Chapter 25: The Ranking Competition (Part 1)

  The Ranking Competition is the most lively time for the entire Tianjian Sect's outer sect in a year.

  During the tournament, those rarely seen elite disciples and those giant disciples who are as elusive as a dragon will all make an appearance.

  Because this ranking tournament was originally the stage for the outer gate elite disciples, only disciples with cultivation in the seventh level of martial arts or above could participate, ordinary disciples were just onlookers.

  Even if only the elite disciples of the outer gate participated, there were not a few people. According to statistics, in the entire outer gate, there were 1,016 elite disciples who had reached the seventh level of martial arts or higher.

  Ranking competition, adopting a knockout system, two disciples go to the arena for a martial arts match, the winner advances and the loser is eliminated.

  Outer Gate Elite Disciples, ranging from Martial Realm Seventh Stage to Tenth Stage, with the higher their cultivation, the fewer in number.

  Sevenfold cultivators account for more than half of them, with 549 people.

  About two-thirds of the 8th grade students, a total of 321 people.

  Nine of them were repaired, accounting for about one tenth, with 114 people.

  There were only 32 people who had achieved tenth-order cultivation.

  To avoid the situation where two strong disciples meet too early and are eliminated prematurely, resulting in an unfair ranking, the draw for the tournament has a set of rules.

  In each round of drawing lots, the disciples with higher cultivation levels should go first, and the targets to be drawn should prioritize those with the lowest cultivation levels.

  In other words, if there are disciples of the Seventh Realm of Martial Arts present, the drawing of lots will start from the Tenth Realm of Martial Arts. The target of their drawing of lots must begin with the disciples who have cultivated to the Seventh Realm, and only after all the disciples who have cultivated to the Seventh Realm have been drawn can they draw the disciples who have cultivated to the Eighth Realm as the target.

  By analogy, the disciples of the eightfold boundary of martial arts can only draw the disciples of the ninth boundary after they have finished drawing, as a goal.

  There are a total of 1,016 elite disciples. After each round of competition is completed, half of the disciples will be eliminated. It takes ten rounds to determine the first place. If the number of remaining disciples becomes odd during the competition, one disciple will be lucky enough to get a bye and advance directly to the next round.

  On this day, the outer gate square of Tiān Jiàn Zōng was packed with people, thousands of outer disciples all gathered on the square.

  In the square, the number of arenas increased from one to eight, with seven new arenas added, arranged in two rows facing each other.

  Each of the eastern platforms has a viewing platform built on it, with eleven seats. Each platform has one outer gate elder and ten outer gate attendants watching.

  The entire outer gate has 5,600 disciples, divided into ten branches. Each branch has one outer gate elder as the hall master, two outer gate elders as deputy hall masters, and more than a dozen attendants responsible for managing and instructing the disciples of each branch.

  Each platform has an outer gate elder presiding over it, and each branch temple sends one executive to watch, as a public witness.

  In the front of the square, a larger platform was set up, on which a building was erected. This was where the ten outer door masters and some outer door elders were located. From this building, they could see the situation on any of the arenas.

  "You said, in this ranking competition, who will take down the first place?"

  "It goes without saying, it's definitely Yang Shixiong. He has cultivated his pure yang skill to the highest level, just one step away from transforming his internal energy into pre-heavenly true qi and becoming a pre-heavenly master."

  "Bai Zhan He is also very formidable, last year his cultivation had already entered the tenth level of the Martial Path, ranking sixth. The top five are all already in the inner sect, this time, basically no one can be a match for Bai Zhan He."

  "Zhang Long is also very powerful, he entered the top ten of the outer gate last year and was ranked eighth. Another year has passed, his strength may have surpassed that of Bai Zhanghe!"

  "The top three should be Yang Shixiong, Bai Shixiong and Zhang Shixiong. This is undisputed, but there are still seven places in the top ten, which Shixiongs have a chance to break into the top ten?"

  "Lin Wuying Shixiong will definitely enter the top ten, he is known as the Fast Sword Without Shadow, his sword speed is unmatched, and no one in the entire outer sect can find a second person with such fast sword skills. Even if he encounters Yang Shixiong, Bai Shixiong, and Zhang Shixiong, the outcome will be unpredictable. If Lin Wuying Shixiong rushes into the top three, it won't surprise anyone."

  "When it comes to sword speed, no one can match Lin Wuying's master, but when it comes to sword technique, Li Yichang's master is second to none. He is known as the 'Demon Sword' and his swordsmanship is unpredictable and unconventional, making it impossible for others to defend against him. Li Yichang's master's strength is not inferior to Lin Wuying's 'Fast Sword', he has a chance to be in the top five."

  "Liang Zhong Shixiong had an extraordinary encounter and cultivated a body-refining technique, making his body extremely robust, possessing immense power and terrifying defensive capabilities. It's said that Liang Shixiong once exchanged three palms with Yang Shixiong, using his solid physical body to withstand Yang Shixiong's pure yang internal energy, not taking a single step back, without a single hair harmed. Even Yang Shixiong praised his immense strength. Liang Zhong Shixiong entering the top ten is effortless, and even entering the top five wouldn't be an exaggeration."

  "Ma Tao's senior brother, with his shocking swordsmanship, is unparalleled among the outer sects. He has cultivated to the realm of great completion and is a nine-realm martial artist. It is said that no one has ever survived ten swords under him, not even two fellow seniors who are also at the tenth level of cultivation have been able to withstand his sword. Ma Tao's senior brother entering the top ten is indeed well-deserved."

  "There are too many formidable seniors, and just among those who have reached the tenth level of martial arts, there are 32 people. Most of their strengths are quite impressive, such as Zhu Dan, Gu Xiyan, Zheng Yuhong, Du Wenke, Wang Qixing, they all have records of defeating cultivators at the same level in the tenth level of martial arts, and their strength is extremely powerful, breaking into the top ten has a great hope."

  "This is just what everyone knows, and there are also some seniors who don't show off their skills in daily life, but actually have terrifyingly strong cultivation. In the ranking competition, it's entirely possible for a senior who doesn't usually have much of a reputation to suddenly appear as a dark horse, sweeping through the levels with ease and charging into the top ten."

  "Ah, like last year's Yang Shixiong, who was only at the 9th level of martial arts cultivation, yet defeated many 10th-level cultivators and broke into the top ten. Thinking back, last year really shocked many people. No one expected that Yang Shixiong would be so formidable, defeating opponents with higher cultivation levels than him by a whole realm. It's truly unbelievable."

  "Recently popular Huang Tian, he and Yang Shixiong clashed with a palm, only retreated two steps, without any injury. His strength is obviously higher than his cultivation level. Will he become an unexpected dark horse? Is there a possibility of rushing into the top ten?"

  "How is this possible? Just a palm, and Yang Shixiong definitely didn't go all out. Huang Tian Shixiong should be the top existence in the same realm, even if it's a nine-layer cultivation Shixiong, he may not be able to win against him. However, those who entered the top ten are all exceptional talents in the tenth layer of cultivation. Even Yang Shixiong, who cultivates pure yang gong, can only transcend one realm to challenge his opponent. Huang Tian Shixiong is only at the eighth layer of cultivation, and it's hard to say whether he'll win or lose against a nine-layer cultivation Shixiong, but compared to a ten-layer cultivation Shixiong, he will definitely be defeated."

  "That is, the difference between the 8th and 10th levels of martial arts is too great."

  ……

  ……

  The ranking competition has not yet begun, and the outer disciples in the square have already surrounded the eight arenas, discussing them in an uproar.

  The subjects of discussion were all famous figures among the outer sect disciples, but recently, Xuan Tian shocked the outer sect and became a subject of discussion. However, when it came to Xuan Tian's strength, not one person considered him on the same level as those famous figures, let alone Yang Shixiong or Zhang Long, who were top-notch disciples.

  As for the outcome of the three-month bet between Xuan Tian and Zhang Long, the disciples are clearly leaning towards Zhang Long's side.

  ……

  ……

  "Look, Yang Shixiong, Bai Shixiong, Zhang Shixiong, Lin Shixiong, Li Shixiong... all the elite disciples have arrived."

  Suddenly, the outer disciples on the square were in an uproar. As expected, the elite disciples who participated in this ranking competition had already walked towards the square, accompanied by several elders and executives of the Tianjian Sect's outer gate.

  Under the building in front of the square, between the drum tower and the platform, there is a spacious area. Not a single ordinary disciple stepped into this area, and the elite disciples who came directly walked into this empty space.

  All elite disciples have a number on their bodies, ranked from high to low, from No. 1 to No. 1016. Xuan Tian is the latest registered Wu Dao Realm eighth-level disciple, with the number 467. Further back are the seventh-level disciples.

  The outer sect elder who came with the elite disciples walked directly into the square and went to the eight platforms on the east side of the arena.

  There was only one elder, accompanied by three deacons, who came to the front of the elite disciples. Here, there was a row of long tables, and on the table, there was a long box.

  An elder of the outer sect stood beside the box and said, "My surname is Han. The rules of the competition have already been explained to you earlier. This box contains all the numbers of the seven-grade disciples. Now, starting from number 1, we will draw your opponent's number from this box for the match. The winner advances, the loser is eliminated. The ranking tournament begins now."

  As the elder's voice fell, the first disciple in line walked out.

  Xuān Tiān stood among many elite disciples, his eyes scanning the crowd until they landed on a white-clad youth who appeared to be around sixteen or seventeen years old.

  This person was quite familiar, and a flash of insight occurred in Xuan Tian's mind. In an instant, he remembered that when selecting the Innate Skill in the Martial Skills Pavilion, there was someone who had advised him not to cultivate the Innate Skill, and it was this white-clothed youth.

  It can be ranked as number one, neither Yang Dingjun nor Zhang Long, it is naturally the famous Bai Zhankui without a doubt.

  Last year's outer door disciple ranking competition, Bai Zhanhe was already ranked sixth. This year, the top five have all entered the Innate and become inner door disciples. Bai Zhanhe is ranked number one, which is only natural.

  Bai Zhan He walked up to the box and reached in to pull out a token, handing it over to Elder Han.

  "The first round, the first game, No. 1 Bai Zhanghe versus No. 799 Huang Yuan, at arena No. 1."

  [bookid=1991075,bookname="Pure Yang True Immortal"]