"This brat has gone mad!"
Witnessing Lan An's brazen arrogance, the expressions of Xue Di and the others instantly froze in stunned disbelief…
In their minds, if Xue Mie had even the slightest bit of sense, he would have dropped to his knees the moment he felt the overwhelming killing intent radiating from the group, begging for mercy and voluntarily withdrawing from the Blood Child assessment to preserve his worthless life…
Of course, they had no intention of actually sparing him. Being surpassed by a trash who couldn't even cultivate blood power was an indelible stain on their pride. Only by bathing in his blood could that shame be washed away…
While the entire group stood speechless from sheer shock, a single roar shattered the silence:
"Are you all just going to stand there? Come at me!"
The speaker was Lan An. He lazily drew the Lan Hong Sword from his back, gripping the hilt with both hands. His Body Cultivation power surged wildly—Opening Gate and Piercing Insight activated simultaneously.
Not being able to use spiritual power was a disadvantage. In his pure Body Cultivation state, Lan An had no choice but to unleash every ounce of physical strength—he dared not hold back.
"This guy really wants to die!" Xue Di ground her teeth in fury. Apart from Lord Xue Jun, she had never seen anyone so outrageously arrogant.
But Lord Xue Jun had the strength and the right to act that way—his arrogance inspired awe and submission.
This penniless brat before her—what gave him the qualifications to act so arrogantly?
Looking at the heavy weapon in Xue Mie's hands—clearly not even Heaven-grade—the gathered geniuses felt nothing but ridicule…
If they all rushed him at once, even if they won, where would the Blood Race's dignity be? Ganging up on one person? That wasn't their style.
Because the Blood Race population in the Blood Realm was extremely small, they had long grown accustomed to fighting outnumbered—turning "few against many" into their signature.
"I heard from Xue Shang that this guy comes from some backwater wilderness. Probably never tasted the real world—someone needs to teach him a lesson!" Xue Quan sneered. He hadn't expected Xue Shang and Xue Qian to outperform him this time—but he chalked it up to sheer luck.
Even as a pure-blood, clearing the Blood Guidance Labyrinth had left him battered and bruised. How could an assessment personally designed by a Blood King be taken lightly?
Out of 369 participants, only thirty had passed so far—proving just how brutal it truly was. Over ninety percent had been eliminated inside the labyrinth…
"So he's just a country bumpkin. No wonder he stumbled through by sheer dumb luck. Strutting around with some trash-tier weapon like that!" The crowd instantly came to the same conclusion, looking at Xue Mie like he was an idiot.
"Classic case of a frog in a well!" Xue Di and Xue Leng sneered. They had wondered what kind of monster he was… turns out he was just an ignorant hick.
"You talk too much," Lan An said coldly.
Speed Gate activated.
His body shot forward like a meteor tearing through the sky. The Lan Hong Sword flashed in his hands. When he reappeared, he was already in front of Xue Quan—bringing the blade down with brutal force.
Shatter Earth!
Though the Heavy Flame Sword Art couldn't currently amplify its power with fire attributes, against these opponents… pure physical strength alone was more than enough.
When experts clashed, the aura alone revealed strength and weakness.
Xue Quan's face immediately darkened. He sensed mortal danger from that single strike. Not daring to underestimate it, he spat out a Blood Pearl…
The moment the pearl appeared, endless blood essence surged toward it, forming a ferocious shield directly in front of Lan An's descending sword.
"Hmph! My Blood Pearl is already a peak Spirit-grade treasure. A sword that hasn't even reached Heaven-grade dares clash with it? You're courting death!" Xue Quan sneered coldly as he watched the crimson greatsword descend toward his Blood Pearl.
Unfortunately, his smug grin didn't last long.
Because he watched in horror as the heavy crimson blade struck his Blood Pearl like a hammer against a rubber ball—sending it flying without the slightest resistance…
"Frogs in a well—that's all of you!"
Shatter Earth continued its devastating descent—crashing straight down onto Xue Quan's head.
Over this period, Lan An had come to understand the Lan Hong Sword more deeply. Its current grade only determined its offensive power—its durability, however, was unmatched.
He had once tested it against Silver Fang's full-powered strike—and the Lan Hong Sword hadn't even cracked. Little Hong'er hadn't felt the slightest pain… it was heaven-defying.
The only drawback was that, not yet reaching Heaven-grade, its offensive capability remained relatively weak.
Even so, Lan An was delighted. He was now fully confident in using the Lan Hong Sword to clash against any treasure…
Under the unstoppable force of Shatter Earth, Xue Quan didn't even have time to scream. His head split open like a watermelon—blood and brains spraying everywhere.
Lan An tossed the twitching corpse aside.
"Not dead yet?" Lan An's expression turned strange. Just how tough were the Blood Race? Even with their heads smashed, they still clung to life?
"To truly kill a pure-blood, you must either shatter their heart or completely obliterate their body!" Jin'er explained with a chuckle.
"Fine. Not dying has its uses too," Lan An nodded, a faint smile playing on his lips. It was actually better if Xue Quan didn't die.
After all—if he completely turned hostile toward the Blood Race right now, it might only satisfy a momentary urge for revenge while arousing suspicion. That could jeopardize his path back to Yuelong Star—not worth it.
For now, Lan An decided to avoid killing pure-bloods whenever possible. He could always settle the score later…
Besides—these brats posed zero threat to him. Whether they lived or died wasn't particularly important…
What Lan An didn't realize was that defeating Xue Quan without killing him only deepened the humiliation and rage of the Blood Race geniuses.
The Blood Race were a warlike and fanatical species. They would rather die gloriously than accept mercy or pity from an enemy.
Lan An, however, paid no attention to their feelings. He slung the Lan Hong Sword over his shoulder. His pitch-black, steel-like body gleamed under the red moonlight—every muscle brimming with explosive power and perfect symmetry. Looking at the group of Blood Race geniuses, he curled his lip and said lightly:
"You're not coming? Then I'll force you to come!"
With that, he gripped the Lan Hong Sword with both hands, drew it behind his back, lowered his stance, planted one foot forward, and channeled every ounce of his Body Cultivation power. With a stern roar, he bellowed:
"Shatter Heaven!"
A heaven-shaking shout echoed. All his physical strength poured into a single devastating sword strike—sweeping horizontally toward the dozens of Blood Race geniuses with apocalyptic force.
"What—?!"
Witnessing the terrifying sword qi that tore through space itself, the faces of the Blood Race geniuses changed dramatically.
No one had expected Xue Mie to suddenly unleash such a wide-area, destructive technique…
Xue Leng and Xue Di reacted the fastest. Both summoned Bloodfiend Corpse Puppets with powerful auras to shield themselves…
Several other Blood Race geniuses also responded swiftly. Endless blood essence formed protective shields; some stood defiantly to meet the attack head-on; others were too slow to react at all.
After all—even among geniuses, there were differences in strength…
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Shatter Heaven swept across the sky like a bombardment. Four Blood Race members at early Fusion Realm—too slow to react—were instantly blasted away. They coughed up blood mid-air, bodies mangled, foam frothing from their mouths as they fell unconscious…
Shatter Heaven showed no mercy. Two more mid-Fusion Realm Blood Race members who tried to counter it head-on were swept aside—limbs shattered…
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Two Blood Pearls exploded outright. Three others developed spiderweb cracks… Five Blood Race geniuses turned pale, their damaged treasures causing heartache.
Only those who relied on Blood Shields for defense suffered the least damage—merely expending some blood power…
Xue Leng and Xue Di fared best. Their two Eighth Revolution Bloodfiend Corpse Puppets shielded them completely—unscathed…
Worthy of being renowned geniuses of the Blood Race…
Even so, the entire group fell deathly silent… staring in disbelief at the figure casually wielding his sword.
They all thought the same thing: If that sword in his hand reached True Grade… just how horrifying would that strike have been?
Outside the plaza, the ten Blood Envoys shot to their feet, staring in shock at the scene projected on the massive screen.
Even though countless brutal battles and eliminations had already occurred inside the labyrinth, none of them had lost their composure like this…
"This kid's Body Cultivation potential is monstrous. If he were granted royal blood essence to cultivate blood power on top of it… he'd instantly become a top-tier seed—his potential might not even be inferior to the top five on the current Blood Child Ranking!" The Blood King's eyes flickered as he quietly assessed Xue Mie.
If anyone else heard his thoughts, they would be shocked. The top five on the Blood Child Ranking were world-shaking prodigies of the Blood Realm. Even the weakest among them was at late Tribulation Realm—famous and feared.
Yet this Xue Mie… was being compared to them by the Blood King?
Their reaction was nothing compared to the crowd of spectators watching in stunned silence…
Every face wore the same expression—jaw dropped, eyes wide, gasping for air. One unified thought echoed through their minds:
"Is this Xue Mie… even human?"