Hayden was not someone who would give up easily. However, Rocky had single-handedly caused
Hayden and his two companions some severe injuries. Indeed, he had extremely powerful strength, so
no matter how stubborn Hayden was, he couldn't let Rocky kill him.
"Fine! I give up!" Setting aside his pride, Hayden resentfully backed down.
"Well then, sleep tight!" As soon as Rocky uttered those words, he swiftly appeared right in front of
Hayden, who fainted when he suddenly felt a wave of overwhelming spiritual pressure come at him.
"The second round is almost over. I should start hunting now! If I could lessen the number of opponents
in the third round, that should also give Eunice a better chance at achieving the goal of this contest..."
Rocky reckoned, raising his eyebrows. After a quick pondering, he disappeared from where he stood.
Not a second later, three figures turned up. They were surprised the moment they saw Hayden and the
two other disciples.
"Isn't this... Hayden? The young master of the Summer Palace? He's been defeated?!"
"It shouldn't have been a problem for him to at least enter the third round with his strength. What
happened?"
"What's more, these other two are also at the medium stage of the Spiritual Infant, and they've both
suffered serious injuries. Who on earth could've done this to them? I can only think of one person in
this contest who can defeat these three, and that's Moore."
"Well, we'd better take them to the safe area first since they have lost their fighting power. And we shall
report this to the master."
The three figures then quickly took Hayden and the two others away.
Later, upon seeing the injured disciples, three masters of the school started healing them in the safe,
hidden area of the Black Abyss Cave. Meanwhile, three other masters were busy checking the list of
the remaining participants.
When the group battle ended, more than seventy disciples made it to the second round. Since some
had either surrendered or lost their fighting power, less than forty disciples were left standing. That only
meant that the second round was about to be concluded.
Indeed, mostly the strong ones—especially those at the medium stage of the Spiritual Infant—
remained.
The news about Hayden and the two other injured disciples had apparently attracted the attention of
the school's masters.
"Wait, isn't this Hayden? Someone managed to beat him in this competition?" The elder in a black
robe, quite a famous senior elder in the Sky-suppressing School, was stunned.
It was also him who had explained the rules before the second round of battle began. His name was
Felton Chang, and everyone knew him as the "Black-faced God" due to his swarthy face, solemn
expression, and selflessness.
"Yes, it's him. He was defeated right at the same time as two other disciples," one of the masters who
brought them back explained.
Hearing about it, the other masters were just as astounded. It was clear to them that not even Moore
could single-handedly defeat three people, more so someone with Hayden's strength.
Of course, thinking about how someone could have outdone them like that totally puzzled them.
Felton Chang approached the two disciples who didn't pass out to find out what actually happened.
With concerned eyes and a firm yet mellow voice, he asked them, "Who got the better of you?"
The two disciples exchanged looks. Believing that they would be humiliated, they were reluctant to tell
others that it was Rocky, someone who was weaker than them, who had defeated them.
"Go on, tell me. Don't hem and haw." Felton Chang's face dimmed, and it looked terrifying.
"It was... It was Basil," one of them stammered after briefly hesitating to admit it.
"Basil? Do you mean that he defeated the three of you by himself? Was he that strong? I really didn't
notice that he would possess such great strength..." Obviously, Felton Chang was stunned upon
hearing the confession of the disciple. After all, he didn't expect that a disciple with a seemingly
unimpressive strength would actually defeat Hayden and two others all by himself.
At the same time, the other masters also seemed to be in disbelief.
"Elder Felton, Basil was recommended by the Di Clan. He came with a girl named Eunice when they
enrolled here," one of the masters informed.
"The Di Clan? Hmm. If he is indeed a member of the Di Clan, then it might be reasonable enough.
However, just the fact that he fought and defeated three warriors at the medium grade of the Spiritual
Infant is quite inconceivable!" Felton Chang responded with hints of dubiousness in his eyes.
"Elder Felton, should we send some of our people to keep an eye on him? If by any chance that he is
using some despicable means, we must stop him as soon as possible. Otherwise, it would be totally
unfair to the other disciples who are participating in the competition. This is just my opinion but under
normal circumstances, how could the young master of the Summer Palace be defeated to such an
extent?" One of the masters expressed his thoughts. It seemed that he had close ties to the Summer
Palace.
"Of course, that already entered my mind..." Felton Chang nodded his head in response, thinking that it
was indeed a bit strange.
While they were still discussing the matter regarding Rocky, a master suddenly appeared, looking very
anxious.
"Elder Felton, I just received a disturbing news from some monitoring spots in the Black Abyss Cave
that the disciples within their monitoring range have suddenly disappeared one after another. Until now,
they are nowhere to be found," the master directly reported.
"What? Did anyone see what happened? Why would they suddenly disappear?" Felton Chang felt
discombobulated. He was still dealing with a troublesome matter, and now another one popped out.
Before the master could say anything, another master hurriedly followed him and announced, "We
have found them! The missing disciples have actually lost their fighting power. More than ten of them
are found in the abandoned well of the Black Abyss Cave. It also means that there are just about
twenty disciples left..."
Hearing that, Felton Chang and the other masters were utterly perplexed. They couldn't help but
wonder who would be able to defeat so many disciples in such a short amount of time.
Moreover, because of what happened, there would be an inevitable change for the next round.
According to the rules of the second round, if the number of participants left had reached thirty-two, all
of them were then eligible to enter the third round. But now that there were just a little more than twenty
remaining, it would definitely have an impact on the third round.
"Elder Felton, what should we do now?" The masters present realized what it entailed, so they all
looked at Felton Chang and sought his decision.
At the moment, Felton Chang couldn't help but put on a long face. After all, it was the first time that
such an incident had happened. He believed that someone did it on purpose, but he wasn't sure who
and why he did that.
"Announce at once that the number of disciples that would enter the third round will be reduced to
sixteen. Also, send some people to keep an eye on the participants who haven't been eliminated yet.
Make sure that no more strange things will happen from here on," Felton Chang ordered decisively
after thinking for a while.
Soon enough, a loud sound echoed in the Black Abyss Cave. An announcement was issued that the
number of participants for the third round would be reduced to sixteen. When the disciples in the Black
Abyss Cave heard about it, they became rather restless. After all, since they reduced the number of
disciples that could pass in half, it basically meant that their chances of entering the next round were
also reduced. Thus, they still needed to be very vigilant during the remaining time.
Finally, after two hours of the severely tense atmosphere, the sixteen disciples who were going to enter
the next round were determined.
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