Chapter 71 The Competition Begins

The venue for the Martial Arts School Ranking Tournament was the massive plaza outside the Martial Arts Association.

The area was already packed with a dense crowd, and the spectator stands were filled to capacity.

After all, this was a grand event held in Jiangcheng City once every five years, so the audience was naturally incredibly enthusiastic.

Being able to watch battles between Martial Artists at such close range was a rare opportunity for ordinary people.

Spectators waved the banners of various martial arts schools, and waves of cheers erupted one after another.

Among them, the fans of the blue 'Blue Eagle', purple 'Thunder', and black 'Mad Saber' martial arts schools were the most numerous, representing the three top favorites to win this tournament.

In addition to these ordinary spectators, some high-level leaders of Jiangcheng City and big figures from various major powers also made an appearance, all seated in the VIP section at the very front.

For instance, Zhao Tianlong, the President of the Martial Arts Association, sat in the center of the VIP section, with Vice President Zhou beside him; both attended as representatives of the Jiangcheng Martial Arts Association.

In fact, the Martial Arts Association was primarily responsible for organizing this tournament, and they arranged the entire series of matters.

Seated next to Zhao Tianlong were the Mayor of Jiangcheng City and the Commander of the Jiangcheng Defense Force, both of whom were influential figures with real power in Jiangcheng.

They, along with Zhao Tianlong, were the 'Big Three' of Jiangcheng and occupied the pinnacle of power.

Aside from them, the VIP section also held representatives from various major families in Jiangcheng, as well as some big figures from the provincial capital.

Most of them had various collaborations with the major martial arts schools.

In short, the scale of this tournament was unprecedented.

Chu Han and the others entered the venue through the martial arts school's exclusive passage and waited backstage.

Next up was the tournament's opening ceremony, where representatives from the major martial arts schools would enter one by one.

Three loud 'thuds' echoed outside, followed by the simultaneous firing of ceremonial cannons.

First, the host gave some opening remarks and then announced the entry of the martial arts schools.

The first to enter was, naturally, the defending champion with the loudest cheers: Blue Eagle Martial Arts Hall.

Led by Hall Master Lan Kui, the group marched grandly into the venue, their Aura fully displayed.

The atmosphere in the spectator stands was instantly ignited.

The spectators waving the Blue Eagle Martial Arts Hall banners went wild, shouting the slogan 'Three Consecutive Championships' at the top of their lungs.

Below, the members of Blue Eagle Martial Arts Hall waved back at the stands, responding to the fans' passion.

It truly looked like they were the people's choice.

Lan Kui, dressed in black martial arts attire, exuded the powerful Aura of a 6th-rank Martial Artist, looking majestic without even trying to be intimidating.

He walked at the front of the team expressionlessly, though an imperceptible curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He was quite satisfied with his school's popularity.

"Dad, almost everyone in the stands is cheering for us. Our school will definitely win the championship this time!"

Behind him, Lan Yu spoke excitedly, his face full of pride.

Today, he wore a silver-white combat suit with an exquisite blue eagle pattern embroidered on the cuffs, and the Essence of a Peak 2nd-Rank flickered around him.

Four other members of the school wore the same uniform, all of whom were contestants representing Blue Eagle Martial Arts Hall.

The strength of these four was formidable; even the weakest was at the Middle Stage of the 4th-Rank, making them the team with the highest average strength.

It was no wonder Lan Kui was so confident.

"That Lan Kui is becoming more and more ostentatious."

In the VIP section, Vice President Zhou whispered to Zhao Tianlong, his tone carrying great dissatisfaction.

"He thinks we don't know about the things he's been doing lately. He really takes the Martial Arts Association for fools."

Zhao Tianlong frowned slightly, his gaze falling on Lan Kui. "Once he obtains the provincial-level school certification, his power will surely grow further, and he will inevitably become even more unscrupulous."

"I hope this time... someone can stop Blue Eagle Martial Arts Hall from winning."

"Thunder Martial Arts School is coming out. They should be the most hopeful candidate to stop Blue Eagle."

As soon as he finished speaking, another burst of cheers erupted.

Thunder Martial Arts School entered, and their team's Aura was not at all weaker than Blue Eagle's.

Although it was just a branch hall, the headquarters of Thunder Martial Arts School was national-level and ranked among the best in the entire Dragon Summer Federation; they were characterized by their immense wealth and deep foundations.

After all, even for Blue Eagle Martial Arts Hall, their goal for so many years had only been to become a provincial-level school.

Thunder Martial Arts School's Jiangcheng branch was also determined to win this ranking tournament.

The Jiangcheng branch had been established in Jiangcheng for less than five years and hoped to solidify its status through this competition.

And winning the ranking tournament was the simplest and most direct way to do so.

Lei Heming, the head of the Jiangcheng branch of Thunder Martial Arts School, was also a 6th-rank Martial Artist. Behind him, five young Martial Artists in blue combat suits were full of energy, and everyone's strength was at the 4th-Rank.

In terms of average strength, they seemed to be even above Blue Eagle Martial Arts Hall.

Soon, the audience cheered again as Mad Saber Martial Arts School entered.

As Blue Eagle's biggest rival in the previous two ranking tournaments, Mad Saber Martial Arts School was also very popular.

The head of Mad Saber Martial Arts School was at the Fifth-Stage Extreme, not having reached the 6th-Rank.

However, he was equally confident, his face filled with pride.

His confidence mainly stemmed from his son, Wu Qi.

Wu Qi was not old, looking to be in his early twenties, yet his cultivation had reached the 4th-Rank Peak, and he could step into the 5th-Rank threshold at any time.

Many believed Wu Qi was the strongest contestant in this tournament, which gave Mad Saber Martial Arts School immense confidence.

After the three favorite schools entered, the entries of the subsequent schools seemed somewhat lackluster.

This was because the remaining schools were relatively weak; their heads were only at the Early Stage of the 5th-Rank or even the 4th-Rank.

The team members participating in the competition only had one or two at the Early Stage of the 4th-Rank, while most other contestants were only 3rd-Rank or even 2nd-Rank.

Some school teams didn't even have a 3rd-Rank Martial Artist and were purely there to make up the numbers.

When it was War Hammer Martial Arts Hall's turn to enter, the audience's enthusiasm had almost been exhausted, leaving only sporadic applause.

In the host's introduction, War Hammer Martial Arts Hall was ranked in the third tier of all schools, with their strength placed around 9th to 12th place.

Even though their team had a 4th-Rank Early Stage member like Wei Tie and Li Wu at the 3rd-Rank Peak, the evaluation remained low.

Gao Jun walked at the front, his expression not very good.

He had thought that by spending a lot of money to hire help, his school's strength could Rank in the top five, but he didn't expect the investments of other schools to be even higher than his.

"Sigh," Gao Jun sighed. "The competition this year is too fierce. It's impossible for our school to enter the top five! I just hope War Hammer Martial Arts Hall has better luck and can make it into the top eight."

"Don't worry, Uncle. Our school has always had good luck!"

Sister Yue said with a hint of a smile, her gaze falling meaningfully on Chu Han.

"Is that... Chu Han?"

In the stands, Zhao Tianlong suddenly sat up straight, his eyes showing confusion. "Why is he in War Hammer Martial Arts Hall's team?"

Vice President Zhou also looked over and, after a moment's stun, laughed. "This kid really can't stay still. The Martial Arts Grand Examination is only a few days away, yet he's here. The people from Blue Eagle Martial Arts Hall have already recognized him."

Sure enough, on Blue Eagle Martial Arts Hall's side, Lan Kui's face instantly darkened.

The moment Lan Yu saw Chu Han, his body trembled imperceptibly, his eyes filled with resentment.

The experience of being insta-killed by Chu Han twice had left a deep shadow in his heart.

It was as if the pain of being slapped away yesterday had returned. He gritted his teeth and whispered, "Dad, why is Chu Han here? He isn't here to cause trouble for us on purpose, is he?"

Lan Biao's expression beside him was also unsightly. He said solemnly, "This kid's strength is very bizarre. I was indeed careless last time, but we are prepared this time. There's no need to fear him."

Lan Kui took a deep breath, his eyes turning cold. "Ignore him for now. Let's secure the championship first. Once we get the provincial-level school certification, we'll have plenty of time to deal with him."

He turned to look at a young man behind him with a streak of white hair; this person's Essence fluctuations were extremely obscure, with most of his strength hidden.

This was the biggest trump card of their Blue Eagle Martial Arts Hall this time.

"We won't lose."

Lan Kui was full of confidence, already thinking about the school's upgrade.