Although the cloak actually concealed their entire cultivation base, it was obvious that the cloak was working overtime, as it was difficult to hide Xie Lan’s level, making Yan Xiaobao wish they would leave the crowded People’s Square quickly.
Looking at the four invisible figures, the staff nodded. "Hand over your Mercenary Badge," he commanded, naming the group as one hundred and seventeen.
Just as the employee requested the Mercenary Badge, additional chaos arose as five golden badges appeared simultaneously. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
The correct way to acquire a golden badge is to complete a large number of tasks or some very dangerous tasks previously. For these people to arrive with golden badges in a low-level cave like the Demon Residence Cave was truly surprising.
"Did they come for the tournament?" a voice arose from the crowd, with some people nodding, while others shook their heads.
"I bet they came here for an extremely rare task, and they decided to join the fun." Some people nodded again, while others shook their heads.
Various theories began to spread in the area, but Yan Xiaobao was not interested in this and instead patiently waited for the staff to lower the ranking. Even the previously calm and collected staff was very annoyed when he saw five golden badges ahead.
Finally, he completed all the necessary paperwork and handed a small board to Hui Yue, a plate for group number one hundred and seventeen.
"Over there, you’ll see a schedule. Your group will fight later today when the sun reaches its highest point. Your group is seeded, so your battle will be on the main stage."
With that said, the man quickly turned his attention to preparing the next batch of mercenaries registering for the competition, while Yan Xiaobao turned and headed toward the place the man pointed out.
A massive board filled the entire wall of a street opposite the staff handling the registration. Looking at the board, Yan Xiaobao found it divided into three sections. One was when the sun rose in the morning. Another was when the sun was high in the sky, and the last part was when the sun slowly set on the horizon but vanished before the next day began.
In the morning, the lowest-ranked mercenary teams fought each other, while the highest-ranked teams and the seeded teams battled at noon. The last part of the competition included those who were neither high nor low-ranked. Average mercenary parties residing in the city or surrounding areas.
Each group would have one battle per day, alternating between individual duels and team battles. Their alternation was not only to see if all members knew how to fight but also to keep the audience interested.
Looking at the schedule, Yan Xiaobao found a wooden tablet that read one hundred and seventeen groups, next to the twenty-third group. Between the two wooden plaques was a small symbol resembling an arena.
After taking a final glance at the map, Yan Xiaobao once again prepared to pass through the dense crowd of mercenaries to fight, but what he found made him smile slightly because all the mercenaries around cleared a path, squeezing against each other to ensure the pathway was available for him and his followers.
Hui Yue paid no attention to the numerous mercenaries around, walking down the carved path through the crowd, heading towards the city’s arena. For the first time in a long time, it was a place to truly exchange pointers.
While crossing the street, Yan Xiaobao expected the hordes of people to thin out gradually to make entry easier, but the opposite happened. The streets leading to the arena were particularly crowded, filled with multiple groups of mercenaries and vendors.
Temporary stalls were set up everywhere, selling all items usually found in the Mercenary Guild and the market. Since it was close to the location where battles occurred, the items were able to be sold at much higher prices than usual.
Outside the arena was a large park with four smaller training grounds. These grounds were now used for matches between lower-ranked cultivators. The arena only allowed high seeds to enter.
The arena was not yet open to the public because workers were preparing for the upcoming battles, but Yan Xiaobao didn’t mind too much as he strode towards some of the battles taking place.
Watching these battles, Yan Xiaobao saw that they all participated in group fights, a type of battle he had never engaged in during friendly duels, piquing his interest.
The park area was spacious, and many mercenaries used it to train themselves, improve their skills, and earn some easy coins in daily life. Due to the vast area covered by the park, it also made moving around much simpler.
All the mercenaries walked around in groups, glaring at their opposition, but no fights broke out except for the scheduled battles.
The audience watching these group fights was mostly citizens from the Demon Residence Cave, while mercenaries only went to watch their opponents fight.
Yan Xiaobao had to admit that as he walked around seeing different battles, he felt like a tourist, quickly gaining a clear understanding of what the battles were like.
Slaying was never disappointing. If a person died, it would be due to their own lack of capability. This was the first thing Yan Xiaobao noticed as he watched various ongoing fights.
Although one of the fights was a brilliant display of technique, the other three fights were clearly desperate life-and-death battles, filled with blood and gore. The cultivation base and strength of these teams were evenly matched, which was why they were so fierce. Using stronger and stronger attacks, they were met and responded to with similar power, resulting in both parties bleeding and pushing their limits.