Garnering Attention

They circled around Tang Zhan, giving her no chance to escape before showering her with attacks. The longer she stayed in battle the more injuries she would sustain which only gave her strength. That was her way, the Dao of Blood. No matter how small or miniscule they were, so long as blood flowed, it would fuel her with power and strengthen her tehcniques. Thus, defeating the Bloody Lances meant doing so as quickly as possible or outlasting her in combat.

"Southern Phoenix Cleave!"

"Canglong's Wrath!"

"Hundred Knives, Snake Path!"

A wide array of attacks came her way but Tang Zhan did not stop her advances and bore the brunt of it all. Dust and debris flew everywhere as the ground the Inheritor stood upon had become a crater.

"Don't relax just yet! Continue attacking or else we will all suffer!"

They were not finished, even if all of their attacks hit, none of them let up the onslaught of attacks. This was the only opportunity they had to stop her from coming. The dust continued to gather up as they threw as many attacks as they could. There was barely a second in between each one, just a continuous stream of destruction.

Unbeknownst to the others, Guan Yan was gone.

"I need to form a trap, while they're all preoccupied with each other."

Having heard it all from within, she undid the ink shell that protected her and immediately hid. She quietly held her brush and draw three black crows that flew off. Despite the position she was in earlier, she saw this as an opportunity to defeat them all in one fell swoop.

"Ugh..."

Unfortunately, she was too focused on them to notice Ming Yue's figure. With her hand outstretched and aimed at Guan Yan, a single wind needle formed and took flight, piercing Guan Yan's head. She did not even have the time to find who had killed her before she was sent to another part of the forest.

"I should get away from here. It's become too dangerous."

Ming Yue looked towards this one sided battle and quickly left. If she stayed here any longer, she would not be able to leve so easily.

After a full minute, the attacks began to slow as one by one, they all stopped, tired and in dire need of breath. The dust had grown thick enough that not a thing could be seen. More importantly, there was not even a sound.

Could it be that Tang Zhan had fallen?

In this silence, they were all wondering, waiting for the dust to settle to see.

"Qilin's Lance"

Then, a single blur shot through the dust and pierced one of them, throwing their body back until it stabbed into a tree trunk.

"She's not dead! How could she have survived all of that?!"

They were all shocked as both fear and confusion rocked their minds. Tang Zhan's figure emerged from the dust as she ran forward and grabbed the lance. As for the one whose stomach had been torn to pieces, Tang Zhan whipped her lance, throwing them off.

As they bled out, the mark on their body glowed and sent them to another part of the forest. Their bodies were fully restored but their minds were fresh with shock and fear. Such effect on their mental state was not good and there would be little opportunity to restore it here. It could be said that this person's chance at a high ranking was no more.

As for Tang Zhan, her appearance was completely different compared to before. It was imposing and gave off a fearsome feeling. Her body was fully enveloped in a crimson crystalline armor, a sleek and smooth design covering everything from her head to toe. It was skin tight and followed a layered pattern, segmented by numerous lines. The style resembled something otherworldly, as if it came from another time.*

The lance in her hand had begun to transform as red blood flowed through it, giving it a new and sinister look. Red thorns grew from the surface, like the armor they were crytalline and gave a red shine udner the sunlight.

She turned around and the crystalline helmet on her head seemed to melt away, revealing her face.

"You were right to attack as much as possible. Unfortunately, the power in your techniques is a bit lacking. Even more unfortunate for you is that you've let me form my Lifeblood Armor."

Everyone backed away in fear, it seems that they were truly unlucky. From here on out, it became a one-sided battle. Though, it could not be considered a battle but rather a complete and utter domination.

With the Lifeblood Armor of hers, Tang Zhan seemed even more reckless and attacked them, leading each and every one to a gruesome fate.

"Is this all you can do? Aren't you all disciples of Heaven's Gate? You seem too weak to be befitting of such a position!"

She shouted and cackled loudly, piercing and smashing bodies with those red lances of hers.

"She's...too strong!"

"Run! Escape! We have to get away her!"

"Scatte-urgh!"

Her next kill could not barely finish his words before his body was beaten to the ground. The wind was knocked out of his lungs as his entire midsection had been crushed. He threw up blood, barely able to move as all he felt was excrutiating pain.

But she did not care, Tang Zhan moved on to another until they were all gone.

She looked around before sitting down and recuperating. The Lifeblood Armor as well as her enhanced lances reverted as the blood returned to her body, healing her injuries and the like. However, her face was slightly pale and her body weak. Being an Inheritor, her strength was far beyond that of those disciples but even she would have trouble going against nearly twenty of them.

"I guess whoever was watching has left."

Tang Zhan glanced around her surroundings. The only reason she would dare to focus on recovery was that she was alone. Long before the battle started, she noticed a stare coming from deep within the forest. It was unsettling that she could not pinpoint the source but it no longer mattered, it was gone.

"That black shell isn't anywhere to be found either. Did they escape or did someone make a move?"

In any case, she circulated her energy and her blood in harmony, something unique to her Dao of Blood and martial skill. She still had all of her three chances which was something to be relieved about.

But for others, three chances was barely enough and for some, it was too little. Those who escape one battle would find themselves in another. A few would lose their lives without them even noticing. This forest felt both immense and small due to the number of people within it. The intensity of this stage slowly grew.

"Hm, already a few of them have been fully eliminated, was three chances not enough?"

The Grand Elder spoke to himself as he stood in an empty part of the forest. He looked at a small talisman on his hands. It was a light piece of jade, showing the numbers of those who were still in the confines of this stage. Furthermore, those numbers were broken down into three categories.

"41 Inheritors, 293 Elite disciples, and 187 normal disciples remain out of 600 of them. This is only the first hour as well....not a bad pace but it could be a bit faster."

The next moment he left his spot, looking for someone to eliminate.

For the most part, he appeared wherever the fighting was at its worst, forcing everyone else to scatter. His presence was a massive burden on Inheritors and normal disciples alike. With him here, no one dared to climb the mountain again.