The next day.
The competition entered its second round.
A total of twenty-three contestants took part in this round.
Yan Keling received a bye.
Chen Shu's face twisted with envy.
Fortunately, his opponent this round was only a traditional Sword Cultivation practitioner from Ling'an Academy, around the middle of the Fourth Tier. He still won easily.
He heard that Brother Jiang had also won, though only after a hard fight.
He had only heard about it because the little girl had come along again today to watch and get a free meal. Brother Jiang's matches were usually bloody: either he beat his opponent badly, or his opponent beat him badly. The little girl was at an age when her personality was still taking shape. Afraid the sight might affect her too deeply and awaken the violent instincts in her Nightfolk blood, Chen Shu had not taken her to watch.
With this round over, only twelve contestants remained.
Then came the third round.
Chen Shu's opponent was tougher: a Buddhist Order disciple at the peak of the Fourth Tier, a monk who cultivated both meditation and martial arts. He was extremely difficult to deal with. Fighting the Laziness Curse while fighting the monk took every trick Chen Shu could muster, but he finally won.
He was so exhausted he wanted to withdraw.
Brother Jiang, meanwhile, lost to Senior Brother Ji in this round.
Apparently, he had been beaten so badly that the Referee had stopped the match and called for emergency medical care.
Yan Keling advanced again thanks to Lord Lin Jian's terrifying strength.
Only six contestants remained.
They were Zhang Suannai of Ling'an Academy, Xuanzhen of the Daoist Academy, Tongdeng of the Buddhist Academy, Senior Brother Ji of Yujing University, Chen Shu, and Yan Keling.
Five of them belonged to