This ranking tournament used a round-robin format. Every ten geniuses within a given tier would fight each other, meaning each participant had to battle nine consecutive matches.
The intensity of combat was extremely high.
This was, in fact, precisely what the organizers had intended. High-intensity combat was the ultimate test of a participant's foundation, capability, and ability to perform under pressure.
In consecutive battles, unless one held an overwhelming advantage, all sorts of accidental factors were bound to appear. Even the sturdiest foundation would suffer some degree of depletion from fighting nonstop.
Of course, the depletion was the same for everyone — perfectly fair.
Gongsun Yan, the foremost genius of the Purple Flame Great Clan from the Nirvana Great Emperor's lineage, was born with the Purple Flame Bloodline, just like all the other Purple Flame Clan prodigies.
The so-called Purple Flame Bloodline meant one innately possessed a Purple Flame Spirit within one's body.
The reason Gongsun Yan had risen above so many other Purple Flame Clan geniuses was that his Purple Flame Bloodline was far superior to that of an ordinary clan member.
His Purple Flame had already reached the mid-grade Innate Fire Spirit Constitution — that is, an Innate Fire Spirit.
Mu Gaoqi possessed a top-grade Innate Wood Spirit Constitution, and even Jiang Chen had to admire someone blessed with such a constitution from the moment of birth.
Mu Gaoqi's case was especially rare — the Innate Wood Spirit Constitution was an exceptionally uncommon bloodline.
The Water and Fire lineages, relatively speaking, were more common. But possessing a mid-grade Innate Fire Spirit Constitution was still extraordinarily rare.
Water and Fire Spirit Constitutions were frequently encountered, but those that had reached the Innate level were far fewer. And among all the Innate-level constitutions, most were barely qualifying — at best, low-grade.
Yet Gongsun Yan possessed a mid-grade Innate Constitution. Above mid-grade, there was still top-grade, and even the Great Perfection level.
But the vast majority — at least ninety-nine out of a hundred — of Innate Constitutions were low-grade.
Reaching mid-grade among Innate Constitutions meant a probability of roughly one in a hundred thousand, and that was the optimistic estimate.
As for top-grade, it was truly one in a hundred million.
In all his years, Jiang Chen had only ever seen Mu Gaoqi's Innate Wood Spirit Constitution, and that was a top-grade one.
Possessing an Innate Constitution gave Gongsun Yan many inherent advantages in battle, but for Jiang Chen, these advantages weren't particularly difficult to overcome.
If it weren't for the fact that Jiang Chen couldn't openly use the Ice Fire Demon Lotus for fear of exposing his identity, taking down Gongsun Yan would have been as easy as flipping his hand.
Even so, after a fierce exchange, Jiang Chen successfully defeated Gongsun Yan.
In the third round, Jiang Chen faced Shen Hao of the Haori Great Clan. Among the top ten in this tier, Shen Hao was widely considered the least favored.
But Shen Hao had a remarkably peaceful mindset. He approached the match with a learner's attitude, exchanged blows with Jiang Chen as a form of sparring, and after being defeated, showed not the slightest trace of dejection.
After three consecutive victories, Jiang Chen faced his fourth opponent.
This opponent was none other than Young Master Liuxiang of the Coiling Dragon Clan.
Although Young Master San Ji had never mentioned Young Master Liuxiang's hostility toward Jiang Chen, Jiang Chen could still sense that this man harbored some ill feelings toward him.
Jiang Chen had an extremely precise grasp of human nature. He knew that Young Master Liuxiang's hostility most likely stemmed from his own emergence, which had dramatically elevated Young Master San Ji's standing before the Coiling Dragon Clan Lord, making him the apparent first-in-line successor. This situation was obviously unfavorable for Young Master Liuxiang.
Though Young Master Liuxiang despised Jiang Chen to his core, on the surface he still had to maintain an air of refined elegance.
Jiang Chen naturally knew the man was putting on an act, but he saw no need to expose it.
"Lord Zhen Dan hides his depths well. Your martial talent is truly astonishing. Liuxiang is fortunate to have this opportunity to learn from you today — please be merciful." Young Master Liuxiang smiled faintly.
Jiang Chen nodded. "I've long heard that Young Master Liuxiang is among the very top of the Crystal Royal City's younger generation. Today is a perfect opportunity for us to exchange blows."
The two exchanged pleasantries.
"Please."
"Please."
Once the courtesy was out of the way and they moved to fight, neither held anything back.
It had to be said that Young Master Liuxiang's cultivation was genuinely among the top three of the great clan scions, and he could even compete for first place.
Who was truly stronger between him and Young Master San Ji had never been conclusively settled.
But in Jiang Chen's estimation, aside from the mysterious giant from the Rising Star Rankings, Young Master Liuxiang was the most formidable opponent he had faced so far.
Young Master Liuxiang's cultivation realm was at the Half-step Emperor level, and his overall power was truly remarkable. But whether on offense or defense, this man was extremely cautious.
Against such an opponent, Jiang Chen couldn't bring him down easily in a short time.
Fortunately, once Jiang Chen understood Young Master Liuxiang's fighting style, he didn't rush to force a decisive exchange. Instead, he matched his opponent's pace, probing back and forth in an unhurried manner.
As a scion of the Coiling Dragon Clan, Jiang Chen knew that Young Master Liuxiang would certainly have plenty of trump cards. Items like the Emperor's Descent Protective Talisman were almost certainly in his possession.
So Jiang Chen didn't rush to unleash his full power from the start.
After all, if the other party used the Emperor's Descent Protective Talisman, no matter how powerful his attacks were, they would be utterly ineffective — unless he resorted to the restrictions of the cave dwelling.