Chapter 32: First Victory

At this moment, the area below the stage erupted in a cacophony of cursing and startled cries.

"You stinking brat from the Corpse Yin Sect, you’ve disgusted me to death! Why is my mouth full of... ah, I’m going to vomit!" A burly man from the Demon Buddha Gate collapsed to the ground, retching violently, his face as pale as parchment.

"Senior Sister, are you alright? What kind of atrocity is this! Senior Sister Guo Qing, please wake up..." A young man cried out in desperation. The black, rotting flesh on his body writhed incessantly, a truly ghastly sight. He shook his unconscious senior sister, who had a thick, greasy intestine draped over her head; she looked as if she had just crawled out of a cesspit, with only her vacant, lifeless eyes visible.

"I... I’m going to kill that bastard! He definitely did this on purpose!" a large man roared in fury, bolting toward the exit as if fleeing for his life.

"Help me... I’m going to be sick too..." A middle-aged man in his forties was vomiting so hard he could barely articulate a word.

"This is too disgusting! I’m laying down my blade, I’m done with the Demonic Path! I won't become a demon; I can't live like this!" a cultivator shrieked in terror, his eyes filled with despair.

The crowds around the other three stages were drawn by the commotion, flocking over to investigate.

"Hahaha, brothers from the Demon Buddha Gate, who splashed you all with excrement?" a cultivator teased, his laughter tinged with spiteful glee.

"I could smell that stench all the way from Stage Two. What kind of dark art is the Corpse Yin Sect using? It’s so malicious! But it really is too revolting!" another Demon Buddha Gate cultivator frowned, covering his nose repeatedly.

"The people of the Corpse Yin Sect really know how to play dirty. In the last tournament, one of them even refined himself into a corpse, and now they’ve come up with these nauseating tactics..." people murmured, their voices filled with resentment toward the sect.

As the crowd swelled, the atmosphere in the entire plaza grew increasingly chaotic.

The "special" contestant from the Corpse Yin Sect, however, seemed entirely oblivious to the havoc he had caused, merely sweeping his cold gaze across the surroundings and his opponent, who was already spitting blood and teetering on the brink of collapse.

"If you have no more impressive tricks, you should concede now," the Corpse Yin Sect disciple said calmly. With a light tap on his storage pouch, two massive, rotting corpses appeared on the stage, radiating a nauseating stench.

The audience below screamed and scrambled backward, pulling several yards away from the stage.

"You only managed to damage a mid-grade magic tool through despicable means, causing me minor mental strain. Thinking you can advance with just that is to underestimate the Long Yin Valley," Qiu Ji sneered. He slammed his shield into the ground with a thunderous bang, burying the base deep into the earth.

Qiu Ji poured his entire spiritual energy into the shield with fanatical focus. The shield erupted in a brilliant glow, and twenty-two runic patterns ignited from the base like radiant stars. When the brilliance reached its zenith, covering nearly half the stage, a grotesque, blood-red ghostly face suddenly emerged from the shield—ferocious and bloodthirsty, chilling to the bone.

"A high-grade magic tool..." Zhang Zizhi, witnessing such power, knew he had to defeat Qiu Ji before the shield’s full effect took hold. He quickly formed two hand seals and cast them toward his two rotting corpses. The corpses let out a deafening, monstrous roar and charged at Qiu Ji like mad beasts.

Qiu Ji slapped his palm against the shield and roared, "Go!"

The sinister ghost face on the shield instantly transformed into a streak of blood-red light, darting toward Zhang Zizhi like an arrow from a taut bow.

One of the rotting corpses leaped ten feet into the air, attempting to evade the strike, while the other exploded with a loud bang as the red light approached. Yet, after the mist of blood dissipated, the red light continued toward the Corpse Yin Sect disciple without losing any momentum.

Seeing this, Zhang Zizhi abandoned control over the airborne corpse and hastily channeled his energy to solidify his golden protective barrier. Simultaneously, he fired a shimmering golden flying sword directly at the incoming red streak.

The golden sword pierced straight through the red light, but the light seemed entirely unaffected, slamming directly into Zhang Zizhi. The light sank into his body, and Zhang Zizhi instantly lost all ability to act, collapsing stiffly to the ground. Moments later, the red light emerged from his body. Zhang Zizhi’s eyes were wide open, blood trickling from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose; the flame of his life had been extinguished.

Seeing this, a streak of black demonic light descended onto the stage, revealing an elder in the robes of a Demon Buddha Gate elder. After inspecting Zhang Zizhi, he announced in a deep voice, "Zhang Zizhi of the Corpse Yin Sect is dead. Qiu Ji of the Long Yin Valley is the victor."

A wave of uproar swept through the audience.

Only moments ago, the Corpse Yin Sect disciple had held the upper hand, yet he now lay as a cold corpse. Such an opening seemed to signal that this year’s Ten Thousand Demon Forest Martial Tournament would be bloodier and more cruel than any before.

Qiu Ji, his magic power seemingly exhausted, slumped limply to the floor. Fortunately, his fellow disciples rushed forward to carry him off the stage.

Several Demon Buddha Gate cultivators then took the stage to clean the area, using soil-shaping arts to repair the damaged ground.

A bell tolled, and the screen in the sky updated the list of those who had advanced. Qiu Ji of the Long Yin Valley appeared at the top, and beneath him, a shimmer of light revealed the name Han Feng of the Beast Taming Sect...

Once the stage was repaired, the contestants for the second round flew up.

Cao Yun watched the information on the screen: Fourth Stage, Second Round: Sun Ming of the Demon Buddha Gate versus Zhang Kesi of the Beast Taming Sect.

Zhang Kesi, clad in blue robes, didn't utter a word. He tapped his waist, and three white mists swirled out. As the mist cleared, it revealed three white-armored magic scorpions, each a full foot tall, possessing the cultivation of the tenth layer of Qi Refining.

At Zhang Kesi’s low command, the three scorpions charged at Sun Ming.

Sun Ming responded by cloaking himself in surging black mist. With a long howl, demonic energy erupted from his body, rapidly coalescing into a pitch-black phantom image that shrouded him tightly.

"So this is the Demon Buddha Gate’s 'Demonic Manifestation Body.' It truly has its unique merits," Zhang Kesi remarked, gazing at the dark silhouette.

Cao Yun scanned the two with his spiritual sense. He discovered that Zhang Kesi of the Beast Taming Sect was at the ninth layer of Qi Refining, while the Demon Buddha Gate disciple was only at the seventh layer. Cao Yun pondered silently, *It seems the Demon Buddha Gate disciples generally do not cultivate deep techniques, yet since they were the victors of the previous tournament, they must possess something truly unique, just as Zhang Kesi suggested.*