Chapter 464: The World is Full of Injustice

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

At exactly 7:00 AM, the playground used for the competition was already packed with people.

The eight square rings built previously had all been removed, leaving only a massive circular playground surrounded by six stone pillars over ten meters high.

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 individually.

Every contestant 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, showcasing their own style!

In the center of the venue, two huge boards were placed; the one on the left displayed the list of contestants who had entered the main tournament, while the one on the right was still blank.

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

Behind these names, their respective universities or sects were also written, and names from the same university or sect were grouped together.

Therefore, it was clear at a glance which institution had the most people entering the main tournament this time.

Ranked first was the Profound Clarity Sect!

Aside from Gan Jingcheng, a Foundation Establishment powerhouse who automatically entered the main tournament, the Profound Clarity Sect, as the organizer of this tournament, also held 4 spots for the main tournament.

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

In total, 14 people from the Profound Clarity Sect entered the main tournament!

Ranked second was the Mount Pudu Temple.

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

Therefore, the Mount Pudu Temple ultimately had 13 people enter the main tournament.

Ranked third was the Great Luo Sect.

Aside from Ning Tang Chuan and Ning Xing, the Great Luo Sect also had 3 spots for the main tournament, and among the remaining 25 disciples, 6 made it into the main tournament, for a total of 11 people entering the main tournament.

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

Ranked fifth was the other organizer, Tianqu University.

Aside from Yuwen Yuwen Donghao, who entered automatically, Tianqu University had 2 spots for the main tournament, and among the remaining 7 students, 2 made it into the main tournament.

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

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

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

From this board, one could clearly see the gap between the thirteen universities and the top sects of Buddhism and Daoism.

As one of the organizers, Tianqu University clearly had a more favorable group draw for its participating students during the preliminary stage.

For example, the groups they were drawn into had opponents with weaker average strength.

For example, several Tianqu University students were in the same group, working together to "escort" one person to qualify.

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

Other universities did not even have a single person make it into the main tournament.

It is conceivable that if the spots for the main tournament had not been given directly, the names of students from various universities on this board would likely be even fewer.

Perhaps in the end, only the three Foundation Establishment cultivators Li Fei, Wang Wang Fengqing, and Yuwen Yuwen Donghao would have entered the main tournament.

The Profound Clarity Sect, also an organizer, held a great advantage; not only did they have the most main tournament spots and participants, but they also drew a "top-tier lot" for their own disciples during the preliminary stage.

But even under these circumstances, the Profound Clarity Sect only had one more person enter the main tournament than the Mount Pudu Temple.

This shows the foundation of the Mount Pudu Temple, a thousand-year-old treasure temple!

They truly sent out the strongest lineup of the younger generation this time.

The crowd near the board suddenly became restless.

Two big figures were walking toward this side:

The Vice President of Tianqu University, Martial Dao Master Yuwen Yuwen Xinzhang.

The Elder of the Profound Clarity Sect, Martial Dao Master Xuanming.

These two walked up to the blank board.

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

"Everyone, we now invite Vice President of Tianqu University Master Yuwen Yuwen Xinzhang and Profound Clarity Sect Elder Master Xuanming to draw the match bracket for the main tournament for us!"

Someone announced loudly.

Before the drawing began, staff members wrote eight names in eight different places on the blank board.

These eight names were precisely the eight peerless prodigies mentioned in the "Discussion of Heavenly Talents"!

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

"We are first writing the names of the eight peerless prodigies into these eight divisions separately; this is to avoid them meeting each other too early, and also to make the competition more exciting."

The staff member continued to introduce loudly.

With the eight peerless prodigies entering eight different divisions, this basically meant that everyone else had no chance at the top eight of this tournament.

Regarding such an arrangement, even if the other main tournament contestants were indignant, they dared not stand up and say anything.

Who told you that you aren't a peerless prodigy?

Of course, the person in the crowd who was most unhappy was actually planning to jump out and say something.

But before he could make a move, a pressure like a mountain suddenly descended upon him out of thin air, leaving him unable to move!

Yuwen Yuwen Xinzhang, standing in front of the board, cast a stern look at someone in the crowd and used internal force to transmit his voice:

"Behave yourself!"

Pinned down by the gravity ability, Yuwen Yuwen Donghao's eyes blazed with fire, and he gritted his teeth.

"We now invite Vice President of Tianqu University Master Yuwen Yuwen Xinzhang to draw the first contestant list for us."

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Yuwen Xinzhang reached into a transparent box, randomly took out a small ball, and then opened the 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.

Subsequently, the staff member wrote this name into the first division.

Next, Profound Clarity Sect Elder Master Xuanming drew the second contestant, and the name was written in the second division.

This was repeated.

"Yuwen Yuwen Donghao!"

At a certain moment, the staff member read out this name.

The scene was in an uproar.

As one of the only nine Foundation Establishment cultivators in this tournament, even though his name did not appear in the "Discussion of Heavenly Talents," Yuwen Yuwen Donghao still attracted a lot of attention.

The eight peerless prodigies were divided into eight divisions, which meant that one division would have two Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Whichever division Yuwen Yuwen Donghao entered, that division would be the true "Death Division"!

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

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

The "First in History" and Yuwen Yuwen Donghao were placed in the same division!

Yuwen Yuwen Xinzhang covertly glanced at Yuwen Yuwen Donghao in the crowd and quietly retracted his gravity ability.

Yuwen Yuwen Donghao was startled, and seeing his name and Li Fei's written into the same division, he immediately understood.

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

Yuwen Yuwen Donghao touched his increasingly thinning top of his head, a smile appearing on his face.

Among the eight peerless prodigies, the fame of Li Fei, the "First in History," was greater than the other seven combined!

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

Yuwen Yuwen Donghao felt that his old man still understood him.

His name was, of course, not drawn by Yuwen Yuwen Xinzhang, but by Master Xuanming.

But Yuwen Yuwen Donghao knew with his feet that this was definitely an inside job.

As an organizer, this was a kind of "unspoken rule" that all parties tacitly accepted.

Even if the people present felt there was something fishy, they didn't have the guts to stand up and publicly accuse the two Martial Dao Masters of having issues.

The drawing continued.

"Zhuo Buping!"

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

Everyone present 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!

Therefore, the other contestants all hoped they would not be drawn into the "Death Division."

"Buping..."

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

The other party had a naturally bitter look, with a bit of gloom on his face; after seeing his name 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 cultivation base at the peak of Qi Transformation.

Of the two Tianqu University students who made it into the main tournament from the preliminaries, he was one of them.

"It's fine, at least I'm not meeting two Foundation Establishment cultivators in the first round; there's still a chance."

Zhuo Buping comforted himself with a bitter smile.

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

The companion said regretfully.

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

But that person was not Zhuo Buping.

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

He fought his way out of that group through sheer strength, but the price he paid was an unhealed injury.

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

"Yue Xu."

Another name was called; this person was also a student of Tianqu University.

With this, out of the 5 main tournament contestants from Tianqu University, 3 had already been placed in the same division, and a "Group of Death" at that!

As the host, such a draw seemed terrible to the extreme, making it impossible not to suspect that there was some behind-the-scenes manipulation.

"Bu Ping, your first-round opponent is Yue Xu."

A companion said to Zhuo Buping.

Yue Xu was one of the individuals who had directly obtained a spot in the main tournament for Tianqu University.

The other party's strength was not much worse than Zhuo Buping's to begin with, and he had been resting while others worked hard for the past three days, without any expenditure of energy.

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

"Mm, let's go."

After confirming his first-round opponent, Zhuo Buping turned and walked out of the crowd, preparing to go and rest.

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

"Zhuo Buping."

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

"Senior Yue Xu."

Zhuo Buping and his companion bowed to the newcomer.

The person who had come was none other than Zhuo Buping's opponent for the first round of the main tournament, Yue Xu.

"I would like to have a private chat with him."

Yue Xu said to Zhuo Buping's companion.

The companion looked at Zhuo Buping with a strange expression, then nodded and said, "Alright."

Then he walked to the side, leaving the space to the two of them.

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

Yue Xu said to Zhuo Buping with a smile.

"Yes."

Zhuo Buping nodded with a bitter expression.

"I watched your matches over the past three days, Junior; you fought very fiercely. You're quite badly injured, aren't you?"

Yue Xu asked.

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

"The injuries have indeed not yet healed."

"Junior, we are all fellow students, so I will speak plainly. If there is any offense, I ask for your understanding."

Yue Xu cupped his hands toward Zhuo Buping.

"Senior is too polite, please speak."

Zhuo Buping already had a premonition of what the other party was going to say.

Sure enough, Yue Xu lowered his voice:

"Since your injuries are so severe, Junior, I fear you will lack the strength to win the upcoming matches. Since we happen to have met, why don't you just stop fighting so hard? We are all from the same university, and we should be fighting for the honor of Tianqu; there is no need for infighting."

Tianqu University had a total of 5 main tournament contestants, and 3 of them being placed in the same division was indeed a coincidence.

During the preliminary stage, as the organizers, the Shangqing Sect and Tianqu University could arrange the "draw luck" of their own contestants without being too excessive.

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

Tianqu University chose to bet everything on Yuwen Yuwen Donghao.

After "operating" the "draw" for Yuwen Yuwen Donghao, the remaining students could only leave their fate to the heavens.

Under these circumstances, Zhuo Buping and Yue Xu were drawn into the "Group of Death."

But this had allowed Yue Xu to see 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 beating me, but you still came to find me. The best result is nothing more than allowing you to enter the next round in a better state."

"That's right."

Yue Xu nodded candidly.

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

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

Regardless of whether his state was good or bad, would the final result change in any way?

This was the part Zhuo Buping could not figure out.

"Of course I can't beat that number one in history."

Yue Xu said something obvious.

The smile on his face 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 yet, and the other party had already started calculating the ranking for the top 32; this made him unsure of how to evaluate the situation.

"Junior, this matter certainly won't be for nothing; I will definitely reward you heavily afterward!"

Yue Xu said to Zhuo Buping with a sincere expression.

His father was the Deputy Inspector General of the Cang Province Inspection Department, a level 15 official, at the pinnacle of the fourth-rank seated officials, holding high power and influence.

Most importantly, his father had the opportunity to go one step further, to be promoted to Inspector General of the Inspection Department and become a Cabinet Official!

Under these circumstances, even if his combat power was not the absolute top among the 10 contestants from Tianqu University, he had easily obtained a spot to enter the main tournament directly.

It was also because of this background that the promise he gave at this moment seemed particularly weighty.

He believed Zhuo Buping knew how to choose.

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

Not only could he gain an extra profit, but more importantly, he could gain his friendship!

Any smart person would know how to calculate this account.

Yue Xu looked at Zhuo Buping with a smile.

Zhuo Buping fell into silence.

His parents named him "Buping" (Uncommon/Uneven), hoping he would become an uncommon person.

He was admitted to Tianqu University, became a Force-Refining Martial Master, and now had even fought his way into the main tournament of the Martial Arts Exchange Tournament, competing on the same stage as many talents of the world.

He was indeed worthy of the name "Buping."

But along this journey, Zhuo Buping had also witnessed too much "injustice" (buping):

His background was ordinary, and he was only able to afford university through the sponsorship of a noble family, so even as fellow students, he could not achieve an equal status with the young master of that noble family.

He did not have the support of a major power, so he could not compete equally with others when doing credit tasks.

When the main tournament spots were decided, even though his strength was the most outstanding besides Yuwen Yuwen Donghao, he could not get a spot in the main tournament.

Now that he had finally fought his way into the main tournament with his life on the line, someone told him, "You should simply lose."

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

The world is full of injustice.

People named "Buping" will always encounter injustice.

There will be two more chapters tonight.

(End of this chapter)