People from all nine states felt rather lethargic. The next hundred or so battles would be easier to deal with. After all, all who remained after a round of battles were already elites, and it would have been easier to fight the remaining mighty ones of the Eastern State who were not students of sacred grounds. Those fights were done one-on-one instead of as a free-for-all between nine participants until there was a last man standing, which would have been easier than the battles before. As such, the next hundred or so battles would have been comparatively easy. However, the selection rounds for making it to the top hundred after that would have been rather stressful.
"Those of the Eastern State who have not fought before, begin challenging cultivators who you think should be eliminated," the elder at the edge of the forum stage announced.
Mighty ones from all corners looked at the remaining hundred or so from the Eastern State, and many wore plain smiles on their faces. It was obvious that they were not all that concerned.
A silhouette was seen walking out slowly then. Many froze at the sight of that silhouette walking out of the crowd and began to look rather troubled. While all of them had seen her before, it still felt very weird to see her getting on the stage in person.
The one who walked out was none other than that girl at the bottom of Xihua Sacred Mountain. She looked rather childish still, and it seemed that she had washed her face before participating in the Nine State Forum, looking a lot cleaner. She had a fair complexion and she tied her hair in a ponytail, making her look rather adorable.
"It's that little girl." Many at the grandstands gasped at the sight of her. So she is the first one to come out then. While she sounded the Law Bell that day, how can a girl like her, who's still in her teens, fight any of the geniuses from sacred grounds here?
"Yaya, go beat them up," an old man from the crowd shouted loudly. Many looked at the old man with disgust. That old fart is actually shouting at the grandstand of the Nine State Forum? Is he a barbarian or something?
The little girl seemed to have heard the old man's shout, and she looked up in that direction, wearing a serious expression as she nodded and said, "Will do, village chief." She then turned her eyes at the mighty ones from the other eight states, tilting her head and said, "Now who among you will come out and face me?"
Many great figures at the grandstands could not help but smile at the little girl's antics. What a girl indeed…
"How did she pass the selections and make it to the Nine State Forum?" someone asked people sitting beside them, curiously, wondering if the little girl had what it took to kick the others off the stage.
The three saints of Xihua Sacred Mountain all wore peculiar expressions. A 15-year-old girl having developed power of rules, and then, there was that village chief.
Does someone like that really exist in the Eastern State?
There was no answer from the participants of the other eight states. It would have been a good victory beating up and bullying such a little girl, but if they were to lose against her, the shame would be too unbearable.
Ye Futian looked at her, feeling rather amused. Many looked down on that little girl just like how they looked down on the Barren State. It was a common pattern of thought among many. She was just a young girl, after all. At her age, even if she had begun training when she was still in the womb, her strength would have been limited, just like how every one of the nine states thought that the Barren State was definitely the weakest. However, he deemed that the little girl was not someone to be trifled with. She was someone who was aware that he was looking into her details using Freedom Meditation. Her perception was like none other.
Or rather, to put it more aptly, she has some kind of innate special ability.
The little girl looked around the crowd after seeing no one answering her call and laid her eyes on one person. She pointed at them and said, "Well, I'll take you then."
The one whom she had pointed at was a mighty one from Daluo Sacred Mountain of Feng State. Furthermore, they were a top genius from Daluo Sacred Mountain who had developed matured rules and was tremendously powerful.
"What is that girl…" Many felt speechless. Is she here to just to play or what? She should have been observing the prior battles closely and remembered who is the weakest. That genius from Daluo Sacred Mountain is certainly not the weakest. That fellow might actually be above average instead.
That mighty one of Daluo Sacred Mountain walked out. His eyes looked sharp like those of an eagle, his nose hook-shaped, and he gave off the feeling of being cold and shrewd, which probably meant that he was an unscrupulous, vile person.
"Why me?" the student from Daluo Sacred Mountain asked the little girl.
"Because you're ugly," the little girl said with a deadpan face.
"…" Many looked at her dumbfounded. That reason that she just uttered made them speechless. Cultivators, especially men, cared little about looks, but it was nonetheless true that out of all who were present there, that person from Daluo Sacred Mountain was indeed the ugliest.
This is why the little girl picked him?
The man narrowed his eyes to a slit and he looked even colder, like he was scheming against her. A brutal smirk was seen in his narrowed eyes, and he said, "So you found that out then. But, little girl, while you aren't all that good-looking yourself, you're still young and your skin looks soft and supple. It's really a pity."
"Can we start now?" The little girl seemed rather bored hearing him talk. He turned around, looking at the elder.
"You may." The elder at the forum stage nodded.
"Little girl, you're way in over your head." The mighty one from Daluo Sacred Mountain slowly rose to the air and hovered right on top of the little girl's head. A terrifying pressure descended in an instant.
"Bury." A cold voice was heard, and the little girl's surroundings seemed to be filled with countless huge boulders. He clenched his fist and the hovering boulders went straight for her in an instant, intending to bury her within. Loud, violent rumbles were heard. The huge boulders mashed at each other with extremely overbearing force. The little girl tilted her head up and took a look. Intensely sharp flashes were seen in her eyes, which looked rather demonic. At that very instant, the surrounding boulders were stopped dead in their tracks, incapable of pressing further, and all of them were evidently repelled by her body.
A stifling noise was heard in the air as more and more boulders appeared. That mighty one from Daluo Sacred Mountain stood high in the air. He moved his hand. All of the huge boulders seemed to be within the control of his hand, and a formless power of rules descended upon them, merging all the boulders into one single piece. They continued pressing on the little girl, intending to crush her.
However, the girl's eyes seemed to look increasingly demonic. Her ponytail swayed in the air and an extremely sharp aura exuded with her body at the center, resisting the power of that pressure.
Boom! A huge rumble was heard as devastating light swept all over the place. All of the surrounding boulders exploded and shattered. The girl was seen shooting for the skies, going straight for the mighty one from Daluo Sacred Mountain at an extreme speed.
The mighty one from Daluo Sacred Mountain frowned a little and sent one terrifying boulder after another crashing down at her, as if throwing barriers of defense at the girl charging at him. However, all that was left in the air around her was sand and rubble as the boulders simply exploded and shattered around her. The mighty one from Daluo Sacred Mountain continued changing patterns. He slapped his hand downward and sent a huge ancient mountain crashing down from the sky. The terrifying power of rules circled above the mountain, making it capable of molding landscapes with sheer force.
Yet, the girl simply charged at the mountain, bursting through it and emerging from the other end at the very next moment. The mountain crumbled, and the little girl was seen appearing right before the mighty one of Daluo Sacred Mountain. She simply hovered there and stared into the eyes of her opponent with her demonic eyes.
"Arrghh…" The mighty one of Daluo Sacred Mountain covered his eyes after a shrill shriek was heard. His screams made many within earshot shudder.
What happened?
"Relax, you aren't going to go blind." The little girl hovered back to the ground, her ponytail swaying as she turned around to leave. The mighty one of Daluo Sacred Mountain moved his hands away and found blood coming out of his eyes. He retained his vision just like the girl said, instead of going blind. It was apparent that his opponent showed mercy, which was a relief to him. However, a sense of fear welled up within his mind.
Is that little girl a devil?
"What just happened?" many said to themselves silently.
Is that an eye spell? They were unable to get a clear look at the little girl's abilities from that battle even when she walked away. However, it was clear that she had beaten that mighty one from Daluo Sacred Mountain.
How did a girl of 15 or so manage to pull off something like that? That little girl surprised everyone right in the first battle.
All the other mighty ones from the other eight states who had let their guard down were alert. It seemed that it was not yet time for them to relax.
The remaining ones from the Eastern State continued challenging afterward. There were victories and defeats on both side, but the Eastern State side lost more than they won. After all, the remaining participants of the eight states had been top geniuses who had made it through the first rounds, which meant that they would not be so easily eliminated.
The mighty ones from the Eastern State who managed to win were usually those who had developed matured rules. They picked on the handful remaining from the eight states who had yet to develop matured rules yet had progressed from the previous great round, beating them.
Yi Xiaoshi had also been challenged later. The fat guy felt exasperated. You look down on me because of my size? As such, he went to defeat his challenger with overwhelming force. Eight from the Barren State remained on the battlefield still.
The battles went on until the remaining hundred or so from the Eastern State had all finished challenging and fighting. However, the round of battles was far from complete. Everyone from all nine states had fought at least once, yet there were still over 300 of them left on the forum stage. More than 200 were required to be eliminated to get the top hundred set.
It was obvious that all who remained were elites, and the great majority of those people had developed matured powers of rules and sounded the Law Bell. A handful were ones whose comprehension of rules were immature yet possessed special talent.
It was a given that the ones from the hosting Eastern State were the most numerous among the remaining 300 or so; there were over 50 of them left. The numbers were followed by Summer State and Qi State, both having over 40 people left. The Barren State still had its eight. None of those from the Barren State were eliminated from the hundred or so battles fought previously, which apparently meant that all of the others were wary of the powers of those from the Barren State.
"The next round of battles will determine who makes it to the top hundred. I wonder how many among Yu Sheng and the others will remain," Ye Futian looked downward and said. He naturally hoped that all eight were able to remain, yet such hopes had a very low chance of happening. All who remained were nothing but elites. In the upcoming selection processes, it would be a clash of titans in every round. It was next to impossible for all eight from the Barren State to make it into top hundred.
The participants from sacred grounds of all nine states looked rather serious. The upcoming battles were the true battles of the Nine State Forum.
"The upcoming battles will be held in the same order as before, beginning with the Eastern State, Summer State, Qi State… the Barren State. Participants are to pick the ones they will challenge on their own. Victors from the challenges are not allowed to continue challenging others or be challenged until all present have fought once," the elder announced. It was to avoid mighty ones from continuously challenging others or having someone being continuously picked on.
"Begin," the elder said. Everyone turned their eyes to the Eastern State's direction at that very moment. A silhouette was seen walking out.
"Huh?" Many wore peculiar expressions on their faces. So he is the one to fight in the first battle?
It was the strongest student of the Xihua Sacred Mountain in this year's Nine State Forum: Hua Yunshu. It was one who was deemed qualified to be among the top ten in this year's Nine State Forum, sporting frightening powers. At that moment, it was he who went making the first move in the selection battles for setting the top hundred.
Hua Yunshu scanned the crowd around him and then stopped where the Barren State was. There were over 300 remaining from all nine states, and all eight from Barren State were still there.
There are too many from the Barren State left. Time to kick some of them out.