Chapter 209: Chapter 209: The First Battle (Please Subscribe)
The main peak of Hero Mountain, bathed in sunlight.
Amidst the countless excited voices, four hundred and thirty-two contestants take turns to draw lots, choosing their representative numbers.
In every Hero Contest held in the past, to select the best eighty-one warriors in the entire region, the contestants were often divided into nine groups.
For instance, with four hundred and thirty-two participants this time, each group would have forty-eight people. Theoretically, these forty-eight people would go through forty-seven rounds of matches, but for efficiency, only twenty-four rounds were actually held.
Win a match, gain a point, lose a match, lose a point, and a draw is counted as zero. In the end, the top nine contestants in each group with the highest points become the acclaimed masters on the Hero Ranking.
Of course, this method inevitably includes some element of luck, resulting in unjust rankings.
Therefore, after twenty-four rounds, each group member has one chance to challenge any of the top nine participants. If they win, they can take their place.
Besides, to ensure the excitement of forthcoming matches, a seed player will be chosen from each group by the referee team, who can directly skip the first twenty-four rounds.
"The first group, Yuan Zong from Asura Mansion."
"The second group, Fang Shenwu from Divine Fist Clan."
"The third group, Lin Gaofei from Qiongjia Gang."
"The fourth group, Ye Liushuang from Queen City."
"The fifth group, Xu Canghai from Xu Family."
"The sixth group, Xue Changqing from Snow Listening Mountain villa."
"The seventh group, Bali Wen from Bali Family."
"The eighth group, Su Zhi’er from Floating Rain Pavilion."
"The ninth group, Wang Zuying from Chunse Man Yuan."
Hearing these nine seed players’ names, Shi Xiaole paused for a moment, quickly realizing that these nine were the top nine masters in the last session.
Of course, due to age restrictions, the fourth-ranked senior disciple from the Revenge Gathering, the sixth-ranked disciple from Lanci Treasure Temple, and the tenth-ranked master couldn’t participate in the competition, resulting in a reshuffle of the remaining positions.
Moreover, Shi Xiaole noticed an interesting pattern. These nine seed players all hailed from the three major gangs, four great families, and eight sects without any exceptions!
"This world doesn’t lack talent, what it lacks is martial arts."
Shi Xiaole silently lamented.
The martial arts that top forces possess have depths beyond the common man’s imagination. And the people who are genuinely talented are willing to join them eventually, almost creating a monopoly on the top elites of Qingxue State.
For decades, even a disciple from a top-tier sect reaching the top ten was considered an outstanding achievement, let alone being in the top five, something that had never been accomplished.
Shaking his head, Shi Xiaole quickly received his number—sixth group, number eighteen.
At the central location on top of the main peak, nine arenas, each fifty meters long and wide, and ten meters high, were already erected. These nine arenas were constructed by the Mechanism Pavilion, one of the eight sects. They appeared wooden but were extraordinarily sturdy, even high-ranked practitioners in the Xuanqi Realm could not destroy them.
Following the instructions, Shi Xiaole and the others who drew the sixth group walked towards the sixth site located at the eastern end, while the rest of the groups got into their respective positions.
As for each group’s referees, they had already been waiting there. All of them were seniors highly respected in the martial world.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh...
Under countless gazes from the side peak, Master Honest, standing beneath the welcoming pine, stood up with his hands folded and announced, "Lao Na(Lao Na is a modest way for a monk to refer to himself) announces, the arena battle officially begins."
Roar!
The scene boiled over, and the noise was so loud that it seemed to scatter the sea of clouds surrounding the main peak instantaneously.
"Senior Brother, you’re sure to make it onto the Hero Ranking."
"My son, now is the moment to work hard."
"Whether you can gain fame throughout the four seas depends on your performance."
While most people came to watch the excitement, a small portion was nervously watching certain figures on the main peak, pinning their boundless hopes on them.
In fact, those able to stand on the main peak were already one in ten thousand elites from Qingxue State, with boundless futures. Wherever they went, they would be sought after.
However, there are always going to be someone better, and these elites are destined to have only eighty-one people achieve success, becoming the brightest stars in the martial world!
"I am the referee for the sixth group. Remember, you cannot use hidden weapons or poison during the competition. Intentional injury is strictly prohibited. Violators will lose their qualification to compete."
In the sixth arena, the referee, an old man, warned.
"Yes."
All contestants nodded together.
"All right, enough talk. The first round, first match, number three Wang Qian versus number seventeen Qian Donghai."
Randomly drawing two numbers from the wooden box on the table, the referee of the sixth group announced loudly.
Swoosh, swoosh.
Two figures immediately jumped onto the arena, standing five feet apart.
One of them was a Qi Absorption Seventh Layer practitioner, and the other was a Qi Absorption Sixth Layer practitioner. After offering polite remarks, they immediately charged at each other and began their intense fight.
The young man named Wang Qian at the Qi Absorption Seventh Layer excelled in hand-to-hand combat, while coincidentally, his opponent Qian Donghai was adept in leg techniques.
One was aggressive in attack, the other excelled in evasive maneuvers; the match was exciting.
Meanwhile, battles on the other eight arenas officially started, and the entire sky seemed to be filled with the voices of the martial artists watching the fights.
On the sixth arena, after a series of moves, Wang Qian eventually won.
After all, when talking about the gifted fellows taking the stage, these variations in talent don’t make much difference. A higher realm represented a significant advantage.
"The second match, number nine Pan Yue versus number twenty-one He Danwei."
Another two people went on stage.
Loud voices came from the side peak this time, even causing many contestants around Shi Xiaole to show eager faces.
Looking towards the ring, Shi Xiaole’s attention quickly fell on one of them.
The man was dressed in a brocade robe, with a face like a jade, standing on the stage like a divinely handsome figure. The aura he emanated was vague and far-reaching, clearly a notch above everyone else.
His opponent had a serious look and said, "’Jade Handsome’ Pan Yue, it’s you."
Pan Yue smiled and said, "You might as well admit defeat. Last time, you ranked sixty-second, not my opponent. This time, even less possible."
"Hmph, how would you know without fighting."
Pan Yue did indeed put a lot of pressure on He Danwei, but from the latter’s perspective, nothing is absolute. Moreover, the two of them had fought in the previous tournament, exchanging nearly a hundred moves. After five years of hard work, He Danwei might have caught up with Pan Yue.
With this in mind, he unsheathed his sword, unleashing his ultimate technique right off the bat.
Pan Yue smiled faintly, swiftly retreating and easily avoiding his opponent’s attack.
"Flash and Fire."
After a series of swings, He Danwei bellowed. The sword in his hands trembled violently, generating countless fierce waves of sword energy that surged towards Pan Yue, instantly winning the cheers from many spectators.
"Down you go."
Despite the waves of sword energy, Pan Yue remained expressionless. With a gentle flick of his right hand, he redirected the waves right back at his opponent.
With a loud thump, He Danwei was knocked off the arena.
"So strong."
"Both are at the seventh level of Qi Absorption, high-ranking combatants, but the gap is so huge?"
A number of young talents were secretly surprised.
They expected Pan Yue to win, but they didn’t expect that victory would come so easily. After all, his opponent was no unknown contender.
"Have you all forgotten? Last time, Pan Yue, at only nineteen years old, managed to rank 32nd. Who knows how strong he is now?"
"True indeed. Apart from the top nine seeds and some other rising stars, Pan Yue should be considered a top-tier contestant."
Some people commented.
"Apart from them, he’s considered top-tier? You just wait and see."
Pan Yue sneered quietly to himself and stepped off the stage.
At this moment, the eyes of many women on the sideline followed Pan Yue. His appearance, aptitude, and strength all met the criteria of their ideal dream lover.
"Your ideal man really is outstanding. With Xue Changqing sitting out, he might even have a chance to win the top spot in the sixth group."
From the treetop, Yinhua Lady teased Yuhua Lady.
Yuhua Lady’s eyes shimmered. Even though she was proudly delighted internally, she playfully responded, "The competition has only just begun. Let’s wait and see."
One round after another proceeded in the tournament.
Even though he hadn’t fought yet, this didn’t stop Shi Xiaole from observing his potential opponents on the various arenas.
So far, other than the one who had faced Pan Yue, the other top seven from the last tournament had fought, and they all won effortlessly without exception.
It’s hardly surprising. These individuals were all under twenty five years ago, yet they managed to reach the top 81 in the talent-filled martial arts tournament. Calling them geniuses would hardly be an overstatement.
Newcomers in recent years suffer a disadvantage due to their age. Unless their aptitude is much higher, challenging the status of these seasoned fighters would be an uphill battle.
If this is the case, how terrifying must the top nine seeds be?
On a noteworthy note, through eavesdropping, Shi Xiaole finally learned that the yellow-clothed young girl he had met at the Astonishing Dragon Castle was the ninth seed, Wang Zuying.
Perhaps sensing his gaze, Wang Zuying kindly smiled at him and transmitted a message, "Young Master Shi, long time no see. I’m looking forward to your performance."
"Thank you."
Shi Xiaole responded politely.
During this time, Shangguan Yan from leaderboard five also made her move. Her opponent was a level seven Qi absorption swordsman, who lost to her in just ten moves.
"Sigh, Yan’er is considered the best among leading youngsters in the Floating River Area, but in the whole of Qingxue State, she’s probably not even in the top three hundred."
Will Sect’s leader, Shangguan Xing, said with a bitter smile.
The Grand Elder and others were silent.
Although they knew about the disparity, facing it directly was a mental blow that was hard to shake off.
"Oh, it seems Shi Xiaole is about to take the stage."
One of the Will Sect elders suddenly spoke up.
"Oh, I’m curious to see how strong he, a seventh level Qi Absorption practitioner, really is."
"Whether he advanced recklessly can be determined with this one match."
All the high-level Will Sect members watched keenly.
More eagerly anticipating this match were the people from the Golden Phoenix Tower and Huajian Sect, as well as the various forces of the Cloud Triangle.
In this tournament, Shi Xiaole was the only one from the Cloud Triangle who qualified for arena combat.
"Brother Shi, don’t disappoint me."
Su Junhao murmured to himself.
Due to his cultivation level, he was eliminated in the third round and couldn’t reach the stage.
If someone else was representing the Cloud Triangle, Su Junhao would have felt resentful and disappointed. But when that person turned out to be Shi Xiaole, he paradoxically felt a sense of anticipation.
Could it be that in my subconscious, I’ve already accepted that Brother Shi surpasses me by far?
"Not good. Shi Xiaole’s opponent is a high-level combatant from the last tournament who was close to making the list. I remember him."
On the other side, Shen Canghai, who had a bout with Shi Xiaole on the Snow Appreciation Pavillion, suddenly spoke up.
"I remember. You fought against him for twenty-two rounds before being defeated by a single punch."
Beside Shen Canghai, Bai Yuxue said coldly, worry in her eyes.
She recognized that Shi Xiaole’s talents surpassed Shen Canghai’s, but she wasn’t sure if he could easily defeat the latter at the same level of cultivation.
On the sixth arena.
"You don’t want to admit defeat?"
The young man raised an eyebrow.
"Why should I?"
Shi Xiaole declared.
"I see. All geniuses are prideful. However, pride means nothing in the face of true strength."
The young man mustered his power and threw a punch. The overwhelming energy resembled a roaring hungry wolf, surging instantaneously. Its strength was comparable to the swordsman defeated by Pan Yue.
