The instant the match began, Xuan Ye merely swept a glance across the rushing contestants, then lightly raised his right hand.
A translucent cube of light appeared around him, rapidly expanding into a defensive barrier.
He sat down calmly within it, pulled out a book from his robe, and began flipping through the pages as if nothing around him concerned him.
Outside, the sounds of battle echoed without pause.
Swords clashed against the barrier, fireballs exploded upon it—each impact rippled across its surface like waves of light.
Some contestants couldn't hold back their mockery.
"What are you, a turtle? Hiding in your shell? Come out and fight if you dare!"
But Xuan Ye didn't respond.
He quietly turned another page, his fingertip brushing against the paper's corner as if savoring the texture.
Until—
After a long buildup of mana, one furious mage roared:
"Perish—Blazing Explosion!"
A blazing orb of energy tore through the air and struck Xuan Ye's barrier.
The deafening blast shook the entire arena, and cracks began to spread across the translucent surface.
Xuan Ye lifted his gaze and sighed softly.
He extended one palm outward, the other hand still holding the book.
As his fingers slowly curled inward, the fractured barrier miraculously stabilized—the cracks knitting back together before everyone's eyes.
When the fire and smoke finally cleared, he gently closed the book and murmured:
"That should be enough."
The next moment, he waved his right hand.
Several barrier cubes appeared in midair all at once, descending like hammers upon the surrounding contestants.
The impact shook the ground, sending up waves of dust and energy.
The mage who had unleashed the explosion spell tried to charge another one—
but failed to notice the small barrier cube hovering above his head.
With a sharp bang, it dropped straight down, knocking him unconscious and eliminating him from the match.
Xuan Ye glanced at the fallen mage and muttered:
"Only an idiot would let you finish another cast."
Then he raised his head, his calm gaze sweeping across the remaining contestants still locked in battle.
"I suppose it's time to wrap this up. If the match drags on because I've eliminated too few, that would be troublesome."
With that, he launched his assault without restraint.
Xuan Ye became the only contestant in the arena who remained completely unscathed.
To him, as long as no one could break through his defense, it made no difference whether he faced one opponent—or a hundred.
The other family heirs also displayed their prowess, each holding their ground much like Jian Chen—confident and composed.
Only Cang Yu of the Bow God Clan appeared to be struggling slightly.
Ling Shi of the Spear God Clan dominated the battlefield with overwhelming speed and precision.
His spear techniques were tailor-made for large-scale combat; from the very start, he surged forward with blinding momentum, toppling several mages and ranged attackers in seconds.
For him, the tempo of the entire fight was completely under control.
Jin Hao of the Fist King Clan and Kuang Yan of the Beast King Clan chose the simplest strategy—brute force.
They charged straight into enemy ranks, ignoring spells and arrows raining down upon them, focusing only on crushing those who dared to fight up close.
The only difference was this:
Jin Hao fought without much thought, while Kuang Yan… simply enjoyed the sight of despair on his enemies' faces.
Yan Lie of the Axe Emperor Clan fought almost exactly like Jian Chen—
after retaliating to clear the area of ranged attackers, he focused on striking down the remaining melee fighters one by one.
And among all the heirs, Lie Lian of the Crimson Lotus Clan ended her match the fastest.
With her right hand she prepared a massive spell, while her left flickered with rapid bursts of magic—disrupting enemies and warding off their attacks
When her right-hand spell was complete, the blazing red light devoured the entire zone—every contestant near her was instantly wiped out.
As for the seemingly most passive of them all—Cang Yu—
she kept dodging and reflecting attacks, appearing cornered, yet quietly thinning the ranks of her opponents.
It wasn't until the contestants noticed their allies falling one after another that they finally realized—
they had long become the prey of Ying Ci, the heir of the Shadow Thorn Clan.