This Martial Saint's Health Bar is Too Thick!

Thirteen universities together could send 130 competitors to the tournament.

The hosting Upper Pure Sect had 40 spots, while Daluo Sect and Yuhua Sect each had 30 spots.

Pudu Temple also secured 30 spots.

Thus, a total of 260 competitors participated, excluding the 36 already advanced to the main competition, leaving 224 to compete in the preliminary round.

The preliminary round lasted three days, and over these three days, 224 contestants vied for the remaining 28 spots in the main competition.

These participants were already among the elite, with the least powerful among them being Refining Strength Martial Masters at the Qi Change Middle Stage.

With over two hundred Refining Strength Martial Masters fighting over three days for the top twenty-eight spots, the level of competition was fierce!

Even if one managed to stand out in the preliminaries, avoiding injury was unlikely.

After fighting hard for three days, even if one's strength could recover, their mental state might not.

And right after the preliminaries concluded, the main competition began, leaving no time for rest.

Seen in this light, this tournament structure was hardly fair to those participating in the preliminaries.

But that was the reality.

Fortunately, Li Fei no longer needed to accept such reality. He also had no interest in staying to watch the preliminaries and planned to return to his room to continue cultivating.

"You go back. I'll stay here to watch carefully," Li Tianyu said to Li Fei.

Li Fei had the privilege to disregard these Qi Change Stage Refining Strength Martial Masters, but Li Tianyu did not.

Even though she had secured a spot in the main competition, it did not mean her strength was definitely superior to those in the preliminaries.

She wanted to observe and learn from the competition among these individuals.

"Okay."

Li Fei nodded, stood up, and left the stands.

He deliberately took a detour towards the area where the people of Daluo Sect were.

The sudden dream from the previous night made him realize he might have been dragged into some event.

Regrettably, though he confused the dream with Nightmare Sect's magic, he only gleaned a bit more information before the dream shattered.

Early in the morning, Li Fei inquired about the leader of Daluo Sect for this competition—Qing Xia, a True Master of Luoxia Peak.

This was the only True Master of Daluo Sect Li Fei had ever met in person.

Since leaving Daluo Peak, he had not entered that dream realm again until last night.

Above Daluo Peak was True Master Qing Xia, and coincidentally, near Li Fei's accommodation that same evening was True Master Qing Xia.

If the dream was indeed man-made, then True Master Qing Xia was the prime suspect!

Therefore, Li Fei now deliberately walked towards the Daluo Sect crew to see if True Master Qing Xia would have any particular reaction to him.

"Senior brother, look," said a young Taoist with clear brows and handsome eyes, nudging his senior brother beside him, "It seems to be Li Fei."

His senior brother's face was ordinary, but his eyes were sharp like unsheathed swords, exuding a sense of sharp presence.

The senior brother raised his eyebrows and scrutinized Li Fei, who was walking towards them, appraising him:

"Pity he's still so young. He is your rival, and if you face him, you must defeat him."

"Eh?"

The junior brother, with his clear brows, looked troubled, "But he's the first in history. He seems so formidable..."

"What of it? He's only integrated two Implants. You carry our Daluo Sect's peerless heritage; what is there to fear?"

The senior brother seemed disappointed at his lack of competence.

These two were disciples named Ning Chuan and Ning Xing, both exceptional prodigies listed in the Heavenly Pride Theory.

Senior brother Ning Chuan, at 21, had entered the Tao Foundation Stage and at 24, had already integrated four Implants.

Junior brother Ning Xing, at 23, had entered the Tao Foundation Stage and at 24, had already integrated two Implants.

Both were exceptional prodigies, but their personalities were completely different.

"Does it seem like he's coming towards us?"

Ning Xing spoke softly, sounding a bit anxious.

"Oh."

Ning Chuan composed his expression.

Just as he was preparing to speak, he saw Li Fei glance at them only to shift his gaze away immediately.

"Senior brother, he doesn't seem to recognize us."

Ning Xing spoke softly, sounding relieved.

Seeing this, Ning Chuan immediately looked away from Li Fei.

You don't look at me; I won't look at you either.

"My sword will make him remember me."

He said so.

At the same time, Li Fei's gaze fell upon True Master Qing Xia in the stands.

The True Master was conversing with an old friend and had not noticed Li Fei.

Only when Li Fei was about to leave the area did True Master Qing Xia briefly glance at Li Fei's departing figure, then continued talking and smiling with his friend.

"Uncle Master, is that person Li Fei?"

"Yes."

In another area of the stands, where Upper Pure Sect was located, True Master Xuan Chen had returned from the main stand.

Beside him sat a man with a full beard.

Although the man was quite young, his bearded face made him appear older.

His name was Gan Jingcheng, a secular disciple of the Upper Pure Sect.

Unlike the other two sects, Upper Pure Sect's disciples were divided into those of the Tao lineage and secular disciples.

Secular disciples came from the outside world, while the disciples of the Tao lineage came from several families that had been part of the Upper Pure Sect for hundreds of years.

The Upper Pure Sect had originally been formed by several of these families.

There had always been disputes between the Tao lineage disciples and secular disciples, and these disputes had intensified over the years.

Daluo Sect had been courting several surnames within the Upper Pure Sect, helping them to suppress the secular disciples.

Thus, the Upper Pure Sect's sudden public opposition to Daluo Sect was, in fact, a victory for the secular disciples.

Gan Jingcheng was one of the best among the younger generation of secular disciples, and many pinned their hopes on him.

"To be first in the annals of history, truly enviable."

Gan Jingcheng watched Li Fei's back and sighed.

True Master Xuan Chen glanced at him, "You have your own path, why envy others?"

"Uncle Master speaks the truth."

Gan Jingcheng said solemnly.

"Your opponent this time is not him, but that person from Pudu Temple."

Xuan Chen continued.

Out of the eight supreme talents mentioned in the "Heavenly Pride Theory," only Gan Jingcheng of the Upper Pure Sect and Ming Qi of Pudu Temple had received five types of Implants.

As both supreme talents and with similar legacies, there was a simple and direct way to judge who was stronger:

The one with more Implants is the stronger one!

Therefore, Upper Pure Sect, determined to win the championship, saw the Buddha's son from Pudu Temple as their biggest competitor.

"However, if you can meet Li Fei in the official matches, that would not be bad either."

Xuan Chen added.

Gan Jingcheng understood his uncle master's meaning.

Anyone who could defeat the 'First in the annals of history' in public could, to a certain extent, 'take hold of' the other's reputation!

"That would indeed be quite interesting."

Gan Jingcheng smiled.

...

In the following three days, Li Fei stayed indoors almost without leaving, spending most of his time in cultivation.

During these days, he didn't enter the Dream Realm again while practicing the "Green Wood Ascending Heaven" Meditation Method.

He had received the Flame Core on September 11, and by September 18, in just one week, he had trained it to the Body Breaking Stage!

Inside his room, Li Fei raised his right hand, palm facing up, and a bright flame formed spontaneously in the center of his palm.

This was the Extraordinary Ability of the Flame Core—Flame Control.

Li Fei could either generate fire using the power of the Implant or control natural flames from the outside world.

At the current stage, only being at the Body Breaking Stage of 'Flame Control' did not greatly enhance his Combat Power. What really provided a notable increase was the physical enhancement due to the growth of the Flame Core, and the enhanced Extraordinary Abilities of Steel Armor and Ghostly Foot.

The physical enhancement increased the number of Blood Souls Li Fei possessed, with the total number reaching 356!

When the total number of Blood Souls exceeded 350, Li Fei gained another opportunity to enhance a Blood Soul Skill.

He had already enhanced Blood Spring and Blood Rage, leaving him to choose between Blood Slaughter and Blood Power.

Enhancing Blood Slaughter would increase the duration and quantity of Blood Evil Qi produced.

Enhancing Blood Power would turn the skill from a single target attack to a group attack.

After pondering for a moment, Li Fei decided to enhance Blood Slaughter.

As he faced increasingly stronger opponents, the effect of Blood Power became less significant.

Martial Masters who had cultivated Tao Power were nearly immune to being affected by pure Magic.

Therefore, turning Blood Power from single to group attack would mainly enhance Li Fei's ability to 'clear soldiers.'

He did not need this ability for the time being.

As for Blood Slaughter, it required the transformation of 20 Blood Souls into Blood Evil Qi to merge with Vajra Force and become Dark Vajra Force.

The Blood Evil Qi produced by the transformation of 20 Blood Souls could only last for about ten minutes without being consumed.

If he could extend the duration of the Evil Qi and increase its production, Li Fei could conserve a great deal of Blood Souls when using the Dark Vajra Force.

After the enhancement, Blood Slaughter was displayed as Blood Slaughter (Strong).

Early the next morning, Li Fei left his room and headed for the training field.

Today, the official matches of the Martial Arts Exchange Competition begin!

...

PS: Writer's block, can only manage one update today, will make up for it tomorrow.