Chapter 193: Hit! Hit Hard!

The results of the exhibition match, of course, ended with the Shengshen Sect triumphing completely.

It’s not that the Qiguo officials deliberately chose a few soft targets for them; in fact, these little guys, while still a long way from Miss Vilyric’s standards, were still brilliant young talents heavily groomed by the nation. The fact that they all managed to return safely from the Endless Ruins Sea already speaks volumes about their strength.

With just these five, it would be difficult for ordinary strong individuals to team up and overpower them without two or three Murong Yuns on their side. And let’s face it, the realm of selecting immortals isn’t something that can be found everywhere, so you definitely won’t see them popping up like cabbages during a mere exhibition match.

At the end of the day, this was nothing more than a competition meant for show and demonstration of power, with any unstable factors already kept to a minimum—if you want to put it nicely, it had the feel of “Friendship First, Competition Second.”

The opening ceremony of the first day passed smoothly in this lively atmosphere, and next up was the formal and ruthless elimination rounds.

Early the next morning, Miss Vilyric, one of the martial arts competitors, walked into her designated sub-area.

The entire venue was divided into over a hundred sub-areas and one main area, with each sub-area independently accommodating up to a hundred fighters, while the larger central main area was typically reserved for more complex cultural assessments or special matches that were more eye-catching.

Miss Vilyric was not a well-known competitor; she wasn’t anyone popular, so her match was naturally quite unremarkable—just a mix of fish and dragons.

After handing over her identification badge to the referee overseeing the sub-area, the tall man, who evidently belonged to the Dongyuanzhi Sect and had considerable strength, took a few glances at her black hair and unique outfit, but didn’t say much. He merely performed his duty, confirming her number, and gestured for her to get on stage immediately.

Wow, it really is a brawl with a hundred people…

Having arrived a bit late, Miss Priestess found that the competitors on the stage had mostly gathered. At this moment, they occupied various spots on the stage in small groups, though quite a few, like Vilyric, were all alone.

This was to be expected, as the drawing of lots was completely random. People like Vilyric, Miss Xiao Kong, and Murong Yun all ended up in different segments and rounds, making it quite difficult for those with close ties to appear on the same stage amidst such large numbers.

Unless, of course, an insider pulled some strings.

However, even a slightly clever guy in this situation would attempt to form some reliable temporary teams, because although this was a hundred-person melee, it didn’t mean that only one person could stand out.

“The 3036th preliminary round is about to begin! Let me briefly explain the rules and notes!”

A figure stepped forward from the referee panel, made up of at least ten individuals with solid energies, and blew the whistle to attract everyone’s attention before proceeding to explain in a routine manner.

“The elimination round is a hundred-person melee. Those who lose their combat effectiveness or faint, or surrender will be considered eliminated. The last ten standing on the stage can advance to the next round.”

The chief referee’s gaze swept over the entire arena, and he solemnly continued, “This battle does not prohibit weapons, treasures, hidden weapons, poisons—any means can be used. However, the use of lethal poisons is strictly forbidden, as is killing or intentionally causing permanent bodily harm. Once a contestant expresses surrender or loses combat effectiveness, they are immediately prohibited from being attacked further. Any violations of these points will result in immediate disqualification from the competition and legal penalties as applicable. That’s all!”

Hearing the chief referee clearly outline the rules in a concise manner, most people didn’t show too much surprise; after all, with so many participants, it was impossible to finish everything in a single day. Now it had been three days since the ceremony began, so anyone with a little awareness could easily understand the rules of the elimination round.

Of course, knowing the rules doesn’t mean you could easily exploit loopholes or pull any tricks in such a short time—this was the purpose of keeping things strictly confidential beforehand.

Ten to one.

It was precisely because many had gotten wind of some information beforehand that they tried to pull in allies during that brief time just now. While organizing a ten-person team might be a bit tricky, and not even suitable for the current situation, given the ample slots for advancement, it was indeed quite easy to reach a collaborative effort among those smaller groups of 2-5 people to enhance their chances.

But the organizers were well aware of these situations, and they naturally wouldn’t give some participants too much time for forming alliances. Once the chief referee finished announcing the rules, his strong followers quickly spread out to various corners under the instantly tense gaze of the crowd, clearing a competition area of over ten thousand square meters.

This was both monitoring and safeguarding, as well as a signal.

The spectators scattered around the viewing platforms, responsible for enlivening the atmosphere and funding the event, gradually began to cheer.

As the chief referee stepped back slowly, he raised one hand high.

Then he swung it down!

“Let the competition begin!”

“Boom!!!”

A violent explosion erupted from the center of the arena instantly, launching several competitors who were caught off guard, eliciting a series of gasps and wails!

Shouts, roars, clangs of weapons, punches colliding, and a myriad of bizarre hidden weapons firing—sounds of impacts echoed from all directions within the same moment, instantly creating at least a dozen chaotic battle circles on the stage.

Even though the audience might have seen their share of brawls over the past few days, the atmosphere was still immediately stirred up by this brawl filled with violence and combat. The loud shouts and cheers, mixed with a few fervent voices cheering for specific targets, only added to the heated tide of this fight.

Miss Vilyric sidestepped a few projectiles that weren’t aimed anywhere specific and seemed to be merely a doom-for-whoever coincidence. She even kicked a nearby unfortunate soul, sending them flying off the stage like a tumbling gourd, before taking a vague scan of her surroundings.

First and foremost, it was clear that the quality of these contestants varied greatly. There were indeed skilled individuals, but there also existed those who had no idea what was happening and got eliminated on the first wave of battle.

The registration requirements were very lenient; as long as one surpassed the standard of LV5 ordinary folks, reaching up to the threshold of LV10 in the lower ranks was enough to qualify.

And those kind of contestants would be the first to be squished like soft targets.

Overall, the normal participants predominantly ranged from LV10 to LV30, which corresponds to the middle tiers of the so-called lower ranks commonly encountered in the Ancient Spirit Realm.

Those who reached above LV30 in the “Pinnacle” realm were already considered top-notch experts, and as for the legendary “Seeking Immortal” realm, Miss Priestess didn’t get any sense of such individuals among her immediate circle—unless someone was hiding their strength.

Well… actually, this isn’t too bad.

If the martial artists participating in the “Four Saints Selection Tournament” had such average strength, the grassroots fighting capability in the Ancient Spirit Realm might be slightly higher than that of average countries back in the original realm, especially since just one Dongyuanzhi Kingdom has over a million participants—that’s quite an impressive force.

Miss Priestess didn’t use any weapons; instead, she casually dodged the various chaotic area-of-effect attacks while occasionally sending off those troublesome guys who got too close with a simple kick, while those average talents lingering in the earlier half of the lower ranks had no ability to resist at all.

As she walked, Vilyric continued to keep a close eye on the battle situation.

Things were getting fierce around her, and people were falling quickly. If she could just stroll around a bit longer, she should be able to breeze through to the next round.

Hehe, easy peasy~

   

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