"Chu Liang of the Mount Shu Sect has defeated Yun Chaoxian of the Great Astral Sect!"
When this announcement rang out, the people in Corridor City displayed expressions of surprise. They were shocked to hear that Chu Liang had defeated Yun Chaoxian, but it had not been entirely unexpected. They had known that Chu Liang was likely to be overwhelmingly strong, but it was his methods that always caught them off guard.
Chu Liang had achieved three victories in a row, each in a remarkably short time... In fact, Chu Liang’s first two opponents had not even managed to withstand a single strike from him.
Yun Chaoxian had only managed to withstand two strikes. If his halberd were as firm as he was in speech, perhaps he might have lasted a bit longer.
This meant that Chu Liang was, without a doubt, the first to make it into the top five, granting him the first bye.
The whole purpose of Corridor City’s mechanism was to accelerate the pace of the competition while minimizing luck as a factor. The first three rounds of the Battle at the Imperial City were different from the final round.
In the first three rounds, the participants advancing to the next corridor in the same direction would have to battle whoever entered the same corridor shortly after them, making it unlikely for the stronger competitors to encounter the weaker competitors for three consecutive rounds.
The competitors that won their battles quickly would have to face other swift victors, while those that took longer to win their battles would go on to face other slow victors. In other words, the competitors of a similar level would be matched up.
This could lead to some strong competitors being eliminated earlier than the weaker ones, but it was unavoidable. Nevertheless, the rankings in the first three rounds of the Battle at the Imperial City were not that significant; only the final round mattered.
Even if a weaker competitor was lucky enough to somehow reach the third round, they would have to face a formidable competitor that had fought their way there. That meant it was nearly impossible for one of the weaker competitors to advance to the top five just because they had good luck.
There could be instances where the fastest competitors in each direction who, despite leading by a wide margin, ended up getting slowed down because they had to wait for their next opponent to arrive. However, that reduced the chances that matched competitors would have an overwhelming gap in level, causing the battles to end too quickly. Furthermore, if they had to wait for their next opponent, that likely meant their opponent was up against another strong competitor in long and grueling battles, placing their opponent at a disadvantage.
Of course, the faster competitors held a huge advantage to begin with. After all, they would be well rested, whereas their next opponents would be exhausted from having been stuck in prolonged battles.
That was why the fastest competitor was given the first bye.
However, the competitor that defeated their opponent the fastest in the semifinals would advance straight to the final duel. The other victor from the semifinals would then have to duel the competitor that had won the first bye to compete for the remaining spot in the final round. This ensured that both finalists would likely have had to fight in four duels.
There had been two times in which the final winner turned out to be the slower victor, despite having fought five, instead of four, battles to get to the finals. These were exceedingly rare occurrences in the history of the Assembly of Immortal Sects.
Ultimately, this complicated competition boiled down to a focus on five words—fairness, fairness, and more fairness.
To the spectators who were familiar with the Assembly of Immortal Sects, they had come to a simple realization—speed equaled strength.
Chu Liang had been the fastest to reach the top five, making him the man who defeated his opponents the fastest in Corridor City. Did that mean he was also the strongest?
Then what about Yang Shenlong?
...
At this moment, Yang Shenlong was engaged in his duel for the third round.
His opponent was the Great Astral Sect's eldest disciple, Ren Hongdao.
The eldest senior brother of the Astral Sect stood proudly with a flame-colored long saber in his right hand. Despite facing Yang Shenlong, who was known to be the top immortal sect disciple of their generation, Ren Hongdao showed no fear. Rather, his gaze was blazing with determination. �
When it came to fighting, the disciples of the Great Astral Sect were never afraid, no matter who they had to fight.
Yang Shenlong's expression remained indifferent, his gaze deep.
Ever since losing to Chu Liang, much of Yang Shenlong’s arrogance had faded, replaced by a restrained but intense determination. It seemed that it had not been a bad thing for him to experience defeat once.
Whoosh.
Rumble!
The explosive collision shook the earth, sending shockwaves in all directions. The summoned winds quickly swept away the dust from the collision, revealing Yang Shenlong's clone clutching the Soaring Serpent Saber with its dragon claw. The clone held the saber firmly in place, refusing to let it go even as his golden blood sprayed out.
Meanwhile, Yang Shenlong stepped forward, thrusting the three-chi-long Dragon Bone Jade Blade toward Ren Hongdao.
Faced with attacks from above and below, Ren Hongdao unleashed the valor of the Great Astral Sect’s eldest senior brother.
He roared, "DIE!"
Ren Hongdao ripped his shirt to shreds and emitted an indescribably intense murderous intent.
Rather than abandoning his saber, he intensified the augmented qi on the blade to maximum power, intending to slash both Yang Shenlong and his clone in half!
The Soaring Serpent Saber rose and fell, and Yang Shenlong's clone exploded to bits in midair. Faced with the Dragon Bone Jade Blade, Ren Hongdao did not retreat. Instead, he advanced fearlessly, undeterred by the prospect of mutual destruction.
He stopped his fierce sword strike when the saber was just an inch from Yang Shenlong's face. Tension filled the air.
The Dragon Bone Jade Blade in Yang Shenlong's hand was pointed at Ren Hongdao's chest, a mere motion away from piercing his heart. Meanwhile, Ren Hongdao's saber hovered over Yang Shenlong's head, a slight descent away from killing him.
Was it going to be mutual destruction?
The spectators were astonished by this scene.
Yet, it was at this very moment that another Yang Shenlong emerged from the void.
"You've lost."
The clone in front of Ren Hongdao shattered with a resounding boom.
There had been two clones!
Yang Shenlong's mastery of External Manifestation had already advanced to the point where he could have two clones simultaneously, while he had stayed concealed the whole time using the Shadow of Radiance. All of Ren Hongdao's efforts had been focused on the two clones.
This scene left the spectators exclaiming in admiration and letting out sighs of relief. Just moments earlier, they had feared that the two young men had entered a deadly stalemate. Had either one lost control, it could have ended with two deaths.
Fatalities like that had indeed occurred in past Battles at the Imperial City.
Amid the clamor, an announcement rang out.
"Yang Shenlong of the Penglai Supreme Sect has defeated Ren Hongdao of the Great Astral Sect!"
...
1. Around 1.6m. ☜
2. About a metre. ☜
GLTD Alternate Universe's Thoughts
Translator: LD