\"By the way, what's the Celestial Pond?\" Su Yang asked Bai Lihua after sitting down.
\"The Celestial Pond is something that exists within the Celestial Mountain, where the Xie Family's Ancestor is rumored to be in closed cultivation. As for the Celestial Pond itself, it is a small pond that contains some kind of heavenly water that is naturally filled with Profound Qi. It is also rumored that if you cultivate there, your cultivation speed will increase by 100 folds. In other words, if you cultivate there for 7 days, it'll be akin to cultivating for 700 days.\" Bai Lihua explained to him.
\"How can something that amazing exist in this world?\" Liu Lanzhi expressed astonishment after hearing that. She now understands why all of the Sect Masters were so excited about it.
\"Yes, it's an amazing place that defies the heavens. However, it will require about 100 years to restore its Profound Qi after a month of cultivation in the pond.\" Bai Lihua continued.
\"100 years for a month of cultivation?! And the Xie Family is willing to give 7 days to the winner of this tournament? That's almost too generous even for them.\" Liu Lanzhi said.
Bai Lihua nodded. \"Indeed it's too generous of them. In fact, a few of the Sect Masters believes that the Xie Family is somehow aware of the outcome of the tournament, hence why they are willing to give out such an award.\"
\"You mean the Xie Family knows who will win this tournament and purposefully picked this reward as a gift for them? That sounds a little bit too ridiculous.\" Liu Lanzhi raised her eyebrows.
After all, why would the Xie Family do something like this when they can directly give access to the Celestial Pond without using the tournament as an excuse?
\"Who knows. It's also possible that the Xie Family is feeling extremely generous this year. It's just a conspiracy at the end of the day.\" Bai Lihua shrugged.
'Celestial Pond, huh…' Su Yang mumbled to himself.
Within the Four Divine Heavens, there were many locations that are similar to this Celestial Pond, and they are mostly occupied by the strongest households.
'Even if it cannot compare to the ones in the Divine Heavens, it should greatly assist my cultivation at its current level.' He nodded to himself.
After waiting around for half an hour, two figures appeared on the platform that was near the arena, where luxurious seats were arranged.
\"His Majesty, Lord Xie, has arrived!\"
\"Her Highness, Princess Xie, has arrived!\"
The guards around the colosseum shouted loudly when their figures appeared, and everybody in the colosseum instantly stood up and lowered their heads towards their direction.
Lord Xie casually waved his sleeves before sitting down on one of the luxurious seats while Xie Xingfang, who was wearing a veil on her face sat beside him.
\"That's Fairy Xie? This is my first time seeing her!\"
\"Although she has a veil covering her face, I can tell that she's a peerless beauty underneath it!\"
\"Look at her fair skin and flawless figure! She's no doubt a peerless beauty!\"
Nearly everybody in the colosseum was looking at Xie Xingfang at this moment, as she rarely shows up in public if ever.
\"Are you sure that you want to be here? If your body suddenly…\" Lord Xie looked at her with worried eyes.
If Xie Xingfang did not beg him to allow her to appear today, he would not have allowed her to leave the house because of the condition of her body.
\"I'll be fine, father. If anything happens, Su Yang is here,\" said Xie Xingfang as she turned to look at the direction of Su Yang.
\"...\" Lord Xie narrowed his eyes at Su Yang, who was casually surrounded by beauties on all sides.
A few hours of silence later, Lord Xie turned to look at the old man that was standing near the stage and nodded his head.
The old man noticed Lord Xie's signal and quickly stepped onto the stage.
\"Thank you to everyone for coming here today. I, Zi Dong, will be the referee today. Before we start the first match of the day, allow me to explain a few rules.\"
\"First and foremost, killing is prohibited in the arena. Even if it's an accident, if you kill your opponent, your Sect will be fined for 10 million Spirit Stones!\"
\"10 Million Spirit Stones?!?!\"
The spectators were dumbfounded by this new rule. 10 Million Spirit Stones is an astronomical amount of wealth even for Elite Sects, much less the rest. If they kill someone today, they will definitely go bankrupt. Once that happens, the Sect will no longer be able to support its disciples and collapse.
\"Won't this new rule put unnecessary pressure onto the participants, restricting their full prowess? If I were them, I would be too scared to fight!\"
\"Right? Accidents are bound to happen. 10 million Spirit Stones is simply too harsh of a punishment.\"
The spectators whispered their concerns to each other.
\"For the second rule, the participants are prohibited from using personal weapons and treasures to avoid unfairness.\"
Unlike Martial Techniques that require one's talent to master, wielding a powerful treasure to overpower your opponent does not require such a thing, hence why the tournament prohibited the use of personal weapons.
After all, if one can enter the stage with a powerful weapon that cannot be revealed, what point would be left for a tournament of skills?
\"Three, the participant must have the protective charm that was given to them before they enter the stage, as this will allow them to fight without worrying about accidentally killing each other. Unless your opponent is in the Heavenly Spirit Realm, they will not be able to inflict any deadly injuries onto your body. Additionally, I will be watching very carefully just in case anything goes wrong, so fight to your heart's content.\"
\"These are the three major rules of this tournament. And without further ado, allow me to introduce the participants for the first match today — Golden Altar Sect and Burning Lotus Sect!\"
After Zi Dong introduced the two parties, the Burning Lotus Sect and the Golden Altar Sect stepped onto the stage, causing the spectators to explode with excitement.