Chapter 908 - 731: Opening Ceremony — Drum Beating

"The betting is open, the betting is open, which teams will reach the second round of this Martial Arts Tournament?

The chance to get rich overnight is right in front of you, hurry and place your bets, seize the moment!"

"Between the White Tiger Seal and Ape King Seal, Immortal Crane Seal and Human King Seal, who will be the final victor, breakthrough to the top five of the Martial Arts Tournament, replacing the Treasure Vase Seal’s position, bringing glory to the sect?"

"The Martial Arts Tournament tickets are now on sale! For just ten taels of silver, you can enter the venue early.

Secure the best vantage point near the ring and enjoy the best viewing experience!

Ten taels of silver, yes, you heard right, only ten taels of silver!"

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Buy Elixirs and trust in Hundred Herbs Hall, healing wounds and curing diseases!"

In the southeast corner of Fan City, Fan Kingdom, stands a villa built specifically for the Martial Arts Tournament, called ’Martial Arts Villa.’

The Martial Arts Villa is surrounded by high red walls, with numerous small shops built closely against the walls.

Some sell drinks, some sell weapons, some sell food, some sell information, and there are those who sell...

The sound of peddlers is endless, everyone trying to make a fortune during this grand event.

The outer side within the villa is constructed like any grand estate, lush trees and grasses, corridors, pavilions, small bridges, ponds... further inside lies the center, where forty gigantic Martial Arts Arenas are built.

Each Martial Arts Arena is entirely paved with gray-white steel rock.

Rising three feet above the ground, thirty zhang long, twenty zhang wide, with a rigid fence made of Earth Profound Iron, over one zhang high.

The cost of building such a Martial Arts Arena might equal a small estate.

Among the various Martial Arts Arenas, there’s a thirty zhang distance, with the extra space reserved for the on-site audience.

At this moment, all Martial Arts schools aiming for the top five have gathered here, ready for the once-in-a-decade grand event to begin.

"...Today, heroes and champions gather from far and wide, truly the grand event of our True Profound Continent once every ten years...

The Martial Arts Tournament’s main aim is to prove martial skills, everyone should give their all to avoid regrets, but do not bear a murderous intent to deliberately harm others, the first principle in learning martial arts is benevolence..."

At the most central Martial Arts Arena, a bald old monk dressed in a golden robe, with hoary eyebrows and eyes shining radiantly, face without a hint of wrinkles, speaks with exceedingly loud voice.

As soon as he opens his mouth, his words seem to echo in everyone’s ear.

"The Vein Master of the Immovable Bright King Seal lineage, Master Wukong, led the sect to the top of the rankings in the last tournament, calling him the best in the world might not be an exaggeration!"

"A high figure like Master Wukong isn’t our target, we should consider whether we can successfully break into the second round!"

"Look, quick look, disciples from other main veins are also here!"

In everyone’s gaze, a large number of disciples from the Lion Seal, Sun Seal, Binding Seal, and Treasure Vase Seal all step onto that Martial Arts Arena, silently standing behind the old monk.

At the top of the Martial Arts Arena, four red drums are placed, a person stretching both hands can only cover half the width of the drum.

The large drums, seemingly flimsy, actually sound ’swish swish’ in the wind.

"Are they going to perform the routine of beating the Four Seas Drum again?

The Four Seas Drum signifies the brotherhood under heaven, made of thin red paper, truly a drum of paper.

To beat it without breaking, allowing the sound to resonate throughout, is no ordinary challenge!"

"Indeed, especially when needing to strike it from a distance, requiring masterful control, only doable by Martial Arts Grandmaster."

"Beating the Four Seas Drum is difficult for us, but with many experts in the five main veins, it should be no problem...

However, it might be tough for the Treasure Vase Seal Lineage, without any noteworthy experts, last tournament, their Vein Master beat the Four Seas Drum personally."

In everyone’s focused gaze.

A middle-aged male from the Sun Seal disciples steps forward, his forehead protruding, eyes bright like bulbs, visibly showing his strong Power.

"It’s Hero Zuo, Zuo Weiqing, a disciple brother of the current Vein Master of Sun Seal, reportedly with Power on par with his master, well-known in the Martial World for years..."

This middle-aged man from the Sun Seal looks calm and composed, casually points at the first red drum.

A golden ray breaks through the air.

Approaching the paper drum, it surprisingly splits into hundreds and thousands of tiny rays, simultaneously striking different positions on the paper drum.

’Dong!’

A deep and resonant drum sound echoes, the surface of the paper drum remains undamaged.

Among those present who understand the technique can’t help but continuously applaud.

"What a marvelous trick of Qi and Blood division!

The paper drum has weak endurance, a little too much force would break it.

But dividing the Power into hundreds and thousands of portions eliminates this worry."

"This move isn’t simple, it requires dividing Qi and Blood Power into hundreds and thousands of portions and hitting the drum simultaneously, without any error.

Precision in controlling Qi and Blood to that degree is extremely demanding!"

"I’ve heard, Zuo Weiqing has quite a few disciple brothers with similar strength, the last Martial Arts Tournament saw drum being beaten by one of them...

The depth of foundation the five main veins possess is indeed profound, casually sending out someone this strong!"

The Sun Seal Lineage sends a disciple brother of the Vein Master to beat the paper drum, not only demonstrating the sect’s strength but also showcasing its extraordinary foundation.

Even if the Vein Master doesn’t act, there are still plenty of able individuals to beat the Four Seas Drum.

Next, a disciple from the Binding Seal Lineage steps forward, another robust man around the age of forty.

The robust man instantly sends a gust of Hei Feng, landing on the second red drum, instantly tautening it, resonating a bright sound akin to metal being struck.

’Dong!’

This technique, concealing mystery, also draws much applause.

"Binding Seal has the power to imprison and lock everything; even when other main branches encounter it, they have to shout in headache.

Veteran expert Chen Chi ingeniously used the power of the Binding Seal to bind the Four Seas Drum, which gave it strength far beyond the ordinary..."

"I see, by using the Binding Seal to bind the paper drum, and then striking it forcefully in that instant, it can produce an effect akin to ordinary Spiritual Ox Hide!"

Someone on the scene interpreted this move of the Binding Seal expert, saying its ingenuity was no less than the Sun Seal’s action, eliciting continuous praise.

The third to appear was a disciple of the Lion Seal Sect.

He appeared much younger, but his cheeks had a thick beard, and his exposed neck and arms were covered with black hair.

Upon seeing him, everyone was shocked because this person was Han Ping, the chief disciple of the Lion Seal Vein Master, whose seniority was a generation younger than the previous two.

Due to his past glorious achievements, no one doubted his strong power.

Yet, the Martial Arts Tournament was too special and important, and there couldn’t be any mistakes in beating the drum; otherwise, they’d become a laughing stock in the Martial World.

The Five Major Sects often send people who have both strength and experience.

Sending young experts to the stage carries great risk, for there have been cases of failure in history.

However, the doubts of the audience lasted only for a moment before being directly broken by Han Ping’s action.

’Boom!’

Silver light emanated from Han Ping’s body, decisively hitting the third red drum, producing a loud drum sound not inferior to the previous two.

At the moment the drum sounded, the silver light bounced back and returned to his body.

The spectators were silent for a moment; everyone was reflecting on Han Ping’s strike, analyzing the principle.

"I understand, I understand!" Suddenly, someone shouted.

Seeing all eyes on him, he excitedly said, "Young Hero Han’s strike just now was swift like thunder!

And before the paper drum was damaged, he recovered all qi-blood energy without leaking the slightest bit, only then would the paper drum not be damaged!"

Upon hearing this explanation, everyone couldn’t help but gasp, shocked by Han Ping’s formidable strength.

Its difficulty level even surpassed the previous two.

"Amazing! The Lion Seal really produces talents; the younger generation are comparable to the older generation!"

"Han Ping truly deserves the name of a prodigy, genuinely having the potential to break the Heaven and Earth Profound Gate and advance to the Supreme True Profound Realm!"

"The Lion Seal lineage might very well take the top spot this time; last time, they were just a step away..."

Hearing the praises from the crowd, Han Ping couldn’t help but curl his lips, then teasedly looked at the nearby Treasure Vase Seal Lineage.

"Senior Zhou, it’s your turn."

Zhou Xinghai, the Vein Master of the Treasure Vase Seal Lineage, stood firmly at the front of many disciples.

His head was full of white hair, his figure thin and slightly hunched, looking like an old farmer who didn’t practice martial arts.

The Essence, Qi, and Spirit of the disciples behind him were clearly not as strong as the other four main branches.

In the previous two Martial Arts Tournaments, he was the one who personally beat the drum.

This also reflected the pitiful state of the Treasure Vase Seal Lineage, with no successors.

Beating the paper drum required the Vein Master himself, which was evidently different from the other veins.

However, this time he did not go forward; instead, a man who appeared even younger than Han Ping silently walked out from behind.

He wore the uniquely azure-grey wide-sleeve robe of the Treasure Vase Seal Lineage, with a tall and upright figure and firm facial features that carried a touch of heroism.

"It’s you!" Han Ping squinted his eyes, clearly having a strong impression of this person.

"We meet again, Gorilla." the person opposite grinned, almost provoking Han Ping to act on the spot.

"I’ll be watching to see how you perform later." Han Ping forced out words through clenched teeth.

Although this person had incidentally blocked his casual attack before, he truly didn’t believe the opponent could beat the drum without damage.

The strike he just performed looked simple but was actually the exhibition of a lifetime’s power; not to mention how many times he had practiced it privately.

The Four Seas Drum requires not only absolute power but operation precise to the smallest margin, requiring a vast accumulation of experience and time.

The kid opposite looked much younger than himself.

How could it be possible for him to accomplish what Han Ping can only achieve with full effort?

Many on the scene thought like Han Ping.

"Who is this guy? A new disciple of the Treasure Vase Seal? I’ve never seen him before."

"Why isn’t the old Vein Master of the Treasure Vase Seal taking action? Are they just giving up?"

"Sigh, regardless, the Treasure Vase Seal is basically going to fall out of the Five Major Main Branches this time..."

Based on past achievements, the audience had no expectations for the unfamiliar face of the Treasure Vase Seal.

Yet, before the discussion continued, they saw the unfamiliar young man in their eyes open his mouth.

An invisible sound wave transmitted from his mouth.

’Boom!’

In the next moment, the Four Seas Drum issued a sound much louder than the previous three times.

’What’s the principle behind this?’

Most people on the scene showed expressions of shock and bewilderment in their eyes.

Those like Han Ping who were waiting to see a spectacle also found their expressions suddenly frozen.

...