The spectator stand.
The Black-Robed Elder sat upright, but the young man beside him had vanished. In his place stood a burly man in armor.
The armored man glanced at Qin Hao on the Arena platform, a glint flashing through his eyes. "Steward Liu, should we send out a C-Rank Swordsman?"
"A C-Rank Swordsman would be useless. There's no point. Have the B-Rank Swordsmen prepare. Once Qin Hao wins sixty matches in a row, the rules require at least three B-Rank Swordsmen to stop him."
The Black-Robed Elder waved a hand and spoke calmly.
"A B-Rank Swordsman?"
The armored man froze. A sharp gleam crossed his eyes, but he said nothing more.
The so-called B-Rank Swordmasters were swordsmen taken in by the City Lord's Manor.
Some had been trained by the City Lord's Manor itself, but most were talents who had once dazzled at the Sword Pool Tournament.
They were divided into four ranks—A, B, C, and D—according to cultivation and strength. D-Rank Swordsmen usually faced contestants with twenty to forty consecutive wins; C-Rank Swordsmen faced those with forty to sixty...
B-Rank Swordsmen faced contestants with sixty to eighty consecutive wins.
A-Rank Swordsmen were the finest of all. Every one of them possessed formidable strength. Without exaggeration, if the Sword Pool Tournament had no restrictions, they would be the strongest contenders for a hundred consecutive wins!
Qin Hao had won forty-nine matches in a row. By rights, a C-Rank Swordsman should have been sent out, yet Steward Liu had skipped straight past that rank and ordered the B-Rank Swordsmen to prepare.
No wonder the armored man was surprised.
But since Steward Liu had given the order, the armored man could only obey. He did not dare object.
Inside a tavern beside the Plaza.
Jiao Hong, wearing a black hood that