Su Mei extended her delicate finger and shouted, "Break!"
The snowflakes scattering in the air exploded, and countless ice crystal fragments bloomed brilliantly like fireworks.
The disciples of the Killing Heart Holy Court felt a chill in their hearts upon witnessing this scene and couldn't help but worry for Ye Xinran.
But Ye Xinran did nothing. As the ice crystal fragments attached themselves to her body, an ice sculpture appeared in the center of the Xianwu Stage.
A smug smile graced Su Mei's lips, and she proudly tilted her chin, as if proclaiming her victory.
A round of boos erupted from the Northern Cold Holy Land.
"That's great, Senior Sister Su Mei won the first match!"
"Senior Sister Su Mei is truly formidable!"
"Of course! With Su Mei's Ice Crystal Barrier unleashed, how could that unknown female disciple from the Killing Heart Holy Court be her match?"
...
It seemed all the disciples were convinced that this match belonged to Su Mei.
Only the five Holy Lords and Xin Ci on the main platform saw the subtle turn of events.
Xin Ci observed the situation on the Xianwu Stage and said thoughtfully, "Su Mei has lost."
Though his voice was quiet, Li Fulong, standing beside him, heard it.
A flicker of surprise crossed Li Fulong's eyes, and he immediately looked towards the Xianwu Stage.
He saw a leaf floating in mid-air behind Su Mei, while Ye Xinran seemed oblivious to the anomaly behind her.
The disciples in the audience widened their eyes in astonishment. Su Mei, sensing something amiss, finally realized something was wrong.
A sudden chill ran down her spine. Just as she was about to turn, she felt a cold dagger pressed against her neck.
"You lose!"
Ye Xinran's figure materialized behind her. Su Mei was utterly shocked, her beautiful eyes filled with disbelief.
When did this woman appear behind me?!
The Holy Land disciples below the Xianwu Stage were also utterly perplexed, their gazes fixed on the ice sculpture on the stage.
Upon closer inspection, they were stunned to discover that the ice sculpture was hollow!
This left them all dumbfounded.
Ling Qinghan looked at Ji Honghao and narrowed his eyes slightly, saying, "Holy Lord Ji, your disciple is quite surprising. The technique she just used seems to be the Illusionary Clone from the Divine Mechanism Pavilion."
"Indeed."
Ji Honghao's eyebrows slightly lifted as he looked at Ye Xinran on the Xianwu Stage and replied indifferently.
Although the Divine Mechanism Pavilion was not as renowned as the Holy Lands and prominent families, it was still a top-tier power comparable to the Nine Provinces Merchant Guild and the Canglan Dynasty.
Furthermore, the Divine Mechanism Pavilion excelled in divination, intelligence gathering, and the research of various secret arts.
Illusionary Clone was one such secret art.
With Ye Xinran's current strength, even those below the Saint Emperor level would find it difficult to detect.
Naturally, Xin Ci was an exception.
Xin Ci's soul power far surpassed that of these Holy Land disciples, and even the five Holy Lords might not possess greater soul power than him.
Coupled with Xin Ci's Piercing Jade Eyes and Mu Qingting's Stellar Pupil,
Both of these innate ocular abilities could see through Ye Xinran's Illusionary Clone.
Unfortunately, Su Mei had failed to see through it and thus lost to Ye Xinran.
"First match, Ye Xinran of the Killing Heart Holy Court wins!"
The referee elder announced.
Su Mei was extremely unconvinced, but the result had been declared, and she had indeed lost to Ye Xinran.
With a cold snort, she walked off the Xianwu Stage and returned to the Northern Cold Holy Land.
Ye Xinran's victory greatly boosted the morale of the Killing Heart Holy Court disciples.
In the subsequent matches, the disciples of the Killing Heart Holy Court performed well.
Besides the Divine Firmament Palace, the Killing Heart Holy Court had the most disciples advance to the second round.
However, some Holy Lands were less fortunate, such as the Mysterious Void Mountain.
All twenty disciples of the Mysterious Void Mountain encountered strong prodigies in the first round.
After several matches, only two disciples from the Mysterious Void Mountain managed to advance to the second round.
Seeing that most of the disciples from the Mysterious Void Mountain had been defeated, Wan Guimang couldn't help but gloat. "Xuan Qingming, I'm afraid your Mysterious Void Mountain will come away empty-handed in this year's Holy Land Martial Competition."
Xuan Qingming did not appear angry upon hearing this, but instead offered a calm smile.
"Brother Guimang, your Divine Firmament Palace truly has an abundance of geniuses. Naturally, my Mysterious Void Mountain cannot compare."
Seeing Xuan Qingming's nonchalant demeanor, Wan Guimang suddenly found this fellow somewhat unfathomable.
He hadn't shown any anger at his taunt, making him feel as if he had punched cotton.
"Xuan Qingming, don't you care at all about your Mysterious Void Mountain disciples' performance?" Wan Guimang asked with a frown.
Xuan Qingming, however, appeared indifferent. "It doesn't matter. Brother Guimang, I'll let my Mysterious Void Mountain disciples do as they please and have fun."
This seemingly apathetic attitude completely stunned Wan Guimang and the other three Holy Lords.
Hmph!
Wan Guimang snorted coldly and stopped paying attention to him.
He couldn't believe that Xuan Qingming was genuinely indifferent to the outcome of the Holy Land Martial Competition.
But the next moment, a rich aroma of braised meat wafted into his nostrils.
"What smells so good?"
Wan Guimang couldn't help but sniff the air.
The other three Holy Lords also detected the fragrance.
They all turned to look at Xuan Qingming, who was seated in the central row.
No one had expected that Xuan Qingming, at some point, had taken hold of a braised pork knuckle.
He took a bite with every glance at the disciples competing on the Xianwu Stage, his mouth and hands smeared with sauce.
This peculiar scene left Wan Guimang, Ji Juekong, Ji Honghao, and Ling Qinghan speechless.
What was this guy doing?!
You're a Holy Lord, yet you're openly eating a pork knuckle in full view of everyone.
Have you no regard for your image as the Holy Lord of the Mysterious Void Mountain?
"Holy Lord Xuan, what are you doing?" Ling Qinghan asked with a frown.
Xuan Qingming replied nonchalantly, "Eating pork knuckle, can't you tell?"
"Of course, we can tell, but... don't you think eating a pork knuckle in a setting like this is a bit inappropriate?"
Wan Guimang and the other four Holy Lords suppressed the urge to throttle him as they spoke.
But the irritating Xuan Qingming took another bite of the braised knuckle right in front of them, its enticing aroma filling the air.
And, without a hint of self-awareness, he said, "Is it? I think it's quite suitable. How can one watch disciples compete without eating something?"
"By the way, did any of you bring any fine wine?"
Wan Guimang, Ji Juekong, Ji Honghao, and Ling Qinghan all rolled their eyes.
Wan Guimang, in particular, looked as if he was about to set Xuan Qingming ablaze, barely restraining himself from drawing his sword.
For a moment, the four Holy Lords felt a sense of shame sitting on the main platform with Xuan Qingming.
Seeing the four of them staring at him, Xuan Qingming involuntarily blurted out an even more infuriating remark: "Why are you looking at me? I'm not going to share my pork knuckle with you."
"You!"
Wan Guimang almost couldn't contain himself and lunged to attack him, but Ling Qinghan and Ji Juekong held him back.
"Holy Lord Wan, calm down. The disciples are watching."
With the persuasion of the two, Wan Guimang finally returned to his seat.