Before long, a day had passed. Gu Changge and the others left the martial arts platform and headed to the inn the Lingxu Divine Dynasty had prepared to accommodate the contestants.
Gu Changge rented a room separately with Lin Ni Yu and Ye Muqing.
"Sister Muqing, there are three of us, yet the Dao Child only rented one room. Could he be planning to..."
Lin Ni Yu spoke softly to Ye Muqing.
"I don't know... But being favored by the Dao Child is our honor."
Ye Muqing's pretty face also flushed slightly as she spoke.
However, Gu Changge's actions soon disappointed the two women.
"You two sleep on the bed. I'll just sit on the floor and cultivate."
Gu Changge said.
Gu Changge did not know that this gentlemanly act of his had completely moved the hearts of the two women.
The next morning, after Gu Changge and the two women finished their meal together, they left the inn and once again headed for the martial arts platform at the center of the Lingxu Divine Dynasty's imperial city.
"Today's Martial Arts Grand Competition will use the same elimination format as yesterday. All contestants, step forward to draw lots. Contestants who draw the same number will duel one-on-one."
It was still the same divine minister from yesterday, shouting loudly.
Of the original tens of thousands of contestants, only thirty thousand remained after yesterday's round.
Gu Changge stepped forward.
"Number three thousand two hundred forty-one."
Gu Changge looked at the wooden lot in his hand and thought to himself.
Gu Changge first sat in the spectator stands and watched the contestants with earlier numbers duel.
As time flowed by, it was soon Gu Changge's turn to take the stage again.
"Core disciple of Thunderclap Holy Land, Ying Renwen."
Gu Changge's opponent said.
"Dao Child of Tianyuan Academy, Gu Changge."
Gu Changge said.
Ying Renwen knew that his chances of defeating a Dao Child were slim, so he did not dare act arrogantly and launched the first attack.
"Thunderclap Leg!"
Ying Renwen unleashed Thunderclap Holy Land's Day Grade Top Rank Cultivation Method, the Thunderclap Leg, against Gu Changge.
"Tianyuan Imperial Hand!"
Just as he had yesterday, Gu Changge chose to use the Tianyuan Imperial Hand to block his opponent's attack.
Gu Changge decided not to trade move after move with his opponent as he had yesterday. Instead, he directly summoned four Demonic Beasts at the first level of the Qi Condensation Realm and six puppets at the eighth level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm, launching a fierce assault on Ying Renwen.
"As expected of the Dao Child. I concede."
Ying Renwen said with a bitter smile.
After resolving this battle, Gu Changge returned to the spectator stands.
After waiting for two hours, the remaining nine core disciples of Tianyuan Academy also claimed victory.
Next came the third round of eliminations. However, only fifteen thousand contestants remained in the arena now.
Gu Changge repeated his earlier approach and won once again.
However, this time, three of Tianyuan Academy's nine core disciples were defeated.
At this point, only seven thousand five hundred contestants remained.
Then came the fourth round of eliminations.
The Martial Arts Grand Competition had a total of four elimination rounds, and this fourth round was the last one.
"Contestant number three thousand two hundred sixty, step forward to battle!"
The divine minister shouted.
Number three thousand two hundred sixty was precisely the number Gu Changge had drawn.
"Holy Son of Wind Riding Holy Land, Zheng Ruize."
Zheng Ruize said with a grave expression.
Originally, Zheng Ruize had also been a core disciple of Tianyuan Academy. During his time studying there, he had heard Gu Changge's great name: Gu Changge had consecutively defeated several core disciples ranked among Tianyuan Academy's top ten. Thus, even as the Holy Son of Wind Riding Holy Land, Zheng Ruize did not dare lower his guard.
"Dao Child against Holy Son—this Martial Arts Grand Competition finally has something worth watching."
A Rogue Cultivator in the audience said.
"Exactly. Those Dao Children and Holy Sons before this all utterly crushed their opponents with overwhelming strength. There was nothing to watch at all."
Another Rogue Cultivator agreed.
"Wind Riding Art!"
Zheng Ruize used Wind Riding Holy Land's supreme Daoist art, the Wind Riding Art.
"Purple Firmament Lightning Technique!"
Gu Changge also used an Emperor Law. The power of lightning collided with the force of the hurricane, erupting into violent currents of air.
"Tianyuan Spear Technique!"
Zheng Ruize produced an Emperor Spear and unleashed an Emperor Technique he had learned at Tianyuan Academy.
"Flying Feather Spear Technique!"
Gu Changge did not yield in the slightest. He drew the Azure Nether Spear and unleashed the Flying Feather Spear Technique, clashing fiercely with Zheng Ruize.
Gu Changge directly brought out all his Emperor Artifacts and hurled them all at Zheng Ruize.
Zheng Ruize's pupils contracted. Even as the Holy Son of Wind Riding Holy Land and a core disciple of Tianyuan Academy, he did not possess nearly as many Emperor Artifacts as Gu Changge.
In the end, Zheng Ruize could not withstand the attacks of those Emperor Weapons and was defeated.
"Looks like Tianyuan Academy's Dao Child was still a cut above."
"Yes. Tianyuan Academy possesses the inheritances of many Great Emperors. Defeating a holy land that cannot even be considered an imperial lineage faction is naturally no problem."
The crowd in the spectator stands discussed among themselves.
After defeating Zheng Ruize, Gu Changge returned to the spectator stands.
Very soon, the fourth elimination round of the Northern Region Martial Arts Grand Competition ended, leaving only three thousand seven hundred fifty contestants.
"First, congratulations to all the contestants present. You have successfully emerged from four rounds of elimination. The fifth round, and the final round of the Martial Arts Grand Competition—the arena tournament—is about to begin!"
The divine minister of the Lingxu Divine Dynasty announced loudly.
"The so-called arena tournament means that we, the organizers, will bring out one hundred arenas and place them upon the martial arts platform. Every contestant standing on an arena will be considered its arena master, while contestants below may choose any arena and step forward to challenge its master. If they lose, they will be considered disqualified from the Martial Arts Grand Competition. If they win, they may inherit the arena and become its new master."
"The one hundred arenas are numbered from one to one hundred."
"After one hour, the arena masters still standing on their arenas will be deemed the victors of the Martial Arts Grand Competition. Their arena numbers will be their final rankings."
"Now then, I announce that the arena tournament has officially begun!"
At once, the many contestants beneath the martial arts platform erupted in excitement, scrambling to climb onto the arenas.
Some powerful contestants chose arenas with earlier numbers, while some weaker contestants who had only fortunately endured until now chose arenas with later numbers.
Gu Changge stood quietly beneath the martial arts platform without making a move.
He sat cross-legged on the ground, secretly regulating the Spiritual Power within his body.
About half an hour later, Gu Changge rose to his feet.
"Half an hour has passed. My strength has now been restored to its peak state. It is time to challenge an arena."
Gu Changge thought to himself.
Gu Changge looked around. Not daring to be overly arrogant, he chose arena number three.
At this moment, the Dao Children and Holy Sons of the major factions, like Gu Changge, remained still and secretly adjusted their conditions.
After all, true experts always made their appearance at the finale.
Before you continue