With that, the first batch of duels in the Second Stage had all concluded.
Of the five hundred and forty-six participants from the First Stage, half had now been eliminated and could no longer participate in the subsequent Second Stage duels.
However, with only two hundred and seventy-three victors, pairing them off would leave one person with a bye.
Thus, Fu Tan-the Giant Strength Fire Prison Sect's foremost disciple, who had been eliminated in the first round-would have another chance to participate in the second round.
That brought the number entering the second round to two hundred and seventy-four.
The rules for this round differed somewhat from those of the first.
In the first round, the Top Ten Heaven's Chosen had been drawn separately to preserve the advantage they had gained in the First Stage.
But the second round was different.
The second round would use random draws to pair the participants off and determine the winners.
Now, whether someone ranked high or low, their opponent would be randomly assigned.
The battles ahead would depend solely on each participant's strength.
Such selection rules naturally brought joy to some and worry to others.
After going through the first round of duels, quite a few Heaven's Chosen disciples had already witnessed the strength of the other Heaven's Chosen.
Facing an ordinary Heaven's Chosen would be fine.
After all, the lower-ranked Heaven's Chosen were more or less equal in strength; it mostly came down to whose trump cards were stronger.
But if they encountered a highly ranked Heaven's Chosen, the outcome would be another matter.
Against someone like Zhuge Qi Tian or Fu Tan, any ordinary Heaven's Chosen would struggle to contend.
Only those with strength like Mo Tianji, Mo Qi Qi, and Leng Yue would have a chance to measure themselves against