Best Young Master
Chapter 631 - 561 Start of the Competition

Chapter 631: Chapter 561 Start of the Competition

The next morning, as the red sun rose from the east, the Tian Shan Sword Sect square was teeming with people.

Above the square, the tents had been dismantled, and a main stage was set up in the center, with ten competition arenas marked out around it.

Eighty contestants, including Ye Fan, stood below the stage, with thousands of cultivators who had come to watch the matches standing around the perimeter. In addition, representatives of sects that couldn’t be seated on the stage were sitting in the spectator seats to the left and right below the stage.

"Swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh..."

After a moment, streams of air whistled in from the entrance of the Tian Shan Sword Sect. Figures controlled their qi to fly, and landed steadily on the main stage in the center of the square.

Among them were important representatives from various sects including Gu Yun, the elder from the Inner Sect of the Yanhuang Organization responsible for organizing and hosting this Qing bang tournament; Hua Jian, the Old Sword King of the Tian Shan Sword Sect; Sect Leader Cang Bo, Evil Emperor Chu Xuanji, Sword King Jiedao, Granny Jiang, and Lv Yuan. Each one was a Supreme Strongman of the Gang Qi Realm.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

With the arrival of Chu Xuanji and the others, all eyes, whether from the eighty contestants or the surrounding cultivators, immediately turned to the stage.

Most of them looked up with a mix of awe and admiration, while a very few were burning with fighting spirit, their eyes aglow with the ambition to work hard in cultivation and one day become as powerful as those on the stage, Supreme Strongman in the Gang Qi Realm, commanding respect in all directions.

"Brother Xuanji, both in terms of qualifications and strength, you are the strongest among us. You should take the central seat," Gu Yun, representing the Yanhuang Organization, politely offered his seat to Chu Xuanji.

"Little Lv, today, not only do you represent the Yanhuang Organization, but you’re also the chief referee of this Qing bang tournament. Naturally, you should sit in the center. There’s no need for courtesy with me," said Chu Xuanji, who then directly took a seat in the VIP area.

"Alright then."

Gu Wen gave a wry smile and took the seat in the center, while Sect Leader Cang Bo of the Tian Shan Sword Sect sat beside him. The former Sect Leader Hua Jian, like Chu Xuanji and the other strongmen, sat in the VIP area.

"The highly anticipated Qing bang tournament begins today. Firstly, I’d like to thank the Yanhuang Organization for their trust in the Tian Shan Sword Sect. I also appreciate everyone’s presence here at the Tian Shan Sword Sect. If there are any shortcomings in our hospitality, please kindly overlook them. Hosting the Qing bang tournament is both an honor and a test for the Tian Shan Sword Sect..."

Soon after, the Supreme Strongmen on the main stage took their seats, one after the other. Sect Leader Cang Bo of the Tian Shan Sword Sect, as the person in charge of the host side, exchanged a glance with Gu Yun who nodded in approval, stood up, walked in front of the main stage, projecting his voice from his Dantian in a manner that resonated like a massive bell tolling, echoing far across the sky and refusing to fade.

Listening to Sect Leader Cang Bo’s opening words, the Wudang Sect Leader Heavenly Master Zhang’s face looked extremely unsightly. He instinctively glanced at Ye Fan below him, his eyes filled with resentment—if not for Ye Fan, the Wudang Sect wouldn’t have been penalized by the Yanhuang Organization, nor lost the right to host this Qing bang tournament.

"Next, please allow Elder Gu Yun of the Yanhuang Organization and the chief referee of this Qing bang tournament, to announce the competition’s rules and points of attention."

After the opening speech, Cang Bo courteously passed the floor to Gu Yun and then returned to his seat.

"The forerunner of the Qing bang tournament was the Martial Arts Convention, which originated in the late Qing dynasty and early Republic of China period, with the theme ’Promoting Martial Arts to Strengthen the Country.’ During the last century’s years of war, when Huaxia became one of the main battlefields, the Martial Arts Convention came to an end. After the establishment of New Huaxia, forerunners of the cultivation world did not wish to see the path of cultivation fall into decay, therefore they proposed the idea of holding the Qing bang tournament, aiming to bring back the prosperity of the cultivation world. To this day, the path of cultivation has regained its prosperity, cultivators hold an important place in contemporary society, and they are one of Huaxia’s protective forces..."

As with every Qing bang tournament in the past, Gu Yun began with a brief introduction of the origins and significance of the tournament, followed by a discussion of the rules, "This time, the rules of the Qing bang tournament have only one change compared to previous years—there is no longer a restriction against strongmen of the Gang Qi Realm participating. To ensure all contestants remember the rules, I’ll repeat them here.

First, contestants are permitted to use their own Magic Artifacts, but they cannot use Elixir Pills, firearms, or other prohibited items.

Second, each match will be monitored by a referee. To minimize injuries during the matches, referees can stop the fight at any time to declare the result. That is, if the referee believes that one party can no longer withstand the opponent’s attack, they will intervene at the crucial moment.

Regarding this point, I swear in the name of the Chief Referee, that all referees will absolutely ensure fairness and impartiality without any form of corruption or favoritism! Contestants are also required to unconditionally accept the referee’s decisions. If there are any objections, they can file a complaint, and the referee panel will make a secondary ruling.

In addition, contestants can request the match to continue, provided they gain the consent of their opponent and upgrade the match to a life-and-death battle. In such battles, fate determines life and death, and referees will not intervene until one side emerges victorious.

Third, this tournament consists of eighty contestants, divided into ten groups, with eight contestants in each group. The first three rounds are knockout rounds, where contestants of each group will face off in pairs and advance until the strongest remains for the cycle matches—contestants from the ten groups will compete against each other, and the final placements will be determined by points, with wins earning 3 points and losses 0 points. Shortly, we will hold the lottery ceremony for the knockout rounds, and I will add details about the groupings.

Fourth, aside from the champion, runner-up, and third-place rewards, contestants placing fourth to tenth will also receive rewards! The reward for the champion is a Mid-grade Flying Magical Artifact..."

Rustle—

Due to Gu Yun’s high esteem, there was silence below the stage as he spoke, but as soon as the reward for the champion was announced as a Mid-grade Flying Magical Artifact, the place instantly buzzed with excitement.

On the outskirts, the cultivators showed faces of envy and jealousy, while the contestants’ eyes shone with avidity, even some representatives on the main stage were taken aback.

Mid-level Magic Artifacts are extremely difficult to craft, and the Cultivation World has very few flying artifacts, most being relics from the Ancient Cultivation World.

For example, the Mid-grade Flying Magical Artifact, the Flying Boat owned by the Ghost Sect Leader Wu Mu, was passed down from ancient times.

After the Evil Emperor Chu Xuanji killed Wu Mu that day, Ye Fan obtained the Flying Boat, but he discovered that it was damaged and could no longer be used.

Scarcity breeds value, and since flying artifacts are so rare, the value of a Mid-level Magic Artifact could be comparable to a High-level Magical Artifact, making it a priceless treasure. Not to mention the contestants, even Supreme Strongmen in the Gang Qi Realm would be heartily tempted!

Compared to the first place reward, those for the second and third place seem a bit inferior. The former consists of a top-grade Essence Stone and a Plant Essence, while the latter includes only the Plant Essence. Those ranking from fourth to tenth would receive Essence Stones, albeit of varying qualities.

"Why doesn’t the Qing bang competition restrict the use of magical artifacts? You know, a good magical artifact can change the outcome of a battle."

During the commotion, Ye Fan took the opportunity to lean over and ask Lv Zhan.

"Do you think everyone is like you, owning several magical artifacts?" Lv Zhan rolled his eyes in annoyance, "Magical artifacts are the most precious treasures in this world, extremely rare. Not to mention the young generation, even the older generation doesn’t have many. Among the young generation, those who own magical artifacts are geniuses from big sects and clans. With their strength, even without magical artifacts, they can easily defeat players from small sects. Therefore, while the players from small sects may feel frustrated, they have no real complaints..."

"According to what you’re saying, the actual battle over magical artifacts mainly hits in the final round-robin, also known as the battle of geniuses," Ye Fan suddenly realized.

"Mm-hmm. The geniuses who enter the round-robin usually all have magical artifacts, and those best suited for themselves."

Lv Zhan first nodded his head, then added with a wry smile, "Of course, the number of people who own High-level Magical Artifacts is countable on one hand, and you are the only one since the initiation of the Qing bang competition to have two High-level Magical Artifacts! Besides, the quantity of your magical artifacts is unrivaled in the history of the competition!"

Ye Fan remained silent.

His Black Iron Fist set and Ghost Ring were High-level Magical Artifacts, his Xuanye Flying Blade was Mid-level, and he had given the Ghostly Gourd to Situ Ruoshui for self-defense.

"Now, let’s proceed with the elimination round groupings!"

After a brief pause, Gu Yun spoke again, his voice suppressing all others, quieting the crowd below. His voice resonated in every corner, "To fairly determine the strongest of the young generation and prevent seeded players from meeting prematurely, according to the competition’s rules, each seeded player will be placed in one group, and the rest of the contestants will draw lots for their grouping..."

As the sound of Gu Yun’s voice faded, the results for the seeding of the players were announced. Su Liuli was placed in the first group, Emperor Bai, Leng Feng, Jiang Ying, Lv Zhan, Ye Hei, Yuan Feng, Xiao Selang, Wu Zi and others were ordered accordingly, with Ye Fan ranked last.

"Looking at the groupings, it seems the Yanhuang Organization still favors Su Liuli, the disciple of the Buddhist Supreme Bodhi Wu Yin, for the championship. It also confirms that the Evil Emperor’s Disciple is all bark and no bite; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been placed in the last group!"

"That’s right, the seeding of the players is basically sorted by their strength!"

As soon as the seed player groupings were revealed, it sparked a wave of heated discussion.

Amidst the heated debates, including the Martial Arts genius Wang Kun from the Kunlun Sect, several talents whose attack power test results were not inferior to Ye Fan’s all looked eagerly at Ye Fan and Xiao Selang.

Clearly... they regarded those two as the weakest among the seeded players, hoping to be grouped with them in order to usurp their place as the strongest in the group and join the final round-robin!

"It’s like heaven is helping me, I’m in the same group as the Evil Emperor’s Disciple!"

Afterward, among the seventy contestants besides the seeded players, the remaining contestants drew lots one by one. The Martial Arts genius Wang Kun of the Kunlun Sect drew group ten and was over the moon with excitement.

"Thank goodness I didn’t use my trump card during the attack power test. Now I can catch the Evil Emperor’s Disciple by surprise in the match—hey, as long as I beat the Evil Emperor’s disciple, the victor of group ten will definitely be me!"

After the excitement, Wang Kun thought to himself and then looked at Ye Fan with high spirits, only to find that Ye Fan did not even glance at him, completely ignoring his provocation.

"Kid, I’ll make you pay during the match!" Wang Kun thought resentfully, his eyes flashing with malice.

Ye Fan remained unperturbed, quietly awaiting the start of the great competition!

...

...(To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation ticket and monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)