Soon, the young contestants for the Marriage Tournament lined up before the arena, split into two groups according to their cultivation realm. Evan Chu stood with the God-Lord Realm candidates, but his mind was focused on endlessly rehearsing the moves of the Wind-God Sword Art.
Handlers descended from the arena, each carrying a stack of Immortal Tokens, distributing them one by one. In the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, all the tokens were handed out. Evan glanced at his own—numbered 2-79.
"The Immortal Tokens have been distributed. Now, I ask the first fifty God-Lord Realm contestants to step onto the platform. Blades have no eyes—death and injury are inevitable, so be prepared. If you’re only gravely wounded, Rainbow Court will treat you with second-grade healing sacred medicine." announced Rainbow Court Mistress Rainveil.
As her words faded, a middle-aged man below the stage suddenly spoke up: "Mistress Rainveil, your Marriage Tournament seems a bit flawed. The arena isn’t big enough; many can’t fully unleash their power. If you truly want a worthy son-in-law, he must stand out through exceptional ability."
"The God Realm is a place where the weak are prey to the strong. If you don’t mind, I have a suggestion—would you be willing to hear it?"
Mistress Rainveil looked over and realized the speaker was Heavenblade Sect’s Vice Sect Master. She was startled—why would he say such things? According to her spies, he’d left Rainbow Court right after the auction, yet now he appeared here, making such a proposal. What was he really after?
"So it’s Vice Sect Master Shangguan of Heavenblade Sect. Forgive me for not welcoming you properly—I didn’t know you were here. Since you claim to have a better method, I’m all ears. My daughter’s Marriage Tournament has been giving me quite the headache," Rainveil replied.
"My Heavenblade Sect possesses the Origin Worldstone—a spatial treasure with a vast inner world and all kinds of terrain. I’m willing to lend it for a ruthless elimination trial. Life and death are up to fate; those lacking courage can withdraw early and be eliminated. This way, the timid will be weeded out in advance," Vice Sect Master Shangguan declared.
"The Origin Worldstone is Heavenblade Sect’s supreme treasure. If you’re so generous as to lend it, I’m deeply grateful. But how would the elimination work? I believe everyone here wants to hear the details," Rainveil responded.
Meanwhile, Evan Chu continued drilling the first form of the Wind-God Sword Art in his mind. He’d nearly mastered Windshift, and his command over the Wind Element was unmatched. With his natural talent, he could extrapolate from one thing to another—if asked to unleash the first form now, he could do it flawlessly.
"Since we have both God-Lord and God-King Realm disciples here, let’s have them enter two separate interfaces within the Origin Worldstone. Whoever survives to the end will be presented for Zoe’s choice," Vice Sect Master Shangguan proposed.
"That seems too cruel. The contestants are elite talents from every power. If they enter the Origin Worldstone, a massacre is sure to follow—how many will survive? I don’t want my daughter’s Marriage Tournament to cost so many lives. That would spark public outrage," Rainveil objected.
"No one dares object—any objections are objections to Heavenblade Sect itself. The God Realm hasn’t seen such excitement in ages, so let’s make this Marriage Tournament spectacular. I trust Mistress Rainveil won’t refuse me," Shangguan pressed.
For a moment, whispers rippled through the Martial Testing Ground. Heavenblade Sect’s sudden intervention was suspicious, and everyone knew that entering the Origin Worldstone meant facing a nine-deaths-and-one-life ordeal. Some joked that chasing a bride might cost them their lives.
"Since Vice Sect Master Shangguan is so enthusiastic, I can’t refuse outright. But I want you to clearly explain the rules for competing inside the Origin Worldstone. And tell me—what are you really after, helping Rainbow Court out of this mess?" Rainveil asked calmly.
"It’s nothing, really—I just enjoy excitement. Of course, I do have a small request. The owner of VIP Room 28 at the auction left a deep impression on me. I heard that yesterday, he defeated a mid-stage God-King on the Duel Platform with only mid-stage God-Lord cultivation. I could hardly believe it!" Shangguan said.
My men said he didn’t even use his full strength—if that’s true, such a heaven-defying genius is someone any sect would want to recruit. Heavenblade Sect is no exception.
But since this is Rainbow Court’s turf, Heavenblade Sect can’t openly recruit him. So I’ll leave the first chance to Mistress Rainveil. However, I hope he’ll enter the God-King bracket.
Everyone knows that as a God-Lord, he has the power to slay God-Kings. If he stays in the God-Lord group, he’ll be invincible and breeze through the trials—where’s the challenge in that? Only in adversity can true potential explode. I believe he’ll give us a real miracle.
If he can survive the God-King bracket, and Zoe doesn’t choose him, Heavenblade Sect will immediately take him as a closed-door disciple and nurture him.
The rules for entering the Origin Worldstone are simple: it’s all about seizing Immortal Tokens from your opponents. You can slay them or just defeat them—if you claim their token, it’s your ability. Everything else is up to them.
Of course, tokens and contestants are limited, so we need a clear standard for advancing. Anyone who obtains fifty tokens inside the Origin Worldstone qualifies for the next round. Those who fail are eliminated; whether they live or die depends on their own fortune inside," Shangguan explained.
At that moment, Evan Chu was mentally rehearsing the second form of the Wind-God Sword Art. Though not fully proficient, he was getting the hang of it—when suddenly, Blue-Shade God-Venerable’s voice echoed in his mind.
"Brother, there’s no need for you to enter the Origin Worldstone alongside the God-Kings. You might be able to handle mid-stage God-Kings, but late-stage God-Kings are another story. A single late-stage God-King can challenge ten mid-stage God-Kings—you have to understand that gap," Blue-Shade advised.
Evan Chu had only half-heard Shangguan’s proposal earlier, and Blue-Shade’s words left him still a bit confused. He asked, "Will anyone outside know what happens inside the Origin Worldstone? Can people outside view the battles through a Testing Screen or some kind of artifact?"
"That’s not possible. The Origin Worldstone is just a spatial divine stone—similar to the Timewheel Bracelet from Frostbane Divine Palace. Time inside moves much faster than outside; a single day outside could mean ten days or even half a month inside," Blue-Shade explained.