Chapter 68: Changes in the Third Round Rules
This night was destined to be anything but peaceful.
At the Sleeping Phoenix Tower, the news that someone had comprehended the Phoenix Nirvana Diagram spread rapidly.
Despite Murong Yue and Mo Hanshan's efforts to conceal it, they couldn't.
However, who exactly comprehended the Phoenix Nirvana Diagram was still undetermined.
After all, with so many people there, no one knew who it was.
Zhou Qingcang, Hong Chilong, Mo Yuheng, and Shen Mo were all top young talents.
Moreover, many young disciples were also at the Sleeping Phoenix Tower.
It was possible that they, too, could comprehend the Phoenix Nirvana Diagram.
Once the news spread, the entire city was abuzz.
Many people discussed this matter heatedly.
The atmosphere became increasingly tense and lively.
In such an atmosphere, the sun rose, marking the arrival of a new day.
The Martial Arts Arena quickly became noisy again.
Compared to the previous two days, the audience increased by at least fifty percent.
Some people even came from other parts of Xuanjing Prefecture.
After all, today was the final round of the Hundred Sect Ceremony.
The top ten would be decided.
Just thinking about the generous rewards for the top ten, even those not participating felt their hearts racing.
They wished they could kick a few disciples out of the way and fight themselves.
Moreover, many had heard that this year's Hundred Sect Ceremony, held ahead of schedule, was quite different.
In the first round, Shadow Supreme Yin Xuege was defeated.
In the second round, Thunder Supreme Wan Renjie was defeated.
The one who defeated them was the same person.
This outstanding dark horse, comparable to the Five Young Supremes of Xuanjing, naturally attracted countless eyes.
Some who originally didn't plan to come rushed over overnight upon hearing the news.
Many in the audience eagerly discussed who had learned a move or two from the Phoenix Nirvana Diagram.
Would the moves from the Nirvana Diagram bring new variables to the third round of the Hundred Sect Ceremony?
These were very important points of interest.
Just thinking about it made people excited.
In such an atmosphere, the twenty-five disciples who passed the second round entered the arena one after another.
Each of these twenty-five disciples was exceptional, and each, barring any accidents, would achieve great things.
Exaggerating a bit, these twenty-five were the future top twenty-five Peak Golden Core cultivators of Xuanjing Prefecture!
If they sneezed, the entire Xuanjing Prefecture would tremble three times!
The Sword Sect Master Luo Chaotian spoke loudly, "I usually don't like to waste words, but there is news I must tell you."
"To speed up the competition and eliminate most unfair factors, I discussed with the other four sect masters and decided to slightly change the third round's rules."
As soon as he finished speaking, the elders, disciples, and audience were all stunned.
Although the rules of the Hundred Sect Ceremony changed slightly every time,
weren't the rules already announced before the competition started?
Why the sudden change?
But Luo Chaotian, after all, was the Sword Sect Master and a top Peak Golden Core expert.
The other four sect masters of Xuanjing's Five Sects also agreed.
Naturally, no one else had much to say.
Luo Chaotian looked around and nodded slightly.
With a wave of his hand, a hundred marble tokens floated in the air, shimmering brightly.
Some marble tokens remained stationary, while others moved as if alive.
Some even seemed to have wings, moving at incredible speeds.
Luo Chaotian smiled, "Here are a hundred marble tokens. You have half an hour. The one who captures the most tokens wins."
"This will clearly determine the rankings from first to tenth place."
"If there's a tie in the number of tokens, then fight it out. The winner gets the higher rank."
"Remember, the tokens cannot be stored in a storage ring. They must float around you."
The audience immediately began whispering, discussing the pros and cons of the new rules.
Shen Mo's eyes narrowed.
These rules were indeed clearer and more straightforward than the previous one-on-one battles.
The time consumed would also be shorter.
But there was a fatal flaw.
What if someone became the target of everyone and was besieged?
The twenty-five people on the field were all elite talents.
Against ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators, each of them could almost fight multiple opponents at once.
Maybe not ten at a time, but handling three or five was definitely within their capabilities.
Even with strong individual abilities, none of them could take on three to five elite opponents alone.
Shen Mo believed that among the twenty-five people on the field, he could at most handle five opponents simultaneously, excluding Zhou Qingcang, Mo Yuheng, and Hong Chilong.
Thinking of this, Shen Mo glanced towards the Heavenly Water Sect team.
Zhang Mo, as usual, sat there with a calm expression, her lips still cold and harsh.
At that moment, a cold jade-like hand grabbed his.
Shen Mo looked up to see it was Murong Yue.
The beautiful master smiled and said, "Don't worry, go ahead boldly. Your master will always be your strongest support."
Shen Mo felt a warmth in his heart. "Yes."
"All disciples, enter the arena!" Luo Chaotian shouted.
"Yes."
Shen Mo and the twenty-five disciples nodded solemnly.
Then they walked towards the martial stage with large strides.
The twenty-five people spread out, maintaining a distance of about ten feet from each other.
Although their faces showed no emotion, they were all very vigilant in their hearts.
None of those standing here were easy to deal with.
No one would underestimate the others.
Shen Mo's position was neither good nor bad.
There were only three people around him.
These three were from the Sword Sect, Thunderfire Sect, and Lingxi Sect.
The ones most likely to make a move against him were the disciples of Thunderfire Sect and Lingxi Sect.
The former because Wan Renjie was defeated by him in the second round.
The latter for a simpler reason.
Lingxi Sect was essentially a subordinate sect of Heavenly Water Sect.
Although not stated openly, their relationship was very close.
It had even happened that Lingxi Sect sent their most talented disciples directly to Heavenly Water Sect.
That was the case with Bai Ziyue.
This person was originally a disciple of Lingxi Sect, and when he entered the Foundation Establishment stage and awakened his physique, the next day, he was personally sent to Heavenly Water Sect by the Lingxi Sect master, becoming a Heavenly Water Sect disciple.
"Begin!"
At the elder's command from the Sword Sect, the twenty-five disciples simultaneously stamped their feet and rushed towards the sky.
There were three types of marble tokens: those that stayed in place, those that moved at normal speed, and those that moved at high speed.
Each type of token numbered about thirty.
Naturally, the first target was to snatch those stationary tokens.
As for those tokens that moved faster than rabbits, they could be grabbed if possible, and if not, then grab someone else's!
Everyone understood the essence of the rules.
It was said to be about snatching tokens.
But in the end, it still came down to fighting.
Defeat the opponent, and their tokens naturally became yours.
The battle started immediately.
Shen Mo used his Eight Directions Thunder Movement technique, appearing like a thunder shadow.
In a flash, he grabbed two marble tokens.
Landing, he dashed again, snatching another two tokens right before someone else.
A disciple from Lingxi Sect's eyes flashed as he charged at Shen Mo.
Shen Mo was prepared and kicked the disciple in the back.
Using the recoil, he distanced himself from the disciple and went for other tokens.
The Lingxi Sect disciple gritted his teeth, moving closer to Shen Mo while grabbing tokens.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
Shen Mo acted decisively, aided by his strong movement skills.
In the blink of an eye, the tokens around him increased to twenty.
On the field, Hong Chilong, not skilled in movement techniques, had only five tokens.
Zhou Qingcang and Mo Yuheng were better off, with ten and eleven tokens, respectively.
Shen Mo had the most tokens.
Immediately, several people targeted him.
"Let's get him!" they exchanged glances and charged from three directions simultaneously.
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