he fell unconscious.
The disciples of the many sacred lands were awestruck by Lin Yexing's ruthless and decisive sword strike.
"Hmph! A waste of time!"
Lin Yexing snorted coldly, sheathed his green sword, and disdainedfully walked off the Immortal Martial Stage.
The crowd couldn't help but cast sidelong glances, secretly marveling.
"Lin Yexing's attacks are truly ruthless and unforgiving."
"Indeed. If Su Mo hadn't been wearing defensive true artifacts and golden armor, he probably would have been cleaved in half by that sword."
"But this also proves that peerless prodigies are not to be trifled with by ordinary disciples."
"It seems this Sacred Land Martial Gathering will likely be a stage for Duguyun Meng, Changyang Gu Shuo, Li Jianxing, and Lin Yexing."
"Killing Heart Sacred Court has also become the second sacred land to be eliminated from the competition for the Immortal Spirit Liquid."
...
Ji Honghao could only sigh helplessly at this outcome.
After all, their Killing Heart Sacred Court lacked prodigies like Duguyun Meng and Lin Yexing.
He then sent a telepathic message to Gu Linyue, asking, "Palace Master Gu, which disciples are still left in the Killing Heart Sacred Court's contingent?"
"Replying to the Sacred Lord, there are still Li Fulong, Ye Xinran, and Mu Ci remaining," Gu Linyue replied.
Ji Honghao frowned slightly upon hearing this.
In his opinion, among the remaining three disciples, he only knew about Li Fulong, aware that this young man was the prince of the Canglan Dynasty.
The "Thunder Emperor Canglan Jue" of the Canglan Dynasty was powerful, and Li Fulong's strength was decent. However, he was still far from prodigies like Changyang Gu Shuo.
As for the remaining Ye Xinran and Mu Ci, two young girls, Ji Honghao had never heard of them.
Judging by their performance in the previous matches, they likely wouldn't be able to defeat Changyang Gu Shuo and the others.
Thinking this, Ji Honghao sighed in resignation and said to Gu Linyue, "These remaining three disciples are of no use. We should give up on this Sacred Land Martial Gathering in advance; there's no chance of winning. Letting these three continue to compete will only lead to them getting injured like Su Mo."
"Sacred Lord Ji, I don't see it that way," Gu Linyue said with a smile.
Ji Honghao was taken aback and looked at her in confusion, asking, "Palace Master Gu, why do you say that?"
"Replying to Sacred Lord Ji, our Killing Heart Sacred Court still has a chance of entering the top five."
"Oh? Could it be that Li Fulong has already broken through to the peak of the Heavenly Venerate realm?" Ji Honghao's eyes lit up.
If Li Fulong had broken through to the peak of the Five-star Heavenly Venerate realm, combined with the supreme true essence of Thunder Emperor Canglan Jue, it wasn't impossible for him to contend with peerless prodigies like Changyang Gu Shuo and Duguyun Meng.
However, Gu Linyue shook her head and chuckled softly, "No, I'm not talking about Li Fulong, but Mu Ci."
"Mu Ci?"
Upon hearing this, Ji Honghao became confused and immediately looked at a petite and cute female disciple in the Killing Heart Sacred Court's contingent.
"The Mu Ci you're referring to is this young girl who previously competed? She's quite lovely and charming, but can she really contend with the peerless prodigies of other sacred lands?" Ji Honghao asked with some doubt.
"Sacred Lord Ji, you can look forward to Mu Ci's performance. This disciple will certainly not disappoint you," Gu Linyue said with a smile.
Ji Honghao appeared half-believing, half-doubting. He couldn't understand why Gu Linyue placed such high importance on Mu Ci.
He only knew that this young girl was a new disciple of the Asura Hall. Was it simply because Mu Ci was a disciple of the Asura Hall that Gu Linyue valued her so highly?
Or did this young girl genuinely possess extraordinary strength?
However, with his cultivation at the Four-star Great Emperor realm, no matter how he observed Xin Ci, he couldn't discern anything special. Her cultivation was only at the initial stage of the Five-star Heavenly Venerate realm, far weaker than prodigies like Changyang Gu Shuo and Duguyun Meng, who were infinitely close to the Saint Emperor realm.
Nevertheless, Gu Linyue was one of the four great palace masters of the Killing Heart Sacred Court. Her high regard for Mu Ci did pique Ji Honghao's curiosity.
He wanted to see the performance of this female disciple named Mu Ci next.
The matches on the Immortal Martial Stage continued.
After more than a dozen matches, the disciples of the five great sacred lands were dwindling.
The disciples of Xuan Kong Mountain had all been eliminated, yet Xuan Qingming, the Sacred Lord of Xuan Kong Mountain, maintained a leisurely and relaxed demeanor, not dwelling excessively on his disciples' performance.
The situation for the Killing Heart Sacred Court was also not ideal. After Ye Xinran won three consecutive matches, she encountered Duguyun Meng of the Northern Cold Sacred Land.
Unfortunately, after enduring fewer than ten moves, Ye Xinran suffered the same fate as Li Fulan, being frozen into an ice sculpture and defeated.