As Li Lingtian took the plaque and noticed that the number 1888 was written there, a faint smile appeared on his face. At that moment, he was feeling rather nostalgic.
In his previous life, numbers were a very big deal to humans because they liked auspicious numbers. 8 was considered a lucky number, but he had never imagined that he would get the number 1888.
Li Lingtian left reluctantly while numerous gazes of admiration and envy were fixed on him. Everyone would always pay attention to him when he was with Tang Zimeng. However, he knew that their eyes were on him because they were jealous and in awe.
The registration ended quickly after that, with a two-hour break at noon before the tournament began in the afternoon. Since there were more than ten thousand disciples in the sect, the tournament would drag on for a long time if there were any delays.
"Senior Brother, I think I've seen Li Lingtian before."
One of the Tier Nine Warriors said once Li Lingtian had left. There was a pensive look on his face as well.
"Li Lingtian, Li Lingtian. I know, he was the one who fought with Yang Xiaotian at the Life or Death Canyon."
Another disciple, who was also a Tier Nine Warrior, tried very hard to think about it before he finally recalled the Life or Death Canyon. When he thought of that place, he unconsciously looked at Li Lingtian and a shiver stirred in his heart.
Li Lingtian and Tang Zimeng walked to the edge of the square while they waited for the other disciples' tournaments to start. The young man was not concerned about his own tournament at all because his goal was to be the first in the inner sect so that he could compete against the Warrior Spirit Powerhouses.
Furthermore, since his number was 1888, he would be one of the last ones to compete.
Tang Zimeng ignored other people's gazes, but when she noticed the downcast look on Li Lingtian's face, her heart was overjoyed.
"Brother Lingtian, why the long face? Is something troubling you? Could it be that you're still thinking about the royal princess or that Senior Sister from just now?"
Tang Zimeng spoke in a gentle tone. Both of them had grown up together all along, and they continued to meet each other occasionally once they had joined the sect. However, they had started seeing each other less over these last two years.
Seeing that Li Lingtain's cultivation had greatly improved the last time they met, she was incredibly happy. Although she was worried about Li Lingtian entering the Ten Thousand Demons Valley, she understood that good men like him were determined to travel far and make their mark.
With this, her longing for Li Lingtian grew more intense during this period of time. She was finally able to meet Li Lingtian at the tournament, but she noticed that he was with Shangguan Linger and the others.
"Nangong Mingyue is merely the imperial family's royal princess, and she's extremely arrogant and haughty."
Li Lingtian was stunned as he realized that Tang Zimeng was envious. He could not be any more satisfied to have made his exceptionally beautiful goddess jealous.
The young man shook his head when he thought of Nangong Mingyue. Looking back, he was a huge idiot for abandoning his beautiful fiancee in pursuit of Nangong Mingyue. He had really been one-track-minded.
As the tournament progressed quickly, he soon heard someone yelling out the number 1888 from the tall platform and a youth walked up to the arena.
A faint smile appeared on Li Lingtian's face before he hurriedly rose and walked in the direction of the arena. He knew that his match was about to begin soon.
"Brother Lingtian, do you feel confident?"
Tang Zimeng asked in a concerned manner as she gazed at her fiance's silhouette.
"Haha, this isn't my ultimate goal. My final goal is to get first place. In fact, I want to get first place in the entire inner sect."
Li Lingtian said before his figure moved faster. In the blink of an eye, he had disappeared in the sea of people. When he reappeared, he was already at the bottom of the arena, taking one step at a time towards the top.
"The first in the inner sect?"
Tang Zimeng mumbled to herself, and deep down, she was filled with shock. Brother Lingtian had changed a lot. He was so different that she almost could not recognize him anymore. Within a few short months, he had managed to progress from a Tier Six Warrior into a Tier Nine Warrior. More so, his current aim was to be the first in the inner sect.
"It doesn't matter if Brother Lingtian has changed because he'll always be the person whom I love the most."
When she said that, Tang Zimeng's beautiful little face blushed slightly. After all, she was Li Lingtian's fiancee.
"My name is Xiao Tian."
The youth who was standing in the arena gave Li Lingtian a fist salute when he noticed that his opponent had arrived. Xiao Tian wanted to exchange pleasantries at first, but seeing that Li Lingtian was taking his time to walk into the area, he was suddenly filled with disdain.
"Li Lingtian."
Although Li Lingtian noticed that the people below the arena were glaring at him scornfully, he continued to smile before he made an indifferent fist salute toward Xiao Tian.
"Junior Brother Li, this place isn't suitable for you. You should leave. Otherwise, you'll get hurt later."
Xiao Tian spoke arrogantly; it was clear that he was belittling Li Lingtian. Li Lingtian was a Tier Nine Warrior, but he was probably just a youth who had relied on pills to improve himself.
Numerous disciples below the stage had stunned looks on their faces as well. There was nobody younger than Li Lingtian at the third stage of the tournament, and neither had anyone imagined that a fourteen or fifteen-year-old teenager could actually become a Tier Nine master.
"Do you have to keep blabbering to stay alive?
"Where is all this nonsense coming from? You can choose to leave the arena on your own unless you want me to escort you down."
Li Lingtian cursed loudly, provoking his opponent. The other party was clearly looking for a fight. Or else, why was he so arrogant despite only being a Tier Nine Warrior?
"Wow!"
"Hahaha."
The audience below the arena burst out into a commotion as numerous disciples who were watching the battle started to laugh loudly.
"Good luck, Brother Lingtian!"
When Tang Zimeng's sweet voice rang out, all the disciples were suddenly stunned. They then turned and fixed their murderous gazes on Li Lingtian.
"Since you're courting death, I should just take this opportunity to teach you a lesson.
"Overlord Fist. Get lost!"
Xiao Tian was burning with rage on the inside. He was obviously offended after the teenager insulted him. Moreover, when he noticed that the 'goddess' Tang Zimeng was cheering for Li Lingtian, he wanted to show off in front of his dream girl as well. He was hoping that the beautiful girl would pay attention to him too.
His True Qi circulated throughout his entire body and his Earth-path Warrior Soul before he unleashed his Overlord Fist. The entire arena was instantly filled with his explosive Qi and his great strength that traveled beyond the land.
"That's a fancy but impractical move. It may look impressive, but it's useless.
"Flaming Divine Fist, come forward for me."
Li Lingtian glanced at him disdainfully. Xiao Tian's Earth-path Warrior Soul and defensive abilities were incredibly powerful, but his attacks were not as strong. Despite only being a Tier Nine defensive-type Warrior, that man was simply courting death when he attacked Li Lingtian.
Without another word, Li Lingtian stepped forward and immediately threw an explosive blow with his fist. He did not circulate his techniques or use any flowery moves; it was just a simple punch, yet this punch was followed by a burning heat that seemed like it would swallow everything up.
Boom!
The moment an explosive noise echoed, a figure was seen tossed across the sky, drawing a beautiful arc as it went along. Eventually, Xiao Tian collapsed painfully in the arena and he lay there like a dead pig.
"He's just lying there."
"Damn, that's a frightening punch."
"He did it so naturally. It was such a smooth and clean sweep."
"Has the Amber Tier inferior Flaming Divine Fist always been so scary?"
"A… Apparently, it's powerful. He has defeated his opponent so simply and immediately. He's frighteningly strong."
When the numerous disciples below the stage saw that Xiao Tian had lost, they were utterly shocked. A teenager had defeated Xiao Tian with such ease, and this was not normal at all.
"That was such a clean sweep. I never knew that one could almost achieve Conception if you cultivated the Flaming Divine Fist to its limit."
Warrior King Zhang Ling's eyes that were semi shut earlier were now stern. He was originally unconcerned about this ordinary match between two Tier Nine disciples, but he had never imagined that a teenager could use the most inferior Flaming Divine Fist to win against the superior Overlord Fist.
"Indeed, that was quite impressive. He's only fifteen years old, but he has managed to advance his cultivation level and become a Tier Nine Warrior while cultivating his skills to the limit as well. You won't find anyone else like him in Sky Cloud Sect."
Several Tier Nine Warrior Spirit peak judges were extremely stunned too. It was not a big deal to be a Tier Nine Warrior. In fact, it was a perfectly normal matter. However, this particular situation was abnormal because of Li Lingtian's age and his innate talent for cultivating his skills. Not only was it abnormal, but it was terrifying as well.
"Li Lingtian wins."
Long Tian announced this out loud while he unconsciously did a double-take at Li Lingtian. To have had praises from several Elders, that young man must be an extraordinary person.
"Good job, Brother Lingtian."
Tang Zimeng excitedly complimented him while the joyful feeling in her heart grew more intense. That young man was her very own Brother Lingtian, her fiance.
Li Lingtian walked out of the arena and stopped beside Tang Zimeng. His face wore a faint smile as he reached his hand out and stroked her beautiful hair. He was glad to be able to share his strength with her.
"Senior Brother Li, your attack was so flawless."
Cheng Yun and the others walked over and praised him as well. The Flaming Divine Fist was an inferior skill that all the disciples had looked down upon before this, but Li Lingtian had turned this "lackluster" skill into a mysteriously powerful one.
The group then left the previous arena and walked toward the fourth stage arena. As they observed the matches between the Warrior Spirit Powerhouses there, they noticed that the difference between the fourth stage matches and the competitions between the other disciples were worlds apart.
On the first day, Li Lingtian entered three matches and had successfully joined the top three hundred, ranking as one of the top three hundred disciples among the Tier Nine Warriors. When the matches for that day ended, he had to wait until the next day to continue. He had managed to smoothly defeat his opponents with one punch during every match but unfortunately, this also left many of his opponents feeling defeated.
Although there were more than ten thousand disciples in the first and second stages, the matches finished at an incredibly quick pace. It seemed like every match was decided after one blow. Within one day, the matches at all four stages were progressing at a similar speed.
Xue Da had successfully advanced to the next round, and so did Cheng Yun. However, he looked slightly disheveled. As a Tier Five peak perfection Warrior, Shangguan Linger had successfully advanced to the next round as well.
"Let's go and celebrate because all of us have managed to advance to the next round."
Xue Da spoke loudly before he glanced at Li Lingtian as an effort to plead with him. Although Li Lingtian was the youngest, everyone gradually revolved around him because of his terrifying power.
"Alright."
Tang Zimeng was instantly overjoyed when Li Lingtian nodded. Back then, she used to follow Li Lingtian out frequently to have fun when she had just arrived in the Sky Cloud Sect, and she had missed that feeling terribly.