Among Yan Shouyi's group, excluding Old Jin and the brat Wang Zhilai who had no combat ability, everyone else also drew numbers.
Fortunately, in the first round, there were no situations where their own people fought each other. Everyone's opponents were outsiders.
Interestingly, Zhao Chengxiang of Mount Wudang, who claimed to possess the Dragon-Tiger Secret Script, drew "Shu Yi," meaning that after Yan Shouyi finished his match, it would be Zhao Chengxiang's turn to compete.
During the preparation phase, Long Feicheng craned his neck, searching.
"Everyone, help me look and see who has the other Dragon Ding number plate! Before we go on stage, I'll go give that kid some medicine!"
Zhao Yiyao scoffed, "Aren't you too insidious?"
"What do you know? Sun Tzu's Art of War says, 'The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.'"
"Is that how you interpret 'the supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting'?" Zhao Yiyao momentarily doubted herself, wondering if her understanding of Sun Tzu's Art of War had been different before.
Old Jin chuckled, "I have laxatives here, colorless and odorless, and incredibly potent. Even if you gave it to the Old Heavenly Master, he wouldn't be able to withstand it!"
"Alright, you two. If the Old Heavenly Master finds out about this, I'm afraid you two won't be able to handle it." Yan Shouyi warned them against doing such a thing, suspecting that these two, with their peculiar nature, were truly capable of such acts!
Old Jin nudged Yan Shouyi with his elbow and whispered,
"Seriously, why don't I go give Zhao Chengxiang some? Look at his smug face, he's just asking for it!"
"Exactly!" Even Wang Jizu couldn't stand it anymore and supported Old Jin.
Zhao Chengxiang was currently riding high, with many female disciples participating in the competition sending him flirtatious glances. Even the female disciples from Mount Emei were blushing at the sight of Zhao Chengxiang, which was unbearable for the single dogs in Yan Shouyi's group!
Before we even made a move, some show-off stole the limelight. How could we tolerate that?!
Yan Shouyi smiled, "Instead of giving medicine to a fake, it would be better to give it to those two true possessors of the Dragon-Tiger Secret Script. Speaking of which, although the Old Heavenly Master announced that Dragon Tiger Mountain has two possessors of the Dragon-Tiger Secret Script, he didn't reveal their identities. It seems he doesn't want his disciples to be targeted."
Both inside and outside Dragon Tiger Mountain, there were many who did not want Dragon Tiger Mountain's own disciples to become the next Heavenly Master. Therefore, once the identities of those two were revealed, they would undoubtedly face a siege from everyone.
This was also why Yan Shouyi initially didn't want to reveal his identity. If it weren't for opposing the Old Heavenly Master, he probably would have spoken up only at the last moment.
After a period of preparation by the Dragon Tiger Mountain side, the Ten Thousand Dharma Altar was cleared.
Everyone retreated outside the altar, blocked by a cordon line. Every ten meters, a seasoned Dragon Tiger Mountain disciple stood guard to prevent anyone from entering the Ten Thousand Dharma Altar.
The competition arena was located within the Ten Thousand Dharma Altar.
The Old Heavenly Master and the Grand Elder Zhang Sishui were nowhere to be seen. The Second Elder of Dragon Tiger Mountain walked into the Ten Thousand Dharma Altar and announced the competition rules to everyone:
"First, the competition arena is limited to the Ten Thousand Dharma Altar. Anyone who falls to the ground for more than three seconds, or leaves the competition area, will be considered to have conceded!"
"Second, no magic treasures or hidden weapons are allowed in the competition, unless it is for special sects that rely solely on external strength for cultivation!"
"Third, malicious incidents are not allowed during the competition. Please stop when you have made your point, and compete through Dao..."
"Fourth, during the competition..."
"..."
"Finally, due to the large number of participants, this round of competition will divide the Ten Thousand Dharma Altar into four areas. Two disciples per area, with four areas competing simultaneously. The winner will remain on the stage and immediately proceed to the second round of four-person battles. Only the disciples who stand until the end can advance!"
After the last rule was announced, everyone calculated in their minds.
Good heavens, this first round of competition would filter out seven-eighths of the participating disciples!
Of the remaining one-eighth, there would be only thirty-two people. With thirty-two people fighting each other, it would only take five more rounds of competition to determine the first place.
Upon closer thought, it was reasonable. The Luo Tian Grand Ceremony only lasted about three days. If it were to proceed with two-by-two duels, it might take a week to finish.
Moreover, the participating disciples were all mortal. They couldn't withstand high-intensity consecutive battles. Otherwise, by the end, even if they didn't die from an opponent's mistake, they would have exhausted themselves first...
This didn't even account for some disciples who might get injured during the competition, and even if they advanced, they wouldn't have the strength for the next match.
Therefore, Yan Shouyi guessed that the participants who had a chance to reach the finals would most likely try to conceal their strength, avoiding a fight if possible, and ideally achieving what Long Feicheng had said, "subdue the enemy without fighting."
Everyone tidied themselves up. The Second Elder came onto the stage again and announced loudly, "The 'Shu' character, Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, a total of eight participating disciples, please come to the Ten Thousand Dharma Altar!"
"Brother Yan, go for it!" Everyone became excited.
But then they remembered that Yan Shouyi's opponent was Zhu Feifeng, and a sense of awkwardness immediately arose. Agong and He Xiping stepped forward and also encouraged Zhu Feifeng.
Zhu Feifeng was very self-aware. He said with a wry smile, "There are only about two hundred participants in the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony. The rest are filled by us new disciples who have only recently joined. To be frank, I knew from the beginning that I was just cannon fodder. However, being able to spar with someone like Mr. Yan means I have no regrets. You don't need to comfort me, I'm going up!"
After speaking, Zhu Feifeng rushed onto the Ten Thousand Dharma Altar.
Seeing Zhu Feifeng's positive attitude, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. In truth, they all wanted to be friends with Zhu Feifeng. Friends wouldn't let each other be sad easily.
Yan Shouyi also clasped his hands to everyone and walked onto the Ten Thousand Dharma Altar, standing in the same competition area as Zhu Feifeng.
The other six participating disciples also came onto the stage, full of confidence, ready to showcase their skills and gain more attention in this highly anticipated first match.
"Hey, isn't that the guy who impersonated the possessor of the Dragon-Tiger Secret Script earlier?!"
"It really is that kid, the inheritor of the Lu Ban sect from the common folk, named Yan Shouyi, right?"
"This kid is actually going up first! Now there's a good show to watch. His opponent seems to be a disciple of Dragon Tiger Mountain. I hope they beat Yan Shouyi soundly!"
"Exactly! A mere common sect dares to participate in the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony. As Grand Elder Zhang Sishui said, the genuine cannot be faked, and the fake cannot become real!"
"Boo! Get off the stage!!"
The loud jeers from the audience all fell into Yan Shouyi's ears. Even Long Feicheng and the others in the audience seats were gnashing their teeth in anger, but Yan Shouyi felt nothing.
He had a plan for this first round.
A bold and interesting plan!
The Second Elder reminded them again, "Remember, the competition is to stop when one concedes. Anyone who attacks after the opponent has surrendered will be automatically considered to have committed a foul and be disqualified!"
"Have you all remembered? Then, the competition begins!"
With the sound of a gong, the competition officially started. Except for Yan Shouyi and Zhu Feifeng, all the participating disciples went all out.
The other three arenas were engaging in back-and-forth battles, with the audience cheering continuously. Only the area of Yan Shouyi and Zhu Feifeng was unusually quiet. Spectators near them could even hear each other's breathing.
Finally, someone couldn't help but shout, "Hey! Yan Shouyi, are you guys still fighting?! If you're not fighting, get down and stop wasting everyone's time!"
Yan Shouyi paid no mind to the "small fish and shrimp" below, and instead said to Zhu Feifeng, "Daoist Zhu, make your move. Use your full strength, don't worry about hurting me!"
Zhu Feifeng was well aware of Yan Shouyi's strength and didn't believe he could harm Yan Shouyi, so he clenched his fist and said,
"Mr. Yan, then I shall offend you! Please be careful yourself!"
Saying this, Zhu Feifeng raised his fist and muttered something.
He was chanting the Golden Light Incantation!
A faint golden light enveloped Zhu Feifeng's fist. The golden light was very rough, and even incomplete, looking as if it might collapse at any moment.
The audience was greatly disappointed. They had thought Zhu Feifeng was some formidable character, but it turned out he was just a young Daoist who hadn't even mastered the Golden Light Incantation.
Such a young Daoist was practically powerless in their eyes. They might even fall over with a gust of wind, without needing to make a move themselves.
The audience, who had hoped to see Yan Shouyi get beaten up, was instantly immensely disappointed. They thought that no matter how incompetent Yan Shouyi was, he shouldn't be unable to defeat this little rookie, right?
"Mr. Yan, take this!!"
Zhu Feifeng rushed to Yan Shouyi and threw a punch towards Yan Shouyi's chest.
A scene that no one expected occurred.
Yan Shouyi's reaction was incredibly slow. His entire movement was delayed by several beats. By the time Zhu Feifeng's fist landed on Yan Shouyi's chest, he only remembered to defend himself.
And it was too late. Zhu Feifeng's fist landed squarely on Yan Shouyi's chest, making a muffled thud.
Following that, Yan Shouyi convulsed and fell to the ground, unable to get up!
"What's going on?!"
Everyone was stunned.
Zhu Feifeng immediately crouched down and shook Yan Shouyi's shoulder, "Mr. Yan, are you alright?! Why didn't you even defend yourself?!"
He was utterly perplexed. How could his meager skills possibly harm Yan Shouyi?
Let alone knock Yan Shouyi out with one punch!
Long Feicheng and the others were even more dumbfounded, "What's wrong with Brother Yan? Did Zhu Feifeng drug Brother Yan? No, that's not right! Zhu Feifeng doesn't seem like that kind of person!"
The audience was also dumbfounded:
"No way, is Yan Shouyi really that weak?"
"I said common sects aren't qualified to participate in the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony, right? Hmph, with their level, they should cultivate for another thousand years!"
"But I feel like something is off. Even an ordinary person on stage wouldn't be knocked out by that little Daoist's punch, right?"
"Could it be that Yan Shouyi made a private bet and is throwing the match??" Da Feng Fiction Network
"Holy crap, now that you mention it, it really is possible!"
Meanwhile, among the Yan family and the Han Shan Temple's higher-ups, they couldn't help but complain, "Didn't you say Yan Shouyi was very capable? How can he not even withstand a punch from that little Daoist?"
Yan Nanfei was scratching his head so hard his hair was almost gone, not knowing how to explain.
Except for Yan Shouyi, no one knew what he was trying to do!