130: Newcomer Ranking

Three days passed in a flash amidst the thunderous drums, intersecting spiritual light, and endless shouting.

The heat of the Sect Grand Competition didn't fade because of the large number of Disciples being eliminated; instead, it grew higher as the battles entered their prime.

Those Disciples who had stopped here were either unwilling, simply wanted to watch the excitement, or intended to observe and learn.

Most did not leave, surrounding the arenas until they were packed, making the atmosphere on the sidelines even more clamorous and burning.

These first three days were not so much a competition as an efficient and cold screening.

Mud and sand mixed together, fish and dragons mingled; many Disciples who held onto luck or whose strength was indeed insufficient were quickly eliminated.

But the truly tough ones also began to reveal their edge, their names spreading by word of mouth among the thousands of Disciples, becoming increasingly loud.

A few names were especially eye-catching.

Li Yuanbai.

This youth studied under a Core Formation Stage Sword Cultivator in the Sect known for his sharp and decisive killing, and was his personal Disciple.

With a cultivation at the Thirteenth Layer of Qi Refining, his Sword Qi had already begun to show its prominence.

Over the three days, Disciples who encountered him, regardless of their cultivation level, often only saw a flash of brilliant sword light like a streak of silk before the battle was declared over.

His figure was upright, his face cold; when he controlled his sword, man and sword were nearly one, winning cleanly and neatly, and he was recognized as one of the favorites to win this Great Competition.

Lan Ni.

She was a Disciple under that rarely appearing female Nascent Soul Ancestor of the Shenxiao Sect with profound cultivation; born with a pair of Illusory Pupils, it was said she could peer into hearts and confuse the five senses.

Her battles could be described as eerie.

Often, as soon as the referee's "Start" sounded, she would quietly stand on one side of the arena, her deep eyes looking towards her opponent.

Her opponents, whether cautiously defending or preemptively attacking, would often have their expressions become dazed, entranced, terrified, or ecstatic after a few breaths.

Then they would perform all sorts of bizarre actions, the most common being turning around themselves and walking off the arena in a daze, only waking up as if from a dream upon landing, their faces changing in horror.

The unpredictability of her Spells made them impossible to guard against, and she was likewise seen as one of the most difficult opponents.

Xing Sang.

The rising star of the Body Cultivator lineage with the most momentum in recent years, rumored to possess a rare Body Refining talent.

This person was not particularly burly, but his muscles and bones were well-proportioned, his lines smooth, and every inch of his body seemed to contain explosive power.

His fighting style was completely different from Li Yuanbai's "sharpness"; it was pure "dominance" and "speed."

Often, before the opponent's Spells were formed or their Magical Artifacts deployed, he had already crashed into the center like a wild Vicious Beast; with a simple punch, a collision, or a shoulder strike, his overwhelming force would decide the outcome.

His speed was so fast and his burst so fierce that many Disciples skilled in long-range Spells complained incessantly; it was a typical case of absolute strength crushing all techniques.

And Lu Chen was the most special and most unfathomable of the four.

His background was a mystery; Xuanji Peak had few people and had always been low-key; most Disciples in the Sect knew almost nothing about him, and it was hard to get definite news even after inquiring in many ways.

More startling was that for three whole days and several battles, no one had seen him sacrifice any decent Magical Artifact.

No one could determine whether he was a Body Cultivator focusing on the Physical Body, a Spell Cultivator deeply studying Spells, or a practitioner of both.

His battles did not have the magnificence of Li Yuanbai's soaring Sword Qi, the eeriness of Lan Ni's heart-confusing illusions, or the shock of Xing Sang's violent suppression.

There were only seemingly ordinary parries, dodges, common punches and kicks, and the occasional, perfectly timed wisp of thunder light or palm wind.

Yet it was precisely these simple methods that always landed in the most uncomfortable positions for his opponents at the most appropriate moments, hearing thunder in the silence, and achieving victory with ease.

This inability to see through him instead shrouded him in a different layer of mystery and weight.

Besides these four most prominent ones, more previously unknown faces began to emerge on the arenas, showing their abilities.

The massive competition ground had seemingly become a grand stage for the young elite generation of the Shenxiao Sect to fully display their talents.

Everyone knew that performing so hard was not only to compete for that precious ranking and reward but also in hopes of catching the Dharma Eye of the Sect's higher-ups or even a certain Old Ancestor.

Once favored, with resources tilting toward them and careful guidance, their path to the Dao would surely open up.

The screening was nearing its end, and the true battle between dragons and tigers was about to explode on a more focused arena.

On the fourth day, as the morning light first appeared, the atmosphere below Shenxiao Peak was already completely different from the first three days.

After three days of efficient and cruel screening, the thousands of participants were now down to several hundred; those still remaining on the field were all top performers from various Peaks, or at least experts in some aspect.

What permeated the air was no longer an atmosphere mixed with luck and probing, but a more solid, sharp, and even faintly bloody competitive vibe.

Even more eye-catching was a giant light screen over ten zhang wide and nearly a hundred zhang high on the towering cliff of Shenxiao Peak, hanging down from the clouds like a reversed heavenly river.

At the top of the light screen, three large characters condensed from Geng Metal Qi, with strokes as powerful as if carved by a sword or hewn by an axe, shone brilliantly, emitting a majesty that made hearts surge and feel pressure.

rookie ranking list!

These three words symbolized one of the highest honors that Qi Refinement Stage Disciples of the Shenxiao Sect could achieve, a passport for the future path of the Dao, and a bellwether for the tilting of Sect resources.

The main body of the light screen was divided into thirty most eye-catching and highest-positioned golden frames, which were currently empty, waiting for their true owners.

Below them, hundreds of smaller silver boxes were densely arranged, and many names and number plates had already begun to emerge within the boxes as spiritual light flowed.

These were the candidates who had passed the preliminary screening and were eligible to compete for a seat on the rookie ranking list.

The cruel rules were already clear: only when a name was finally carved within those thirty golden frames would it be considered truly on the list, and only then would they be eligible to continue participating in the subsequent Peak duel that decided the final ranking.

The hundreds of silver boxes below were merely temporary rankings and proof of eligibility before the even more intense elimination rounds.

Thirty spots, hundreds of people competing.

The true bloody battle had only just begun.

Lu Chen stood below the stage, looking up at the huge rookie ranking list light screen with a calm gaze.

Just now, he had finished his first battle of the fourth day.

His opponent was a Disciple at the Peak of the Thirteenth Layer of Qi Refining who specialized in water-element Spells; his Overlapping Waves Technique was already quite proficient, with layers of water force surging endlessly and hiding a feminine, bone-corroding power, incomparable to the opponents he met in the first three days.

In this battle, Lu Chen still did not use the flash thunder spear, startling thunder whip, or purple lightning hibernation sting.

Relying only on his movement and punches and kicks, combined with increasingly pure thunder spiritual power, he shuttled and advanced through the layers of water waves.

The opponent's Spells were exquisite and their spiritual power was long-lasting, which indeed brought him some trouble, and he could no longer break them at will as before.

After fighting for more than thirty moves, Lu Chen finally spotted a tiny gap in the opponent's spiritual power conversion; a palm blade containing condensed Thunder Gang broke through the water curtain and pressed against the opponent's protective spiritual light; although not seriously injured, it shook the opponent's blood and Qi, causing them to retreat in defeat.

It wasn't an easy win, but he always maintained control of the rhythm.

At this moment, the black number plate in his hand heated up slightly, and a piece of information flowed into his mind.

Looking up, he saw that in a silver box below the huge rookie ranking list light screen, spiritual light gathered, and words slowly emerged.

Number 356, Lu Chen.

His name was on the preparatory list.

"The real opponents are about to start."

Lu Chen whispered in his heart; instead of fear, a serene expectation flashed through his eyes.

The battle just now had made him clearly feel that as the number of people sharply decreased, the strength level of the remaining opponents had obviously jumped up a notch.

Their Spells were more refined, their Magical Artifacts sharper, and their combat awareness stronger; it was no longer possible to win easily relying only on basic means as before.

He lightly clenched his fist, his knuckles making a faint cracking sound.

Next, he would inevitably need to use more means.

From the direction of the arena, the referee's emotionless voice rang out again through the Formation: "Number 356, Lu Chen, to Arena Seven!"

The new opponent was already in place.

Lu Chen no longer looked up at the light screen, turned around, parted the crowd, and walked steadily towards the arena marked with the character "Seven."

The first step on the path to the list had been taken.

Every step that followed would require treading on stronger opponents to climb upward.