The competition continued until the fourth day. The five hundred people had already been eliminated, leaving only thirty-one people. Doctor An had already been eliminated in the last competition, so Jianchen and Ming Dong had successfully made it through. At the same time, Dugu Feng, Tianmu Ling, and Huang Luan had also successfully made it through.
Now, there was not a single weakling among the thirty-one people who had made it this far. Not only were they powerful, but they also possessed powerful battle skills.
The three people who possessed light attributed Saint Force had been exposed long ago. They had always received Jianchen's attention. It was a pity that although the three of them had fought a few times, their opponents were not too powerful. As a result, the strength they had revealed was only the tip of the iceberg.
Aside from them, there was another participant that caught Jian Chen's attention. It was a person called 'Jue', who was ranked fourth in terms of the number of tokens she had collected. She was a tall woman who wore tight black clothes. Her weapon was a dagger, and she wielded wind-attributed Saint Force. She moved very quickly.
Just from her appearance, Jue seemed to be around twenty-five or twenty-six years old. However, her actual age was unknown. Although she was not devastatingly beautiful, she was still a natural beauty. Her voluptuous figure was comparable to Tianmu Ling's. The only thing that people could not accept was that Jue gave off a cold aura. This was a coldness that came from her bones, from her soul. Her eyes always gave off a sharp light, and deep killing intent was hidden in the depths of her eyes. None of her opponents had been able to survive. They had all died from being pierced through the heart. Her dagger was only slightly faster than Jianchen's.
At night, Jianchen locked himself in his room to comprehend the Flash Shadows Thousand Illusion Art. The top sixteen would be decided the next day. Then, the top ten experts would be chosen from these sixteen people. Finally, the competition for the top ten would begin.
Experts were as common as clouds on the Tian Yuan Continent. There was no lack of talented people. Although Jianchen had only heard of five experts when he was collecting tokens, the number of experts participating in the Mercenary Gathering was definitely more than that. There was no lack of low-key people among them. They would only gradually reveal themselves after the elimination rounds. Or perhaps, everyone who knew of their strength had died, so it was impossible for the news to spread.
Now, Jianchen discovered that he was a little narrow-minded. From tomorrow onwards, every battle would become more difficult. At this stage of the Mercenary Gathering, the weak had all been eliminated. The remaining thirty-one people were all elites among elites. There were even some people who were stronger than Dugu Feng.
At this moment, a knock on the door.
Jianchen, who was sitting cross-legged on his bed while comprehending the Flash Shadows Thousand Illusion Art, slowly opened his eyes. With a wave of his hand, a gust of wind flew out of his hand and unlocked a wooden chain on the door. He said, "Come in!"
The door opened and four old men filed in. Two of them wore white robes. They had white hair and a ruddy complexion. They had a benevolent appearance. The third old man wore a black robe. He had a head of black hair that draped over his shoulders. His left eye was already blind. Only his right eye was open. There was also a frightening scar on his face. It was obvious that he had suffered an injury when he was young. The last old man wore a large red robe. He was relatively short and had a dark complexion.
Jianchen studied the four old men. His face immediately became stern. The four old men did not hide their presences. Through their presences, Jianchen was shocked to discover that they were all Heaven Saint Masters.
While Jianchen was studying the four old men, the four old men were also studying Jianchen. However, because Jianchen had used the method that the patriarch of the Tianqin family had taught him to conceal his strength, the four old men were unable to see through Jianchen's true strength even though they were Heaven Saint Masters.
"Four old men, may I ask if you have any business with me?" Jianchen calmly looked at the four old men and asked in a manner that was neither servile nor overbearing.
"Young man, are you Jianchen?" The one who spoke was a ruddy old man. His tone was extremely gentle.
"That is me." Jianchen replied.
"Young man Jianchen, I heard that the third young master of the Shi family, Shi Xiangran, died at your hands. I wonder if this is true." The ruddy old man continued. His tone was still extremely calm.
Jianchen's expression did not change. He asked, "May I ask who you are?"
The old man chuckled. He extended his hand and stroked his long beard. He said, "Outsiders call the four of us the four brothers of the Cai family. We are currently the four protectors of the Shi family. We work for the Shi family." At this point, the old man paused for a moment before continuing, "Little brother Jian Chen, we've already investigated the matter in the past few days. We didn't come here with any ill intentions. We only hope that little brother can return the Seal of Treasure Mountain. The Shi family will definitely not allow the Seal of Treasure Mountain to appear in the hands of outsiders. If you keep it on you, it will only cause you trouble."
"Big brother is right." The one-eyed man spoke. He said expressionlessly, "The Seal of Treasure Mountain was passed down by the ancestors of the Shi family. Furthermore, it has been refined using a special method. Only the blood of the Shi family can unleash the power of the Seal of Treasure Mountain. If you keep it on you, it will only be a piece of scrap metal. You will not be able to unleash its full power."
The old men did not threaten Jianchen. Instead, they used a very gentle method, hoping that Jianchen would voluntarily hand over the Seal of Treasure Mountain.
Jianchen clasped his hands at the four and said, "I am sorry, but I do not wish to return the Seal of Treasure Mountain to the Shi family just yet."
"Young man, you must consider this carefully. If you do not return the Seal of Treasure Mountain to the Shi family, then the Shi family will definitely not let you go. This item will only cause trouble for you." The same old man said sincerely, as if he was doing everything for Jianchen's sake.
Jianchen shook his head decisively and said without thinking, "There is no need for you to worry about this." Jianchen knew that even if he handed over the Seal of Treasure Mountain, the Shi family would not let him go.
"Forget it. Since Little Brother insists, we have no other choice. Let's go!" The four old men didn't say any threatening words and quickly left the place.
After leaving the inn, the one-eyed old man sighed softly and said, "Big brother, what do you think we should do now? This young man called Jianchen is not willing to hand over the Seal of Treasure Mountain at all."
"Our responsibility is to protect the young master. The loss of the Seal of Treasure Mountain has nothing to do with us. Let us inform the Shi family about this and let them make a decision." An old man with white hair and a youthful face said calmly.
"This time, not only did the Shi family's plan fail, even the third young master died. The Ruler Weapon that he brought with him was also taken away. This time, they have suffered a double loss. I'm afraid the entire Shi family will be shaken." A dark-skinned old man wearing a red robe laughed. The four of them did not belong to the Shi family in the first place.
"Forget it, this matter has nothing to do with us. Let the Shi family worry about it. We are only helping the Shi family because of the deal, but we are not risking our lives for them. Remember this, don't offend people we can't afford to offend because of the Shi family. Many large forces have gathered in the Mercenary Gathering this time, and many of them are people we can't afford to offend, especially those participants who have lasted until now. Although they are young, they all have powerful forces behind them, and some of them are so powerful that even the Shi family doesn't dare to offend them, especially that person called Qin Ji. I seem to have heard that he is a prince of the Great Qin Empire, and he is highly regarded. He is very likely to be the next emperor of the Great Qin Empire. These people are not people we can afford to offend."
… …
The next day, Jianchen entered the arena early in the morning. After drawing his lot, he directly entered the arena through the Space Gate.
Soon after Jianchen entered, his opponent also entered the arena through the Space Gate. However, when he saw who it was, Jianchen immediately became stunned, because his opponent was actually Dugu Feng.
Dugu Feng was stunned as well. He bitterly smiled and said, "I never thought it would actually be you."
Jianchen also felt rather helpless. He shrugged and said, "It's just too much of a coincidence."
Very soon, the sound of the beginning of the match rang out through the barrier. However, neither Jianchen nor Dugu Feng had any plans to take action.
"Jianchen, I hope you can obtain first place." With that, Dugu Feng directly admitted defeat.
Jianchen had won this battle without a fight.
After leaving the arena, Jianchen continued to stay in the arena and watch the other matches. After the matches ended, sixteen of the thirty-two people successfully advanced to the next round. Three of them had died and two of them were heavily injured. One of them had his heart pierced by Terminus in just ten moves, dying on the spot. Even the powerful Radiant Saint Masters of Mercenary City were powerless to save him.
Ming Dong was the same as Jianchen, successfully advancing to the top sixteen. Qin Ji and Tianmu Ling had also advanced to the top sixteen with their Ruler Armaments. Their opponents had all been heavily injured by their Ruler Armaments. Although Huang Luan possessed the Sun Moon Bow, it basically lost all of its advantages in the arena. At the same time, she was only an Earth Saint Master of the First Cycle, so she lost without a doubt. This was because her opponent was someone who possessed Saint Force of the Light Attribute, who was far more powerful than her.
Dugu Feng, who was not weak, had also encountered Jianchen due to a coincidence of fate, so he had no choice but to be eliminated. The other two people with Saint Force of the Light Attribute had also successfully advanced to the top sixteen. The three of them really were as powerful as the rumors made them out to be. They were all extremely powerful, at the very least at the Fourth Cycle of Earth Saint Master. They had also grasped quite a few battle skills.
The next ten experts would be chosen from the top sixteen. The rules of the competition were that eight people would advance and the other eight would be eliminated. The only difference was that the final two people would be chosen from the eight people who had been eliminated.
Since it was still early, the competition continued. After Jianchen had drawn his lot, he quietly sat on a stool and waited for the competition to begin. The other fifteen participants all sat in the same place as Jianchen. They were surrounded by a barrier, completely isolated from the outside world.
"Hey, Jianchen, you have to get first place. Don't disappoint us. We all have great expectations for you." Ming Dong extended his hand and placed it on Jianchen's shoulder as he chuckled.
"Hehehe, little brother, there are as many experts as there are clouds here. Although you can defeat us, the others aren't weak either. Are you confident that you can get first place?" Tianmu Ling arrived in front of Jian Chen when she heard that. She stared at Jian Chen with a pair of enchanting eyes. Her clear voice was like a demonic voice that could shake a person's soul. It immediately attracted the gazes of everyone else.
Jianchen looked ahead and looked at the situation outside through the barrier. He said, "I can only say that I will do my best."
As soon as Jianchen finished speaking, a sarcastic voice rang out from behind him, "Hmph, do your best. Brat, how old are you? You actually don't know how high the heavens are and you want to get first place. Do you really think all of us are trash?"
Jianchen turned his head when he heard that. He saw that the speaker was a middle-aged man around forty-five years old. He wore white robes with patterns on them. Jianchen was not unfamiliar with this person. He was one of the three people who possessed Saint Force with the light attribute.
Beside the middle-aged man, a person around his age stared at Jianchen and the others in disdain. He casually said, "Whatever, Karaja. Don't lower yourself to the same level as a brat. He's just bragging."
The conversation between the two made Jianchen frown slightly. His calm gaze immediately became rather sharp. Ming Dong, on the other hand, was furious. He glared at the two people and yelled out, "It's best if you don't let me see you in the ring."
The two people immediately became furious when they heard that. The person called Karaja immediately yelled out, "What an ignorant brat. If this weren't Mercenary City, I would have cut you up long ago."
"Brat, you seem to be called Ming Dong, right? Let me give you a piece of advice as well. If you see me in the ring, you better surrender immediately. Otherwise, I can swear that you won't be able to leave the ring alive," the middle-aged man beside Ming Dong said with a deep voice. He did not hide his powerful killing intent at all. If it were not for the fact that they were here, the two of them probably would have attacked long ago.
Ming Dong snorted coldly as killing intent filled his eyes. He coldly said, "Let's see if you have the ability."
Jianchen's face was somewhat gloomy. He stared sharply at the two people who were talking and said in a low voice, "Karaja, Gaddafi, remember what you said. Let's see who will live and who will die in the end." These two people were the ones who won first and third place in the token arrow competition. Jianchen already knew their names.
"Hmph, two ignorant brats." Gaddafi sneered, not putting Ming Dong and Jianchen in his eyes at all.
"That's enough. You two have no sense of shame. You're already so old, yet you still dare to bully two juniors. I feel ashamed for you two." A middle-aged man standing beside the two finally couldn't bear to watch any longer and interrupted.
Hearing that, Gaddafi and Karaja both snorted coldly at the same time. Gaddafi expressionlessly said, "Zar, this is between the two of us. It's none of your business."
"Do the two of you think that bullying juniors is a very honorable thing to do? How stupid. If this matter spreads out, you will only become a disgrace to us Warriors of Light. "Zar said with a cold expression.
"Enough!" Karaja stared at Zar with an embarrassed expression and said in a low voice, "Zar, don't forget your position. Which side are you on? How dare you speak for an outsider who has nothing to do with you?"
Zar snorted coldly and said, "Don't give me those crooked excuses. I'm not speaking for an outsider. I just don't like the two of you. You've completely lost the face of us Warriors of Light."
"You …" Gaddafi and Karaja trembled with anger, but they could not find anything to say.
At this moment, there was a change outside the barrier. The barriers on the ten arenas suddenly disappeared. In the next moment, all the arenas slowly sank into the ground. Soon, they disappeared without a trace. They merged with the ground, forming a flat surface without any bumps.
Jianchen widened his eyes in surprise at this scene. He never thought that Mercenary City would actually hide such a wondrous thing. However, before Jianchen could understand how the arenas had sunk, an even larger arena slowly rose from the ground. This arena was extremely large, several times larger than the arenas used in the previous competition. It was five hundred meters in length and width.
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