Chapter 88: Chapter 81: Sky Arena
Not long after Ye Chen, as the strongest from the First Battle Zone, had killed his way into the top ten of the Great Clan Competition, Bai Xiaodie, standing beside him from the Second Battle Zone, also defeated the two auxiliary stages and broke into the top ten.
Then came Qian Ming from the Fifth Battle Zone, Qian Feng from the Seventh Battle Zone, and Ye Xue from the Ninth Battle Zone.
Half an hour later, all of the strongest from the ten great Battle Zones had successively emerged.
The ten great Battle Zones, ten strong contenders, standing on the main stage of the Battle Arena, they were the final top ten of the Great Clan Competition!
"The top ten have been decided!"
"It is these ten people, regardless of their final ranking, they will all receive the special reward of the Ancestral Ground Secret Map!"
"Bai Xiaodie, fifteen years old, a True Qi eleventh layer powerhouse, the top disciple of the Peach Blossom Valley, a sixth-rank sect from the Southern Region of the Heavenly Wind Kingdom!"
"Qian Ming, eighteen years old, a True Qi eleventh layer powerhouse, the external disciple of the Tai Xuan Sect, a sixth-rank sect from the Eastern Region of the Heavenly Wind Kingdom! In the family competitions of the previous years, he has always been the first!"
"Ye Chen, fifteen years old, rumored to have just reached the seventh layer of the True Qi realm, but in the first two rounds, his performance was even stronger than Qian Ming and Bai Xiaodie. One really doesn't know how far he will kill into the final ranking of the Great Clan Competition!"
"There's also Qian Feng with the tenth layer of True Qi, Bai Xiaoning with the tenth layer of True Qi, Ye Xue with the ninth layer of True Qi..."
"These young warriors are the most powerful individuals among the younger generation of our three clans, our hope and future!"
Observing the ten young men and women standing proudly on the main stages of the ten great Battle Zones, having withstood the first round of "Bell Snatching" and the second round of "Arena Battling" to still stand at the end, all the clanspeople from the three clans watching the fight were exceptionally excited.
"Chen!"
"Xiaodie!"
The parents of these ten youngsters were among the crowd at this moment.
The father and mother of Ye Chen, the father and mother of Bai Xiaodie, the father and mother of Qian Ming...
Watching their children standing on the highest main stage and breaking into the top ten of the entire Great Clan Competition, they were filled with immense pride!
These were their children!
The hope of their families, and even more so, their hope!
Within the excitement and agitation of the clanspeople, the patriarchs of the three clans walked to the center of the field.
Patriarch Bai, who was the first to preside over the Great Clan Competition, raised his hand to quiet the crowd's chatter and, smiling, said, "The ten people remaining on the main stage now are the top ten of this Great Clan Competition!"
"Their performance has greatly impressed us three old fellows and brought us much comfort!"
As he said these words, Patriarch Bai even nodded toward Ye Chen with a smile.
Clearly, Ye Chen's performance was the most shocking and delightful to him.
"Master, Madam, Patriarch Bai is praising the young master!"
"Not just Patriarch Bai, but also Patriarch Ye and Patriarch Qian. I see them nodding towards the young master frequently!" said little maid Tao'er, grinning towards Ye Xiaotian and Lin Yin.
Ye Xiaotian and Lin Yin exchanged a look and also nodded with a smile.
They too had noticed that the three patriarchs were extremely satisfied with their child, Ye Chen's performance.
Patriarch Bai continued, "The top ten have been born, but their rankings have not yet been truly decided. Among them, who will be first, who will be second, is still unknown."
"Next, we will have the last round of the Great Clan Competition, the third round -- 'The Top Ten Ranking Battles'!"
"Let's see to whom the ten different Ancestral Ground Secret Maps, leading into the ancestral grounds, will eventually belong."
"Let's see who among them can ascend to the highest position among the younger generation of our three clans!"
"Let's see who among them can claim the first position, and receive the highest reward -- the 'Ancestral Blood'!"
These words of Patriarch Bai also reflected the thoughts of the clanspeople watching the competition at that moment.
All the clanspeople wanted to know, out of the ten people who had fought their way to the last, who would surpass the others, who was the strongest among the ten.
Their gazes, for the most part, gathered on Bai Xiaodie, Qian Ming, and Ye Chen. Bai Xiaodie and Qian Ming were long renowned, while Ye Chen was a dark horse that had suddenly emerged in this clan competition.
Most assumed that the ultimate strongest would be one of these three, although more guessed that Bai Xiaodie and Qian Ming were more likely to be the last standing.
After all, although the impact Ye Chen had made was significant, it was not as deeply ingrained as the impression of strength given by the disciples of the two major sixth-rank sects, Bai Xiaodie and Qian Ming.
On the ten main stages, the figures of the final top ten Ye Chen's group, also looked towards each other, observing the opponents they would soon face in the Top Ten Ranking Battles.
After taking a look around, Ye Chen realized that there were not many familiar faces among the final ten, but he was mildly surprised when he saw Ye Xue.
He recognized the girl; she was a cousin from his family with whom he had often played as a child.
Ye Xue also noticed Ye Chen's gaze and smiled, nodding at him.
After sizing each other up, the top ten of the Great Clan Competition looked towards the three patriarchs.
They prepared to listen to how the three patriarchs would arrange the competition method for this third round 'Top Ten Ranking Battle'.
"The Top Ten Ranking Battle!"
"It will also take place in the 'Thousand Feet Field'."
"The place where you will fight is called 'Sky Arena'!"
As Patriarch Bai spoke, another small black box reappeared in Patriarch Qian's hand.
This black box was none other than the one that had earlier released countless rays of light, directly forming ten huge arenas within the Thousand Feet Field.
At this moment, Patriarch Qian lightly tapped the center of the little box, and the ten huge arenas within the Thousand Feet Field emitted thunderous roars.
Ye Chen and the nine others all leaped up from the main arena, looking toward the light-transformed arena groups, watching their new transformations.
Amidst the great din, the ten massive arena groups turned back into beams of light and then soared into the sky, ten meters above ground.
Then, these beams of light slowly congealed in the sky, ten meters above ground, and finally formed five enormous arenas, each several tens of zhang in radius, directly in the sky.
"Is this the Sky Arena?"
Everyone on the martial arts plaza of the three clans, whether it was the ten who were to participate in the final round or the members of the three clans, all looked up at the five huge arenas formed of condensed light in the sky.
The light danced and turned into ten large arenas, then flew up into the sky, where it condensed into five vast aerial arenas. This miraculous sight left everyone watching in awe.
"Patriarch Qian holds the 'Yin Yang Mysterious Box' in his hands, which, like the 'Yin Yang Profound Bell' used in the first round, is also crafted by the hands of our ancestors."
"The Yin Yang Mysterious Box, gathering Yin Yang Mysterious Qi within, can transform anything. The 'battle arenas' from the second round of competition, and now the 'Sky Arenas' in the sky, are all formed from this mysterious Qi."
"Below, the top ten will fight in the Sky Arena!"
Patriarch Bai announced.
"Fight in the sky?"
"Inside this 'Sky Arena'?"
The ten, including Ye Chen, looked at the grand battle arenas formed in the sky, finding it quite extraordinary.
To compete on an arena suspended in mid-air was an experience none of them had ever had before.
"In this top ten ranking battle, all ten will fight each other, undergoing nine rounds of round-robin competition."
"Ultimately, based on the results of these battles, the final rankings of the top ten will be determined!"
"Those with the same scores will be ranked comprehensively based on their performance in the first two rounds and the result of their battles against each other."
"Now, let's begin the first round of the round-robin competition!"
Patriarch Bai looked toward the top ten standing in the arena from the three clans and declared the start of the final top ten ranking battle.
"The first round of the round-robin competition, the battles are as follows."
"Ye Chen versus Bai Xiaofei, on the far left in the first Sky Arena!"
"Bai Xiaodie versus Qian Feng, in the second Sky Arena!"
"Qian Ming versus Qian Yuan, in the third Sky Arena!"
"Bai Xiaoning versus Ye Xue, in the fourth Sky Arena!"
"Bai Wuxuan versus Qian Fang, on the far right in the fifth Sky Arena!"
"Now, ascend to the 'Sky Arena' to begin the competition!"
Among the top ten, Ye Chen and Ye Xue from the Ye family both made it to the finals.
The Bai Family and the Qian Family had four members each selected.
As Patriarch Bai announced the match-ups, Ye Chen moved swiftly; his "Art of Wind Movement" displaying as he flitted like a light breeze, directly flying up to the first Sky Arena, over ten meters high.
His dashing and effortless movements drew cheers and shouts from the spectators below!
The others also displayed their movements, flying toward their respective Sky Arenas.
For the top ten, the Sky Arena, over ten meters high, presented no difficulty, as they all could fly up using their martial skills.
Looking at the setup of the Sky Arena, it seemed that not having the ability to fly up to it meant one didn't even qualify to participate in the competition!
Once the top ten had each taken their positions, the opponents in the matchups were plainly clear.
Ye Chen's opponent in the first round was Bai Xiaofei, a seventeen-year-old youth.
Bai Xiaofei, originally the vice-leader of the Ninth Battle Zone, had defeated the main leader of the Sixth Battle Zone during a challenge, seizing the top ten spot directly!
This showed that while Bai Xiaofei may have been at a slight disadvantage during the first round, the "Bell Snatching," he was somewhat stronger in the second round of true martial skill combat.
Bai Xiaofei wielded a silver spear over three meters long. After taking his position, he swept the spear and looked toward Ye Chen.
"Brother Ye Chen, in this first round of the top ten ranking battle, it's our turn to compete!"
Ye Chen also smiled at Bai Xiaofei, holding no weapon in his hands, and simply replied with a light laugh, "Make your move, Brother of the Bai Family!"