Jiang Chen was neither pleased nor disappointed. Nine slots, seven or eight — it made little difference to him.
His goal had never changed. Even if there were only a single Grand Arena Champion slot, he would fight for it with everything he had.
With nine slots on the table, his confidence only grew.
The Deputy Hall Master, seeing the crowd buzzing with excitement below, knew his announcements had achieved the desired effect. He continued to stoke their enthusiasm: "Our Hall hopes that everyone will demonstrate your true skill and bring out every last ounce of your ability. The scale of this Bounty Arena will not disappoint you. At this level, a seat among the Grand Arena Champions will carry tremendous weight. That is because every candidate who earns one of the nine Grand Arena Champion slots must receive the unanimous approval of all three of our distinguished evaluators."
The Peerless Great Emperor, the Azure Phoenix Pill King, and Formation Grandmaster Wang Xuetong — these three would serve as the judges selecting the Grand Arena Champions.
For a moment, the candidates couldn't help feeling a touch of unease. Some secretly worried that these three had already reserved the Champion slots for themselves; as judges, might they suppress talented competitors who posed a real threat?
The Deputy Hall Master seemed to see right through their thoughts and smiled faintly. "You may rest easy. All three are senior figures of great standing. Since the Cleansing Flame Hall invited them to serve as evaluators, their character has already been endorsed by the Cleansing Flame Hall. They will undoubtedly represent the Hall's standards of fairness and impartiality. Of that, not one of you need have any doubt."
Lin Zhirong was nodding so vigorously he looked like a chick pecking at rice, his voice brimming with excitement: "How could the Peerless Great Emperor possibly be anything but fair? Hmph! Sharing a stage with the Peerless Great Emperor is an honor for these people. And they're worried he'd suppress them? What absolute fools!"
It was plain to see that Lin Zhirong's worship of the Peerless Great Emperor came straight from the heart.
"Brother Shao Yuan, what do you think?" Lin Zhirong fixed his gaze on Jiang Chen and asked.
Jiang Chen smiled mildly. "Senior figures of their stature have a certain magnanimity. There's no need to measure a gentleman's heart by a petty person's yardstick."
"Ha ha ha, exactly, exactly! I don't know much about this Azure Phoenix Pill King or Grandmaster Wang Xuetong, but the Peerless Great Emperor would never — and wouldn't deign to — do something like that."
By "something like that," he meant deliberately suppressing strong competitors and crushing potential rivals.
Honestly, Jiang Chen didn't believe any of the three would do that either. The Cleansing Flame Hall wasn't foolish — how could they not see through it? The Hall certainly had its own selection mechanisms in place.
These three were simply being singled out because of their lofty status. It was a matter of giving them face.
Under these circumstances, if any of the three acted unfairly, they would be making fools of themselves. Their very positions would not permit it. Of this, Jiang Chen had never harbored a shred of doubt.
"Very well. Now this Hall will announce the selection rules."
"First, the nine arenas are divided across three domains. One is the Martial Dao domain, one is the Alchemy domain, and one is the Generalist domain. I trust I don't need to explain the first two. The Generalist domain, however, covers a broad range — medicine, divination, astrology, talismans, formations, mechanical arts, and even beast taming, among others. The Martial Dao domain has three slots, the Alchemy domain has three slots, and the Generalist domain likewise has three slots. You must first decide which domain's selection you wish to enter."
When it came to these three domains, Jiang Chen could handle any of them. He even felt a spur of impulse to register for two domains at once.
But he didn't know whether the rules even allowed that.
While he was still deliberating, a hoarse voice suddenly called out: "Deputy Hall Master Gao, this old man has some proficiency in both martial arts and alchemy. Would it be possible to compete across two arenas simultaneously?"
He had to admit, Jiang Chen was not the only one harboring this idea. The hoarse voice had simply voiced what was on his mind. What surprised him was that the question drew a wave of agreement from the crowd.
Clearly, quite a few people shared the same thought.
Deputy Hall Master Gao smiled faintly. "In principle, a single participant may enter all three domains. However, are you certain you have that much energy? And can you be sure you'll stand out in every domain? Don't bite off more than you can chew, or you may end up losing everything — not a single domain secured."
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
Many people understood that道理. But the martial world was never short of ambitious schemers and big appetites.
"Deputy Hall Master Gao, if the rules allow it, then how I choose to compete is my own business. If I fail to secure a single domain in the end, that will be my own problem."
The hoarse voice was clearly stubborn beyond reason, intent on going his own way.
Deputy Hall Master Gao smiled with perfect composure. "In principle, it is permitted. However, if you fail in every domain, the penalty will be multiplied by the number of domains you entered. If you compete in all three, the deduction from your security deposit will be thirty million Sacred Ling Shi."
"I know. As long as cross-domain participation is allowed, a bit of a deposit is nothing!" The hoarse voice seemed dead set on it.