King of Creation
Chapter 355 - 351 Boring Points Race

It didn’t matter who drew Ye Zhen’s lot or whom Ye Zhen drew, the outcome was a straightforward forfeiture.

Who was joking? A Fifth Stage Sword Origin Sect disciple in the Spirit Transformation Realm had been easily killed in two moves—who would want to go up there and ask for trouble?

Even another Sword Origin Sect disciple in the second group admitted defeat straightforwardly when he unluckily faced Ye Zhen.

For some reason, this Sword Origin Sect disciple didn’t even dare to step onto the Dragon Head Arena and conceded directly from below the stage.

The prize money might be good, but one has to be alive to enjoy it, right?

Their own Third-Ranked True Disciple was taken down by Ye Zhen, so there would be no second reason for going up other than seeking death.

Similarly, one of the Phantom Divine Sect disciples named Liu Hua was unlucky enough to get drawn by Ye Zhen in the twenty-seventh round.

Then, under the furious gaze of the Thousand Illusion Eagle King, Liu Hua directly admitted defeat to Ye Zhen.

Even as the Thousand Illusion Eagle King glared and grimaced at him, Liu Hua still resolutely admitted defeat and stepped down.

Anyone who had made it this far was no fool; life was precious and self-preservation essential.

By the end of the group drawing contest, Ye Zhen had fought only twice in thirty-six rounds, winning thirty-six times, with a perfect score of seventy-two points, ranking first in the group.

Others like Huaa Wushuang, Bu Changtian, and Tao Hui did similarly well, all ranking first in their groups with a full score of seventy-two points.

Caiyi did the same, but she was the only seed player who almost fought all thirty-six matches and still obtained a full score of seventy-two points.

Of course, not all seed players ended up first in the group drawing contest scores.

For example, the seed player of the ninth group was magnificently defeated by Yem Yuan, who became the top scorer of the ninth group.

The seed player of the twelfth group was beaten by Huaa Xin, a female disciple of Wanji Peak, losing her seed player status.

Whoosh!

As the thirty-sixth round of the last arena came to an end, the hosts, the Deacons of the twelve Dragon Head Arenas, each launched a Talisman Light into the dragon’s head of the Dragon Head Arena.

In an instant, a curtain of light burst forth from within the dragon’s head, displaying the rankings of over seventy martial artists in order, along with their win/loss records and total points.

First place in the second group, Ye Zhen, thirty-six consecutive wins, seventy-two points!

Wen Zimo, thirty-five wins, one draw, seventy-one points.

...

Mei Yuanju, thirty-three wins, one draw, two losses, sixty-seven points!

....

That Wen Zimo was a disciple of Phantom Divine Sect, but was luckily enough not to encounter Ye Zhen. With a score of sixty-seven, Mei Yuanju ranked fifth in the second group, which caused Second Elder Jis Che and Seventh Elder Zhongli Jing to beam with pride.

This was a sign of great prosperity for Qiyun Sect.

In this Black Dragon Ranking contest, Qiyun Sect not only had two undefeated seed players but also three martial artists who had made it into the group drawing contest. Apart from one who was tragically eliminated, Mei Yuanju and Wu Mingda each ranked fifth and sixth in their groups, entering the top seventy-two of the Black Dragon Ranking with high hopes.

On the other hand, Sword Origin Sect, with nine entering and one killed, one seriously injured and disqualified, had besides Tao Hui, who was a first-place seed player in the group, only one other ranking third in their group, while all others were far behind in the rankings.

In the group drawing contest of the Black Dragon Ranking, any martial artist ranking outside the top twelve of their group would be eliminated.

In the twelve groups, one hundred forty-four people strove for seventy-two spots on the Black Dragon Ranking, meaning that by advancing into the top six of each group, you had an eighty percent chance to secure a place on the Black Dragon Ranking.

"The group drawing contest has concluded, rest tonight, conserve your energy, for tomorrow the point-based matches will commence! Those with injuries, heal quickly, and if by tomorrow you have not yet regained your combat power, then... withdraw."

Qing Yii’s words were not without reason.

In the last three rounds of the group drawing contest, the martial artists had abandoned strategy, and apart from facing abnormal opponents like Ye Zhen who left no choice but to forfeit, most people fought desperately, risking their very essence.

As an example, Wu Tian from the second group, in the thirty-sixth round, coughed up two mouthfuls of Origin Essence Blood, opting for a strategy of trading injury for injury to win a match and earn two points, barely raising his rank from fourteenth to eleventh place and qualifying for the point-based competitions.

But now, his condition was very dire.

With three broken ribs and severe internal injuries, his complexion pallid as beaten gold, even though his family’s elder was going all out to heal him, Ye Zhen estimated that with such bone and internal injuries, even with the help of fine elixirs, he would need three days to recover.

Recovery by tomorrow night seemed very unlikely.

Tomorrow’s point-based matches would be tough.

Some martial artists felt that it was unfair for the severely injured to recover in only one day after the group drawing contest.

But if your strength was truly formidable, how could you be gravely injured?

Besides, no matter where or what you do, there can never be absolute fairness!

"Caiyi, look how tired you’ve been all day, why didn’t you use your fierce hand to intimidate them even once? Just one display of your harsh hand would have made many of them forfeit willingly."

Seeing Caiyi’s somewhat pale face, Ye Zhen felt a twinge of heartache.

Caiyi was not a deity, her true Spiritual Power Cultivation was only at the Fourth Stage of Spirit Transformation, and after fighting eighteen matches in one day, even if she won consecutively, the toll on her cultivation was immense.

"Brother Ye Zhen, I’m okay! I did use my harsh hand, you see. Those with malice, I beat until they spat blood. Those without malice, it was enough just to determine the victor!"

Ye Zhen helplessly shook his head; Caiyi was just like this, holding her own unique perspective on right and wrong.

"Alright, you’d better start recovering your cultivation swiftly! You almost ran out of spiritual power after the whole day." Ye Zhen urged.

"Hmm, you too!"

Ye Zhen wanted to laugh, but he still held back and told Caiyi to quickly restore her cultivation. As for him?

In the second day’s eighteen rounds of competition, he hadn’t even made a single move, his energy was bursting to the brim—there was no need for recovery.

Of course, nightly cultivation practice was essential.

The path of martial arts lies in perseverance!

Many of the martial artists in the Spirit Transformation Realm who were watching the Dragon Head Arena battles and were upwards of forty to fifty years old, had ordinary innate bloodlines but had practiced for decades with unwavering persistence, breaking through to the Spirit Transformation Realm with their ’water grinding technique’.

....

The ranking matches of the Black Dragon Ancient Land’s Black Dragon Ranking were divided into three rounds. The first round was the group draw which had just been completed, also known as the elimination round, weeding out the majority of martial artists.

The second round of competition was the points match, which, apart from eliminating half of the martial artists, laid the groundwork for the third round of ranking matches.

The rules for the points match were very simple, still based on group participation.

The top twelve from each group of the first round of group draws would form a new group, all members taking turns battling each other, fighting eleven bouts each, with two points awarded for a win, one point for a draw, and zero points for a loss; ultimately, rankings were determined by points scored.

Based on these points rankings, the top six from each group would go on to the final ranking competition.

Then, the top six from each group would compete for different placements on the Black Dragon Ranking according to their group ranking.

The first place winner from each of the twelve groups would compete for first to twelfth place on the Black Dragon Ranking, the second place winners for thirteenth to twenty-fourth place, the third place winners for twenty-fifth to thirty-sixth place, and so on, until the seventy-two ranks of the Black Dragon Ranking were filled.

Of course, these group matches had their drawbacks. Some groups were full of strong contenders while others had more weak participants, putting those in stronger groups at a disadvantage.

Despite having the strength to advance to the top twelve, someone might only manage to rank thirteenth to twenty-fourth due to a particularly formidable opponent in their group.

Hence, there was one final element to the Black Dragon Ranking—the Open Challenge!

If someone believed their strength was buried, they could select an opponent during the Open Challenge phase. If they won, they could replace their opponent’s rank; a defeat, naturally, would leave them with nothing to say.

....

After a night passed, the second round of the Black Dragon Ranking, the group points match, started as scheduled.

However, as a supplement to the group draw matches and a precursor to the ranking competition, Ye Zhen was still extremely bored.

Even though Ye Zhen and the other eleven martial artists of the second group included three people he had not faced in the group draw, when confronting Ye Zhen, they all, without exception, chose to concede directly!

So, when Ye Zhen faced one opponent after another who immediately admitted defeat, he felt a sense of speechlessness towards the heavens.

Being too conspicuous wasn’t good either, as it led to having no opponents and the utmost boredom.

"Next match, Ye Zhen versus Wen Zimo!"

The voice of the Thousand Illusion Eagle King rang out with a hint of excitement.

Wen Zimo was the second highest ranked in the second group; this battle was his last chance to break into the top ten of the Black Dragon Ranking. If he gave up, then Wen Zimo would be completely cut off from the top ten.

"Whew!"

Taking an excited breath, Ye Zhen stepped onto the Martial Combat Platform, his hand already resting on the Profound Yang Sword. Watching others fight so fiercely, so thrillingly, Ye Zhen’s Profound Yang Sword felt a sense of eager impatience as well.

Among the second group, Wen Zimo was the only one who potentially posed a challenge for Ye Zhen.

Ye Zhen’s gaze instantly narrowed on Wen Zimo, "This guy wouldn’t disappoint me, would he?"

Below the Dragon Head Arena, Wen Zimo’s forehead was tightly furrowed into a frown. As someone extremely rational, he was measuring his options.

It was impossible to say he had no desire for the top ten of the Black Dragon Ranking.

But Wen Zimo was even more rational.

He knew that if he wanted to compete with Ye Zhen for their group’s first place, he would have to fight with his life on the line.

With everything at stake, even a victory would likely be a Pyrrhic one.

However, it was only the seventh round of the points match right now.

If he were to suffer severe injuries and only manage a tragic victory, the continuing matches of the points round, which were to be completed within a day, would have to be forfeited, which would result in an even lower ranking.

"The risk is too great!"

"It’s better to secure the second place in the group first. As for the top ten of the Black Dragon Ranking, it’s not like there’s no chance!"

In an instant, Wen Zimo made his decision.

"I concede!"

As these three words were uttered, not only did Ye Zhen feel disappointed, but also the Thousand Illusion Eagle King, Bu Changtian—who had been eager to assess Ye Zhen’s reality—Mo Xinsui, Tao Hui, and others, were all let down!

However, disappointment aside, Ye Zhen still had immense admiration for Wen Zimo’s wisdom because given Wen Zimo’s current display of strength, facing Ye Zhen would definitely mean certain defeat.

Following Wen Zimo’s concession, Ye Zhen knew that his group points match had become thoroughly dull. But his eyes ignited with fervent heat!

Because tomorrow would be an epic day!

Tomorrow, Ye Zhen would encounter those top geniuses from the various tribes and families of the great sects, like Huaa Wushuang, Mo Xinsui, Bu Changtian, Yem Yuan, Tao Hui—all of them would be Ye Zhen’s opponents! (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)