Chapter 475: The Target of Public Criticism (Third update, 7k today)

On the first day after the first round of the Immortal Sect Grand Competition ended, thousands of Human Realm disciples from various sects were thrown into the Secret Realm, beginning their slaughter and struggle.

Ren Yidao specifically went to take a look and discovered that the terrain inside was somewhat similar to the Eastern Wasteland, covered in dense forests where many low-level Demon Beasts were hidden.

In fact, from this arrangement, it was not difficult to see some of the thoughts of the Sword Casting Pavilion.

Years of conflict had long caused the people of Beiming Divine Continent to regard the Eastern Wasteland Royal Court as a hypothetical enemy.

The Human Race had long since found it difficult to be of one mind.

Ren Yidao noticed this point, but there was no way to do anything about it.

Although he was not weak now, and his status and position were not low, he still lacked sufficient power to change all of this.

To be able to unite everyone, one either needed an enemy that threatened everyone, or a leader capable of convincing everyone.

And both of these points required a prerequisite: sufficiently powerful strength.

As for the current Ren Yidao, regardless of which point it was, he was not yet qualified.

So, he chose to...

Not! Care! Anymore!

"We'll talk about it when the time comes; no need to rush now."

Sit on a stool as big as your backside.

If your strength isn't there, don't worry blindly about too much; it's meaningless.

By the second day, after registration, the thousand-plus Earth Realm contestants began their one-on-one duels.

The progress of the Elimination Tournament was actually somewhat chaotic because the gap in strength between contestants was vast, making it impossible for the matches to proceed uniformly.

Some pairs could kill their opponents in a few breaths and enter the next round to wait.

Others, the four of them, were very evenly matched, focusing on a "chickens pecking at each other" style, fighting to their hearts' content on the field, but simply unable to determine a winner, fighting for a full half-hour until the judges finally made the call...

But fortunately, the Sword Casting Pavilion's venue was large enough and they had enough disciples and staff to divide up enough space for dozens of matches to proceed simultaneously.

Ren Yidao paid a little attention and found that his acquaintances' records were quite good, basically all capable of easy, instant kills.

The Divine Path Sect disciples had both wins and losses; some lost to their own people, while others were defeated by some obscure small sects.

Shi Xue ultimately could not resist Li Qiushui's pleading and joined the competition in a group with her, but the Snow Heroine did not exert herself, leaving all enemies to the Ninth Princess while she acted purely as a decorative vase for company.

All she needed to do was put on her bamboo hat and stand behind Li Qiushui with a cold, aloof expression while holding her sword, which looked quite intimidating.

This was normal; not everyone was skilled at fighting, especially fighting in front of a large crowd...

Plus, they needed to rest after the matches; by the time this day ended, the most anyone had done was two rounds, with over a hundred teams remaining out of more than five hundred.

It was unclear if the Sword Casting Pavilion had manipulated things behind the scenes, but some powerful teams had not run into each other.

But regardless, this steadily progressing Elimination Tournament finally allowed the Sword Casting Pavilion to regain a familiar sense of peace.

There were obscure, unknown figures who suddenly erupted and shocked everyone with a single feat.

There were also long-famous cultivators who were overturned by rising stars and defeated in regret.

There were even more cultivators who came here to struggle for the same dream, fighting and bleeding on the spot, battling until the very last moment.

More importantly... there was no chaos, no troublemakers, and it was proceeding just like this, steadily.

This is how it should be!

The incident in the first round was just an accident; this was the normal situation.

Thus, as the Sword Casting Pavilion gradually relaxed, time finally entered the third day.

The Heaven Realm ring matches began.

At the highest point of the Sword Casting Pavilion's mountain gate, a massive ring was placed, and on the surrounding buildings were many unfamiliar figures with powerful auras.

"Oh ho, quite a lot of people."

Ren Yidao saw the people he hadn't seen in a few days, and also saw a few familiar faces below the stage.

Besides the ones he already knew, Li Long, Ran Yeting, and the Empress, Ren Yidao also saw a few acquaintances.

The Divine Path Sect, in the end, was not so disrespectful as to not give face, sending Lingxu Peak Peak Master Duan Hong and several Elders to observe the ceremony, and as for that strange female disciple beside her... heh.

Ren Yidao saw through her at a glance—she wasn't human!

And the disguised Jing Yueqin, upon seeing Ren Yidao's gaze, gave a giggle, cast a flirtatious glance at him, and then hid behind Duan Hong.

Ren Yidao could feel many people's gazes focused on him, silently observing.

Among them, one woman's gaze was particularly prominent; she looked somewhat similar to the Empress Zhao Chaofeng, and looking at her attire, she was likely the Wanhua Valley Master Zhao Yundan.

Ren Yidao raised his eyebrows at her with a smile, cupped his hands slightly, and then turned his head to ignore her.

This woman, not familiar.

But he always felt she didn't seem like a good person.

Ren Yidao looked at the others beside him and found that most of them were also staring at him.

Yuwen Tianye was much calmer; although he was still staring intently at him, he did not continue to go crazy, and the black-faced general beside him was looking over with a complex expression.

Ying Tengjiao's gaze was somewhat complex, filled with ruthlessness amidst hesitation, as if he had already decided how to strike when the two of them faced off.

Even Gongyang Ke and that Wanhua Valley Venerable were staring at Ren Yidao, not knowing what they were thinking.

There were ten contestants in total; excluding Ren Yidao himself, more than half were staring at him.

"How come I have a feeling that I've become the target of public criticism?"

"This isn't right, is it! I'm just a little fox at the Void Refining stage; what are you all trying to do? Why are you all targeting me?"

"You all think I'm a soft persimmon, right?"

Thus, after his dissatisfaction, Ren Yidao stepped behind Jian Xinxin, shielding him to the front, letting him go and face those various gazes.

Let me show you what a real soft persimmon is!

Jian Xinxin:?

He didn't react at first, not knowing what Ren Yidao was doing, but he soon understood his meaning and angrily dragged him out.

Just as the two Senior Brothers were about to start bickering again, Gongye Dachang appeared on the arena stage with his wife.

"Everyone, the time has come."

Although the aura of the Sect Master Gongye remained unchanged, he looked much more listless than he had a few days ago, while his wife beside him was glowing with radiance; one could only wonder what had happened between the two of them in private... as if.

Everyone present was not some ignorant child, and they could all roughly guess at the hard labor Gongye Dachang had been putting in over these past few days.

"Ahem!"

Ignoring the playful gazes of the crowd, Gongye Dachang gave a light cough and nodded toward Gongyang Ke.

"Elder Ke, I leave it to you."

"Understood."

Gongyang Ke nodded in agreement, moved his feet, flew up from below the stage, and leaped in one step to the center of the arena.

Boom!!!

He appeared to land lightly, but the moment he touched the ground, a thunderous roar erupted, shaking the entire arena and causing the smiling crowd to wipe the smiles off their faces.

Ren Yidao also narrowed his eyes, looking at Gongyang Ke with some surprise.

He had originally been somewhat lazy, feeling that with his strength as a triple-path cultivator, he had the ability to protect himself against anyone, or at the very least, he could rely on his physical body to withstand the blows.

But he had not expected this Elder Gongyang to give him a surprise right from the start.

"Is this a Body Cultivator of the Heaven Realm?"

"No, not necessarily; it might just be Void Refining Peak, but he is definitely stronger than the late stage of Void Refining."

"Aren't Body Cultivators rare? How did I run into one so easily? This isn't right... hmm?"

Just as Ren Yidao was pondering, he suddenly felt the surroundings grow quiet.

He looked up and discovered that Gongyang Ke on the stage was staring at him without any attempt to hide it.

"Fellow Daoist Ren of the Divine Path Sect, please come up to the stage for a battle."

Ren Yidao blinked and pointed at himself.

I am fighting Gongyang Ke?

Eh...

Is this for real?

7k today. I've been very exhausted lately and couldn't get up... it was a struggle to write until now to finish.

Begging for a Monthly Ticket. It's the last few days, and I'm just a little short of one thousand Monthly Tickets.