Chapter 119: New Rules for the Demon Hunt Squad Competition; Challenging to a Battle, Rankings

After seeing Han Qian arrive, from the likes of Ye Ling and Yang Wenzhao down to those ordinary Knights, everyone at this moment raised their heads very earnestly and looked toward the sky.

Without hesitation, they each reached out their hands toward this Saint Knight Chief, performing the most noble and respectful Knight salute.

And each called out: "Greetings, Saint Knight Chief!"

Seeing this, Han Qian nodded slightly, returning the salute to the contestants before him, his eyes carrying a hint of gratification and satisfaction; as an Eighth Rank Peak powerhouse, his sensory ability was very strong, and with just a few glances, he could discern the quality of the contestants before him.

It could only be said that it was indeed quite good.

To the side, several Mithril Knights wearing Secret Silver Foundation Knight armor walked over slowly and saluted: "Greetings, Saint Knight Chief. After inspection, a total of one hundred and thirty-eight contestant Knights have reported here, and now they are all gathered."

"Next, we ask the Saint Knight Chief to announce the new competition rules!"

"I understand." Han Qian nodded.

Immediately, without hesitation, he turned and looked toward the competition venue; his gaze was extremely sharp, and although it had long since grown cloudy, it still carried a brilliant edge.

He shouted: "The reporting is over; this Demon Hunt Squad Competition preliminary round will now fully begin."

"Before coming here, you should have already known that this Demon Hunt Squad Competition will undergo reforms, and now, I will announce the rules after the reform."

Once these words were spoken, everyone pricked up their ears to listen; they knew the old Demon Hunt Squad rules by heart, but the new rules left them all bewildered.

Since that was the case, they still had to listen carefully.

"After discussions among the Six Great Temples and the core cadres of the Temple Alliance, the Demon Hunting Squad Selection Competition will no longer adopt the so-called one-on-one duels."

"Instead, the competition will be conducted according to the specialties and focus of different professions."

Immediately, Han Qian waved his hand: "And as a Knight, the most important things are one's own actual combat ability, plus leadership and a sense of the big picture; the latter cannot be easily assessed, while the assessment of the former is true actual combat."

"Behind you is the Saint City Mountain Range of the Holy City; the extremely powerful Magic Beasts within have already been cleared out, leaving only Third Rank, Fourth Rank, Fifth Rank, and a small number of Sixth Rank Magic Beasts remaining inside."

"Next, you will step into it to fight, using the killed Magic Beasts as points, with one day as the limit, and the top thirty in the rankings will advance; because Squire Knights are also allowed to participate in this competition, if a Squire Knight enters the top thirty, then the quota will be extended to the thirty-first and beyond."

"However, there are also restrictions for Squire Knights; if the strength of a Squire Knight is not enough to enter the top thirty, then they will not be allowed to be incorporated into a Demon Hunt Squad."

After these words appeared, it immediately caused a huge uproar among all those present.

Clearly, they had thought that the changes this time might be a bit strange, but they estimated it would be similar to the previous Demon Hunt Squad Competitions.

But... they didn't expect it to be this kind of reform; apart from the name still being the Demon Hunt Squad Competition... what did it have to do with the previous Demon Hunt Squad Competitions? Nothing at all, right? This couldn't help but make them all sigh, feeling very helpless.

Only Ye Ling didn't have many opinions, turning his head to look: "It seems the Alliance has also realized that fancy internal fighting doesn't show off one's strength very well."

"It's better to go through a few real battles; that's more effective."

Ye Ling thought, and just at this moment, about a hundred people walked over from the side, all of them experts of the Fifth Rank, about one hundred and thirty-eight, exactly the number of people for this Demon Hunt Squad Competition.

Standing before these competition contestants, they took a strange pocket watch out of a box in their hands and explained: "This is a replica of the official Demon Hunt Squad Merit Bracelet; it will record your current physical state and add points after you kill Magic Beasts."

"If you can successfully join a Demon Hunt Squad, these points will be converted into Demon Hunt Squad merit at a ratio of one hundred to one for your use."

"And there is a magic array inside; if it detects a serious injury, or if you choose to do so yourself, a magic array capable of resisting a Sixth Rank powerhouse will appear, enough for you to hold out until the Alliance powerhouses arrive."

However, take note: once activated, the points you have obtained will be halved for the ranking."

"However, a reminder to everyone: attacking your compatriots will not increase your points, and if I discover that you have killed your compatriots for the sake of prey, then even if your age is sufficient, you will be stripped of the qualification to participate in future Demon Hunt Squad Competitions!"

Han Qian said in a deep voice, and upon hearing this, everyone present nodded.

This was no joke! And after Han Qian finished speaking, he gave a few final simple instructions, then simply made way, letting these children enter into it; Ye Ling was smiling as he looked at the Merit Bracelet in his hand; ever since he started learning forging, he had also become quite curious about these things; of course, he knew he shouldn't study it now, so he just put it on his hand.

He simply looked at the changes in his information, smiled slightly, looked at his sister Li Xin beside him, and called out: "Let's go, Sis, stop spacing out."

"Alright, let's go." Li Xin nodded.

Just at this moment, two voices came from the side: "Ye Ling..."

Turning his head to look, who else could it be but Yang Wenzhao and Han Yu?

Ye Ling nodded toward Han Yu, then turned to look at Yang Wenzhao and said: "Wen Zhao, long time no see."

"Long time no see, Ye Ling." Yang Wenzhao looked at Ye Ling, his gaze carrying a terrifying sense of aggression and fighting spirit; his entire body's Spiritual Power was stirred up, and his hands were even itching now, wishing he could take out his twin swords on the spot and start sparring with the Ye Ling before him.

But he held back, calmed down a bit, and said: "You can hardly imagine my breakthroughs over these past four or five years; as for the specific actual combat, I will challenge you to a battle after some time. Now that the Demon Hunt Squad Competition hasn't ended, I will beat you! I will beat you soundly!"

They had no enmity; on the contrary, after the previous great battle, the relationship between Ye Ling and Yang Wenzhao was excellent, and they could even call each other good fellows, but Yang Wenzhao had spirit.

Or rather, he refused to admit defeat; he wanted to beat Ye Ling soundly, so he didn't want to reminisce; he wanted to see exactly what Ye Ling's strength was during this period, and then talk about the rest later.

"This kid, haven't seen him in a few years, and he's become so cold." Ye Ling wasn't angry either, just laughed happily and teased.

"Unlike me, I didn't take that failure back then so much to heart."

"It's just that Yang Wenzhao is different; over these five years, he has laid an excellent foundation, and after breaking through to twenty years old, he even invited that Starry Sky Knight Yang Haoyu to come out of seclusion to teach him."

"Although both are Fifth Rank, the gap between me and him is not small, and I don't know what level he has reached; it is said that his Spiritual Power might have broken three thousand points; for his age, in any era, he is the peak of the peak..."

"That diligence makes me feel a bit ashamed." Han Yu gave a bitter smile, then turned to look at Ye Ling and said: "But I'm wondering, Ye Ling, what exactly did you do to him?"

"I once asked him why he was like this; he said your talent had already crushed him, and if he didn't work harder, there wouldn't even be a sliver of hope in the future."

"I'm curious, what exactly is your Innate Internal Spiritual Power? To make him like this?"

Han Yu smiled cheekily; he had long since discarded his arrogance, at least he couldn't possibly have such feelings toward Ye Ling now.

"You'll know in the future." Ye Ling didn't answer his thought, just took Li Xin's small hand and walked toward the location of the Saint Alliance Mountain Range.

"Good fellow, still playing mysterious here?"

"I'm hiding it all." Han Yu looked helpless.

Then he rushed up after them.

And after the people here left, there were also several gazes hidden somewhere that flickered along with them.

Ye Ling and Li Xin's speed was very fast, and they entered the Saint City Mountain Range in an instant.

Their speed was far faster than the other contestants.

Although they understood the principle that the nail that sticks out gets hammered down, they were not so-called nails, but the phoenixes that lead everything!

"What do you say?"

"Round them up in this outer area? Or rush straight to the top to kill the Fifth Rank, or even those Sixth Rank Magic Beasts?"

After stepping into this territory, Li Xin turned her head to look at Ye Ling's position for the first time.

She is the older sister, but in any situation, their backbone is Ye Ling. "Let's charge up. Although we shouldn't be too arrogant, Third Rank Magic Beasts really aren't enough for a single skill of ours."

"Moreover, the points obtained aren't much. If it were known that we were holed up here fighting Third Rank Magic Beasts, the teachers would probably clean house first."

"Two direct disciples of a Divine Seal Knight, reduced to such a state." Ye Ling laughed heartily, teasing himself and Li Xin.

The two looked at each other and then charged forward rapidly.

Not many Magic Beasts appeared on the road; after all, the speed of Ye Ling and Li Xin was truly too fast, and most Magic Beasts simply couldn't locate their presence.

And for those that could... sorry, their strength might have been terrifying and powerful when facing the newly awakened Ye Ling.

But now... even at the peak of the Third Rank, when facing Li Xin and Ye Ling, it was a one-sided affair; under a single sword strike, they perished instantly!

Very quickly, they crossed over to the mountainside.

Just as they had thought, the outer layer was Third Rank, and the mountainside was Fourth Rank.

"Then, if there are no accidents, the area just below the summit should be where Fifth Rank Magic Beasts exist, and the few spots at the very peak should be Sixth Rank Magic Beasts."

Ye Ling evaluated, a trace of fighting intent appearing in his eyes. Ever since this cultivation and the breakthrough ended, he had come straight here to the Holy City, not even finding a place to test his own strength.

And now that he finally had this opportunity, he couldn't possibly give it up.

Li Xin originally had some violent factors in her, and her thoughts were nearly the same as Ye Ling's. Now, with a smile in her eyes, she said: "I understand."

"Then, let's go over and kill more Fourth Rank, or even Fifth Rank, Magic Beasts first."

"After all, although your strength, little brother, is enough to fight across ranks, Sixth Rank is still a bit hard to deal with. It's better to deal with some Magic Beasts we are sure about first; solving it quickly is more practical."

Li Xin said straightforwardly.

The two of them had been rushing along the way, occasionally wandering in between. Although three hours had passed, they hadn't killed many Magic Beasts; those other contestants were terrified of being surpassed by others, working themselves to the bone.

Don't look at how Ye Ling's strength could be considered second to none, but his points were only eighty-eight. Calculated at a ratio of one hundred to one, he didn't even have a single point of merit, and his ranking was also after thirtieth, not even having the qualifications to qualify.

Li Xin was even more miserable; her points were only sixty, and her ranking was also after sixtieth.

The strength of the two of them could truly be considered second to none, but if they were to be clumsy now and directly activate that protective cover, then not even qualifying for the Demon Hunt Squad preliminary round would be possible; it was absurd.

"Good." Ye Ling didn't say much more, just nodded simply.

Immediately, he intended to start searching for the surrounding Demon Race.

Given the temperaments of the Holy Alliance or the Knight Temple, under this kind of competition, they couldn't possibly let those docile Magic Beasts enter here. Those that came were a bunch of extremely ferocious Magic Beasts that had risen through countless slaughters; these Magic Beasts were the best weapons for battle.

If they didn't kill them, countless Humans would be killed by them, so they had no feelings or thoughts when fighting.

And just as they were planning to take action to find Magic Beasts, the earth and mountains here suddenly began to shake, flashing with an extremely strange atmosphere. That atmosphere immediately attracted Ye Ling and Li Xin, and the two immediately began to search toward the vicinity.

Finally, they saw it in the southwest direction; many Knights were rushing over there, their eyes carrying anxiety and fear, as if there were some life-and-death crisis and terror.

One could see the trace of fear contained within them.

And on their bodies, there were some lights transformed by Spiritual Power, seemingly constantly impacting something.

Quite a few people had already placed their hands on their Merit Bracelets, seemingly ready to activate the Merit Bracelets in their hands to save their lives at any time.

Very strange.

"What is the situation?" Li Xin was somewhat surprised.

The two immediately stepped forward.

Asking: "What happened?"

Most were only concerned with fleeing, but only one person shouted: "Brother, hurry up and run first."

"I don't know what the situation is with this batch of Magic Beasts? They actually started to riot and kept launching attacks at us."

"Just that batch behind us, there are a full two Fifth Rank Magic Beasts, ten Fourth Rank, and the Third Rank ones are countless."

"No, brother, what are you doing? Why are you walking over there? What kind of joke is this, brother? With so many Magic Beasts attacking together, one kick from each beast is enough to trample you to death. Are you going over there to die? Retreat! Don't even talk about activating this formation later, I'm afraid you'll drop dead before you can do anything!!!"

That Knight was very worried, while Ye Ling and Li Xin were looking at those rushing Magic Beasts with smiles on their faces.

Saying: "Thanks for the concern."

"It's just... this batch of Magic Beasts, for us siblings, just happens to solve an urgent need..."

(End of this chapter)