Perhaps Tian Xin was right: true experts rarely took part in the preliminary rounds. After watching for a while, Hu Yao and the others grew bored and went shopping together. Ling Tian, bound by the things he had said earlier, could only keep watching alone. But after another stick of incense, he lost interest too. With a wry smile, he finally decided to leave.
The preliminary rounds were in full swing. Having learned his lesson, Ling Tian no longer went to watch unless someone he knew was competing.
Perhaps Lian Yue and the others were quite strong, or perhaps they were simply lucky. None of them faced an especially powerful opponent, and they all passed the first round of preliminaries. Like Ling Tian, they began the dull wait for the second round, which would come more than a hundred days later.
Time trickled by, and several dozen days soon passed. Of all their group, only Ye Ling had yet to pass the first round. She was a little nervous, because today she would compete with Ling Lin accompanying her.
Ye Ling was at the Integrated Body Early Stage, like Xuan Ying and the others, and Ling Lin had taught her many of Lingxiao Pavilion's combat techniques. Even so, she was still far weaker than Huzi and the others. Forget defeating an opponent a minor stage above her—even being invincible among those of her own stage would be exceedingly difficult. That was exactly why she felt so nervous.
"Don't worry, Ling'er. It's only the first round. As long as you're clever, getting a spot should be easy." Hu Yao smiled reassuringly. Seeing that Ye Ling still lacked confidence, she glanced at Ling Lin. "Didn't Lin Er teach you the Illusory God Phantom Shadow Movement Technique? Even if you can't beat them,