Members from each sect stood at the edge of the arena, waiting for the lot-drawing to begin. Evan Chu glanced at the nineteen sect representatives who had come up, then said to the Frostbane disciples beside him, "Most of these people are between Seventh- and Eighth-Layer Divine Martial Realm. As long as you don't run into a Ninth-Layer expert, your lives shouldn't be in much danger.
Of course, if you're unlucky enough to face a Ninth-Layer expert right away, just concede immediately. Frostbane Sect can't afford to lose our core strength—face and pride don't matter. I won't blame you for it, so don't worry about that."
"Sect Master, do you think you can beat these people? The Four Young Lords are incredibly strong—you have to be careful." One of the disciples spoke up anxiously.
"You don't need to worry about that. None of these people have caught my eye yet. Just focus on your own safety, don't let anything else bother you. Remember what I said—keeping your lives is what matters most." Evan Chu reminded them.
If Frostbane Sect wants to grow steadily, having core disciples is absolutely essential—including trusted confidants. These four, while not Evan's closest followers, had the guts to step forward, which showed their courage wasn't lacking.
At that moment, the Freewind Palace Lord announced, "There are one hundred bamboo slips in total, numbered one to one hundred. Each person draws one. The match-ups are: number one versus one hundred, number two versus ninety-nine... all the way to fifty versus fifty-one.
During the matches, life and death aren't considered—only victory and defeat matter. Of course, if someone actively concedes, the other side must stop attacking immediately. Violators will be punished: minor offenses mean disqualification and victory awarded to the conceding side; major ones mean your cultivation will be crippled. Everyone must remember this—it's a form of protection for the weaker contestants."
If you concede and your opponent still tries to kill you, they'll be punished, while you move on to the next round. This kind of rule made everyone happy, and gave those who'd worried about being slaughtered the courage to compete.
At the same time, some of the smaller sects—afraid of suffering huge losses—were now filled with regret. But at this point, it was too late to join in.
Soon, each sect lined up in turn to draw their bamboo slips in front of the Freewind Palace Lord. When Evan Chu drew his, he glanced at Selena Yale standing beside the palace lord; their brief eye contact counted as a greeting.
"Evan Chu, don't forget what you promised me. The Gloomspring Elixir is waiting for you," the Freewind Palace Lord whispered.
After drawing his bamboo slip, Evan didn't say anything. Instead, he lightly tapped the back of the palace lord's hand with it, signaling that he understood.
Evan's bamboo slip was number twenty-three, which meant he'd have to wait for twenty-two matches before his turn. It was the most relaxed spot—he could watch the other fights and gauge his opponents' strength.
After the lot-drawing, everyone left the arena. Only one person remained—the sect master from one of the top ten sects. The matches were split into ten rounds, with each sect master officiating five bouts. This time, it was the Freewind Palace Lord who stayed as referee.
Soon, the contestants with number one and number one hundred stepped onto the arena. Both looked miserable—clearly, they'd drawn the worst luck. As soon as the palace lord gave the command, their match began.
But this wasn't just a match—it was a desperate fight for survival. The two were evenly matched, trading blows with no clear winner. Sword-qi crackled and popped from their blades, the sounds of energy colliding filled the air. In the end, number one risked injury for victory and killed his opponent.
Although he won, he lost the right to compete further—and now, badly injured, it really wasn't worth it.
Watching from below, Evan Chu was shocked by the brutality of the first match. He couldn't understand why the rules forced everyone into a fight to the death when their strengths were so similar.
To kill your opponent, you'd have to get seriously hurt yourself—losing your chance to compete anyway. It would only fuel grudges between sects, and in the end, it would benefit Dark Sanctuary, who's always been eyeing the Nine Great Sects.
Then the second match started: a disciple from a small sect versus one from the Nine Great Sects. The weaker fighter wanted to concede at the last moment, but his opponent's attack was too fast—he was killed before he could even get the words out.
More than ten matches followed in quick succession. Only three pairs conceded immediately—two because they were up against Saintess Serena Dream and the Voidheart Young Lord Victor Lang, and another pair surrendered midway through their fight. By now, the arena was stained with blood.
Everyone was amazed that the arena could withstand the energy attacks from so many elite sect members. All of them were Divine Martial Realm experts—capable of fighting in midair—but here, they had to battle it out on the stage.
The matches sped by. As things progressed, everyone grew more cautious. Some, after dodging a fierce attack, conceded right away—leaving their opponents no chance to kill them.
In a dramatic twist, two fighters unleashed their strongest techniques at the same time, blasting each other off the stage. Both tried to concede simultaneously, so the sect master simply disqualified them both.
The tournament continued. Before long, it was Evan Chu's turn. He gripped his rusty Frostbane Sword, ready to face his opponent—a core disciple from Mist Rain Pavilion, one of the Nine Great Sects.
Evan knew Mist Rain Pavilion and Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion were mortal enemies. If he could help Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion take out one of their rivals, Selena Yale would definitely be pleased.
Both fighters walked to the center of the arena. The referee today was the Sacred Sword Sect master. He was familiar with the Mist Rain disciple—Hugo Hu, the pavilion master's most beloved eldest disciple, already at Ninth-Layer Divine Martial Realm. Last tournament, Hugo nearly made it to the top four; otherwise, the Four Young Lords lineup would've changed.
But as for Evan Chu, the referee barely knew him. He was supposedly from Frostbane Sect, but the master had never seen anyone like him before, and couldn't help but worry.
"Young man, if you feel outmatched, just concede. No one will laugh at you," said the Sacred Sword Sect master.
"I know what to do. Thanks for your concern!" Evan Chu smiled.
The Mist Rain Pavilion disciple glanced at Evan and said, "Since you refuse to concede, get ready to die. Just don't surrender midway—I’d look down on you if you did."
"Oh? What if you end up surrendering halfway? I'd hate to lose my opponent before I even get to enjoy the fight—that'd be no fun at all." Evan shot back.
"Since you think so highly of me, I won't let you down."
With the Sacred Sword Sect master's command, their match officially began...
PS: Just one word—busy. Two words—still busy. Grandma is much better now, so I can finally relax...