Chapter 541: Chapter 257: The Contest Ends_2
Fang Yu had just displayed such strength, so naturally, all the challengers below the stage grew fearful. Suddenly, they lost the will to keep challenging him.
This new Defender had finally secured his ranking position.
"Congratulations."
Beside him, He Bashan of the Soul Stealing Hammer suddenly spoke up.
He seemed to have also realized that Fang Yu securing this position was a done deal.
Yang Chaoyu, with his two-thousand blood count, also glanced at Fang Yu, furrowing his brows slightly, seemingly unable to comprehend how Fang Yu managed to defend the arena.
With the challengers below unable to take down the third-ranked Fang Yu, they turned their targets towards others.
The strategy Fang Yu employed to defeat challengers with the force of thunder had proven effective.
It was foreseeable that for the time being, no one would likely challenge him.
The top three rankings were gradually stabilizing, and the number of challengers started to dwindle. In contrast, those ranked slightly lower continued to receive challenges.
Eventually, a few couldn’t withstand the pressure and were beaten off the stage.
This came as a surprise to Fang Yu.
The seventh and eighth places were now defended by warriors with blood counts of 800 and 900.
Those Thousand Blood Warriors, although they had successfully won their challenges and defended earlier, ultimately couldn’t hold on under the repeated battles.
It seems that this guarding rule indeed favors those who challenge later. Unless one has sufficient strength like himself to genuinely defend the stage, it’s best to wait and make a move at the end.
Many had also noticed the details of the guarding rules, waiting for an opportunity and observing the Defenders in secret.
Amidst the waves of challenges, Zuo Lü began to receive challenges again, but she managed to fend them all off.
However, after so many rounds of fighting, she too began to show signs of fatigue.
This was not good news. The challengers below the stage, like wild dogs catching a scent, began to challenge her intensively.
Luckily, Zuo Lü’s Cultivation Technique was exceptional, always managing to defeat her opponents with minimal exhaustion.
So she actually managed to defend against this wave of challenges.
Since the tenth position’s reward was not appealing and the Defender was so strong, challengers began to vanish again.
After this round, it turned out that the top three, Fang Yu, He Bashan, and Yang Chaoyu, were left unchallenged.
"Stable."
Hei Ao clenched his fist and said from below the stage.
Honestly, with his strength, he could have easily secured a ranking somewhere after the fifth position, just like Zuo Lü.
But he chose the third position and encountered Eastern Gate Orchid.
Simply put, it was just bad luck.
If it weren’t for his own backing, this round would have collapsed.
Each person could only challenge the third stage once.
Add to that the formidable strength of the Defender, the number of challengers gradually decreased.
The countdown for the prescribed time of the challenge also began.
If no one could defeat the Defender before the countdown ended, the reward would be secured.
And the closer it got to that time, the more intense the challenges became.
Whether one could withstand this wave would determine the final reward.
Even so, there were still very few who challenged the top three ranks like Fang Yu.
Those willing to challenge such high-intensity opponents had already made their moves earlier.
Those who were now stepping up were only trying their luck with a "let’s give it a shot" mindset.
Unfortunately, the top three were tough nuts to crack, and no one succeeded in the challenge.
Having seen the previous outcomes, naturally, others were not willing to waste their precious challenge opportunity on the strong ones and began launching fierce assaults on the lower-ranked ones.
But Zuo Lü was also excluded from being a target, firstly because the reward wasn’t great, and secondly, Zuo Lü had proved her strength.
The remaining ranking positions began to face attacks, and successively, two more people failed, replaced in the rankings.
What a letdown.
During this period, another, with over six thousand blood count, clearly a demon in human guise, stepped up to challenge.
But as the saying goes, without revealing their true form, a demon cannot unleash their real strength, thus having no chance of taking over the stage.
Indeed, after a dozen exchanges, he defeated the demon and knocked it out of the arena.
Watching the six thousand blood demons and the eight thousand blood demons join forces, Fang Yu slightly furrowed his brow.
Fang Yu was uncertain whether these demons were outsiders or belonged to someone like Lord Lan or Shu Bird Demon from Tianyuan Town.
He wasn’t worried about the temple being washed away in the flood, since he was wearing a mask. If there was any underhanded activity after the competition ended, Fang Yu wouldn’t mind doing some house cleaning.
Anyway, killing demons was not stressful, as it didn’t increase Evil Qi; Fang Yu felt no burden at all.
Boom!!
Accompanied by the drumbeats, the intense battle on the third arena finally came to an end.
"It’s done!"
Before Fang Yu even spoke, Hei Ao beneath the arena became excited.
Clearly, Black Phoenix Blood was very important to him.
"What a pity."
"If only I had acted a bit later!"
"I didn’t expect this competition to be so brutal. Even Eastern Gate Orchid from the White Lotus Sect failed to win a ranking reward."
"That’s because she chose the wrong opponent. If she hadn’t faced Red Bull, with her strength, she should’ve had a place in this arena competition."
"Definitely, the top three in this competition are simply monsters. Even the fourth place was knocked out of the arena by a challenger at the end. Strangely, ever since the top three solidified their positions, no one else has managed to replace them."
"The one in tenth place is not simple either. It seems she’s associated with Hei Long and Red Bull, securing the tenth place early on and remaining undefeated until the end. I even suspect that her strength could be above Red Bull!"
The crowd was buzzing with discussion about the result of the arena rankings, focusing mainly on the top three, including Fang Yu.
Lu Lv was also mentioned in the discussions, but when it came to true significance, the top three were more topical.
Among them, Yang Chaoyu, who emerged as the first, spurred a lot of speculation, but it seemed that no one knew where she came from.
If Fang Yu hadn’t confirmed that she was indeed a two thousand blood martial artist and genuinely strong, he would have suspected some demon trickery.
However, she seemed to be closely related to the eight thousand blood demon below the stage. It was uncertain what was going on.
Adopting the mindset that less is more, Fang Yu didn’t bother to delve deeper. After grabbing his reward, he quickly withdrew.
With so many martial artists gathered, staying after receiving a reward was asking for trouble.
He wasn’t worried about being ambushed or such; he was more concerned about accidentally killing someone.
Currently, his Evil Qi was in a delicate state; he couldn’t kill people at will, but if ambushed or attacked, he would have to fight back.
Once he did act, it was hard for Fang Yu to guarantee he could show restraint and not kill anyone.
"Good fellow, I knew you could do it!"
At this moment, Hei Ao ran up to the platform and punched Fang Yu in the chest, his face full of excitement.
After all, Fang Yu’s prize indirectly meant a win for him, so of course he was thrilled.
Previously, he had kept silent about his own suggestions, saying things like ’I don’t need it’ and ’A true strongman must seize what he desires with his own strength.’
Now, all those words had been forgotten.
Fang Yu didn’t bring it up either, fearing that Hei Ao might get angry out of embarrassment and refuse the reward, thereby pouring water on his own chances for the Talisman of Malevolence Dispelling.
Tap tap tap.
Just then, the crowd naturally split into two rows, making way for someone.
It was the spokesperson for the organizers.
[Li Chunyan: 1000/1000.]
This person had several others following him, with plates covered in red cloth in their hands, likely the arena rewards.
The people behind Li Chunyan were of average strength, only five to six hundred blood in capability; Fang Yu spared them only a glance before losing interest.
Others were focusing their attention on the red cloth-covered plates.
Greedy eyes cast their glances.
If it weren’t for concerns, Fang Yu was sure someone would risk it all and attempt to snatch the rewards.
But... the ten on the stage were proven to have fought their way out of many. Who would dare to act rashly?
Now, anyone who dared to snatch the rewards would be immediately obliterated.
"Congratulations to Miss Yang for winning first place. Here is the reward for ranking number one in the arena competition — the Spiritual Eye Pupil Technique Secret Manual, and the Bonfire Gathering Alliance Leader Command Token. With this token, you are our Bonfire Gathering Alliance Hierarch, authorized to command the masses."