Inside his room, Eli Shan dedicated two more days to cultivating his wind intent and finally grasped its essence.

On this day, while cultivating, he was abruptly interrupted by the resonant voice of the headmaster, "Everyone, prepare yourselves. The ceremony has commenced, and within the hour, it will be time for our grand entry."

Hearing him, Eli Shan rose from his cultivation, putting on a set of sleek silver attire that featured a high collar and a matching silver belt around his waist.

As the hour swiftly passed, every student emerged from their chambers and gathered together in the hallway.

The headmaster looked at them and nodded in acknowledgment. "Give your best and secure victory for our school," he declared.

With unwavering determination, the collective response echoed through the air, "We will not accept defeat, Headmaster!"

A reassuring smile played on the headmaster's lips as the students organized themselves into a line.

Eli Shan stood at the forefront, just behind the headmaster, and observed as another school formed a line next to theirs.

Casting his gaze over them, Eli Shan couldn't help but express his disdain, muttering under his breath, "Tsk, they are all so weak. Do I have to fight with them?"

The students from the Five Elements School, along with their headmaster, who were lining up nearby, overheard his remark and simmered with anger.

The king of the Five Elements School, Gu Xuan, locked eyes with Eli Shan in anger. "You will discover who is truly weaker in the upcoming battle."

Eli Shan ignored Gu Xuan's words with an indifference akin to ignoring an insignificant ant, making him fume with anger.

Just as Gu Xuan was about to say more, a resonant voice echoed throughout the area, "Everyone, today's ceremony has commenced. All participating schools, please come forward."

As the announcement concluded, all schools under the king's banner began to surface from the underground passages. These passages were divided by walls, and in each corridor, two schools were assembled, creating a distinct and organized procession.

In due course, it was Eli Shan's team's turn to make their entrance.

The headmaster took the lead, emerging from the underground first. Feng Qiang, representing the king's status, followed closely behind, accompanied by Hao Yu.

Yeah, Eli Shan, who was supposed to be at the very front, didn't show up.

Gu Xuan, the king of the Five Elements School, searched around for Eli Shan and saw that he was positioned at 25th position in ranking!

Looking at his ranking, Gu Xuan couldn't help but mock, "So he is just a weakling at the 25th position? And he dared to mock us? I will make sure to teach him a lesson!"

Sensing the scrutiny, Eli Shan looked back at Gu Xuan and smiled slyly, "It's your master who mocked us before. Usually, I'm quite the good boy."

The headmaster heard it and smiled inside with satisfaction, "Good good, my student."

With that, Eli Shan emerged from the underground passage, his sleek silver attire catching the glint of the ceremonial lights. As he stood in the crowded arena, his eyes scanned the sea of faces, searching for the two people who mattered most to him—his parents.

Amidst the spectators, a pair of proud faces caught Eli Shan's attention. His mother, with eyes gleaming with maternal pride, and his father, a stoic figure who nodded approvingly at his son's entrance. Eli Shan couldn't help but feel a swell of warmth in his chest at the sight of them.

"Honey, look, our son is here. He looks so strong," his mother exclaimed, her voice carrying a mix of excitement and affection.

"Yeah, and he's at such a high rank. 25th position out of 40 elite of the holy school! Our son has grown really big and strong," his father responded, a subtle smile playing on his lips.

The two parents exchanged joyful glances, completely immersed in the moment. Eli Shan, upon spotting them, felt a surge of emotion, and his eyes welled up.

"Mother, Father," Eli Shan called out, his voice carrying a mix of gratitude and affection. He looked at his parents with the eyes of a child who had once again found the comforting embrace of home. No matter how much he grew up or how powerful he became, in front of his parents, he was still their little child.

On the back seat his parents were sitting proudly as if announcing to everyone, "Did you all see? He is our son!"

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Eli Shan's father nodded at him, a subtle but powerful gesture of encouragement.

In response, Eli Shan nodded back with a smile, silently pledging to himself that he would strive to make his parents even prouder.

After a while, the welcome ceremony concluded, and all one hundred schools, each having forty elite students, withdrew to their assigned resting areas, eagerly waiting their turn for battle.

After sitting down in his resting place, Eli Shan looked above as his eyes fell over on a lofty and a vacant platform. A place that was positioned in the open but not a single soul dared to approach there. There he saw a handsome man sitting, adorned by a crown on his head. Positioned above him was a conspicuous empty seat. Eli Shan concluded that the adorned figure was the king, and the unoccupied throne was reserved for the emperor.

The king observed the matches with a bored expression, even though the intensity of the battle was quite high.

These were the matches of the lower fifty schools. So of course, no matter how intense their battle was, they couldn't arouse the excitement of the king! A man who sat above everyone in the kingdom!

Speaking of rankings, it's noteworthy that the Holy School held the 49th rank, while the Five Elements School secured the 48th rank.

Soon, the lower school battle was completed and everyone saw a man walking into the arena with a stern face and an intimidating aura. His gaze fell on the representative of every school as he announced, "If anyone wants to challenge another school, you can request it through me."

Just as his voice fell over, another voice cut through the air arrogantly, "I represent my Great Heaven School, and I will accept any challenger who wants to fight me."

Everyone went into uproar after hearing him, though many people had already expected this.

"Student of the first school!"

"He is Ji Hao, the second strongest student of the Great Heaven School, just ranked below the king of the school, according to the information I got."

"Wow, he looks incredibly strong. Let's see how the fight unfolds."

The spectators buzzed with anticipation, and Ji Hao's parents, seated in the crowd, beamed with pride.

Shortly after, another voice echoed, "I will gladly accept his challenge."

A burly man, his muscles bulging, and wearing a ferocious expression, walked toward the fighting stage.

"I am Lin Feng from the Earth Dragon School."

Though unfamiliar to many, Lin Feng's appearance suggested he was not a pushover.

The tournament host nodded, declaring with a smile, "The fight between Lin Feng and Ji Hao will commence now."

With that, the host vanished, leaving Lin Feng standing face-to-face with Ji Hao.

The atmosphere between Ji Hao and Lin Feng became tense as the crowd in the arena crackled with energy. Ji Hao, representing the first-ranked school, regarded Lin Feng with a disdainful glance, treating him as if he were an insignificant ant, unworthy of his attention.

Ji Hao was from rank first school while Lin Feng was not even in the top fifty. How could Lin Feng be his opponent?

He looked down on Lin Feng and without a moment's hesitation, Ji Hao vanished from his position, a gust of wind trailing in his wake, and a formidable punch materialized in front of Lin Feng's face.

Gasps reverberated through the audience, "Zun Fifth Realm," they exclaimed, turning their eyes toward Lin Feng with a mixture of awe and pity.

"Sigh, one must know the limit of their arrogance."

"Yeah, accepting the challenge of young master Ji Hao? He must be out of his mind."

"But, hey, at least he took up the challenge, right? That's the spirit of a true warrior!"

As the audience continued their commentary, unexpectedly, a smile crept across Lin Feng's face. He slowly extended his hand, which looked slow at first glance but was extremely fast, and easily caught the fist hurtling toward him.

The collision of a fist and a palm created so high pressure that the dust around them flew over, covering the entire arena. As the settled dust revealed the scene, the audience's eyes widened, they couldn't believe their eyes.

"H-He caught Ji Hao's fist with his bare hand?"

"Who is this guy? He looks so damn strong!"

Even Ji Hao, who was always proud of himself, couldn't believe his eyes. In an instant, he distanced himself from his opponent and looked at him with a solemn gaze. "Who are you?"

Lin Feng nonchalantly shrugged. "I came specifically to challenge the Emperor School, but I didn't like your arrogance so..."

With a swift movement, Lin Feng covered the distance and appeared before Ji Hao's eyes in an instant. "So, don't take it personally," Lin Feng grinned. Instantly, Ji Hao's expression changed as he faced a strong hand grasping his neck.

Lin Feng grasped Ji Hao by the neck, suspending him in mid-air before slamming him mercilessly onto the reinforced stage floor.

"Aaah," Ji Hao didn't even understand how powerful was the enemy before him. He held Lin Feng's wrist, struggling to break free but he suddenly felt he was again hanging in the air. His eyes widened as he shouted, "No, please no..."

Lin Feng grinned before again slamming him onto the metallic surface.

Boom!

The surface of the stage, created from one of the toughest materials, showed signs of damage as Lin Feng relentlessly continued his assault. Ji Hao's body washed with blood as he finally begged for mercy.

On the stage, those people who initially felt pity for Lin Feng, now was terrified by his means.

Finally, Lin Feng ceased his barrage, tossing Ji Hao back to his school's resting area before gracefully descending from the stage.

Silence!

No one dared to speak a single word!

Amidst the audience, Ji Hao's mother started to cry looking at her son. But what could she do? This was a competition where one could even die!

In the whole arena, no one knew what was the realm of Lin Feng but what they were sure about was, he was one of the strongest candidate here!

Eli Shan looked at Lin Feng intently, whispering, "I want to fight him."

Lin Feng, seemingly aware of Eli Shan's gaze, returned the smile.

Following Lin Feng's formidable performance, subsequent fights failed to capture much attention of the crowd.

The battles continued, and every participant exhibited skills at the Tian Realm, a level considered exceptionally high in the Sacred City but it was nothing in this tournament.

After several hours, twenty students from the Holy School were eliminated, but the headmaster didn't care about this outcome. He knew that even if a single student persevered and achieved a high rank, he alone could carry the whole school with him.

The headmaster hadn't expected Eli Shan to secure the first position, but a position within the top ten seemed within reach. After a while, the host returned to the stage, announcing, "Everyone, now fifty schools have been eliminated and ranked below the top fifty. The top fifty ranking matches will commence tomorrow."