The tournament of the Martial Arts Convention aimed to filter out the top one hundred strongest fighters. Those who had reached the First-Rate realm were all sect masters, elders, or top-tier experts of the jianghu. Those in the Second-Rate realm were mostly elite disciples from major sects or elders and sect masters from minor sects. In the previous Martial Arts Convention, the top twenty among the one hundred qualifiers were First-Rate or above, while the rest were all Second-Rate martial artists.
Most of the contestants participating in the matches were Second-Rate martial artists or below. For those who lost their matches, the convention specially set up three additional arena stages where they could spar freely, display their skills, unleash their full potential, gain experience, and make friends. Those who stood out still had a chance to catch the eye of certain prominent figures.
The second round of matches was held seven days later. Over half the original contestants remained, totaling six hundred people. The previous round had been a quick and crude screening to filter out those with poor skills or bad luck, as well as to make a basic assessment of each individual's techniques. This round, however, would directly narrow the field down to the top one hundred.
This round lasted only three days and remained an arena-style competition, though the rules had changed slightly from the first round. Ten arena stages were set up, and martial artists could choose any stage they wished to fight on, up to three times. Each match lasted at most the time it took for a stick of incense to burn. In the event of a draw, both fighters forfeited one attempt. Each session lasted one shichen, with a total of one hundred matches, and the winner of each match advanced to the next round.
In a single day, there were over thirty matches, yielding over thirty winners who advanced to the next round.
The contestants were divided into three groups as before. Lin Yue and the Fang siblings were all set to fight on the first day, while Wu Yan and Hong Ying were scheduled for the second.
On the first day of the matches, the group arrived early at the grounds. A large crowd had already gathered below the arena stages, consisting not only of contestants but also figures from various organizations and factions. Some stages were close to the outer fence, attracting many spectators from among the common folk.
When the time arrived, the referees stepped onto the stages, and many contestants crowded around them to register for their turns. Eventually, a burly man carrying a nine-ring butcher knife leaped onto the arena stage. His exposed arms were muscular and solid as rock. He cupped his hands to the crowd below.
"I am Shi Zhu, known as Nine-Ring Shi, from Kaiyang Prefecture, Yizhou! I have come to seek guidance from you all!"
With that, he twirled his heavy broadsaber, the nine iron rings clashing against the blade with a crisp clinking sound.
"Which brave soul will step up to fight?"
"I will!"
A man holding a podao leaped onto the arena stage, his voice booming like thunder.
"I am Yang Zhen of Yusheng Martial Arts Hall in Youzhou Prefecture!"
Having announced their names, both sides began to fight. Both used heavy sabers; with every swing and clash, the muscles on their arms trembled, and the thunderous impact reverberated in everyone's chest.
The crowd below watched intently. After the time it took a stick of incense to burn, the burly man stepped down from the stage. Several people in the crowd called out to him, and he cupped his hands to them before starting a conversation with them. Immediately after, another spear-wielding martial artist took the stage, replacing the podao-wielding warrior...
More than half a shichen passed, and the first session reached its climax. Many martial artists took to the stage, one walking down after another, until a swordsman holding a Miao saber stepped silently onto the arena stage. The hideous scar on his left cheek and his wolf-like gaze made his opponent catch their breath.
The Miao saber earned its name from its similarity to a grain shoot. He slowly drew the long blade, pointing it toward the ground, then suddenly charged forward without warning—like a lone hunting wolf, silently lunging to deliver a fatal strike to his opponent.
The first session ended. The Miao saber slid into its scabbard with a whistling sound of wind, and he walked off the arena stage in silence.
Each arena stage held roughly three or four sessions a day, and by now, twelve martial artists had already advanced to the next round. The remaining opportunities for the two hundred-plus people present were dwindling fast.
Most people spent the first session observing, but by the second, they were eager to try.
Fang Heng and Fang Yu went up. Stepping up early allowed them to trade a few moves with others; if they waited until the later half when top experts took the stage, they wouldn't even get a chance to strike.
By this point, the martial artists below the stage could more or less gauge the skill levels of those above.
The fighting was fierce. After winning one or two bouts, the siblings were predictably knocked off the stage. Still having two more chances to gather experience, the two rested for a while before heading to other arena stages.
The next to take the stage was a female swordsman in green robes. Judging by her luxurious brocade clothes and exquisite sword skills, she likely hailed from a prominent background. She knocked one martial artist after another off the stage, but was ultimately defeated by a man in white brocade. Judging by their expressions and exchanges, there seemed to be a personal grudge between them.
Seeing that there were only two quarters of an hour left and not many people were going up, Lin Yue stood up to register. She happened to be second in line. Once the competitor before her was knocked down by the man in white brocade, Lin Yue leaped onto the arena stage.
The final stick of incense would decide the outcome of this match.
The man in white brocade glanced at the slender youth before him. Finding no trace of nervousness on her face, he assumed it was either confidence or that her young age posed little threat to him.
As the youth chopped forward with her staff, he raised his sword to parry it away. In an instant, the man's expression changed—the force transmitted through the staff forced him to tighten his grip on his sword. Looking at the youth before him again, his expression turned serious as he charged forward to exchange several rounds of blows. The opponent's attacks grew increasingly fierce, and the weight of the force coming from the staff grew heavier and heavier. With a tense face, he dodged and sliced toward her lead hand.
Just as the stick of incense was about to burn out, a sharp pain shot through his arm, forcing him to drop his sword. Immediately after, a gust of wind swept forward with the staff, causing his pupils to shrink. The staff stopped right before his throat. The staff-wielding youth before him showed no emotion on her face, her eyes deep and inscrutable.
The youth pulled back her staff and walked off the arena stage holding it. A few wealthy merchants and nobles approached to strike up a conversation with her. She smiled faintly, neither ostentatious nor obsequious, and spoke a few quiet words. After the men introduced themselves, she nodded and departed.
The youth in brocade sighed. She was serene as ink, steadfast like bamboo and pine, just like her staff—simple, yet heavy.
He turned around and headed toward another arena stage.
At the end of the day's matches, Fang Heng and Fang Yu had fought three matches each, but failed to advance to the next round. Their expressions were relaxed; having had the chance to showcase their skills at this gathering of martial elites, both were satisfied.
The second day featured the matches for Hong Ying and Wu Yan. Wu Yan held out against two opponents before being knocked out. Hong Ying took the stage and traded several moves with the ultimate winner of that arena stage, eventually losing to him. When Hong Ying came down, she couldn't stop grinning from ear to ear; that opponent had reached the First-Rate realm, making him a top figure in the jianghu, and he had given her a few pointers on stage, which proved immensely beneficial to her.
Across all three of her attempts, Hong Ying made it to the final stages of the round, though she was ultimately defeated each time by a powerful fighter who suddenly emerged.
At the end of three days, the top one hundred competitors had been selected. The ranking matches would follow seven days later, where the one hundred fighters drew lots to select their opponents. After three days of intense competition, the rankings were settled. Lin Yue placed sixty-sixth, right in the middle of the Second-Rate rankers, surrounded by young people several years older than her.
The fourth day was designated for minor adjustments. Anyone dissatisfied with their ranking could challenge a higher-ranked fighter; a victory would allow them to claim that opponent's rank directly.
The venue of the Martial Arts Convention was packed with people. Beyond figures from the jianghu, many sect disciples had also come to watch, and a ring of spectators surrounded the outside of the grounds. People in uniforms of various colors were scattered among the arena stages.
The Sect Tournament had already concluded, and the rankings were out, remaining largely unchanged. The Huajian Sect, to which Ren Siyan belonged, had climbed from eighty-second to seventy-ninth place. The entire sect was overjoyed, as a rank starting with seven was a world apart from one starting with eight.
The challenges began with the top ten. As the words of Zhang Tianhu, the master of Longmen Escort Agency, fell, ten people stepped onto the arena stages. Li Le walked onto Stage One and sat casually on the ground, twirling a piece of grass he had picked up from somewhere. He smiled as he looked at the crowd, even waving his foxtail grass at Lin Yue, who was submerged in the crowd.
Arrogant and brazen.
Yet no one dared step up to beat him.
During the first round, he had already defeated all the experts on Stage One, remaining undefeated to this point.
Once the ten fighters were on their stages, several challengers stepped forward. Some were knocked down and replaced, only to get back up and challenge another stage.
Exchanges between top experts were conducted with restraint; after all, with so many spectators watching, no one wanted to lose face. After half a shichen passed with no further challengers stepping forward, the fights among the top ten began.
The third-ranked fighter was a woman in red holding a cherry blossom spear, said to be the disciple of the woman who used a cherry blossom spear before. The fourth-ranked fighter challenged the third, but lost. Sparring took place between other adjacent ranks as well, and after one shichen, the final rankings were set.
Next came the sparring matches for the top twenty, then the top thirty...
The rankings remained largely unchanged, with few people offering challenges. By the time it came to the top fifty, Li Le, who had squeezed over to her side at some point, nudged her arm with a clear meaning. Lin Yue silently shifted away from him without looking back, her refusal equally explicit.
By the time the matches reached the top seventy, it was already the wei hour. The moment Lin Yue stepped onto Stage Six, someone came forward to snatch her sixty-sixth rank. Fortunately, she managed to defend her spot in the end.
The following day was the closing ceremony of the Martial Arts Convention, which also doubled as the awards ceremony. Standing right in the center of the stage, Li Le still wore a nonchalant expression, as though the one hundred thousand taels mentioned by Zhang Tianhu were nothing more than a few sheets of paper to him. He spouted a few arrogant remarks, then publicly announced that the Guiwu Sect was recruiting disciples—strictly top-tier candidates—with registration opening in three days, and so forth.
Only the top ten were allowed onto the stage, but only three actually showed up: the first-place winner came to recruit disciples, the fifth-place to seek sponsors, and the tenth-place to recruit both disciples and sponsors.
He intended to establish a grand sect.
The moment he stepped off the stage, a crowd swarmed toward him.
Lin Yue went to collect her custom rank token for the Martial Arts Convention along with twenty-two hundred taels in silver banknotes—enough money for her to buy a courtyard house in a moderately prosperous prefecture and live comfortably for the rest of her life.
As she was about to leave, Li Le slapped a thousand-tael banknote into her hand, telling her to hurry up and pay off her debts so she could return to help recruit disciples and build up the sect. Seeing Lin Yue stand there frozen in place, he slapped down another thousand taels, quickly followed by yet another thousand taels. Frowning, he asked if her parents had been buried in gold coffins.
Lin Yue let out a sigh, put away the fifty-two hundred taels, and told him to wait for further notice.
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