Chapter 60: The Grand Competition Begins

"Respect?"

Looking at the departing pair, a look of disgust appeared on Qian Mo's face. Clearly, he was not like Yun Yi; he simply could not accept this kind of distorted love. After all, ever since childhood, he had been instilled with the truth that love only exists between a man and a woman, so naturally, he could not comprehend this sort of romance.

"The tournament is about to start!"

Gazing at Wei Qing, who was slowly rising in the open space in the middle of the high platform, Yun Yi reminded him with a glint in his eyes.

Before Qian Mo and the others could turn to look, Wei Qing's figure was already suspended in mid-air, overlooking the entire arena as he spoke, "Silence! Absolute silence across the venue!"

Instantly, Wei Qing's aura swept across the entire space. In a split second, the noisy academy plaza grew quiet, and everyone turned to look toward the center of the fighting stage.

Seeing that the venue had quieted down, Wei Qing wore a satisfied smile and began, "As everyone knows, the academy tournament is the most important competition of the year!"

"This competition is not merely a test of your cultivation speed since entering the academy, but a true examination of your potential and your innate talents!"

Watching the eager expressions and hopeful eyes of the crowd, Wei Qing continued with a softened tone, "Of course, there is an even more important selection attached to this tournament: the once-every-four-years Eastern Domain Academy Exchange Tournament!"

As Wei Qing's voice trailed off, an uproar erupted across the venue!

"Wow! The Eastern Domain Exchange Tournament!"

"I must get selected for this competition!"

"I've already booked one of the spots. Anyone have an objection?"

"Senior Sister Lingling, what is this academy exchange tournament?"

Yun Yi asked, somewhat puzzled, as he looked toward Feng Lingling.

"Ah!"

Clearly distracted just moments before, Feng Lingling hadn't heard Yun Yi's question, and her face instantly flushed red.

However, before Feng Lingling could even recover from her daze, Wei Qing's resonant voice rang out once again.

"I know many of you do not fully understand what the academy exchange tournament entails. The so-called academy exchange tournament means representing our academy to challenge cultivators from the other ten academies across the Eastern Domain!"

"Of course, those are matters for later. In short, if you manage to qualify for the academy exchange tournament, the rewards bestowed by the academy will be extremely generous!"

Looking at the eager faces on the steps, rubbing their palms in anticipation, Wei Qing naturally knew what they were thinking.

With a smile, he announced, "The rules for this tournament are divided into three rounds across two competition areas, specifically split into early-stage, mid-stage, and late-stage Foundation Establishment rings. You must enter the ring corresponding to your cultivation level!"

"In a moment, those preparing to participate in this tournament should hold your identity tokens high above your heads, and you will be randomly assigned a number!"

After a brief pause, Wei Qing continued, "The first round requires all disciples of the same stage to enter their corresponding rings for an elimination match. Only one hundred people will be allowed to remain in each ring at the end! If the number exceeds one hundred, random eliminations will be executed!"

"The second round involves the remaining one hundred participants engaging in a ring breakthrough battle! The one hundred individuals will be divided across ten rings to fight, and the final person standing in each ring achieves victory!"

"The third round features the final ten remaining participants engaging in a defense-and-assault battle across three rings. The final three victors will emerge as the ultimate winners!"

After Wei Qing finished speaking, the venue remained silent for a moment as everyone stared at him with burning, expectant gazes.

Seeing the wide-eyed crowd, Wei Qing laughed heartily and proclaimed, "Haha! Naturally, the rewards for this competition are as follows: the top three will be awarded a tier-three spirit weapon and a qualification spot for the academy exchange tournament! The top ten will each receive a tier-two spirit weapon!"

As Wei Qing's words fell, the entire arena ignited with excitement.

"Boss, a tier-three spirit weapon!"

At this moment, Qian Mo's emotions were also stirred up, his eyes shining with intense longing!

"Hahaha! Boss will win one back for you!"

Yun Yi smiled as he looked at Qian Mo, harboring immense confidence in his own strength.

"Ling'er, stay safe!"

Yun Yi looked at Lei Ling'er beside him, his gaze filled with doting affection as he gave her a gentle warning.

"Hehe! Brother Yi, I believe you will make it into the academy exchange tournament! I will also strive to get a good ranking!"

Lei Ling'er looked up at Yun Yi with adoration in her eyes!

"Now, the contestants choosing to participate in this tournament, please enter the rings!"

Before Yun Yi and the others could continue chatting, Wei Qing's voice rang out once again. Hearing this, Yun Yi raised his identity token high above his head. Instantly, a flash of spiritual light illuminated the area, and Yun Yi's figure was teleported onto the early-stage Foundation Establishment ring.

"That's quite high-tech!"

Feeling the spatial shift, a hint of surprise crossed Yun Yi's eyes.

"There certainly are a lot of people here!"

Looking at the ring filled with six to seven hundred early-stage cultivators, Yun Yi sighed in amazement before slowly beginning to gather his spiritual energy.

High in the air, Wei Qing looked down at the crowded rings, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth as he shouted, "The tournament begins!"

As the words fell, a series of explosive attack sounds erupted rapidly from both rings.

Within a mere ten breaths, dozens of people had already been eliminated from the first ring.

The scene instantly descended into chaos.

"Elder Wei, do you think Yun Yi can make it into the top hundred?"

Hearing the voice of Mu Hong beside him, Wei Qing turned to her with a puzzled expression and asked, "What is this? Can Elder Mu possibly rig the matches?"

Looking at Yun Yi down in the arena, a bizarre smile appeared on Mu Hong's face alongside a vicious look in her eyes as she slowly replied, "What tricks could I possibly pull? I merely arranged for a couple of extra disciples to enter the ring."

Hearing Mu Hong's words, Wei Qing instantly felt that something was amiss and hurriedly looked back toward the center of the stage.

Down below, Yun Yi was currently strolling leisurely, casually clearing away some of the weaker disciples as he wandered through the crowd.

"This is really effortless!"

Yun Yi smiled as he glanced in the distance at Qian Mo, who was busy hiding and playing it safe, a faint grin tugging at his lips. He wasn't worried about Qian Mo at all; right now, he was walking in the direction of Lei Ling'er.

Fortunately, the disciples surrounding Lei Ling'er were all of relatively low cultivation realms.

"Huh?"

Before Yun Yi could fully relax, two fierce gazes locked onto him.

Startled, Yun Yi immediately turned his head to look.

"Brat, go die!"

Before Yun Yi could clearly identify who was coming, a loud roar preceded the attack.

A massive saber instantly materialized right in front of him.

"?"

The moment the roar sounded, Yun Yi's figure had already initiated a dodge, narrowly evading the attacker's striking blow.

"Do we have a score to settle?"

Puzzled, Yun Yi dodged the strike and immediately countered with a swift punch.

"Clang!"

To Yun Yi's surprise, the fellow before him was exceptionally agile, directly using his massive saber to block the punch.

"Whether we have a grudge or not, you are going to die!"

Zhao Bin roared fiercely, slashing at Yun Yi once again. His tier-six Foundation Establishment strength erupted instantly, causing nearby disciples who intended to scavenge a cheap victory to shake their heads and scatter in search of other targets.

"Hmph! I gave you face, and this is how you act!"

Yun Yi let out a cold snort. Utilizing his Cloud-Striding Steps, he flashed in a single stride and instantly appeared directly behind the deeply shocked Zhao Bin.