Chapter 493: Preparing the Strategy

Song Yan, upon hearing this, admonished Xue Jin.

When Xue Jin and the other eleven competing disciples stepped onto the arena together, a burst of exclamations erupted.

In this round, the First Province's representative was Xie Zixu, the Fourth Province's was Dong Jiao, Feiyun Island sent Qian Yunzhou, Wuliang Island sent Gongsun Ji, the Seventh Province sent Wei Yan Hong, and the Eighth Province sent Hua Chengyan.

The Ninth Province's contestant was Xue Jin.

When the young island lord Gongsun Ji of Wuliang Island stepped onto the stage, he saw these familiar faces and thought to himself, "Oh no."

"It seems we really are fated," Qian Yunzhou chuckled lightly, his gaze sweeping over the cold‑faced Xie Zixu. "Brother Xie, tell me, do you think we'll draw the same lot?"

Xie Zixu's brows and eyes remained cool, and he gave no reply.

Soon, the referee had them draw lots simultaneously.

Immediately, the results appeared.

Qian Yunzhou was matched against Wei Yan Hong.

Xue Jin faced Gongsun Ji.

Xie Zixu, Hua Chengyan, and Dong Jiao each failed to draw each other.

When Wei Yan Hong discovered her opponent was Qian Yunzhou, her expression instantly grew solemn; she immediately felt some regret, thinking that had she known, she wouldn't have entered this round.

After the lots were drawn, this round of the contest began quickly.

Qian Yunzhou faced Wei Yan Hong, and Qian Yunzhou won.

Xue Jin faced Gongsun Ji, and Xue Jin won.

Xie Zixu, Dong Jiao, and Hua Chengyan all won.

At the same time, Ninth Province's ranking finally moved up one spot, to sixth place.

This was somewhat unexpected to everyone.

Someone sighed, "I didn't expect Ninth Province's ranking could still improve!"

"They only have eleven members left; if they're all eliminated, their ranking can't rise any further and will only drop as other provinces or islands gain points. Just wait and see, I bet Ninth Province will still be in the bottom three this year!"

"What if they aren't eliminated?"

"How could that be?!"

While they were debating, a new round of the contest started again.

As time passed, the eleven from Ninth Province completed another cycle, and none were eliminated, leaving still eleven.

The crowd's expressions shifted repeatedly.

"Just wait, I think they're just lucky! If they run into Ying Wuhuan and the like, they'll eventually be eliminated!"

Sure enough, the eleven from Ninth Province completed another cycle, still with no one eliminated.

Everyone was becoming a bit unsettled.

"Ha, they definitely won't hold out long!"

Dongfangxiu took the stage, and his drawn opponent was Ying Wuhuan of the First Province.

Dongfangxiu lasted only a dozen or so rounds before being defeated by Ying Wuhuan.

Seeing this, the crowd instantly let out a sigh of relief.

"See, if they meet Ying Wuhuan and his group, they'll definitely be eliminated!"

"Is Ying Wuhuan the young master of the Ying family?"

"He isn't the young master. I heard Ying Wuji is the biological son of the Ying family's head…"

"Tsk tsk, speaking of it, I actually think Ying Wuhuan is more suitable than Ying Wuji to be the Ying family's young master; in both demeanor and strength, Ying Wuhuan clearly surpasses him!"

At this moment, the very focus of the discussion—Ying Wuhuan—stood calmly on the arena.

He wore a pristine white robe, his posture as upright and towering as a pine.

His face was exceptionally handsome, as smooth as a jade crown; a head of jet‑black hair was tied up with a warm, creamy‑jade coronet, enhancing his dignified bearing.

Most striking were his slightly up‑turned peach‑blossom eyes, in which countless emotions flickered, yet a hint of detached indifference lingered, as if the world held no sway over him.

Ying Wuhuan and Ying Wuji have rather similar facial shapes, but the biggest difference between them lies in their eyes.

One has a cinnabar phoenix eye, the other a peach‑blossom eye.

Ying Wuhuan gave Ying Wuji a faint glance from the arena floor.

Ying Wuji's face remained expressionless.

After Dongfangxiu was eliminated, Cang Li took the stage.

However, Cang Li was also eliminated by a Spirit Transformation Realm practitioner from Wuliang Island.

Next, Nan Feiyan of Ninth Province stepped up and was eliminated as well.

Thus, Ninth Province suffered three consecutive losses.

Ninth Province supporters watching the cultivation world's matches saw the three straight defeats and felt their morale plunge.

Now only eight remain from Ninth Province: Song Yan, Xiao Lingwei, Xue Jin, Ying Wuji, Yuan Yao, Xiao Zhufeng, Ling Huya, and Zhai Qingye.

Just when everyone thought Ninth Province would keep losing, they didn't expect the eight of them to take turns winning one‑on‑one arena bouts one after another.

Ninth Province's total points kept rising, eventually surpassing fifth place!

Fourth place!

Third place!

Ninth Province now sits in third place!

Only behind First Province and Feiyun Island!

The entire venue was stunned.

Even the Immortal Lords atop the high platform found it unbelievable.

Grandmaster Fang stroked his beard and said, "Ninth Province really has cultivated many promising talents!"

Another Immortal Sovereign sighed: "Those few of them have been competing continuously, already sustained many injuries, and with the depletion of physical strength and spiritual energy, I see they will soon be forced to stop in the next few contests."

At this moment, among the Ninth Province team.

Apart from Ying Wuji, Yuan Yao, and Xue Jin, the remaining few were seriously injured.

Xiao Lingwei was seriously wounded while sparring with Qiu Fu, a disciple of the First Province's Kui Qian Immortal Sovereign, and her injuries have not healed.

Zhai Qingye's face turned pale as he said, "The First Province now has only eighty‑nine people left, Feiyun Island only seventy‑three, and the other provinces or islands have fewer than sixty each. We must avoid elimination as much as possible; only then can our Ninth Province stay in the top three!"

Yuan Yao looked up, gazing at the floating golden‑colored text above, and said, "Seizing first place in the Immortal Sect Grand Competition is not impossible."

As soon as she spoke, the others all turned to look at her.

"Hahaha!" Ling Huya burst into a hearty laugh, immediately reaching out to pat Yuan Yao's shoulder, a blaze seeming to flare in her eyes, "Good! Then we'll let the Ninth Province turn the tide against the wind and rewrite history!"

Xue Jin said lightly, "Don't just talk empty words; all of you must hold on, don't dump a mess on us."

Zhai Qingye curled his lip, "Don't worry, we'll give it our all. After all, we also want to make a name for the Ninth Province, to make a name in the cultivation world!"

"Next round, I'll go first," Yuan Yao said, "You all try to recover your spiritual energy and stamina as much as possible; I'll buy you time."

Xiao Zhufeng looked at Yuan Yao and said, "Then it's up to you."

Yuan Yao nodded.

She happened to be about to use this opportunity—

Conquer the target individuals!

Take down a thousand at once? Or ten thousand? Or a hundred thousand?

Or perhaps—

Ten million target individuals!

System 250 detected Yuan Yao's thought and, shocked, announced: 【Host, are you serious?!】

Yuan Yao raised an eyebrow: "Hmm, very serious."