150: Chapter 150 The Grand Competition Begins!

As the sun rose, casting its golden glow, all eyes were focused on the massive central Martial Arts Arena of the Liuli Xuan Sect's outer Sect.

The triennial Outer Sect Grand Competition had officially begun!

The surroundings of the Martial Arts Arena were already a sea of people, filled with a deafening roar of voices.

Thousands of Outer Sect Disciples had gathered here, each with a different expression on their face.

Most were nervous, a small portion were expectant, and a rare few were even excited.

Only Ye Tian remained expressionless; he was neither nervous nor particularly excited, as his cultivation had already reached the ninth level of the Ningyuan Realm.

To him, these preliminary rounds were similarly meaningless.

However, since he wasn't on the Heaven Ranking, he had no choice but to participate in these utterly boring preliminaries like everyone else.

In such a grand competition, besides the Outer Sect Disciples, some Inner Sect Disciples and even Deacons were mixed into the periphery of the crowd, watching with great interest, clearly concerned with this highest level of outer Sect confrontation.

On the high platform on the north side of the Martial Arts Arena, twelve large red sandalwood chairs were placed.

At this moment, twelve figures were already seated upon them!

They were male and female, old and young, dressed in various styles, but without exception, they all radiated a majestic aura. Just sitting there calmly, they inspired awe and made people afraid to look directly at them.

All twelve outer Sect Elders were present!

These twelve individuals were all True Martial Realm powerhouses!

They were the true power-holders and top combatants of the outer Sect!

Their simultaneous appearance undoubtedly highlighted the importance the Sect placed on this competition.

Ye Tian's gaze swept across the high platform, lingering slightly on the twelve Elders.

He could feel the pressure radiating invisibly, and his heart felt a chill.

The True Martial Realm was indeed extraordinary, possessing a fundamental difference from the Ningyuan Realm.

His gaze lingered for a moment longer on a cold and elegant middle-aged beauty dressed in water-blue palace robes.

This was Mu Sisi's Revered Master, Elder Shuiyue.

It was said that her cultivation was profound, and she was especially proficient in water-attribute Cultivation Techniques, holding a high status among the outer Sect Elders.

However, what Ye Tian found strange was that Mu Sisi was not present.

He hadn't seen her among the participants for the competition either.

Elder Shuiyue seemed to sense something; her cold gaze glanced in Ye Tian's direction, she nodded slightly, and then looked away.

Ye Tian understood in his heart that this was perhaps because of Mu Sisi.

“Twelve True Martial Realm Elders personally attending to watch... this scene is truly spectacular.”

Beside him, Liu Ruyan sighed in a low voice, her beautiful eyes filled with longing.

To the vast majority of Outer Sect Disciples, the True Martial Realm was a Realm they had to look up to.

Leng Feng tightly gripped his sword hilt, a flicker of heat flashing in his icy eyes.

Only by standing on such a stage and contending with the strong could he approach the Peak of the Sword Dao more quickly.

Ye Tian nodded slightly, but there wasn't much of a ripple in his heart.

His goal was far beyond True Martial.

The Elders on the high platform were targets for him to surpass, not merely existences to be revered.

According to the information previously released by the Sect, a total of over 3,200 Outer Sect Disciples had registered for the competition.

This number seemed large, but compared to the total of nearly ten thousand Outer Sect Disciples, it actually only accounted for a small portion.

After all, not everyone had the confidence and courage to appear on stage in such a grand event.

Those who didn't register were in various situations.

Some indeed had shallow cultivation; like many Disciples who entered at the same time as Ye Tian, most were still lingering at the second or third level of Ningyuan, knowing that going on stage would only make them a laughingstock, so they preferred to watch and learn in peace.

Others had low-key personalities and disliked fighting, or focused on other skills such as Alchemy or Artifact Refining.

Of course, there were also some with decent strength who chose to give up for various reasons.

After all, although the competition offered Opportunities, it also came with risks; there were plenty of examples of serious injuries or even damaged cultivation.

Disciples like Liu Ruyan and Leng Feng, who had not been in the Sect for long but had excellent talent and were able to rise rapidly and dare to compete, were in the minority.

As for someone like Ye Tian, who had been in for less than a year and already had the strength to challenge the Heaven Ranking, he was a “Prodigy” among the few, someone who couldn't be judged by common logic.

“Silence!”

At that moment, a clear and majestic voice instantly drowned out the noise of the entire venue.

Everyone looked toward the sound and saw an old man dressed in a green Deacon's robe with eyes like lightning, floating down onto the center-most of the ten arenas.

This person was one of the Outer Sect Deacon Elders, Zhao Wuji, whose cultivation had already reached the third level of the True Martial Realm and who held considerable prestige in the outer Sect.

Zhao Wuji's gaze was like a torch as he scanned the field. Every Disciple swept by his gaze felt an invisible pressure and held their breath in concentration.

The entire Martial Arts Arena quickly fell silent.

“I am Zhao Wuji, entrusted by the Sect Master and the Elders to preside over this Outer Sect Grand Competition.”

Zhao Wuji's voice was like a great bell. “In this competition, there are a total of 3,213 participants! To efficiently select talents, the preliminary rounds will be held over two days!”

He pointed to the ten massive arenas in the field: “During the preliminaries, all ten arenas will be used simultaneously! Participating Disciples must go on stage to defend or challenge. Winners stay, losers leave, with no limit on the number of challenges!”

As soon as these words were spoken, a wave of discussion immediately broke out below the stage.

This rule meant that the competition would be extremely fierce and cruel!

To advance, one had to demonstrate sufficiently strong strength and endurance!

Zhao Wuji paused, waited for the discussion to die down a bit, and continued to announce: “After two days of preliminaries, the final thirty-two Disciples remaining on the arenas will be considered to have advanced to the next round of the knockout tournament!”

Thirty-two people!

Selecting thirty-two out of over three thousand!

It was almost one in a hundred!

This elimination rate indeed made many participants with average strength turn pale, feeling immense pressure.

“Furthermore!”

Zhao Wuji raised his voice, his gaze scanning certain Disciples in the crowd with exceptionally strong auras, and said slowly: “By the decision of the Council of Elders, the top ten Disciples of this term's Outer Sect Heaven Ranking, whose strength is publicly recognized, can bypass the preliminaries and are guaranteed a spot in the top thirty-two!”

When this decision was announced, it didn't cause much of a stir below; instead, most people felt it was only natural.

“The top ten of the Heaven Ranking advance directly? As it should be!”

“Yeah, letting them participate in the preliminaries, wouldn't that just be pure seal-clubbing? It's meaningless.”

“It's better this way, to avoid running into those monsters early and losing the chance immediately.”

Everyone discussed it, and there were no objections.

The top ten of the Heaven Ranking were each top-tier existences among the Outer Sect Disciples, their strength far exceeding that of ordinary Disciples. If they participated in the preliminaries, it would indeed be unfair to other participants and a waste of time and energy.

Directly guaranteeing their spots was reasonable.

Ye Tian's gaze swept through the crowd, and he also saw a few familiar faces.

The tall Lie Yang, with a burning aura, was standing in front of the crowd with his arms crossed and an arrogant look. Sensing Ye Tian's gaze, he turned his head, grinned, and was full of Battle Intent.

On the other side, Mo Ling, dressed all in black with a cold aura, was hidden in the shadows of the crowd, making her difficult to detect.

He also saw Chen Jianfeng and Ren Qianyang.

Chen Jianfeng still had that steady appearance; sensing Ye Tian's gaze, he smiled and nodded at him.

Ren Qianyang, on the other hand, was much more active, waving at Ye Tian from a distance with a bright smile, clearly full of anticipation for the upcoming competition.

Ye Tian also smiled and responded.

These Heaven Ranking experts were both competitors and shared a subtle sense of mutual recognition, knowing each other's strength.

“The rules are clear!”

Zhao Wuji finally said in a deep voice, “The preliminaries start now! All participating Disciples may choose an arena to go up on!

Remember, on the arena, fists and feet have no eyes, but as fellow Disciples sparring, stop at the right point. You must not intentionally take a life; violators will be severely punished!”

As his voice fell!

“Dong!”

A heavy bell sound echoed through the clouds, announcing that the Liuli Xuan Sect Outer Sect Grand Competition had officially opened!

In an instant, the atmosphere of the entire Martial Arts Arena was ignited!

The Disciples, who had long been unable to restrain themselves, turned into streaks of light and rushed toward the ten arenas!

“I'm going first!”

Sword Intent erupted in Leng Feng's eyes; he gave a low shout and flew toward one of the arenas.

“Junior Brother Ye, be careful!”

Liu Ruyan also said a word to Ye Tian and chose an arena with relatively fewer people to rush toward.

Ye Tian stood in place, not in a hurry to make a move.

His gaze swept across the ten arenas, observing the initial chaotic struggle.

The good show had only just begun.