Take a Look at My Thick Python (Please Keep Reading Next Tuesday, Everyone)

The drawing of lots began, and everyone was curious about who their opponent would be.

The Ye Family's tournament rules were simple. Twenty-two people were participating in total: Number One fought Number Two, Number Three fought Number Four, and so on.

The second round would again pit adjacent numbers against each other. Of course, the winners of Numbers Twenty-One and Twenty-Two would get to skip a round.

Thus, quite a few cultivators hoped to draw one of those two numbers.

The drawing soon reached Ye Jingcheng. Ye Xinghe held out the box full of bamboo slips before him.

He was not among the first to draw, and about half the slips remained inside.

"Do your best!" Ye Xinghe added, seeming to imply something.

"Thank you, Uncle," Ye Jingcheng said. He then used both hands to draw a slip, before bowing and retreating into the crowd.

At that moment, quite a few cultivators in the crowd began talking, most of their words sighs and complaints.

"I didn't draw it. My opponent is still Second Brother!"

"I didn't get it either. My opponent is at the sixth level of Qi Refinement!"

There were rewards for the top ten. Though they were not much, one only needed to win a single round. As for the top three, many who had not reached the sixth level of Qi Refinement only aimed to win one round and enter the top ten.

"Jingcheng, what number did you draw? I got Eighteen—I was so close!" Ye Jingli leaned over from beside him and spoke dejectedly.

Nine or Ten would have been fine, but he had drawn Eighteen, just two numbers away.

It left him looking utterly miserable.

"I got Twenty-Two!" Ye Jingcheng looked at his bamboo slip, then touched his nose as he spoke.

Honestly, he had not expected his luck to be this good.

This made Ye Jingli even more despondent. That meant he would run into Ye Jingcheng in the third round, and his road to the top three would be utterly hopeless!

Before long, all the tournament slips had been drawn.

Second Brother Ye Jingyong had drawn Number Two, which happened to match his rank in the generation. Sixth Brother Ye Jingli had drawn Eighteen, Seventh Sister Ye Jingyu had drawn Fifteen, and Ninth Brother Jingyun had drawn Number Eight.

The matches quickly began. Ye Jingyong immediately summoned the Flying Cloud Leopard. His opponent was no weakling either—Ye Xingyu, also at the sixth level of Qi Refinement and a member of the Xing generation, with extensive experience in magical combat.

Ye Xingyu's spirit beast was a brindled tiger, which would also possess considerable combat power once fully grown.

The battle between the two was about to erupt. Ye Jingyong wielded a mid-grade first-tier broadsword and a high-grade first-tier seal artifact.

Ye Xingyu, meanwhile, had a bronze ring artifact along with three spear artifacts.

"Jingyong, watch yourself!" As an elder, Ye Xingyu gave him a warning.

Of course, though he had warned him, Ye Xingyu had no intention of showing mercy.

The brindled tiger charged out first, opening its gaping, blood-filled jaws as it bit toward the Flying Cloud Leopard.

At the same time, the first of the two spears tore through the air and slashed toward Ye Jingyong.

Spear artifacts emphasized speed and carried immense power. Compared to flying sword artifacts, they were often far more brutal!

Ye Jingyong did not dare be careless. His broadsword released a massive blade radiance, instantly knocking the spear artifact away!

Yet the remaining two spears came whistling through the air once more.

The interval between them was tiny, and they shot in from two different directions, but Ye Jingyong's broadsword technique was no less formidable.

The two fought back and forth.

But Ye Xingyu held Ye Jingyong down in their magical combat. In terms of spirit beasts, however, the situation was completely reversed. The Flying Cloud Leopard was clearly far faster than the brindled tiger—worthy indeed of being a spirit beast capable of reaching the second tier.

It raked countless bloody wounds across the brindled tiger, leaving it covered in injuries.

The tide of battle was completely reversed as well!

In the end, Ye Jingyong won with great difficulty. His spiritual power was clearly closer to the seventh level of Qi Refinement and far more abundant. With the advantage of his spirit beast, he was the one left standing.

"Uncle Xingyu, thank you for letting me win," Ye Jingyong said.

"Good lad, not bad at all!" Ye Xingyu was neither discouraged nor resentful. He was considerably older and had cultivated for much longer.

Since he was inferior to Ye Jingyong, he naturally did not deserve to enter the top ten!

The Ye Family had always upheld the belief that unfairness was the greatest fairness.

The Ye Family's contests at least involved cultivators in the middle stages of Qi Refinement, while in the cultivation world, Foundation Establishment cultivators and even Purple Mansion cultivators might strike at you.

Ye Jingyong and Ye Xingyu stepped down, and Numbers Three and Four took the stage.

This time, it was a sixth-level Qi Refinement cultivator against a fourth-level Qi Refinement cultivator, with no suspense at all.

The Xing-generation cultivator at the sixth level of Qi Refinement won.

Then came Numbers Five and Six, and their battle was also over in an instant.

Jingyun, an alchemist, was eliminated in the first round. In contrast, Ye Jingyu was at the fifth level of Qi Refinement and had the Jade Ring Rat as her spirit beast, allowing her to advance to the next round.

Soon, it was Ye Jingli's turn. He was somewhat excited now. Though he could not enter the top three, he swaggered onto the stage.

"Fifth Brother, let me show you my thick python!" Ye Jingli shouted.

His opponent was also of the Jing generation—Ye Jingfeng, ranked fifth among them. He had joined the demon-hunting team from a young age and possessed extremely rich experience in hunting demons.

At Ye Jingli's blunt remark, Ye Jingfeng's face, already furious over the family matter, darkened even further.

Naturally, it also drew the attention of the other clansmen.

The next moment, even Ye Jingcheng was somewhat stunned.

That was because Ye Jingli's Azure-Scaled Python was not only exceptionally well-grown, but its entire body was covered in a suit of azure serpent armor!

This serpent armor differed from ordinary armor; it was covered all over in sharp spikes.

Even Ye Xinghe's eyes lit up at the sight.

Custom-forging magical artifacts for spirit beasts was extravagantly luxurious, yet it was undeniably a way to improve combat strength.

Even Ye Jingcheng's eyes lit up at this moment.

His Sixth Brother might be unreliable at times, but his creativity in artifact refinement truly deserved praise.

At that moment, Ye Jingcheng also considered finding a time to trade Ye Jingli some spirit pills for a set of magical artifacts for his spirit beasts.

Perhaps the Crimson Flame Fox would have no use for them, but the Golden-Scaled Beast certainly could—especially claw gauntlets made for the Golden-Scaled Beast!

Or perhaps wing-type magical artifacts to increase its speed!

Ye Jingfeng, on the other hand, looked far more solemn. He too had the standard two magical artifacts: one was a first-tier high-grade Cosmos Ring artifact, while the other was a first-tier mid-grade flying sword artifact.

As for magical artifacts, Ye Jingli, being an artifact refiner, was not inferior in the slightest. He had a first-tier high-grade black tower artifact, along with a first-tier mid-grade silver ring artifact and a Nine-Ring Bronze Saber artifact.

Both were at the sixth level of Qi Refining, and their duel went back and forth!

The black tower artifact could both attack and defend, and so could Ye Jingfeng's Cosmos Ring artifact. But the difference lay with the Azure-Scaled Python, and in the end, Ye Jingli emerged victorious.

Ye Jingcheng watched intently from the side as well. He had not experienced many magical duels since childhood, so even when it was merely a contest between mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators, he watched carefully and recorded it with a jade slip.

The Ye Family's demon-hunting teams in particular might not have had the highest cultivation, but some of their ingenious attacks greatly inspired Ye Jingcheng.

Very soon, it was time for the final arena match.

Ye Jingcheng stepped onto the arena as well, while his opponent was a middle-aged cultivator clad in a blue robe.

"Jingcheng, although I'm your elder, I'm a talisman master. It should be perfectly reasonable for me to use spirit talismans, shouldn't it?"