Chapter 84 84

Most of the cultivators were shocked after hearing Jin Zhaohui's words. They didn't even get to see the lottery numbers in their hands. If the concept of the preliminary round is a battle royale, then more than half of the participants will be eliminated.

More than half of the participants had failed age checks and strength tests. If they fought in the preliminaries with a battle royal, the remaining cultivators in the competition would be no more than fifty.

"Please look at your lottery numbers. It will show in which battle arena you will fight. Participants will be divided into eight according to the number of battle arenas, and each will have four groups of thirteen people.

After that, the thirteen people will do a battle royale to determine the winner. Only one of the thirteen people could advance to the next round. So there will be four battle royales and four winners in each arena." Jin Zhaohui explained.

"Weren't there only thirty-two people left after the preliminaries!? Isn't that too cruel, Elder Jin? You reduced more than half of the total number of participants in the first round!" a participant raised his voice and expressed his objection.

"If you can't accept it, you can resign. We are not forcing you to participate in the martial arts competition." Jin Zhaohui said coldly, and it silenced the participants who objected.

"Ah, I'm sorry, Elder Jin. I didn't mean to question the competition rules." The young cultivator trembled under Jin Zhaohui's glare and quickly lowered his head.

"Who else has any objections? You can leave this place immediately, and we will not stop you." Jin Zhaohui looked at the participants and said indifferently.

After waiting for quite a while, Jin Zhaohui nodded in satisfaction when he saw that none of the participants had left the scene.

"Then, you can go to your respective battle arenas to start the preliminary round." Jin Zhaohui gave instructions, and the other seven elders went to each battle arena to serve as referees.

After hearing Jin Zhaohui's words, those cultivators quickly went to their respective battle arenas and left the Wang family's participants behind.

"I got D1. This means I will fight in this arena. Which group are you in?" Wang Ruyue showed the number on the paper in his hand and then asked the others. That number indicated that Wang Ruyue would fight in arena D in the first group. In other words, he would have the first turn to do a battle royale and fight against the twelve participants.

"I'm on F4." Tenku opened his paper and showed it to the others.

"I'm H2."

"I'm in B2."

"I'm at E3."

Wang Xin, Wang Zeming, and Wang Xiuying also showed their lottery numbers.

"Fortunately, we didn't meet in the preliminary round. Then, let's go to our respective arenas and win the competition!" Wang Ruyue smiled gently, and it raised the fighting spirit of the participants from the Wang family.

Wang Zeming and the others looked at each other and showed their determination. After that, they split up and went to their respective arenas to prepare themselves before the preliminary round started.

Tenku nodded to Wang Ruyue and intended to go to arena F, but the girl suddenly held his hand and stopped him.

"Is there anything else?" Tenku looked at Wang Ruyue in confusion.

"Be careful. The Gu family might target you in the preliminary round." Wang Ruyue said worriedly.

"Thank you. I'll be careful." Tenku smiled and left Wang Ruyue alone in that place.

Not far from where they were talking, Gu Qingyang clenched his fists tightly when he saw their closeness.

"I will knock that boy out in the preliminaries. But before that, I will make him feel unforgettable pain for daring to approach my fiancé!" Gu Qingyang looked at Tenku with eyes full of cruelty.

Meanwhile, atop the high platform, the patriarchs and elders of the four major families quietly watched the martial arts competition's progress. Some were proud when their disciples took a strength test, especially the Gu family.

"Haotian, I envy you. You have a genius granddaughter and also an excellent disciple. But are you sure to let him participate in this competition?" an old man said. He was the elder of the Lin family, Lin Changhai. His relationship was quite good with the Wang family.

"Yes, he might be able to become the victor in the martial arts competition in the next five years." Another old man nodded. He is the elder of the Long family, Long Haocun.

"You shouldn't have your disciples participate, Haotian. He might be seriously injured, lose his cultivation base, and be crippled in competition because the sword has no eyes in battle." Another old man said viciously, and the people around him could feel the threat from his voice. He was Gu Yuxuan. He was the Gu family's elder and the grandfather of Gu Qingyang.

"Did you think your grandson wouldn't get hurt in the competition just because of his high cultivation base?" Wang Haotian was not angry when he heard Gu Yuxuan's threats. His reaction left the people around him confused.

"Apart from having a high cultivation base, my grandson also has rich combat experience. I'm sure there isn't a single participant in the competition who can fight against him for more than five minutes." Gu Yuxuan looked at the Wang family and the other two major families.

"You better not overestimate your grandson, Yuxuan. If he loses the battle, then it will embarrass you." One of the elders from the Lin family retorted.

"The younger generation of my Long family is not necessarily inferior to your grandson. So you better stop your arrogance and watch this competition quietly." Long Haocun added.

"He is right. What if your grandson loses the battle? wouldn't that be the same as slapping your old face in public after you bragged about him?" Wang Haotian sneered.

"If he loses fairly in battle, then it shows that my grandson is weaker than his opponent. I will accept the shame gladly. But I'm sure my grandson will win this competition." Gu Yuxuan answered confidently.

"Ooh… what if he really loses badly and gets seriously injured or even loses his cultivation base in battle?" Wang Haotian smiled slightly and asked curiously.

"If he were seriously injured or lost his cultivation in battle, then the Gu family would have nothing to say about it. We promise not to hold my grandson's opponent responsible." Gu Yuxuan believed that no one could match Gu Qingyang in the competition because only he and the Gu family knew his true strength. Thus, he dared to say such a sentence.

"Good! As expected of the Gu family." Wang Haotian said admiringly.

"So what if the situation you mentioned happened to your disciple?" Gu Yuxuan asked in return.

"Of course, I will give you the same answer. The elders here can bear witness to what Gu Yuxuan and I said." Wang Haotian looked at the Lin, Long, and Jin families. They nodded in response to his words.

Gu Yuxuan and the other Gu family elders laughed when they heard that. In contrast, the patriarchs of the four major families, especially the Gu family, felt something was off about Wang Haotian. But they didn't know what it was and didn't consider it further.

"I hope you don't go back on your words if that happens." Gu Yuxuan nodded at Wang Haotian's attitude but secretly sneered in his heart.

(Haotian, I want to see your expression when your disciple lost his cultivation base. He is far more genius than Qingyang. We must uproot him before he grows)

Gu Yuxuan looked fiercely at Tenku, who was walking towards arena F.

"I will not go back on my word." Wang Haotian smiled warmly. He silently took out his smartphone from his pocket. He sent a message to someone and turned his smile into a sinister one.

(I hope you are not too sad when you see your grandson, the genius you have worked hard to nurture and raise, suddenly become a useless person)

Wang Haotian looked at arena D, where Wang Ruyue was going to fight, and his expression became gentler.

At the same time, Tenku suddenly stopped in his footsteps when he heard his smartphone ring. He quickly took it out of his pocket and saw a message from Wang Haotian. When Tenku read it, he sighed because that old man asked him to do something troublesome.

Tenku put his smartphone back in his pocket and waited at the participant's seat in arena F. He sat right next to a girl with a veil over her face. If Tenku remembered correctly, that girl was from the Huang family. She was nineteen years old, and her cultivation base was at the late stage of the Earth Origin realm.

When Tenku took his seat, he became the center of attention of the people around him because he was the only Japanese in the competition. He looked around and didn't care about their stares. Tenku didn't find many spectators there because the event was not open to the public and was only limited to the martial artist's family and a few colleagues.

Not long after, an old geezer came to the battle arena. But his appearance this time wasn't as great as Jin Zhaohui's. He just walked as usual and climbed the stairs one after another. After he stood in the middle of the battle arena, he looked at the participants and opened his mouth.

"I am Lin Guchen, the elder of the Lin family and the one who will be the referee in arena F. Before I start the preliminary round, I will tell you the rules of the competition. First, you are prohibited from killing your opponent. Second, you must not deliberately seriously injure your opponent. Of course, that doesn't apply if other people intend to harm you first. Third, you are prohibited from using poison or secret weapons.

Those are the rules of the competition. Participants who violate will be disqualified. You will get a harsh punishment if you break the first rule. You will be declared defeated if you leave the arena, admit defeat, can no longer fight, or lose consciousness. Do you understand?" Ling Guchen explained.

"We understand, Elder Lin!" The participants nodded and answered in unison.

"Good! In addition, you cannot fight with your personal weapons to keep the competition fair. We have provided a variety of weapons that you can choose according to your suitability." Ling Guchen pointed to the side of arena F.

Various kinds of weapons are available there. They can choose swords, machetes, daggers, spears, bows, scythes, and other weapons. But some participants were disappointed with the rules because they had brought the best weapons. Even so, they could only keep their complaints inside their minds.

"Then, we will start the preliminaries now! To the thirteen people from the first group, please come up to the battle arena." Lin Guchen said, and the martial arts competition started.