17: Loopholes in the rules of the ring competition

"D-7 Courtyard, total score of one hundred and fifty, temporarily ranked eighth!"

The manager's voice echoed over the Martial Arts Arena, like a ladle of cold water poured into a boiling oil pan, causing an instant explosion of noise.

Countless gazes—filled with shock, doubt, jealousy, and scrutiny—all pinned themselves onto Wen Youyi and The core five people simultaneously. These looks came from all directions: survivors who had fought their way out of the Misty Forest together, as well as Disciples who had long been eliminated and were watching the excitement from the sidelines.

"Eighth? On what basis?"

"Five trash at the first or second layer, and they sneaked their way to eighth?"

"They must have had dog-shit luck and picked up some scraps!"

"I don't accept this! They definitely cheated!"

The sounds of discussion surged like a tide. Especially for those teams ranked lower or already eliminated, their eyes almost spat fire as they looked at Wen Youyi and his group. D-7 Courtyard, a name that was perpetually at the bottom and ignored by everyone, now seemed incredibly eyesore.

Zhao Iron Pillar felt extremely uncomfortable under these gazes. He stiffened his neck and glared back. "What are you looking at! These points were earned by our own fists and feet!"

Wang Wu and the others subconsciously huddled closer, forming a small defensive circle, their palms sweating slightly. This pressure of being the center of attention for the entire field was far greater than facing enemies in the forest.

Wen Youyi, however, remained calm. He had long anticipated this situation. He lightly patted Zhao Iron Pillar's arm to signal him to stay calm, while his gaze quickly swept over the remaining dozens of Disciples on the plaza.

Chen Jian's team was indeed there, ranked third. Chen Jian himself was looking at him coldly, his eyes like a venomous snake. Ranked first was a team composed of five Disciples at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer Peak; their auras were steady, and they were clearly powerful. Ranked second was a lone wolf, a cold-faced youth holding a long sword. He was just one person, yet his points were terrifyingly high, clearly demonstrating horrific individual strength during the melee.

Besides these top contenders, there were many Disciples at the third and fourth layers of Qi Refining, each with sharp gazes, none of whom were easy to deal with.

"Silence!"

On the high platform, an Outer Sect Elder with a stern face spoke. His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly suppressed all the noise. The plaza fell silent instantly.

"The first round of the melee has ended. Those in the top fifty in points will enter the second round: the Arena Tournament." The Elder's gaze swept over the crowd below. "The rules of the Arena Tournament are as follows: Defender Battles!"

Defender Battles?

Everyone was stunned and listened intently.

The rules were simple: five arenas would be established. The top five teams or individuals in points would serve as the initial arena lords. The remaining forty-five people could freely choose an arena to challenge. Each person had only one chance to challenge. For every successful defense, the arena lord would receive extra points. Ultimately, the five people standing on the arenas would be the top five of this minor competition and earn the qualification to enter the 'Meteor Ancient Ruins'! If an arena lord failed their defense, they could then become a challenger and challenge other arenas, but they would still only have one chance.

Once the rules were announced, the crowd broke into an uproar.

These rules were clearly extremely advantageous to the initial arena lords! They could wait at their leisure while the challengers had to fight desperately to take the stage, and they might only have one shot!

The faces of the Disciples ranked outside the top six were not looking good. This meant that if they wanted to get into the top five, they had to challenge those strongest monsters!

Meanwhile, Wen Youyi and The core five people, ranked eighth, were exactly in the challenger ranks.

"This is troublesome." Wang Wu's face turned pale. "If we want to get into the top five, we have to snatch an arena from those five monsters..." He thought of Chen Jian, the lone wolf, and the first-ranked team; none of them were opponents they could easily handle.

Zhao Iron Pillar also scratched his head. "This is going to be hard to handle, Little Wen."

Just when everyone thought Wen Youyi would have a solemn expression, he suddenly smiled, and he smiled very easily.

"Brothers, don't panic." Wen Youyi looked at the five tall arenas about to rise, his eyes flashing with a light as if he had discovered a bug in a piece of code. "These rules might not necessarily be a bad thing for us."

"Huh?" Everyone was stunned.

"Think about it," Wen Youyi analyzed in a low voice, his speech rapid. "The rules say the initial arena lords are the 'top five teams or individuals in points'. Note the phrase 'teams or individuals'! That is to say, among the top five, someone like that lone wolf occupies one arena by himself. But for a team like the one ranked first, all five of them occupy one arena."

"What's the difference?" Zhao Iron Pillar didn't understand.

"The difference is huge!" A sharp light flashed in Wen Youyi's eyes. "The rules only mention the arena lord defending the stage, but they didn't explicitly state whether the arena lord must defend alone or if the entire team defends together!"

Wang Wu reacted instantly and gasped. "Junior Brother Wen, you mean... if we are the arena lords, we can defend the stage as a group of five? And if the person challenging us is just one person, they would have to face all five of us?!"

"Theoretically, if the rules don't forbid it, then it's allowed!" The corner of Wen Youyi's mouth curled up. "Furthermore, the rules said that if an arena lord fails, they can become a challenger to challenge other arenas. This means we can... strategically choose our opponents!"

A bold plan quickly became clear in his mind.

They didn't need to challenge those strongest, toughest nuts from the start. They could wait! Wait for other challengers to wear down those powerful arena lords, or even wait for someone to successfully knock an arena lord off the stage! At that time, they would challenge the new arena lord who might already be injured or over-exhausted!

They could even... create a 'soft persimmon' arena lord themselves!

"Our goal isn't to fight for those seemingly glorious initial arena lord spots." Wen Youyi's gaze swept over the five soon-to-be-born arena lords, finally landing on the teams ranked fourth and fifth. Those two teams weren't weak either, both having Qi Refining Fourth Layer Disciples sitting in, but compared to the top three, they were clearly easier to deal with.

"Our goal is to be one of the five people standing on the arenas at the very end!" His voice carried absolute certainty. "And now, what we need to do is wait patiently and find the 'opportunity' that is most suitable for us to strike!"

Soon, the list of the top five in points was confirmed. They were: first, the 'Five Elements Courtyard' team (five people); second, the lone wolf 'Lin Feng'; third, the Chen Jian team (four people); fourth, the 'Thick Earth Courtyard' team (five people); and fifth, the 'Spirit Creek Courtyard' team (five people).

Five arena light screens rose, and the five initial arena lords stood proudly upon them, receiving the baptism of the crowd's gazes—some with arrogance, some with solemnity.

Below the stage, the forty-five challengers, including Wen Youyi, were like a pack of wolves, their eyes roaming, looking for the best prey and targets.

The great battle was on the verge of breaking out.

Wen Youyi took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Brothers, get ready. Our 'Arena Assembly Line' is about to start running."

(End of Chapter)