Different factions naturally had different standards for their disciples. For a colossal hegemon like the Shadowfang Poison Crocodile Clan, failing to make the top ten was a disgrace—they might as well not participate at all. But for a force like the Yangzhu Commerce Association, which had thus far only been passed down for a single generation, this was already an extraordinary achievement.
The rise of any faction required time to settle and accumulate. Perhaps one day, the Yangzhu Commerce Association would become an existence no one could afford to overlook, but for now, this was all they needed.
Having come this far, Yao Qian had nothing to be dissatisfied with. Reaching this stage required not only strength, but sufficient luck as well. Take that Transcendent Realm Eighth Heaven expert whom Ye Xiwen had eliminated in the first round—he had lacked such luck.
But that was only true for those without sufficient strength. For Ye Xiwen, did luck matter?
Did it matter whom he encountered in each round?
Those opponents who were undoubtedly like the most perilous hellish draws to everyone else were no different to him. They were all foes he had to defeat. Even if the following matches required him to defeat them one by one, it made no difference to him.
The matches pressed on without pause into the ninth round. One round had barely ended before the next began. By now, almost none of those who remained were ordinary martial artists. Without question, those still standing were the foremost experts among the younger generation.
They might well have been the cream of the crop among martial artists of this age group across the millions—or even more—within the Yunxing Sea Territory.
The ninth round was extremely important to many people. Passing it meant entering the top twenty, while