The Shining Star Above The Heaven

"Pfft! To think they were foolishly attacking with only that manpower. They truly did not understand the gap between them, did they?" one of the spectators said, almost laughing as he saw the attackers being teleported out of the secret realm.

"Aish, but can you blame them? I might have thought the same, to gang up on that sword cultivator. He has already comprehended sword will, after all. If they attacked him directly, they would have been instantly obliterated," another answered.

"However, as expected, with that kind of power, if someone wants to stop him, then they have to gather many more cultivators or even ask Kang Yongjin to fight him," another commented.

"Young master Kang? No way he would join those weaklings to gang up on someone. If he wants to face that sword cultivator, he will do so directly in a fair and square setting. He is not the cowardly type," a demon cultivator responded with a slight mock in his tone.

"Kang Yongjin is also truly powerful. To think he could kill a giant silver bear, he is someone who could dominate this category easily without the appearance of that swordsman," another also commented. "It looks like the title of this category's winner will be fought between those two," he added.

While the spectators were discussing the event that had just happened in the secret realm, inside the arena—

"Damn it!" one of Zander's attackers cursed as he struck the floor of the arena. He, who had planned the ambush on Zander, truly did not expect the gap in strength to be so huge that their plan would be broken so easily.

He already knew that sword will was a truly powerful force that could amplify a sword strike. As the son of a noble, he had already met some swordmasters who had comprehended sword will. However, Zander's sword will was far stronger than some of sword will he had sensed in the past.

'Didn't they all say he had only just comprehended sword will in the second phase? How is it possible for his sword will to already be that powerful?' he thought.

He had heard the absurd news about Zander during the break time, which said that Zander had comprehended sword will, and had finally tried to gather information about him. Zander had already achieved something extremely difficult—almost impossible—by comprehending sword intent, but now he had also comprehended sword will?

Zander's threat spiked greatly, to the point that he now stood on the same level as the successor of the Black Dragon Pavilion, Kang Yongjin. That dangerous man was already a terrifying opponent, and now another had appeared. He finally decided to think of a way to eliminate Zander in the third phase of the tournament.

He knew that if he tried this alone, he would not succeed, so he would need help from other participants. Those who had advanced to this phase were all absolute geniuses with great talent, and they would be a great asset to his plan.

Inside the secret realm, he began asking everyone he met to join in an ambush, reasoning with them about why Zander needed to be eliminated first. The reason was simple, this was the only phase where they had the chance to eliminate someone as strong as Zander together.

In fact, if his plan worked, he might even target the successor of the Black Dragon Pavilion. This phase, where cooperation was still possible, was the most appropriate time to try eliminating one of the strongest competitors, with full awareness that it would be nearly impossible to win in a one-on-one fight in the final phase of the tournament.

However, the problem was that not all of the participants wanted to follow his plan, and many chose their own way. Even as time passed, only two participants agreed to follow him. This left him frustrated, as those idiots refused to get rid of the strong competitors together when they had such a good chance.

But the reality was that what he did was meaningless. Zander's battle prowess was truly immense, and the gap could not be closed with only a few men and the limited resources inside the secret realm. To get rid of the masked man, he would need far more personnel and resources. Even his trapping formation, which could restrain a low Marquess stage cultivator, was broken under the force of that man's sword will.

At last, he released a deep sigh and looked at the projector that displayed Zander's figure. In the end, he could only accept that he had already been eliminated and that Zander was truly someone worthy to advance to the next phase. Although what he did was not commendable, it was still one of the strategies to increase his chances of becoming the winner in this category.

However, unbeknownst to him, he was not the only one with such thoughts. There were others inside the secret realm who shared the same mindset. At that very moment, they too were forming groups with like-minded participants, aiming to eliminate Kang Yongjin

He slightly widened his eyes as he saw one of the projectors showing Kang Yongjin actually surrounded by a few participants. They too seemed intent on working together to eliminate a strong opponent first.

Back inside the secret realm, Zander had already found another set of crystals, this time red crystals. He had collected many, and his points had already exceeded a thousand. Thanks to his refusal to cower in the face of strong beasts, he was able to obtain many yellow crystals, most of which were located near such creatures.

While he continued his journey in search of crystals, he suddenly heard a rumbling sound in the distance, followed by a slight tremble in the ground. This made him stop atop a tree to see what was happening.

When he finally saw the source of the sound, he was astonished.

What lay in the distance was a scene of destruction. An entire area had been flattened by some kind of force. Trees were uprooted from the ground and hurled in one direction. Zander tried to focus, attempting to discern what was happening and what had caused such devastation.

He finally saw it, and the sight left him speechless.

It was actually Kang Yongjin, surrounded by seven participants. They were ganging up on him, yet he seemed perfectly fine—and was even enjoying it. They tried to attack Kang Yongjin from every side, aiming for fatal blows, but nothing was working.

None of their attacks could reach his body, as every one of his punches shattered anything that flew toward him. His punches and kicks were deadly, each one creating shockwaves. Even though Kang Yongjin's cultivation was only at the high Earl stage, every attack of his already carried the power of a low Marquess stage.

Zander couldn't help but find the scene amusing. It looked just like a group of adventurers on a beast subjugation mission. But in this case, Kang Yongjin was the beast.

"Fuck! How are we supposed to beat this monster!" one of the participants shouted as he barely avoided Kang Yongjin's fist, quickly retreating. His heart trembled, knowing that even a single hit would mean instant elimination.

He was a peak Earl stage cultivator, yet he struggled to defeat someone supposedly much weaker in cultivation, even though they had already ganged up on the target.

"Watch out!" one of his comrades shouted as Kang Yongjin released a punch toward him. The strike created compressed air that shot forward at high speed in his direction. He managed to evade, but the devastation left behind was immense. The trees behind them collapsed, and the entire area was flattened.

A powerful wind followed, as if a storm trailed behind the punch. It made them lose focus and even struggle to stand. Kang Yongjin, who seemed completely unaffected, followed up with a kick that directly struck one of them, eliminating him instantly.

Without pause, he unleashed another punch in one direction, the force of it making the space tremble. The blow struck two more participants at once, instantly eliminating them as well.

Seeing the situation turn from grim to hopeless, one of the participants shouted to the others,

"Escape! Escape!"

The moment he cried out, the others didn't wait any longer. They scattered in different directions in a desperate attempt to flee.

But Kang Yongjin had no intention of letting them go. The ground beneath his feet suddenly cracked, and in the next instant his figure vanished, leaving behind a crater where he had stepped. His body appeared above one of the fleeing participants, the man's back completely exposed. Kang Yongjin's elbow came crashing down.

Crack!

"Uwack!" the participant groaned as Kang Yongjin's elbow struck his spine. Although the barrier still protected him from a fatal blow, the sheer force of the attack caused intense pain. If this had been a real battle without protection, his spine would have broken instantly and his internal organs would have burst.

The participant disappeared, and Kang Yongjin did not pause for even a moment before pursuing the others. With his incredible speed and precise attacks, he "killed" them all before finally stopping.

Zander, watching it all, felt his spirit ignite and his competitive side burn. Kang Yongjin was the greatest hurdle he would have to overcome if he wanted to win the tournament, and he wondered if his sword techniques could defeat such a monster.

As he observed Kang Yongjin, he suddenly saw him turn his head in his direction. It seemed Kang Yongjin knew he was there, standing and watching. Zander couldn't help but smile behind his mask before deciding to move in another direction.

Kang Yongjin smirked and also chose a different path.

Not yet. It was not the time yet for their battle.

The round continued without incident. Zander encountered no further trouble for the rest of the time. At last, the two-hour time limit expired, and all remaining participants inside the secret realm were teleported out. The third phase for the Earl category had finally come to an end.