"I am definitely making it into the top ten," Zhao Wuji said, his eyes exceptionally firm.
For his mother, for his sister, and even more so for himself, he had to enter the top ten. He knew that with his strength, making it into the top ten would be no problem at all.
Soon, everyone drew their lots.
Ye Xuan drew the number ten lot. He smiled, glancing at Gongsun Hao beside him. "I’m number ten. What about you?"
Gongsun Hao looked at his own lot. It was number one.
"Number one? Didn’t you say you were definitely fighting me this time? What, are you scared?"
Ye Xuan’s expression was incredibly indifferent. But it was exactly this indifference that infuriated Gongsun Hao. He knew why his father hadn’t tampered with the draw. It was because Gongsun Qingyue didn’t believe he could guarantee a victory against Ye Xuan.
Without answering, Gongsun Hao turned and stepped into the number one fighting ring.
Ye Xuan chuckled lightly and headed to ring number ten. Dressed entirely in white, he looked carefree and uninhibited.
Hua kept her gaze fixed on Ye Xuan. Beneath the Peach Blossom Mask, her eyes were breathtakingly beautiful. At this moment, those eyes seemed to smile. It was as if merely looking at him brought her immense joy.
"Hua, Ruoxi, do you think Ye Xuan can make it into the top three?" Gongsun Yanran asked.
Hua nodded immediately.
Liu Ruoxi, however, said coldly, "It’s already a feat that he can enter the top ten. As for the top three? Keep dreaming! Unless everyone in the Gongsun family is a piece of trash."
"You little brat... Are you insulting the Gongsun family?"
Gongsun Yanran seemed to somewhat understand why Xuan’Er always made Liu Ruoxi do the laundry and household chores. A woman with such a stubborn mouth needed to be taught a good lesson.
She glanced at Hua beside her. Even wearing a mask, Hua possessed a figure that was far more perfect than Liu Ruoxi’s. Truthfully, Hua wouldn’t be a bad match for Ye Xuan, but unfortunately, her face was disfigured. Gongsun Yanran shook her head and said no more.
Meanwhile, murmurs rippled through the crowd.
"Look, Ye Xuan went to ring ten. I wonder who his opponent will be."
"He easily defeated Uncle Sixteen, so whoever faces him will likely have a headache. Even Gongsun Hao and Gongsun Mo might not stand a chance. I’m afraid it’ll require Aunt Thirteen or Gongsun Po to step up personally."
Amidst the chatter, a figure walked toward the number ten fighting ring. Once they saw the person’s face clearly, the entire crowd was stunned.
"It’s him! This just got interesting."
"A battle for the top ten between two dark horses. That means no matter who wins, a dark horse is going to fall."
The person was none other than Zhao Wuji from the side branches.
Seeing Ye Xuan, Zhao Wuji frowned slightly. In his previous match, Ye Xuan had defeated Gongsun Hong. He was undoubtedly a formidable opponent. But no matter how strong he was, he would just become another defeated foe.
"It’s you..." When Ye Xuan saw Zhao Wuji, his expression also turned somewhat cold.
He glanced over at Gongsun Qingyue. Was Zhao Wuji’s placement also arranged by him? Was he trying to deny the side branches any chance of survival?
"I know you, and your strength is great," Zhao Wuji suddenly spoke up, cupping his hands in a polite salute toward Ye Xuan. "But I’m sorry. I have ample reason and absolute conviction to enter the top ten. So, for this match, I will go all out. When you lose, don’t hold a grudge against me.
"I am Zhao Wuji of the side branches."
"Aren’t you going to pick a weapon first?" Ye Xuan asked in confusion.
Zhao Wuji declared loudly, "In this battle, I will use my full strength. The weapons here are of no importance to me. You go ahead and choose."
You go ahead and choose.
Zhao Wuji’s voice drifted through the air, sounding somewhat arrogant and conceited. After all, the highest-grade weapons available here were of the Ghost Tier! Yet he actually claimed they were unimportant.
"You’re really not going to choose?" Ye Xuan frowned but didn’t say much else. "Since you’re not choosing, I will."
Ye Xuan respected Zhao Wuji, but that didn’t mean he would forgo a weapon himself. He opted for a mid-grade Ghost Tier longsword once again.
"Ye Xuan, please advise."
The two of them cupped their fists in mutual respect.
The next moment, the ground trembled. Zhao Wuji charged at Ye Xuan like a primordial Fierce Beast. Cracks spiderwebbed across the hard floor tiles. It was evident just how terrifying his physical strength was.
However, judging by the Spiritual Qi radiating from Zhao Wuji’s body, his aura was only around the first level of the Demon Spirit Realm. Such an aura was pitifully weak. Yet, someone at the first level of the Demon Spirit Realm shouldn’t be capable of shattering the floor, right? These were no ordinary floor tiles.
Such an anomaly meant there was more to this than met the eye. Refusing to underestimate his opponent, Ye Xuan immediately unleashed his Dragon Soul Power.
The massive Golden Snake coiled above his head once more. It reared its head, staring coldly at Zhao Wuji.
Then, a bizarre scene unfolded. Despite the Golden Snake’s appearance, Zhao Wuji’s movements remained completely unhindered. His actions were as fluid as ever, and he didn’t even bat an eye.
A moment later, his fist descended.
Ye Xuan immediately brought his sword up to block. The punch carried an utterly terrifying force, seeming to shatter the very air it passed through.
BOOM.
The impact of the strike contained such dreadful power that Ye Xuan’s body was forced back three steps. As the punch landed, the entire crowd erupted in an uproar. No one had expected Zhao Wuji to gain the upper hand.
"Zhao Wuji’s movements don’t seem affected at all. How is that possible? The Golden Snake’s pressure is so terrifying that my legs go weak just watching it. Yet Zhao Wuji acts like it’s nothing!"
"Wait, did anyone watch Zhao Wuji’s previous matches? Has anyone seen him use his Beast Soul Power?" someone asked.
"I didn’t pay attention, but I really don’t think I saw him use it. Could it be... Zhao Wuji hasn’t awakened any Beast Soul at all?!"
"It’s highly possible!"
The spectators’ gazes toward Zhao Wuji filled with even greater astonishment.
"This Zhao Wuji is unaffected by Beast Souls. It’s confirmed—he hasn’t awakened a Beast Soul." Gongsun Wenjin’s voice echoed from the stands.
Ye Xuan’s Beast Soul Power was potent enough to affect even the older generation like them. But this Zhao Wuji remained exceptionally fierce. The only explanation was that Zhao Wuji had completely failed to awaken any Beast Soul. Anyone his age without an awakened Beast Soul was almost universally deemed trash. Yet Zhao Wuji had managed to defeat Gongsun Hai.
How interesting.
As Gongsun Wenjin finished speaking, an elder chimed in, "This boy must be relying on pure physical strength. Putting him in the same group as Ye Xuan... Gongsun Qingyue has gone a bit too far."
Gongsun Wenjin shook his head. "Gongsun Qingyue didn’t tamper with the draw this round. He merely did his best to ensure that people like Gongsun Po and Gongsun Yan wouldn’t face each other so early. Even he couldn’t have anticipated that the two dark horses would draw the exact same lot."
Back in ring number ten.
Driven back by the blow, Ye Xuan narrowed his eyes. The burly man’s strength was definitely far more complex than it appeared on the surface. The hand gripping his sword was actually trembling with numbness. He had only used the blade to block, rather than to thrust, primarily because he didn’t want to outright pierce through the arm of someone from the side branches.
He knew that for members of the side branches to participate in the grand tournament, they had undoubtedly shed rivers of sweat behind the scenes. Ordinary people understood ordinary people best. If an ordinary person managed to rise above the rest, apart from luck, they had to pay a price in blood and sweat that others couldn’t even fathom.
No one in this world succeeded effortlessly. The world remained completely oblivious to the bitter tears and heartbreak these successful individuals had endured in the past.
"You are an opponent worthy of respect," Zhao Wuji’s voice rang out. He, too, could tell that Ye Xuan had refrained from thrusting his sword out of fear of gravely injuring him.