Inside the room, the conversation between the Chen and Yang families grew ever deeper, shifting between quiet murmurs and knowing smiles.
Outside, the bouts in the arena were in full swing.
The Chen Clan's announcement that anyone who cleared two consecutive rounds would receive a special reward had made the competition both more orderly and more intense.
Without troublemakers like Ma Liang, the matches gradually became contests between the young talents under the Chen Clan and their youthful guests.
During the competition, the finest among the Chen Clan's followers-the youths of the Twelve Zhaowu Surnames, the Xi Li Family, and Shen-became the main force defending the rounds.
Every one of them was brimming with energy and high spirits, displaying considerable strength in the arena.
Several outstanding youths distinguished themselves. The newly joined Ji Boxiao and Liu Ru Yi, Dugu Fu of the Dugu Family, and Shen Youchu's younger sister, Shen Youxi, all performed exceptionally well, earning waves of cheers from the spectators.
As the competition progressed, Chen Bin, Chen Shurui, and Su Ningxia became the defenders of the second round.
Unexpectedly, however, Zhu Wuneng did not take the stage again.
Perhaps the gathering of so many young talents had spurred everyone on, or perhaps many people simply had itching hands and wanted to test their skills. Perhaps the impressive performances of the youths under the Chen Clan had ignited everyone's fighting spirit, or perhaps the lure of that special gift was simply too strong. Whatever the reason, today's competition ran to an unprecedented thirty-odd bouts.
That the fighting at the Soul Grandmaster level lasted so long truly exceeded everyone's expectations.
At previous banquets, Soul Grandmaster bouts had generally been limited to a few token matches.
Under the direction of Chen Feng and Chen Mu-yes, those two live wires were using