Kelsa's Pride
Although both were Ninth Sequence True Gods, the Golden-Armored Strongman and the man in animal skin chose to ignore the woman in black robes. Instead, the two glared at each other, their fighting spirit rising infinitely.
According to Gu Ding's judgment, the black-robed woman was ignored not because of her gender, but because her aura was relatively weak. In contrast, the golden-armored man and the animal-skinned man had very similar aura strength, both at the peak of the Ninth Sequence True God level, which is why they were glaring at each other.
However, Gu Ding made one wrong judgment. He had assumed that the two wouldn't resort to violence in this kind of Selection Tournament. But reality proved him terribly wrong. Not only did they fight, but they fought fiercely.
On the arena, the crowd that had been happily eliminating low-ranking True Gods was suddenly caught in the crossfire of the two fighters. Many could only barely hold on, hoping to pass the Selection Tournament. After an hour-long battle, the results of the selection on the arena were clearly incredibly brutal.
Of the ten thousand True Gods, only three Ninth Sequence True Gods passed the selection; none of the others stood up. The woman in black robes stood in the same spot from beginning to end, like a human puppet, never moving a step or making a move. She stood in the center of the battle between the two men, watching their fight end.
This result, while unexpected for many, left the others in the arena to simply blame their bad luck. Elimination is elimination; the established rules of the competition cannot be changed for any reason.
An hour passed. The results of the screening were finally in.
For the beginner level, 590,000 people registered; after screening, over 55,000 remained. For the advanced level, over 280,000 people registered; after screening, over 26,000 remained.
The results of the preliminary Selection Tournament were quickly announced, and Capson then announced the format for the second round of selection. "The preliminary selection is over, so now I'll explain the rules for the second round."
"In the second round of selection, since there are still a large number of participants and we have a limited number of Selection Tournament and time, I'm considering conducting another round of collective selection for all the contestants. It will still be one arena for every 10,000 people, leaving only one-tenth of the winners."
When Capson said those words, Gu Ding was actually a little disappointed. He had originally thought it would be a new game with different rules, but this kind of rule was indeed the best way to retain the strong players.
"Those originally numbered below 100,000 are in Number One Arena, those numbered between 100,000 and 200,000 are in Second Arena, and so on. So, on each arena, there should be fewer than 10,000 actual participants. But that doesn't matter. As long as less than one-tenth remains in the end, the selection process is considered complete. The three ranks will compete simultaneously, and the rules are the same as before, all within one hour. If they fail to finish, everyone on the arena will be eliminated."
"The 55,000 participants in the beginner level will be in arenas numbered one through six. The 81,000 participants in the intermediate level will be in Fifteenth Arena. The 26,000 participants in the advanced level will be in arenas numbered sixteen and seventeen. Now, each person should find their assigned arena. Anyone who goes to the wrong arena will be considered to have forfeited the match. Also, the previous practice of clearing all the participants from an arena is not allowed. Anyone who does that again will be disqualified."
When Capson said this, his gaze was clearly fixed on the man in golden armor and the man in animal skin.
The two men merely glanced at Capson and said nothing.
Following the commentator's instructions, Gu Ding arrived at Arena Number Seven.
Once everyone had arrived, Sea Emperor scanned the crowd; there were a total of 9,353 participants on Arena Number Seven. This meant that a maximum of 935 people could remain on the arena at any given time. While this wasn't far off from the previous total number of participants, the reality was quite different.
Those standing on the arena now are all those who have undergone a selection process, unlike the initial selection where people of all cultivation levels participated. Currently, on the entire seventh arena, only Gu Ding possesses a cultivation level below the eight-star Half-Step True God. There are over 5,000 eight-star Half-Step True God and over 4,000 Nine-and-a-Half Star Half-Step True God.
Ultimately, only 935 people were selected. This means that not only are the 5,000 eight-star Half-Step True God at risk of being completely wiped out, but even the Nine-and-a-Half Star Half-Step True God will likely be reduced to less than a quarter. The intensity of the competition has increased not just by one level, but by several levels!
Since only one person's cultivation level appeared to be at the level of a seven-star Half-Step True God, many people's eyes fell on Gu Ding, and they began to secretly plot against him.
Although Gu Ding's previous performance was terrifying, apart from a few people on the first Number One Arena, no one on the other rings saw it, so it's normal for them to be targeting Gu Ding.
"The match begins!" Capson announced.
People moved across all seventeen arenas.
At the seventh arena where Gu Ding was located, twelve people rushed towards Gu Ding immediately. Those twelve people were all eager and their faces were ferocious as they pounced on him.
Gu Ding merely smiled slightly and stood motionless, appearing to outsiders as if he had been scared out of his wits.
The first to pounce was a slender White Robe Youth robes. He leaped high into the air and stomped down at Gu Ding. Before Gu Ding could even react, the White Robe Youth's attack missed. In the next instant, Gu Ding grabbed the young man's throat, snapped his neck with a snap, and threw him away like a sack of potatoes.
Gu Ding acted with great restraint, sparing his opponent's life. For a powerful being with strong vital energy, having their neck broken wouldn't lead to death. At most, it would only result in injury, rendering them unable to move for a short period. As long as the broken bones were reattached within a certain timeframe, they would quickly recover completely.
Before anyone could react, Gu Ding's attack had already begun. A Palm Print landed squarely on the second man's chest, shattering his entire sternum. Then, he transformed his palm into a fist, striking upwards and crushing the third man's jaw. Finally, he changed his fist into an elbow, delivering a powerful blow to the fourth man's face...
The attack of the twelve men was completely neutralized by Gu Ding in an instant, turning the tide of the battle.
Seeing the twelve people thrown out almost simultaneously, covered in blood, many people finally realized how terrifying Gu Ding was.
"This guy in the Seventh Sequence is just too terrifying." This was the thought that many people on the same arena were thinking at the same time.
Their exclamation was not without reason; of the twelve who attacked Gu Ding, seven were eight-star Half-Step True God and five were Nine-and-a-Half Star Half-Step True God. Faced with such a force, even ordinary Nine-and-a-Half Star Half-Step True God couldn't handle it, and to achieve a swift kill like Gu Ding did would likely require only a peak Nine-and-a-Half Star Half-Step True God.
Gu Ding was naturally unaware of what the others were thinking. His goal was simple: to participate in the Martial Dao Tournament and secure a top-three finish. Only by achieving a top-three ranking could he possibly make contact with the Palace Master of the Heavenly God Palace. What was currently underway was merely a Selection Tournament. He refrained from making any moves during the competition to avoid prematurely revealing his true strength. However, those who dared to provoke him would be used as a warning to others.
As it turned out, this tactic of making an example of someone to scare others was indeed very effective. On the arena, the area around Gu Ding once again became a vacuum, with no one daring to approach.
Gu Ding stood motionless, silently watching the number of people standing on the arena rapidly decrease.
Soon, all the eight-star Half-Step True God were wiped out. Just as the Nine-and-a-Half Star Half-Step True God were preparing to fight each other, a figure walked out from the crowd.
It was a Golden-haired Youth with a handsome face, but his face was full of arrogance. That youth was none other than Kelsa, Gu Ding had seen when he registered—the youth riding in the Violet Blood Crystal carriage.
Kelsa walked up to Gu Ding, looked Gu Ding over with an air of arrogance, and then spoke, "It's just a Seven-Star Half-Step True God Martial Dao Tournament. It's not something someone with your level of cultivation can participate in. Wait until you reach the Nine-and-a-Half Star Half-Step True God in a few thousand years before participating. As for now, just admit defeat and leave. I won't make things difficult for you."
"What if I say no?" Gu Ding grinned after hearing this.
Gu Ding had a pretty good idea of why his opponent was urging him to withdraw. Kelsa was an extremely proud, even narcissistic, person. For him, passing the selection alongside a seven-star Half-Step True God was a disgrace. This was why, on his stage, all those below Nine-and-a-Half Star Half-Step True God had been defeated by him, resulting in fewer than six hundred people passing the initial selection on his stage. Gu Ding knew this, so when he saw his opponent on the same stage, he had already predicted this outcome.
"You have no right to say no in front of me!" Kelsa looked coldly at Gu Ding, a murderous glint flashing in her eyes.
"Really? Watch my lips." Gu Ding grinned. "No, no, no, no, no..."
Gu Ding rhythmically uttered countless "no"s, and after a long pause, he added fuel to the fire, saying, "What's wrong? I've said 'no' over a hundred times already, what can you do to me?"
"You're asking for death!" Kelsa hadn't expected the other party to provoke him in this way. He was stunned for a moment before he reacted.
The others on the stage also stopped fighting and looked in the direction of the two, all with expressions of watching the spectacle.
"Let me give you a piece of advice: before you boast, think about your own capabilities before you speak! That way you won't make a fool of yourself later." Gu Ding threw another sarcastic remark at her, making Kelsa so angry she felt like her lungs were about to explode.
"I'll kill you!" Kelsa finally snapped and completely erupted.
~~~
[HP has basically recovered to 90%, now only has a slight cough.] (To be continued~^~)