Meanwhile, in a luxuriously embellished grandstand on the north side of the battle ring, Elvis sat in the
middle, with several elders and some important officials of the Ji Clan on his two sides. Sabina, who
was the bride of the competition, sat next to him.
The chiefs of all the forces, representatives, and also some influential figures in the Holy Dragon
Empire were present in the grandstand, signifying the importance of the battle ring. Apart from the
influential figures, some spirit manipulators also came to the competition. In fact, others even came
there just for fun. At that moment, they surrounded the whole battle ring, much like concentric circles,
forming what appeared to be a grand meeting!
However, everyone was surprised that the Ximen Clan didn't send any of their spirit manipulators to
participate in the competition. Needless to say, this was actually good news to all the other clans. At
least, there was one less clan to worry about!
At this moment, Sabina seemed to be a little anxious, perhaps this was because she had not yet laid
eyes on someone she was hoping to show up.
"Why isn't he here yet? I hope he shows up any second now. The battle is about to begin!" Elvis looked
at Sabina and asked with worry in his tone.
"Let's not wait for him any longer." Sabina kept silent for a while and shook her head in dismay.
Shifting his gaze to the audience, Elvis heard and saw that the whole training field was overflowing with
so many people, crowding the entire place. Aside from the royal family, all the forces also gathered
here, so he didn't wait any longer. After all, if he waited for just a bit more, then he might upset the
crowd. Soon after, he stood up and walked to the front of the stage, looking around the people present,
and said, "Today is the day my daughter chooses a husband in the competition for marriage. First of all,
I would like to thank you all for your support! This would never be possible without all of you. Since it is
a competition, seniority will not take effect today among the competitors. Everyone is equal. As long as
the spirit manipulators meet the necessary requirements to enter the competition, then there is no
reason for them not to fight on the stage. In order not to destroy the harmony of each party in the battle,
the first task will be grabbing the ball-flower! Now, all of you must have noticed the ball-flower in the
center of the battle ring, right?"
Elvis explained the rules while pointing at the ball-flower in mid-air, which was just supported by a
bamboo frame a few meters high. After that, he continued, "As soon as the battle starts, each party
must do whatever it takes to acquire the ball-flower. Whoever gets the ball-flower first will be hailed the
winner. However, he must accept the challenge of other spirit manipulators and defend the ball-flower
from them. If the ball-flower remains to be in possession of the defender within fifteen minutes, then the
defender remains the winner.
If you cannot keep the ball-flower in your hands for fifteen minutes, then you have failed to defend your
title, and the challenger who gets the ball-flower will become the new battle winner. During the battle,
the spirit-manipulated beasts are allowed to cooperate with the spirit manipulators to fight. However, we
shall maintain the dignity of this competition by refraining from using very brutal means such as
poisoning. Once found doing such a despicable act, you will immediately be disqualified from
participating in the competition..."
After Elvis finished laying out the rules and taboos of the competition, he soon announced the
beginning of the battle.
Due to the nature of the competition being free and unlimited, as long as there were two spirit
manipulators standing on the battle ring, the competition could start. Not long after, two primary-grade
masters at the Heavenly Stage jumped onto the stage at the same time and began to scramble for the
ball-flower. However, it was not as simple as it looked like. In fact, it was not very easy to grab the ball-
flower in a matter of fifteen minutes.
Moreover, if no one among the two competitors on stage got their hands on the ball-flower within fifteen
minutes, they would also be eliminated from the competition.
Therefore, almost none of the weak primary-grade masters were able to grab the ball-flower,
eliminating them from the contest.
During the sixth round, a medium-grade spirit manipulator at the Heavenly Stage successfully grabbed
the ball-flower, making him the first-ever winner in the battle ring.
However, the feeling of elation did not last long for him as another medium-grade spirit manipulator at
the Heavenly Stage swept the ball-flower away from his grasp.
After dozens of rounds, almost no spirit manipulator was able to keep the ball-flower, meaning it had to
change its owner right after every round.
Time flew by so quickly, and it was already noon. The sun was shining brightly above their heads, but
the competition on the battle ring had just begun to turn white-hot.
At that moment, dozens of masters at the Heavenly Stage stepped onto the stage consecutively, but all
ended up in failure. After a while, a first-grade master at the Supernal Stage, who was also a member
of a big clan, showed up.
As soon as the master made his move, he snatched the ball-flower from the man of the top nine-grade
at the Heavenly Stage who had just grabbed it.
Similar to the situation of other countries, almost all the spirit manipulators in the Holy Dragon Empire
who had achieved the Supernal Stage were distributed in the royal family and several big clans. Among
them, the royal family owned the most of the masters at that stage, followed by the Ximen Clan, and
then the Ji Clan. On the other hand, the rest of the spirit manipulators were scattered in other big clans,
along with other few small ones.
Therefore, this first-grade master at the Supernal Stage's entrance was the prelude to the competition
among the major clans. At this point, the battle had just started to become interesting.
It was well known that these Supernal Stage masters didn't come in their own names for they were
basically representing their respective family forces. Surely, their goal was to win the battle, but in the
end, the one who would marry Sabina was, in fact, the inheritors of the family forces, or the promising
juniors of the direct generation line. Needless to say, the competition became more intense. After a few
rounds, the ball-flower was snatched by a five-grade master at the Supernal Stage from a big clan.
Moreover, among the people ready to go on the stage, only less than ten masters at the Supernal
Stage had the strength to fight. Obviously, the final winner would soon be revealed.
However, there was a sudden commotion in the west of the training field. At that moment, the crowd
seemed to be separated, and several figures came in front of everyone, walking in such an imposing
manner.
These people were led by two supreme masters at the Divine Stage, Elder Duke and Jason. On the
other hand, walking behind them were five premium-grade masters at the Supernal Stage. As a matter
of fact, two of them had the strength at the peak level of the Supernal Stage.
At this time, the whole training field suddenly expressed their thoughts in an uproar because of the
appearance of Elder Duke, Jason, and the others. It was said that whenever people in the royal family
appeared, it meant that a real storm was just around the corner, and several major clans would also
face a huge test.
At that moment, when Elvis saw Elder Duke and Jason come in with several powerful royal spirit
manipulators at the Supernal Stage, he could not help but shoot a cold look towards them. Although he
had expected that Alston would send some powerful royal spirit manipulators here, he couldn't help but
feel worried when he saw the powerful group in front of him. On the other hand, the Ji Clan couldn't
send people to take part in the competition, and even the strongest master of the top nine-grade at the
Supernal Stage of the Ji Clan might not have the confidence to win, let alone the other big clans except
the Ximen Clan. Therefore, the situation was naturally a little bad for them.
Soon after, Elder Duke and Jason walked onto the stage with their men and cupped their hands to
greet Elvis respectfully. Then, Elder Duke opened his mouth and said, "Sorry to be late. Please forgive
us, Chief Elvis!"
"Well, you arrived just in time. If you have arrived a second later, then the competition might have had
ended already," Elvis answered with a fake smile.
"Oh, really? Then, we must be so lucky! Or else, we will let Prince Daniel down!" Elder Duke said
thoughtfully and pointed out directly that they came here just to support Daniel.
Hearing this, Elvis also gave a wry smile and ordered his servants to bring two chairs for Elder Duke
and Jason.
After Elder Duke and Jason sat down, Jason leaned closer to Elvis and said, "Chief Elvis, I just wanted
to ask you. Was the mysterious man who stood up for lady Sabina last time from the Ji
Clan?"
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