176 The Star Picking Ceremony
Yan Zhen paused, then realized the time had come. After the Star Picking Ceremony, the Celestial God Clan would arrive to take Zi Xunyi away.
Only half a month left. The Celestial God Clan must have notified her in advance.
Although he knew this separation was inevitable, Yan Zhen still felt a pang of sadness.
He sat beside Zi Xunyi, gently embracing his pregnant wife, and comforted her, “Don’t worry. It will be alright.”
Zi Xunyi leaned weakly against his chest, silent.
Yan Zhen spent most of his time with Zi Xunyi, even cultivating within the cliffside building.
Seeing this, Grand Elder Yu Yan summoned him back, warning him that the Celestial God Clan would be arriving soon and that he shouldn’t be too close to Zi Xunyi for now.
Yan Zhen made some excuses and returned to the cliffside building, wanting to spend as much time as possible with his soon-to-be-departing wife.
If the script was accurate, the Celestial God Clan would arrive on the day of the Star Picking Ceremony, and Zi Xunyi would leave after watching his duel with Wen Canglan.
Time was running out.
Three days later, the preliminary rounds of the Star Picking Ceremony began. The 108 students on the Rising Star List would set up arenas at their respective society headquarters and accept challenges from non-ranked students.
The preliminary rounds would last for seven days. Those who remained undefeated would qualify for the main event and compete for higher rankings.
At the Yan Huang headquarters, formerly the Black Horn society’s territory, a crowd of students, mostly Mystic Masters with a few Mystic Generals, gathered in the plaza.
There were more than 108 Mystic Generals in the Inner Academy, especially towards the end of the school year, as many Mystic Masters advanced. Everyone who made it into the Inner Academy was strong; some were just… socially challenged.
Moreover, some Mystic Generals, after dropping off the Rising Star List, would choose to focus on cultivating in seclusion, hiding their true strength until the end of the year to make a comeback and gain greater benefits.
On the arena, Huangfu Wenqing was currently dueling a hidden three-star Mystic General. Within ten moves, she sent him flying, winning easily.
“Sword Five, Barrier Break?”
The man clutched his bleeding shoulder, his face pale. He hadn’t expected such a vast difference in strength, even though they were both three-star Mystic Generals. She had even mastered the fifth form of the Nine Swords Technique!
“I overestimated myself. I concede!”
With his strength, he could still challenge those ranked lower on the Rising Star List and had a chance of winning.
The remaining challengers, seeing this, hesitated.
A three-star Mystic General defeated in just a few moves? Those who were only one or two-star, should they even bother?
Yan Zhen was only a one-star Mystic General, but he had defeated the seven-star Mystic General Wu Tie while still a seven-star Mystic Master. Challenging him was asking for trouble.
However, there were always those who were eager for a challenge. A burly, bearded man, who didn’t look like a student at all, jumped out and pointed at Yan Zhen. “Brat, do you dare fight me hand-to-hand, no weapons, a true test of strength?”
Yan Zhen glanced at him. A three-star Mystic General, clearly skilled in body tempering, close to the fourth realm.
“What, are you scared?” The man taunted. “Are you only capable of fighting with weapons?”
The onlookers immediately understood his intention.
The reason Yan Zhen could defeat opponents of higher realms and reach the ninth place on the Rising Star List was because of his abnormally powerful flame sword, said to be forged from an Extreme Flame. They didn’t know how he did it.
Without the sword, Yan Zhen’s strength would be greatly reduced.
But would Yan Zhen be so foolish as to not use his sword?
Under everyone’s gaze, Yan Zhen calmly walked onto the arena and said, “Did Wen Canglan send you to test me?”
The man’s expression faltered, then he sneered. “I’m just here to expose your false strength. Without that flame sword, could you have defeated Wu Tie and reached ninth place on the Rising Star List?”
“I don’t have time to waste on you.” Yan Zhen said coldly. “One move.”
“Haha, one move? Did I hear that right? You think you can defeat me with one move—huh?”
Yan Zhen suddenly vanished. The bearded man felt a chill down his spine and quickly turned around, but Yan Zhen reappeared before him, his flame-wreathed fist slamming into his stomach.
Eight Extremities Burst, Ninth Burst!
Bang!
The bearded man’s Mystic Power armor shattered, and his heavy body flew backward, spitting blood as he landed among the crowd, unconscious.
Silence fell over the plaza.
Gulp.
The sound of swallowing was clearly audible as everyone stared, dumbfounded.
—He really took him down with one move?
Yan Zhen, even as a Mystic Master, could defeat Mystic Generals. Now, as a Mystic General himself, he was even more terrifying, his strength defying logic!
Yan Zhen said impassively, “Anyone else want to challenge me? Come on up.”
The challengers exchanged glances.
“…”
After a moment, they all dispersed, even carrying away the unconscious bearded man.
For the next seven days, no one dared to challenge him. This was exactly what Yan Zhen wanted. He wanted to spend time with his wives, not deal with these bothersome people.
Seven days later, the preliminary rounds ended. The Rising Star List remained mostly unchanged, only the bottom ten or so ranks replaced by new Mystic Generals.
After the preliminary rounds came the main event, held in the Grand Dueling Arena.
The tournament used a matching system.
Not random matching, but those in the top half of the rankings were matched against those in the bottom half.
Notably, Gu Tiange, having advanced to Mystic King, wouldn’t be participating in the Star Picking Ceremony, so there were only 107 participants instead of 108.
One person would receive a bye in the first round. The top 53 would be matched against the bottom 53. If someone from the lower half won, they would take their opponent’s ranking.
This meant that Yan Zhen, ranked ninth, might be matched against someone ranked sixtieth. If he won, his ranking would remain unchanged, and he would advance to the next round. If he lost, he would be eliminated, and his opponent would take his place.
After the first round, there would be another bye, with the remaining top 26 matched against the bottom 26.
Since they were already ranked, this system ensured that the strongest wouldn’t face each other early on, and the weakest wouldn’t be eliminated immediately, making the tournament fairer.
The day of the Star Picking Ceremony arrived, the weather clear and sunny, a gentle breeze in the air.
The Grand Dueling Arena was packed. Vice Dean Wen Qingshan, Grand Elder Yu Yan, and other Inner Academy higher-ups were present on the platform. Even Dean Yu Qing, Head Instructor Shui Bailan, and other Outer Academy leaders had come to watch.
Referee instructors and medical instructors were stationed around the arena. The Rising Star List elites, having drawn lots, sat in the waiting area, calmly awaiting their turn, ready to jump onto the stage when their names were called.
There was only one arena, the gazes of tens of thousands of spectators focused on the two combatants.
Under the spotlight, they would fight with all their might!
Yan Zhen looked at the projection screen above the arena, which displayed the first round’s matchups.
Number 9: Bye.
—Is this the protagonist’s luck?
Huangfu Wenqing was matched against the seventieth-ranked student, the same three-star Mystic General she had defeated in the preliminary rounds.
This time, he only lasted five moves, and Huangfu Wenqing clearly wasn’t using her full strength. She hadn’t even used the Nine Swords Technique in the script.
Yan Zhen felt a bead of sweat trickle down his forehead. His fiancée’s strength far exceeded the script’s description. Even he couldn’t quite grasp her true power.
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