Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

Chapter 145: 145 Draw Lots

”Hehe, looks like there are quite a few old rivals here!”

Upon reaching to the left side of the main arena, Yun Xiao looked over the approximately hundred participants and muttered to himself since he noticed many among them held grudges against him.

Besides Feng Hang, Shen Xiao, and Guan Tong, those who were enthusiastic about participating in the Outer Sect’s grand competition were mostly long-time geniuses who had joined the Jade Pot Sect’s Outer Sect for either three or six years. Their Meridian Qi Cultivation was also mostly in the Late Stage and Peak of Meridian Gathering Realm.

However, as Yun Xiao scanned the crowd, he noticed that the Third Prince of Xuanyue Empire, Xuan Zhi, was also present. Nevertheless, since he had already made a breakthrough to the Late Stage of Meridian Gathering Realm, his participation in this Outer Sect’s grand competition was justifiable.

But in a blink, Yun Xiao was surprised to see Zhao Ningshu of the Zhao Family and Cao Luo of the Cao Family standing nonchalantly at a spot, each wearing a trace of excitement on their faces.

”No wonder, they have broken through to the Middle Stage of Meridian Gathering Realm!”

When Yun Xiao sensed their slightly overflowing Meridian Qi with the Power of Soul, he suddenly realized. It seems that within these ten days, both Zhao Ningshu and Cao Luo had made their respective breakthroughs, reaching the Middle Stage of Meridian Gathering Realm.

Of course, Yun Xiao’s opponents were no longer these freshly joined talented cultivators from the Outer Sect, but the experienced disciples from the Outer Sect, even those ruthless figures ranked within the top five on the Mortal List.

However, from outsiders’ perspective, Yun Xiao’s Late Stage cultivation of Meridian Gathering Realm seemed mostly unlikely to stand out among these talented cultivators from the Outer Sect, as in their subconscious, the Meridian Qi Cultivation decided everything.

Even those like Feng Hang, Shen Xiao, and Guan Tong, who had previously fought with Yun Xiao, never really considered him as an opponent, because in the past few instances, Yun Xiao either resorted to cunning schemes or relied on external forces, his own strength was never fully demonstrated.

As for Zhao Ningshu, Cao Luo, and Xuan Zhi, although they had previously had fierce fights with Yun Xiao, the gap between realms in the cultivation of Meridian Qi kept widening as one advances higher.

Being able to defeat an Early Stage of Meridian Gathering Realm while at the Peak of Meridian Introduction Realm, or even fight to a draw with Middle Stage’s Xuan Zhi, after reaching Meridian Gathering Realm, it seemed unlikely that Yun Xiao could still challenge across different stages.

Thus, this young man in plain clothes standing in the crowd, besides the subtle hatred and resentment around him, not many people were optimistic about Yun Xiao, plus they had more important matters to focus on.

Seeing that over a hundred contestants had gathered to the left side of the central main arena, with no more people descending from the stands, Elder Su He performed a gesture towards two Elders behind him and briskly walked over.

Swoosh!

Approaching closer, Su He quickly rubbed both his hands across his waist, and suddenly, there were two cylindrical containers in his hands, each containing some wooden tokens.

Yun Xiao looked up and saw that the wooden tokens in Su He’s left cylinder were black, while the ones in his right were green, presumably to indicate a distinction.

”All Outer Disciples participating in this Outer Sect grand competition, there are a total of one hundred twenty participants. I have wooden tokens numbered one to sixty on both hands. Please come forward and draw your tokens sequentially. Those with matching numbers on the black and green tokens will be opponents in the first round of the competition!”

It seemed that Su He had been doing this for years; whether it were his actions or explanations, both were smooth and practiced. His explanation was aimed especially for new Outer Disciples like Yun Xiao and Xuan Zhi, while the experienced geniuses naturally already understood the rules.

Drawing lots also required some luck. For example, a genius at the Peak of Meridian Gathering Realm, originally capable of entering the top ten, might end up facing Feng Hang or Shen Xiao in the first round due to bad luck, which would effectively end his journey in this Outer Sect’s grand competition.

So everyone was secretly praying not to draw against two Meridian Rushing Realm geniuses in the first round, because sometimes, luck is also a part of strength; a good draw might decide how far a genius can go.

Compared to these geniuses of Meridian Gathering Realm, Feng Hang and Shen Xiao were not that conflicted. This time, as if coordinated, they both stepped forward simultaneously.

However, the positions they pointed to were totally different; Feng Hang drew from the black cylinder while Shen Xiao reached for the green one. Their movements and speeds were quite similar, and in just a moment, each had drawn a wooden token.

”Hopefully, these two draw the same number!”

Many secretly hoped for this scenario, as if these two Meridian Rushing Realm geniuses met in the first round and fought to the death, there might be a real chance for them to compete for the top two positions.

However, given the odds of drawing two identical numbers out of sixty wooden tokens at once are incredibly slim, at least when Feng Hang and Shen Xiao each raised the wooden token in their hand, everyone saw clearly and was quite disappointed.

”Feng Hang, black token number eight!”

”Shen Xiao, green token number fifty-four!”

As Elder Su He announced loudly, everyone felt a wave of disappointment—clearly, their prayers had not been answered at all, it seemed they had even backfired, as the two numbers drawn were worlds apart.

Many experienced geniuses from previous Outer Sect tournaments knew that the qualifications typically divided competitors into upper and lower halves, with the winners of each half facing each other in the final showdown.

For instance, this time around, a total of 120 disciples registered for the Outer Sect tournament, meaning each half would contain 60 people. This implies that numbers one through thirty would be in one half, and thirty-one through sixty in the other half.

Now that Feng Hang drew number eight and Shen Xiao drew fifty-four, doesn’t that mean these two have already secured the lead positions in their respective halves? What chance do the other competitors stand?

Although these Outer Disciples had already suspected that the top two spots in this tournament would likely go to Feng Hang and Shen Xiao, they still harbored a last shred of hope— the luck of the draw.

If Feng Hang and Shen Xiao ended up in the same half, one of them would inevitably be eliminated before the final battle, granting a chance for other geniuses to emerge.

Whether by coincidence or fact, following the draw, everyone felt disappointed and gave up on their unrealistic hopes.

After all, in each Outer Sect tournament, aside from the two who would surely advance to the Inner Sect, there were special cases. For instance, the Great Elder, Second Elder, and even the Sixth Elder, Su He, could take a liking to a certain Outer Disciple and exceptionally accept them as a direct disciple, granting them entry to the Inner Sect.

Since the two fixed spots had already been claimed by Feng Hang and Shen Xiao, the other Outer Sect geniuses had no choice but to step back and exhaust all their skills to grasp that elusive opportunity.

The third to draw was Guan Tong, ranked third on the Mortal List, who was almost stepping into the Meridian Rushing Realm. Apart from the two super geniuses, Feng Hang and Shen Xiao, he had no rivals in the Outer Sect.

”Definitely not the upper half!”

Guan Tong took a deep breath, silently praying in his heart. He believed Feng Hang, the top of the Mortal List, to be stronger, so he preferred to face Shen Xiao, ranked second.

In Guan Tong’s opinion, as long as he drew the same lower half as Shen Xiao, reaching the final battle of the lower half would be without surprises, and by employing some hidden strategies, he might still have a slim chance to defeat Shen Xiao.

Thus, Guan Tong also drew a Black Token, since Feng Hang had drawn one too, ensuring he wouldn’t encounter Feng Hang in the first round.

However, it seemed that fate did not heed Guan Tong’s inner plea. When he pulled out the Black Token and saw the big ”sixteen” on it, his mood undoubtedly turned somewhat gloomy.

Tokens number thirty and below belonged to the upper half, meaning that even if Guan Tong could defeat all the geniuses in the upper half, he would inevitably face Feng Hang before the final showdown.

”Guan Tong, Black Token sixteen!”

Elder Su He, indifferent to Guan Tong’s dismayed expression, dutifully called out loud, drawing most of the spectators’ attention to the black token tube.

It seems these Outer Disciples, standing out from hundreds, are no fools. Now that both eight and sixteen Black Tokens have been drawn by Feng Hang and Guan Tong, if anyone were to draw a green token, they might end up facing these two.

After weighing the options, drawing a Black Token seemed to offer a better chance of advancing. Although the Green Token fifty-four was also drawn by a strong contender from the Meridian Rushing Realm, Shen Xiao, it only represented one person, significantly reducing the likelihood of an encounter.

Whistling sounds filled the air!

Almost simultaneously, dozens of hands reached for the black token tube. In just a moment, the black token tube in Elder Su He’s hand was emptied.

A few who acted slightly slower and failed to grab a black token, hung their heads in dejection, cursing their lack of speed.

But as these people saw another whose expression was incredibly gloomy, they felt somewhat balanced. Even without looking, some could guess which number this person had drawn.

”Black Token, fifty-four!”

When a genius near that person muttered the number of the Black Token, doubts were eliminated. It became clear why his expression was so bitter—he had drawn Shen Xiao in the first round, making his luck indeed rather... unfortunate.

However, since everyone was competing for the Black Token, number fifty-four was bound to be drawn by someone. Therefore, no one took pleasure in another’s misfortune; to some extent, they even had to thank this person for letting them avoid this predicament.

Relative to this, Yun Xiao and Ling Wan did not compete for the Black Token. Grabbing it would at most prevent them from facing Feng Hang and Guan Tong in the first round; they would still inevitably encounter them later.