Chapter 254: Coincidences Make a Story

Ye Yuan nodded inwardly, committing the names Luo Chengfeng and Tang Yuer to memory.

Jiang Yunhe was so solemn about this; these two were undoubtedly the top existences in the Tianzi Camp, their combat prowess likely already on par with Condensation Crystal realm experts.

The sect tournament was not a life-or-death battle, so Ye Yuan naturally could not use all his trump cards.

Although his trump cards were powerful, once unleashed, even he found them difficult to control.

Moves like Thousand Stream Flying Blossoms, once released, would not stop until one side perished. It was indeed monstrous for a Liquid Essence realm cultivator to be able to mobilize the power of heaven and earth, but once the move took shape, even he could not control its power.

As for the fourth-order primordial fire, once he unleashed it, it could instantly burn the opponent into nothingness.

Although Ye Yuan had refined the Pure Sand Fire Lotus, controlling the power of the fourth-order primordial fire was clearly extremely difficult for him now.

As a result, Ye Yuan's means of threatening high-level Liquid Realm cultivators were greatly reduced.

Fortunately, Ye Yuan had now cultivated the first level of Spirit Void Space Shatter to perfection, and his speed was no less than that of high-level Liquid Realm martial artists.

Coupled with the second technique of the Spirit Zhe Nine Sun Divine Art, Yuan Force Combustion, he also had the capital to fight.

As for victory or defeat, even he himself could not guarantee it. At that time, it would still depend on his on-the-spot performance.

"Who is this last person?" Ye Yuan asked.

Jiang Yunhe looked solemn and said, "You must be careful with this last person. His name is Tianyu, and he is the direct grandson of the Supreme Elder Tianfeng. Among the core disciples, he is recognized as the one with the highest natural talent!"

Ye Yuan became interested upon hearing this and asked, "Oh? What is so formidable about this Tianyu?"

"Tianyu has been exceptionally insightful since childhood. Like you, he also passed the Nine Heavens Path! Although he did not pass it at the Yuan Qi Realm like you, he had just broken through to the Liquid Realm not long ago! Three years ago, when he passed the Nine Heavens Path, he was only at the first level of Liquid Realm. Now, three years have passed, and he is already a half-step Crystal Condensation powerhouse! If nothing unexpected happens, he will definitely become an elite disciple this time. If you encounter him, you must be careful!"

In Jiang Yunhe's mind, his evaluation of Tianyu was clearly extremely high.

If Ye Yuan had not appeared, then Tianyu would have been the number one among the younger generation in Jiang Yunhe's eyes.

Leaving aside Ye Yuan, the cultivation speed of three minor realms in one year was indeed terrifying enough! Not to mention that he had taken the key step toward breaking through the Condensation Crystal Realm—half-step Condensation Crystal!

In the Youyun Sect, the earlier one passed the Nine Heavens Path, the greater one's potential, as was the case with Mo Yuntian and Xin Lie.

Moreover, those who passed the Nine Heavens Path possessed extremely formidable combat strength, basically able to sweep across martial artists of the same rank!

Tianyu had passed the Nine Heavens Path when he was only at the first layer of Spiritual Liquid, which showed how monstrous he was.

"Thank you for the advice, Dean Jiang," said Ye Yuan.

After seeing Jiang Yunhe off, Ye Yuan did not choose to go into seclusion but instead took a stroll around the sect.

With the great battle imminent, cramming was obviously useless; it was better to relax and adjust his mindset.

...

The next day, the sect grand competition finally kicked off!

Desheng Peak was the venue for the sect grand competition, with many arenas set up on it.

At this moment, over a thousand disciples had gathered at the peak, all of whom were the future hope of the sect!

These thousand-plus disciples were all carefully selected from the Ten Kingdoms of Youyun, and in the mortal world, they would be astonishing existences.

Yet most of them could only become outer disciples, blending into the crowd within the sect.

The number of core disciples was two hundred, while the number of elite disciples was only a mere twelve!

The competition grounds for elite disciples, core disciples, and outer disciples were separated, and the one that drew the most attention was undoubtedly the elite disciples' ground.

These twelve represented the highest level of the younger generation, and whether core disciples or outer disciples, many naturally came to watch their matches, hoping to glean some insights.

However, the grand competition was held simultaneously; only those who finished their matches early would have time to watch others.

Obviously, due to the large number of outer disciples, their match schedule was the most tightly packed.

"Ye Yuan, what number did you draw? Do you know who your first match is against?" Nanfeng Ruoqing asked.

The Alchemy Hall also had competitions, but their duration was much longer than the Martial Hall's, so the Nanfeng aunt and niece had come to cheer for Ye Yuan.

"I drew number fifty-two, but my opponent for the first match hasn't been determined yet," Ye Yuan said.

He didn't really care who his opponent was; he would rather it be Tianyu. Ordinary Liquid Realm seventh- or eighth-layer martial artists were nothing in Ye Yuan's eyes.

"Hmm, that means your opponent is number one hundred forty-nine. I wonder who number one hundred forty-nine is?" Nanfeng Zhirou said.

The number of core disciples was fixed at two hundred, and the disciples would draw lots to determine their opponents.

After the draw, number one would face number two hundred, number two would face number one hundred ninety-nine, and so on.

Ye Yuan drew number fifty-two, so his opponent was naturally number one hundred forty-nine.

Of course, to prevent the strongest core disciples from meeting early and exhausting themselves too much for later matches, the top ten from the last grand competition automatically became seeded players, that is, numbers one through ten.

These ten had relatively weaker opponents, so their initial matches were basically uninteresting. Their opponents usually conceded right from the start.

However, special situations had occurred in past competitions, such as when the eleventh-ranked disciple unluckily drew a number after one hundred ninety, making the first match quite exciting.

But relatively speaking, such cases were extremely rare.

Ye Yuan drew number fifty-two, so the odds of him facing a strong opponent were not very high.

"Whatever, I'll deal with it as it comes. Long Tang, what number did you draw?" Ye Yuan asked Long Tang beside him.

During matches, core disciples were not divided by Heaven, Earth, or Human battalions.

"One hundred seventy," Long Tang said.

"Oh? That means facing number thirty-one? Feels like a strong opponent!" Ye Yuan said.

Long Tang said calmly, "It doesn't matter. I'll deal with it as it comes."

"Haha, that's the spirit! With your strength, I reckon breaking into the top fifty is no problem!" Ye Yuan laughed heartily.

"Let's hope so!"

Long Tang had also passed the Nine Heavens Path, showing his high comprehension.

In the past month or two, Long Tang had improved rapidly, but he hadn't had a chance to show it yet.

Ye Yuan believed that it wouldn't be long before he would make his mark!

"All disciples, listen up! The sect grand competition is about to begin. Quickly find your own arena according to your numbers!" a Martial Hall elder shouted, channeling his primal energy.

Ye Yuan and Long Tang exchanged smiles and went to their respective arenas.

Ye Yuan was number fifty-two, so he went to arena fifty-two.

When he arrived at his arena, the number one hundred forty-nine disciple had already arrived ahead of him.

When Ye Yuan saw the other party, he was momentarily stunned.

What a small world indeed!