Initial Selection
On the Number One Arena, the crowd members found their respective positions and stood in place.
Although the arena is quite large, there are still 10,000 people, and each person is no more than two meters away from the people around them, which can be considered a rather crowded situation.
At Lord Capson's command, all the arenas began to stir.
The same applies to Number One Arena, where Gu Ding is located.
Besides those at the Nine-and-a-Half Star Half-Step True God, there were also many others below that level participating in the competition. This resulted in those with seemingly weaker cultivation becoming the first casualties and being attacked first. Because there were so many participants, most people didn't want to accidentally provoke the strong, so they planned to quickly eliminate the weaker ones, reducing the number to below 1000.
Gu Ding simply stood there watching the spectacle. He didn't make a move because this competition wasn't about who knocked down the most people, but about who could stand until the end. His physique and face were enough to intimidate many who wanted to attack him, and some truly powerful individuals sensed a real bloodthirsty aura emanating from Gu Ding, naturally choosing to avoid him as well.
On the Number One Arena, those who were less than Four-Star Half-Step True God were the first to be taken down, and the number of people standing on the arena was instantly reduced by half.
Immediately afterwards, the guys who were four to Six-Star Half-Step True God were also easily taken down one by one, and the number of people standing on the arena was halved again.
Then it was the turn of the contestants who were at the Seven-Star Half-Step True God. Gu Ding was also one of the Seven-Star Half-Step True God, so finally someone started to set their sights on him. That person was an Eight-Star Half-Step True God.
The eight-star Half-Step True God man was Bald Head and slightly more muscular than Gu Ding, which was probably one of the reasons he dared to provoke Gu Ding.
"Kid, you're out of luck running into me!" The Bald Head man appeared in front of Gu Ding, his face contorted in a ferocious grin, as if he were certain Gu Ding was doomed.
"You've got it wrong. It's really bad luck that you came to me." Gu Ding shook his head with a smile, his Scarface bearing a smile even more sinister than the other man's. "I can give you one more chance to make the right choice. If you still make the wrong choice, then your competition journey ends here."
"Hey. Don't you understand the situation? I'm an eight-star Half-Step True God, and you're just a seven-star. You have no right to threaten me at all." The Bald Head man was clearly stunned when he heard Gu Ding's words, but he immediately realized what he meant and retorted.
"You'll soon find out whether I have the right to threaten you or not," Gu Ding grinned.
"Hmph. I've been scared since I was a kid, why would I be afraid of you?!" The Bald Head man roared and charged straight at Gu Ding like a heavy armored vehicle.
He used the simplest and most direct brute force attack. Although this attack seemed simple, it was actually the best way to suppress an opponent whose qi and blood energy were inferior. Although he saw that Gu Ding's qi and blood strength was not as strong as his own, Gu Ding's confidence made the Bald Head man think that Gu Ding might have strong combat skills, so he chose to use this move. One force can overcome a thousand skills.
On the arena, quite a few people had been secretly watching Gu Ding for some time, especially several powerful Nine-and-a-Half Star Half-Step True God. Their intuition told them to stay away from Gu Ding, which they found strange, as Gu Ding appeared to be only a seven-star Half-Step True God. A few others, sensitive to killing intent, could smell the blood on Gu Ding. They, too, were secretly observing Gu Ding.
The Bald Head man, among the eight-star Half-Step True God, was of above-average strength. As soon as he made his move, many people who wanted to know just how strong Gu Ding was secretly looking in this direction.
Of course, besides those on the arena, there were also many spectators below. Most of these people were local residents of Wu La City, with a few also coming from nearby subordinate cities.
The Bald Head man's charge reached Gu Ding in an instant. The lingering tremors from his footsteps and the whooshing sound of the impact told everyone that the power of this attack was extraordinary. Just as everyone was anticipating Gu Ding's reaction, the Bald Head man was suddenly sent flying.
Many people watched this scene with astonishment. Just as the Bald Head man was about to collide with Gu Ding, he suddenly seemed to hit something and was sent flying backward. His entire shoulder was completely twisted and deformed, and he lost consciousness and lay on the ground, unable to get up.
The vast majority of people did not see what happened. Even on the Number One Arena where Gu Ding was, only a handful of people saw Gu Ding's movements.
Some people below the arena also noticed the fight.
"What exactly happened? That Bald Head was clearly on the verge of victory, so why was he suddenly sent flying backward?"
"Yeah, I don't understand at all. Could it be that the Scarface paid in advance and the two of them were just putting on an act?"
"If you don't understand, don't talk nonsense, okay?" A woman in black robes finally couldn't help but speak up. "When that Bald Head rushed over, Scarface threw a straight punch at lightning speed, which hit the Bald Head's shoulder, and that's how the Bald Head was sent flying. You say it's an act? If you're so capable, go up on stage and fight that Scarface yourself!"
As soon as the woman in the black robe spoke, many people turned to look in her direction. However, her black robe completely enveloped her, and even her face was obscured by the brim of her hat, making it impossible to see her true appearance.
"The voice sounds like a beautiful woman, but we don't know what she looks like. Let everyone take a look." At this moment, a fat man suddenly reached out and grabbed at the brim of the black-robed woman's hat.
In the void, a black shadow flashed by, and in the next instant, the fat man's arm was severed, as if it had been cut off by a sharp blade, and blood was gushing out in large quantities.
Upon seeing this, the fat man cried out, "My hand, my hand..."
"If there's another person who loses, it won't just be their hand that gets lost," the woman in black coldly remarked, then turned back to watch the match as if nothing had happened.
What happened off the stage was just an interlude; Gu Ding didn't notice it, and although the Sea Emperor saw it, he didn't pay much attention to it.
The moment the Bald Head man fell, many people began to look at Gu Ding with apprehension, especially the few powerful individuals who had witnessed Gu Ding's actions. Although most people hadn't clearly seen what had happened, they immediately added Gu Ding to their list of those they shouldn't mess with.
On the arena, the cleanup continued. On Number One Arena, although Gu Ding's comeback was surprising, it did not affect the speed at which the others were cleaning up.
Soon, on Number One Arena, all the seven-star Half-Step True God except for Gu Ding were eliminated. There were still over 1200 people on the arena, not yet reaching the final qualifying number. But no one dared to provoke Gu Ding anymore; instead, they bypassed Gu Ding and directly eliminated the eight-star Half-Step True God.
Before long, more than two hundred eight-star Half-Step True God were also quickly eliminated, leaving only more than nine hundred and eighty people on the arena. This was because the elimination was too fast, and everyone was unable to stop, resulting in the elimination of more than ten people.
Thus, the selection results for Number One Arena were finally announced. Apart from Gu Ding, a Seven-Star Half-Step True God, more than 500 Eight-Star Half-Step True God and more than 300 Nine-and-a-Half Star Half-Step True God passed the selection.
In less than an hour, the selection results were also released one after another on the other arenas.
This so-called Selection Tournament was undoubtedly brutal. Of the more than 870,000 Half-Step True God, only a little over 81,000, less than one-tenth, successfully stood out after less than an hour of selection. But this was only the preliminary selection. According to City Lord Capson, only 3,000 people at each level could enter the preliminary rounds of the real Martial Dao Tournament; the subsequent competitions would only become more brutal.
After the Half-Step True God level competition ended, City Lord Capson scheduled the true god level competition and the competition below Half-Step True God at the same time, because there were enough arenas for both levels to conduct the Selection Tournament at the same time.
As a result, there were many spectators below the high-level arena, while the area around the low-level arena was deserted.
Gu Ding then arrived at the foot of the arena where the aura was most concentrated, his gaze fixed intently on the people inside.
"There are actually three Ninth Sequence powerhouses on this arena!" Gu Ding glanced at the twenty-odd arenas and immediately determined the number of Ninth Sequence powerhouses participating—only sixteen in total. On average, each arena wouldn't even have one, but this one had three, making Gu Ding particularly eager to see the battle unfold. "That woman in black robes, that Golden Armor Uncle, and that Animal Skin Guy —they're all Ninth Sequence True Gods!"
"That woman in black robes spoke up for you when she was watching the battle from below," the Sea Emperor reminded Gu Ding.
"Her aura gives people a strange feeling..." Gu Ding also gave his evaluation of the other party.
"That's hardly a good evaluation," the Sea Emperor said, somewhat speechless.
"Those two uncles, although their auras seem much stronger than hers, might not be able to win in a real fight. Her aura is very strange, and I can't see through it, but I can vaguely sense a faint smell of blood. If I didn't often come into contact with Bigge and Hake, I probably wouldn't have been able to detect the hidden bloody aura on her." The more Gu Ding observed, the more he realized that this woman in black robes was not simple.
"When I said she spoke up for you, my real purpose wasn't to get you to judge her..." the Sea Emperor said somewhat helplessly. Of course, he could only sense a person's strength; he couldn't see their aura or attributes. Nor could he determine whether someone was good or bad based on their aura. "However, based on what you've said, this woman seems to be a dangerous person. It's best if we keep our distance from her."
The Sea Emperor had barely finished speaking when the battle above the arena was about to erupt. (To be continued~^~)