Chapter 1 The Beginning
On Wenting Plaza, all the participants who passed the first stage appeared.
Li Xuan glanced around. There were less than 100,000 participants on Wenting Plaza. He hadn't expected that the first round of elimination would have eliminated a full 400,000 people.
"It's truly cruel," Li Xuan remarked with emotion, but he then relaxed when he considered that only one hundred people could be on the Five Regions Heavenly Pride Ranking. Even with nearly 100,000 remaining, ninety-nine percent would ultimately be eliminated.
"Young Master Li Xuan, you will definitely make the list!" Yue Fuyao, standing beside him, said with a determined expression.
Li Xuan smiled and nodded at her words, "I haven't denied that."
Yue Caixuan covered her mouth and chuckled, finding Li Xuan truly unacquainted with humility.
"The first stage elimination is over. Although there were some minor accidents, congratulations to everyone for successfully passing," Xuankong's figure appeared in mid-air, and he addressed the crowd.
"Next is the second stage, the promotion match."
"All participants who passed the first stage will enter the Wu Wang Illusionary Realm. Those who successfully emerge from the Wu Wang Illusionary Realm will draw lots to determine their opponents. Those who win two out of three matches will be promoted!"
"A friendly reminder, anyone unable to exit the Wu Wang Illusionary Realm within three hours will be considered to have failed."
As the old man Xuankong's voice fell, all the participants who had passed the first stage were stunned.
This second stage seemed several times more difficult than the first. Although the first stage was long, in essence, one only needed to hide well and survive for a month to pass.
Now, the second stage not only required passing the test of the Wu Wang Illusionary Realm but also drawing lots to battle against other qualified participants. Furthermore, it wasn't just one match, but a best-of-three to successfully advance.
It could be said that this second stage was exceedingly difficult.
"Wu Wang Illusionary Realm, activate!"
With a wave of his hand, the old man in the sky enveloped all the participants on Wenting Plaza in a spiritual light. In the next instant, they all vanished.
"This is..."
Looking at the illusionary realm before him, Li Xuan's mind was exceptionally clear. Even when Li Yao appeared before him, Li Xuan's expression did not change in the slightest.
"Brother, what's wrong?" 'Li Yao' walked up to Li Xuan and asked, tilting his head.
Li Xuan sighed helplessly at her words, then directly drew his Soul Shocking sword and slashed down.
To 'Li Yao's' astonished gaze, the illusionary realm shattered. In the next moment, Li Xuan's figure reappeared on Wenting Plaza.
"Li Xuan, he actually broke through the Wu Wang Illusionary Realm first!" Xuan Ye remarked with some surprise as he looked at Li Xuan.
"This kid is a Sword Dao Grandmaster, and his sword heart is pure. These illusions are useless against him," Zi Rulai, standing beside him, said.
Zi Rulai did not know that Li Xuan's sword heart had already reached the stage of enlightenment. Such illusions were incapable of shaking Li Xuan's sword heart.
"The first one?" Li Xuan glanced around, then sat down cross-legged to wait.
As time passed, it took a full half-hour before the second figure appeared. Subsequently, more and more figures emerged. Some participants had pale complexions, clearly having suffered some backlash within the Wu Wang Illusionary Realm. Taking advantage of this time, they all sat down cross-legged to recuperate.
After all, the subsequent matches would be decided by drawing lots, and failure to be in peak condition would jeopardize their advancement.
Two hours passed, and more and more participants filled Wenting Plaza. The time for the end was drawing near. Li Xuan also opened his eyes and looked around. Seeing Jian Chi Liu Jiaqi and Zhou Wenjin among others, his face showed a smile.
"Strange, Miss Fuyao doesn't seem to be out yet." Li Xuan's expression suddenly froze, as he didn't see Yue Fuyao beside Yue Caixuan. At this moment, Yue Caixuan also looked worried, clearly concerned for Yue Fuyao.
Whoosh!
At this moment, a graceful figure fell from the void. This person was Yue Fuyao. Seeing this, Li Xuan immediately moved and caught Yue Fuyao, landing her gently. Upon landing, Li Xuan noticed that there were tear stains at the corners of Yue Fuyao's eyes.
"Miss Fuyao, are you alright?" For some reason, Li Xuan's heart ached inexplicably upon seeing Yue Fuyao cry, and he quickly asked. At the same time, Yue Caixuan quickly came to their side. Seeing Yue Fuyao in Li Xuan's arms, she remained silent.
"Young Master Li Xuan, is it really you?" Yue Fuyao seemed to have regained her senses. Seeing Li Xuan's face at such close range, she directly hugged Li Xuan tightly.
Li Xuan was stunned.
Yue Caixuan was stunned.
The crowd around them was even more stunned.
What in the world was happening? A spontaneous embrace?
"Li Xuan is quite fortunate," someone in the crowd remarked.
"Isn't that Yue Fuyao, the Saintess of the Sheng Yue Sect from the Southern Domain? I didn't expect her to know Li Xuan. And judging by the looks of it, their relationship is probably not shallow."
"A beautiful woman matched with a hero. These two are indeed a perfect match."
"..."
The crowd buzzed with discussion. Yue Fuyao naturally heard them. Her ears immediately turned red, and she felt awkward continuing to hug Li Xuan.
"A grown woman's heart is hard to keep," a middle-aged woman in the Sheng Yue Sect's area sighed with a complicated expression, looking at Li Xuan and Yue Fuyao.
"Young Master Li Xuan, I apologize. I was too presumptuous," Yue Fuyao said, her face flushed.
Li Xuan smiled helplessly and shook his head, then said, "It's fine, as long as Miss Fuyao stops crying."
"Alright, junior sister, go and recuperate quickly," Yue Caixuan said, taking Yue Fuyao's hand and leading her away.
At this point, everyone finally withdrew their gazes. Li Xuan did not notice that not far away, Zhou Wenjin, Zhou Wenshu, and Liu Jiaqi, the three women, looked at Yue Fuyao thoughtfully before withdrawing their gazes.
Of course, at the edge of Wenting Plaza, Zhuang Qinggao's eyes were extremely gloomy. Especially when he saw Yue Fuyao actively embrace Li Xuan, his fists clenched so tightly that they creaked.
"Time's up, Wu Wang Illusionary Realm assessment concluded!"
After another quarter of an hour passed, Xuankong's figure reappeared in mid-air. As Xuankong spoke, figures began to fall from the sky. These participants had all failed the Wu Wang Illusionary Realm assessment.
Li Xuan glanced at the people on Wenting Plaza. There were now only a little over 60,000 people remaining. The great sieve, an eternal law.
"You all have a quarter of an hour to rest and recover, after which the draw for matches will commence. In this promotion match, only 10,000 participants can successfully advance," Xuankong announced.
The crowd's expressions turned serious. These three matches were the time to showcase their strength. Without being in optimal condition, it would be difficult to advance to the third stage of the ranking matches.
With this thought, everyone closed their eyes to recuperate.
Soon, a quarter of an hour passed. Xuankong's figure slowly appeared.
"Draw challenge, commencing now!"