Chương 210: Beginning of the semi-finals

Long Feng had never felt the desire to get stronger as much as he did now. He didn't want to stay mediocre in this continent. As long as he couldn't leave this continent, then his cultivation would stall at the peak of the spirit realm like others. Reaching the imperial realm would be an uphill task due to the natural limit of a low ranked continent. And the bare minimum required to be able to fly across the jade sea to the mainland was the peak of the deity realm. Deity realm!

This was a realm where one shed one's mortality and became a true deity! This was the goal of an infinite number of people yet that realm remained elusive to innumerable! Forget the deity realm, reaching the peak imperial realm in this continent was next to impossible. Otherwise there would be many deities already if it was easy. After all, many talented people had been born before on the continent.

"Deity realm… I must get stronger! Strong enough to overlook even deities! Then I must reach beyond that, do the Dao realm and beyond!" Long Feng breathed and smiled.

"What am I saying. I haven't even gotten the spot yet!" The battles in all the groups we're coming to the end. The top among nine out of the ten groups were confirmed and the final group was also rounding up. Soon, it was over. The top ten has been chosen out of the hundreds that came today. But the sun was already falling thus the semi finals had to be postponed to the next day. Hua Yao rose to his feet and silenced the square with a gaze, then he spoke,"The top ten have been decided.

I have to admit that the battles were all interesting and you ten are among the best in this continent of ours. The semi finals shall begin tomorrow at sunrise. The three youths of my clan shall also appear tomorrow to join the competition. You should all use this night to rest and hone your skills for tomorrow. Also, those who were disqualified would all be allowed to challenge one of the top ten just once. If you win, you replace the loser among the top ten. That's all for today!"

Hua Yao's words made all those who had lost due to various reasons to suddenly look up and feel hopeful. People like the burly youth who lost due to bad luck couldn't help but laugh out. Hua Yao immediately left with the Yihua clan's group after he spoke. The deserted fiends sect master followed quietly, his sect members tagging behind him. Lan yanyue also left with him. Then the Supreme Soul Pavilion Master left after casting a long glance at the young soul cultivator who was slowly walking away.

The Spring saber sect master and the roaring tiger sect master glared at each other before they also left in different directions. Within minutes, the crowd had also dispersed, moving in groups and conversing earnestly among themselves about the exciting fights that happened today and the expectation they had of the next day. The Misty Mountain's Master sat quietly with a deep pondering expression on his face.

The elders of the mountain who followed him here didn't dare to move, afraid to disturb him from his thoughts. His gaze moved from Gongsun Hao to Long Feng while he muttered somethings before he sighed heavily with regret and left, Gongsun Hao and the others trailing behind him.

"Brother Long Feng! Today was very exciting! Hahaha! Although I didn't make it to the semi finals, I still competed for it though. That is enough for me to become famous across the continent! Hahaha!" Yan jian's voice echoed out loudly along the way back to their residence. Long Feng glared at him, feeling speechless.

"Y… you mean cheated your way right? Who uses money to pass?" Yan jian didn't even blink as he laughed more"That's me, your trusted brother! Hahaha! You should've seen the look on their face when you became famous! To think that guy dared to bully me! Their expressions were priceless! Hahaha!" Long Feng stared at him, lost for words.

"Whatever" he sighed and kept walking.

"We all did great. Miss Li also reached the semi finals. I think you'll be able to get a spot to the hundred continent meeting too" he turned to Li Yue'er and smiled.

"I merely got lucky" Li Yue'er faintly smiled beneath her veil.

"Hmph. Of course you were lucky. Who doesn't know that?" Yan jian snorted.

"Miss Li is too humble. If you got lucky, then that means I passed by a fluke! I actually don't know if I can fight you now. You seem to hold back some of your strength in every fight!" Long Feng shook his head and laughed.

"Who knows what she ate? She keeps breaking through faster than you can breath!" Yan jian snorted again. Long Feng was speechless,"You just seem to hate peace don't you?" To that, Yan jian grinned cheekily and shrugged. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Li Yue'er glanced at him faintly, her eyes seeming to contain a hint of ridicule"I have a feeling I'll reach the spirit realm within two days" Yan jian froze and even Long Feng paused, feeling shocked.

"Incredible! Miss Li's cultivation advances so much faster after that thing was sealed!" Long Feng muttered in surprise. The 'thing' was naturally the demon entity which was sealed by the old coffin spirit in the Yin Ghost Forest. After all, she had barely reached the peak Yang realm a few days ago. And she was already about to reach the spirit realm! This speed of cultivation… even Long Feng was speechless. His cultivation was also at the verge of reaching rank 8 Yang realm though.

And he wasn't really bothered actually. Li Yue'er's cultivation had always been above his since the very beginning. He was just surprised that the demon entity was limiting so much of her talent.

"I bet If it was completely removed, her talent would rival those of the high rank or even peak rank continents!" Long Feng thought.

"What's so great about the spirit realm? Brother Long Feng has kicked the ass of more than one or two spirit realm warriors! Hmph!" Yan jian regained his senses and snorted yet again, though he was inwardly shivering. If this scary lady keeps breathing through at this pace, she would soon leave me in the dust completely! She'll beat me up whenever she pleases! Thinking as such, he swore to triple his efforts at cultivating and reach the spirit realm soon as well.

Otherwise, it really wouldn't be good for him if Li Yue'er surpassed him too much. How would he run?

"Indeed. The spirit realm isn't very impressive. I'll try to reach the imperial realm soon. Then I'll look for you for pointers" Li Yue'er glanced at Yan jian with a very faint smile on her lips. Although the smile was hidden by her veil, Yan jian still felt it. He shivered a bit and didn't say anything about her for the rest of the night.

"I have no idea why these two don't get along. Yan jian would get himself with a broken bone soon!" Long Feng sighed with a smile. They gisted quietly as they returned to their rooms where they parted. Li Yue'er returned to her room while Long Feng and Yan jian also went to theirs. Within her room, Li Yue'er switched off the light, closed the windows and locked the doors before she sat cross-legged on her bed and took off her veil, revealing her beautiful face to the air.

A frown appeared on her face as she lifted her fair hand with the small palm facing upwards. A faint surge of energy emerged from the palm, bringing with it a chilling cold that spread to the whole room. Ice began to appear on some of the items in the room. One could imagine the degree of coldness that surge of energy had. Also, that energy was clearly something belonging to rank one spirit realm warriors!

"I'm about to reach rank two… and the ice is getting harder to control!" The aura that was emitted by the cold was clearly almost similar to Long Feng's sword energy! Rank five Ice concept! Li Yue'er slowly lowered her hand and the energy receded into her body, vanishing completely such that even imperial realm masters wouldn't be able to notice it. On the surface, she was still at the peak Yang realm.

"I can't keep hiding it for much longer. The energy gets harder to control the stronger it gets." The frown on her pretty face deepened, then she sighed and closed her eyes to meditate.

The night passed quickly and soon, it was morning. By sunrise, the square was once again filled with people, perhaps even more than the previous day. The top five sect masters had also arrived already and were seated quietly, the pressure the five subconsciously emitted causing the whole square to inevitably fall as silent as a graveyard. The contestants were also present, the top ten having sat on seats arranged for them.

Three more seats were left empty, most people guessing they belonged to the three Yihua clan's geniuses who would appear today. The other youths who were disqualified had gathered around at another side, seating on the floor while waiting patiently for their chances to challenge and take a spot. The atmosphere was very solemn, such that everyone was taking the opportunity to assess their potential competitors or tru to polish their skills more.

Long Feng was also trying to deepen his understanding of the Firmament Sword Art's Earth Firmament skill as he constantly replayed the scene of the Firmament Sword Saint's fight in his mind. The solemn atmosphere was soon broken by the arrival of Hua Yao and the Yihua clan's group. Three youths were particularly eye catching as they walked right behind Hua Yao, two males and one beautiful female who could compete favourably with Lan yanyue, their expressions cold and indifferent.

"Brother Hua! I thought you might not be able to make it! Hahaha!" The roaring tiger sect master rose to his feet and laughed. The Spring saber sect master also rose to his feet, then the Deserted fiends sect master followed as well. After all, Hua Yao was among the strongest peak spirit realm warriors in the continent. Not even they could defeat him. This was their respect to a fellow warrior. Hua Yao smiled faintly, his feminine face looking strangely beautiful.

Many men and women all blushed when the saw his smile.

"You're all too courteous. This Yao was held up by something. I'm here now" he waved his hand smilingly. Then he glanced at the supreme soul pavilion master who hasn't rose to his feet and nodded respectfully at him. The pavilion master nodded back with a smile. As for the Misty Mountain's Master… his eyes were closed indifferently the whole time so Hua Yao had to overlook him.

"These are the three youths of my clan who will join the competition today. They're here to show their lacking skills and learn from the others" Hua Yao introduced the three youths behind him with a smile. The three youths clasped their fists as greetings to the five sect masters, the respect clearly showing in their eyes. It was clear that even with their superior background, they still respected the strong.

"Hahaha! Good youths! Two rank three spirit realm warriors and one rank four at such young ages! My Sect's geniuses are inferior!" The Spring saber sect master smiled and nodded. Hua Yao also smiled"You're too humble. Your Spring saber sect's Ming Dao¹ is also at the rank three spirit realm. My clan's youths have a lot to learn from him."

"Well said. That kid Li Hu² also seems to be getting over himself lately. I hope nephews would teach him a bit" the roaring tiger sect master also spoke.

"Alright alright. Let's not keep others waiting. We don't have the whole day" Hua Yao ended the pleasantries and pointed the three youths to the three empty seats left for them. As they say down, they drew many curious glances to themselves. Gongsun Hao opened his eyes and glanced at all three, his burning gaze focused on one of the two male who gave of a confident aura. The youth seemed to feel Gongsun Hao's gaze filled with battle intent and he met his gaze.

Sparks seemed to fly between them and a tense atmosphere filled the air, before the youth smirked disdainfully and looked away. Gongsun Hao also looked away and took a deep breath.

"Arrogant right? Very well. Makes it more fulfilling when I defeat you! Rank four spirit realm… can't wait to face you!" The other top ten gazed at this new trio solemnly, feeling the pressure the trio emitted.

"Rank four spirit realm… he gives me a very dangerous feeling. I'm not his opponent!" Long Feng clenched his fist and breathed out heavily.

"All this is finally getting interesting!" The youth from the spring saber sect, The rank three spirit realm warrior whose name was Ming Dao smiled grimly and licked his lips. Even he couldn't remain indifferent again. He was beginning to feel the pressure. For geniuses like them, getting a spot among the ten spots to the hundred continent meeting was a forgone conclusion. What they truly thirsted for was the fights itself. They each wanted to take the top three position, even the first place.

That position brought great glory to both the person and the force behind the person. The three Yihua clan's youths were aiming for these spots. Gongsun Hao was aiming for the first place. Ming Dao and Li Hu were also aiming for the top three spots. Even Lan yanyue wanted a piece of the cake that was known was the top three. Perhaps the soul cultivator wanted the spot too.

"Alright, today, the semi finals to decide the true top ten will take place. The finals may or may not take place today. In the semi finals, those who were disqualified would first be given the chance to challenge a person among the current top ten. Winning the challenge would grant you that spot while losing would mean total disqualification from the competition. Several challenges will take place at the same time on the ten battle stages to save time.

Also, any of the top ten who wins a challenge can't be immediately challenged by another person to prevent wearing them down. They'll have half an incense stick worth of time to rest before the next challenge. Same goes for any challenger who wins his challenge and takes the spot." Hua Yao spoke calmly, stating the situation of the semi finals. One had to agree that they had narrowed the chances of unfairness or cheating to the lowest.

They couldn't allow any holes that could be used to cheat during the competition after all. Glancing around to make sure they were listening, Hua Yao continued"After the challenge phase, the top ten would have been temporarily confirmed. The three youths of my clan will also challenge any of the top ten. Winning would grant them that spot and losing would disqualify them. That means three of the top ten would be removed. Those three would be allowed to make one challenge each again. The rules remain the same.

After these, the semi finals would end and the finals to rank the ten geniuses who will represent our continent in the grander stage would be decided. The general rules remain the same. I hope we're all clear now!" Hua Yao's voice echoed in the silence of the square. No one could find a flaw to point out in this arrangement and such there was no complaints or anything of such.

"Very well. Let the semi finals… Begin!"

¹ Ming Dao is the rank three spirit realm junior from the Spring saber sect ² Li Hu is the rank three spirit realm junior from the Roaring tiger sect