Chapter 57

Before long, the remaining participants had completed their tests. The results were not optimistic. Only Li Changsheng, Li Tianyu, and Li Jingyi qualified and were eligible to take part in the semifinals.

Apart from these three people, the other participants would have to go through the elimination round and compete for the remaining five places. As long as they successfully advanced to the semi-finals, it would mean that they had won their spots in an institution.

Of course, there were also good and bad institutions. The higher their rank in the clan competition, the better their institute recommendation. At the same time, the clan would also present them with certain additional rewards for their achievements.

The elimination round was rather harsh. If you failed, you would be eliminated. However, compared with the battle of life and death, it was undoubtedly much more laid back. At the very least, no one had to fear for their lives.

When the elimination round began, Li Changsheng and the other two successful candidates did not leave. After all, no one could tell whether there would be participants with hidden strengths, or if they had simply failed to leave a mark on the obsidian due to their carelessness. These were all possibilities.

Similar to the test, the internal affairs clan elder started calling out names, and the participants entered the competition session. The clan elder would match opponents based on their strengths, to prevent strong opponents from facing each other right off the bat. The weak would be eliminated, and the strong would survive.

Because it was not a battle to the death and everyone was from the same clan, the nature of the competition was similar to comparing notes. The demon pets were not allowed to attack the demon tamers, and they could not kill the opponent’s demon pets either.

Other than that, everyone in the elimination round could only use one demon pet, which effectively prevented wasting time.

With these rules in place, the demon tamers with hidden aces up their sleeves would usually choose their strongest demon pet to prevent the possibility of an unexpected failure. Even if they tried their best to hide their strengths in the elimination round, though they might be able to hide it from the others, they would not be able to hide it from Li Changsheng.

At the next moment, the two people who were called forward entered the ring. They quickly released their demon pets and launched them into a fierce battle, doing all they could to defeat their opponent.

Their strengths were on par, and the demon pets did not have any advantages. For a while, no side could one-up the other.

As time passed by, finally, the first contestant seized an opportunity and defeated his opponent, earning a spot in the next round.

Even though he had won, the first contestant’s demon pet was covered in wounds. He tried to heal its wounds as soon as possible to get ready for the next elimination round.

“The Sacred Water of a Middle Order Heaven’s Fowl has amazing healing effects. For just three low-tier demon cores, you can exchange them for a whole jar!” Out of nowhere, Li Changsheng took the initiative to approach the first contestant.

After the Heaven’s Fowl was equipped with the Light Treasure, Sacred Water’s effects had increased significantly. This had also caused the price of Sacred Water to increase from one demon core to two.

Now, Li Changsheng took advantage of the clan competition to promote the sale of Sacred Water and had even increased the price to three demon cores. He was not worried that no one would accept his offer.

“Give me one—no, two!” The first contestant endured the heartache—he knew that it was not the time to be stingy. If he wanted to advance, he had to heal his demon pet’s injuries as soon as possible.

Other than the first contestant, a few people had also started gathering around. They were worried that the Sacred Water was limited, and were all generous when fishing in their wallets.

“Changsheng, you are one sly rascal!” Li Jianren exclaimed, but he had also quickly begun assisting Li Changsheng in selling the Sacred Water.

As the two busied themselves, the internal affairs clan elder could not help glancing at them. He frowned slightly, but he did stop them. Instead, he called out again, “Contestants number three and four, please make your way to the ring!”

Unlike the previous round, there was an obvious difference in strength between these two contestants. Contestant number three had sent out a Lower 6th Order demon pet while contestant number four had sent out a Lower 9th Order Demon Pet.

In the case of the same class, unless contestant number four made a fatal error, contestant number three would have no chance of defeating the superior opponent.

Contestant number four’s combat style was quite stable. Even though his strength was superior, he still adopted a steady approach, not giving his opponent a chance of turning the tables.

“I surrender!” Seeing that his demon pet had taken beating after beating and did not have any strength left to fight back, contestant number three knew that it was a lost cause and chose to surrender.

As they were battling, the Clan Head and clan elders were observing the contestants on the field, analyzing their strengths.

As long as they had potential, even if they did not win the institution recommendations, the clan would still be willing to invest in their growth.

After contestant number three admitted defeat, a clan elder frowned and could not help shaking his head, disappointed at the young fellow.

To be promoted to a higher level, or even to explore the illusory path to supremacy, to be reborn, and achieve a greater meaning of life, many demon tamers were eager to battle and fight for every resource.

An excellent demon tamer would not be afraid of facing a stronger opponent. As long as the gap between their strengths was not insurmountable, they would never give up easily. If they surrendered, that would mean that they had given up their last hope.

This was just a clan competition that was no more dangerous than comparing notes—there was no risk of fatality. Of course, even if it was a fight to the death, admitting defeat was still not an option.

High-level clan members preferred clan youngsters who were bold and daring fighters. Even if the chances of winning were slim, as long as they faced it bravely with a fiery passion, even if the results did not change, at least they could step down knowing that they had fought their hardest. And what if they pulled off an upset and won?

Not only that, if the clan was facing a life or death situation, and there were clan elites or high-level clan members who tried to flee, this would undoubtedly reduce the clan’s morale and cohesion, and it could very likely ruin the clan’s last hope.

Later, under the instructions of the internal affairs clan elder, more contestants entered the ring. Some of them matched equally and fought a difficult battle. On the other hand, there were also battles with great disparity in strengths. The weaker contestant would mostly choose to try their best. However, if they felt like there was no chance of winning, many of them would give up because the defeat would often result in their demon pet being severely injured.

Of course, there were cases where the underdog successfully turned the tides in their favor. A weak contestant had seized a fleeting opportunity to turn the tables and finally converted certain defeat into victory.

After about an hour, most of the contestants had been categorized into winners and losers. Right then, two more contestants entered the ring.

“This is a little boring!” Li Changsheng yawned. In that hour, he had observed the players on the field, hoping to find a contestant with hidden strengths. In the end, he did not find anyone like that.

Right at that moment, the two people in the arena unleashed their demon pets at the same time. Li Changsheng released his omniscience subconsciously. When he saw one of the demon pet’s information, he was taken aback.

[Demon Name]: Ice Sparrow (Mature Stage)

[Demon Level]: Middle 2nd Order

[Demon Class]: Upper-class Servant

[Demon Grade]: Medial Grade

[Demon Bloodline]: Ice Phoenix (Inferior Quality)

[Demon Type]: Ice

[Demon Condition]: Healthy

[Demon Weakness]: Wind

It was a Medial Grade Ice Sparrow, with Ice Phoenix bloodline. Even though it was of inferior quality, it still had the bloodline of a divine beast. Not only did that strengthen its body, that also meant that it may gain bloodline inheritance and learn certain specialized skills of the Ice Phoenix.

The strange thing was that this Ice Sparrow’s aura was extremely restrained. It was a Middle Order demon pet, but its aura was controlled so it seemed to be only at Lower 9th Order. If it was not observed closely, even a strong demon tamer might have been fooled.

At that moment, Li Changsheng looked toward the Ice Sparrow’s owner. He was a skinny youngster and had a fragile appearance, as if a gust of wind could blow him away.

“Li Runfeng!” Li Changsheng made a mental note of his name so he could avoid getting tripped up on his road to victory later on.

Of course, Li Changsheng was not kind enough to warn others. Everyone here was an opponent. If Li Runfeng gave them trouble, that would be wonderful.

At that moment, the battle had already begun. Even though the Ice Sparrow’s true power was being suppressed, it still had the body of a Medial Grade demon pet. His opponent did not have a hope of winning.

What was most shocking was that Li Runfeng was being very insidious. Putting aside the fact that his Ice Sparrow’s strength was restrained, he was also hiding certain aspects of himself. He carried himself with the appearance of a novice, and under a pretense of clumsiness, he had finally won the battle with just the slightest of advantages.

Thanks to his omniscience, Li Changsheng could “see” everything very clearly. The Ice Sparrow may seem like it was seriously injured, but in its status bar, it was clearly stated that it was only lightly injured. It had even recovered not long after that.

“Li Runfeng is the winner in this round!”

Once the competition results were announced, the internal affairs clan elder gave Li Runfeng a hard glance. Due to the close proximity, he was not tricked by the Ice Sparrow’s facade.

However, the internal affairs clan elder did not say anything. After all, concealment was a legitimate battle tactic as well.

Soon, the first elimination round had ended. Ten people in total advanced to the next stage, but they still had to go through another elimination round in the afternoon to qualify for the semifinals and obtain the institute recommendations.