Chapter 144

"Group A candidates, come here to draw lots."

The rules for practical combat were very simple: candidates in the four groups of Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding would draw lots to duel. The winner would enter the next round, while the loser would draw lots again for one more duel. The winner of that could also enter the next round, while the loser would be directly eliminated.

Therefore, ascending the dragon in the martial arts examination had a large element of luck. If one encountered experts in both matches, even someone with a cultivation base in the late stage of Qi Gathering Major Success could be eliminated.

This was mainly because there were too many people. If they really had to fight match by match to select a true ranking of strength, it might not be finished even in ten days and ten nights, and the candidates could not sustain such high-intensity combat, so this simple and brutal rule was used.

Of course, if one were truly fierce in strength, no rule could affect them.

After the first round ended, about forty people would be eliminated. The one hundred and twenty who advanced would continue to draw lots for duels, and the rules would be the same as the first round.

If you won the first match, you advanced; if you lost the first match, you still had one more chance.

The second round would eliminate about thirty people, and those who advanced would continue to fight in the same way as before.

"I must advance in the first match," Xu Yang pondered.

The rules were too brutal, and time was urgent; they were only fighting for one day.

If you lost one match, you had to fight an extra one. The consumption of true qi and physical strength would be great, which was unfavorable for later battles, and the variables were also large. If he were unlucky enough to encounter those few experts with the strength to compete for the top spot, he would have no certainty of winning even if he used all his means.

So if he were lucky, he could obtain a dragon-ascending quota by fighting four matches; if he were unlucky, he would have to fight seven or eight.

To truly fight seven or eight matches, even those few people with hopes of winning the top spot would find it difficult to sustain themselves by the end. It was no wonder that families like the Gu family would spare no effort to recruit experts to charge into the fray.

The speed of drawing lots was a bit slow. To prevent candidates from cheating and swapping after drawing, they needed to record the numbers after they were drawn.

"It's a pity we are in the same group and have no chance to duel," Jiang Yi said, standing there and provoking him again.

Xu Yang turned his head and glanced at him coldly, his heart filled with chilling murderous intent.

There would be a chance!

Only the first duel was divided by the four groups of Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding to draw lots; the subsequent duels would no longer be divided by Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding, and it was possible to face anyone.

"Look, Senior Brother Xu Yang is over there!"

On the viewing platform, Qiu Wenjie excitedly pointed to where Xu Yang was.

Today was the practical combat duel, and he had come too.

Not just him, the Qiu Yongqiang brothers had also come. The people in the drill ground were much more numerous than yesterday; it could be called packed.

"Ah Yang will definitely be able to ascend the dragon!" Qiu Yongqiang clenched his fists.

Everyone knew that Xu Yang was supported by his Qiu family. Once Xu Yang could ascend the dragon, the Qiu family's business would surely soar.

"Senior Brother Xu Yang will definitely be able to. Father, you should hurry and prepare a congratulatory gift."

He was extremely confident in Xu Yang.

"You'd better not run into me!"

On the other side, Lu Ren was also watching Xu Yang.

After yesterday's events, he discovered that everyone had begun to look down on him, feeling that he had used so many resources yet still hadn't widened the gap between himself and Xu Yang, who had Bing-lower innate talent, and they believed he did not live up to his reputation.

He looked forward to Xu Yang proving to everyone that Xu Yang was not as good as him.

It could be said that even the disciples of the Gale Hall did not have as strong a desire to fight Xu Yang as he did.

"Bing-five!"

Xu Yang did not expect that he would once again have a connection with the character "Bing"; he had drawn the Bing-numbered ring and was the fifth to appear.

Putting away the number plate, he hurried to the bottom of the Bing-numbered ring and waited.

After a while, Sun Tao and Zhang Hong also arrived here. Clearly, the two of them were also at the Bing-numbered ring. As for Zhang Yong, he was not assigned to the same ring as them this time.

After the three of them nodded in greeting, they did not ask each other for their numbers.

One after another, people assigned to the Bing-numbered ring began to arrive. Miss Liu Qian of the Liu family and Lin Wei were actually assigned here as well.

They nodded slightly in greeting, the drawing of lots ended quickly, and the ring matches began.

The first four matches were all people Xu Yang did not know, and they were all at the early stage of Qi Gathering Major Success, but he still watched the battles seriously.

"Bing-five, get on the stage!" the proctor shouted.

Xu Yang took a deep breath, got up, went onto the stage, and handed the number plate to the proctor. At the same time, he saw his opponent, a man who looked about the same age as him, with a solemn face.

"Junior Brother Xu has good luck. Advancing in the first round is steady," Lin Wei said, showing a look of envy.

"Junior Sister Lin recognizes Junior Brother Xu's opponent?" Sun Tao's heart stirred.

Lin Wei nodded: "This person is a disciple of the Tiger Roar Fist Hall and is in the same group as me. His result for lifting the lock yesterday was Ding-upper."

Xu Yang's result was Bing-middle; the gap was visible to the naked eye.

Zhang Hong beside them also had a look of envy. Encountering a weak opponent could not only ensure advancement but also meant less consumption of true qi and physical strength.

He hadn't expected Xu Yang to be so lucky as to encounter such a weak opponent in the first match.

In fact, it was not that Xu Yang was lucky, but that among all the candidates, the most numerous were those with a cultivation base at the early stage of Qi Gathering Major Success; there were not many at the mid-stage of Qi Gathering Major Success or above.

"He Dong of the Tiger Roar Fist Hall, please offer your guidance."

He Dong secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He did not know his opponent, and not knowing him meant he was obscure and not an expert.

At the same time, he was not a candidate from the enemy camp, so even if the other party could win against him, they would not use lethal force.

Xu Yang cupped his fists in response: "Xu Yang of the Weiyuan Hall, please offer your guidance."