The masked man's advancement ended the competition of this round.
After the selection process was done, the top twelve were the most powerful among the powerful.
Gao Jianli, Yi Shuihan, Mo Kuang, Lu Fei, the Third Prince, and Li Hengjing were geniuses who had been famous since they were very young.
The other three were not well known or on the Eternal Flame List. Although people didn't know anything about them, they had been doing great and become dark horses. There is always someone better than you. From watching them, people understood this saying more.
But of course, the biggest dark horse was definitely the masked man who was going to have a fight to the death with the Third Prince.
Different from the others, the opponents he had defeated were all very powerful, each more powerful than the previous. Some of them were even comparable to the current top twelve, notably, Princess Crimson Moon and Xue Rentian.
The most horrifying fact was that the masked man had only been serious when he fought with Xue Rentian. It was obvious he had been holding back his strength.
He had first caught the attention of the old man in the gray robe, then challenged the Third Prince.
These events were what had made him brilliant and eye-catching.
Everyone was curious to know what his face looked like behind the mask and who on earth this mysterious and powerful person could be!
The top ten sects and schools of the Fire Field felt uneasy for the same reasons.
They were afraid the masked man was from another sect or school. Such an excellent disciple was good enough to give a favorable reputation to his sect and school and overshadow others.
Due to his connection to Chu Luo, he was most probably from the Isle of Sky, so those from the Isle of Sky had received envious and longing looks.
However, the elders of the Isle of Sky didn't know what was going on. They wanted to call Chu Luo over and make her explain everything.
Even some people from the Isle of Sky thought the masked man could be their secret sibling disciple.
At this moment, the emperor declared the rules for the next fights.
The top twelve would continue to have one-on-one fights. Only six of them would advance to the following round, and then three of the top six would advance.
The last three participants would win the places to study at the Sacred Institute.
The old man in the gray robe also declared that although Princess Crimson Moon had lost, she too had been accepted into the Sacred Institute, since she was a rare genius who knew how to be an integral part of nature.
It wasn't difficult to imagine how much money the emperor of the Xia Dynasty had spent in order to buy the spot.
This news was surprising, and it also taught many people a good lesson about the bloody reality of life.
There was no such thing as a free lunch.
"We'll have a break for half a day. The top twelve will be awarded by the Sacred Institute later. You've worked hard today."
The old man in the gray robe stood in the air without any support, overlooking the top twelve in the ring.
Then he waved his hand slightly. Twelve light curtains appeared in empty parts of the square.
When the light curtains disappeared, twelve portals without frames were visible.
They were regular sized, smaller than the portals used for transportation to the Realm of Beasts.
"Go through the doors. For every fifteen minutes you stay inside, your strength will enhance by ten percent. But, it will become more and more difficult the longer you stay there."
The old man didn't mention what was inside. He only smiled mysteriously.
His words excited the crowd, especially the top twelve.
They'd never heard of such wonderful effects. They were amazed by the Sacred Institute's power.
"You'd better get yourselves in your best state before you go in there. Don't rush. After all, we have half a day to do this," the old man reminded them.
The support crew of the top twelve immediately brought them all kinds of panaceas, including breakthrough panaceas.
In comparison, Chu Luo and Meng Feifei were the masked man's only supporters, and it was difficult to say whether the latter was even on his side or not.
"Apprentice brother, I have a breakthrough panacea…" Chu Luo didn't even think about it. She was willing to try her best to help her young lord.
"I have enough panaceas," Jiang Chen interrupted her.
"Apprentice brother, shall we ask the Natural Law School? I'm sure they'll give you their best resources," Chu Luo whispered into his ear so that no one else could hear her.
Jiang Chen glanced at the portals and said, "We don't know what's inside yet. It'll be of no use if we make preparations blindly. I assume the best state he mentioned refers to the our gains from the fights."
It seemed like the Sacred Institute had held such a big competition not only for fairness, but also to arm themselves for the future.
"Otherwise, they wouldn't have given us half a day to rest."
Jiang Chen was sure of himself, so he only took some Revival Elixirs and found a place to sit down.
The others had been enlightened by Jiang Chen. They also calmed and found places to sit down to adjust their breaths and condense what they had learned from the fights.
The spectators also started to relax. The groups on the flying ships prepared tea and snacks to enjoy.
"So, the more powerful rivals you've confronted, the more benefits you will receive."
After discussing and analyzing what the old man had said, the spectators looked towards the masked man at almost the same time.
He was, no doubt, the one who had confronted the most difficult enemies.
People thought he had been unlucky, but it seemed he could benefit from his perceived misfortunes.
"Hey! I think you've had enough rest. Go through the door."
Suddenly the Third Prince's impatient voice sounded.
It was because Gao Jianli had been too lucky to run into any difficult rivals, so of course, he had nothing to work on.
He was hesitating before a portal when he caught the Third Prince's attention.
No one knew what was in the door. If someone else went inside first, that would be the best way to tell.
That was why Gao Jianli was hesitant. He didn't want to be the first.
Urged by the Third Prince, he felt like he had to go inside.
As soon as he made contact with the portal, he was sucked in.
Many people, including Jiang Chen, looked towards the portal he had gone in, wondering what would happen to Gao Jianli after leaving. Some people were even timing him.
His strength would see a ten percent improvement for every fifteen minutes he was inside. Many people were curious about such a wonderful effect.
Gao Jianli walked out of the portal about ten minutes later. At the same time, the portal disappeared.
No one cared about the portal. Everyone was gazing at Gao Jianli.
They were surprised to see Gao Jianli looking like he was still ready to fight. The energy of his sword was aggressive, and he was gasping for air. His chest heaved up and down rapidly.
His master and the elders of his sect hurried to go stabilize him.
"Master, I've mastered the first special movement of The Sword Method of the Holy Spirit," Gao Jianli said. He looked helpless instead of joyful.
Without waiting for his master's response, he said, "I could have mastered all three of the special movements. It's a pity that…"
He didn't continue, but everyone could see how regretful and reluctant he was and how he had been stunned by the portal.
"What's in there?" the Third Prince said impatiently.
"You'll know when you go in," Gao Jianli said.
"You—!"
The Third Prince flew into a rage. These guys couldn't be so rude to him!
The masked man, who had shaken his reputation, was the cause of everything.
"Let's wait and see. I'll tear you to pieces!"