Chapter 217 - 217: Is There A Rule?

"Now we have 125 people for the battle! Since it's an uneven number, rank one will get a free pass to the 4th stage." Yu Tianhao announced just after the second round had finished.

"Elder Yu! Shouldn't the free pass be decided by the lottery system? It had been done like that in the previous examinations as well!" Prince Lu said in an unconvinced tone as he gazed at Yu Tianhao.

"This decision was taken by the Sect Master! If Prince Lu has a problem with this decision, then you can talk to the Sect Master after the Examination is over." Yu Tianhao said in a strict tone.

"This... I have no problem with this decision" Prince Lu said as he looked down.

'How can I go against the decision of the Sect Master! He is the strongest Cultivator in this Kingdom! I haven't gone crazy that I'll talk to him about his decision.' Prince Lu thought with an ugly expression on his face.

"If you're fine with the decision, then get on the stage fast! It's your turn to fight." Yu Tianhao said as he got off the stage.

The 3rd stage of the battles began as cultivators began fighting for rankings.

The 3rd stage of the battle went on for longer than the second stage despite there being less number of participants. Those who fought in the third stage were the top cultivators of the Exams.

Long Chen watched the battles with great interest as he didn't need to participate in the battles himself.

Although he watched all the fights, the one he truly cares about were the battles of Shui Kingdom. Especially the battles of the people he knew.

The third round was finally over as the top 75 were decided. From the Shui Kingdom, very few had managed to get selected amongst the top 75.

The ones that Long Chen knew in the top 75 were Rank 11 and Rank 26 were held by Crown Prince Yue Zhang and Qin Ruo respectively. Rank 51 was Prince Lan from Dongxin Kingdom. The 64th rank belonged to the first Princess Yue Miao from Shui, Rank 68 was Second Prince Yue Luan, Rank 71 Third Prince Yue Ming, Rank 73 Long Xue Ying and Rank 75 was the Gu Clan's Young Master Gu Nanli. 

The 2nd Princess of Shui and the 3rd Princess Yue Fei had failed to pass the 3rd stage of the sect entrance exam.

"Those who were defeated in the third stage will have a chance as well. Rank 76 to Rank 150 will have their own separate battles to determine the top 25 amongst them. Those will take the rankings from rank 76 to Rank 100. Thus, only 100 cultivators would pass."

"Those who passed the 3rd stage have already passed the exams and can choose sects of their likings and they will become the disciples of the outer sect, but they would still have to fight further as we need to decide on the rankings of Top 75. Those at better rankings will have a chance to get even better rewards!" Yu Tianhao came on the stage and said to the participants.

The ones who were defeated in the 3rd round became excited once again as they received another opportunity.

"There's an uneven number again. So Rank 1 will once again receive a free pass" Yu Tianhao said with a smile.

"Another free pass!!! Tian Shen you bastard!" Prince Lu muttered as his face distorted in anger. After the initial reaction, he managed to calm down himself.

Prince Lu walked towards the stage, though his heart was still filled with anger.

"Hey, I'm Gu Nanli from the kingdom of Shui. You might be ranked 2 but with your cultivation suppressed, we both have similar strength! I'll definitely take away your rank." Gu Nanli said with a grin as he brought out a dagger.

"A Golden Grade Weapon Flashing Knife. Looks like the Gu Clan really wants to let him have a good rank. They gave a kid their treasure weapon." Long Ren said softly as an interested smile appeared on his face.

"He can't win. Does he really think that the Crown Prince of a first rank Kingdom doesn't have a good weapon? Also, even if they're in the same cultivation realm right now, there is a huge difference between their experience and their skills " Royal Chief Jinjing gave her opinion on the matter.

"Do you really think that a knife of yours can help you defeat me? Looks like I really need to show some strength for you people to take me seriously!!!" Prince Lu said as his face turned red in anger.

"Reseria Steps! " He muttered as he used his movement skill. Although because of the restriction in cultivation, his speed was much lower than the peak, still it was too fast for Gu Nanli to react.

As Gu Nanli got into a stance to attack, a fist landed on his stomach and he was thrown outside. He coughed out a mouthful of blood as he crashed against a wall.

"Hmph… trash" Prince Lu muttered as he got off the stage.

Rank 11 Yue Zhang fought with rank 65, Li Xiao. The battle lasted for over 5 minutes before Yue Zhang managed to grab victory.

Rank 26 Qin Ruo fought the Rank 50 cultivator from the Xuan Kingdom and managed to win.

Rank 51 Prince Lan had also managed to defeat rank 25 Cultivator from Xuan Kingdom and he now held rank 25.

First Princess Yue Miao, Second Prince Yue Luan, and Third Prince Yue Fei were defeated by their opponents and retained their old ranks.

"Since now we have 38 cultivators, Rank 1 Tian Shen will fight Rank 38, Hu Man." 

"Finally! I was getting bored." Long Chen muttered as he began walking towards the stage.

His opponent was a bulky man who was over 7 feet tall. He had muscles all over his body.

"I saw your first battle. Your strength is good, but you will be defeated by me! There can only be one rank 1 and that will be me" The muscular man said as an ugly smile formed on his face.

He ran towards Long Chen. Unlike what his physique suggested, the man was actually pretty fast. He ran like a bullet as he grabbed near Long Chen in an instant.

"Bone breaking palm!" He attacked Long Chen as he reached near him.

Long Chen also punched out. His fist collided with the man's palm and the man was pushed back ten steps.

"You!!! How can you have so much strength? I'm a body cultivator, You shouldn't have more strength than me! " Hu Man said with a look of disbelief on his face.

"Is there a rule that only you can cultivate physique?" Long Chen said with a chuckle as he appeared near Hu Man. He grabbed him by his neck and threw him outside the ring.

Hu Man landed on the ground and some of the dust entered his mouth. He still had a stunned look on his face.

"Interesting. The Hu clan is known for their body cultivation. For a 16-year-old boy to have a better physical cultivation… I can't help but be curious about this boy's identity." Yu Tianhao muttered as he gazed towards Long Chen.

Prince Lu fought next and defeated his opponent with just as ease. It was as if he was trying to show off how easy it was for him to win battles like this.

Rank 3 Wu Duan fought Rank 36 Ming Yin and won the battle. Similarly rank 11 Yue Zhang won against rank 28 Min Ho. Rank 13 Tao Li fought Rank 26 Qin Ruo and defeated her. Although Qin Ruo was defeated, she wasn't hurt as she had surrendered when she saw that she was unable to win.

Rank 14 Fu Chao fought against Rank 25 Prince Lu and won the battle after a long fight that lasted for over 23 minutes.

"Good battle. The 5th Round will be among the 19 participants that won in the 4th round. Since we again have an uneven number, Rank 1 Tian Shen will get another free pass." 

Yu Tianhao announced the 5th round.

Long Chen had a wry smile on his face as he heard that he got another free pass while Prince Lu's expressions were getting uglier by the second.

The round was soon over as the top ten was decided.

"The 6th Round will be held now! 1st rank Long Chen vs 10th Rank Yue Zhang. 2nd rank Prince Lu vs 9th rank Qingqing. 3rd Rank Wu Duan vs 8th rank Tao Li. 4th rank Chu Fan vs 7th rank Lu Li.5th rank Wang Che vs 6th rank Do Hu.

Long Chen got on the stage and the person who stood in front of him was the Ex Crown Prince Of Shui Kingdom, Yue Zhang.

"You did well reaching up to this point. Your Kingdom must be proud of you." Long Chen said in a heavy tone as he gazed at Yue Zhang.

"I don't know about the kingdom, but I sure do hope that my family will be happy after seeing my performance." Yue Zhang said as a bright smile appeared on his face. He couldn't help but glance at the members of the Yue Clan that stood in the arena.