The battles raged on for hours in the arena. Afterward, each coalition representative drew lots, assigning the twenty group numbers.
Rankings required a round-robin format: each of the twenty groups had to face all nineteen others.
Every group fielded twelve contestants: three Earth-Immortals, three Heavenly-Immortals, three Profound-Immortals, and three Immortal-Lords.
If two out of three Earth-Immortal fighters won, that bracket earned one point; losing meant zero. The same applied to the other realms. In a group-vs-group match, a perfect sweep meant four points—losing all meant none.
The first group to reach ten points would win the first round, and only ten teams would advance from the twenty.
Once the ten teams were chosen, matches continued: each group faced the other nine, and final rankings were decided by accumulated points.
Only a handful of group matches could be held each day—there was just one central arena. The entire tournament would stretch out for over a month.
After the opening ceremony and rules announcement on day one, everyone returned to plan their lineups. If the first two Earth-Immortal fighters won, the third didn’t need to appear, so most groups arranged their strongest up front or in the middle.
Emperor Damien Darkmoon returned to his castle only to discover Yvonne Darkmoon had slipped out. Alarmed and angry, he immediately sent guards to search for her.
Yvonne knew her father would search everywhere, so she deliberately avoided going home and went elsewhere to amuse herself.
Terry Yang emerged from his room, feeling satisfied after his cultivation. He summoned Captain Lee.
"Young Lord Terry, you called for me?" Captain Lee asked.
"How are you feeling today, Young Lord?" Captain Lee asked with a smile, seeing Terry Yang's expression.
"Any news about that brat?" Terry Yang frowned.
"Still nothing," Captain Lee replied helplessly, shaking his head.
"Useless," Terry Yang said with obvious displeasure.
Captain Lee awkwardly replied, "If he's determined to hide from us, there's nothing we can do."
"Isn't that obvious?" Terry Yang grew a bit angry.
Captain Lee dared not say anything more. Seeing his reaction, Terry Yang ordered, "Go grab a woman for me. This time, use your eyes—don't bring me someone with a powerful background, or I'll have to clean up your mess."
Captain Lee quickly nodded. "Understood, I know what to do."
Terry Yang sent Captain Lee away and continued his cultivation, but avoided using his clan's secret method to prevent going astray.
And so, the second day of the tournament began.
Terry Yang came out of his room, looking comfortable and relaxed.
"How do you feel, Young Lord?" Captain Lee asked, seeing Terry Yang's expression and smiling.
"Good. Keep it up. From now on, bring me one every day. Make sure they're like this—don't bring anyone with a powerful background. Loose cultivators are best," Terry Yang instructed.
"Understood, understood," Captain Lee replied.
Terry Yang nodded. "Alright, keep busy. I'm heading to the arena to watch the matches."
After Terry Yang left with his entourage, Captain Lee sighed, "When will this end?"
The arena was already buzzing with excitement. Crowds gathered to watch the matches, cheering for their own groups.
"Lord Yang, you look energetic today," Nangong Palace Lord greeted with a smile.
"I'm alright, but you don't look so well," Terry Yang replied with a smile.
"Don't mention it," Nangong Palace Lord sighed. Ever since hearing about Evan Yang yesterday, he's been troubled. Marcus Hale, standing behind him, also looked grim—he'd spent years wanting to defeat Evan, but now Evan was far ahead. Nangong Palace Lord remembered telling Marcus: if he wants to beat Evan, he must join the Immortal Realm Alliance.
With nowhere left to turn and determined to surpass Evan, Marcus Hale pinned all his hopes on the contest, trying to show his potential to the Alliance. "Oh? What's troubling you?" Terry Yang asked curiously.
"Just one person is bothering me," Nangong Palace Lord sighed.
"Is it Evan Yang, the one Elder Lewis mentioned yesterday? I'm curious what kind of person he is," Terry Yang asked.
"He's from Ethereal Sanctuary. As a Heavenly-Immortal, he defeated a peak ninth-tier Profound-Immortal, and he's dual-attribute. He even took my daughter," Nangong Palace Lord sighed.
"He's that strong? And he has the surname Yang too?" Terry Yang asked curiously.
"He's strong, but I can't use him," Nangong Palace Lord said with a bitter smile.
"Why? Did he rebel against Ethereal Sanctuary?" Terry Yang asked curiously.
"Not exactly. He and I have a history. To protect my daughter, I set many conditions for him—thought he'd never succeed, but he did, and even beat a peak Profound-Immortal. So, whatever happens, there's resentment between us." Nangong Palace Lord smiled, but inwardly cursed, 'I poisoned him—she can't help but hate me.'
"No worries. If you need help next time, I'll handle it. I'm curious about him too," Terry Yang said.
"I wish I could too, but he won't show up," Nangong Palace Lord said with a bitter smile.
"With Nangong Palace Lord's strength, Evan shouldn't be a problem. I'm just curious what he looks like and how he's so capable. Everyone's curious," Terry Yang said.
"Elder Lewis has probably already chosen him internally—just can't find him," Terry Yang said.
"If he shows up, I'll let you know immediately," Nangong Palace Lord said with a smile.