After Chu Yang successfully collected ten golden rings and became the seventh person to ascend into the third round, there was only one last slot.
The situation now was very hazy.
This was because cultivators could take golden rings from each other, which meant that no one was guaranteed progression into the next round until the final moment. Even if they did accumulate ten golden rings, they would only progress if they managed to hold them for 15 minutes.
Kang Hai was the best example. In the last moment, he was robbed by Lei Jie. Now, all he could do was to bitterly search for other golden rings.
Zhu Yi's voice resonated to the disciples of the Celestial Sect of Wonders in the Dharma Hall and those in the Central Great Pavilion on Yunfeng Peak, "There are many unforeseen events and no one knows his own fortunes. Other than keeping one's calm during such incidents, one must also practice and cultivate more often."
"For example, look at Kang Hai from the Heavenly Master Sword Sect. His true abilities do not permit him to gather ten golden rings so quickly. However, he has his own forte, which is his fast teleportation speed. Hence, in the right circumstances, he was able to benefit from the conflict of others."
"However, his true abilities are still lacking. Hence, once his speed advantage is gone, particularly after he met Lei Jie who outclassed him in both speed and battling abilities, he has no choice but to surrender his golden rings."
Xiao Yan smiled and said, "To forge metal, one must be strong. If not, you can only enjoy a temporary advantage before inevitably meeting obstructions."
The disciples of the Celestial Sect of Wonders nodded their heads to show that they had understood.
After Xiao Yan and Zhu Yi were done with their lecture, Yang Qing, who was by their side, smiled and said, "However, Lei Jie is truly extraordinary. While Kang Hai's speed provides him with his advantage, his abilities are not particularly bad either. He was able to compete with Song Qingyuan of the Heaven Lake Sect and Gu Lei of the Purple Clouds Sect in Spiritual Conference of Huanghai."
Yue Hongyan nodded her head too and smiled, "Lei Jie is truly extraordinary. I believe that his Nine Qi True Thunder Form is the most powerful thunder-type spell there is."
Zhu Yi said, "Not only does this person possess strong innate abilities, he is extraordinary in other aspects too. While his progress was affected earlier, he still has a good chance of progressing."
Luo Qingwu smiled and said, "Senior Zhu Yi, who do you think will be the last person to progress?"
"Yin Luozha, Huang Zhenting, Murong Yanran, Wanqiu, Luo He, these are the five people I have in mind," Zhu Yi smiled slightly. "Initially, I thought Yin Luozha will get in for sure. However, one cannot predict anything and hence, we can only see their luck right now."
"Shi Jingyun of the Great Qin Empire had a good chance earlier on. However, after that encounter, she lost all her golden rings. It may be very difficult for her."
Luo Qingwu and the rest nodded their head in agreement. They saw that the different people appeared in the light projection. The numbers above their heads were not small, which meant that they possessed many golden rings and hence, occupied the leading few spots.
Huang Zhenting had six golden rings, Yin Luozha had nine golden rings, Murong Yanran had six golden rings, Zhuge Wanqiu had seven golden rings, Luo He of the Purple Clouds Sect had six golden rings. These are the five people who possessed the most golden rings.
However, Huang Zhenting was now in trouble. This was because Shi Jingyun and Shi Shaoqian were eyeing him right now.
After the little princess was ambushed by Fan Xuefeng, and then robbed by Chu Yang, she was in a terribly sour mood. When she saw the young Huang Zhenting, it was as if she had met her mortal enemy. Her eyes turned red with jealousy when she saw the number ‘six’ on Huang Zhenting’s head. Hence, she struck without thinking.
Shi Shaoqian had no beef with Huang Zhenting. However, the six golden rings on Huang Zhenting caught his eye and hence, he decided to strike too.
Huang Zhenting was trapped by them. He realized that both of them had no number above their head and hence, he wanted to ignore them. While he was a child, he knew the importance of achieving good results here.
However, Shi Shaoqian and Shi Jingyun harassed him for quite a long while. He even saw a Qiong Qi escaping from his side. Hence, Huang Zhenting became angry. The three of them started to fight.
In the Grand Heavens Pavilion, Xiao Yan’s gaze turned to Zhu Yi. Zhu Yi smiled bitterly and shook his head, "I think Huang Zhenting can’t make it." If Shi Jingyun and Shi Shaoqian possessed golden rings, then Huang Zhenting could at least gain something if he won. Now, it was a pure waste of time.
If Shi Jingyun and Shi Shaoqian won, they obtained all six of Huang Zhenting’s golden rings. If Huang Zhenting won, he gained nothing.
Other than Huang Zhenting, another disciple of the Celestial Sect of Wonders, Zhuge Wanqiu, was in trouble too.
Zhuge Wanqiu had seven golden rings on her. For others, she was indeed a big fish. Many people surrounded her and tried to attack her.
Faced with three opponents, Zhuge Wanqiu was still able to react decisively and effectively. However, she felt uneasy.
Not far away, a big man dressed in tribal attires stared intently as if he was a wolf watching a prey.
There were wounds on his right shoulder, which were clear evidence that he had just taken part in a big battle. A golden ‘two’ shone above his head, indicating that he had two golden rings on him.
He did not join in the group attack against Zhuge Wanqiu but neither did he render assistance. He appeared to be waiting for Zhuge Wanqiu and her opponents to use up their energy fighting each other.
Zhuge Wanqiu looked at the wound on the man’s shoulder and thought, "This wound appears to be Ying Luozha’s doing…"
The man appeared to have notice Zhuge Wangqiu. He burst out laughing.
Zhuge Wanqiu’s three attackers too noticed this man. They too felt uneasy. The Royal House of the Northern Tribes and the Celestial Sect of Wonders were close allies.
"I’m called Zhuo Lei. You probably don’t recognize me," the big man looked at Zhuge Wanqiu and said with a smile. However, one could detect malevolence in his smile. "It doesn’t matter, as long as you know Ying Luozha."
Zhuge Wanqiu’s heart sank. "Ying Luozha belongs to the same sect as me. Of course I know him."
Zhuo Lei, the big man from the Northern Tribes, laughed coldly, "Your relationship must be closer than just that right? Even if I am blind, I can tell the debt that the filthy slave owes you."
Zhuge Wanqiu’s eyebrows arched tightly. "My fellow Daoist from the Royal House of the Northern Tribes, our two sects have always been close. Saying such words may harm our relations."
Zhuo Lei laughed into the sky, "An escaped slave who killed his own master and then joined the Celestial Sect of Wonders could change his skin? Fat hopes!"
He pointed to Zhuge Wanqiu and smiled cruelly and said, "The filthy slave killed my father. I must make him pay for what he did. You are his s*ut and hence, I shall make a move against you first. In this world, while I can’t do much to either of you, I can at least make you suffer!"
With that, the blood in his body boiled as he rushed towards Zhuge Wanqiu.
Zhuo Lei was stronger than the three attackers combined. Once he joined the brawl, the pressure on Zhuge Wanqiu became immense.
In the Grand Heavens Pavilion, the Royal House Lord of the Northern Tribes looked at Lin Feng. Lin Feng looked back calmly and naturally and waved his hand slightly, "The feuds of the younger generation are best settled by them rather than us. My lord, you have no need to bear this in your heart. Neither will I do so."
In the tiny world, Zhuo Lei’s moves became increasingly vicious as he approached Zhuge Wanqiu.
He was a Martial Way cultivator while Zhuge Wanqiu was a purely spell cultivator. Once he was near her, the situation became extremely unfavorable for her.
Here, a cold black light came slicing forth. Immediately, Zhuo Lei was beaten back.
Zhuo Lei had suffered under the black light and hence, he did not dilly-dally. He retreated immediately. However, one of the other cultivators attacking Zhuge Wanqiu was not so lucky. He did not escape in him and as the black light flashed, it triggered the protective enchantments of the Dharma Hall.
The two remaining attackers were shocked. They sought to retreat but now the choice was no longer theirs. Zhuge Wanqiu, who was in a defensive position before, started to counterattack. Spells after spells came after them, causing them to be unable to escape.
Zhuge Wanqiu was one of the top disciples of the Wasteland Valley. Her cultivation and spells were both outstanding. However, her personality was rather conservative and hence, she was more accustomed to defense than offense. Just now, with Zhuo Lei observing her by the side, she had no confidence of going all-out and hence, took up a more defensive posture.
Now, however, she could attack to her heart’s content. Zhuo Lei was no longer a threat.
Because right now, a dark-skinned young man was flying towards her. It was Ying Luozha.
Ying Luozha looked coldly at Zhuo Lei and said, "Zhuo Lei, look at yourself now. What happened to your pride as a ‘wolf of the prairie’? You escaped from me and now, you are attacking a woman. You can’t even compare to a dog!"
"I don’t even want to kill you now. That will be dirtying my hands!"
Zhuo Lei’s gaze flashed with humiliation and rage. He bellowed furiously, "You master-killing slave! Do you think joining the Celestial Sect of Wonders change anything? A filthy slave shall always be a filthy slave! You killed my father and for that, I will make you pay!"
Ying Luozha could not help but to smile and bared his white teeth, "Correct, I, my father and my mother were all your tribes and your slaves. However, does that mean that I’m a slave by birth?"
"My entire family were originally herders. We joined your tribe to escape a famine. However, you forced us into slavery. Because you started cultivating under our lord’s banner, no one dared to intervene," Ying Luozha said as his gaze turned colder. "I killed your father. However, had he not whipped my mother and father to death, I would have just escaped rather than stabbing him."
Ying Luozha stretched his arms wide open as if he wanted to hug the sky and said, "I like my master and my sect because they made me into who I am today. However, I like them not only because they had given me so much, but also because I just happen to like it here!"
"In particular, I like one rule," roared Ying Luozha, "Whoever owes me anything must repay me! If you do not repay me, I’ll beat you till you return me!"
Ying Luozha pointed at Zhuo Lei and said, "Strictly speaking, your family still owes me one life. I only killed the main culprit and I shall not go after other members of your family. That was why I did not return to the plains to massacre the lot of you after I had joined the Celestial Sect of Wonders. However, today, you brought this disaster upon yourself. Do you really think you can escape a second time?"
"The Dharma Hall can save your life, but that’s all it can save!"
With that, Ying Luozha rushed towards Zhuo Lei. In an instant, he was before Zhuo Lei.
Earlier on, Zhuo Lei was able to escape from Ying Luozha. However, now that he was wounded, he could no longer flee from Ying Luozha.
In the Grand Heavens Pavilion, Luo Qingwu looked at the scene and shook her head, "This person is truly vile, but is he crazy? Not only did he dare to do this on our territory, but there’s no way he could hurt Ying Luozha or Wanqiu in the Dharma Hall."
"If he bears a grudge, he should find another chance. Doing it now will only expose his identity."
Zhu Yi looked at the light projection and telepathically communicated to Luo Qingwu, "Junior, don’t be angsty."
"Oh?" Luo Qingwu looked at Zhu Yi and her eyes went back to the light projection as she carefully observed the developments within.