Chapter 1853 — Chapter 1853 The Seventh Round

Yuan's opponent, a peak Spirit Apprentice, felt his confidence shatter the moment he realized the overwhelming gap between them—his expression turning deathly pale.

Facing an opponent who was an entire realm above him, he immediately understood that this battle was anything but fair. But alas, there was nothing he could do about a lottery system that was completely random and entirely reliant on luck.

With a deep sigh, the disciple accepted his fate. However, he didn't forfeit. After all, the Sect Leader was watching, and forfeiting would make him look mentally weak.

While the disciple retrieved his Spirit-grade sword, Yuan retrieved his Earth-grade sword.

"..."

The disciple's expression grew darker after seeing this. Not only was there a disparity in their cultivation, but his weapon was also outclassed an entire grade.

"You may begin the match!" The sect elder announced.

The moment the match began, Yuan kicked off the ground, launching himself forward like a bullet.

In an instant, before his opponent could even react, Yuan's blade was already pressed against the disciple's neck. The cold touch of steel sent a jolt of terror through the disciple's body, causing him to freeze in place, his breath caught in his throat.

"I-I forfeit…" the disciple quietly muttered.

The match ended so quickly that some of the spectators missed it because they were not paying attention or they had to turn away for a second.

"What? The match ended already? That was the fastest one yet!"

"The disciple got unlucky, encountering a monster like that Bamboo Disciple."

Meanwhile, in the sect elder's area, Elder Sun's eyes were as wide as saucers. She couldn't believe what she'd just witnessed.

'He's already at the peak of Spirit Warrior?! He had just become a cultivator not long ago!' Elder Sun cried inwardly.

"Wow, his cultivation speed is quite ridiculous… I know disciples who have spent twice as much time as he has inside the Hunting Ground, but they're not even half as fast as him!" Elder Jing exclaimed, her desire to have him as her disciple growing even stronger.

Even Elder Sun was beginning to consider recruiting Yuan as her disciple.

'I may not be able to recruit Tian Yang as my disciple, but he's a different story…' she thought to herself. 'However, the fact that he looks exactly like Tian Yang is weird… I don't know if I'll be able to ignore that…'

When Yuan returned to his seat, those around him stared at him with weird looks on their faces. Some had gazes of admiration, while others were fearful of him.

The excitement for the next several matches was almost non-existent after Yuan's match.

Since he'd just gone on the stage and wouldn't fight again until the next round, Yuan closed his eyes and began to cultivate in silence after sealing his hearing.

A few days later, Yuan opened his eyes when Lan Yingying woke him from his seclusion.

"It's your turn," she said.

"Thank you."

The second round of the tournament had begun, and Yuan was the first amongst their group to go first this time.

This time, his opponent was at the first level of Spirit Warrior.

Once the match began, Yuan immediately went on the offensive. The Spirit Warrior was able to see his movements, but reacting to it was a different thing entirely.

After barely avoiding Yuan's first strike, the disciple panicked and tripped, falling to the ground, and at the same time his butt touched the cold platform, Yuan's sword reached his neck.

His opponents were so weak that he only needed basic sword techniques and raw speed to defeat them.

The more the Sect Leader watched Yuan fight, the stronger his gut feeling about seeing Yuan before got.

Sometime later, Xi Meili entered the stage again. Her opponent had the same cultivation as her, so it didn't take long before Xi Meili secured her victory.

Ji Ran's opponent was only a Spirit Apprentice, allowing him to take another easy win.

Lan Yingying got unlucky and had to face an opponent who was at the third level of Spirit Warrior. Unsurprisingly, she lost after a few exchanges.

"Haa… I thought I would be able to win a few more, but alas, I only managed to win once before losing," she sighed as she sat back down.

"Statistically speaking, you're quite lucky when compared to the other Bamboo Disciples since the majority of them lost their first match," Ji Ran said.

"That doesn't make it any better," she shook her head.

Tan Songyun went several matches later, and her opponent was three levels higher than her. Despite the disparity, Tan Songyun managed to defeat her opponent and win. However, it was not an easy victory, and she even almost lost.

Time passed, and the matches continued without any pauses. The sect elder judging the tournament would change every single day, and the audience would change over time. Xi Meili managed to make it to round five before losing to an opponent who was seven levels above her cultivation.

Tan Songyun had to leave the tournament after losing in the sixth round. Her opponent was surprisingly at the peak of Spirit Warrior. Due to the massive disparity, Tan Songyun didn't even bother trying to fight and forfeited before the match could even begin.

Unlike the true disciples of the Immortal Monastery, Tan Songyun had no problem forfeiting when obviously outmatched, as she was not afraid of losing face in front of the Sect Leader.

Ji Ran and Yuan continued to win their matches without any issues.

Eventually, half a month had passed since the tournament began, and it just reached the seventh round.

"Number 8,171 and number 121."

Yuan entered the stage after hearing his number being called. His opponent, a handsome young man, entered the stage several seconds after he did.

Normally, Yuan would face his opponents with a nonchalant expression. However, this time was different. When Yuan saw his opponent, he immediately frowned, and he could feel his blood heating up from anger.

"Killing intent?" The sect elder on the stage frowned when she noticed that Yuan was emitting clear killing intent, but she didn't say anything since feuds between disciples were common.