"What a pity—still just a hair short." Wei Zhao shook his head almost imperceptibly. He too was astonished that Trapped in a Circle could pack such power, but after all, this was Leng Leng's first time unleashing it before a crowd, and it was not yet refined enough. If she meant to snuff out a Golden Core early-stage expert like Xue Jianming on the spot, she was still a touch short.

Sure enough, no sooner had Wei Zhao's words faded than a sudden upheaval erupted in the arena.

"Aaah—!" Xue Jianming let loose a string of earthshaking roars. In the next instant, the meridians across his whole body began to pulse and bulge madly, and an unprecedented, inexplicable might came pouring out of him.

The crowd was instantly dumbstruck, everyone staring at everyone else, and even Xin Yi'an cried out in disbelief: "Golden Core early stage! He's actually reached Golden Core early stage!"

To be sure, given Xue Jianming's standing as the foremost Foundation Establishment cultivator, everyone had long assumed it was only a matter of time before he broke through to Golden Core. Had this happened in the Primordial Little Jianghu, it would have merited no more than a raised eyebrow—certainly not shock like this. But the problem was, this was the Transit Archipelago.

Where on earth had Xue Jianming gotten the Golden Core from, and when had he made his breakthrough? How could there have been not the slightest ripple?

Moments later, Xue Jianming finally regained control of his body. By the look of it, he had completely shaken off the bonds of Trapped in a Circle. His face was hideous, and without a second thought he lunged savagely at Leng Leng.

In truth, no one could blame him for his fury. Not only had he failed to seize the chance to kill Leng Leng, he had been forced by Trapped in a Circle to expose his Golden Core strength before the entire crowd—a textbook case of going for wool and coming home shorn.

"I concede!" Leng Leng had been prepared for this all along. She at once withdrew from the arena and shouted.

By the rules of the contest, once either combatant conceded on the spot, no further attacks were permitted. Yet Xue Jianming deliberately turned a deaf ear. Not only had he exposed his Golden Core early-stage strength, but what enraged him beyond endurance was that Leng Leng's Trapped in a Circle had actually left him frostbitten. This was beyond bearing—even at the cost of a foul, he was determined to cut her down with a single strike!

Leng Leng was aghast. That last, limit-breaking version of Trapped in a Circle had drained far too much of her stamina and true qi. Facing a Xue Jianming now like a crazed beast, she had no strength left to resist at all.

But before Xue Jianming could reach her, another figure arrived faster still—Wei Zhao.

Wei Zhao had long since guessed that Xue Jianming would never let the matter drop. With his current strength as a spirit-body, he had little confidence in crossing a major realm to contend with a Golden Core expert, but after all he still possessed an endless repertoire of wondrous methods—enough to give Xue Jianming a proper run for his money.

"Damn it!" Xue Jianming was startled by Wei Zhao's speed. Had it not been for the orders from above, he would have dearly loved to seize the chance to kill both Wei Zhao and Leng Leng with one arrow!

"Not another move!" Xin Yi'an cut in as well, watching Xue Jianming with the vigilance of one facing a mortal foe. Had Xue Jianming still been merely peak Foundation Establishment, he would not have needed to be so tense—but now he faced an expert of his own tier, and that left him no room for carelessness. If Xue Jianming truly set his mind on causing havoc, even he, the supervising martial uncle, might well be dragged down with him.

"Hmph!" Only then did Xue Jianming finally stop. Xin Yi'an was a rival of his own tier, and there was still Wei Zhao, whose thorniness was no less than Xin Yi'an's—not to mention Leng Leng's Trapped in a Circle on top of it all. If he kept forcing the issue, he was bound to suffer a great loss. He had no choice but to stand down.

But Xin Yi'an had no intention of letting him off so easily. He thundered: "Leng Leng had clearly already conceded, and you still meant to strike her down—what exactly is your intent? Do you truly think the rules of the trial tournament are mere decoration? Are you trying to provoke the dignity of the entire Primordial Alliance?"

"Hmph. Xin Yi'an, don't go flinging that dung basin at my head so casually. My ears were frostbitten just now—that's why I didn't hear a thing," Xue Jianming said carelessly. Now that he had revealed his Golden Core early-stage strength, there was naturally no need to keep addressing Xin Yi'an as martial uncle. Between experts of the same tier, one simply used the name directly—such was the established custom of the Primordial Little Jianghu.

"Is that so?" Xin Yi'an plainly did not believe him.

"If you don't believe it, why not have a taste of her Trapped in a Circle yourself?" Xue Jianming sneered and curled his lip. His words were, to be sure, an excuse seized at random—but he truly had been frostbitten by Trapped in a Circle, and not lightly either. Without proper recovery, it would leave lasting aftereffects.

Of course Xin Yi'an did not believe such nonsense. But since Xue Jianming had put it that way, he had no way to press the matter further, and could only take the out offered him: "In consideration of the fact that you did not harm Leng Leng, this old man will turn a blind eye this once. See that you conduct yourself well."

Xue Jianming gave a snort, turned, and stalked off without so much as a word of thanks. His pressing concern now was to find somewhere to tend his wounds—ideally to wheedle some healing pills out of Dr. Spectacles. Unfortunately, everything was going against him: not only had he failed to kill the people around Wei Zhao as planned, but through his own carelessness he had been injured—and by the hand of Leng Leng, a newly advanced peak Foundation Establishment cultivator, no less. He simply had no face to show Dr. Spectacles.

Fortunately, he had now won all three rounds and secured his trial qualification. From here on, it hardly mattered if he took his time recovering.

The contest went on. Though later matches still featured焦点 figures like Wei Zhao, the quality of the opponents meant they were nowhere near as spectacular as that first bout.

After all, Xue Jianming was a Golden Core expert, and Leng Leng had nearly pulled off an upset by dint of Trapped in a Circle—a sight the Primordial Alliance had not witnessed in decades. Even if it had begun somewhat sluggishly, it remained a classic duel rarely seen; by comparison, the other peak Foundation Establishment matches could only pale.

Including Wei Zhao's match, the remaining three peak Foundation Establishment duels were all rather tepid. The one with a bit more appeal was Duanmu Yu's.

Having lost to Wei Zhao in the previous round, Duanmu Yu's record stood at one win and one loss, which made this match all-important. A clean win would of course be cause for joy, but a loss would mean she had to win both remaining rounds outright to secure her trial qualification—otherwise she would be eliminated.

As it happened, her opponent this time, Lei Gong, also stood at one win and one loss, and was equally determined to take this match. Had the draw pitted him against Xue Jianming or Wei Zhao, Lei Gong might well have conceded early—there was no beating either of them anyway, so better to conserve his strength for the next round.

But since he had drawn Duanmu Yu, it was an entirely different matter. Duanmu Yu was admittedly one of the acknowledged powerhouses among the peak Foundation Establishment disciples, yet she could not be mentioned in the same breath as Xue Jianming and Wei Zhao—her second-round duel with Wei Zhao was proof enough of that. (To be continued.)