Every martial arts tournament's rewards were exceedingly generous—without such lavish incentives, no one would risk their lives to compete. Under normal circumstances, the rewards were jointly pooled by the three great sects, with the Star God Palace contributing half. The offerings encompassed spirit pills and miraculous medicines, cultivation techniques and secret arts, and more—all tantalizing to the extreme.
What truly excited the tens of thousands of participating martial artists even further was that the champions of both the individual and team battles would not only receive lavish material rewards but would also be granted one month of cultivation time in the secret realms of the three great sects, each with its own time limit.
The three great sects of the Southern Domain each had their own foundation of strength. The Qingyang Divine Temple's Shenyou Mirror World, the Tianwu Sacred Ground's Martial Intent Hall, and the Wuhua Temple's Celestial Stellar Wind—each possessed unique benefits. The Shenyou Mirror World went without saying; it was a place for cultivating the divine soul. The Martial Intent Hall was a secret realm for comprehending various forms of Intent. And the Wuhua Temple's Celestial Stellar Wind was an exceptional location for tempering the physical body.
These three secret realms encompassed the essence, energy, and spirit of a martial artist. If one could experience all three, their future prospects would be limitless. Who could resist such rewards? Material goods were merely external aids—true personal strength was the foundation.
The first-place champions would receive all of these rewards and could even choose to join any one of the three sects, where they would be directly cultivated as Core Disciples.
When this reward was announced, the tens of thousands of martial artists in the valley all quickened their breath, so excited they could barely contain themselves.
That said, in previous years' tournaments, the champions had always been members of the three great sects themselves, and they had already been Core Disciples. So while this reward was enormously attractive to ninety-nine percent of participants, for the disciples of the three sects it was merely icing on the cake—nothing worth getting too worked up over.
The purpose of offering such a reward was precisely for the other martial artists outside the three great sects to see. It was meant to inspire them to give their all and strive for the highest ranking possible. Over the many years of these tournaments, some had indeed achieved this—not just once. Previously unknown individuals had risen to prominence during the tournament, been recruited by the three great sects, and gone on to remarkable achievements.
The second-place reward was somewhat lesser. The champion could choose one sect to join as a Core Disciple, and the three secret realms became two.
Third place was reduced further—one sect to join, and access to only one secret realm.
Below that, there were only material rewards, with no opportunity to choose a sect or cultivate in the secret realms.
With such rewards laid out, the tens of thousands of martial artists in the valley were naturally eager to prove themselves, silently resolving to give their best this time. Perhaps they could truly leap over the dragon gate.
Feng Ming finished reading the rules and rewards, then turned to glance behind him. Xiao Yuyang offered him a faint smile, indicating he had nothing to add. Only then did Feng Ming raise his hand and call out: "Let the matches begin!"
Gong...
A gong sound of unknown origin rang throughout the entire valley, deafening in its resonance. From the mountainside, one after another, figures shot outward in streaks of different-colored light, like a meteor shower raining down from the heavens, landing on the elevated platforms scattered across the valley like chess pieces.
Yang Kai was among them. As a referee, he naturally had to appear first.
It was rather amusing—this was the first time in his life he had served as a referee. But with his experience and knowledge, he was entirely at ease.
Standing on Platform Eight, he pinched a jade slip between his fingers and sent his divine sense surging into it to examine the contents. Inside was a string of numerical identifiers—each number represented a martial artist. The order of appearance and the matchups had all been pre-arranged. All he needed to do was call out both numbers and then observe, ensuring a fair judgment.
He lifted his gaze, surveyed the area, and called out in a clear voice: "First match—Number 3018 versus Number 15,061!"
The moment his voice fell, a petite figure shot up from below, landing steadily on the platform. She bowed to Yang Kai and said crisply: "Greetings, Senior."
And just like that, he had become someone's senior. Yang Kai twitched his nose. He very much doubted whether he was actually older than her, but with his strength, there were precious few people in this Star World who could stand as his equals or presume to call themselves his senior.
He nodded and smiled at the newcomer, then took a careful look. The one who had ascended the platform was a petite young woman. Her dark, lustrous hair was tied into two delicate ponytails at the back of her head, flowing freely in the wind. Her well-fitted dress accentuated her graceful and full figure. Judging by her face, she was indeed quite young, still carrying a touch of youthful freshness. Her cultivation was also respectable—at the Second Layer of the Dao Origin Realm. He had no idea which sect she came from.
While he was still sizing her up, another figure bounded onto the platform from the other side—a tall, imposing man clad in black combat attire that snapped in the wind. His presence was commanding, his eyes filled with a vicious cunning that made him seem thoroughly dangerous.
Third Layer of the Dao Origin Realm!
Yang Kai glanced at him and silently thought that Number 3018 was probably in for some trouble. Not everyone could fight above their level like he could, slaying opponents more powerful than themselves as easily as slaughtering chickens and dogs. A single minor difference in cultivation level often meant a vast gulf in actual combat power. If that were not the case, why would everyone train so desperately? Of course, things could not be generalized so simply—in the heat of life-and-death battle, one's mindset, grasp of the situation, and ability to adapt on the fly were all critical factors. There were no shortage of examples where the weak triumphed over the strong.
Seeing her opponent take the stage, the woman Number 3018 cupped her fists respectfully and said: "Yu Zhuo of the Rakshasa Gate!"
She was introducing herself. No matter how the fight went, proper etiquette had to be observed—especially with the referee watching from the side.