123: Chapter 123 The Battle of the Top 100 in the County Examination

It wasn't just Ye Yisong who was shocked by the profound heritage of the Wei Family and the Wang Family; every other Martial Artist under the arena was equally stunned upon seeing the list of the Top 100 in the Prefecture Examination.

Too strong!

Counting carefully, the Wei Family took thirty spots, the Wang Family took twenty-one spots, and the Ye Family took nineteen spots. The three giants alone already occupied seventy of the spots in the Top 100.

Add to that the ten spots for the Qi Family and the seven for the Sun Family, and that left only thirteen spots for all other Families. How could one not be shocked!

The Qi Family had the support of the Wei Family and the Wang Family behind them, and they had recruited a large number of Loose Cultivators, so that was understandable.

But what about the Sun Family?

Could it be that the Wei and Wang Families weren't satisfied with just supporting the Qi Family, and had now also propped up the Sun Family? Was this an attempt to completely seal off the Ye Family!

Or perhaps the Ye Family had secretly given the Sun Family support, letting the Sun Family compete against the Qi Family to drain the Qi Family's strength.

No one knew which scenario was the truth.

All they knew was that the Cangjiang Prefecture was about to change. With the three giants engaged in such a major struggle, no other Martial Artist could hope to remain uninvolved.

This was just the rule-bound struggle of the Prefecture Examination; outside the city, where there were no rules, who knew what kind of trouble the various Families would stir up.

...

Sun Family Resting Area

"Clan Chief, are we being too hasty?" Sun Chengzong looked at Sun Chengye with a worried expression. Others might not know, but could the Elders of the Sun Family be unaware? The Sun Family had received no support from the Wei Family, the Wang Family, or the Ye Family; everything they had now was entirely the result of the Sun Family's own strength.

A hundred years ago, the Sun Family had accidentally discovered a High Grade, Fourth-Rank Ancient Tea-Language Tree deep within the Canglong Mountain Range. The small red maple leaves from the tree's crown could assist a Martial Artist in achieving a Breakthrough in Fourth-Rank Mental Energy, breaking through a barrier of the Martial Ancestor Rank.

Not only that, but by using the small green leaves from below the crown of the tree to brew tea and drink it year-round, one could also slightly improve their Martial Dao Comprehension Ability. It had endless marvelous uses for increasing the Rank of Martial Skills and comprehending Cultivation Techniques.

What excited the Sun Family even more was that the Ancient Tea-Language Tree had recently shown signs of a Breakthrough to the Fifth Rank. Once the tree achieved a Fifth-Rank Breakthrough, those small red maple leaves on the crown would assist the Sun Family's Old Ancestor in achieving a Breakthrough in Fifth-Rank Mental Energy, offering the hope of reaching the Martial King realm.

Relying on this tree, the Sun Family had secretly developed for a hundred years. From the Old Ancestor down to every Core Disciple, all had benefited immensely. Since then, they had become an overnight sensation, hoping to take it a step further and lock horns with the three giants of Cangjiang Prefecture.

The members of the Sun Family also knew this was like pulling chestnuts from the fire, like cooking with oil over a raging flame. If they failed, the Sun Family would be doomed beyond redemption.

However, as the saying goes, if one does not take what Heaven gives, one will surely suffer for it!

The Sun Family had no other choice; they could only take this risk.

Otherwise, once the Ancient Tea-Language Tree achieved its Fifth-Rank Breakthrough, the commotion would inevitably be shocking. It would be impossible for the Sun Family to keep it hidden from all the various powers.

"Hasty? Chengzong, does the Sun Family have any retreat? Do you want us to hand over this Opportunity, which is within our grasp, to the Wei, Wang, and Ye Families?" Sun Chengye said earnestly. "The clansmen will not agree, and the Old Ancestor will agree even less."

"Sigh." Sun Chengzong sighed helplessly. He knew his words carried little weight and it was impossible for him to stop the decision of the Elders in the clan, especially since this was a plan pushed forward by the Old Ancestor himself.

The Old Ancestor's life limit was approaching; this was his only chance, and naturally, he would not give it up easily.

Having many clansmen unleash their strength to enter the Top 100 of the Prefecture Examination, and subsequently enter the Great Wei government System to receive protection—this was also a retreat path the Old Ancestor had left for the younger generation of the Sun Family.

This was to avoid the total annihilation of the Family should the Old Ancestor fail his Fifth-Rank Breakthrough and be purged by the three giants!

Dancing between the three giants—if they failed, they would naturally have to bear the wrath of the three Families.

"Chengzong, once the Prefecture Examination ends, you will replace Chengguang and guard the Ancient Tea-Language Tree! Put aside the matters outside for now. We will reconsider everything once the Old Ancestor's matter is settled." Sun Chengye instructed.

"Yes, Clan Chief." Sun Chengzong knew this was the Clan Chief's care for him. He had been voicing opposition for some time, which had already caused a very bad influence within the clan. Sending him to guard the Family's important site and temporarily leaving the current turmoil had only benefits and no drawbacks for his future succession.

...

Official Wu Tian once again arrived at the center of the arena. The System operated to drag all the names of the Martial Artists who had advanced to the Top 100 of the Prefecture Examination into a black box. Shortly, the black box would assign the opponents for the upcoming matches.

"Will all Martial Artists who have advanced to the Top 100 please come to the arena to assemble," Official Wu Tian commanded.

It seemed that the upcoming matches would still be presided over by Official Wu Tian.

With the strength Official Wu Tian had displayed—a Five-Star Martial Ancestor—he was more than qualified to serve as the referee for this competition. After all, the highest cultivation level among the Martial Artists participating in the Cangjiang Prefecture Examination was only a Nine-Star Martial Master.

Official Wu Tian had sufficient strength to handle any unexpected events!

Official Wu Tian looked at the hundred people assembled before him. In appearance, some were already white-haired and extremely aged; some had just reached adulthood and were full of heroic spirit; others were still like young children, carved from pink jade.

The strength of the group was also uneven. The highest were Nine-Star Martial Masters, of which there were surprisingly quite a few; the lowest was actually just a Seven-Star Martial Warrior—it was unclear how they had managed to persist until now.

In every session, a few Martial Artists were able to advance to the Top 100. These people most likely possessed some Luck. After the Prefecture Examination ended, they would receive special care from their Families. Some of these Children of Luck, once they grew up, were exceptionally terrifying.

Looking at everyone's mental state, after five rounds of competition, some were still high-spirited, unscathed, and full of fighting spirit; others, however, were already covered in wounds, appearing as if a gust of wind could blow them over, weak and frail.

"Congratulations to everyone for passing through layer upon layer of competition to advance to the Top 100 of the martial arts stage of the Prefecture Examination. Next, we will conduct the sixth round of the competition, opening the battle for the Top 100 rankings."

"In the sixth round of the competition, each person will fight two consecutive matches. Those who win both matches will advance to the Top 50. Those with one win and one loss will receive one challenge Opportunity; the successful challenger will advance, while the challenged person will automatically be placed in the bottom 50 and have no qualification to challenge. Those who lose both matches will be directly placed in the bottom 50."

"The rules for the competition will follow those of the previous five rounds. I hope all candidates will act according to the rules and not cause trouble for themselves."

After Official Wu Tian announced the rules for the sixth round of the competition, everyone cupped their hands and agreed. Seeing that everyone had understood, Official Wu Tian did not delay any longer. He gently tapped his finger on the black box. The black box emitted waves of yellow light, dividing the one hundred people into fifty groups.

Ye Yisong looked at the screen in the sky, carefully searching for his own name. He did not find his own name, but first saw Ye Yitian's name. His opponent was Wang Xianda of the Wang Family. It seemed his Luck had run out this time; he had encountered a tough nut to crack right from the start, and the kind that couldn't be cracked at that.

Fifty groups was not a large number. Not long after Ye Yisong saw Ye Yitian's name, he looked further down and discovered that he had been assigned to the 48th arena this time, and his opponent was Wei Jiahe of the Wei Family.

His Luck was not bad; his opponent for the first match was merely a Four-Star Martial Master. Taking him down should be relatively easy.