Chapter 173 The Mysterious Black-Robed Man

The black robe worn by this person was likely also a magical artifact, similar to the one Qinglian Dao Shou had given Chen Xiao, capable of concealing one's identity and aura.

It seemed such artifacts weren't scarce in the Immortal Hidden Realm; otherwise, Qinglian Dao Shou wouldn't have possessed one, let alone given it away so readily.

However, it wasn't the black robe that attracted Chen Xiao's attention, but the person wearing it.

This person was strange. Although Chen Xiao couldn't see through his strength, he could sense a strong aura of danger emanating from him.

This was extremely rare. Even with someone as powerful as Ziwu Dao Shou, Chen Xiao had never felt such danger, not even during their first meeting.

Chen Xiao wasn't the only one drawn to the black-robed figure. On the high platform, many were intensely curious about his identity.

"This little fellow is interesting. He's made it to the top eight, yet he still hasn't revealed his identity. Does he plan to wait until the very end?"

Duan Yanzhuo said, grinding his teeth, clearly disliking the deliberate concealment.

A person should be open and upright… Hiding one's head and tail; what kind of hero is that?

Although Ziwu and Yun Lan said nothing, their gazes lingered on the black-robed man for a few extra moments.

Yun Lan held a wine pot, sipping the fine wine within while awaiting the next round's draw.

Despite his beloved disciple's elimination in the first round, his mood didn't seem affected.

As soon as Duan Yanzhuo finished speaking, someone joked, "Senior Brother Duan, your tone suggests displeasure. Are you worried this mysterious fellow might defeat your disciple?"

Duan Yanzhuo sneered dismissively, "Defeat my disciple? Heh…"

Although unspoken, his meaning was clear.

The person continued, "But speaking of it, this year's Heavenly Pride Battle is quite interesting. Two dark horses have already emerged in the top eight. I wonder how far they'll go?"

The two dark horses referred to were the Earth Sect's Holy Son and the black-robed man.

Calling the Earth Sect's Holy Son a dark horse was because, based on his previous performance, even making it into the top thirty-two would have been a stretch, let alone reaching the top eight.

However, he was, after all, the Earth Sect's Holy Son, and his previous opponent, his junior sister, had voluntarily surrendered, so his dark horse status wasn't particularly outstanding.

Especially compared to the black-robed man, who was undoubtedly the darker of the two.

Because this black-robed man didn't originate from any major sect.

At this stage of the competition, disciples from the various major sects had already appeared on the arena. The remaining three in the top eight were from two major sects.

This mysterious man in black robes clearly wasn't among them.

Which meant he came from a small or medium-sized sect.

For a disciple from a small or medium-sized sect to even enter the top thirty-two was already a heaven-defying feat.

Making it into the top eight was absolutely astonishing.

Meanwhile, the draw for the quarter-finals was complete.

Chen Xiao's opponent was the Human Sect's Holy Daughter, Duan Yu Yan.

Chen Xiao wasn't surprised by this outcome. After all, at this stage of the competition, the probability of drawing a disciple from one of the other two sects was close to one in two.

And regardless of who he drew, it wouldn't affect Chen Xiao in the slightest, as he was aiming for first place.

Seeing Chen Xiao's draw, Duan Shi Kong approached him again, reeking of cheapness. "Heh, Li Shou Zhen, you're lucky. It seems I won't be able to personally beat you until you cry and beg for mercy!"

"Senior Brother, don't worry. I'll take care of those things you mentioned!"

Duan Yu Yan looked at Chen Xiao provocatively. "I heard you've been hiding your strength? Good, let me see your full power today!"

"Go play somewhere else!"

Chen Xiao said impatiently.

These Holy Sons and Holy Daughters of the Human Sect were too eager for attention. Chen Xiao didn't bother to humor them.

"You…"

Duan Yu Yan's eyes flashed with anger, then she pointed at Chen Xiao, grinding her teeth. "Very well, you just wait. If I don't beat you until you cry today, I'm not the Human Sect's Holy Daughter!"

Chen Xiao smiled wryly, thinking that this "beat someone until they cry" thing wasn't going away!

Just then, the first arena match began, with Chen Xiao facing Duan Yu Yan.

The two ascended the arena and exchanged bows. Just as the referee shouted "Begin!", Duan Yu Yan felt a strange wind rush toward her.

Before she could react, she felt a lightness in her body, and the surrounding scenery rapidly changed.

As she came to her senses and tried to resist, she heard the referee announce loudly, "Earth Sect's Holy Son, Li Shou Zhen, wins!"

Duan Yu Yan was dumbfounded. What did he win? It hadn't even started yet!

"Why did he win? I haven't even started yet…"

Duan Yu Yan shouted.

Then she saw Duan Shi Kong walking towards her.

"Eh? Senior Brother, why are you up here too?"

Duan Yu Yan was shocked. According to the rules, contestants not participating in the match weren't allowed on the arena.

Then she heard her senior brother say, "It's not that I'm up here, it's that you're down there…"

Duan Yu Yan looked around and was completely stunned, because she was already below the arena.

But she had no idea when or how she had gotten down there.

Just then, the victorious Earth Sect's Holy Son was casually walking down from the arena. Duan Yu Yan immediately gnashed her teeth in anger. "You bastard, you cheated! If you have the guts, fight me fair and square! You haven't even seen my true strength yet!"

Duan Yu Yan's gentle and refined facade could no longer be maintained. She shouted and screamed like a mad dog.

Chen Xiao glanced at her coldly, then silently walked back to the waiting area, not even bothering to give her a second glance.

"You bastard, don't run! Come back here! I'm going to fight you to the death!"

Duan Yu Yan completely gave up.

She had prepared for this Heavenly Pride Battle for so many years, but she never imagined that it would end in such a humiliating way.

Fortunately, Duan Shi Kong was there to hold her back, otherwise, she would have definitely gone after Chen Xiao.

"Forget it, forget it. I say, Junior Sister, you can't blame that kid for cheating. You're also to blame. You have such great muscles, but instead of showing them off, you insist on dressing up like this weak and delicate thing!"

If Duan Yu Yan revealed her true form, her combat power would instantly increase by a factor of two. She had originally planned to use that form as a trump card, but in the end, she didn't even have the chance to use it.

How could she not be angry!

"Junior Sister, don't be angry. You have Senior Brother. Just wait, if Senior Brother runs into that kid, I'll definitely rip off a layer of his skin!"

Duan Shi Kong said confidently.

While they were talking, the second match of the top eight had ended. The victor was the mysterious man in black robes.

He had resolved the battle in just a few exchanges, and his opponent was a genuine Transformation Void Realm expert at the Great Perfection stage.

The black-robed man's strength was evident.

The third match was Duan Shi Kong's turn. His opponent was a lucky fellow with only initial-stage Transformation Void Realm strength. If his opponents in the previous rounds hadn't been so weak, he would have had no chance of entering the top eight.

And Duan Shi Kong was at the Great Perfection stage of the Transformation Void Realm, just a thin layer of paper away from the Dao Integration Realm.

The two ascended the arena and exchanged bows. The man looked at Duan Shi Kong's golden body and explosively bulging muscles, and he was completely stunned.

He raised his hand, trembling. "I, I surrender…"

If his opponent were someone else, he would have fought, even at the risk of serious injury.

But his opponent was this bald bullfrog covered in muscles, and he immediately abandoned that idea.

He couldn't win anyway, so why make things difficult for himself… Besides, it was kind of disgusting.

Seeing his opponent surrender directly, Duan Shi Kong was extremely pleased with himself, and he looked down on everyone!

He started showing off his muscles in the arena, right in front of everyone.

Anyone who didn't know better would have thought the Heavenly Pride Battle was over and he had won first place!

Seeing this bizarre scene, the representatives on the high platform scratched their feet in embarrassment.

But Duan Yanzhuo laughed heartily, also looking pleased. "Hahahaha, Shi Kong truly is my beloved disciple!"

As he spoke, he also started showing off his muscles on the high platform, shining in contrast with Duan Shi Kong on the arena… It was so disgusting that the people around him almost threw up.

Fortunately, the referee intervened in time and stopped Duan Shi Kong's behavior, escorting him off the arena. Only then was the crowd's embarrassment relieved.

The last match of the quarter-finals was the Heavenly Sect's Holy Daughter, Yun Jin, against a disciple from a large sect.

This disciple's strength wasn't strong, but it definitely wasn't weak either. He was at the Great Perfection stage of the Transformation Void Realm.

And Yun Jin was also at the Great Perfection stage of the Transformation Void Realm.

The two were evenly matched, exchanging blows back and forth!

Purely in terms of competition, everyone finally witnessed an exciting match.

After all, only a contest between evenly matched opponents could be truly exciting.

The two fought for nearly half an hour, and in the end, Yun Jin, with the advantage of being the Heavenly Sect's Holy Daughter, slightly edged out her opponent and secured the final ticket to the semi-finals.

Thus, the top four for this year's Heavenly Pride Battle were all determined.

The Heavenly, Earth, and Human Sects each had one disciple break through and enter the top four. As for the mysterious black-robed man, his identity remained unannounced, maintaining the mystery.

Although Yun Lan had always maintained an indifferent attitude, when Yun Jin entered the semi-finals, the frequency with which he raised his wine pot clearly increased compared to before, indicating that he was very pleased with the result.

Yun Lan regarded Yun Jin as the Heavenly Sect's last fig leaf, but Yun Jin herself regarded herself as the Heavenly Sect's last hope.

And with the completion of the draw, her semi-final opponent was already determined.

It was none other than the Earth Sect's Holy Son—Li Shou Zhen!