In addition, Li Xuan had also discovered quite a few powerful presences scattered around.
Though some individuals showed no discernible aura fluctuations, their mere presence was enough to attest to their strength. The gazes of those on the periphery, directed at these figures, were filled not only with envy but also with deep reverence.
As the sun climbed high, a middle-aged man slowly emerged from the ten figures standing on the grand platform. He was clad in a purple-gold and crimson robe, with thick eyebrows and large eyes. His bearing exuded an air of authority as he walked. Li Xuan took a careful look and noticed that this man bore a slight resemblance to Li Mingkai.
"Welcome, everyone, to the Heavenly Extremity Divine Ranking Tournament. I am Li Tieyi, the Patriarch of the Li family. This tournament will be hosted by our Li family here in Danyang City. I also express my gratitude to all the Patriarchs for gracing us with your presence to witness the selection of the fifty-six heroes for the Heavenly Extremity Divine Ranking!"
With that, the middle-aged man waved his hand. A beam of light shot into the sky.
Li Xuan's gaze immediately shifted upwards. As the beam of light appeared, the details of the tournament's format materialized on a luminous screen.
Li Xuan glanced at it, feeling a touch of surprise. This was his first time seeing the competition format for the Heavenly Extremity Divine Ranking.
The Heavenly Extremity Divine Ranking was divided into four stages. All eligible participants would compete together.
The competition would consist of trials of physical body, spiritual soul, spiritual energy, and actual combat.
After these four stages, the top one hundred participants with the highest scores would proceed to the finals. The details of the finals were not displayed on the screen. However, Li Xuan sensed that the final round would undoubtedly be more intense.
"According to this competition format, four hundred contestants will advance to the finals. Selecting fifty-six from four hundred is a rather low ratio."
Li Xuan surveyed the Luoyang Square, where the crowd now numbered over a hundred thousand.
To select four hundred people from over a hundred thousand for the finals was no small feat. Furthermore, judging by these four stages, the spiritual masters of the Hun Tian Continent likely cultivated their powers to a considerable degree.
However, Li Xuan did not find any of these four stages particularly challenging. Whether it was the spiritual soul, the physical body, or even combat, Li Xuan felt no apprehension. On the contrary, he possessed strong confidence in his own abilities.
"Now, we will proceed to the first stage of the trial: the physical body trial! The physical body trial, as its name suggests, will examine the extent of your physical body cultivation. All registered contestants, please take out your registration tokens!"
Li Tieyi looked out at the crowd in Luoyang Square and shouted loudly.
As soon as his voice faded, the screen in the sky directly shot out countless red dots. Beams of light descended, instantly enveloping the contestants who produced their tokens and drawing them into the sky, causing them to vanish.
*Hum.*
With a humming sound, Li Xuan's vision was filled with blinding light. As his eyes gradually adjusted, the figures of various contestants appeared around him.
Li Xuan observed that the intensity of light in this space was overwhelmingly strong; he couldn't see its end. The ground was extremely flat.
However, the space itself was an almost unbearable stark white. Had the weakest individuals present not possessed the strength of the Tianmo realm, the very environment alone would have been difficult to endure.
Soon, as flashes of light appeared, Li Xuan felt a sealing force descend upon him. In an instant, he realized that his spiritual energy was rendered unusable. After a slight moment of alarm, Li Xuan noticed that everyone else in the vicinity also showed signs of surprise, and then understanding dawned.
It seemed that all the contestants present had their spiritual energy sealed. Such a competition was indeed interesting.
"The first trial is the physical body trial. The space you currently occupy is called the Lu Li space. Your spiritual energy is completely sealed, leaving you to rely solely on the strength of your physical bodies. How long you can endure in this Lu Li space will depend on your mastery of physical body cultivation. If you cannot endure, you may choose to forfeit by using your token. The trial now begins!"
As Li Tieyi's voice rang out, the faces of all the contestants in the Lu Li space turned serious. Although many spiritual masters cultivated their physical bodies to some degree after entering the Tianmo realm,
few were able to dedicate significant effort to physical body cultivation with advanced techniques. The current physical body trial was undoubtedly a severe challenge for everyone.
However, Li Xuan also noticed that some contestants appeared extremely relaxed, with even a hint of concealed joy in their eyes. Their expressions suggested they had immense confidence in their physical body cultivation.
*Hum!*
Ten breaths of time passed, and a humming sound resonated again. Li Xuan's mind stirred, and he felt an invisible force bearing down upon him. This force was like a mountain pressing down, gradually instilling a sense of dread.
"I didn't expect the physical body trial to stimulate each contestant's physical defenses through external force. It appears that the longer one persists, the stronger the pressure becomes. The longer one can hold on, the more their physical strength will be revealed."
Feeling this, Li Xuan immediately understood.
While physical body trials could take many forms, the conclusions drawn might vary. However, this invisible pressure was undoubtedly the most effective method.
Under pressure, resisting solely with the strength of the physical body would naturally reveal a person's control over their physical power in all aspects. The higher one's physical body mastery, the greater the pressure they could withstand, and thus the longer they could last.
As the force gradually increased, Li Xuan, like the others, began to sit down cross-legged. The progressively strengthening force enveloped every inch of his body like waves from all directions, suppressing him.
After a quarter of an hour, Li Xuan began to feel a slight strain. With a thought, he further enhanced his physical defenses.
During this process, contestants in the Lu Li space gradually began to falter. As flashes of spiritual light appeared, the number of contestants in the Lu Li space started to dwindle.
After an hour, the rate of contestants forfeiting accelerated. By this point, even Li Xuan had to utilize nearly sixty percent of his physical body's strength to resist.
"It seems that contestants with weaker physical body cultivation have almost all been eliminated by now. This physical body trial is only truly beginning. The ability to endure longer from this point on will significantly impact one's ranking."
Li Xuan glanced at the remaining individuals in the Lu Li space, noting that their numbers had dwindled to just over six hundred. His gaze became serious. Under the ceaselessly compressing invisible force, Li Xuan could feel his body tightening.
Clearly, the force would continue to intensify. Li Xuan calculated that such a force was likely beyond human manipulation.
At this moment, on the grand platform of Luoyang Square, Li Tieyi and the other nine Patriarchs were all gazing at the screen projected in the sky. Li Xuan and the others still within the Lu Li space were all visible to Li Tieyi and the ten Patriarchs, as well as the spectators in the observation stands.
"To endure an hour under the Lu Li ordering force is quite commendable for these youngsters. Their performance is already very good compared to previous years."
A middle-aged man in a vibrant red robe standing beside Li Tieyi looked at the screen in the sky, his eyes filled with pride.
"Brother Qian is absolutely right. The Lu Li ordering force escalates gradually after the first hour. In previous tournaments, very few contestants managed to endure for more than an hour. I recall the highest number was less than three hundred. This time, with the opening of the Lu Li space, over six hundred have persisted past the one-hour mark. It seems we will have some unexpected discoveries this year."
Li Tieyi nodded with a smile. The Heavenly Extremity Divine Ranking tournament, held every ten years, featured varying competition formats.
In a previous Lu Li space trial decades ago, fewer than three hundred participants had lasted for an hour. That particular instance was considered one of the best performances in the early history of the Lu Li space.
To have over six hundred people endure for an hour again was indeed surprising to Li Tieyi and the others.
Most importantly, among the over six hundred individuals currently in the Lu Li space were the heirs of their ten families. This brought them immense satisfaction.
Although the relationships between the six great clans and the four hidden sects were generally good, there was an underlying sense of competition. Otherwise, they would not have had the heirs of the ten families participate in the Heavenly Extremity Divine Ranking tournament together.
As another quarter of an hour passed, the suppressive force within the Lu Li space grew even stronger. The number of participants remaining had fallen to less than two hundred. Even Li Xuan had to increase his physical defense to seventy percent.
The other contestants in the arena also showed signs of struggle. It was evident that they all knew that failing to endure at this point would be a significant regret.
Furthermore, Li Xuan observed Li Mingkai and the other nine. He noticed that their expressions were grave, their faces pale, indicating they were all nearing their limits.
"It seems the physical body trial will conclude in another quarter of an hour," Li Xuan withdrew his gaze, took a deep breath, and slowly closed his eyes.