"Ye Xuan drew the blank slip! That means he advances directly into the top three."
"How did this kid get so lucky? Did he do a lifetime of good deeds in his past life?"
The younger generation of the Gongsun family looked at Ye Xuan with eyes full of envy, jealousy, and resentment. They had originally assumed that Ye Xuan, an illegitimate child, wouldn’t make it far. Who could have expected that he would not only enter the top ten but also advance straight into the top three?
Gongsun Tu looked at Ye Xuan with a hint of wariness; all the arrogance had vanished from his eyes. Originally, he had been somewhat dissatisfied when Ye Xuan defeated him. But since Ye Xuan could even defeat Gongsun Hong, it didn’t matter if he was dissatisfied or not. He suddenly realized Ye Xuan had been right. If Ye Xuan hadn’t shown mercy that day, he would have lost much more than just a hand.
"Those who drew the number one slips, begin your match."
Gongsun Po and Gongsun Hao stepped into the combat ring one after another. The match had no suspense. Even if Gongsun Hao used every ounce of his strength, he was simply no match for Gongsun Po. A gap of two layers was simply too massive.
"Gongsun Po wins the first match. Those who drew number two, step up to the arena."
The battles continued. Just three minutes later, Gongsun Yan successfully defeated Gongsun Pojun.
The top three spots were finalized. They were Ye Xuan, Gongsun Po, and Gongsun Yan.
"Alright, the top three have been decided. Next, we will hold the ranking match for fourth and fifth place. As usual, I will announce the rewards for fourth and fifth place before the ranking match begins.
"Fifth place will be rewarded with two hundred and seventy mid-grade Demon Spirit Pills and the right to choose one mid-grade Ghost-tier Martial Technique to practice.
"Fourth place will be rewarded with three hundred and thirty mid-grade Demon Spirit Pills and the right to choose one mid-grade Ghost-tier Martial Technique to practice.
"Now, Gongsun Hao, Gongsun Pojun, step onto the arena."
As Gongsun Wenjin finished speaking, Gongsun Hao and Gongsun Pojun stepped into the combat ring once more. The two were evenly matched in strength, possessed similar Martial Techniques, and had both awakened Fierce Beast-tier Beast Souls. The fight was neck and neck; neither could gain the upper hand. It wasn’t until an hour later that the match was decided by sheer exhaustion.
The winner was Gongsun Pojun.
Next came the highly anticipated moment: the battle for the championship! At this moment, Gongsun Wenjin’s voice rang out again.
"Gongsun Po, come up and draw your slips. Before you draw, I will briefly explain the rules.
"I have three bamboo slips here, one of which is blank. Whoever draws the blank slip gets a bye for this round.
"The two who draw the number one slips will fight first. The winner will temporarily take second place. Once the loser recovers from their injuries, they will fight the person who drew the blank slip.
"If the loser of the first round loses again, they place third. The winner will fight the victor of the first match to determine first and second place.
"If the loser of the first match wins the second match, no further fights will be necessary. The top three rankings will be finalized. Understood?"
"Understood, Grandfather," Gongsun Po and the others nodded.
"Then come up and draw."
Gongsun Po stepped up first. He glanced at his bamboo slip. It was completely blank.
Gongsun Yan couldn’t help but say, "Grandfather, since he drew the blank slip, there’s no need for Ye Xuan and me to draw, right?"
Gongsun Wenjin nodded. "Indeed, there is no need. You and Ye Xuan get ready; your match will begin shortly."
Suddenly, Ye Xuan spoke up. "Aunt Thirteen, I forfeit. You and Gongsun Po can fight for first and second place."
GASP!
As soon as Ye Xuan’s words fell, the entire venue burst into an uproar. Everyone in the Gongsun family was dumbfounded. None of them had expected Ye Xuan to forfeit at this stage.
"Why did Ye Xuan forfeit? It doesn’t make sense."
"I get it! He probably watched Gongsun Po and Gongsun Yan fight, realized he was no match for them, and decided to forfeit to save himself the embarrassment later."
"Yeah, that’s highly likely."
On the high platform, Gongsun Wenjin furrowed his brows. He glared at Ye Xuan and asked in confusion, "You’re forfeiting?"
Ye Xuan replied nonchalantly, "Yes, I forfeit. I only participated because I wanted to enter the top three to earn the right to enter the Three-Star Secret Realm. I have little interest in the remaining matches."
Gongsun Wenjin seemed to understand. He announced loudly, "Before the matches begin, I should first announce the rewards for the top three.
"Third place will be rewarded with one hundred and fifty high-grade Demon Spirit Pills, and the choice between any high-grade Ghost-tier Martial Technique or any single item below the Earth-tier from the resource vault.
"Second place will be rewarded with two hundred high-grade Demon Spirit Pills, and the choice between any two Ghost-tier Martial Techniques or any two items below the Earth-tier from the resource vault.
"First place will be rewarded with three hundred high-grade Demon Spirit Pills and any three items below the Earth-tier from the resource vault."
As Gongsun Wenjin finished speaking, the crowd boiled over with excitement.
"This year’s rewards seem even richer than last time. The number of high-grade Demon Spirit Pills has increased quite a bit, especially for first place."
"Not only that, but the top three can all choose an item from the resource vault! The Gongsun family’s resource vault is incredibly well-stocked. Even though they can only choose items below the Earth-tier, there’s still a huge chance of finding something amazing."
"Argh, why didn’t I make it into the top three?!"
Many disciples were green with envy. The Gongsun family’s resource vault wasn’t a place just anyone was qualified to enter.
At that moment, Gongsun Yan’s eyes lit up. She was at the 6th layer of the Demon Spirit Realm. If she could get her hands on three hundred high-grade Demon Spirit Pills, she would be able to advance her cultivation to the 7th Layer. Breaking through from the 6th layer to the 7th Layer only required two hundred and seventy high-grade Demon Spirit Pills. Going up against Gongsun Po would be tricky, but it wasn’t as if she had zero chance of winning. She still had hope for first place.
"The resource vault... and high-grade Demon Spirit Pills..." Ye Xuan thought, feeling tempted now.
He had originally assumed the rewards for the top three would just be mid-grade Demon Spirit Pills as well. He hadn’t expected the quality to be bumped up to high-grade. High-grade Demon Spirit Pills were absolutely worth fighting for. If he ran out of resources in the future, he could always consume high-grade Demon Spirit Pills. Most importantly, he would be granted access to the Gongsun family’s resource vault.
That temptation was incredibly immense!
The Gongsun family controlled an entire city; there had to be plenty of treasures in their resource vault. If he could get first place and choose any three items, he definitely wouldn’t be losing out.
But then, Ye Xuan shook his head. Taking first place would be too difficult. Theoretically speaking, with his cultivation at the 9th Layer of the Super Spirit Realm, he could defeat a Cultivator at the 7th Layer of the Demon Spirit Realm. But that was on the condition that the opponent had only awakened a Wild Beast Soul or even a Mortal Beast Soul, and that the Martial Techniques they learned weren’t of a high tier.
However, Gongsun Po had learned quite a few Ghost-tier Martial Techniques, and his awakened Beast Soul was definitely of the Fierce Beast tier. It would be far too difficult for Ye Xuan to defeat him. Unless he launched a sudden killer move and secured a one-hit victory before the opponent could react.
If worst came to worst, he would just fight for second place.
"Ye Xuan, are you absolutely certain you want to forfeit? If you are, I will have Gongsun Po and Gongsun Yan fight directly for first and second place." Just as Ye Xuan was pondering, Gongsun Wenjin’s voice rang out once again.