The tournament has progressed to the point where the top 25 competitors from each of the five arenas have emerged.
In the next round, one person from each arena will get a bye, while the remaining 24 will face off in pairs, leaving 12 winners. With the addition of the person with the bye, a total of 13 will advance to the next round.
"I wonder who will get the bye?"
The contestants from each group were waiting.
Soon, the result was announced.
First arena bye: Xu Zhou!
Second arena bye: [Sky Shattering Fist] Elder Cang Lan!
Third arena bye: [Thunder Abyss Swordsman] Li Beixuan!
Fourth arena bye: [Northern Region Blade Hero] Wang Tong!
Fifth arena bye: [Overlord Spear] Zhou Ji!
The moment he heard the result, Xu Zhou had a strange expression on his face.
It wasn’t because he was the only one without a title among these five.
It was because the people getting the byes in these arenas were basically the strongest from each group!
"It seems this so-called draw was manipulated in secret." Xu Zhou shook his head slightly.
In fact, from the grouping of each arena, one could see that top contenders like [Sky Shattering Fist], [Thunder Abyss Swordsman], were not on the same arena.
Obviously, the officials intended to keep the strongest few for the final showdown.
Beside him, Liu Qingyuan said, "I think for the next few rounds, you’ll probably get another bye."
Xu Zhou nodded slightly.
He wasn’t in a hurry, with Liu Haifeng’s strength, he could fight to the end in this arena.
In other words, he would eventually have a showdown with him.
The competition proceeded in an orderly fashion.
As Xu Zhou anticipated, in this round, Liu Haifeng easily defeated his opponent, successfully advancing to the next round.
Liu Haifeng consecutively won three matches effortlessly, attracting a lot of attention.
"So it’s this guy, he almost made it to the top five in the last elite tournament!"
"He’s a formidable character too, I wonder how he compares to Xu Zhou?"
"This person hasn’t even used his full power yet, his real strength might be comparable to the [Thunder Abyss Swordsman] and others. If Xu Zhou only has his previous performance, he might not be a match for him."
"I don’t think so, Xu Zhou hasn’t used his full power either."
As the crowds discussed, this round of the tournament concluded.
On this arena, including Xu Zhou and Liu Haifeng, only thirteen of the original one hundred remained.
Group’s top thirteen!
In the fourth round, one of these thirteen will get a bye and proceed to the next round, while the remaining twelve will compete to produce six winners, making a total of seven advancing to the next round.
In the fifth round, one of these seven will get a bye, and the remaining six will produce three winners, leaving four to advance to the next round.
Unexpectedly, the one who got the bye in the fifth round was not Xu Zhou, but Liu Haifeng.
It seems Liu Haifeng’s impressive performance, even more stunning than Xu Zhou’s previous rounds, caused the officials to swap the bye to him.
The result of the fifth round duel came out.
Xu Zhou’s opponent was a 120-year-old elder, [Yellow Dragon Sword] He Changchun.
Those with titles were generally top-tier in the fourth rank, even if not as strong as the [Thunder Abyss Swordsman] and others, the gap wasn’t huge.
Once the match began, Xu Zhou came to the stage.
Opposite him stood an old man with white hair and beard.
While fourth-grade martial artists had lifespans of over 150 years, reaching 120 was considered old in their rank.
Xu Zhou quite admired elders of such age still venturing out to compete.
"Elder, please." Xu Zhou drew out the Dragon Flame Saber from his back, placed it behind him, and smiled as he spoke.
He Changchun looked at the Dragon Flame Saber in his hand, remained silent for a moment, then took out his own weapon.
It was a long sword, its hilt wrapped with yellowed white cloth, indicating long use.
"This sword is named Yellow Dragon Sword, it has accompanied me for many years, and has developed its own spirit..."
He Changchun slowly said, "It tells me that the Divine Weapon in your hand comes from the same source as my Yellow Dragon Sword."
Xu Zhou raised an eyebrow, surprised, "Is your Yellow Dragon Sword also forged by Elder Chen?"
He Changchun nodded slightly, "My Yellow Dragon Sword tells me that the Divine Weapon in your hand is the culmination of Elder Chen’s lifelong achievements and the crystallization of his life’s efforts. Comparatively, my Yellow Dragon Sword was crafted when Elder Chen was young, and in a duel, it is far from a match for your Divine Weapon."
Xu Zhou pondered slightly, then laughed, "So, Old Sir He believes that my strength relies solely on this Divine Weapon?"
"Whether it is or not, a battle will reveal." As soon as He Changchun finished speaking, his peak momentum erupted.
He truly was a top-tier in the fourth rank, and upon unleashing his aura, the spectators all around found themselves involuntarily bowing.
At the same time, the long sword in He Changchun’s hand flashed with light as a yellow beam shot skyward.
He Changchun lunged at Xu Zhou with the force of a tiger descending the mountain.
Xu Zhou’s expression remained unchanged, holding the saber behind him with one hand while forming a sword finger with the other and swiping forward.
In an instant, a dazzling white blade light cleaved through the sky!
This caused a slight change in He Changchun’s expression:
"How is that possible?!"
He distinctly saw that Xu Zhou had not swung the saber but instead used his hand as a blade to produce a startling blade light!
"I refuse to believe your blade light can withstand my Yellow Dragon Sword!"
He Changchun let out a long howl, surging his Qi-Blood vigorously, attacking Xu Zhou with all his strength.
At the same time, the yellow long sword in his hand unleashed a brownish-yellow sword light, like a giant earth-colored dragon, its sound resounding through the heavens, descending upon Xu Zhou with unstoppable force.