"Tch! Didn't expect you to have some tricks up your sleeve, underestimated you." Xu Shun spat out a mouthful of blood, muttering to himself without answering Han Li.

He straightened up, shrugged his shoulders, and shook his arms. His bones crackled like firecrackers.

Han Li, seeing this, remained standing, his pupils shrinking slightly, a cold glint flashing within.

Xu Shun roared, bent his body, and suddenly charged, rushing towards Han Li again.

His fists clenched, seventy-eight Xuan窍 scattered across his body, echoing each other, enveloping him in a layer of lustrous light like a True Extremity Membrane.

Seeing Xu Shun charging, Han Li didn't dodge this time. His eyes narrowed, and he stepped forward to meet the attack.

"Boom!"

Han Li took a step, several Xuan窍 on his arm lighting up, causing the Xuan Battle Platform beneath him to shake violently.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"

Han Li stepped out repeatedly, the Xuan窍 on his arm lighting up one after another, the Xuan Battle Platform booming continuously.

"Forty-eight, fifty-two, fifty-six..."

Xu Shun watched the number of Xuan窍 lighting up on Han Li's body increase, and fear finally appeared in his eyes. Doubts arose in his heart. Was Yi Liya's information wrong, or was he deliberately deceiving him?

As his mind wavered, the distance between them rapidly closed. Han Li roared, eighteen special Xuan窍 on his arms shining brightly, unleashing Tu Gang's Great Strength Vajra Art.

If anyone had paid attention to Tu Gang's previous battle, they would have noticed that the Great Strength Vajra Art Han Li used was less flamboyant and unrestrained than Tu Gang's, but possessed a purer essence.

Xu Shun was now in a difficult position. He could only roar and throw his fist forward with all his might.

Two Xuan窍 on the tip of his fist lit up simultaneously, and the lustrous light instantly solidified, reflecting a brilliant light like multifaceted crystals, smashing towards Han Li's right fist.

As the two were about to collide, a strange glint flashed in Xu Shun's eyes. A section of white, sharp bone suddenly protruded from the gap between his middle and index fingers, shimmering with a layer of dazzling starlight.

"Star Bone..."

Han Li's eyes flashed. He snorted coldly, and his fist showed no sign of retracting.

The two fingers transformed by the Flowery Branch Cave Mansion protruded slightly, colliding with the treacherous Star Bone hidden between Xu Shun's fingers.

A loud "Boom" erupted.

A burst of intense starlight exploded, accompanied by the sound of shattering ice crystals.

All of this happened in an instant. The audience on the stands only saw the dazzling starlight, unable to see what was happening inside.

Xu Shun, enveloped in the starlight, saw everything clearly. His dark pupils reflected Han Li's figure charging straight through the starlight, and he saw the nearly one hundred Xuan窍 lighting up on Han Li's body. His heart was filled with regret and resentment.

But now it was too late to retreat and admit defeat.

Han Li's figure had already reached him, and he followed up with another punch, directly piercing Xu Shun's dantian and shattering the nascent soul within.

"Yi Liya, how dare you..."

Xu Shun only managed to utter a sentence before blood filled his throat, preventing him from speaking further.

At this moment, the huge commotion here had attracted the attention of the crowd on the high platform. However, they only saw Han Li flying backward and staggering as the starlight dissipated, and Xu Shun's horribly mangled corpse.

Many eyes flashed with surprise, and those who had been optimistic about Xu Shun were stunned.

Thus, this "巽" character stage became the first Xuan Battle in this Five Cities Martial Meet where someone was killed.

"Fellow Daoist Li, your acting is quite good..." Chen Yang said to himself, looking at Han Li's tattered appearance as he fell to the ground.

Of everyone who saw this scene, perhaps only he and Crabby knew that Han Li, despite looking somewhat disheveled, was actually unharmed.

…

A moment later.

Two Black Citadel soldiers carried Han Li to a place for treatment and recuperation.

Halfway there, Han Li sat up on his own, saying that he was fine and sending the two soldiers away with a few words.

He found a quiet corner to sit down and muttered softly, "Yi Liya..."

Meanwhile, as time passed, the battles on the other seven Xuan Battle Platforms also came to an end one by one. Except for Gu Qianxun and Yi Liya, all the other Xuan Battle participants from Green Sheep City ended in miserable defeats. Fortunately, they admitted defeat in time, and no one was killed.

The Zhi Xuan City cultivator who fought Gu Qianxun was far inferior to her in terms of both Xuan窍 count and cultivation level. From the start, he was suppressed by Gu Qianxun and almost beaten to death in just a few moves. He barely managed to seize an opportunity to surrender.

Yi Liya's strength was indeed remarkable. He used only the power of seventy Xuan窍 to force a cultivator from Tongyu City with eighty Xuan窍 into a desperate situation, eventually beating him unconscious and achieving victory.

The two winners returned to the waiting channel together, and the remaining members of Green Sheep City came to congratulate them.

After Yi Liya won, his face was filled with joy. He scanned the crowd again and again, but didn't see Han Li. A smile curled on his lips as he deliberately asked, "Where is that Fellow Daoist Li? Wasn't he also participating in this Xuan Battle?"

"All eight Xuan Battles are over, and it seems we haven't seen him..." Du Long had been watching Gu Qianxun's battle and only noticed at this moment that Li Feiyu had not returned.

"It seems he was mostly defeated and sent for treatment..." A Green Sheep City cultivator said.

"I don't think so. Didn't we hear that someone died on the '巽' character stage just now? If I remember correctly, Fellow Daoist Li was on that Xuan Battle Platform..." Another person said.

The more Yi Liya heard, the wider his smile became. Gu Qianxun, on the other hand, frowned.

At this moment, Xuan Yuanhang suddenly spoke, calling out, "Fellow Daoist Li..."

Hearing this, everyone turned around and looked behind them. They saw Han Li walking towards them with broken clothes and staggering steps.

"How is this possible..." Yi Liya's heart shook.

"Fellow Daoist Li, you won?" Everyone was surprised and greeted him.

"Fortunately, fortunately." Han Li waved his hand and said with a smile.

Seeing this, Gu Qianxun's lips curved into a smile.

Han Li walked past Yi Liya step by step, deliberately saying, "I was lucky to win, but that Fellow Daoist Xu was a little unlucky..."

Hearing this, Yi Liya felt a chill run down his spine for some reason.

Han Li ignored him and walked away with Gu Qianxun side by side.

…

A day passed quickly. With the end of all thirty-two matches, this first round of the elimination round also came to an end.

The subsequent two rounds of matches were uneventful. There were basically no unexpected situations, no lucky dark horses, and no unexpectedly eliminated mainstays from each city. However, there were still some minor incidents.

The most talked about was a Xuan Battle participant from White Rock City who directly announced his surrender upon entering the arena when facing Zhu Ziyuan from Black Citadel, becoming the fastest match to end.

Han Li and Gu Qianxun had originally hoped to get a glimpse of the demeanor of the number one person under the Black Citadel City Lord through their battle, but they got nothing.

After that, Han Li went to watch Du Long's battle against Zhu Ziqing from Black Citadel.

Although the latter was a woman and participating in the Five Cities Martial Meet for the first time, her combat strength was quite remarkable. Although she made a mistake during the battle, her overall strength was far above Du Long.

After more than a hundred rounds of fighting, Du Long was ultimately defeated.

What surprised Han Li was that Xuan Yuanhang, who had been relatively unknown in the city, actually defeated a Xuan Battle participant from Zhi Xuan City, joining Han Li, Gu Qianxun, and Yi Liya in the top thirty-two.

Green Sheep City occupied four seats in the top thirty-two, which was considered the worst performance among the five cities, but fortunately there were no casualties, which was a blessing in disguise.

…

Seven days passed in a flash. After a brief period of calm, the second round of Xuan Battles of the Five Cities Martial Meet finally began.

Countless Black Citadel people once again poured into the Colosseum, and the people from the five cities also arrived one after another.

The group from Green Sheep City also arrived at the arena early. Because of their poor performance in the first round, Green Sheep City had become a laughingstock. As they walked into the arena, people were constantly pointing and whispering.

Du Long, Tu Gang, and others who had lost were full of shame.

Chen Yang, as the City Lord, had a layer of frost on his face, looking unspeakably displeased.

Not only because of the results of the previous round, but also because Han Li and the other four faced strong opponents in the second round.

After entering the waiting area, he led the group to an open space, first glanced around at everyone, and then slowly opened his mouth and said:

"You don't need to care too much about the results of the first round. There was a lot of luck involved, and it's not a bad thing to see your own shortcomings. Watch the following matches carefully, this is a rare opportunity."

Saying that, he turned his gaze and landed on Gu Qianxun, continuing:

"Qianxun, your opponent today is Zhu Ziqing from Black Citadel. This woman is the sister of Zhu Ziyuan. Although she is not as good as Zhu Ziyuan, her strength is also not to be underestimated, so you must not be careless."

"Thank you, City Lord, for the reminder. Qianxun will be careful." Gu Qianxun nodded.

"Li Feiyu, Hao Feng is the second strongest expert in Zhi Xuan City after Feng Wuchen. It is said that he has opened more than one hundred Xuan窍. He entered the top eight in the last Martial Meet, so you must be careful. You understand the principle of 'where there's life, there's hope,' so I don't need to tell you." Chen Yang looked at Han Li and instructed.

Han Li didn't speak, but nodded noncommittally.

"As for Xuan Yuanhang, your opponent this time is Wu Chong from Tongyu City. This person's strength is also not to be underestimated. He can rank among the top five in Tongyu City, so just do your best." Chen Yang looked at Xuan Yuanhang again, and his words showed that he didn't have much hope for Xuan Yuanhang's battle.

"Please rest assured, City Lord, your subordinate will definitely do my best and not weaken the prestige of our Green Sheep City!" Xuan Yuanhang didn't show any dissatisfaction and immediately cupped his hands in agreement upon hearing this.