Wu Qianyu's name was first on the stone pillar. Everyone could see that. Cries of protest and surprise arose. Her name was widely known but she was far from the strongest mortal present. There were more than a handful of sword cultivators that had surpassed the peak of the Spirit Initiate Realm and a few who were even at the third lesser realm. Even if she was famous for the moment, it didn't mean anything to these mortal experts.
The next name beneath Wu Qianyu became visible. It spelled out Peng Xiling, Tower of Swords. Everybody knew him. He was equally as famous as Wu Qianyu, two comparable young cultivators.
As the entire stone pillar of three hundred names and their sects was finally displayed for all to see, Yang Kaitian let out a laugh, dispelling any unhappiness that still remained in the air.
"This pillar represents the preliminary seeding for the challenge tournament. Out of respect for the Immortal Association, those that scored within the top one hundred for the Monster Fighting Competition were given preferential rankings. Of those, we are lucky enough to see forty-five of these talented young cultivators attempt the challenge of the Forest of Swords. We of the Eastern Sword Alliance are honored by your interest and look forward to seeing where you all will end up on the pillar as the challenge tournament progresses."
At his explanation, all signs of disagreement disappeared. Those with keen eyes could see Immortal Ardent Duchess Su Tan, representing the Immortal Association, nodding along with satisfaction. Even the bravest person present did not dare argue with someone like her.
Yang Kaitian flashed another smile and continued his explanation, "For the remaining two-hundred and fifty-five places, they are given to those who have participated in prior convocations. As the convocation has no age limit, many of you have participated in multiple instances. The alliance believes that previous achievements should be recognized. Thus, after the rankers of the Monster Fighting Competition, the names that follow are those who have managed to obtain one or more sword truths. These number a total of one hundred and thirty. Finally, this leaves one hundred and fifteen places which were given based on results of challenge tournaments in previous Convocations."
After he finished, another round of conversations arose from the crowd. Some who were satisfied with the preliminary seeding were busy bragging to their peers. Others who were left out were hotly complaining to anyone who would hear them.
Yang Kaitian let them be for a while before speaking again, "Swordsmen and swordswomen, everyone who has come to participate in the Convocation of Swords, do not be disheartened or too excited by the preliminary seeding. Everything is only preliminary and the final three hundred allowed to enter the forest will differ greatly. Everything will depend on strength as well as strategy as even holding onto your position within the three hundred will be a great challenge for many of you."
Yang Kaitian explained further the rules and intricacies of the challenge tournament. True to its name, it was a tournament of one-on-one battles based on challenges.
Anybody was allowed to challenge anyone as long as the one they challenged was a higher ranked than them. This meant anybody in the preliminary rankings could challenge Wu Qianyu. This meant that anybody not in the preliminary rankings could challenge anyone that was. A challenge duel lasted five minutes. It ended when one side lost their sword, lost their ability to fight, or was expelled from the dueling area. The winner would then swap rankings with the loser.
Theoretically, an unranked expert could immediately challenge Wu Qianyu and win the top spot, expelling her from the top three hundred in the process. This could be good if that person wanted immediate fame but it didn't mean they could keep their position. They could just as easily lose their position to another stronger challenger.
However, there were also rules to prevent everyone from ganging up on the higher ranks or challenging one person over and over, wasting their strength. Every competitor, ranked or unranked, had three challenges in total. If they failed to get their name onto the stone pillar in three tries, then their tournament was over and they would have to wait five years for another attempt at the Forest of Swords. This way, challengers had to consider risk versus reward when putting forth a challenge.
As for those receiving challenges, to prevent being inundated, they could only receive three challenges each day for nine total over the next three days. Those who received a challenge could not receive another challenge within two hours of receiving their previous one. And finally, those that were not on the stone pillar could not receive challenges as such a duel was entirely pointless.
Yang Kaitian continued, "The ranking challenges will begin shortly. We will draw challengers at random. This plaza can transform into nine different dueling platforms so that challenges may take place simultaneously if needed. However, the plaza can also be used as one big fighting arena which is exactly how it will be used for the secondary tournament that will determine the final thirty-three Mind Focusing Realm sword cultivators that will be allowed entry into the Forest of Swords."
The secondary tournament, compared to the challenge tournament, was a much simpler affair. There were many participants at the Mind Focusing Realm and it would take too long to determine a ranking through one-on-one duels. The audience also had little interest in fights between what were equivalent to children in their eyes.
It consisted of eleven sword battles spread out over the course of three days, with four battles on the first two days and three group battles on the third day. Each sword battle would utilize the entire plaza and would be a free-for-all format. All participants of the convocation at the Mind Focusing Realm would be drawn at random for one of the eleven battles. Everyone would get only one opportunity.
The last three standing in each sword battle would be considered the winners and be allowed to enter the Forest of Swords. Three people for eleven battles equaled exactly the thirty-three openings allotted.
"That is all the rules and considerations for the two tournaments." Yang Kaitian said, "You all may take the next hour to strategize and prepare. We will begin promptly whether you are ready or not!"
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