I Can Devour Spirits

Chapter 280 - 267: Tournament Rules (Part 2)

If a person is born with supernatural strength, their skeletal strength must be far superior to that of ordinary people; otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to withstand their own formidable power.

Beside Lv Qingzhu was Ah Mo, who, despite their ugly appearance, was clearly an extraordinarily gifted individual. To have someone like this as a servant, Shen Yanliu had long been secretly speculating about Lv Qingzhu’s identity.

And Lv Qingzhu and Ah Mo were both sitting there with an air of calmness; Ah Mo felt that if the young lady could sit there, she could sit there too.

Lv Qingzhu felt the same way. She and Ah Mo had grown up together, and although they were master and servant in name, they were actually family.

As the time approached, suddenly a copper gong sounded loudly, and the noisy crowd instantly grew quiet.

At that moment, Qin Shuban, holding a stack of documents, led the candidates for this Talent Selection Conference out of the County Office doors and lined them up neatly in front of the Martial Arts Selection Platform.

Qin Shuban walked slowly to the front of the viewing area, cupping his hands and saying loudly, "Reporting to the County Magistrate and all the inspectors! The identity of each candidate registered for this Talent Selection Conference has been fully verified. There are a total of twenty-four individuals! All information is accurate, with no errors or omissions!"

In the crowd, seeing a row of people standing in front of the Martial Arts Selection Platform and hearing the number twenty-four, there was an immediate stir.

"In the past few years, the most there have been is fifteen or sixteen people. Why has the number suddenly increased so much this year?"

"Indeed. Look, even Tao Rong and Ximen Kankan are here. They are strong contenders! It’s said that they’ve both achieved the Great Success Realm!"

"In past years, it would take several conventions to have one achieve the Great Success Realm. This year, two have appeared at once."

"I really hope the two of them have a match; that would be exciting..."

Shen Yanliu nodded and said, "Hmm, proceed with the announcement!"

Qin Shuban then walked back to the front of the Martial Arts Selection Platform, looking at the lineup of candidates, and suddenly said in a deep voice, "Qiu Tong, step forward!"

At that moment, a pale, thin young man stepped forward.

Qiu Tong was the only son of the Black Tiger Martial Arts Hall’s owner, Qiu Yan!

Qin Shuban glanced at Qiu Tong, then picked up a document and read out Qiu Tong’s background details in front of the crowd.

This was one of the fixed procedures of the Talent Selection Conference; anyone with doubts about Qiu Tong’s background details could report it on the spot. Once verified, the sect would award a handsome reward in silver coins.

Ah Mo, sitting there, suddenly said, "Miss, that seems to be a touch?"

Lv Qingzhu smiled and said, "I know."

Duan Rong was actually standing with his back to them, and next to Duan Rong, with one person in between, was Ximen Kankan, who was standing there, continuously winking at Duan Rong.

The two of them hadn’t seen each other for almost two months.

On New Year’s Eve, Ximen Kankan came looking for Duan Rong twice, but missed him both times.

After the new year, Duan Rong did go to the West Gate Mansion to pay respects. After all, he acknowledged Ximen Yong as an uncle, and etiquette couldn’t be abandoned. That time, he did have a meal with Ximen Kankan.

After that, they were both busy with assessments, and Ximen Yong kept Ximen Kankan strictly under control, leaving him almost no free time, so the two hadn’t seen each other much in the following two months.

Just as Qin Shuban was reading out each candidate’s background details to the crowd, the old Temple Priest, Xu Dongyang, with a duster tucked into his waist and hands behind his back, walked over and stood on the outer edge of the crowd, looking into the field.

Xu Dongyang was quite tall, and his eyesight was excellent. Although he stood a bit far away, he could clearly see everything inside the field.

"Hey, old Temple Priest, aren’t you supposed to be serving the City God? What brings you here to watch the excitement?"

"What? Can’t I take a nap while serving the City God? Or do you want to keep me shackled in the temple?"

Xu Dongyang’s tone was rather unfriendly, but his eyes were bright like lightning, sweeping across the faces of those standing in front of the Martial Arts Selection Platform.

When Xu Dongyang’s gaze fell on Duan Rong, it suddenly paused. Because he didn’t recognize Duan Rong.

Generally, those who participated in the Talent Selection Conference were young talents, mostly from aristocratic families, but Duan Rong was clearly not one of them.

Like Xu Dongyang, many shared this doubt, and everyone was waiting for Qin Shuban to read out this person’s background so they could hear exactly who this person was.

Xu Dongyang’s gaze lingered on Duan Rong’s face for only a moment before sweeping past, then he looked towards the viewing area.

More than the seed candidates about to compete, Xu Dongyang was more concerned with the five sect envoys in the viewing area.

Because these five sect envoys were not only monitoring the Talent Selection competition, but after the conference, they would also escort the selected registered disciples to the Divine Cloud Prefecture.

Xu Dongyang’s gaze swept over the faces of Fan Yuanhai, Zhu Qunxiang, Lu Qingfeng, Wang Shanshan, and Lv Qingzhu, finally stopping on Ah Mo.

The moment Xu Dongyang’s gaze stopped on Ah Mo, an extremely astonished expression flashed in his old, cloudy eyes...

Amid everyone’s anticipation, Qin Shuban suddenly said in a deep voice, "Duan Rong, step forward!"

Duan Rong took a step forward, and as he stepped out of the crowd, Ximen Kankan stuck his tongue out at him, making a face.

As Duan Rong stepped out of the crowd, people who had been drowsing under the monotonous, chanting tone of Qin Shuban’s voice suddenly perked up, with many pricking up their ears to listen to Qin Shuban read out Duan Rong’s background.

"Duan Rong, seventeen years old. Long-term resident of Xianggu County."

"Father, Duan Heiwa. Grandfather, Duan Shousou. Great-grandfather, Duan Liang."

"Generations of honest citizens."

"Resides in Wutong Lane..."

"Currently an Escort Master at Yuan Shun Escort Agency..."

The crowd suddenly became restless.

"Duan Rong? Wutong Lane?" Amidst the crowd, a sallow and thin young man carefully looked at Duan Rong, standing in front of the Selection Platform. After a long time, he finally saw some familiar traits in Duan Rong’s robust figure. "Is it really that kid from the Duan Family? How is this possible?"

The shock in the crowd was clearly not limited to him alone. Even those who didn’t know Duan Rong began to discuss it. After all, listening to Duan Rong’s background, he was evidently from an ordinary family. Wutong Lane, remote and run-down, was not a desirable place to live.

Isn’t this like a Qilin Zi, emerging from a pile of stones?

Qin Shuban paid no attention to the commotion in the crowd and continued reading aloud on his own accord.

Qin Shuban stood there motionless, speaking at an even, fluent pace, enunciating clearly as he read through the personal details of all twenty-four people.

As soon as he finished reading, Qin Shuban rolled up the stack of documents in his hand, looked at the crowd, and said loudly, "The personal backgrounds have been read out. Is there any objection?"

Qin Shuban paused for several breaths and said, "With no objections, all candidates are confirmed by the County Office and supervised by the public, ensuring accurate identities, and are eligible to participate in the Talent Selection Conference!"

After speaking, Qin Shuban turned to look at Shen Yanliu, who nodded in acknowledgment.

Then Qin Shuban continued, "Now announcing the rules for the Talent Selection Conference’s combat selection. Please, all participants, listen carefully!"

The combat rules for the Talent Selection Conference have long been established and passed down through years!

Duan Rong had already thoroughly understood them beforehand, but he still listened attentively as Qin Shuban spoke.

The selection of sect registered disciples involves only martial combat, and it is conducted through real-time dueling.

This method prevents possible fraud, ensuring the purity of the sect’s new blood to the greatest extent!

Martial combat takes place over three days.

First comes three rounds of chaotic point accumulation battles!

Though they call it chaos, it is essentially one-on-one duels.

However, after three rolling rounds, it’s practically guaranteed that there will be sufficient clashes among the competitors!

One round per day.

The first round features random one-on-one duels. A win gains one point. Losses earn no points.

In the second round, winners face winners; losers face losers. A win gains one point. Losses earn no points.

In the third round, the winners of the second round face winners; losers face losers. A win gains one point. Losses earn no points.

After the three rounds of chaotic point accumulation battles, those who win all three matches and accumulate three points advance directly to become registered disciples.

Those with two points will compete for the remaining spots!

Those with less than two points are eliminated directly!

The number of registered disciples each Talent Selection Conference admits is related to the total number of registrants, namely one-quarter of the total number of registrants plus one, is the total number of registered disciples for this session.

In this example, with twenty-four registrants, the final number of registered disciples will be seven!

During the three rounds of chaotic point accumulation battles, killing is prohibited. If a kill occurs on-site, the killer is disqualified!

Meanwhile, the elimination matches after the chaotic point accumulation battles allow challenges, and in this stage, life and death are not considered!

This is the most brutal and fierce stage of the Talent Selection Conference!