Chapter 68: The Second Battle
Translator: _Dark_Angel_ Editor: Kurisu
Origin Power being able to take on a form, this was the symbol of a warrior of Gushing Spring Tier.
Surrounded by taunts and mocking laughter, Feng Luo fled with his tail between his legs–if it was not due to the fact that his elder brother, Feng Yan, was indeed an incomparable genius, then that warrior of Gushing Spring Tier absolutely had the right to kill him on the spot.
The most important thing in martial arts was the hierarchy of martial artists, and Feng Luo’s previous actions could practically be considered a grave breach of these unspoken rules, so even if he had killed him, the Feng Clan would dare not make a fuss about it.
“Brother Ling, congratulations!”
“Congratulations, Brother Ling, for having such an excellent son.”
“Brother Ling, this time you’ll have to host a dinner banquet in celebration.”
After looking up at the stage, many of the major characters of the various clans of Gray Cloud Town began offering their congratulations to Ling Dong Xing.
Ling Dong Xing naturally laughed loudly at this, absolutely delighted. Before, he had also imagined such a scene happening, but he knew this was not a realistic dream. He never thought that there would be a day that this dream would become reality.
“Hahahaha, this stupid brat is just lucky enough to obtain a place of enrollment into Hu Yang Academy. There shouldn’t be any chance of him advancing further than this,” he shook his head, looking very modest.
Actually, anyone could see that he was smiling so wide that the corners of his lips seemed like they were about to split apart from the effort. It was obvious that he was close to being beside himself with joy.
True, whoever it was that had a son that was qualified enough to enter into Hu Yang Academy, he would also smile so proudly.
“Brother Ling, you don’t have to be so modest. For those of us who came from Gray Cloud Town, it is already very impressive to be able to enter the top fifty! Moreover, your son is only seventeen years old this year. So he’d still be able to enter the Da Yuan Tournament that will be held three years later and six years later. Who knows, maybe in the next tournament, he’d qualify for the top ten, and in the one after, he’d place first,” someone said with a laugh.
Although Ling Han had fought a beautiful battle this time, but still, his opponents this time were really too weak. None of them thought that he, with his cultivation of only the fourth layer of Element Gathering Tier, would be able to enter the top ten, let alone defeat those in the ninth layer of Element Gathering Tier, like the Fourth Prince.
Ling Dong Xing laughed mischievously. He of course could not say that his son was full of grand ambitions, and that he was aiming directly to get the first place this time.
Honestly, he too did not dare believe it. After all, the gap between cultivation levels was too great.
Ling Han walked down the stage, and everyone stepped forward to offer their congratulations. After all, anyone who managed to enter into Hu Yang Academy had excellent prospects in his future. Who knows, they may be able to become an overnight celebrity and become a person that would hold immense status and power in this Rain Country.
As a result, no one would mind speaking a few words of praise at this moment. In any case, they wouldn’t lose anything from it, right? And if Ling Han managed to end up with great achievements in the future, they’d be able to climb to a higher status using their friendly relations with him.
Ling Dong Xing, as the Clan Head of the Ling Clan, was no stranger to this kind of social niceties. He took care of everything, making everyone feel that they have been paid adequate attention.
Father and son, as well as Liu Yu Tong, returned to Heaven’s Medicine Pavilion. After one night of rest, the battles to decide the top ten from the fifty who advanced into the second round would take place.
In truth, the top ten would all receive rewards. Of course, the further ahead your placement, the better your prize.
On the other side, Li Hao had also managed to advance into the top fifty, and had demonstrated extraordinary talent with his Saber Qi, causing many people to be very optimistic about his future prospects as there were no more than ten in this generation of young people of Da Yuan City that have managed to form “Qi”.
However, some of the senior members of the Li Clan had arrived with Li Hao, so naturally, they had to celebrate with their own people first the night before. Thus, they did not invite Ling Han, and neither did they invite Liu Dong and the others. But once they returned to Guo Rock Town, the Li Clan would definitely hold a grand celebratory banquet.
The next day, Ling Han and Liu Yu Tong once again arrived at the Wrestling Ring of the city. Meanwhile, Zhu He Xin and Zhang Wei Shan were in the process of concocting the Reverse Pill, and have long since entered the Oblivious Mode, so they did not come to watch Ling Han compete. [1]
“Big Brother Ling!” Li Hao walked over and stood by his side. He then directed a respectful gaze at the Fourth Prince, Li Dong Yue and the others. They had all been people that he had once idolized and looked up to. He’d never thought that he would be able to compete with them now, causing him to feel unreasonably exhilarated.
“Do not look down on yourself. You have already formed Saber Qi, so your future achievements will definitely exceed them!” Ling Han said, giving him a comforting pat on the shoulder.
“En!” Li Hao nodded seriously. In truth, the real difference between himself and the Fourth Prince and the others was his lacking cultivation level. But since he’s already managed to form Saber Qi, he too would be able to become a ruler amongst those of the same cultivation level in future.
“Brother Ling!” When they saw Ling Han approach, the Fourth Prince and the others clasped their hands politely and spoke up in greeting.
Li Hao could not help gaping at this. This Ling Han was really too popular, wasn’t he? As if he was the moon which the stars could only revolve around. Even the Fourth Prince was not as popular as he was!
That was natural. Currently, there stood three dignified Black Grade alchemists behind him, so from a certain angle, he was even more influential than the Da Yuan King.
“The battles to decide the Top Ten will begin now!” The Chief Butler appeared. His eyes were squinted, making him look like a doddering old man. However, his voice was extremely loud and clear, spreading to every nook and cranny of the Wrestling Ring.
“The rules are very simple. There are ten tournament stages here. Choose any which one and walk onto the stage. If there’s no one there, then you will be the Stage Master. If there’s already someone, then you will challenge the Stage Master.”
“Everyone will only have a single chance to challenge the Stage Master.”
“By sundown, the ten people who are remaining on the tournament stage will be the Top Ten.”
This was indeed very simple. They simply had to battle it out.
When the Chief Butler had finished speaking, the majority of the participants all looked at the Fourth Prince, Li Dong Yue, and the others. These people possessed overwhelming power, so if any of the others wanted to obtain a place in the Top Ten, then they’d definitely want to avoid encountering these powerful warriors.
The Fourth Prince laughed loudly, and exuded the air of a ruler. He gave a great leap and landed on the first tournament stage, where he stood with his arms crossed behind his waist, waiting to be challenged.
“I’ll present myself first!” Li Dong Yue leapt onto the second tournament stage.
Jin Wuji, Baili Teng Yun, Xia Zhong and the others also respectively claimed a tournament stage, and in an instant, seven tournament stages were “owned”. These people all had absolute confidence and were not the slightest bit worried that they’d be tired out by fighting one battle after another.
Ling Han took one step forward, also preparing to step onto one of the remaining stages.
“Big Brother Ling, let’s just wait until the afternoon. We’ll have a bigger chance that way,” Li Hao hurriedly advised.
“Haha, it’s fine. There are not many here who can match me,” Ling Han gave a nonchalant wave of his hand. He gave a great leap and landed on the eighth tournament stage.
Soon after, the ninth and tenth tournament stages were also occupied, and with that, the ten Stage Masters have appeared. Now, it was time to see who would go up to challenge them.
“I’ll go!” Someone jumped up onto the tenth tournament stage and the first battle began. Right after, another person leapt up onto the ninth tournament stage. But what made the audience feel very curious about was that no one actually went to challenge Ling Han.
There was no lack of elites in the ninth layer of Element Gathering Tier here, so naturally they should be able to sense that Ling Han was only in the fourth layer of Element Gathering Tier. So theoretically, this kind of cultivation level was the lowest of all ten Stage Masters, but why didn’t anyone go up to challenge him?
They didn’t understand. The majority of those who advanced into the top fifty had attended the Fourth Prince’s banquet just a few days ago, so of course they knew that Ling Han actually had the support of three Black Grade alchemists. Who would dare challenge him?
Do you not intend to give face to the three alchemists behind Ling Han?
In any case, aside from the Fourth Prince, Li Dong Yue, and other such powerful warriors, there were still two or three slightly weaker competitors. So there was no need for them to stir up the hornet’s nest that was Ling Han.
But of course, the unexpected could still happen.
“I will challenge you!” A young man jumped up onto Ling Han’s tournament stage. He was a dark horse that had suddenly appeared in the Da Yuan Tournament this time, so he had not received an invitation to the Fourth Prince’s banquet a few days ago. As a result, he naturally had no idea of Ling Han’s background.