531: Chapter 41 Overview of the Seven Sects Martial Arts Tournament

In the afternoon, Meng Li arrived at Arena Number Eight on time to serve as a referee.

This match was between a Disciple from Luoxia Peak and a Disciple from Feng Hui Peak. Both sides were evenly matched in strength. After fighting for most of the day, the Feng Hui Peak Disciple barely managed to win.

Meng Li and another referee announced the result, then dispersed.

Meng Li strolled around the other arenas but didn't see Song Da Ren, Zhang Xiaofan, Lin Jingyu, or Du Bi Shu. He figured their matches must have already concluded.

As for Wu Da Yi, Zheng Da Li, He Da Zhi, and Lv Daxi, their matches were scheduled for tomorrow.

Seeing this, Meng Li had no choice but to go to the male Disciples' accommodation to find them.

After all, they were Senior Brothers, so he had to show some concern for the results.

Unexpectedly, halfway there, he encountered Su Ru and Tian Linger.

"Master's Wife, Senior Sister."

Su Ru smiled and nodded.

Tian Linger, however, had a slight blush on her face, and her gaze was a little evasive.

Clearly, the incident with the forbidden book earlier had not yet completely faded from her mind.

Meng Li didn't pay it any mind, simply assuming it was a young girl being shy. He turned to Su Ru and asked, "Master's Wife, after the match at Arena Number Eight, I went to the venue where Senior Brother and the others were competing, but I didn't see anyone. I suppose I arrived late, and the matches had already ended. May I ask what the results were?"

Su Ru replied, "Da Ren and the others all won."

"Xiaofan had bad luck; his opponent was Zhang Yu from Chaoyang Peak, who had a cultivation of the fourth layer of the Yuqing Realm. Xiaofan's strength was far inferior to his, so he lost."

Meng Li understood in his heart, secretly thinking, 'As expected.'

The blood-devouring pearl had long been sealed.

Without this Magic Treasure, even if Zhang Xiaofan later encountered the Three-Eyed Spirit Monkey, he wouldn't have obtained the Soul-Devouring Rod. Thus, the powerful Magic Treasure, the Soul-Devouring Rod, also known as the Firestick, born from the combination of the blood-devouring pearl and the Soul-Devouring Rod, naturally could not appear.

Without the Soul-Devouring Rod's enhancement, it was almost impossible for Zhang Xiaofan to defeat an opponent of a higher cultivation level.

With his cultivation at the second layer of the Yuqing Realm, facing an opponent at the fourth layer of the Yuqing Realm, it was very normal for him to lose.

Thinking this to himself, Meng Li said outwardly, "Then Junior Brother Xiaofan..."

Su Ru said, "Losing the match, Xiaofan naturally felt bad, but he isn't a competitive person by nature. Your Master didn't blame him either. Da Ren and the others comforted him a few times, and he got over it. So, you don't need to worry."

Meng Li nodded, "That puts my mind at ease."

...

The next day, the third and fourth batches of the first round of the Seven-Peak Martial Tournament proceeded sequentially.

The arena Meng Li was overseeing did not have any Dazhu Peak Disciples, so he didn't pay much attention, and everything proceeded as usual.

Later, he heard from Tian Linger that Wu Da Yi, Zheng Da Li, He Da Zhi, and Lv Daxi all ended up victorious.

Considering the situation from the previous day, among the nine Dazhu Peak Disciples who participated, only Zhang Xiaofan was eliminated due to his low cultivation, while the other eight all won their first-round matches.

In other words, out of the thirty-two people who advanced, eight were from Dazhu Peak, accounting for a quarter.

This made Tian Buyi extremely happy.

However, this joyous mood didn't last a full day before it was diminished.

Because early on the third day, the matchups for the second round, which was the thirty-two into sixteen strong, were released.

Among the sixteen groups of matches, two groups involved Dazhu Peak Disciples fighting each other.

Thus, regardless of the outcome of these two groups, two Dazhu Peak Disciples would have to stop at the second round.

Tian Buyi was a bit depressed but helpless.

With Dazhu Peak accounting for eight out of thirty-two people, such a situation in the draw was not uncommon.

The other Peaks also experienced this.

On Dazhu Peak's side, one group was Tian Linger against Du Bi Shu, and the other group was Song Da Ren against Lv Daxi.

Both matches were scheduled for the afternoon.

After consideration, Du Bi Shu and Lv Daxi chose to concede as soon as they entered the arena.

They were all Dazhu Peak Disciples and knew each other's strengths. Du Bi Shu was inferior to Tian Linger, and Lv Daxi couldn't compare to Song Da Ren. Fighting would be useless and might even affect the latter's participation in the third round the next day, so they simply conceded.

Aside from Du Bi Shu and Lv Daxi, Lin Jingyu, Wu Da Yi, Zheng Da Li, and He Da Zhi, who were fighting against Disciples from other Peaks, all won.

However, the circumstances of these four winning were somewhat different.

Lin Jingyu easily defeated his opponent, who was at the fifth layer of the Yuqing Realm, relying on his sixth-layer Yuqing Realm cultivation.

Wu Da Yi, Zheng Da Li, and He Da Zhi were lucky; their opponents' cultivation levels were similar to their own, and they won by having more Magic Treasures.

Their opponents only had one Flying Sword, while Wu Da Yi and the other three, in addition to their Lifebound Treasures acquired from their travels down the mountain, also had the Protective Bamboo Leaf Talismans refined by Meng Li, and the Flying Swords they usually used as a means of transport.

In a situation where everyone was in the Yuqing Realm and of similar strength, these two extra Magic Treasures were enough to decide the outcome.

The three defeated opponents were indignant but helpless.

Because Magic Treasures were also a part of strength, and the competition rules did not prohibit winning by relying on Magic Treasures.

They could only secretly grumble about an unfair victory, while simultaneously envying Wu Da Yi, Zheng Da Li, and He Da Zhi for having a Junior Brother nicknamed "Little Lord of Many Treasures."

From then on, six of the top sixteen were Dazhu Peak Disciples.

Tian Buyi's eyes narrowed into slits from smiling. After a while, he suppressed his joy and returned to his usual strict demeanor. Then, he first admonished Wu Da Yi, Zheng Da Li, and He Da Zhi, warning them not to rely too much on Magic Treasures, as cultivation was the fundamental aspect.

Next, he said that the subsequent matches, the sixteen into eight and eight into four, would be tough battles, and they should not be careless.

As for the later four into two and two into one, those were the Peak matches.

Although Tian Buyi hoped his Disciples could distinguish themselves, to avoid disappointment, he didn't hold too much hope.

The next morning.

The matchups for the sixteen into eight strong were announced.

Dazhu Peak again had two groups where their own people fought each other.

It was hard to say whether this luck was good or bad.

Saying it was good meant that no matter the outcome of the two groups, two Dazhu Peak Disciples would be eliminated.

Saying it was bad meant that no matter the outcome of the two groups, two Dazhu Peak Disciples would enter the top eight.

This time, the opponents were Lin Jingyu and He Da Zhi, and Tian Linger and Zheng Da Li.

He Da Zhi and Zheng Da Li directly conceded, for the same reasons as Lv Daxi and Du Bi Shu before them.

They were only at the fourth layer of the Yuqing Realm, while Lin Jingyu and Tian Linger had both caught up later, with one at the sixth layer of the Yuqing Realm and the other at the seventh. They also didn't have an advantage in Magic Treasures, so they had no chance of winning. They simply stepped aside to allow their Senior Brother and Junior Sister to face the subsequent matches in full condition.

On the other side, Wu Da Yi faced Zeng Shushu.

Zeng Shushu had higher cultivation and also many Magic Treasures, so Wu Da Yi regrettably lost.

Song Da Ren, however, encountered a formidable opponent—Wen Min!

For their match, Tian Buyi and Water Moon True Person, for unknown reasons, both arrived to watch.

Helplessly, the couple could only perform a scene of "loving yet killing" each other.

Ultimately, Song Da Ren narrowly won by relying on his advantage of having more Magic Treasures.

Thus, among the top eight, three were Dazhu Peak Disciples.

From the top eight to the top four, the first match was again Dazhu Peak against Xiaozhu Peak...