The Yan family's delegation had originally planned to leave right after the Ancient Jade Festival and return to the Eternal Sacred Kingdom. However, when word spread that the princess of the Blue Smoke Island Domain was holding a martial tournament to select a husband—and with such generous conditions—the younger generation of the Yan family was practically buzzing with excitement.
A few clan elders held a private discussion and figured that since the Ancient Jade Festival had concluded without incident, staying a few more days wouldn't hurt. Let the youngsters go soak in the excitement of the tournament.
If some young member of the family actually managed to marry the royal princess of the Blue Smoke Island Domain, that wouldn't be a bad outcome at all.
After all, among the young people who had come to the Ancient Jade Festival this time, aside from Huang'er, none of them could be considered the Yan family's most outstanding geniuses. They simply didn't have the capital to form marriage alliances with the truly great houses. If they could ally with a second-rate power like the Blue Smoke Island Domain—enjoying a psychological advantage while reaping tangible benefits—why not?
The Blue Smoke Island Domain, for its part, was quite the master at generating hype.
The princess's husband-selection tournament used the most tried-and-true, if somewhat vulgar, format—a martial arts tournament.
It had to be said, this method was extremely vulgar, but it was precisely the kind of thing that generated the most buzz.
The requirements for participation were identical to those for the Ancient Jade Festival: only young geniuses were eligible, and the age restrictions were exactly the same. Those who had already registered for the Ancient Jade Festival didn't need to sign up again—they could jump straight into the martial tournament. Anyone who hadn't previously registered for the Ancient Jade Festival needed to submit a new application, but as long as they passed the review, they were in.
This only further stoked the enthusiasm of the young geniuses.
Rumors about the Blue Smoke Island Domain's princess multiplied by the day. Every account depicted her as a beauty of devastating, kingdom-toppling allure.
And that set the young geniuses' competitive fire ablaze.
Over the past two days, Jiang Chen had clearly noticed Yan Qingsang was in an unusually high state of excitement. He had the look of a man dead set on winning.
"Brother Shao Yuan, honestly—how much of a chance do you think I have in this tournament?" This was the eighteenth time Yan Qingsang had asked Jiang Chen this question.
"Come on, Brother Yan, are you a broken record or something? If you want to know your chances, why not just go find out for yourself? You've already seen how many geniuses from the Ten Great Sacred Kingdoms showed up. You've seen their strength, you've seen how many are entering—how will you ever know your chances if you don't put yourself out there?"
"Ugh…" Yan Qingsang let out a sigh. "A few dozen factions from the Ten Great Sacred Kingdoms have come this time. There have to be at least several dozen people stronger than me. Brother, if only I had your strength…"
At this point, Yan Qingsang's eyes suddenly lit up. He pushed open the door, peered around in every direction, then crept back with a mysterious air and asked in a hushed voice, "Brother… that Xiahou Xi…"
Jiang Chen furrowed his brow slightly. "I already told you, I never laid eyes on the man."
"Heh heh, you're playing the pig to eat the tiger, aren't you? Hiding your true depths!" Yan Qingsang punched Jiang Chen on the shoulder with a grin. "Still, knowing that smug bastard is already dead makes me feel pretty good. Real good, actually."
He had taken more than his share of grief from Xiahou Xi. The thought that the man had simply dropped dead filled him with immense satisfaction. It also gave him a brand-new appreciation for Jiang Chen.
He had always assumed this Brother Shao Yuan was only skilled in the field of ancient jade appraisal. It had never occurred to him that the man had such impressive martial accomplishments as well.
Now he realized that in the martial dao, this Shao Yuan was someone Xiahou Xi himself would have had to crane his neck to look up at.
Someone like that—Yan Qingsang felt it was absolutely worth cultivating a friendship with. Better yet, he should bring him back to the Yan family. In the future, having a connection like that would be a tremendous help to him personally. If Brother Shao Yuan ever rose to prominence, Yan Qingsang himself would deserve no small credit.
Yan Qingsang sighed again, then suddenly said, "Brother, I know you've got a bit of a thing for my cousin, but let me tell you—there's no chance. I hear the Blue Smoke Island Domain's royal princess is also outstanding in both appearance and bearing, a match for the Sixteen Golden Beauties of the Ten Great Sacred Kingdoms. If you ask me, if I don't make it, you stepping into the ring might actually have a better shot! I have a feeling that this time around, apart from a select few like Ye Zhou of the Duowen Sacred Kingdom, nobody else would be your match!"
Someone who could kill even Xiahou Xi—their strength absolutely had to exceed Xiahou Xi's by more than a little. Entering this tournament, the odds were genuinely excellent.
Jiang Chen rolled his eyes. "Brother Yan, please stop trying to play matchmaker. My mind is on other matters entirely—don't drag me into this."
Yan Qingsang snickered. "Come on, let's go! I hear the martial tournament starts today. Sure, at the beginning it'll just be the small fry trading blows, but the real powerhouses might make an appearance too. Let's go catch some of the action! Besides, the tournament runs for a full month. People at our level should show up a bit later anyway!"
The tournament venue was set up in the arena district of the City of Miracles.
All twelve arena zones were fully opened.
Starting today, anyone who achieved ten consecutive victories in the arena district would, according to the Blue Smoke Island Domain's official announcement, earn the right to enter the princess's field of vision.
When the month was up, anyone who had maintained an undefeated record would become the final pool of candidates from which the princess would choose.
If only one person remained standing at the end, that person would become the princess's husband. If multiple candidates survived, they would either fight among themselves to determine ranking, or the princess would make her own selection.
It had to be said, the rules were quite vague and lacked precision.
But Jiang Chen could see through to the real logic behind them. This arrangement was clearly designed as a safeguard—what if the last person standing turned out to have no connection to the Ten Great Sacred Kingdoms whatsoever? In that case, the Blue Smoke Island Domain would have gone to all this trouble for nothing.
Judging by the Blue Smoke Island Domain's intentions, it was obvious they wanted to use this so-called princess's husband-selection tournament as a springboard into a marriage alliance with one of the Ten Great Sacred Kingdoms, thereby climbing to a higher branch.