Provocation!

As Xiao Yan's voice fell, everyone in the square snapped out of their shock.

They had just been stunned by the old man atop the tower announcing first place. After all, being first among the handful of top contenders was enough to make him the king of newcomers among these several thousand people. His strength surely could not be weak, or he would never convince the crowd.

The man called Brother Ma was named Mark, a newcomer at the initial stage of Four-star Dou Di. His fifth-grade talent had been assessed as fourth-grade talent.

Among these several thousand newcomers, while fourth-grade talent could not compare to the formidable fifth-grade talent, there were only a hundred such people. Being rated with fourth-grade talent was enough to show that Mark possessed considerable strength.

As soon as Mark finished speaking, those gathered around him began whispering among themselves.

With that, quite a few people in the square came to their senses as well.

How could the king of newcomers possibly be someone at the peak of Three-star Dou Di?

How could that convince anyone?

A newcomer with fifth-grade talent had to be the king of newcomers here. Only someone stronger than them could make them wholeheartedly submit.

Yue Ru was different because she was a successor. Even being at the peak of Three-star Dou Di was not particularly surprising, since it was said that successors had an especially difficult time cultivating.

But Xiao Yan was also at the peak of Three-star Dou Di, yet he was their king of newcomers. Naturally, some people in the square found that hard to accept.

Calling it dissatisfaction was not quite right. In truth, they envied the position of king of newcomers. Although they did not know the rules or rewards for the later selection trials, anyone with eyes could tell that since Xuan Tian San had arranged such a test, it could not have been without purpose. Perhaps the position of king of newcomers came with something enticing.

And most importantly, this king of newcomers was currently only at the peak of Three-star Dou Di!

The peak of Three-star Dou Di seemed only a step away from Four-star Dou Di, but as a Four-star Dou Di himself, Mark knew that this seemingly minor realm gap was like heaven and earth. That was why he dared question Xiao Yan's position as king of newcomers.

Although quite a few people in the square possessed the strength of Four-star Dou Di, many still did not dare provoke him. On one hand, they feared that this king of newcomers might possess some hidden foundation or trump card. On the other, they did not wish to be the first to stick their necks out.

But Mark did not think that way. He had looked at this king of newcomers with ill intent earlier, yet the king of newcomers had done nothing. That gave him the courage to step forward and become the first to challenge him.

Mark knew that although the first bird to stick its head out got shot, he was still a Four-star Dou Di. Against a king of newcomers at the peak of Three-star Dou Di, he had a chance of winning!

And if the first challenger succeeded, then the title of king of newcomers would be his! When others challenged him afterward, he could simply shut himself away and refuse to come out. That would secure his position as king of newcomers!

Just thinking about it, Mark felt that this was an opportunity bestowed upon him by heaven. He absolutely could not let it slip away!

"This..."

"Why is he at the peak of Three-star Dou Di again?" Zhu Zhuqing frowned slightly, her beautiful eyes filled with confusion.

"There seems to be an extremely powerful force within him..." He Wanxia murmured. The long whip in her hand had begun to hum repeatedly.

It was as though it feared Xiao Yan!

Although He Wanxia was battle-loving, she still possessed a girl's meticulous mind, and so she fell into deep thought.

Looking at the harmless smile slowly spreading across Xiao Yan's face atop the tower, He Wanxia seemed to smell an intensely dangerous aura beneath that smile.

"This Xiao Yan is not simple..." He Wanxia said with a smile. Her beautiful eyes shifted slightly as she turned to the four men beside her. "Gentlemen, have you no desire for the title of king of newcomers?"

"Xiao Yan is only at the peak of Three-star Dou Di. You, who are at the middle stage of Four-star Dou Di, have a great chance of defeating him!"

"Hehe, Miss He, you flatter us. The title of king of newcomers naturally belongs to the strongest. Though Xiao Yan is only at the peak of Three-star Dou Di, he cannot be underestimated," Song Cheng said.

Hearing this, the other three nodded as well. The six of them were all at the middle stage of Four-star Dou Di. In a one-on-one fight, none of them could do much to the others.

But they were not fools. Even the woman with the identity of a successor could only rank second. Since Xiao Yan could rank first and obtain the title of king of newcomers, he surely possessed a foundation even stronger than that of a successor!

After all, there could not possibly be even the slightest favoritism in the tests before the selection trials!

The Nine Great Super Sects jointly supervised them, so no one would dare show favoritism.

"Looks like some people still don't believe it..."

"What do you think?"

"Mark is at the initial stage of Four-star Dou Di." The old man atop the tower put away the jade slip. Clearly, he had deliberately omitted the tiny words after Xiao Yan's name—"Level Ten Soul"—because he too wanted to see just how powerful that formidable soul force truly was!

"Nothing to worry about," Xiao Yan replied calmly, clearly not taking Mark, an initial-stage Four-star Dou Di, seriously.

"Hahaha, what's wrong?"

"So the so-called king of newcomers is just a coward who hides his head?" Mark continued relentlessly.

"Shut up! Don't speak nonsense!" Yue Ru could no longer endure it. She stepped forward and glared angrily at Mark with her beautiful eyes.

"You're not allowed to speak ill of him!" Yue Ru pushed her Dou Qi to its limit and walked toward Mark step by step.

The previously clamorous crowd in the square fell silent for a moment before erupting into thunderous laughter again.

"Hahaha!"

"The king of newcomers is actually being protected by a woman. What a joke..."

"Why not go home and look for your mother..." the people in the square jeered.

"Hahaha, Xiao Yan, did you hear that?"

"Are you going to claim the title of king of newcomers under a woman's protection?"

"I think you should hurry home!" Mark laughed loudly.

"You!" Just as Yue Ru was about to attack, Xiao Yan spoke from atop the tower. "You just want to challenge me, don't you? I accept. There's no need for these petty tricks."

"Accepting your challenge will only waste a few seconds anyway."

"What shameless boasting! Watch that your tongue doesn't get cut out later!" Mark roared.

Hearing this, Yue Ru stepped back. She truly had let concern cloud her judgment.

But Mark's smile was especially bright at this moment. It had been stated during the test that anyone could challenge someone whose rank or talent was greater than their own, as long as both sides agreed!

And as long as he succeeded in the challenge, the title of king of newcomers would belong to him. Then...

Thinking this, Mark smiled. The reason he had provoked Xiao Yan like this was because he feared Xiao Yan would refuse. After all, if Xiao Yan refused his challenge, then regardless of whether he truly had sufficient strength to sit in the position of king of newcomers, he would remain firmly seated there!

Fortunately, this kid had still acted impulsively!

Now his chance had come!

King of newcomers!

Mark's eyes brimmed with greed.

"Sir, what are the rules of the match?" Xiao Yan asked the old man beside him.

"As long as no one dies," the old man said slowly.

"Mark, I accept your challenge!" Xiao Yan looked at Mark with an innocent smile.

Something came up at home and delayed me, but there will still be no fewer than two updates every day. There will probably be a burst of updates tomorrow or the day after!

So the update times have been a little unstable these past few days! But there will definitely still be two updates every day~