After six days of preliminaries, only three thousand of the three billion contestants remained. Those three thousand who had fought their way through would join two hundred seeded contestants in the main tournament.
Without a doubt, everyone who made it into the main tournament was a leading young talent of this generation in the Human Realm, a genius among geniuses. Otherwise, they could never have qualified.
What was more, over a hundred exceptionally powerful geniuses from other realms had joined this year's tournament. Many people feared the championship would slip from their grasp and be claimed by a genius from another realm.
After all, the geniuses from other realms had been far too impressive over the past two days. Every one of them who made it into the main tournament had snatched a spot from a seeded contestant, drawing the attention of the entire world.
"I wonder how the main tournament will be held?"
"By tradition, it should still take place in the Dream God Realm. They'll split us into thirty-two districts, a hundred people to each. You're eliminated after three losses, and the last person standing advances to the final thirty-two."
"There'll be battles to watch every day for the next month. Awesome, awesome, awesome!"
"I wonder who'll have the last laugh."
Many people had also poured into the Dream God Realm, where they chatted excitedly.
"I think they should put all the geniuses from other realms in the same district. Ha! Let them slaughter each other."
"Probably not. By tradition, the two hundred seeded contestants are distributed evenly among the thirty-two districts."
"Who cares about all that? It's about to start. Quiet!"
Under the gaze of countless spectators, the main tournament of this year's First Martial Arts Tournament officially began.
Lin Huang stood among the three thousand contestants who had made it through the preliminaries, his expression calm. The two hundred seeded contestants entered through another passage.
Lin Huang swept his gaze over them and nodded. As expected, every seeded contestant looked spirited and carried their own distinctive flair. They were quite extraordinary.
"We've waited long enough. It's finally starting."
The speaker was a young man wearing a purple-gold Daoist crown and a purple robe embroidered with nine dragons. Divine radiance blazed around him, and every gesture carried the boldness of someone who looked down on the world. Even among the two hundred seeded contestants, he stood out. He was a genius from another realm.
His eyes flashed like lightning as he stared at Xu Qingcheng, who walked at the front. Her features were picturesque, her short hair framed a breathtaking face, and she carried herself with heroic poise. A wicked smile tugged at his lips. "I didn't expect to find such a beauty here. Once I've killed that so-called Pseudo-Saint, I'll take you back as my concubine."
"Arrogant! Insolent!" someone immediately snapped, glaring at him.
"What are you, to interrupt me?" The young man in the purple-gold Daoist crown turned on him in an instant. His hand shifted, ready to strike.
"You're nothing but a little snake, and you dare act so arrogant? This is the Human Realm. If you want to show off, crawl back to the Snake Realm!"
"Exactly! Go back and drink your granny's milk!"
"Hahaha!"
Many people couldn't help laughing under their breath. The seeded contestants from the Human Realm, in particular, gave an approving thumbs-up. That was how you drew someone's ire.
"Ah! You lowly humans are asking for death!" The young man in the purple-gold Daoist crown flew into a complete rage. Tiny golden scales appeared on his cheeks, etched with an ancient, sacred mystery.
"Who said that just now? Step forward!"
"Damn it, whose pants weren't fastened properly? How'd you let this thing out?" A voice just as mocking cut in, lazily insolent enough to infuriate anyone. Its owner stepped forward.
He was only eighteen or nineteen. Divine radiance lay hidden within him, and his sharp black-and-white eyes flickered with mischief.
"Shi Hao of the Supreme Dojo."
"It's him. Who else could be invincible with his mouth?"
"That little snake's going to get so mad he'll die. Heh."
The eighteen- or nineteen-year-old was evidently famous. The moment he appeared, people recognized him.
"You're courting death!" The young man in the purple-gold Daoist crown said no more. Divine radiance surged as golden scales began spreading over his body.
"You want to fight me?" Shi Hao of the Supreme Dojo wagged a finger and tipped up his chin. "If so, bring it on. All of you."
His gaze swept across the many geniuses from other realms, his arrogance boundless.
"I knew it."
Someone muttered under their breath, clearly very familiar with Shi Hao.
"Golden scales unfurl, flood dragons turn to dragons. You must be Ao Ying, the greatest genius of this generation of the Flood Dragon Clan. I accept your challenge. We'll settle this at the tournament."
The speaker was Xu Qingcheng. Her tone was confident as she identified the young man in the purple-gold Daoist crown. Without another word, she stepped into the arena.
A figure like Xu Qingcheng would stand out even in a crowd of millions, drawing everyone's attention at once. Lin Huang was no exception.
Lin Huang knew Xu Qingcheng well. As a peerless genius forged through the joint efforts of the Taiyi Sect and the Celestial Academy, every step in Xu Qingcheng's growth had made headlines across the Human Realm.
After she turned sixteen, in particular, Xu Qingcheng had been hailed as the nation's goddess, the object of countless people's admiration.
For a time, Lin Huang had paid close attention to Xu Qingcheng, too. Compared with his own dull, almost colorless life, Xu Qingcheng's brilliant and lofty existence was worlds apart. Back then, it had stirred a yearning in him.
But now Lin Huang only glanced at Xu Qingcheng before looking away. He lowered his head and stared at his palm.
Xu Qingcheng's beautiful eyes moved from one of the three thousand contestants to the next. She was looking for Lin Huang.
She had read Lin Huang's file and studied him earlier than any of the geniuses present.
The arrest operation she had participated in at the Law Enforcement Department had been their first clash. Unfortunately, she had lost, failing to see through Lin Huang's intentions in advance. From that day on, she had remembered him.
Now came their second clash, and Xu Qingcheng would not allow herself to lose.
"Is it you?"
Xu Qingcheng fixed her gaze on someone with his head lowered, his face impossible to make out. But her instincts told her that it was Lin Huang.
After one look, Xu Qingcheng turned her eyes away and paid him no further attention.
Besides Xu Qingcheng, the other two hundred seeded contestants were also searching for Lin Huang. The geniuses from other realms, in particular, had come for him.
Their brazen gazes swept over the three thousand contestants who had made it into the main tournament, rousing their indignation. At last, someone stepped forward, divine radiance blazing around him like the sun descending to earth. His eyes shone like lightning, and his presence was overbearing. "You so-called seeded contestants—are you challenging me?!"
"Step forward. I'll grant you death."
His arrogance and domineering words instantly drew everyone's attention.
"That's the Sun God Physique! It has to be the Sun God Physique!"
Someone cried out, recognizing him.
"Good. We're all geniuses. Why should we care about those rules? I, Shihuo Aoren, want to see the Sun God Physique for myself. If I devour your divine sunfire, I can complete my Ten Fire Divine Art."
A man wreathed in flames of every color stepped forward. He was Shihuo Aoren, the peerless genius of the Fire Realm.
"Exactly. Exactly. Let the slaughter begin! Anyone bound by rules isn't a genius. Kill them all, and I refuse to believe we won't find that Pseudo-Saint!" Several more cold-eyed geniuses from other realms stepped forward, sneering as they dismissed everyone around them.
"Bastards! There are only a little over a hundred of you, yet you dare threaten to kill us all? You must have a death wish!"
Someone roared in fury.
"Foolish humans. A fool like you—I could swallow three thousand of you, let alone thirty thousand!" A man with strange markings on his forehead stepped forward, his gaze greedy. He was the peerless genius of the Taotie Clan.
"Why waste so many words? Kill!" The speaker was a genius of the Blood Clan. His body shifted, blood-colored light bursting outward as he split into several streaks and pounced on a group of humans.
"Enough!"
Sage Rank descended. Zhongnan Sword Saint, a senior figure of the Arbitration Bureau, appeared to preside over the opening of the main tournament. He barked, silencing the entire arena. "This tournament will proceed according to the rules..."
Zhongnan Sword Saint had barely begun speaking when countless rays of divine light shot skyward from the arena, treasures blazing with radiance. More than three thousand geniuses, each carrying their own defiant, overbearing, and self-assured aura, used the divine artifacts on their persons to break through Zhongnan Sword Saint's suppression and stand against him.
Zhongnan Sword Saint's pupils contracted. He cursed inwardly. Ice-Sealed Sword Saint had spread the news far and wide. Most of the geniuses who had entered the main tournament had been given powerful treasures by their masters, in hopes of resisting Lin Huang's suppression of their cultivation.
But before they had even faced Lin Huang, they had withstood Zhongnan Sword Saint's pressure, leaving him in an awkward position.
"So much for Saint Rank! Lin Huang, come out and fight me!" someone laughed wildly, a mysterious ancient ruler hovering above his head. Ignoring Zhongnan Sword Saint, he openly challenged Lin Huang.
Lin Huang slowly raised his head and watched the scene, lost in thought.
Zhongnan Sword Saint was furious. The dignity of a Sage had been challenged. With a cold shout, he prepared to suppress the genius and make an example of him.
Rumble!
The Dream God Realm suddenly shook. Light blotted out the sky, and the world trembled.
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