The Opening of the Ranking Tournament

Located in the northern part of the Tai'a Divine Kingdom, Shenhuang is characterized by cold weather. On this day, a north wind swept in, and heavy snow began to fall overnight. Layer upon layer of snowflakes fluttered down, turning Tai'a Divine City into a world covered in silver.

At dawn, before daybreak, Yi Yun stepped out of his stone house and saw a thick layer of snow that shimmered with a pale blue luster under the clear blue sky of dawn.

The blue and white snow, combined with the ancient stone houses and cold steel walls, gives one a strange feeling, as if it were a world from a magical myth.

"Clang--"

"Clang--"

"Clang--"

Just then, the sound of bells rang out from the arena, a slow, melodious, and lingering sound that resounded throughout the entire Tai'a Divine City.

This is the call to action for the newcomer ranking competition. The trial participants of Tai'a Divine City, especially the newcomers, have been eagerly awaiting this bell to ring.

Many of them meditated all night, adjusting their Essence, Energy, Spirit to their best state, just waiting for this battle!

This is their first battle, and it will determine their future!

The newlyweds emerged from their respective residences, forming streams of people as they headed towards the arena.

There were also veterans with two or three years of experience who followed the newcomers to the arena, specifically to watch this rookie match.

Every year in the rookie competition, there are some exceptionally outstanding newcomers who soar to the top, breaking into the top six thousand or four thousand in one go. These people are enough to pose a threat to veteran trial participants who have been in Tai'a Divine City for three or four years.

So they also need to see which formidable talents have emerged from this batch of newcomers, those worthy of their attention.

"I heard that the Divine City has increased the rewards for this rookie ranking competition. Anyone who ranks in the top 8,000 will receive Dragon Scale Rune. If they can rank in the top 6,000, the reward will be doubled. In addition, the rookie who ranks first will receive a Glory Points and a training opportunity in the Sword Scar Palace and the Sage Hall!"

Among the crowd, a well-informed newcomer said that Tai'a Divine City had not yet officially announced the rewards, but they had been decided.

"Sword Scar Palace? Sage Hall? And Glory Points? Tsk tsk!"

Many newlyweds were drooling with envy upon hearing this. Of course, they also knew that these rewards were basically out of their reach.

This year's rewards are exceptionally generous, seemingly because the higher-ups of Tai'a Divine City felt that this year's new recruits were quite good, hence the increased reward ratio.

For example, Chu Xiaoran and Qiu Niu are both people who have the potential to break into the top 1,000 of the Heaven Ranking or Earthly Ranking within a year. It would be absolutely remarkable if two such people emerged in a year.

Many people are looking forward to the battle between Chu Xiaoran and Qiu Niu.

Yi Yun mingled in the crowd, listening to their discussions.

He didn't speak, but wherever he went, he was like a firefly in the dark, incredibly conspicuous. Passersby all turned their gazes to Yi Yun.

"See that guy? That's the one, the big shot in our newbie circle, he 'Hong Dao Society by himself!"

People all looked over and saw Yi Yun dressed in hemp clothing, carrying an excessively long sword on his back, his hands in his pockets, slowly walking towards the arena. Judging from his expression, Yi Yun was just like someone going to the canteen for breakfast, and there was no sign of him being nervous or uneasy.

For a moment, everyone was secretly astonished.

Awesome!

With so many people declaring war on him, he seems to have become immune to all threats and doesn't care at all.

Putting everything else aside, this kid's mentality alone is so refined that he's practically invulnerable to swords and spears, and impervious to water and fire.

"This is a true hero!"

Some people remarked that everyone admires Yi Yun.

Now, among the new recruits, Yi Yun's name is already widely known. The recent major events, such as capturing Primordial Relic Medicine, breaking records, and being humiliated by Hong Dao Society, are all related to him!

What else could this kind of person be but a hero?

In about fifteen minutes, people from all over Tai'a Divine City gradually gathered at the arena.

The Tai'a Divine City Arena is a huge circular building, as tall as a ten-story building.

The arena has twelve gates for entry, with nine arenas set up in the very center, including one large arena and eight smaller arenas around it.

Around the arena were rows of weapon racks.

On these steel racks were various knives, swords, guns, halberds, spears, bows, whips...

All eighteen kinds of weapons are available!

These weapons, though not top-grade, are still quite extraordinary. They were all crafted by the weapon-refining workshop in Tai'a Divine City, and many were made by past trial participants.

Of course, those trial participants who manage to leave their works in the arena are the best of the best.

However, generally speaking, warriors who enter the arena rarely choose the weapons on the weapon rack; they prefer to use their own weapons, which are more convenient for them.

The stands are located 20 meters away from the weapons racks.

These stands are layered and can accommodate 20,000 people. Each seat is very spacious and comfortable.

The arena has always been the most crowded place in Tai'a Divine City, where many of Tai'a Divine City's top experts gather to compete. With so many participants, there are naturally even more spectators.

Many trainees came to watch others fight and learn from the duels between experts, which was of great benefit to all the martial artists present.

With over two thousand newcomers, plus a little over a thousand experienced trial participants, and other staff, totaling less than four thousand people, the arena remained almost empty after they entered. This arena easily accommodated four thousand people.

"Is everyone here?!"

When Yi Yun arrived at his seat, he heard a voice in his ear: it was Qin the Bald!

As the instructor of Yi Yun, Zhou Kui, and others, Qin the Bald would certainly not be absent from these greenhorns' first battle.

"You all better be alert! Let's see what you're made of. We can train at home, that's fine, but don't embarrass us in front of outsiders! Got it?!"

Qin the Bald's opening remarks were very simple.

Zhou Kui and the others all shouted, "Understood!!"

"Good!"

Qin the Bald nodded, giving Yi Yun a meaningful look. "You're quite the character, kid!"

Yi Yun gave a military salute and replied crisply, "Reporting, Instructor, not bad."

"Ha! What spirit! Even if they try to take turns attacking, you still have to show the might of the Jingzhou recruits and crush them!"

Qin the Bald slapped Yi Yun's shoulder hard, making a loud bang that shook the floor beneath Yi Yun's feet.

The surrounding teenagers were secretly astonished. That slap could probably kill an elephant, but Yi Yun endured it without moving.

"Yes, instructor!"

Qin the Bald was very satisfied with Yi Yun's loud answer. "Did you hear that? Don't think they're so great just because they're ranked higher than you. Keep your spirits up! Even if you get knocked down on the battlefield, you'll drag them down with you!"

Qin the Bald was encouraging the new recruits, and at that moment, in the center of the arena, an Enforcement Envoy from the Central Divine Tower also gave an opening speech.

His speech was brief; he announced the competition rules, ranking rules, and final prizes, and then declared the ranking matches to begin!

"Clang--"

The bell, symbolizing the start of the competition, rang once again, and many newcomers held their breath.

My first battle in Tai'a Divine City, in front of so many people, including geniuses, instructors, and Enforcement Envoy from all over the country!

Their Lineage, too, are watching their competition through various channels.

In this situation, it's impossible for them not to be nervous.

"Now, those whose ranking numbers are called, please come up to the stage to compete!"

"Station number 11,810, Zhong Han! Number 12,007, Bai Mingyuan!"

"Station number Kun, 11,642, Liu Heyu! Number 12,050, Jiang Deyuan!"

"Zhen-branded platform..."

One of the referees in charge of the match began reading out the roster.

Each person has their own corresponding ranking number.

Those ranked lower will compete on eight smaller arenas surrounding the main arena, which are numbered according to the eight trigrams: Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, and Dui.

Those ranked higher will go up to the main arena in the very center!

This arena is called the Divine Desolation Stage!

The Divine Desolation Stage is not a place that just anyone has the opportunity to go up.

"Divine Desolation Stage, number 1003, Yi Yun! Number 10750, Feng Hai!"

The referee's booming voice echoed through the arena.

Huh? They're going on stage already?

Yi Yun was taken aback. He had thought that he would be called after a while, but he didn't expect that he would be called so soon after arriving at the competition venue.

That makes sense. With so many people challenging him and having to fight twelve matches a day, the referee probably thought that he should go up at the beginning and then gradually fill in the gaps later, so that the match time would be longer and he could recover some stamina.

"Haha! Now it's my turn!"

On the side of the Hong Dao Society, a tall boy jumped up excitedly. He was one of the Four Little Tyrants, and his name was Feng Hai.

He never expected that he would be the first to go on stage, and on the very central Divine Desolation Stage!

How impressive!

The match between Yi Yun and Feng Hai undoubtedly captivated the attention of all viewers!

(Third update)

...(To be continued~^~)