Hundreds of people were divided into ten groups, with ten small arenas.
Li Ye soon discovered that he was stationed at the sixth arena. With him was about seventy or eighty people, all of whom were eager to make an attempt and exuded a strong vigor.
"I'm really out of luck. Why must it be the sixth arena!"
A complaint was suddenly heard. One of the distant descendants with Martial Spirit Level Four smiled bitterly.
Upon closer inspection, Li Ye soon realized why many of the distant descendants had such an expression. Apparently, more than ten children of the main family were present in the group. The disparity between the distant family and the main family was obvious. It would come as no surprise then that the others sighed so lamentably.
"Look, isn't that Li Dakui, a prodigy quite renowned from within the main clan? We're so unlucky that he's in the sixth group too! Do they want us to die!"
Li Dakui! Li Ye's heart stopped for a moment. He heard that name before. Li Dakui was not one of the most orthodox members of the main family, but his talent was not inferior either. As of then, the timing was just right for him to join his last tournament before reaching the age of eighteen, while his strength had already reached Martial Spirit Level Six! He was undoubtedly the best in the group six, and was widely expected to top their group!
Li Ye did his homework in advance regarding the second round of rules.
Hundreds of people were divided into ten groups, and only ten in each group would have a place. In other words, only a total of one hundred people were allowed to pass. Those one hundred people would then become the clan's outer disciples and receive training from the clan.
That was precisely the objective for all those distant descendants!
Unfortunately, it is not easy to cut a path for oneself within each group. It was known that the weakest were Martial Spirit Level Three! To compete for the top ten of a group, previous years' records show that one must possess at least Martial Spirit Level Four to be considered one of the hopefuls! Anyone with Martial Spirit Level Five were basically guaranteed a smooth ride!
Since Li Ye's Martial Spirit was at peak Level Four, his actual combat strength was enough to beat someone of Martial Spirit Level Six! He was even quite capable of facing a strong cultivator at Martial Spirit Level Seven, so it was not a problem for Li Ye to qualify the group.
A brief glance of group six revealed that most people were of Martial Spirit Level Three. Less than thirty percent were Level Four and only five or six people reached Level Five and above. The Level Six Li Dakui was one of the few.
Soon, the tournament was underway at each respective arena.
In accordance with the rules, three points were awarded for a win and zero for a loss. The top ten players would eventually be ranked according to the score. It meant that everyone had to play against everyone else, and all things considered, it was a rather just model.
"I heard that you have the choice of back-to-back battles. As long as you have twenty consecutive victories, you can qualify in advance!"
"Stop dreaming. Except for the clan prodigies, ordinary clan descendants are scared to do that. Although the winning streak can appear quickly, once someone breaks the streak halfway, not only can the winner claim his opponent's winning streak as his own—his opponent will be eliminated immediately! Let's just fight it out safely, battle-by-battle!"
Some murmurings around Li Ye excited him.
He could not help but think, 'Under normal circumstances, I need to play at least fifty or sixty games to get a result. This winning streak system looks tailor-made for me.'
None of those in the sixth group—not even that Li Dakui—brought him much pressure. Li Ye thus began to make calculations.
By then, there were already two people facing-off against each other in the arena. It was two Level Three distant descendants fighting against each other, but unfortunately, the battle was not particularly exciting.
One party was soon defeated, although the winner chose to rest for the next game.
Li Ye in no hurry, and simply wanted to observe things first. He found that in the other groups, many strong individuals appeared one after another. It was not uncommon for their Martial Spirit to be on Level Five, while Level Six was not a rarity either.
Of course, the most outstanding were the more famous ones from the main family.
"Li Xuan! I didn't expect him to have a breakthrough!"
In the second group, Li Xuan was the most impressive among the list of people. His terrifying aura was more obvious than the day before, a clear sign that he had reached Martial Spirit Level Seven!
He had already defeated five people quickly at that juncture, dispatching his opponents in one fell swoop! Even someone with Level Five powers was defeated in one move! He became everyone's focus almost immediately!
Back in the stands, Li Huangran had a smug look. He smiled after seeing his son's outstanding performance.
"Third Brother, Xuan'er had a breakthrough. Congratulations, Third Brother!"
Several of the senior family members who sat in the stands congratulated Li Huangran. After all, only three people within the entire clan had ever reached Level Seven before the age of eighteen! Li Xuan became the fourth and was immediately branded as the clan's hottest prospect!
"He's still a long way off. Compared to Yue'er, this boy's a bit more immature and needs to work harder."
Despite those words, everyone could see the wholly-unconcealed pride and smugness in his eyes.
Down at the arena, Li Ye saw Li Xuan's amazing performance too. He was quite shocked and began feeling a slight pressure.
"I didn't expect that even Li Xuan had a breakthrough. I wonder if Li Yue has increased his strength today? I think I'd have to break through to Level Five as soon as possible, otherwise I won't have a surefire victory if I face them."
As he thought of that, he went straight into the arena. At this moment, the person standing in the arena was Li Dakui, hailed as the strongest among group six! At that point, he had won four battles in a row, and no one dared to challenge him!
"I thought everyone was a bunch of crickets. I'm surprised that someone has courage. State your name!"
After all, Li Ye left the family for a few years already and many people have forgotten him. Li Dakui either did not recognize him then or did not take Li Ye seriously at all.
The aura Li Ye emitted was simply that of peak Level Four—a gap of two levels.
"Li Ye!"
Li Dakui, however, did not respond even after Li Ye spoke.
"Ah? Aren't you the same old trash from some years ago? Why are you here?" Li Dakui had clearly not heard anything about what happened a day ago and was instantly surprised.
At the same time, some senior members of the Li clan also noticed the arena's situation from the stands.
The Li clan patriarch was not present. A coldness flashed in Li Huangran's eyes, with no one able to tell what he was thinking about. As for the others, they lowered their heads and talked softly among each other. Li Xuanji was also in attendance there, smiling slightly when he saw Li Ye enter the arena.
"I heard that this piece of garbage came back a few days ago, but I didn't expect it to be true, let alone being allowed to pass the first round of tests. Sixth Brother, your actions are not right. As the examiner for the first round, you will incur the dissatisfaction of our elders by bending the rules in favor of him."
Li Huangran's deep voice sounded, but Li Xuanji did not mind it that much. He shot a plain glance at his third brother and said, "Do not make haste, Third Brother. You'll see whether I bent the rules later."
Li Xuanji's attitude invoked a look of dissatisfaction from Li Huangran, although it was not particularly obvious.
"Sure! I'll watch!"
At the time, many people around the arena recognized Li Ye, the famous piece of trash! The sight of him entering the arena led to an immediate flurry of excitement.
"Trash, on account of our status as children of the main family, I'll spare you your life. Now leave!"
Li Dakui snickered. He did not take Li Ye seriously at all.
His goal was the twenty-game winning streak that would enable him to force his way to first place!
"You're that confident of defeating me?"
As soon as the words fell, Li Ye's Level Four vigor was revealed, taking many by surprise.
"Martial Spirit Level Four! Peak Level Four! What happened to this piece of trash all these years? How could he achieve such a level of cultivation?"
Peak Level Four was considered average by the main family and not at all inferior. All that did was make Li Dakui startled for a moment, but he then began laughing.
"I thought you had some technique that you could wield. Can't believe it turned out to be just that!"
Li Dakui laughed loudly, with the terrifying vigor of his peak Level Six surging directly into one's face. Many of those in group six were pushed back.
"This Li Dakui is indeed the strongest in our sixth group. Getting first place is practically a given. He may even reach the top thirty in this competition! He's expected to challenge the inner disciples!"
Within the sixth group, several Level Five distant descendants put on a solemn expression. Without a doubt, they believed that Li Dakui was a mountain that they had to surpass! Li Dakui was also their biggest challenge as yet.
Some people even cheered from below, urging the useless Li Ye to get off the stage.
"Li Ye! Heaven's offering you a way out but you insist on barging through a doorless hell! If that's the case, let's see what adventures you had in recent years!"
Li Dakui's approach was clearly a fierce one with an unrestrained style. Unfortunately for Li Ye, each punch carried at least a thousand catties of weight!
It should be known that ordinary, peak Level Six martial cultivators possessed about seven or eight hundred catties worth of force. Li Dakui was evidently talented in that regard! It was a natural born divine power.
Li Dakui made light of Li Ye. He delivered a punch in an attempt to knock Li Ye out with one move, just as he did to others in the previous few matches.
"Good move!"
Li Ye whispered to himself after seeing Li Dakui's punch. Instead of dodging the attack, he also delivered a punch of his own! He actually chose to defend the attack with his own attack!
"This kid is crazy!"
Many people laughed at the scene. By slamming his peak Level Four attack onto an enemy two levels higher, not to mention one that was born with a divine power, Li Ye was practically trying to get himself killed!
Peak Level Four produced only about four hundred catties of force. The difference was too big!
Li Dakui even had a smugness in his expression, as if he could already visualize the destruction of Li Ye's arm due to the latter's overestimation of his own abilities!
However, the next scene was that of Li Dakui being sent flying by Li Ye's punch! A scream was heard from the arena, and Li Dakui's face paled!
"What? How is this possible?"
For a moment, everyone was surprised! That included the elders of the Li clan that were sitting in the stands! Everyone was shocked at the unexpected result!
"That piece of trash defeated Li Dakui, a person with innate divine powers?!"
Li Ye won! At the same time, he gained a five-game winning streak, having claimed Li Dakui's previous tally of four!