Old Man Tianji's voice reverberated throughout the Heavens and Earth, as though it contained a magical power within, causing the hearts of countless people to surge with emotions.
Even those who came to spectate felt their blood boiling. The fate of Grand Xia had already been decided. Would someone with the Heaven's Mandate be born?
In the future of Grand Xia, who would rise and fall?
Old Man Tianji's countenance was as calm as ever as he stared at the countless silhouettes below. This time around, the number of participants was the same as before, over ten thousand people.
The majority of these ten thousand people had a cultivation base at the ninth level of Yuanfu. If they didn't have enough strength, they wouldn't even bother to participate in the ranking battle.
Although it seemed like a lot, in the perspective of the entire Grand Xia, ten thousand people was merely a drop of water in the ocean.
Not only that, these people would continue to be eliminated. First, they had to obtain a ticket to participate in the ranking battle.
At this moment, Old Man Tianji spoke again, "Now, all of you can ascend the ancient pathway and sound the drums at the peak. Those who can't sound the drums nine times, you are free to leave."
Sounding the drums, there were too many people, there was a need to eliminate many.
It was extremely difficult to sound the nine gigantic drums. If one couldn't sound the drums nine times, they wouldn't even have the qualifications to enter Grand Xia.
Not only that, the drums could be struck continuously, but it was impossible to stop the sound of the drums. If the sound of the drums was interrupted, it would be useless.
Over ten thousand people stepped out one after another, ascending the ninety-nine steps. Their expressions were solemn, and not a single one of them soared into the air. They all ascended the ancient pathway, one step at a time. This was a sign of respect to the ancient pathway.
Finally, the first person ascended the ninety-nine steps, arriving in front of the gigantic drum in the middle. His long robes fluttered in the wind as a powerful aura gushed forth from him. He maintained a distance of one step away from the gigantic drum, and his entire body seemed to be clad in a layer of divine armor, exuding a fearsome sharpness. It was as though he himself was a divine weapon.
"It's Wang Jue, he's the first to sound the drum. Is he trying to tell everyone that he, Wang Jue, wants to contend for the number one position?" The gazes of the crowd landed on this person.
Wang Jue, a Heaven's Chosen from the Wang Clan of the War Continent. He was ranked # 6 on the Heavenly Fate Rankings, and was one of the strongest contenders for the top three positions.
At this moment, Wang Jue's fist seemed to have turned into a silvery-white color as he punched out. In an instant, a loud boom rang out as the sound of a drum reverberated through the air.
A terrifying astral wind blew at Wang Jue's long hair, and the drum continued to beat nine times. A terrifying force bombarded Wang Jue's body, but he stood there unmoving, like an ancient pine tree.
"Since we are fighting for the Heavenly Will, we will start from the sound of the drum. How can we fall behind others?" As Wang Jue's voice fell, before the nine echoes ended, his fist once again lashed out with a terrifying sharpness.
The crowd could only see a terrifying force slamming into Wang Jue's body. The drum sounded three more times, but Wang Jue's fist aura blasted out again. The violent air currents seemed to want to lift Wang Jue up.
Another punch was thrown out. He took a step forward and stood in front of the drum, allowing the terrifying wind to blow on his body. His heart was still the same.
The people at the side looked at Wang Jue. They had been prepared to sound the drums, but they seemed to have forgotten to do so.
Finally, Wang Jue's drum sounded out eighteen times, reverberating unceasingly throughout the Heavens and Earth.
"Eighteen echoes of the drum, how powerful. According to the historical records, in the ranking battles of Grand Xia, eighteen echoes of the drum were already enough to lock the top ten." The hearts of the spectators mused. This Wang Jue had already sounded the drum when he first joined the Heavenly Fate Sect, letting everyone in the world witness his determination.
Above the Ancient Pathway, those from the Wang Clan all had smiles on their faces. Wang Jue had already started from the moment he joined the Heavenly Fate Sect.
Since they were fighting for the Heavenly Fate Sect, they would start from the sound of the drum.
After Wang Jue, more and more people sounded their drums. However, the majority of them were below the fifteenth echo mark. Only occasionally, there would be a few who managed to break past the fifteenth echo mark. And among these people, there were actually quite a few who were already rankers on the Heavenly Fate Rankings.
As for those who managed to reach the eighteenth echo mark, there were no more.
With over ten thousand people, even if there were nine gigantic drums, it would still take over a thousand people to sound each drum. It was extremely time-consuming, yet the crowd was incomparably quiet, as though they were extremely patient.
Every three years, this was a once-in-a-lifetime event. Even if it was just the first sound of the drum, they would still cherish it.
From the moment the drum sounded out, the hearts of the geniuses were already filled with the desire to compete against each other.
Naturally, there were also many who didn't manage to sound the drum nine times. Their voices were filled with boundless disappointment as they left unwillingly.
They came to participate in the Heavenly Fate Rankings with boundless yearning in their hearts, yet they were all eliminated the moment they joined the Heavenly Fate Sect. Naturally, they were filled with reluctance, but reality was always so cruel.
After which, another person sounded the drum seventeen times, causing many to sigh in admiration. So it turned out that this person was none other than the ninth ranker, Li Yu from the Thousand-Jue Alliance.
"To think that half of the participants didn't even manage to sound the drum nine times. How terrifying are those nine gigantic drums?" Fan Le silently mused as he stared at the gigantic drum. The number of people who were eliminated actually exceeded half of the participants. This ratio was truly shocking.
After all, there weren't many who came here just to make up the numbers. All of them were extremely confident in their own strength.
"Nineteen echoes …"
At this moment, an earth-shattering sound rang out. Fan Le's mouth was still open as he stared at a silhouette in the air. Half of the participants didn't even manage to sound the drum nine times.
"Emperor Wind!" Qin Wentian stared at the person who spoke.
"It's Emperor Azure." The others exclaimed in admiration. The fifth ranker on the Heavenly Fate Rankings was none other than Emperor Azure. His surname was also Wang, and he had surpassed Wang Jue, breaking the record of Wang Jue.
"Emperor Azure is so powerful. I wonder if there's anyone who can break his record."
"Ouyang Zheng also went up, but he only managed to sound the drum seventeen times."
Qin Wentian glanced at the person beside Emperor Wind, who had also managed to sound the drum seventeen times. Originally, he should've been the most dazzling, yet he was suppressed by Emperor Azure.
Ouyang Zheng was a Heaven's Chosen from the Ouyang Aristocrat Clan, and was ranked # 10 on the Heavenly Fate Rankings.
Although the drum sounds couldn't be used to determine the final rankings, it was still a form of competition. Especially when Wang Jue took the lead, no one was willing to fall behind.
Next, the more powerful characters made their moves.
Yang Fan from the Star-Seizing Manor, sixteen echoes.
Zhao Lie from the Skyember Sect, sixteen echoes.
Hua Feng from the Hua Clan, fifteen echoes.
Duan Qingshan, sixteen echoes.
"Shi Potian is about to make his move." At this moment, the gazes of the countless spectators converged onto a single person. This person was none other than Shi Potian from the Shi Clan.
Shi Potian made his move, sounding the drum twenty times, once again setting a new record.
"As expected of someone from the Shi Clan who possesses the bloodline of an ancient demonic beast. How terrifying," the spectators mused.
In this ranking battle, there was no doubt that Chen Wang and Shi Potian were the two most popular contenders.
Great Solar Chen Wang and Shi Potian from the Shi Clan, who could contend against the two of them?
"Black-robed figure?"
At this moment, Qin Wentian noticed a black-robed figure walking up the stairs. His eyes flickered involuntarily, was this the same black-robed figure that cultivated the Devil Art?
Devil might gushed forth from the black-robed figure as he blasted out with his palm. The sound of the drum trembled violently as the nine reverberations continued unceasingly.
However, this didn't attract the attention of the spectators. Only when the black-robed figure sounded the drum fifteen times did the spectators turn their gazes over.
The sixteenth and seventeenth reverberations caused the spectators to turn their gazes in that direction. However at this moment, the black-robed figure actually stopped and lowered his arms. He clearly still had some energy remaining, yet he chose to give up on it. After which, he slowly walked forward, as though he didn't care about the result at all.
"He actually cultivated the Devil Art? I've never heard of such a person before, he must be a dark horse."
"Not only that, he's clad in black, it's obvious that he's intentionally concealing his identity."
"Chen Wang, Great Solar Chen Wang has finally made his move." The crowd saw another figure walking up the stairs. It was none other than Chen Wang, ranked # 2 on the Heavenly Fate Rankings. This time around, Hua Taixu didn't participate, so who would be Chen Wang's opponent?
The rays of the sun were incomparably dazzling. Chen Wang didn't disappoint the spectators, he was the same as Shi Potian, sounding the drum twenty times.
"Mu Feng actually made it here. I heard that three days ago, he narrowly escaped death."
Only to see Mu Feng standing in front of a gigantic drum on the left. After sounding the drum nine times, he continued on his way, not caring about what others thought of him.
Although this was the case, nobody dared to underestimate Mu Feng. What he feared the most was poison.
Even for Chen Wang and Shi Potian, if they were to face Mu Feng directly, they would have to be extremely careful.
After that, there was another person who attracted the attention of the crowd. That person was none other than Situ Po, a Heaven's Chosen from the Sword Extinction Sect.
At this moment, Qin Wentian turned his gaze over, staring at a spot not far away from him. Mo Qingcheng seemed to have sensed his gaze as a mischievous smile flashed in her eyes. After which, she continued moving forward.
Qin Wentian and the others also walked out and climbed the ancient steps of Great Xia step by step.
They lined up in a row and stood in front of the giant drums.
"It's Zhan Chen, he's about to act. He's following behind Mo Qingcheng, it's evident that his infatuation with her has yet to change."
"Who is that female? She's actually so beautiful as well. Although she's a little inferior compared to Mo Qingcheng, she's like a snow lotus on an icy mountain, surpassing many other beauties." Everyone turned to look at Yun Mengyi. Although Yun Mengyi was famous in the Unmatched Realm, in the entire Grand Xia, only a few knew of her.
"Xuan Yan, Xuan Yan also went up at this time."
"What a feast of beauties."
Mo Qingcheng, Yun Mengyi, and Xuan Yan actually went up at the same time.
Moreover, there was still Zhan Chen.
Other than them, the others in the middle were a complete killjoy.
Qin Wentian, Ouyang Kuangsheng, Chu Mang, Fan Le, and Bailu Jing.
A total of nine people, just nice enough to occupy the nine drums.
"Fatty, I want to see how many drums you can achieve this time around." Xuan Yan spoke in a low voice. Evidently, her words were directed at Fan Le.
Fan Le felt a little guilty. The situation this time around was different from the previous time.
What made the spectators even more interested was that these nine people actually made their moves at the same time. Instantly, the nine drums sounded out in unison.
Chaotic currents of qi swept across the Heavens and Earth. How terrifying was the might of Qin Wentian's fist? Nine consecutive drum sounds rang out. However, no one paid any attention to him. The majority of the spectators were all focused on Zhan Chen and Mo Qingcheng.
Occasionally, there would also be some who would pay attention to Yun Mengyi and Xuan Yan.
The spectators only saw Zhan Chen's entire body bathed in a golden glow as he slashed out with his sword. Not long after, the drum sounds had already reached the 15th drum sound. Not only that, his aura was still as imposing as before. Evidently, he still had some energy left over.
Mo Qingcheng had already stopped. She only sounded out the ninth drum sound before stopping. However, she didn't leave the area. The spectators behind her didn't rush her either. Taking a few more glances at her was also a form of enjoyment.
Fan Le, Chu Mang, Ouyang Kuangsheng and Bailu Jing all stopped. The ones who had the most drum sounds were Bailu Jing and Chu Mang, with a total of 16 drum sounds.
Xuan Yan mustered all her strength and sounded out the 17th drum sound, causing the spectators to sigh in admiration.
However, they soon discovered that there were still three people who hadn't stopped. Even for the beautiful maiden on the right, she actually managed to sound out the 18th drum sound. As she slashed out with her sword, it was as though she was born from the Heavens.
"What's going on? Why are the participants of this round so strong?"
Xuan Yan sounded out the 17th drum sound, while Yun Mengyi sounded out the 18th drum sound.
Zhan Chen and Qin Wentian had also sounded out the 18th drum sound. However, the two of them were actually still continuing. The sound of the drum reverberated in the air, as though they were competing against each other.
Zhan Chen coldly laughed as he slashed out with all nine swords. With a roar of rage, the 19th drum sound rang out. It was as though he wanted to break today's record, the 20th drum sound.
But as the sound of the drum sound rang out, the towering power contained within it caused Zhan Chen to close his eyes.
Qin Wentian's countenance turned solemn as the blood in his body surged. His strength was unparalleled as he punched out once more. It was as though the boundless energy of the Heavens and Earth had converged together, slamming into the gigantic drum sound.
"BOOM!" The 19th drum sound rang out.
"How is this possible?"
Expressions of disbelief appeared on the faces of the spectators. This was the first time they had seen two participants who had surpassed the 18th drum sound clash against each other. Not only that, they were competing against Zhan Chen!
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
