As the Nine State Forum continued, Ye Futian also realized a subtle trend. The other eight states apart from the Barren State had all their holy lands taking turns to battle. Even when a certain holy land repeatedly battled, they would eventually maintain an equal number of participants as the other holy lands, as though there was some form of tacit understanding between them.
"Uncle-Master, it seems like the holy lands in the Nine States all have similar numbers," Ye Futian looked at Sage Wanxiang and said in a small voice.
"They are very similar. The difference between them is very small. Apart from the Eastern State and the Barren State, the other seven states all have around 400 people. The Summer State has the most people at 405 while the Yu State has the least at 397 people," Sage Wanxiang replied. Ye Futian looked at him. This old fellow had actually counted them?
"Not just that, but the only holy land from the Eastern State participating in this time's Nine State Forum is only Xihua Sacred Mountain. Adding on to the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty and Glass Saint's disciples, the three factions have about 400 people in total as well. As for the extra 100 or so people, they are from all over the Eastern State and have snatched these 100 over seats from the many holy lands in the Nine State Forum," Sage Wanxiang said with an unperturbed expression. "As for our Barren State, they were not wrong to say that they did not consider us as part of the Nine State Forum. Perhaps they just invited us on a whim. To them, the Barren State is destined to be eliminated, we're just a foil to them, which is why we were allocated this location."
Ye Futian nodded. He had already noticed it when he looked at the remaining ten people in the Barren State. If the Barren State wanted to continue in the Nine State Forum, they would have to obtain consecutive victories. This would mean that the other eight states would not have any victors. Would this even be possible?
Although he was very confident in those who had stepped out of the Sage Hall with him, under these rules, he only had confidence that one person would stay, and that was Yu Sheng. Moreover, if there was only Yu Sheng left to battle to the end, what did it mean for him? It meant that from then on, none of the other eight states could advance. Many prodigies in the Nine States would be stopped by him.
"I only thought about it briefly just now, but hearing it from Uncle-Master now, doesn't that make it even more interesting?" Ye Futian replied. Under these rules, it was no wonder that nobody expected Ye Futian to be able to enter the top ten. In fact, if he was not prodigious enough, he might not even make the top 100.
"So, there are only two possibilities from now on. First, the Barren State is eliminated. Second, the Nine State Forum will be forced to change its rules," Sage Wanxiang said. Ye Futian had a strange expression on his face. Previously, the elder had claimed that he would treat everyone similarly. Now that he thought about it, it seemed that his words were like a death sentence to the Barren State. There was no hope for them to enter the top 100. However, this made things all the more interesting.
"The holy lands having similar numbers seems to be something that is agreed upon. The host's advantage is actually all those who are not disciples of holy lands." Ye Futian continued, "The Xihua Sacred Mountain should be trying to recruit these people then."
"Indeed, the Nine State Forum has been conducted for many years and already has a set of implicit rules in place. With the holy lands' numbers being about even, after the next 400 battles, everyone from the holy lands should have battled. After all the holy lands in the Nine States have done battle, we will come to a section in the Nine State Forum where there will be some changes in the rules," Sage Wanxiang replied.
Ye Futian nodded as his gaze landed on the forum's battle arena. The Barren State had already gone through a round of battles and had the most outstanding performance among the Nine States. Even if there were only ten left out of the 30, this was still a battle of nine where only one would proceed.
In actuality, the proceedings also shocked many people from the Nine States. However, when they remembered that these were the most outstanding people by gathering the entire Barren State's strength, they understood why.
In the Eastern State's direction, a figure stepped out. The figure was showered in a golden glow, even his hair was golden and his eyes had an exceedingly prideful look in them.
"The Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty's Zhou Xian." The people from the Eastern State saw the person who was battling and their eyes lit up.
Zhou Xian was extremely famous within the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty's younger generation. He was the Sovereign Family's descendant and had exceptional strength. In the lineup that the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty had brought this time, his strength was definitely in the top three.
They're targeting the Barren State in this battle. This thought appeared in many people's minds. The other states appeared to have reached a consensus and did not send out any experts to prevent them from clashing with Zhou Xian.
Since the Barren State was invited by the Eastern State and the Eastern State's Xihua Sacred Mountain and Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty appeared to have some conflict with the Barren State, let them settle it by themselves.
The disciples from the other seven states' holy lands were only there to spar. All the holy lands knew that the majority of participants in the Nine State Forum were only there to gain some experience. After all, only the prodigies from the various holy lands could hope to reach the pinnacle of the Nine State Forum.
Zhou Xian's gaze was razor-sharp as he glared at Yu Sheng. They had evidently noticed that the Barren State had already gone through a round of battles. If they followed the order from the previous round, the person who was battling now should be Yu Sheng, who dominated the other eight opponents in the first round.
Yu Sheng seemed to have noticed Zhou Xian's gaze. After the rest walked out, he stepped forward with no hesitation. He naturally knew that he was being targeted, but so what?
Zhou Ziyi was now sitting in the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty's viewing gallery. Her gaze moved towards them and she said, "Zhou Xian should be able to defeat him."
"Zhou Xian is very strong, but the Barren State's Yu Sheng also showed off his dominance in the previous battle. Moreover, that probably was not his full strength. Zhou Xian is not fully confident in winning this battle," the Great Zhou Sacred King replied.
"A person that can step out and fight for the pride of the Barren State's Holy Zhi Palace is definitely extraordinary. I'm looking forward to it," Saint Xihua smiled and commented.
The Sky Saint looked calmly in the air. He only had one disciple, Han Yu, who was already in the Sage Plane. Therefore, he was here today purely as a spectator. He did not belong to any clan, so he naturally did not recruit people under his wing to participate in the Nine State Forum.
On the forum's battle arena, a brilliant Golden Phoenix appeared behind Zhou Xian's body. The Golden Phoenix Life Spirit shone blindingly in the air, like a divine bird descending on the mortal realm, combining as one with his body. Its wings flapped as a golden sheen erupted around it. Its body floated in the air and in the next moment, it had disappeared like a flash of golden lightning and appeared next to an expert.
"How fast," the crowd said as their gazes followed it. They saw a Golden Phoenix diving downwards, but the face of the Phoenix was Zhou Xian's. The Qi State's expert attempted to block it, but with a giant thud, his body was sent flying and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
The golden phoenix flew across the air without stopping and swept across the battle arena. Soon, all the other experts except Yu Sheng had been defeated.
The brilliant glow drooped downwards in a beautiful arc and Zhou Xian appeared above Yu Sheng, looking down on him, then said, "Let me see how strong you are."
Yu Sheng raised his head and looked calmly at Zhou Xian. A dark golden light was flowing around his body and a rampant strength was being released form every part of his body. Standing there, he had an aura that was dismissive of Zhou Xian.
Hum. Zhou Xian's body disappeared and in the next moment, Yu Sheng saw a flash of light rushing down. It was a terrifying Golden Phoenix, and countless rays of light turned into phoenix blades, piercing down towards Yu Sheng's head.
Blinding light flooded the area as Yu Sheng used his Douzhan Body. A huge body appeared, blocking the phoenix blades when they pierced downwards. However, the blades continued to penetrate through gradually, as though they would be able to pierce through any defense.
Yu Sheng acted as though he did not feel anything, the giant body stretching out its palms and grabbing the phoenix blade. Zhou Xian's expression changed as the phoenix screeched, the blades continuing to pierce downwards while his body flew up into the air.
Bang. Launching off with his right foot, Yu Sheng's body rushed into the air like a bolt of lightning. He stretched out his hand and grabbed one of the phoenix's wings, causing Zhou Xian to struggle vigorously. His other hand stretched out and similarly grabbed the wing. His right arm continued upwards and the giant Douzhan Body's palm gripped the phoenix by the neck, rushing downwards to the ground and slamming the phoenix.
Every feather on the golden phoenix's wings was as sharp as blades and cut through Yu Sheng's body. However, it was like they were slicing the hardest metal. The phoenix flapped its other wing forcefully, but it was unable to break free form the giant hand's grip.
Bang. With a thunderous sound, feathers flew into the sky as the golden phoenix was slammed hard into the ground. It then became ethereal and Zhou Xian's body could be seen coughing up copious amounts of blood. However, Zhou Xian also cultivated his physique and glared at Yu Sheng while struggling to get up. When he saw this, Yu Sheng slammed his fist down again onto Zhou Xian. At that moment, Zhou Xian recoiled and curled up his body, no longer able to battle.
The Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty's gazes all froze. It was still as violent as before, there was absolutely no doubt about the outcome. Even Zhou Xian's strength was insufficient to threaten Yu Sheng.
"The victor, Yu Sheng," the elder announced. As Yu Sheng turned and left, the three Saints of the Xihua Sacred Mountain looked at him with peculiar expressions. What would happen if he continued to dominate like this? Would they let the elites from the Xihua Sacred Mountain and other factions continue battling with him? What if they were still eliminated? What should they do then?
It shouldn't be that bad, they thought to themselves. There were many elite figures in the Nine States who had not gotten their chance to battle.
"Next," the elder continued to announce.
The people from the Nine States walked out in succession. This time, the person from the Barren State was Ye Wuchen. They had all gone through a round of battling. When a new round began, they did not need to follow the order they had previously.