Li Qingshan's sudden hostility left Jiang Hao baffled.
However, he could not be bothered to pay it any mind.
After all, he might not even encounter Li Qingshan in the upcoming Grand Competition.
If he did, a "good beating" would do.
No matter how great the hostility, it meant nothing before absolute strength.
This Seven Sects Alliance Grand Competition was personally presided over by the Emperor of Great Gan.
Jiang Hao also saw the Emperor of Great Gan.
The man's martial cultivation was exceedingly profound.
However, it was said that every Emperor of Great Gan could reign for no more than sixty years.
After sixty years, he had to pass the throne to a descendant of the Imperial Family.
As for whom it would be passed to, the Imperial Family naturally had a reliable selection method.
The Gan Emperor explained the rules.
The Seven Sects Grand Competition was divided into Transforming Force and below Transforming Force.
Transforming Force practitioners were Inner Disciples.
Those below Transforming Force were Outer Gate disciples.
First, the "seeds" of the seven sects would be selected.
Each sect had only one seed, for a total of seven.
These seven seeds would first watch the matches.
The remaining disciples of the seven sects would undergo all manner of brutal contests, with the final victor becoming the eighth seed.
This eighth seed would effectively enter the "final bracket."
Then, the eight seeds would all fight one another.
Whoever had the most victories would win.
This would determine the top three, who would receive the three Blood Transformation Pool slots granted by the Great Gan Imperial Family and enter the Blood Transformation Pool.
When Jiang Hao heard the rules of the Seven Sects Grand Competition, a brief thought made him immediately understand the importance of being a "seed."
Seeds could watch the matches.
They could directly enter the final bracket to contend for rankings.
And everyone else?
They had to pass round after round, fighting disciples from the other six sects and even companions from their own sect, all for the sake of seizing that single seed slot.
It truly was cruel.
Jiang Hao finally understood why the Outer Gate's Ten Great Disciples had been so resistant when he had been dropped into the Outer Gate and made Senior Disciple Brother of the Outer Gate.
Especially Luo Yang.
If not for Jiang Hao, Luo Yang could have directly become Huangtian Sect's seed, avoiding round after round of bloody battles.
Unfortunately, there were no ifs.
Now, Luo Yang and Huangtian Sect's nine Outer Gate disciples stood ready in battle formation and began facing the Outer Gate disciples of the other six sects.
Such fighting was, in truth, brutal.
On the arena, knocking one's opponent off the stage counted as victory.
Jiang Hao watched without blinking.
This was also his opportunity to gauge the level of the Outer Gate disciples from the other six sects of the Southern Region.
However, the battles among the Inner Disciples—the Transforming Force martial artists—were clearly even more eye-catching.
First round, second round, third round...
Huangtian Sect disciples were eliminated one after another.
Luo Yang was already very strong.
Yet he only held on until the fifth round, where he encountered an expert from Moonlight Sect and narrowly lost by one move.
Luo Yang was eliminated.
Huangtian Sect's Ten Great Outer Gate Disciples had been wiped out to the last man.
This left Elder Wang of Huangtian Sect looking rather grim.
Only five rounds had passed, and Huangtian Sect's Outer Gate disciples had already all been eliminated.
Fortunately, they had Jiang Hao.
Otherwise, with Luo Yang's strength, even if he had become a seed, it likely would not have amounted to much.
Jiang Hao was also silently evaluating the strength of these Outer Gate disciples.
Compared to the Hidden Force martial artists from the martial halls of Cang City, there was undoubtedly no comparison at all.
These Seven Sects Outer Gate disciples could crush those Hidden Force martial artists of Cang City.
After all, they were considered the cream of the crop in the Seven Sects' Outer Gates.
Yet there was still no one who made Jiang Hao's eyes light up.
The Inner Disciples of Huangtian Sect, on the other hand, performed quite well.
It was not until the eighth round that all of Huangtian Sect's Inner Disciples were eliminated.
Xia Hong's face was somewhat pale. She sighed deeply and said, "As expected of the finest among the Seven Sects' Inner Disciples. Every Transforming Force martial artist able to step onto the arena is stronger than me—far stronger!"
Xia Hong had truly come to the right place this time.
By watching the battles, Xia Hong had learned of her own shortcomings.
Though they were both Transforming Force, Transforming Force was not all the same.
She was still very far from the truly top-tier Transforming Force geniuses.
"Junior Brother, what do you think of the strength of these top Hidden Force martial artists from the Seven Sects of the Southern Region?"
"Passable."
Jiang Hao could only give such an assessment.
"Junior Brother, are you confident?"
"So long as nothing unexpected happens, there should be no problem."
Jiang Hao's tone brimmed with powerful confidence.
Indeed, judging from the clashes between these Hidden Force martial artists, they posed no threat to Jiang Hao.
He did not even need to use the power of divine blood to sweep them all aside.
In the end, the Outer Gate produced its victor. The eighth seed was unexpectedly Leng Yan of the Great Gan Imperial Family.
This Leng Yan was indeed very strong.
His attacks were crisp and decisive.
Most importantly, he had mastered several Martial Skills to Major Accomplishment.
Moreover, these several Martial Skills were likely a complete set, flowing as naturally as drifting clouds and running water when executed.
Added to that, his Ming Jin and Hidden Force foundations were both quite solid.
He possessed at least five kinds of force.
He truly stood a cut above the other Hidden Force martial artists of the Seven Sects.
"Hm?"
"Junior Brother, Leng Yue has appeared."
"She seems to have some connection to this Leng Yan."
Xia Hong suddenly noticed something.
Following Xia Hong's gaze, Jiang Hao indeed saw Leng Yue.
Ever since Leng Yue had arrived in Gandu, she had vanished.
She had not appeared once.
He had not expected her to show herself now.
And to be connected to Leng Yan.
This Leng Yan was the eighth seed of the Seven Sects Alliance Grand Competition.
More importantly, he was the eighth seed who had fought his way out from countless elite martial artists. His credentials were more than solid.
"Second Brother, you really did defeat every opponent from the Seven Sects and become the eighth seed of the Seven Sects Grand Competition!"
Leng Yue said excitedly.
Leng Yan glanced indifferently at Leng Yue.
He and Leng Yue were siblings born of the same mother. Compared to the other Imperial Princes and princesses, their relationship was naturally much closer.
"Leng Yue, I know what you want to say."
"Since I have become the eighth seed, I will naturally be able to fight Jiang Hao."
"Do not worry. I will personally defeat Jiang Hao and vent your anger for you!"
"However, do not expect me to use any underhanded methods against Jiang Hao. He is Huangtian Sect's future Seed of the Dao, and with everyone watching, I can only defeat him. I cannot do anything else."
Leng Yan's words disappointed Leng Yue somewhat.
But she also understood that this was the limit of what her second brother could do.
"Second Brother, I understand."
"So long as you can defeat Jiang Hao, that is enough. A genius like him, Huangtian Sect's future Seed of the Dao, being defeated before everyone's eyes and even ranking lower in the Seven Sects Grand Competition—that would make him a laughingstock."
"So what if he is a future Seed of the Dao? He has yet to take shape. If he should lose, then he loses!"
Leng Yue drew a deep breath and calmed her turbulent emotions.
Making Jiang Hao lose face was already the limit of what she could currently accomplish.
As for killing Jiang Hao?
That was simply impossible.
If Jiang Hao died, Huangtian Sect would certainly fly into a rage.
When that time came, even the Imperial Family would be unable to protect her.
Leng Yue still had enough self-awareness to understand that.
"Enough. This time, Second Brother will vent your anger for you. But remember, behave yourself in Huangtian Sect from now on. If it truly does not work out, come back. Second Brother can still ensure you a lifetime of glory and wealth."
In truth, Leng Yan was also quite dissatisfied with Leng Yue.
He was a man with ambitions.
He was a key focus of the Imperial Family's training.
In the future, becoming a Grandmaster would be no problem for him.
There was even the faintest hope that he might Enter Dao.
Once he Entered Dao, Leng Yan would soar into the heavens in a single leap.
The more critical the moment, the more Leng Yan hoped that those around him would not stir up further trouble.
Like this time—Leng Yue had actually offended Huangtian Sect's future Seed of the Dao?
And it was obvious at a glance that Jiang Hao's potential was limitless.
Had she not been his blood sister, Leng Yan would not have bothered with this matter at all.
But since his younger sister had come to plead with him, Leng Yan could only vent her anger for her.
"To vent my sister's anger, I need to make Jiang Hao lose face. It seems that when I fight Jiang Hao later, I must defeat him as quickly as possible. That way, Jiang Hao will surely lose all face."
"Jiang Hao, you can only blame yourself for offending my sister."
Countless thoughts flashed through Leng Yan's mind.
There was no conflict whatsoever between him and Jiang Hao.
This was even only their first meeting.
Even as opponents, there were many ways he could defeat Jiang Hao.
Going all out and defeating his opponent in the shortest possible time was undoubtedly the way to make that opponent lose the most face.
Jiang Hao also noticed Leng Yan's gaze.
He noticed even more the smug look on Leng Yue's face behind Leng Yan.
Jiang Hao already understood in his heart.
The battle between him and Leng Yan later would likely not be so simple.
"One Li Qingshan, one Leng Yan. Both are filled with hostility toward me, yet I had not even met either of them before this."
"This is the struggle of martial arts! Whether one wishes it or not, once one sets foot upon the martial path, such things are unavoidable."
"Fine, then. Let each rely on his own methods."
Jiang Hao understood completely.
He was not gold or silver, incapable of making everyone who saw him love him.
Since they wanted to fight, then he would defeat every opponent and claim martial fortune for himself alone!
"The eight seeds, come up and draw lots."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Hao immediately rose and headed for the arena to draw lots.
On the arena, all eight seeds revealed themselves.
Only Jiang Hao looked like a child, his face still immature, seeming utterly out of place among the other seven.
But he truly was a child.
Jiang Hao began drawing lots.
The eight seeds would be divided into four pairs for battle.
And the matches would take place simultaneously.
The eight of them would fight a total of seven rounds.
Jiang Hao drew "A."
He raised his head and looked toward the other seven.
At the same time, Leng Yan also raised his head and searched among the crowd.
In the end, Jiang Hao's and Leng Yan's gazes collided in midair.
Clearly, both Leng Yan and Jiang Hao had drawn "A."
Their gazes each settled upon the other.
Battle intent blazed in their eyes, ready to erupt at the slightest touch!
P.S. I hope everyone can cast more monthly votes to raise this new book's ranking. Old Moon offers his thanks!
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