Tension hung in the air.
Bai Yongsheng, his expression indifferent, stood amidst the pile of corpses, his gaze cold as he stared at Zhou Yulong and Fan Zheng.
"Is this... your doing?" Zhou Yulong asked, his voice trembling.
"Do you see anyone else here?" Bai Yongsheng said, brushing the blood from his clothes as if it were nothing.
Zhou Yulong frowned, surveying his surroundings. Corpses of people in black robes lay scattered everywhere. Each one had been killed more brutally than the last.
As if doing this every day, Bai Yongsheng began searching the corpses. Finding their point plaques and blue crystals, he smashed them, taking the points for himself.
"1,517 points... Including my 47, my total is 1,564 points." "So, I've already won first place in this stage!" Bai Yongsheng chuckled, and Zhou Yulong and Fan Zhen involuntarily shuddered.
A few minutes later, the corpses of the black-robed men began to glow with a blue light, and then, every single one of them, began to disappear.
"Exactly! They didn't really die... If someone dies in the artificial space, they'll be resurrected in the real world and eliminated from the tournament!" Bai Yongsheng said calmly, sighing with a hint of disappointment.
Having finished his business, Bai Yongsheng headed to the temple to go to bed.
Fan Zheng, afraid he might attack them, tried to get out of there as quickly as possible, but Zhou Yulong refused and followed Bai Yongsheng.
"Hey, should we get out of here? What if that monster wants to devour us!"
Zhou Yulong chuckled and climbed the temple.
"I doubt he'll like us. Besides, he could have killed us long ago if he'd wanted to!" Zhou Yulong said with a slight smile and entered the temple.
Fan Zheng didn't believe him, noticing Zhou Yulong trembling slightly and realizing he was just trying to be tough.
With a sad sigh, Fan Zheng followed them, not wanting to be alone.
Entering, the pair saw Bai Yongsheng lying beneath the window, asleep.
Still remembering Bai Yongsheng's brutality, Fan Zheng and Zhou Yulong agreed to stand guard and make sure Bai Yongsheng didn't attack them while they slept.
***
Then, the first stage of the martial arts tournament proceeded without any problems.
Zhou Yulong and Fan Zheng hunted monsters and fought other people, earning points, while Bai Yunsheng lazily walked behind them, enjoying the natural surroundings. During this entire time, he didn't do anything or kill anyone.
A month later, the first stage ended, and everyone who had advanced was immediately teleported to the real world.
"Congratulations to everyone who advanced to the first stage of the martial arts tournament!" Luo Shengli said with a joyful smile.
The crowd applauded and shouted the names of those who had advanced.
Twenty people entered the arena and collected the participant's plaques.
"Exactly 100 people have advanced in total, the same number as those standing here before us..." Luo Shengli mused and laughed.
"Well then, let's see the top leaders of the challenge!"
A huge formation appeared in the air above the arena, taking the form of a huge monolith and displaying the points earned and their ranking.
List of Martial Arts Tournament Participants:
10th Place: Zhang Yong - 856 points
9th Place: Fan Zheng - 870 points
8th Place: Zhou Yulong - 871 points
7th Place: Xie Yuan - 887 points
6th Place: Xi Dianmu - 900 points
5th Place: Yao Ren - 925 points
4th Place: Li Yuhua - 950 points
3rd Place: Zhu Taihua - 955 points
2nd Place: Yang Zihao - 1,000 points
1st Place: Bai Yongsheng - 1,564 points
"Come on, Bai Yongsheng took first place!?"
"Of all people, why him???"
"Is he headhunting or something?"
Voices of indignation were heard everywhere. It wasn't surprising. In Wujiang, Bai Yunsheng was only known for visiting various brothels and flirting with women behind Lei Jiangxue's back, but he never trained in any martial arts. Therefore, everyone locally considered him a weakling.
"If they had seen what that bastard did on the first day of the test, they would have kept quiet..." Fan Zheng whispered nervously, to which Zhou Yulong nodded.
While the crowd was discussing Bai Yunsheng's lead, Li Yuhua approached him and smiled sweetly.
"Congratulations on first place, Master Bai!" she said softly (to Zhou Yulong's horror). "You deserve it!"
Bai Yunsheng looked at her indifferently and shook his head.
"I was just messing around. Nothing special..." he denied.
"And I think you really deserved first place!" she countered with the same sweet smile.
While they were talking, the screen was showing the tournament's highlights, specifically the top 10 participants, excluding Zhou Yulong, Fan Zheng, and Bai Yongsheng.
"Hmm? Why weren't we shown? And how did they even record those highlights?" Fan Zheng asked, trying to see himself on the screen.
"There are special spirit birds all over the place that broadcast everything they see onto the screen. That's how the audience saw everyone's performance!" Li Yuhua replied sagely.
"Then why aren't we shown on the screen?" Zhou Yulong asked, scratching his head.
"What do you think we've been eating these past few days?" lazily answered Bai Yunsheng and looked off to the side. "I don't particularly like the idea of being watched like some kind of cuckold!"
Everyone was shocked by what he heard and stared at him, gaping.
"SO WE'VE BEEN EATING SPIRIT BIRDS ALL THIS TIME!!! AND I WAS WONDERING WHY THE TASTE SO DISGUSTING!!!" Fan Zheng shouted, clutching his head, getting everyone's attention.
***
While he was yelling at Bai Yunsheng, Lei Jiangxue was sitting at the edge of the VIP room, watching the first round.
"I wonder why they didn't show him..." she asked, frowning at the screen.
"Your husband is quite an interesting man~," Na Lixin addressed her with a sweet smile, waving her fan.
"I know..." Lei Jiangxue ignored him and looked around.
In the VIP room, besides her and Na Lixin, were the heads of major sects, families, cities, and so on.
When the top 10 participants by points were announced, Lei Jiangxue was pleasantly surprised to see her husband take first place.
"Did his training really pay off!? And it's been less than two months since he got his head straight..." she thought to herself, the corners of her lips lifting slightly.
***
After a short break, all the participants returned to the arena, and Luo Shengli announced the start of the second stage.
"So, allow me once again to congratulate you on passing the first stage of the martial arts tournament!" he said, using a voice-amplifying talisman.
"Before we move on to the second stage, please have a moment of attention!" A group of masked men entered the arena again and gave each participant a bracelet.
As soon as Bai Yunsheng put on the bracelet, it turned blue.
"The second stage of the tournament is called the 'Paired Trial.' As the name suggests, you will need to complete it with a partner. The draw is random, and you will be able to find out who your partner is as soon as you step through the portal!" After these words, the masked men formed seals and created a new portal.
"This time, the trial will take place on Mount Wangmei! Unfortunately, this trial will be for real. All wounds incurred will not disappear after the end of this stage, and deaths will be real!"
A formation resembling a screen showed Mount Wangmei.
"Also, the trial is ONLY completed in pairs. Therefore, if one of you loses their bracelet, the other is also eliminated from the tournament!"
"To pass, you must collect both bracelets from at least two pairs!"
The portal expanded, and all participants began to enter.
"I wish you good luck in the second stage of the martial arts tournament!"
Upon passing through the portal, Bai Yunsheng was enveloped in a deep fog, causing him to close his eyes.
As soon as the fog cleared, Bai Yunsheng discovered he was near Mount Wangmei, a location suspiciously similar to the rocky terrain near the volcano from the first stage.
The bracelet on his wrist glowed, and as soon as Bai Yunsheng turned around, he was surprised to see who his test partner was.
"You!?" he said in surprise, looking at the second person...
To be continued...