Chapter 208 - First Battle

“These people are simply too much. They’re all mocking and ridiculing… Hmph, when the ranking tournament starts, Junior Brother Yun will definitely make them obediently shut their mouths.” Cang Yue raged without any semblance of the air a princess should have. The mockery from everywhere were all targeted towards Yun Che and the Blue Wind Imperial Family, making her feel much more aggrieved than if she herself had been jeered at.

“You don’t need to take offense, this is still a perfectly normal situation.” Qin Wushang’s expression did not change at all as he said calmly. From what he saw, not being ridiculed would be abnormal instead. If this had happened to other sects, he would naturally be scornful of them, even if he would not laugh out loud.

“Brother-in-law, what number did you pick?” When Yun Che returned, Xia Yuanba went up to him and asked impatiently.

Yun Che showed the tablet he had taken. The number displayed on it was: 1505.

Taking a clear look at the number, Qin Wushang explained, “This number decides which area and what order you will fight in for the first group competition. 1505 means that you are allocated to group 15 and will compete in Sword Discourse Arena number 15. Your first match will be the fifth showing, and your first opponent is number 1545.”

“The first round of group fights will continue for three days, and there are thirty small groups in total. Within each group, there are an average of fifty or so disciples who will be taking part in the competition. All fifty competitors from each group will have to participate in twelve full fights, and the top ten ranked disciples from each group, which will come to a total of three hundred disciples, will then enter the second round of group matches. The thousand and two hundred disciples who do not enter the second round will then move on to the subsequent area to take part in ranking fights. However, other than the affiliated sects, nobody will take notice of the ranking matches in this second area.

At this, Qin Wushang sighed dully. This was because Blue Wind Imperial City had always been transferred to the second competition area after the first round of group matches had ended. At least, for the few decades since he had been born, Blue Wind Imperial City had never had anyone move on to the second round matches. The dreams of the being in the top hundred was so far away that it seemed to be forever unattainable.

“The second round of group matches will have a total of three hundred competing disciples, and like before, it will continue for three days. Each disciple will have to finish a full fifteen fights! After which, rankings will be made based on the number of fights each disciple wins. The first hundred spots will be listed, as well as the thirty-two strongest. Subsequently, those who did not make it into the top hundred will similarly be transferred to the secondary arena. The rankings for the thirty third to the hundredth competitors will thus be completed. If there is anyone who is dissatisfied, they can challenge a competitor who is higher ranked than them in the secondary arena. The challenged must accept the challenge, and if the challenger wins, they will then take the ranking of the person who has lost….. In the main arena, elimination matches for the thirty-two disciples who have won the most fights will then commence.”

"These rankings, are all rankings of the participating disciples. The ranking of the sect forces, will be ranked based on the final rankings of the their disciples."

Xia Yuanba touched his fingertips, and then his eyes opened wide as he asked, “That is to say, if you enter the second round of group matches, you’ll have to fight a full twenty seven rounds of matches within six days. So much!"

Cang Yue answered with a completely serious face, “That’s right. The atmosphere has always been tense for the ranking tournaments. However, the pace for the first group matches are very fast, and it’ll be very easy to see the large disparity in strength between competitors and the fights will end very quickly. It’s perfectly normal for each small group to conduct a few dozen fights, or even up to a hundred per day. Junior brother Yun, you have to give it all you’ve got. Don’t forget the goal we’ve set previously… Placing in the individual top hundred!”

“Mn, of course I haven’t forgotten.” Yun Che smiled gently while nodding and his gaze concentrated on the faces of each participating disciple who were present… If he could enter the top hundred, he’d definitely shock everybody, and cause those who had mocked him to be stupefied. At the same time, he’d be able to be renowned across the land, allow Blue Wind Profound Palace to puff out its chest in pride, and also let Cang Yue and Qin Wushang become boundlessly happy…..

However, his goal, was definitely not to just enter this insignificant top hundred!

On the Sword Discourse Arena, the profound strength assessments for all participating disciples were finally finished. Ling Wugou then used a very long time to read aloud the ranking tournament’s basic procedure and guidelines. After which, this year’s Blue Wind Ranking Tournament had finally, officially begun.

“...When fighting, a person loses when he falls onto the ground for more than ten breaths of time or when he concedes the match! No matter for what reason, any competitor who takes more than thirty breaths of time to go up on stage will be seen as admitting defeat… Now, this old man declares that the Blue Wind Ranking Tournament has officially begun!”

After Ling Wugou’s voice fell, a large area of profound energy fluctuation came from all around. On top of the thirty small Sword Discourse Arenas, transparent profound energy protective screens appeared simultaneously. These profound energy barriers could isolate the two competitors such that their profound energy would not affect the surroundings when both parties were in combat. At the same time, to a certain extent, it also sets a restriction on the area in which both parties would fight.

Thirty well prepared middle aged men also flew up and descended to the side of the thirty small Sword Discourse Arenas. These were the referees for the first round of small group matches. And these thirty people, could all use the “Profound Floating Technique”, which meant that they were all Sky Profound Realm experts. This fact made many observing disciples to immediately go slack-jawed.

The thirty small Sword Discourse Arenas were evenly spread out around the main Sword Discourse Arena. To the practitioners watching, from any seat, the circumstances of each small Sword Discourse Arena could be plainly visible just by shifting their gazes a little.

Following the appearance of the thirty judges and the profound energy barriers, the numbers of sixty disciples flashed brightly at the same time. Very quickly, sixty competitors climbed onto their respective Sword Discourse stage and the first match was officially begun.

“We’ve already checked through. Yun Che’s will be competing on Sword Discourse Stage 15, and his number is 1505. His next few opponents have all been briefed through. Under the circumstance that they can’t kill him, then will trash him as hard as they possibly can to ensure that he can’t hold on until the second round before he loses half his life…. No, he might even have lost a few limbs after the first stage for all we know.” Fen Juebi returned to his seat and spoke quietly in Fen Juecheng’s ear.

Fen Juecheng glanced at Sword Discourse Arena number fifteen and nodded slowly.

Yun Che was coincidentally sitting very close to the fifteenth Sword Discourse Arena. His first match was arranged to be the fifth match, so he did not immediately move beside the fifteenth Sword Discourse Arena. Rather, he sat at his seat and quietly observed the battles around him.

There were over five hundred sect forces, and some mainly used swords, while others mainly used knives, or axes, or even whips… All sorts of weapons could be seen, and even more so, all sorts of profound attributes made the scene messy and confusing. All the different heavy, light, and even gaudy profound skills displayed were enough to overwhelm a person.

At least, Xia Yuanba already felt deeply that two eyes just weren’t enough.

Currently, it was only the first round of the small group matches, which was also the most basic round of competition in the entire ranking tournament. However, each match there would be considered an extremely heroic showdown to the outside world, because both parties fighting were all below twenty, at the Spirit Profound Realm, and were all geniuses of the ultimate pinnacle to the letter! This was a match of the ranking tournament that only belonged to the most extremely talented geniuses.

“Quick look! It’s big sis!”

Xia Yuanba suddenly gave a surprised shout and pointed towards the ninth Sword Discourse Arena.

A quarter of an hour passed by, and the ninth Sword Discourse Arena had already finished three matches. During the fourth match, a completely veiled Xia Qingyue appeared on the Sword Discourse Arena and caused the ninth Sword Discourse Arena to become the center of attention through the entire arena… Whenever a disciple from any of the Four Major Sects appeared, they would definitely become the focal point.

Opposite Xia Qingyue, a twenty year old youth walked up. However, his expression was terrible. Within his heart, he was inwardly complaining about his bitter lot. His profound strength was at the fourth level of the Spirit Profound Realm, and within group nine, he was in the upper-middle tier, but never did he expect to get a disciple of the Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace as his first opponent.

However, his opponent was only a young girl of seventeen. He simply could not lose face by admitting defeat, so he could only brace himself and pull out his sword, “Illusory Sword Clan’s Han Yunzhi requests this fairy to bestow unto him some guidance!”

As his voice fell, he stepped forward, and thrusted his sword outward. From the start, he was already using his strongest ultimate move, the “Sword of Three Lives”. The surging sword aura coagulated into three sword blossoms, and the power of each of the three points all attacking towards Xia Qingyue.

Xia Qingyue’s gaze was tranquil and calm. Her feet had not moved. Facing Han Yunzhi’s sword aura, her snow-like right hand moved gently…

Whoosh!

A cold wind breezed past and cut at Han Yunzhi’s face like numerous blades of knives. His sword aura was defeated in a matter of seconds and it was as if his entire body had been plunged into the extremities of a frozen prison. His four limbs were impossibly rigid and he was made to stagnate there, kept in his pose of wielding a sword and rushing forward. Let alone being able to continue brandishing his sword, he couldn’t even move his fingers at all.

In the blink of an eye, a layer of gorgeous hoar frost extended from his sword’s tip to cover his entire body.

All the sect disciples who were seeing the might of Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace’s “Frozen Cloud Art” for the first time were all stunned.

“I… admit... defeat…” Han Yunzhi’s mouth trembled as he squeezed out those three words. He had originally thought that even though there was a difference of four levels between them, he could at least withstand five to six moves… But he hadn’t thought that he wouldn’t even meet the criteria to meet face-to-face with his opponent.

“Illusory Sword Clan’s Han Yunzhi admits defeat, Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace’s Xia Qingyue wins!”

At the loud verdict of the referee for the ninth Sword Discourse Arena, the ice on Han Yunzhi’s body disappeared. All at once, he fell to kneel on the ground. After taking in large gulps of air, he looked at Xia Qingyue with eyes filled with insurmountable respect before weakly walking off the Sword Discourse Arena.

The Heavenly Sword Villa, Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace, Xiao Sect and Burning Heaven Clan comprised the highly acclaimed Four Major Sects, and there had never been a need for them to deign to accept another to form the “Five Major Sects”. This was because, apart from these four large sects, there had not even been any other sects that were qualified to make up for the shortfall in number. Their distance from all the other sects was practically akin to the distance between the skies and the earth. Heritage, resources, strength of skills… All these constituted for the fame and prestige of the Four Major Sects, and they also contributed to the reasons for the extremely large gap between them and the other sects. For several hundred years, the first ten spots for the individual rankings in the ranking tournaments had always been snatched up by disciples from the Four Major Sects, and no disciples from any other sect had ever dared to intrude… There had been no exceptions.

“So strong….. Big sister’s actually so strong.” Xia Yuanba stared with his eyes wide and did not blink until after Xia Qingyue had walked off the Sword Discourse Stage. After a while, he asked blankly, “Brother-in-law, did you see how strong big sister actually was… C… Can you beat big sis?”

“Hehe, of course that’s impossible.” Qin Wushang laughed and replied, “If my guess is not wrong, your sister should be a main disciple that Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace has been nurturing these past few years. This sort of person who is spoiled by the heavens is definitely not someone our Blue Wind Profound Palace can match.”

Yun Che just watched the competition calmly without speaking.

At this time, a referee’s loud cry came from Sword Discourse Arena Number 15.

“Group 15, fifth match, Blue Wind Imperial Family’s ‘Yun Che’ —— versus —— Southern Jade Cloud Faction’s ‘Fu Yanjie’!”