Chapter 903: Heavy Rewards

Han Li looked at Madame Liuhua on the high platform, his heart stirred.

He had known all along that Madame Liuhua was of no low status, but he truly had not expected that she held such a high position in this Xuan City.

"Thank you all for gathering today in Xuan City to partake in this grand event of the Five-City Martial Meet. May you join us in witnessing the birth of the champion king in this Shura Field!" Erkuai's tone gradually grew impassioned as he shouted.

"Champion!"

"Champion!"

"Champion!"

The entire Shura Field erupted instantly, with thunderous waves of sound responding, shaking the heavens.

After a few brief words, Erkuai pressed his hands down a couple of times and sat down on the large chair behind him. The other five, seeing this, also sat down one after another.

The cheers in the Shura Field lasted for a long time before gradually subsiding.

"In this Five-City Martial Meet, the sixty-four elite warriors selected from each city on the Xuan Dou Platform will pair up for Xuan Dou, totaling six rounds, to determine the new Xuan Dou king. Those who enter the top eight will each receive a Earth-rank Scale Beast core as a reward; those who enter the top four will each receive a Heaven-rank Scale Beast core as a reward." At this moment, the swarthy burly man hosting the event shouted again.

His voice resounded throughout the Shura Field, not only exciting the spectators in the stands but also stirring the hearts of those on the Xuan Dou Platform. Heaven and Earth rank Scale Beast cores were extremely precious cultivation resources for any of them.

"Furthermore, those who make it into the top three will also receive a piece of Tianlin Meteorite Crystal. This object is a rare meteorite crystal unseen for tens of millions of years, a top-tier material for both alchemy and artifact refining, and its preciousness goes without saying." The swarthy burly man announced loudly.

A burst of exclamations came from the audience stands; this item had not appeared in Xuan City for many years.

Han Li's expression relaxed a bit, and he thought to himself, securing third place should be worry-free.

"City Lord Erkuai, you've really gone all out this time. These rewards would be enough for the champion in previous meets. Won't you feel a bit pained?" On the high platform, Sun Tu said with a smile.

"They're all our own cities; no matter which one gets them, it's not like water flowing to outsiders. Nothing to feel pained about." Erkuai replied with a smile.

At that moment, the swarthy burly man announced again:

"The one who achieves second place will also receive a set of Scale Bone Xuan Star Armor personally crafted by Madame Liuhua. This set of armor is her meticulous work from recent years, using as many as 1,236 large and small star bones, along with various rare materials comparable to Tianlin Meteorite Crystal mixed in, and the mental and physical effort expended by Madame Liuhua. It would not be an exaggeration to call it a priceless treasure."

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire venue erupted.

Even Feng Wuchen and other elites from various cities changed their expressions, greed lighting up in their eyes.

Han Li looked at Madame Liuhua on the high platform, who wore a smug smile, and then understood why this short, stout old man knew that Tianlin Meteorite Crystal was one of the rewards this time.

Murmurs filled the stands. With the appearance of the first two treasures, almost everyone was now guessing what the first-place reward would be.

But none of them could come up with an answer, because there were not many items more precious than these two that could still be found in the Jilin Void Realm.

"The one who takes first place will receive a Sulfur Flame Blood Cloud."

Amid the various guesses and disputes, the swarthy burly man announced it decisively. But unlike the previous two items, the Sulfur Flame Blood Cloud was only given a name, without any additional explanation or description.

Silence fell over the stands; it seemed that for a moment, no one could recall what that thing was.

But on the high platform, the city lords other than Erkuai and Madame Liuhua all changed color.

"Sulfur Flame Blood Cloud... is it really that thing?" Chen Yang couldn't help asking.

The others also looked at Erkuai, their eyes questioning.

"Everyone, don't be surprised. This time's champion reward is indeed the Sulfur Flame Blood Cloud, also known as the 'Mother of Orifices Heavenly Dew.'" City Lord Erkuai nodded and said.

"Legend has it that this cloud contains an inexplicable power of blood energy. If a cultivator absorbs it into their body, they can directly open Xuan orifices without relying on功法 cultivation, and without leaving any hidden dangers." Chen Yang's eyes were filled with unconcealable surprise as he asked.

"It's not that mystical. The fact that it can open orifices is true, but it's not without limits. The human body has a limit to how much blood cloud it can absorb. If one forcibly absorbs beyond that limit, the result is a reverse surge of qi and blood, leading to an explosive death." Erkuai said with a smile.

"Even so, it's still astonishing enough..." Everyone exclaimed in admiration.

Erkuai did not deliberately lower his voice, and the people on the Xuan Dou Platform, with their sharp ears, heard every word he said. Their faces all showed expressions of both surprise and longing.

Han Li merely frowned slightly, finding it somewhat surprising that such an object existed in the world, but his interest in it was not particularly high.

After all, in the matter of opening orifices, his speed far exceeded others, so his desire for this object was naturally not as strong as others'. Instead, the Tianlin Meteorite Crystal held greater appeal for him.

There were, after all, knowledgeable people in the stands. Someone revealed the origin of the "Sulfur Flame Blood Cloud," which immediately caused a stir, sparking waves of intense discussion that lasted for a long time.

After waiting for a while, seeing that the discussion showed no sign of abating, the swarthy burly man shouted again:

"The first round of Xuan Dou in the Five-City Martial Meet consists of thirty-two matches, with eight matches held simultaneously each time, divided into four sessions. All will be concluded within today. This round will determine thirty-two victors, who will enter the next round of Xuan Dou seven days later. Now, the list for the first round of Xuan Dou will be announced."

With the swarthy burly man's voice falling, a rumbling sound of friction arose.

On the left side of the high platform, a gray-white stone wall dozens of feet high slowly rose. On it were inscribed four rows, each listing the opponents for each Xuan Dou warrior in today's four sessions.

Han Li swept his gaze over it. In the first session's list, neither his name nor Gu Qianxun's appeared, but Tu Gang and Sun Binghe, both from Qingyang City, were on the list.

Sun Binghe's opponent was a Xuan Dou warrior from Zhixuan City, whom Gu Qianxun and Chen Yang had not mentioned, so he should not be a formidable figure. As for Tu Gang, his opponent was Duan Tong from Tongyu City.

He looked down and found his name on the "Xun" character Xuan Dou Platform in the second session. His opponent was a man named Xu Shun, a Xuan Dou warrior from Baiyan City.

"Brother Li, it seems we both take the stage in the second session. You're on the Xun platform, while I'm on the Li platform. It's unlikely we'll be able to watch each other's matches." Gu Qianxun's voice suddenly sounded in Han Li's sea of consciousness.

Han Li glanced at the stone wall and found Gu Qianxun's name not far ahead of his. Her opponent seemed to be a Xuan Dou warrior from Zhixuan City named Wang Zhi.

"Have you ever seen this Xu Shun before?" Han Li transmitted his voice to ask.

"He seems to have participated in a Five-City Martial Meet before, but his ranking wasn't impressive. I don't have much of an impression. However, anyone selected to participate in the Five-City Martial Meet usually has some skills." Gu Qianxun replied after a moment's thought.

Han Li nodded inwardly, browsing through all thirty-two pairs of the first round. He mused, "This list is quite coincidental; cultivators from the same city don't face each other, and the main Xuan Dou warriors from each city don't meet either."

"This has been the case in previous meets; it's intentional. The principle of no same-city matches only applies to the first round. After entering the second round, the number of Xuan Dou warriors advancing from each city differs, so it's impossible to avoid internal conflicts. For example, if all twelve from a certain city win in the first round, then in the second round, it's inevitable to arrange matches between cultivators from the same city. And to ensure the spectacle of the Xuan Dou, the main warriors from each city basically won't meet in the first three rounds. Their confrontations usually only occur after the top eight." Gu Qianxun explained via transmission.

"The first session's eight groups of Xuan Dou warriors, each to their respective Xuan Dou platforms; the rest wait offstage. Spectators may go to the betting platforms to place bets. In a quarter of an hour, the Xuan Dou will officially begin." At this moment, the swarthy burly man's voice sounded again.

Han Li and the others began to withdraw. The stands buzzed with noise; almost everyone left their seats to go to the betting platforms set up near the eight Xuan Dou platforms to place bets.

The Shura Field was so vast that even from a high enough seat, it was impossible to watch all eight Xuan Dou matches simultaneously. So, after choosing their betting targets, these spectators would basically sit nearby in the stands, waiting for the matches to begin.

The waiting area for Han Li and the others was a circular corridor beneath the spectator stands, encircling almost the entire Shura Field.

Windows opened in the corridor, allowing one to walk around and see the condition of each Xuan Dou platform outside.

Apart from the sixteen people currently engaged in combat, all the other Xuan Dou warriors from various cities were there.

The Qingyang City cultivators who were close to Tu Gang and Sun Binghe had almost all gone near the "Kun" platform and the "Dui" platform where the two were fighting, standing by the corridor windows and looking out.

"This Fellow Daoist Tu Gang is too unlucky. He runs into Duan Tong, that god of death, in the first round. It seems his journey in this martial meet ends here..." A Qingyang City Xuan Dou warrior sighed.

"What can we do... Don't lament. Aren't we the same? Not to mention Duan Tong, even if we meet someone slightly weaker than him, what chance do we have?" Another followed with a sigh.

"Stop this damn melancholy! Don't we still have Fellow Daoist Yi... Huh? Where's Fellow Daoist Yi?"

Only then did everyone notice that Yi Liya, who had been walking with them, had disappeared.

In an empty section of the corridor, Yi Liya walked side by side with a tall, middle-aged man, whispering.

"I didn't expect so many years to have passed since our last meeting. Fellow Daoist Yi, your cultivation progress is truly remarkable. I am extremely envious." The middle-aged man said with a smile.

"Brother Xu, stop teasing me. I won't beat around the bush. I came to find you this time because I have a favor to ask." Yi Liya said.

"Speak freely." The middle-aged man stopped walking and said.

"Today, your opponent is a man named Li Feiyu from our Qingyang City. I hope that when you fight him..." Yi Liya lowered his voice and made a horizontal chopping motion across his neck.

So it turned out that this middle-aged man surnamed Xu was none other than Xu Shun, the Baiyan City Xuan Dou warrior who was about to fight Han Li.