Chapter 634 - 256: Purely in Terms of Magic, Our Chongzhen Temple Is Number One in the World

Chapter 634: Chapter 256: Purely in Terms of Magic, Our Chongzhen Temple Is Number One in the World

Such an enthusiastic reaction took even the organizer, who had been too busy preparing for the grand ceremony to attend the auction, by surprise.

Especially after hearing the rumors about a successor from a hidden lineage.

He took a particularly careful look at Xiao Chen as he came to collect his number token and secretly memorized his number.

He decided to pay close attention to his performance in the upcoming Magical Combat.

Xiao Chen wasn’t the only one under such observation.

All Cultivators who displayed excessive strength during the selection process would be marked for observation and promptly reported to the higher-ups.

This allowed Chongzhen Temple to gauge their combat proficiency and take precautions in advance.

The main purpose was to guard against rare, unorthodox methods or unusual side-door arts.

If the younger disciples were unprepared, they could easily be caught off guard and suffer an unexpected defeat in their first encounter with such techniques.

Soon, all the number tokens were distributed.

The first sixteen Loose Cultivators immediately mounted the arenas that had been erected overnight and began to fight in pairs.

Although many Loose Cultivators watched with great interest, Xiao Chen found the whole process rather boring.

The first round, in particular, was a mixed bag, with enormous disparities in strength between many of the opponents.

Normally, the fights should have been completely one-sided.

And should have ended quickly.

In reality, however, many experienced Loose Cultivators were deliberately holding back their true strength.

They were unwilling to reveal their true techniques during the first round of matches.

Instead, they only showed themselves to be a sliver stronger than their opponents.

This was to prevent Chongzhen Temple from rigging the lots, pitting two strong contestants against each other to force them to reveal their trump cards early.

Whether Chongzhen Temple actually had such intentions or not, this strategy was undoubtedly beneficial for the contestants themselves.

The result was that the overall time for the Magical Combat was dragged out.

Not only were the fights less exciting to watch, but those waiting for their turn had to wait even longer.

"Next match, number nine hundred and ninety-nine!"

Finally, the referee’s voice rang out again.

The thoroughly bored Xiao Chen immediately stood up, ready to enter the arena.

At the same time, he braced himself, deciding to control the force of his attack.

Don’t misunderstand. For him, there was absolutely no need to deliberately hold back just to win.

The main reason was that there were no True Monarchs observing this first round of selections.

Xiao Chen was worried that if he used his full power, his opponent would be either severely injured or killed on the spot.

The Late-stage Golden Core referee standing by likely wouldn’t be able to do much about it, either.

’How much power should I use? Maybe I’ll start with ten percent and test the waters?’

Just as Xiao Chen was pondering this, his opponent for this round, a young man in gray robes, shouted decisively, "Wait, I forfeit!"

The young man had already heard the story of what happened at the auction while he was in the crowd.

So, the moment he stepped into the arena, he surrendered.

BOOOO!

The surrounding crowd immediately erupted in boos.

This move undoubtedly disappointed the Loose Cultivators who had been watching Xiao Chen, as they had been hoping for a good show.

"Xiao Chen wins this match!"

The referee in the arena was quite decisive: "Next match..."

The gray-robed youth, however, was unfazed by the crowd. He grinned at Xiao Chen and leaped down from the arena.

’Well, alright. That’s one way to do it, I guess.’

Seeing this, Xiao Chen no longer had to struggle with his decision and returned directly to his bamboo cottage to cultivate.

Only the first round of matches was held today, so he didn’t need to wait any longer.

「The next day.」

Everyone arrived at the arena area early again, and the proceedings were the same as before.

"Next match, number six hundred and ninety-nine!"

Hearing the referee’s announcement, Xiao Chen took the stage once more.

This time, his opponent was a middle-aged man in a brocade robe at the Early Stage of Golden Core.

The man immediately clasped his hands in a salute and said, "It is an honor, Xiao. I have admired your prowess ever since seeing you on Tinglang Island the other day..."

He then launched into a long string of flattery.

"That’s enough!"

Seeing the man doing nothing but showering his opponent with praise, the referee at the side urged, "Time is limited. If you’re ready, begin the match."

Hearing this, the brocade-robed man clasped his hands again, "Xiao is truly a prodigy among men. I am no match for you..."

This time, he wasn’t allowed to finish his sentence.

The referee directly announced, "Xiao Chen wins this match!"

"Next match..."

The brocade-robed man looked as if he still had more to say.

But Xiao Chen didn’t linger, heading straight back to his bamboo cottage.

「The third day.」

Arrived at the arena area again.

Waited around, bored.

Opponent forfeited.

Returned to the bamboo cottage.

On the fourth day, the scene repeated itself... again, and again, and again.

HISS!

Xiao Chen felt like he was trapped in an Illusion.

It was as if he was living the same monotonous day over and over.

Fortunately, on the fifth day, things were different.

After several consecutive days of eliminations, only one hundred and ninety-seven of the registered Loose Cultivators remained.

In other words, winning today meant receiving twenty thousand Spirit Stones and qualifying for the challenge stage.

Moreover, starting from the previous round, some Cultivators had already begun to reveal their true abilities in order to win the Spirit Stone reward.

It was therefore predictable that today’s Magical Combat would be more intense and also more exciting to watch.

Thinking of this, the remaining seven Foundation Establishment Loose Cultivators all prayed internally that they would be matched with a fellow Foundation Establishment opponent.

Of course, there were also Early-stage Golden Core Loose Cultivators who were hoping to draw a Foundation Establishment opponent for an easy victory in this round.

"Due to the number of contestants in this round, one lucky person will receive a bye."

The organizer stepped onto the stage again and drew a small ball with a name written on it from the lottery box.

"Congratulations to young friend Zhang Qingshan! You will directly receive twenty thousand Spirit Stones and the right to participate in the challenge stage!"