Chapter 66: Tournament Begins
Translator: _Dark_Angel_ Editor: Kurisu
“Aiya, I’m done for this time. I drew the seventh group, and I heard that the seeded elite in that group is Sima Wen Dong. He’s the strongest member in his generation of the Sima Clan of Da Yuan City, and he’s already reached the seventh layer of Element Gathering Tier,” Liu Dong sighed, shaking his head.
“I’m worse off. I’m in the first group, and the seeded elite of my group is the Fourth Prince. I really don’t have a sliver of hope left now!” Zhu Xue Yi sighed similarly, but she quickly became excited, and said, “But it’s possible that Li Hao may advance and obtain a spot to enroll in the academy!”
Ling Han glanced over at Li Hao. Within this time of over a month, he had managed to reach the late period of the third layer of Element Gathering Tier. This, of course, was due to the effects of the three Transcending Origin Pills he had taken.
With this kind of cultivation level, along with his Saber Qi, the possibility of Li Hao managing to advance was very high. After all, he had drawn the fortieth something group, where the seeded elite was only in the fourth layer of Element Gathering Tier–although a person in the fourth layer still possessed a great advantage against someone in the third layer, Li Hao had Saber Qi, which would be more than sufficient to compensate for the gap between himself and his opponent.
Additionally, the seeded elite had to face the imminent danger of being ganged up on by everyone else. As long as Li Hao was low-key enough, concealing his power for a sudden eruption at the very end, then it was very possible that he would be the one having the last laugh.
Liu Dong and the others were very envious. They had also asked for Li Hao’s guidance on Saber Qi, but no matter how much effort they exerted, they still could not manage to form Qi.
“Ai, when we were in Guo Rock Town, we thought we were the strongest. But it was only when we came here that we realized that the real gathering spot for geniuses was this Da Yuan City. Parties like the Jin Clan and the Liu Clan can so easily produce ten plus seeded elites,” Chen Peng Ju shook his head, his face filled with disappointment.
He and Zhou Chang managed to break through to the Element Gathering Tier with the help of the Green Spiritual Fruit. However, there were so many powerful warriors gathered for the Da Yuan Tournament this time! If one did not at the very least possess the prowess of the fourth layer of Element Gathering Tier, then unless he was like Li Hao who had managed to form Saber Qi, there was absolutely no chance of obtaining a place in the top fifty.
“Big Brother Ling, what about you? Which group did you draw?” The five of them looked at Ling Han in askance.
They were all well aware that Ling Han was very powerful, so as long as he drew a good lot, then the chances of him being able to advance into the top fifty were extremely high.
Ling Han smiled, and said, “I’m the seeded participant of the fortieth group.”
“Pu!”
Liu Dong and the others all choked, and they looked at Ling Han as if they were looking at some kind of monster.
A few months ago, this guy had still been the same as them, also in the Body Refining Tier; yet now, he actually managed to become a seeded elite? How could they not be shocked by such a thing? They were also filled with disbelief.
“You, you’re actually in the fourth layer of Element Gathering Tier already?” Li Hao punched a fist on Ling Han’s chest jokingly. But once he recalled that Ling Han had given him two extra Transcending Origin Pills, and had also declared truthfully that he had more in his possession, then it was nothing strange for him to be able to advance to the fourth layer of Element Gathering Tier in that span of time.
“If he’s a seeded participant, then he’d be able to avoid encountering the other elites. Plus, Big Brother Ling still has Sword Qi, so he’d definitely be able to win!” Liu Dong said, his face filled with envy.
Zhu Xue Yi and the others nodded in agreement. If you managed to enter the the top fifty, you’d be able to obtain a ticket into Hu Yang Academy, which was the dream of every martial artist in Rain Country.
…If they knew what had happened the night before, they’d probably be shocked to the point that their eyes would practically pop out. He actually managed to have three Black Grade alchemists follow behind him.
“Hahahaha, you want to win? That’s impossible!” An arrogant voice exclaimed, and a young man appeared in front of them.
He was Feng Luo. Previously, after they had managed to kill the Red Scaled Dragon Snake, he had attempted to steal the fruits of their labor. Yet, in the end, due to the final counterattack, all his underlings were killed, while he himself received a harsh thrashing at Ling Han’s hands, but fortunately managed to survive.
They had never thought that he would reappear so quickly with his lofty, arrogant attitude in front of them. There was absolutely no improvement to his cultivation, and he was still in the ninth layer of Body Refining Tier.
For the majority of martial artists, that one step into the Element Gathering Tier was an extremely hard one to take. It was not strange at all to spend more than ten years to take that single step–which was also why Hang Zhan had been so overbearing and forceful, using any means possible to steal the Green Spiritual Fruit.
“Big Brother Ling is a seeded elite and he’s very powerful. Why wouldn’t he win?” Zhu Xue Yi asked Feng Luo.
“Because I am also in the fortieth group!” Feng Luo declared confidently.
“Hahahaha!” Liu Dong and the others broke out into laughter. One side was in the Element Gathering Tier, while the other was still in the ninth layer of Body Refining Tier. The gap between their respective prowess could really be compared to the gap between heaven and earth. No matter how it was, Feng Luo really did not have a sliver of a chance at winning.
“Laugh, go on and laugh. You’ll be crying in the afternoon!” Feng Luo spoke coldly.
Liu Dong and the others were all curious. What kind of trump card was hidden up his sleeve that allowed him to have such overwhelming confidence?
“Hahaha, hahahaha!” Feng Luo laughed loudly, walking away with his head held high.
“Don’t worry about him, he’s just a nasty character!” Ling Han said, smiling.
The other five nodded in agreement.
The drawing of lots was completed before noon, and they would be having the tournament stage battles in the afternoon to select the fifty strongest martial artists. After that, there would be another round of battles the next day to decide the ten strongest as well as the first place.
After lunch, everyone soon arrived at the Wrestling Ring in the city. There would usually be various martial arts activities held here. During the New Year, when a ceremony to offer sacrifices to the gods took place, there were also martial artist versus demonic beast battles held in this location. As a result, the yellow sand of the Wrestling Ring had been soaked with blood since long ago.
Today, because of the Da Yuan Tournament, all other activities and events were of course suspended. There were already ten tournament stages put up in the gigantic sandy zone in the center. Later, there would be simultaneously ten groups battling it out on the stages, and it would all be finished after only five rounds.
Ling Han was the seed participant of the fortieth group, so he had to wait until the fourth round to go up onto the stage. [1]
Liu Dong and Zhu Xue Yi were in the first round. One of them was on the first tournament stage, while the other was on the seventh.
There were about seventy people in one group, and the difference in numbers between different groups were in the single digits, because it was possible that there would be some who would forfeit at the last second.
There was absolutely no suspense about the conclusion of the first round. All the victors were the seeded elites. They were all like the Fourth Prince, in the ninth layer of Element Gathering Tier, so even if the others all joined forces to gang up on a seeded elite, they were still no match for him. Moreover, in the case of the Fourth Prince, who would actually dare to offend this man who may become the next Da Yuan King? They obviously did not dare to join forces against him.
Additionally, the elites who took part in the first round were also the strongest of the fifty. They were all in the top ten of the previous Da Yuan Tournament, like the Fourth Prince, Jin Wuji and Li Dong Yue.
Occasionally, in the second and the third round, there would be an unknown martial artist who managed to win, but victory did not fall to either Chen Peng Ju and Zhou Chang. The two of them were mercilessly eliminated from the tournament. Thankfully, they’d be able to get another chance three years later. By that time, it was highly likely that they would have managed to reach the middle stage of Element Gathering Tier and thus become seeded elites, and so would have a bigger chance of advancing to the next round.
This also confirmed the value of the Green Spiritual Fruit. Otherwise, they may have only just reached Element Gathering Tier three years later, so there’d be no second chance for them.
“Han’er, go on!” Ling Dong Xing lightly patted Ling Han’s shoulder, smiling brightly. The fourth round was about to begin. Half a year ago, he would have never been able to imagine that it was possible his own son to obtain the place of a seeded elite.
Liu Yu Tong nodded to Ling Han. She did not have the slightest bit of doubt that it was possible for Ling Han to lose.
As a seeded elite, Ling Han was the first person to step onto the stage, while the other participants in his group would follow after. There were about seventy of them, and Feng Luo was one of them.
“Begin!” A warrior in Gushing Spring Tier announced. He had been assigned as a referee by the Royal House of the Da Yuan King.
“Hahahaha, clear the area!” Feng Luo declared proudly. Instantly, there were at least thirty people who drew their weapons simultaneously and gathered with Feng Luo protected in the center. Then, they began to push on towards the others.
The audience below the stage were all dumbfounded. Was this even okay?
It was really too shameless!