"What pick-up line, just a normal greeting, what nonsense are you spouting, you little girl." Li Fulong glared at her.
Li Fulan, however, paid him no mind. Instead, she playfully stuck out her tongue at him before darting off elsewhere.
"This brat knows to fear my scolding, she sure is fast," Li Fulong shook his head with a wry smile.
At this moment, the sky suddenly lost its color, and the void trembled.
The disciples in the Killing God Plaza were all drawn to this sight, their faces filled with horror.
Following this, five spatial vortexes appeared above them.
Immediately after, five figures emerged from the vortexes and slowly descended to the ground.
When the crowd saw who these newcomers were, they erupted in a clamor and all knelt down to welcome the five.
"We pay respects to all Hall Masters and the Palace Master!"
These five figures were none other than the rulers of the One Palace and Four Halls, and the five Great Emperor powerhouses of the Killing Heart Holy Court.
They were Gu Lin Yue, Hall Master of the Asura Hall; Li Ao, Hall Master of the Yama Hall; Lin Fei Ye, Hall Master of the Ye Luo Hall; and Shi Ling Dan, Hall Master of the Mo Luo Hall.
The man leading them was powerfully built, with a stern face and a head of wild, fiery red hair that flowed in the wind. A few white tufts of hair adorned his forehead.
He wore a black robe and exuded a chilling aura. The disciples, upon merely glancing at him, felt a chill creep into their hearts, as if they were gazing upon an Asura god of slaughter who had emerged from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
This man was Ji Hong Hao, the Palace Master of the Killing Heart Palace, and also the master of the Killing Heart Holy Court. His true essence had reached the terrifying level of a Four-star Great Emperor.
"A Four-star Great Emperor, the master of the Killing Heart Holy Court is indeed extraordinary!"
Mu Qing Qing's eyes flickered with admiration within the consciousness space.
She also noticed the intense blood-fiend energy emanating from Ji Hong Hao. It was likely that Ji Hong Hao had cultivated the Asura Battle Technique to the peak of the ninth level.
This meant that the combat power of this Holy Land master probably far surpassed that of an ordinary Four-star Great Emperor. It was estimated that few powerhouses on the Eternal Continent could match him.
Although the strength of the four Hall Masters did not match Ji Hong Hao's, they were still at the pinnacle of existence on the Eternal Continent.
Aside from Gu Lin Yue, who had just been freed from the冥毒 (Nether Poison) and had not fully recovered her true essence, the other three Hall Masters were Two-star Great Emperors.
This scene truly astonished Xin Ci.
The foundation of a Holy Land was indeed profound.
All the disciples held their breath, seemingly afraid to even exhale in the presence of these five Great Emperors.
Ji Hong Hao's gaze swept across the entire area. He took a step forward and said, "For this Holy Land Martial Competition, I hope that you sixteen disciples will do your best to win, to not betray the cultivation of the Killing Heart Holy Court, and more importantly, to not bring shame to the Killing Heart Holy Court."
"Your disciples obey!"
"Your disciples obey!"
...
The disciples shouted in unison.
As Ji Hong Hao was announcing this to the disciples, the four Hall Masters behind him each had their own thoughts.
Li Ao, the Hall Master of the Yama Hall, narrowed his eyes, staring at Xin Ci, who stood among the disciples, with a meaningful smile.
The Hall Masters of the other two halls also paid attention to Xin Ci.
They were not paying attention to Xin Ci because this disciple was exceptionally talented. On the contrary, they had never heard of or seen this disciple before.
The only thing that piqued their interest was that Xin Ci was a disciple of the Asura Hall.
The Holy Land Martial Competition was held every five years. Since the Asura Hall was devastated and destroyed by the invasion of the Nether God twenty years ago, no disciples had participated in the Holy Land Martial Competition.
Therefore, in previous sessions, the Killing Heart Holy Court had only fielded fifteen disciples.
Although the results of the Holy Land Martial Competition in the past had been decent, the Killing Heart Holy Court had always been short of five disciples compared to those from other Holy Lands.
The Hall Masters of the other three halls were somewhat dissatisfied and had repeatedly suggested to Ji Hong Hao that the Asura Hall's spots be given to the other three halls.
However, their suggestions were all rejected by Ji Hong Hao.
The allocated spots for the Four Halls were a rule established from ancient times.
Furthermore, Ji Hong Hao did not allocate the Asura Hall's spots to the other three halls for another reason. He wanted to leave a sliver of breathing room for the Asura Hall, and he also wanted to give Gu Lin Yue some face, considering her contributions to the Killing Heart Holy Court.
For this Holy Land Martial Competition, the Asura Hall not only sent a disciple but also had Gu Lin Yue, their Hall Master, appear in person.
Everyone in the Killing Heart Holy Court knew that the Hall Master of the Asura Hall was severely injured and had not left the Asura Hall for over twenty years. Yet, she was now appearing at the Killing God Plaza, which was unprecedented.
The most surprised were the other three Hall Masters, who knew that Gu Lin Yue's body had shrunk considerably over the years due to the effects of the Nether Poison.
Yet, the Gu Lin Yue standing before them now had a body that had returned to normal.
Could it be that the Nether Poison within her had been resolved?
How was that possible?!
The Nether Poison was something that even Ji Hong Hao, the master of the Holy Land, could not resolve. How had Gu Lin Yue managed it?
The three Hall Masters could not figure out the reason for a moment.
Li Ao, the Hall Master of the Yama Hall, tentatively asked, "Hall Master Gu, in previous Holy Land Martial Competitions, you never appeared for the disciple assembly. Why have you personally come to the Killing God Plaza today? Is your Nether Poison alright?"
"Thank you for your concern, Hall Master Li. The Nether Poison within this Hall Master has been resolved. The other Hall Masters need not worry."
Gu Lin Yue naturally knew the intentions of these three Hall Masters. She responded with a cool and indifferent tone.
Upon hearing this, the three Hall Masters displayed expressions of disbelief, which quickly turned into pleased faces as they offered words of flattery.
"Congratulations, Hall Master Gu, for overcoming the erosion of the Nether Poison and returning to your former self."
"Now that Hall Master Gu's injuries have healed, it is expected that the Asura Hall will rise again."
"Hall Master Gu's recovery is indeed good news. With this, our Killing Heart Holy Court will also gain an additional peak-level fighting force."
...
Gu Lin Yue paid no attention to these pleasantries.
These three old foxes sure knew how to change their tune!
While she was injured and in seclusion for years, these three Hall Masters had not refrained from coveting her Asura Hall.
Ji Hong Hao noticed the subtle changes in the Hall Masters behind him. He turned around and looked at Gu Lin Yue, saying, "Hall Master Gu, this time you will accompany me to lead the disciples to the Profound Sky Mountain to participate in the Holy Land Martial Competition."
"Yes, Palace Master Ji."
Gu Lin Yue nodded slightly in agreement.
The other three Hall Masters, upon hearing this, understood Ji Hong Hao's intention.
For every Holy Land Martial Competition, one of them would accompany Ji Hong Hao to showcase the power of the Killing Heart Holy Court.
In the past, Gu Lin Yue had been unable to attend due to the Nether Poison. But now that her injuries had healed, it was her turn to accompany Ji Hong Hao to participate in the Holy Land Martial Competition.
For Ji Hong Hao, there was another layer of intention.
The news of the Nether God's invasion of the Killing Heart Holy Court had been leaked by someone.
The powerhouses from other Holy Lands had vaguely guessed that Gu Lin Yue might be injured, otherwise, they would not have had the other three Hall Masters accompany Ji Hong Hao.
Now was the perfect opportunity to strike back at the other four Holy Lands.
After concluding all matters, Ji Hong Hao casually flicked a stream of light from his fingertip.
A luminous spiritual array suddenly materialized beneath the feet of several disciples.