Chapter 442: Ascending the Stage and Participating in Battle
Translator: _Dark_Angel_ Editor: Kurisu
The rules changed.
To come up onto the tournament stage, one had to first pay ten thousand Origin Crystals. If one could attain ten consecutive wins, then the Origin Crystals would be refunded, and he would also qualify to take part in the next round. In addition, if one could manage to stand for a whole hour on the stage, that could also be considered equivalent to ten consecutive wins.
This was the qualification battle; it would continue for three days, and the semi-finals would take place three days later. All martial artists that obtained ten consecutive wins would engage in a knockout battle, and the final victor would be the ideal son-in-law of the Jiang Clan.
When he heard that piece of news, Ling Han could not stop his facial muscles from twitching madly as he thought that the Spirit Treasures Pavilion was indeed very well-versed in earning money. They managed to come up with so many tricks for even a Marriage Tournament. First would be the preliminary rounds, followed by the semi-finals. They had practically organized it like it was a second Prodigy Tournament.
However, he had to admit that this was much more attractive than before, and the battles were even fiercer now. Furthermore, both the Jiang Clan and the Spirit Treasures Pavilion could earn a great profit—entrance fees as well as the participation fees would be enough to ensure they made a lot of money.
Those who were short of skill would naturally no longer choose to step up onto the tournament stage. If they did, they'd have to pay ten thousand Origin Crystals, and who would have so much money to splurge? In addition, the preliminary round would only last for three days, so those who had the mind to would naturally not wait until the third day to join the tournament. What if they didn't have enough time?
Powerful cultivators emerged one after another. Yang Jun Hao, Lu Yang, and Yu Kun Lun all made a move. They possessed absolute battle prowess and no one dared to step up to challenge them, which allowed them to successfully qualify for the semi-finals after only standing there for a whole hour.
Ling Han had no intention to act today, because he had yet to change his appearance; he decided to simply watch the excitement.
The first day came to an end. Those with high ranks on the Prodigy Roll all qualified for the next round, and there was a considerable number of well-known characters who also easily passed to the next round. In comparison, these people that had towered on the Prodigy Roll some years ago were even stronger. They had, after all, cultivated a few more years.
Beneath the Flower Blossom Tier, one could not discount the gap of several years.
On the second day, Ling Han changed his appearance to look like Han Lin, then separated from Liu Yu Tong and the others and entered the Great Arena alone. He paid a single Origin Crystal, and enterd the Arena.
"Grandmaster Ling!" A delicate, feminine voice was suddenly heard from behind him.
Ling Han turned around. Pretending to be surprised, he said, "Are you calling me?"
A surprised expression immediately appeared on Ying Hong's beautiful face; this person was actually not Ling Han! She smiled faintly and said, "Apologies, I thought you were someone else." She immediately mumbled, "How could they look so much alike?"
Ling Han sighed. He had only changed his facial appearance and did nothing to his build. Those familiar with him would very easily think that he was Ling Han if they merely looked at his rear view.
It was like that with Ao Feng, and Ying Hong now was the same.
Ling Han arrived at the registration area, drew out ten thousand Origin Crystals, and recited his personal data. "Han Lin, twenty years old. I came from Return Cloud Mountains."
He received a challenger's tag, which showed that he had made the payment. When he stepped up to battle later on, he needed only hand over this tag. In addition, if he won ten consecutive battles, he would also need this challenger's tag to get his refund of ten thousand Origin Crystals. If one lost it, then very sorry, one could only think of it as very bad luck.
He was naturally unreserved—it just so happened that a pair of fighters had just finished their battle on the tournament stage. Thus, he immediately leaped up onto the tournament stage.
"Challenger's tag?" The referee instantly stretched out a hand towards him.
Ling Han tossed his challenger's tag over, and the referee grabbed it. After checking it once, the latter nodded, then said, "Let's begin."
"Brat, you can't possibly be my rival. You had better obediently step down on your own, which would also save me some energy." The opponent was a sturdy man who looked to be in his thirties. He was tall and well-built, and was at least two heads taller than a typical man.
Those who dared step onto the tournament stage to fight were definitely people with at least some skill. This man had broken through to the Spiritual Pedestal Tier, and though he was only in the first layer, he could be considered elite among those below forty years old.
He had cultivated ten-plus years more than Ling Han—this was a huge advantage, so, of course, he was very confident in himself.
Ling Han smiled calmly, and asked, "Why could it not be you that has to step down?"
"Ignorant brat!" The man humphed, and said, "Forget it, I'll be able to kill you with a single punch anyways, so it's fine! Since you are disobedient, I will kill you!"
He raised his fist and shot it heavily towards Ling Han.
Killing intent flashed through Ling Han's eyes. Since that was the case, there was no need for him to be merciful, either. He casually threw a punch. Hong , a terrifying Origin Power appeared, broad and mighty, with multiple patterns on display, shining brilliantly.
Peng!
"What!? Impossible!" That man's fist was crushed the moment Ling Han touched it. A bloody mist burst out, and Ling Han's fist also crashed onto the front of his body. The terrifying Origin Power created a shock wave that directly blasted him into a shower of blood.
Hiss!
There was dead silence over the spectators' stands. An elite cultivator of the Spiritual Pedestal Tier actually exploded with a single blow; that was too much, wasn't it? But after a mere instant, excited cheers arose from all around. The reason why they were seated here was so that they could see such a ferocious, bloody, and violent scene, wasn't it?
"Han Lin, one win!" The referee announced loudly after glancing at the name on the challenger's tag.
"Han Lin?"
"Who's Han Lin? With such power, it would be enough for him to enter into the top twenty on the Prodigy Roll, but we obviously hadn't seen him before!"
"I know him. This person is a newly accepted disciple of the Winter Moon Sect, who defeated all the Seven Sons of the Ao Clan the moment he joined!"
"What? Even the Seven Sons of the Ao Clan could not stand against him? No wonder he's so awesome and managed to crush his opponent of the first layer of the Spiritual Pedestal Tier in a single punch."
"That's odd. Why didn't he participate in the Prodigy Tournament?"
"Perhaps it's because the Winter Moon Sect doesn't want him to overshadow the glory of the Seven Sons of the Ao Clan and did not allow him to take part."
"That's right. The patriarch of the Ao Clan is a powerful cultivator of the Spiritual Infant Tier of the Winter Moon Sect. If he spoke up, then no matter how much of a genius Han Lin was, he could only swallow his resentment."
When they saw how the spectators were all engaged in fierce debates, the expressions on the Seven Sons of the Ao Clan all turned ugly. They had not imagined that Ling Han would actually appear here. They had all had their teeth completely beaten out of their mouths by Ling Han, and though their teeth had regrown by now, how could they forget the pain he had brought by smacking them in the face? Moreover, the latter had even killed their younger sister!
Father had not yet killed off this brat?
The seven of them were all filled with confusion. With the ability of the Flower Blossom Tier, not only was he unable to kill off a brat in the Spiritual Ocean Tier, the latter was even allowed to break through to the Spiritual Pedestal Tier. Furthermore, merely how much time had passed? Yet this person had already broken through to the Spiritual Pedestal Tier. This speed was really much too astonishing.
Ling Han stood somberly and waited to be challenged by another.
However, the power of his punch previously was too shockingly mighty, and for the moment, no one dared to step forth to challenge him. Even if there some who were certain that they were in no way inferior to Ling Han, they had no plans to engage in a fierce battle with Ling Han at this moment. After all, the tournament rules had changed, so it was not necessary that they fight over this place to qualify for the next round.
Right until when the hour was almost up—a man jumped onto the tournament stage. This was a middle-aged man who had a fair, unbearded face. His hair was ash gray as if he was already in his twilight years, but from the way his skin was smooth and compact, he did not look at all like one who had experienced a fair number of years.
"Yi, Quick Sword Yang Qi!" someone exclaimed in surprise when they looked at the stage.
"It really is him!"
"I heard that this person has no aspiration for empty fame. He obviously has the ability worthy of the Prodigy Roll, yet has never taken part in the Prodigy Tournament. However, his quick sword is universally shocking, and it's said that there is no one on the same cultivation level that can defend against his quick sword. Though that's a bit of an exaggeration, it is proof of his ability."
"This would be a good show. Quick Sword Yang Qi has already broken through to the Spiritual Pedestal Tier five years ago, and with his talent, no matter what, he should be at least in the fourth or fifth layer of the Spiritual Pedestal Tier, shouldn't he?"
"Hehe, looks like this Han Lin is going to be in trouble."