One day later.
Xin Hongyi successfully broke through to the late Purple Mansion Realm.
At the same time, even her physical body grew considerably stronger.
Delight appeared on Xin Hongyi's face. She patted Ye Qiubai's shoulder and said with a smile, "I owe you a favor."
Xin Hongyi belonged to a secret clan of the Southern Region, so this favor was worth no less than Tian Cheng's.
Ye Qiubai did not care, however. "All right, there's not much time left. Let's head deeper and get some points."
Xin Hongyi nodded.
Over the time that followed.
Ye Qiubai and Xin Hongyi continually hunted Devil Beasts.
Their points rose extremely quickly!
During this process, Ye Qiubai also successfully broke through to the late Purple Mansion Realm.
At the same time, with the help of the Demon Qi contained within the Azure Flame Mountain Range, his comprehension of the Nine Swords of the Heavenly Demon deepened further.
By the end, Ye Qiubai's points had reached 4,700.
Xin Hongyi's points had also reached 2,200.
Everyone was teleported out, returning to the Northern Region Hidden Dao Academy.
Once they reached the square.
Huo Qingming and Lin Ce walked over.
Huo Qingming asked curiously, "Ye Qiubai, how many points did you get?"
His tone carried a hint of smugness.
Lin Ce rolled his eyes and said, "This fellow Huo Qingming happened to run into a dying peak Qi Sea Realm Devil Beast. Together with the rest, he got 2,100 points. He's here to show off."
Huo Qingming chuckled. After all, he was no match for Ye Qiubai, so beating him in some other area would be enough to satisfy him.
Xin Hongyi looked at Lin Ce and asked, "What about you?"
Lin Ce spread his hands. "1,800."
Just then, Huang Yuan and the others also gathered around. They were about to ask when an elder stepped forward and said, "Everyone, hand over your point stones. We'll calculate the rankings here, then eliminate some of you."
Hearing this, everyone handed over their point stones.
Huang Yuan asked, "There shouldn't be any problems, right?"
As he said this, Huang Yuan was mainly looking at Ye Qiubai.
Ye Qiubai shrugged without speaking.
Xin Hongyi nodded.
Huo Qingming said, "There shouldn't be much of a problem."
Soon, the elder finished calculating the rankings.
He began announcing the results, a trace of surprise in his eyes. "Northern Region Hidden Dao Academy: one eliminated. First in points is Jian Chaomian, with 4,500 points."
As soon as the result was announced, everyone burst into an uproar.
4,500!
A Middle Stage of the Violet Palace Realm Devil Beast was worth only 10 points, while even one at the peak Purple Mansion Realm was worth just 30.
How many had he killed to earn 4,500 points? Or had he slain higher-ranked Devil Beasts?
With Jian Chaomian's strength, he could certainly have done it!
After all, he was the foremost sword cultivator of the Northern Region's younger generation!
"No one should be able to surpass Jian Chaomian's score, right?"
"Definitely not."
"I heard from a fellow disciple that Senior Brother Sword Master apparently killed three Middle Stage Qi Sea Realm Devil Beasts and one late Qi Sea Realm Devil Beast all by himself!"
"Isn't Senior Brother Sword Master himself only at the Middle Stage Qi Sea Realm? Besides, a Middle Stage Qi Sea Realm Devil Beast is already comparable to a late Qi Sea Realm expert!"
"He truly deserves to be called the foremost sword cultivator of the younger generation."
Countless people looked at Jian Chaomian with awe!
Huang Yuan's gaze also grew solemn.
Beside him, Zhong Wu said, "He's a formidable opponent."
Huang Yuan nodded. "Against him, I'd probably only have a thirty percent chance of winning."
Next, the elder continued his announcement.
"Eastern Region: one eliminated. First in points is Tian Cheng, with a total of 3,900 points."
3,900 points!
Though it could not compare to Jian Chaomian's score, it was still an extremely high score!
The elder leading the Eastern Region's team also smiled.
This result had already exceeded his expectations.
Tian Cheng, however, did not smile. Instead, his expression was solemn, and no one knew what he was thinking.
"Western Region: one eliminated. First in points is Zhang He, with a total of 3,860 points."
The gap between him and Tian Cheng was not large.
They could be said to be incredibly close.
It was also an outstanding result.
Now, everyone's eyes turned toward the Southern Region's group.
"The one with the highest score among them should be Huang Yuan, right?"
"Heh, Huang Yuan is probably the only presentable figure in the Southern Region. After all, he's the Southern Region dean's disciple."
"But compared to Jian Chaomian, Tian Cheng, and the others, he's probably still a little lacking."
As soon as those words fell.
The elder's voice announcing the results rang out.
"Southern Region: two eliminated. First in points... Ye Qiubai, with 4,700 points!"
At once, Huang Yuan and the others all looked at Ye Qiubai, their eyes filled with disbelief.
Someone also asked, "Who is this Ye Qiubai?"
Jian Chaomian reacted as well, turning to look at Ye Qiubai with Battle Intent in his eyes!
Tian Cheng's expression was complicated.
Zhang He still wore a beaming smile, and no one knew what he was thinking.
"4,700 points? Two hundred more than Jian Chaomian?"
"How did he do it? He looks like he's only in the Purple Mansion Realm. How could he possibly reach 4,700 points?"
"Could he have picked up the scraps?"
In everyone's eyes, there was no way Ye Qiubai could have achieved this score.
But Ye Qiubai did not care.
What did other people's words and opinions have to do with him?
Huang Yuan gave Ye Qiubai a complicated look and said, "Well done."
Huo Qingming also said with a wry smile, "I thought I'd finally surpass you this time. I never expected you to beat me by so much."
Lin Ce said helplessly as well, "This fellow just can't be measured by common sense."
Huo Qingming laughed. "That's true. But I didn't expect the two of us to get eliminated just like that..."
Indeed, the two eliminated from the Southern Region were Huo Qingming and Lin Ce.
From the side, the Martial Hall elder also walked over and patted Ye Qiubai, laughing heartily. "Well done, lad. You've brought honor to our Southern Region Hidden Dao Academy this time."
The Confucian Academy elder also smiled. "Keep it up in the matches ahead. Our goal this time must be to place in the top two."
Ye Qiubai nodded.
Up ahead, the Northern Region Hidden Dao Academy elder said, "All right, we'll proceed to the next round. The four regions' Hidden Dao Academies may decide for themselves whom to send out for the Martial Dao exchange.
"In the end, whichever side has more victors remaining will win."
He waved his hand, and a box appeared before him.
The elder casually drew two lots.
"First match: Eastern Region against Southern Region. Both sides may discuss how to deploy their participants."
As soon as his words fell.
Wu Deshi, dean of the Northern Region Hidden Dao Academy, appeared overhead and swept his hand.
At once, an arena rose from the ground in the very center of the square!
In front of the arena stood ten seats!
Wu Deshi and the deans of the other three regions took their seats.
Before long, several figures strode through the sky!
They settled into the other seats!
This time, however, Wu Deshi did not take the seat of honor. That seat remained empty, as did another seat beside it!
This puzzled everyone.
Who held a higher status than Wu Deshi?
Suddenly, the roars of two flood dragons rang out in the sky!
An enormous ship appeared in everyone's sight. In front of it, two flood dragons clad in golden armor pulled the ship forward!
It was a ship of the Sunset Dynasty!