Unmatched

The second test process was simple.

Draw lots, then fight.

Winners advanced to the next stage.

Losers were automatically eliminated.

If there were still slots left after dividing up the participants—for instance, if there were twelve people in the final round, leaving only six winners—then four more would be selected from the six losers.

Naturally, they would be selected through martial matches as well.

Six would fight, leaving three.

Then one would be decided among those three losers.

That way, there would be six from the winners' group, three from the first losers' group, and one from the second losers' group, making ten in total and filling the theoretical quota of ten spots.

As for how things would be handled at that point...

As long as someone wanted backroom dealings, there would always be backroom dealings...

Provided the people did not raise the issue and the authorities did not pursue it.

Even if everyone knew that the Four Pavilions had reserved four spots for themselves—four Dou Huangs whose strength fell short of some battle-hardened independent Dou Huangs—Jin Shi, as the organizer, could still arrange for all independent Dou Huangs whose apparent strength surpassed those four from the Four Pavilions to fight each other, thereby wearing down both sides.

Of course, there were times when things went wrong.

Fortunately, the Four Pavilions had not prepared only one contestant each.

Just as Dou Wangs like Lu Yuan, Feng Qing Er, Mu Qingluan, Tang Ying, and Wang Chen could participate in the second test as long as they met the requirements, the Four Pavilions had sent quite a few Dou Huangs as well. Though they did not number in the dozens individually, together they numbered at least thirty.

On average, each pavilion had seven or eight Dou Huangs.

It was worth mentioning that