Chapter 269

September 19th, the fourth day after the start of the Martial Arts Exchange Tournament, and also the first day of the main tournament.

Exactly 7:00 AM, the playground used for the competition was already crowded with people.

The eight square arenas built previously had all been removed, leaving only a huge circular playground, with six stone pillars more than ten meters high around it.

For the upcoming main tournament, the competition venue would be the area enclosed by these six stone pillars, and every match of the main tournament would be held separately.

Every participant who made it into the main tournament would face their opponent under the witness of tens of thousands of people and the live broadcast on television, showing their style!

In the center of the venue, two huge lists were placed; the list on the left had the names of the participants who entered the main tournament, and the list on the right was temporarily blank.

At this time, many people were already gathered in front of the list on the left, looking at the names written on it.

The university or sect to which they belonged was also written after these names, and the names of the same university or sect were written together.

So which family had the most people entering the main tournament was clear at a glance on the list.

Ranked first was the Shangqing Sect!

In addition to Gan Jingcheng, a Dao Foundation stage powerhouse who automatically entered the main tournament, the Shangqing Sect, as the organizer of this tournament, also had 4 main tournament spots.

Among the remaining 35 Shangqing Sect disciples, 9 made it into the main tournament.

Added together, a total of 14 people from the Shangqing Sect entered the main tournament!

Ranked second was Pudu Temple.

Excluding the two Buddhist sons, Pudu Temple had 3 main tournament spots, and among the remaining 25 disciples, 8 made it into the main tournament.

So Pudu Temple ultimately had 13 people entering the main tournament.

Ranked third was the Daluo Sect.

In addition to Ning Chuan and Ning Xing, the Daluo Sect also had 3 main tournament spots, and among the remaining 25 disciples, 6 made it into the main tournament, ultimately having a total of 11 people entering the main tournament.

Ranked fourth was the Yuhua Sect, with a total of 7 people entering the main tournament.

Ranked fifth was the other organizer, Tianqu University.

In addition to Yuwen Donghao who entered automatically, Tianqu University had 2 main tournament spots, and among the remaining 7 students, 2 made it into the main tournament.

Tianqu University had a total of 5 people entering the main tournament.

Among the remaining twelve universities, only Wu'an University had 3 people entering the main tournament, namely Li Fei, Wang Fengqing, and Li Tianyu.

All other universities had only 1 person entering the main tournament!

From this list, one could clearly see the gap between the thirteen universities and the top sects of the Buddhist and Daoist families.

As one of the organizers, Tianqu University had a clear advantage in the group draw for the preliminary round, which was more favorable to the participating students of Tianqu University.

For example, the groups drawn had a weaker average strength of participants.

For example, several students from Tianqu University were in the same group, working together to 'guarantee' one person to qualify.

Under these circumstances, Tianqu University ultimately only had 2 people make it into the main tournament.

Other universities didn't even have a single person make it into the main tournament.

It was conceivable that if main tournament spots hadn't been given directly, the names of students from various universities on this list would probably be even fewer.

Perhaps in the end, only the three Dao Foundation stage martial artists, Li Fei, Wang Fengqing, and Yuwen Donghao, would enter the main tournament.

The Shangqing Sect, also an organizer, occupied a great advantage, not only having the most main tournament spots and participants, but also drawing a 'lucky draw' for its own disciples in the preliminary round stage.

But even under these circumstances, the Shangqing Sect only had one more person entering the main tournament than Pudu Temple.

One could see the foundation of this thousand-year-old temple, Pudu Temple!

This time, they really sent the strongest lineup of the young generation.

The crowd near the list was suddenly in a commotion.

Two big shots were walking towards this side:

Vice Principal of Tianqu University, Martial Arts Grandmaster Yuwen Xinzhang.

Elder of the Shangqing Sect, Martial Arts Grandmaster Xuan Ming.

These two walked to the blank list.

Newspaper reporters swarmed over, and cameras and live broadcast equipment were quickly set up.

"Everyone, next, let's invite Vice Principal of Tianqu University, Grandmaster Yuwen Xinzhang, and Elder of the Shangqing Sect, Grandmaster Xuan Ming, to draw the match-up table for the main tournament for us!"

Someone introduced loudly.

Before the draw began, staff members wrote the eight names in eight different places on the blank list.

These eight names were exactly the eight peerless Heaven's Pride mentioned in 《Discussion on Heaven's Pride》!

"The main tournament in the next stage will be divided into eight divisions, and the final eight spots will be born from these eight divisions."

"We will first write the names of the eight peerless Heaven's Pride into these eight divisions respectively; this is to avoid them meeting each other too early, and also to make the competition more exciting."

The staff continued to introduce loudly.

The eight peerless Heaven's Pride entered eight different divisions, which basically meant that everyone else had no chance with the top eight of this tournament...

Regarding such an arrangement, even if the other main tournament participants were resentful in their hearts, they didn't dare to stand out and say anything.

Who told you not to be a peerless Heaven's Pride?

Of course, the person most unhappy among those present actually intended to jump out and say something.

But before he could make a move, a pressure like a mountain pressed down on him out of thin air, making him unable to move!

Yuwen Xinzhang, standing in front of the list, looked at someone in the crowd with a stern gaze and transmitted his voice with force:

"Behave yourself!"

Yuwen Donghao, who was firmly pressed by the gravity divine ability, had eyes full of fire and gritted his teeth.

"Let's invite Vice Principal of Tianqu University, Grandmaster Yuwen Xinzhang, to draw the first list of participants for us."

Hearing this, Yuwen Xinzhang reached into a transparent box, took out a small ball from it at will, and then opened the small ball in front of everyone, taking out the slip of paper with a name written on it.

He unfolded the slip of paper, revealing the name written on it.

Then the staff wrote this name into the first division.

Next was Elder Xuan Ming of the Shangqing Sect drawing the second participant, whose name was written in the second division.

And so on.

"Yuwen Donghao!"

A moment later, the staff read out this name.

There was a commotion at the scene.

As one of the only nine Dao Foundation stage martial artists in this tournament, although his name did not appear in 《Discussion on Heaven's Pride》, Yuwen Donghao still attracted a lot of attention.

The eight peerless Heaven's Pride were divided into eight divisions, which meant that one division would have two Dao Foundation stage martial artists.

Whichever division Yuwen Donghao entered, that division would be the veritable 'Death Division'!

Under the gaze of everyone, the staff wrote Yuwen Donghao's name in the fifth division.

In the first line of the fifth division, Li Fei's name was written.

The 'First in History' and Yuwen Donghao were divided into the same division!

Yuwen Xinzhang secretly glanced at Yuwen Donghao in the crowd and quietly put away his gravity divine ability.

Yuwen Donghao was stunned, looking at his name and Li Fei's name being written into the same division, and immediately understood.

"Old... Old man is still sensible."

Yuwen Donghao touched his increasingly balding head and smiled.

Among the eight peerless Heaven's Pride, Li Fei, this 'First in History', had more fame than the other seven combined!

If he could beat him, the benefits would naturally be the greatest.

Yuwen Donghao felt that his old man still understood him.

His name was of course not drawn by Yuwen Xinzhang, but by Elder Xuan Ming.

But Yuwen Donghao knew with his feet that this must be an internal operation.

As an organizer, this was also a kind of 'unspoken rule' that all parties tacitly agreed to.

Even if the crowd felt there was something fishy, they didn't have the guts to stand out and publicly accuse the two Martial Arts Grandmasters of having problems.

The draw continued.

"Zhuo Buping!"

A moment later, the draw reached the fifth division again, and a participant named Zhuo Buping was drawn into this division.

Everyone at the scene looked at this name with sympathetic eyes.

Although there was no hope for the top eight, as long as one could advance one more round in the main tournament, one could obtain more generous rewards!

So the other participants hoped that they wouldn't be drawn into the 'Death Division'.

"Buping..."

In the crowd, a man wearing a Tianqu University school uniform looked at his companion with sympathetic eyes.

The other party had a naturally bitter face, with a bit of gloom on his face, and after seeing his name being drawn, his expression became even more bitter.

He was Zhuo Buping, a fifth-year student at Tianqu University, 23 years old this year, with a peak Qi Transformation stage cultivation.

Among the two students from Tianqu University who made it into the main tournament from the preliminary round, one of them was him.

"It's okay, at least it's not meeting two Dao Foundation stage martial artists in the first round, there's still a chance."

Zhuo Buping comforted himself with a bitter smile.

"Hey, it's a pity you fought too hard in the preliminary round, and your injuries haven't healed yet."

The companion said regretfully.

In the preliminary round stage, Tianqu University chose to use many people to protect one, ensuring that one person could successfully make it into the main tournament.

But this person was not Zhuo Buping.

The group he entered, although the average strength was relatively weak, was also very difficult to qualify from.

He killed his way out of that group by his own strength, and the price paid was that his injuries had not healed.

The two continued to stand in the crowd waiting for the subsequent draw results.

"Yue Xu."

Another name was read out, and this person was also a student of Tianqu University.

Up to this point, Tianqu University had a total of 5 main tournament participants, and 3 of them had already been divided into the same division, and it was still the 'Death Division'!

As the host, such a draw looked extremely bad, making it impossible not to suspect that there was dark box operation inside.

"Buping, your opponent in the first round is Yue Xu."

The companion said to Zhuo Buping.

Yue Xu was one of the people who directly obtained a main tournament spot at Tianqu University.

The other party's strength was not much worse than Zhuo Buping's, and he had been resting and waiting for work for the past three days without any consumption.

Under such circumstances, it would be very difficult for Zhuo Buping to pass the first round!

"Mm, let's go."

After determining his opponent in the first round, Zhuo Buping turned and walked out of the crowd, preparing to rest and recuperate.

The two had just walked out of the playground when they were called by someone.

"Zhuo Buping."

A young man with a warm smile on his face walked towards the two.

"Senior Yue Xu."

Zhuo Buping and his companion bowed to the visitor.

The visitor was exactly Zhuo Buping's opponent in the first round of the main tournament, Yue Xu.

"I want to chat with him alone."

Yue Xu said to Zhuo Buping's companion.

The companion looked at Zhuo Buping with a strange expression and nodded: "Okay."

Then he walked to the side, leaving space for the two.

"Junior, we are opponents in the first round."

Yue Xu said to Zhuo Buping with a smile.

"Yes."

Zhuo Buping nodded with a bitter face.

"I've watched your matches over the past three days, you fought very fiercely, you must be seriously injured, right?"

Yue Xu asked.

Zhuo Buping's eyes changed; this matter couldn't be hidden anyway, so he still nodded:

"The injuries have indeed not healed."

"Junior, we are all classmates, I'll just say it straight. If there's anything offensive, please forgive me, Junior."

Yue Xu cupped his hands to Zhuo Buping.

"Senior is too polite, please speak."

Zhuo Buping had already anticipated what the other party was going to say.

Sure enough, Yue Xu lowered his voice:

"Since your injuries are so serious, Junior, I'm afraid you won't have enough strength to win the upcoming matches. It just so happens that we met, so why don't you just not fight so hard next, Junior? We are all in the same university, we should be fighting for the honor of Tianqu, there's no need for infighting."

Tianqu University had a total of 5 main tournament participants, and 3 of them were divided into the same division, which was indeed a coincidence.

In the preliminary round stage, the Shangqing Sect and Tianqu University, as organizers, could arrange the 'draw' for their own participants without going too far.

But after entering the main tournament, every round forward meant a large amount of resources, so the room for operation for the Shangqing Sect and Tianqu University became much smaller.

Tianqu University chose to bet everything on Yuwen Donghao.

After 'operating' Yuwen Donghao's 'draw', the remaining students could only listen to fate.

Under these circumstances, Zhuo Buping and Yue Xu were drawn into the 'Death Division'.

But this gave Yue Xu an opportunity.

"Senior Yue Xu."

Zhuo Buping was silent for a moment, looking at the other party, "In my current state, I believe you are confident in winning against me, but you still came to find me; the best result is nothing more than letting you enter the next round in a better state."

"That's right."

Yue Xu nodded frankly.

Zhuo Buping asked in confusion: "But even if you enter the next round, your opponent will be that First in History..."

Even if Yue Xu won the first round, his opponent in the next round, the round of 32 to 16, would be Li Fei.

Then, no matter whether his state was good or bad, would the final result have any changes?

This was what Zhuo Buping couldn't figure out.

"Of course I can't beat that First in History."

Yue Xu said a piece of nonsense.

His smile remained unchanged: "But this tournament will have specific rankings starting from the top 32, even if I can't make it into the top 16, I can still strive for a better ranking."

"."

Zhuo Buping was silent.

They hadn't even passed the first round, and the other party had already started calculating the ranking of the top 32, which made him a bit unsure of how to evaluate it.

"Junior, of course, this matter won't let you do it for nothing; I will definitely have a heavy reward afterwards!"

Yue Xu said to Zhuo Buping with a sincere face.

His father was the Deputy Chief Inspector of the Inspectorate Department of Cang Province, a 15th-rank official, the pinnacle of fourth-rank sitting officials, with great power.

Most importantly, his father had the opportunity to go one step further, be promoted to Chief Inspector of the Inspectorate Department, and become a cabinet official!

Under such circumstances, even if his combat power wasn't the most top-notch among the 10 participating students of Tianqu University, he easily obtained a spot to enter the main tournament directly.

It was also because of such a background that the promise he gave at this time seemed exceptionally weighty.

He believed Zhuo Buping knew how to choose.

Since he was already injured and basically had no hope of advancing to the next round, it was better to simply lose the match to him.

Not only could he obtain an extra sum of compensation, but more importantly, he could also gain his friendship!

Any smart person knew how to calculate this account.

Yue Xu looked at Zhuo Buping with a smile.

Zhuo Buping fell into silence.

His parents named him 'Buping' (Not Ordinary/Not Flat), hoping that he could become an extraordinary person.

Getting into Tianqu University, becoming a Force-Refining martial artist, and now even making it into the main tournament of the Martial Arts Exchange Tournament, competing on the same stage with many elites in the world.

He was indeed worthy of this name 'Buping'.

But along the way, Zhuo Buping had also witnessed too much 'injustice' (buping):

His background was ordinary, and he was able to afford university only with the support of a family, so even though they were classmates, he couldn't obtain an equal status with the young master of that family.

He didn't have the support of a big force, so he couldn't compete equally with others when doing credit tasks.

When setting the main tournament spots, even if his strength was the most outstanding besides Yuwen Donghao, he couldn't get a main tournament spot.

Now that he had finally fought his way into the main tournament with his life, someone told him 'you should simply lose the match'.

Just because the other party's father was a sitting official, while his father was just a small businessman doing business.

There is much injustice in the world.

People named 'Buping' will always encounter injustice.

There are two more updates tonight.

(End of chapter)