novelraw Chapter 1185 - 1183: Admitted Defeat
Chapter 1185 - 1183: Admitted Defeat
"What...what..."
Upon hearing the words of the ancestor, Song Hong suddenly felt his head buzz, nearly fainting from shock. He could never have imagined the ancestor would say such things. He thought to himself, how is this possible, how can this be! Lin Feng is only around twenty years old, how could he be as remarkable as the ancestor described, this... this...
For a moment, his mind couldn’t keep up, finding it unimaginable that Lin Feng could be such an extraordinary being. However, he believed the ancestor wouldn’t joke about such a matter. Since the ancestor spoke thus, it must be true. No wonder the ancestor had just flung Song Ling away and treated Lin Feng with such respect. Now everything was clear!
Thinking of this, a great turmoil erupted in his heart. Never before in the Hidden World had there been someone like Lin Feng, capable of becoming a Super Powerhouse of the Divine Change Realm. These people are generally of the same stature as the ancestors, yet Lin Feng looks to be only twenty years old, this... is Lin Feng even human! If not for the ancestor saying so, he could never have dreamed Lin Feng was such a person! This is beyond any portrayal of a genius, he’s an unparalleled prodigy, even an Immortal couldn’t achieve this...
Seeing Song Wuya standing dazed to one side, Song Hong understood the impact of this on him. Still, thinking of the upcoming competition, he added, "You handle the competition. Our people should concede immediately when facing the children from the Xia Family, to avoid injuries that affect later performance. I’ve seen first hand how formidable those children are, and you’ll understand why I said this after the competition. It’s for the best for the Song Family. Also, keep Lin Feng’s situation confidential. You may leave."
He felt he had to clarify this matter. A group capable of hunting down Middle Stage Demon Beasts, their impressive level was something even he, the ancestor, could barely believe, let alone others. But he did not want to dwell on it. After the competition, those children would surely astonish everyone, and then the people of the Song Family would understand why he made such a decision.
What...
After listening to Song Hong’s words, Song Wuya was stunned again. He truly hadn’t anticipated the ancestor arranging things in such a way. However, he suddenly realized something—that if Lin Feng was that incredible, logically, the students taught by Lin Feng wouldn’t be too far off; hence, the ancestor’s arrangements weren’t too surprising after all.
"Ancestor, rest assured, I know what to do." With matters reaching this point, Song Wuya knew what to do. After bowing to Song Hong, he turned and left.
He had many issues to address now, even thinking about it gave him a headache. The ancestor had instructed not to disclose anything about Lin Feng; how to resolve the dissent within the family over this matter was indeed troubling...
In the blink of an eye, several hours had passed...
"The Barrier has disappeared!"
Suddenly, a voice rang out, startling the people from the four Prominent Families. The disappearance of the Barrier meant that the grand competition was about to start, and people from the four Prominent Families quickly left the camp and rushed to the altar.
Once everyone arrived there, they immediately saw that the pale red Barrier outside the altar had vanished. They all walked into the altar, ready to begin the grand competition.
The reason for choosing this location for the competition was simply tradition among the four Prominent Families, a practice that has been formed countless years ago where a competition occurs every ten years, and it must be held here. The reason is simple; it is because once, after a competition here, an Immortal appeared and rewarded many extraordinary treasures. Since then, every competition has had rewards bestowed, so the location for the competition has never changed.
The vast altar, spanning a thousand feet across, even with people from the four Prominent Families and other forces present, still seemed spacious. At the very center of the altar, a nameless fire burned, emitting a bizarre blue flame tinged with faint gold, unknown to anyone what this flame was, only knowing that no one could approach it.
Surrounding the flame were four white Jade Stone pillars carved with Giant Dragons, below was a round stone platform that appeared eerily black. The white Jade Stone pillars and the round stone platform exactly enclosed the nameless flame, making everything appear especially mysterious!
Moreover, another peculiar thing that everyone felt while inside the altar was an indistinct sense of suppression covering their bodies, puzzling everyone about why this was occurring. Even those who had attended previous competitions did not understand what was happening.
Overall, this vast altar gave everyone a particularly mysterious feeling...
After arriving at the altar, the four Prominent Families settled into the four corners, and after a brief interaction near the central flame by the four Family Heads, the competition was officially announced to begin.
The process of the competition was actually quite simple; it consisted of a youth group, a teenage group, and an adult group for different ages. Each group’s first half involved drawing lots to determine the top sixteen, followed by a ranking match.
As the Family Head of the last competition’s winning family, Gu Nanshan naturally began hosting this competition. After consulting with the other three Family Heads, he stepped forward and announced in a voice loud and clear: "I declare the once-in-ten-years grand competition officially begins!"
The sound clearly spread to every corner of the altar, immediately elevating everyone’s emotions; their eyes all focused on Gu Nanshan. This grand competition was a once-in-a-decade opportunity for them, making it highly significant. If they performed well, they would gain their family’s recognition. Each of them valued it deeply and as it was now starting, how could they not be excited?
Seeing the gleam in the eyes of those below, a smile appeared on Gu Nanshan’s face. He, too, had once been in their place, so he understood their thoughts well. However, not wishing to delay, he continued, "Now, I invite the children of the youth group to come up for the draw."
No sooner had Gu Nanshan finished speaking than the children of the youth group from the four Prominent Families lined up and walked toward the drawing platform. To avoid drawing someone from their own family, there were four boxes on the platform, each containing the names of the contestants. Each drawer could only choose from the other three families. After drawing an opponent, the scribe next to them recorded it and arranged the matches. If someone drew a name already selected, they would have to redraw until they had an opponent.
In such random circumstances, anything could happen. If lucky enough to draw very weak opponents, advancing to the round of thirty-two was not out of the question. Only in the round of thirty-two would it be possible for them to face someone from their own family.
Though drawing lots was a simple process, there were a lot of children participating in the young contestants group. Each Prominent Family had thirty slots, coupled with children from other forces, there were over a hundred and fifty children. In such a situation, despite the ease of drawing lots, it took a long time to complete.
After all the children knew their respective opponents, they then dispersed from the central area and returned to their respective camps to begin preparations.
Given the high number of participating children, the altar was set up with five Martial Arts Grounds as venues for the competition. Each Martial Arts Ground had designated officials responsible for summoning participants and recording scores. Once the preparations were done, Gu Nantian’s voice resonated once again.
"The competition for the young contestants’ group is now starting!"
The voice was similarly loud and extraordinary, instantly spreading across the entire altar, making each competing child’s eyes sparkle with excitement and anticipation.
Right after Gu Nantian’s voice fell, the voices of the officials followed soon after.
"Martial Arts Ground One, Kong Songyun from the Kong Family against Gu Lennan from the Gu Family!"
"Martial Arts Ground Two, Song Shijie from the Song Family against Xia Hongjie from the Xia Family!"
"Martial Arts Ground Three..."
...
Accompanied by the summoning of the officials, the children called began rushing to their respective Martial Arts Grounds for the competition. Each child was extremely excited, it was the moment to showcase their strength, they were genuinely happy but also very nervous, unsure if they would defeat their opponent.
The Family Heads of the four great Prominent Families and the heads of other powers watched from below, all anticipating what kind of performances the children would display, each focusing their eyes on the Martial Arts Grounds, pondering their own thoughts.
Just when all the children were standing on the Martial Arts Grounds, ready to begin the competition, an unexpected surprise suddenly occurred.
"I surrender!"
What was baffling was that on Martial Arts Ground Two, Song Shijie from the Song Family had just stepped onto the stage when he immediately surrendered, instantly drawing all the audience’s attention. Everyone was puzzled, questioning how could he surrender before the fight even began, wondering what was really going on?
Feeling the many astonished gazes upon him, Song Shijie also felt speechless. He wanted to fight sincerely, but the Family Head had already instructed all the children that if they encounter a member from the Xia Family, they must surrender or face the family rules! So even if he wanted to compete, he couldn’t, which made him extremely frustrated! After saying this, he immediately dashed off the Martial Arts Ground and returned to the crowd of the Song Family.
How could he surrender already?
Standing on the stage, Xia Hongjie was momentarily stunned and equally bewildered, not understanding why the opponent surrendered without even fighting. Since the opponent had surrendered, he could only wave his hand and then return to the crowd of the Xia Family.
At this moment, people from the Gu Family and Kong Family all turned their gaze towards the Song Family, confused about what act the Song Family was playing; they were all baffled by the scene. It’s known that the Song Family’s young contestants were very strong, and it was impossible for them to surrender frivolously. This was a matter concerning the ranking of the four great Prominent Families; the Song Family wouldn’t make a joke so thoughtlessly, right?
"What is Old Song thinking?"
"I have no idea, by all logic it shouldn’t be like this?"
"There’s something fishy about this!"
"What exactly is going on?"
...
At this time, Gu Nantian walked over to Kong Lifeng’s side and started chatting casually. He also didn’t understand what Song Wuya intended, but he didn’t expect that Kong Lifeng was equally clueless about the situation. For a moment, both of them turned their gaze towards Song Wuya, who looked somewhat unnatural, each pondering what exactly was going on.