The Supreme Being Against Heaven

--Translated by likesnovel--

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Amid the crowd of disciples, **three streaks of figures** shot up onto the **three Crouching Dragon Platforms**.

On **Crouching Dragon Platform No. 1**,
**Wu Ling** stood tall and imposing, radiating confidence.

On **Crouching Dragon Platform No. 2**,
**Cheng Jinyue** stood with his hands behind his back, his expression cold and calm.

And on **Crouching Dragon Platform No. 3**,
**Xue Ziyan**, dressed in a flowing purple dress, stood gracefully like the moon itself.

—

Xue Ziyan frowned slightly.
She could feel an invisible “killing intent” surging toward her from all directions.

—

At that moment, **Daoist Five Spirits** announced in a booming voice:

“I hereby declare—the defense of the Five Spirits lineage begins!”

—

The instant his voice fell, the entire arena fell into silence.

—

At this point, aside from the elite disciples who had already won their platforms,
almost no one from the **Sacred Spirit lineage** or **Beast Soul lineage** dared to step forward anymore.

Because most of their strongest disciples… had already been killed by Tan Yun and Mu Mengyi!

—

As for other lineages such as the Ancient Beast lineage, none of them stepped forward either.

Disciples from weapon, talisman, formation, and Dan lineages all knew clearly:

**Wu Ling** and **Cheng Jinyue** were top-tier experts of the Five Spirits lineage.

—

Everyone knew that within the **600,000+ inner sect disciples**,
the Five Spirits lineage was the largest, with over **150,000 disciples**.

And Wu Ling and Cheng Jinyue, ranked **#1** and **#2** of their lineage,
were undoubtedly extremely powerful.

—

Thus, if one did not wish to die…
no one dared challenge them.

—

But Xue Ziyan was different.

Everyone only knew she was the closed-door disciple of Daoist Five Spirits.

However, according to rumors, she was not even ranked within the **Top 100** of the Five Spirits lineage!

—

“Zhu Gang of the Beast Soul lineage challenges Xue Ziyan!”

A furious roar echoed.

A young disciple leapt onto **Platform No. 3**, staring at Xue Ziyan with murderous intent.

“You are Mu Mengyi’s sister? Tan Yun’s sister-in-law, right?”

—

Xue Ziyan let out a cold laugh.

“So what if I am? And so what if I’m not?”

“Or what—can’t you defeat my sister and brother-in-law, so you’ve come to take it out on me instead?”

—

Zhu Gang sneered bitterly.

“No matter how you answer… you are going to die anyway.”

—

“You talk too much,” Xue Ziyan said coldly. “Then go die.”

—

“Heh! Do you think I’m like the others? I may not be Tan Yun or Mu Mengyi’s match, but against you—it’s as easy as flipping my hand!”

—

Before he even finished speaking—

A purple shadow shot forward at unimaginable speed.

Zhu Gang barely had time to react before he felt a sharp pain in his throat!

—

*Shhk!*

A purple blur flashed past behind him.

When it stopped, Xue Ziyan was already standing calmly in place, a long sword in her right hand.

A drop of blood dripped from the blade… then another.

—

She didn’t even bother to look back.

Instead, she swept her gaze across the crowd below with a firm, icy expression.

—

“Listen carefully!”

“My brother-in-law and my sister Mengyi—they are mine.”

“Whoever dares to harm them…”

She paused slightly, her eyes turning as cold as frozen ice.

“…will end up like Zhu Gang!”

—

The moment her words fell—

Thud!

Zhu Gang collapsed onto the platform, clutching his slit throat as blood gushed endlessly.

His body twitched only a few times… before going completely still.

—

Bright red blood soaked the arena floor.

The horrifying wound on his throat made everyone’s hearts tremble at the sight.

The entire arena fell into silence as all eyes fixed on the corpse of **Zhu Gang**.

Only then did the murderous aura surrounding **Xue Ziyan** slowly fade away layer by layer.

—

Everyone knew clearly—Zhu Gang was a disciple of the Beast Soul lineage, ranked **50th** in overall strength within his faction.

And yet—he had been killed with a single sword strike, without even the chance to retaliate.

—

What was even more terrifying—

among the **600,000+ inner sect disciples**, excluding those who had already won their platforms,

almost none of them could even perceive the “killing process” just now.

—

In other words…

If it had been them standing there,

Xue Ziyan could have killed them purely with “speed” alone.

—

At that moment, all disciples of the Five Spirits lineage raised their heads to look at Xue Ziyan,

their eyes filled with unconcealed admiration.

Senior Sister Xue… truly did not disgrace the name of a closed-door disciple!

—

Although she was not among the top beauties of the Five Spirits lineage,

she was undoubtedly the one with the most “distinct aura.”

—

A gentle breeze swept across the arena, causing her long purple dress to flutter gracefully.

A rare soft smile appeared on Xue Ziyan’s beautiful face.

Her gaze drifted toward **Tan Yun**, who was sitting cross-legged in the distance,

as if teasing him silently with her eyes:

*“See? I’m not weak either.”*

—

She had always hidden her feelings for Tan Yun deeply.

In her eyes now…

there was only Tan Yun.

Everyone else… did not exist.

—

At the same time, Tan Yun was also looking at her.

A faint hint of surprise appeared in his eyes.

He never expected—

that the usually playful and innocent Xue Ziyan could also have such a calm and elegant side.

—

Seeing their exchanged gaze, **Mu Mengyi**, who stood beside Tan Yun, smiled slightly and whispered:

“Tan Yun, don’t you notice? Ziyan has her own unique charm.”

“She’s not even among the **Top 13 beauties of the sect**, yet the more you look at her… the more beautiful she becomes.”

She paused slightly before teasing:

“Don’t tell me you’re thinking something inappropriate about her?”

—

Tan Yun rolled his eyes helplessly.

“Don’t talk nonsense. She’s my sister-in-law.”

—

“Heh.”

Mu Mengyi smiled lightly.

“You’re blushing. This is the first time I’ve ever seen you like this.”

—

Meanwhile, on **Crouching Dragon Platform No. 1**—

**Wu Ling** stared at Xue Ziyan and Tan Yun exchanging glances, his eyes filled with rage. His fists clenched tightly, veins bulging.

“Tan Yun… I will kill you! I will definitely kill you!!”

—

On the jade tower—

**Daoist Five Spirits** felt both love and hatred in his heart as he looked at Xue Ziyan.

When he heard her publicly declare:

“Whoever is the enemy of Tan Yun and Mu Mengyi… is my enemy,”

a surge of anger instantly erupted within him.

—

*“Am I going to end up like Wu Hong… losing my disciples in the end?”*

He began to feel deeply uneasy.

—

His thoughts tangled together:

Wu Hong’s son destroyed by Tan Yun.
Mu Mengyi rising as a genius of the Dan lineage.
His own grandson Wu Ling’s uncertain future.

The more he thought, the more anxious he became.

—

“No!”

“I absolutely cannot let that happen!”

“If I cannot obtain it… then no one else should either!”

—

His eyes turned cold.

“Xue Ziyan… if you ever dare betray your master…”

“I will personally destroy you.”

—

Then he spoke aloud:

“Is there anyone else who wishes to challenge?”

“If not—then the winners of the Five Spirits lineage are decided.”

—

Silence followed for a long moment.

—

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

**Wu Ling**, **Cheng Jinyue**, and **Xue Ziyan**

all descended from the Crouching Dragon Platforms and returned to their respective group.

—

On the jade tower,

**Tantai Xuanzhong** slowly stood up. His gaze swept across the entire arena as he spoke with overwhelming authority:

“Now… the winners of each lineage have been decided.”

“From here onward… these winners will enter the elimination battles until the **Top 8 of the Crouching Dragon Tournament** are determined!”