jdhmnovel Chapter 441, Round 2 Begins
Chapter 441, Round 2 Begins
"Thank you for your kindness, seniors, but since Xi Ruo has joined the Divine Thunder Palace, she will abide by the rules and dare not join another sect."
Her voice was clear and neither humble nor arrogant, which immediately made Elder Lei beam with joy.
As soon as Zhao Xiruo finished speaking, both Master Yushu and the Pavilion Master of Chaoyin Pavilion looked rather displeased, but they couldn't insist under the watchful eyes of everyone, so they could only sit down reluctantly.
Elder Lei stroked his beard and laughed heartily, his voice booming like a bell: "Good! Good! You truly deserve to be a disciple of my Divine Thunder Palace!"
Lin Xuantong stood up at the right moment, his expression already calm: "Since Junior Nephew Zhao is unharmed, the challenge will continue."
He glanced at the disciples from various factions below the stage and said calmly, "Is there anyone else who wants to challenge?"
There was silence.
The disciples looked at each other, but none of them dared to step forward.
What a joke! Zhao Xiruo just broke through to the Golden Core stage at the last minute, which triggered the Nine-Colored Divine Lotus phenomenon and revealed her innate Dao body.
Even Wu Hao, who was in the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm, was reduced to ashes. Who would dare to provoke such a bad omen?
After waiting a moment and seeing no one respond, Lin Xuantong looked at the referee elder: "Since no one is challenging, let's announce the result."
The elder referee understood and announced loudly, "Now I declare... Zhao Xiruo has won this round of the challenge! Next, please welcome the next challenger to the stage."
As soon as she finished speaking, Zhao Xiruo followed Yun Chen off the stage.
Immediately afterwards, another challenger stepped up.
Zhao Xiruo's performance was so stunning that the subsequent challenge matches were not very interesting.
After several rounds, no more challengers took to the stage, and the challenge match came to an end.
Then, the second round of qualifying matches officially began.
After the first round of competition and the challenge, thousands of people participated, but only seven or eight hundred advanced to the next round.
The rules for the second round of qualifying are completely different from those for the first round.
The seven or eight hundred disciples who advanced were divided into eight groups, with nearly a hundred people in each group, and will compete in a round-robin tournament on eight special arenas.
Each disciple needs to fight against all opponents in the same group. The winner gets three points, the draw gets one point, and the loser gets zero points.
The top four teams from each group, a total of thirty-two players, advanced to the final knockout stage.
This competition format not only tests the disciples' strength, but also their endurance and tactical arrangements, and of course, a bit of luck.
After all, fighting against nearly a hundred cultivators of the same level in succession would consume a great deal of spiritual energy and mental strength.
The group results were announced soon.
Yun Chen was assigned to Group B, Zhao Xiruo to Group D, Liu Yanran to Group G, and Shen Nan to Group A.
Lin Wan'er, as a disciple of Taixu Palace, also participated in the competition and was assigned to Group Ren.
Lu Beiyou and Lin Wan'er were assigned to the same group, so they didn't run into Yun Chen and the others.
This made Yun Chen somewhat unhappy.
This guy is a bit annoying, and he can't wait to teach him a lesson.
"Group B..."
Yun Chen glanced at the list of his group members and saw several familiar names, including Leng Hanyue from Chaoyin Pavilion and Zifeng from Shenlei Palace.
This kid is Elder Lei's personal disciple, and he's quite strong... I hadn't seen him along the way, so I didn't expect him to actually show up.
But it's the cold, moonless night...
This woman is quite strong. Although we've crossed paths before, we've never actually fought, so I don't know where her bottom line is.
I can have a match with her later to test her skills.
"Group matches begin! All group members, please proceed to your respective arenas!"
Just then, the elder referee's voice echoed throughout the arena.
All eight arenas lit up simultaneously, and the disciples flew toward their respective arenas.
When Yun Chen arrived at the Group B arena, he found that more than ninety cultivators had already gathered there. The lowest cultivation level among them was the late Foundation Establishment stage, and there were about ten Golden Core stage cultivators.
Among them, Leng Hanyue from Chaoyin Pavilion, dressed in a light blue dress, exuded a cool and aloof temperament, standing at the edge of the arena, seemingly isolated from the surrounding noise.
She seemed to notice Yun Chen's gaze, turned her head to look at him, and nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
Yun Chen nodded in return.
"Senior Brother Yun!"
Just then, a figure suddenly appeared beside Yun Chen.
Turning his head, he saw Zifeng, who had given Yun Chen the formula for the Foundation Establishment Pill.
"Hmm! Not bad, your strength has improved again." Yun Chen looked at him and nodded with a smile.
They had some conflicts and misunderstandings at first, but the misunderstandings were resolved later because of the Foundation Establishment Pill recipe, so Yun Chen didn't have any other feelings for him.
"Senior Brother Yun, please don't say anything more. My improvement is far inferior to yours."
Upon hearing this, Zifeng awkwardly scratched his head and rubbed his hands together in a few places.
He remembered that when he first met Yun Chen, he was only at the early stage of the Golden Core realm. How long has it been? He has already broken through to the peak of the late Golden Core realm.
His improvement is so small compared to others that he's almost embarrassed to mention it.
“Cultivation is inherently fast or slow. Besides, the competition among geniuses isn’t necessarily about cultivation level; strength is the fundamental factor.”
Yun Chen shrugged noncommittally and offered a word of comfort.
Zifeng nodded thoughtfully.
"Understood!"
"Compete well and try to get a good ranking." Yun Chen patted him on the shoulder.
Just then, the referee's voice suddenly rang out from Group B.
"The first match is between Yun Chen of the Divine Thunder Palace and Wang Meng of the Jade Void Palace!"
Upon hearing this, Yun Chen smiled at Zi Feng, then leaped onto the arena.
His opponent was a burly man wielding a mountain-splitting axe, whose cultivation level was at the late Golden Core stage.
"Please enlighten me." Yun Chen cupped his hands in greeting.
Wang Meng, however, showed no mercy and shouted, "Take this!"
His muscles bulged, and his earth-yellow spiritual energy erupted. The mountain-splitting axe cleaved down with a whooshing sound, its force heavy enough to split mountains and shatter rocks.
Someone in the audience exclaimed, "Although Wang Meng is not a direct disciple of Yuxu Palace, he is still one of the best among the core disciples. It is said that even some direct disciples are no match for him. His strength should not be underestimated!"
Faced with this fierce attack, Yun Chen neither dodged nor avoided it. Only when the axe blade was about to strike him did he gently raise his hand.
"Om-!"
A pale golden light barrier appeared in front of him. The axe blade struck the barrier with a dull thud, but could not advance an inch.
Wang Meng's expression changed. He activated his spiritual power with all his might, and the axe shone brightly with an earthy yellow light, but it still could not break through the thin layer of light barrier.
"It's my turn," Yun Chen said softly, giving a gentle push with his right hand.
Wang Meng felt an irresistible force coming at him, and he was sent flying backward, landing directly outside the arena.
There was silence.
one move!
With just one move, Wang Meng, who was in the late stage of the Golden Core realm, was defeated.
Zifeng, standing next to the ring, was completely stunned.
What kind of monster is this?
Although everyone had anticipated Yun Chen's victory over Li Yan, no one expected it to be so clean and decisive.
Leng Hanyue, standing to the side, remained calm, but her expression as she looked at Yun Chen was incredibly complex.
In the following matches, Yun Chen defeated his opponents with a single move. No matter whether they were in the Foundation Establishment stage or the late Golden Core stage, none of them could withstand a second move from him. Some even admitted defeat outright.
This led to a situation where no one was willing to pay attention to the Group B arena anymore.
Just when everyone was losing interest, the referee's voice suddenly rang out, instantly energizing everyone.
Even Yun Chen was taken aback, his eyes narrowing almost imperceptibly.
"Next up... Leng Hanyue from Chaoyin Pavilion will face Yun Chen from Shenlei Palace!"