Chapter 2534

Chapter 2534: The Challenge Begins

The agreement between Zhu Yanyi and her ten disciples was not hidden from Lang Yi and Pingchuan. Both of them watched closely. At this moment, they exchanged a glance. For some reason, this Azure Sovereign Sect inspired a strange fear deep within their hearts.

Having made up their minds, Zhu Yanyi and her group moved aside to discuss their strategy for the third round. They did not hide their conversation, knowing that no matter what tactics they devised, Lang Yi and Pingchuan would not understand them.

After the second round of chaotic battles ended, there was a three-day rest period. Three days later, the third round of challenges began.

This round included not only the original hundred sects but also the five major sects of the region. In other words, a total of one hundred and five sects were participating in the competition.

The Azure Sovereign Sect had ranked ninety-ninth in the second round. With the addition of the five major sects, their rank dropped to one hundred and fourth in the third round.

The host for this round was no longer the Lord of Xingyue City, but an elder from the Hundred Changes Hall.

"Hello everyone. I am Elder Bai from the Hundred Changes Hall. I am here specifically to preside over this third round. Some might say it is inappropriate for me to host since our sect is also competing. Rest assured, it is not inappropriate. For the judges, we have selected the leaders of the five major sects, and we have specially invited the Immortal Emperor to supervise for fairness. If any bias occurs during this round, the Immortal Emperor will punish us."

As soon as Elder Bai finished speaking, a beam of colorful rainbow light appeared. The Immortal Emperor and the Immortal Empress descended hand in hand, landing right in the center of the judges' platform.

Subsequently, the leaders of the other five sects took their seats on either side of the Immortal Emperor and Empress.

Seeing this, Zhu Yanyi whispered to Yan Aohan, "Is the Immortal Emperor bored? He actually came to supervise this."

Yan Aohan shook his head slightly. "It is not boredom. The Dark Emperor is here, and now the Immortal Emperor has appeared. This indicates that the Heavenly Fortune Competition may not be peaceful. Be careful when you go up."

Zhu Yanyi was startled for a moment, then understood.

Indeed, first the Dark Emperor had disguised himself as Old Ghost here, and now the Immortal Emperor and Empress had appeared. Although the Dark Empress had not shown up, given her relationship with the Dark Emperor, she was definitely nearby. With these four absolute powerhouses present, something significant was undoubtedly happening.

However, Zhu Yanyi was only startled for a moment and was not worried. This was mainly because she had Yan Di by her side, so she had nothing to fear.

"As everyone knows, this third round is the Challenge Round. The challenges start from the one hundredth rank. The one hundredth rank challenges the ninety-ninth. If they win, they can continue to challenge the ninety-eighth, and so on, until they lose. If they lose at the fiftieth rank, their final rank will be fifty-first. The original fifty-first rank drops to fifty-second, and so forth."

Elder Bai continued to explain the rules seriously: "Sects that are defeated and drop in rank will have their turn to challenge. They cannot challenge the sect that just defeated them. If they wish to challenge higher ranks, they must skip that sect and challenge another one above. For example, if the original one hundredth rank defeats the ninety-fourth but loses to the ninety-third, their position becomes ninety-fourth. When the ninety-fifth, ninety-sixth, ninety-seventh, ninety-eighth, ninety-ninth, and one hundredth ranks challenge, they cannot challenge this ninety-fourth rank. If they want to challenge higher, they must directly challenge the ninety-third rank."

Elder Bai explained this aspect very clearly.

"The Challenge Round follows a best-of-five system. Of course, if a sect wins three consecutive matches, the remaining two are not needed. The five matches consist of one disciple team match, one disciple individual match, one sect leader individual match, one mid-level contestant match, and one high-level contestant match. The order of these matches can be decided by the two competing parties."

Elder Bai looked at the crowd and said, "Each sect can challenge three times. If they lose all three, they lose their qualification to challenge. For example, if the one hundredth rank loses to the ninety-ninth, they can challenge the ninety-eighth. If they win, they become the ninety-eighth, and the original ninety-eighth drops to one hundredth. If they lose, they get another chance to challenge the ninety-seventh. If they lose again, they must stay at the one hundredth rank. I hope they can improve their rank in the Heavenly Fortune Competition fifty years from now."

Elder Bai took a deep breath and said, "Alright, the Challenge Round is about to begin. Let us invite the one hundredth ranked sect, the Bronze Gong Sect, and their first opponent, the ninety-ninth ranked Azure Sovereign Sect."

Elder Bai asked, "Please have the representatives from both sides come up to decide the order of the five matches."

"I will go," Silver Fox said.

Zhu Yanyi nodded and did not compete for the representative spot. "Alright, you go."

Silver Fox walked out. "I am Elder Qianhuang Sheng of the Azure Sovereign Sect."

Then the representative from the Bronze Gong Sect came out. "I am Luo Daxiang, the Sect Leader of the Bronze Gong Sect."

"Sect Leader Luo, as the challenger, you have the priority to choose the order of the matches. How would you like to proceed?"

"The first match will be the high-level contestant match, the second will be the disciple team match, the third will be the sect leader match, the fourth will be the mid-level contestant match, and the fifth will be the disciple individual match," Luo Daxiang stated. It was obvious they had already discussed this.

Elder Bai looked at Silver Fox. "What does Elder Qianhuang think?"

Qianhuang Sheng smiled slightly. "There is no major issue. However, let us swap the order of the third match, the sect leader match, and the fourth match, the mid-level contestant match. Our sect leader has a big belly and should rest during the third match." Qianhuang Sheng’s words clearly implied that the first three matches were enough, and the sect leader did not need to participate.

Luo Daxiang was slightly stunned. She looked at Zhu Yanyi, then at her belly, and said, "Fine. I, Luo Daxiang, am not the kind of person who bullies women. In that case, let’s put the sect leader match to the last one. The mid-level contestant match will be the third, the disciple individual match will be the fourth, and the sect leader match will be the fifth."

"Good, let it be so," Silver Fox nodded. Since the other party was sensible, Silver Fox did not wish to humiliate them.

Seeing that both sides had agreed, Elder Bai said, "In that case, it is decided. I announce that the first match is the high-level contestant match, the second is the disciple team match, the third is the mid-level contestant match, the fourth is the disciple individual match, and the fifth is the sect leader match. Does either side have any objections?"