Chapter 27: Cruel Single Elimination, Burial Ground of Ambition
At the third watch of the Tiger Hour, dawn still far from breaking.
Every light in the Shiyang Martial Hall blazed.
The nine gathered together, all dressed in tight-fitting battle robes, each embroidered with the two characters “Shiyang.”
Deputy Magistrate Zhao and Headmaster Yan stood before them.
Headmaster Yan spoke with heartfelt weight:
“If you fall in this Selection Trial, do not be discouraged, and above all, do not let your resolve shatter. A bright future still lies ahead of you—many sects will extend invitations your way, and you too will roam freely across this world.”
“Remember this above all: if you’re outmatched, call out your surrender in time! Do not throw away your life!”
The nine cupped their hands in acknowledgment.
Headmaster Yan waved his hand broadly, and they filed out of the martial hall in orderly fashion.
The Blade-Bearers had already been waiting for some time.
The group from Shiyang made their way toward the most bustling central district of Chuwei Prefecture, where a massive arena stood—one capable of holding nearly a hundred thousand people, forged by the Divine Dynasty specifically for the Selection Trial.
By the end of the Rabbit Hour, dawn broke and the sun rose. The group arrived at the arena.
Gazing upon the vast, boundless arena, everyone stood in stunned silence, deeply shaken.
At its center stood a full sixteen dueling platforms and a towering dais carved entirely from granite, with hundreds upon thousands of circular tiered steps to seat the spectators.
The Shiyang Academy delegation had, in fact, arrived quite early. Headmaster Yan had the nine close their eyes to rest and clear their minds, shutting out the clamor of the outside world.
A full hour passed. As the morning sun climbed higher, the spectator stands of the arena stretched out of sight in every direction.
“Ascend the platform!”
The orange-robed Flying-Fish official gave the order.
The nine followed him toward the high platform, ten zhang long and five zhang wide.
Participants already stood packed upon it.
At that moment, forget Liu Suifeng and Yan Shouxu and the others—even Zhu Yuting felt a wave of helplessness wash over him.
Was he a genius?
Of course.
He’d shone brilliantly, cutting through the competition with unstoppable momentum, rising to second place in all of vast Shiyang County!
But here, everything gleamed with splendor beyond compare.
He needed only a single casual glance to spot an eighteen-year-old at Energy Condensation Seventh Level, and he saw, too, the celebrated Cavern Mystery talents—each one silently crushing everyone else’s confidence.
Could he possibly make it to the other shore?
Zhu Yuting shook his head and sighed—his only path forward was to attach himself to Young Master Qilin.
Dang—
Dang, dang, dang—
As one clear, resonant bell toll after another rang out, the arena capable of holding a hundred thousand people fell utterly silent.
The Chu Province Literary Dao Academy had arrived.
Their leader appeared to be in his forties, his bearing peerless, clad in a pure white lotus-flower robe.
Behind him stood ten others, all dressed in black lotus-flower robes, golden wolf-hair brushes hanging at their waists.
They took their position at the eastern quarter. Among them stood a woman whose beauty was simply breathtaking.
Many spectators recognized her.
Nine years ago, Pei Ning had carved a bloody path across this very same ground, ultimately earning entry into the Literary Dao Academy!
Immediately after came the Chu Province Martial Extremity Palace.
Clad head to toe in three-legged golden crow official robes, they looked down upon all present with disdain. Their leader likewise wore a pure white three-legged golden crow robe, and among the ten behind him was Zhao Can.
“Lord Zhao Can!”
“Lord Zhao Can!”
Many spectators cheered in reverent awe.
Six years ago, Zhao Can too had fought his way through obstacles here, ultimately chosen by the Martial Extremity Palace.
The Martial Extremity Palace took its position at the western quarter.
Directly facing the Literary Dao Academy, the atmosphere between them crackled with tension, sharp as drawn blades.
Clearly, the rivalry between the Literary Dao Academy and the Martial Extremity Palace ran especially fierce!
The Heavenly Mystery Guard and the Eastern Temple emerged one after the other.
The Qilin robes and the Xiezhi robes drew particular attention.
Each took their respective positions at the southern and northern quarters.
All Four Great Sacred Grounds, now fully present!
No Blade-Bearers among them—in their eyes, Blade-Bearers weren’t even worthy of standing upon this platform.
The entire arena fell silent as Centurion Zhu of the Literary Dao Academy stepped forward slowly.
This time, the Four Great Sacred Grounds had temporarily designated the Literary Dao Academy to take the lead.
His face as calm as a still lake, he surveyed the masses below and read aloud the imperial decree from the Divine Dynasty’s central court.
Once finished reading, Centurion Zhu’s voice rolled out like thunder:
“For this Sacred Ground Selection Trial, the entire process shall be single-elimination. Two hundred fifty-six participants in total—the top thirty-two shall enter service as Blade-Bearers!”
The moment these words fell, absolute silence gripped the arena.
This time, only the top thirty-two would become Blade-Bearers!
Which meant: six Sacred Ground members, twenty-six Blade-Bearers!
To fight one’s way into the top thirty-two upon a platform crowded with geniuses—how impossibly difficult would that be?!
Of course, the Blade-Bearer positions didn’t end there. After the Selection Trial concluded, each of the six Sacred Ground members could additionally select three candidates of their own.
That meant there should be forty-four Blade-Bearer positions in total, with eleven allotted to each Sacred Ground’s subordinate bureau.
But there were only six Sacred Ground positions available!
Upon learning of these brutally exacting conditions, every participant felt a chill crawl across their scalp. Though tension ran high, having come this far, none allowed themselves to lose composure.
Centurion Zhu lowered his palm, and heaven and earth fell utterly still.
He announced the rules in a deep, resonant voice:
“Sixteen dueling platforms. The positions will be decided over the course of a single day.”
“On the path of cultivation, fortune matters above all else. No matter how strong an opponent you draw, none of you are to voice complaint—do so, and you will be struck down on the spot!”
“During combat, the match ends only once the losing side, exhausted of strength, speaks the words of surrender. Anyone who interferes shall be openly defying the Divine Dynasty’s law, punishable by the extermination of their entire family!”
“To die upon this platform is simply your fate.”
“If an opponent presses the killing blow after surrender has been spoken, this shall be treated as a defiant act, and shall be struck down on the spot!”
Hearing that voice, dull and heavy as bronze and iron, countless participants felt an icy chill settle into their hearts.
Though they had known this beforehand, only upon hearing it with their own ears did they truly understand just how cruel it was.
Dead was dead.
No aid was permitted.
Buried atop the platform, before the eyes of a hundred thousand.
Descending into the depths of hell, witnessed by one’s own family and friends.
What was buried here was not merely ambition—it was life itself!
Far more brutal than the academy Selection Trial by a hundredfold—this was the true nature of the Sacred Grounds. What they demanded were peerless talents forged through a path of ceaseless slaughter!!
Upon this platform of purgatory.
Fortune mattered above all else!
To draw weaker opponents throughout, one after another—wouldn’t that make advancement effortless?
A person’s future achievements were, in large part, determined by fortune—this too was a principle the Sacred Grounds upheld.
From atop the high platform, the one in the pure white lotus-flower robe spoke aloud:
“All participants, consume the specially prepared pill at once. Meditate for one hour, then enter combat at your absolute peak condition!”
Immediately after, numerous Blade-Bearers bowed and carried forward trays, each bearing a single crystalline, translucent pill.
The participants consumed them one after another. Moments later, their minds grew lucid and clear, all fear vanishing from their hearts entirely, their mental state completely transformed.
All two hundred fifty-six contestants sat cross-legged in meditation, cherishing this single hour.
Centurion Zhu nodded in satisfaction.
No aberrants among them.
A so-called aberrant referred to someone possessed by a demonic entity—the true purpose of this pill was, in fact, to detect any trace of demonic or malevolent energy.
As the participants immersed themselves in meditation, the Four Great Sacred Grounds brought forth a cylindrical ritual artifact, containing two hundred fifty-six stones, each one carved with a participant’s name.
They activated the artifact, randomly casting out two stones at a time!
Within the arena, nearly a hundred thousand spectators sat upright and solemn, every gaze fixed upon the high platform.
Among them sat the prefect and deputy prefect of Chuwei Prefecture along with numerous officials, as well as representatives from the Ten Great Sects, and even sect elders and noble families from the other prefectures of Chu Province, all come to witness this grand event.
The Selection Trial was, without question, cruel—after today, how many talents of Chuwei would meet their end upon this very platform?
After a long wait, as the bells and drums sounded, the hour had arrived.
“Silence!”
Centurion Zhu of the Literary Dao Academy gave the command.
The entire arena fell utterly silent, no one daring to make the faintest sound.
Boom—
A thunderous crash rang out like a clap of lightning.
The ritual artifact cast out two stones simultaneously.
Two names appeared upon the stones.
Wei Tianya!
Li Si!
Under the gaze of the entire crowd, the two stood in a daze—had it not been for the calming pill, they would have been tense to the point of suffocation.
“Platform One!”
A deep, resonant voice carried across all directions.
The two followed a Blade-Bearer toward Platform One.
The drawing continued.
Fifteen more draws followed in succession.
Thirty participants in total!
Among them was Liu Si of Shiyang Academy, whose opponent was an Energy Condensation Sixth Level cultivator from Taikang Academy.
All sixteen dueling platforms now crackled with tension sharp as drawn blades!
Boom—
The war drums thundered suddenly.
The great battles began.
Countless spectators found their eyes dazzled, unsure which platform to fix their gaze upon.
Naturally, every spectator from Shiyang County kept their eyes locked on Platform Seven.
In just a single exchange, Liu Si found himself at a clear disadvantage. As a blade of internal energy sliced across his right arm, Liu Si cried out, his voice strained and exhausted:
“I surrender!”
His opponent withdrew, calling back his internal energy.
A member of the Eastern Temple, clad in a Xiezhi robe, spoke without expression:
“Liu Si, eliminated.”
Liu Si was driven off Platform Seven.
He returned to the high platform in a daze, utterly lost, his entire body exhausted and defeated, a feeling of humiliation and helplessness tearing through his very core.
He had begun cultivating at the age of six, rising from a small mountain village to enter the county seat, working his way steadily into the Heaven cohort, holding firm among the top ten among an elite group of peers.
Had he not worked hard enough?
All those years of expectation, all that effort poured in.
Just a single exchange.
The moment of being watched by all that he’d once imagined turned out to be nothing—no one paid him any mind at all. He hadn’t even been able to withstand a single strike.
The remaining eight from Shiyang County offered words of comfort to Liu Si one after another. Young Master Qilin, Zhao Yao, stood with his hands clasped behind his back, coldly fixing his gaze on some other dueling platform.
Useless failure—utterly disgracing Shiyang County!!
A single exchange, and he dared to represent Shiyang Academy?
Shameful to even be counted among his company!
“He’s dead.”
As someone cried out in shock, countless spectators turned their gazes toward Platform Nine.
One participant’s head flew into the air, kicked apart directly in midair—the scene turned exceptionally bloody.
His opponent stood calm and still, no trace of emotion stirring in his eyes.
Immediately after, on Platform Eleven, someone perished in battle.
On Platform Fourteen, one life was lost.
On Platform Three, one participant’s meridians and dantian were both shattered, reduced to a cripple.
On Platform Five, one was reduced to a cripple.
In under the span of two incense sticks, all sixteen life-and-death battles came to a close—three dead among them, two rendered permanently crippled!
The sheer brutality of it was beyond description.
The Blade-Bearers quickly cleared away the blood and severed limbs from the platforms, as though nothing had ever happened. The spectators remained just as fervent as before—only the parents and teachers of the dead wept in agony.
Centurion Zhu of the Literary Dao Academy began reading aloud the names of the victors.
These sixteen advanced directly into the top one hundred twenty-eight.
Next came a new round of drawing lots.
This time, Gu Lin drew Platform Eight.
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