As the nominal Clan Leader of the entire Eight-Armed Sea Clan, Zhang Tianxin’s cultivation was deep and unfathomable, with rumors suggesting that he had already surpassed the Awakening Realm.
After rising to his feet, Zhang Tianxin began to address the clan meeting, uttering some customary words of welcome for the many allies of the Human Clan and so on.
Among those words, the most important were the rules and restrictions of this competition.
The regulations of the competition were few, but very clear and straightforward.
The requirements for participants stipulated that their age could not exceed thirty years, and only the person registered for the spot could take the stage; no impersonation was allowed.
Previously, everyone had been issued a special ring, which signified their status as competitors in this clan meeting upon wearing.
Each time someone stepped onto the stage for a duel, the Array would scrutinize and verify their identity, and with so many powerful figures watching, anyone trying to deceive with Pills or illusory soul skills to take someone else’s place would be immediately discovered.
Next, it was permissible to use normal Soul Devices, but their quality was limited to Upper C.
Also, as allies from the Human Clan were participating, they were allowed to use their race’s unique Primordial Weapons for Elemental Weapon Armament.
As for the quality of the Primordial Weapons, it too had to be restricted to Upper C.
During the combat of the competition, the use of Pills, Arrays, servants, retainers, summoned puppets, or enslaved Soul Beasts was forbidden.
In the course of battle, one must not deliver lethal blows, intentionally cripple the opponent, or otherwise render the other combatant incapacitated.
If the fight became too fierce and one was unable to stop in time, it could be deemed understandable.
However, with a strong figure like Zhang Tianxin presiding over the contest, should there occur a situation where combatants could not stop themselves, he would intervene proactively to prevent any accidents.
After proclaiming the rules, Zhang Tianxin announced that the competition was now officially underway!
Instantly, the currents surrounding the platform began to shift as Array runes started to move along it, being imprinted into the structure—clearly, the Array was activated.
After the platform’s Array was activated, the combat roster gradually rose, eventually hovering above the platform.
Following this, a young female from the Eight-Armed Sea Clan gracefully made her way, floating to the exact center of this platform’s space.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the Eight-Armed Sea Clan’s clan meeting is about to begin. Now let us see, who will be the first duelists to showcase their might?" the female of the Eight-Armed Sea Clan spoke up, her sweet voice imbued with Soul Power, resonating all around.
With a wave of her eight arms towards the sky, a red gleam began to emerge on the white combat roster solidified by the power of the Array, now displaying one pair of names.
This red light enveloped the pair of names, then started to blink back and forth along the lowest row; no one knew when it would stop.
At that moment, the female host from the Eight-Armed Sea Clan called out sharply, "Stop!"
As her voice rang out, the flickering red gleam abruptly ceased, settling on a pair of names.
In the blink of an eye, these two names were magnified, the Array’s force coalescing images of the two individuals, revealing their origins and the Realms of their strength.
Both contenders were from the Eight-Armed Sea Clan and hailed from one of the one hundred and eight tribes, their strength only in the Fourth and Fifth Level of the Sky Breaking Realm.
Then, these two individuals from the Eight-Armed Sea Clan tribes ascended to the platform to begin their duel.
Once both were on the platform, they floated quietly on either side of the space, awaiting the female host’s signal to start.
"Contestants, prepare..." the female host smiled sweetly at them, then elongated her voice, "The duel begins!"
As her words fell, the host swiftly swam upwards, vanishing outside the range of the platform’s Array in the blink of an eye.
Seeing this, Lin Qian’s pupils constricted slightly, "What rapid speed, she must possess the strength of at least the Life and Death, Power Realm."
Meanwhile, in the arena space, two young warriors from the Eight-Armed Sea Clan also clashed together.
Their battle set the surrounding water in motion with every sweep of their eight limbs, sending torrents crashing toward their opponent.
The warrior from the Eight-Armed Sea Clan at the Fifth Level of the Sky Breaking Realm fought with vicious ferocity, while the one at the Fourth Level seemed slightly more conservative in style.
Both were wielding long tridents, each holding one in hand, making for a total of eight tridents colliding in the center of the stage.
The Water Attribute Soul Power they wielded stirred the water around their tridents, causing them to collide with violent force.
Many spectators in the audience, including Zhang Qi and the others, were indifferent and bored.
With a hundred and eight clans at the bottom of the Eight-Armed Sea Clan hierarchy, even their geniuses, just at the Sky Breaking Realm, failed to impress the minor clans, sub-clans, or family clans.
Therefore, the very notion that the genius sent by the four major Human Clan allies was merely at the Sky Breaking Realm brought forth scornful laughter.
However, Lin Qian watched the bout with great interest, carefully observing their combat.
This caught the attention of many keen observers, who began discussing among themselves with mockery.
"Did you see that fellow from the Eastern Division Clan? He’s utterly engrossed in such an ordinary contest."
"Ah, think about it. He’s only at the Sixth Level of the Sky Breaking Realm, so of course he finds it fascinating."
"It’s strange though. The Eastern Division Clan has fallen quite a bit lately, but how did they happen to send someone at the Sky Breaking Realm, and he’s all on his own."
"You don’t know the half of it. The Eastern Division Clan has little contact with the Human Clan because their neighboring continent is a backwater in the Human territories. I bet this Lin Qian was just scraped together from that neck of the woods to make up the numbers."
"Zhang Li is really lucky, drawing such an easy match."
"I also heard that Zhang Li plans to humiliate Lin Qian during their match. It seems to be the Northern Division Clan Leader’s instruction, wanting to slap the Eastern Division Clan’s face."
Lin Qian, of course, couldn’t hear the whispers of the young geniuses from the Eight-Armed Sea Clan on the spectator stand, nor could he see the disdainful looks from the other Human Clan forces.
He was simply watching the competition with unbridled joy.
The reason Lin Qian watched so attentively was simply that he found it interesting and novel!
In his previous life on the Blue Planet, such scenes were only found in movies, and such ’alien races’ only appeared in science fiction films.
So, to Lin Qian, the battle between the two warriors from the Eight-Armed Sea Clan was like watching a live broadcast of a special effects movie.
In the end, the victor turned out to be the warrior at the Fourth Level of the Sky Breaking Realm. Enduring far beyond the ordinary, he seized the moment when his opponent was completely drained to land a decisive blow and claim victory.
"The weapons of alien races are all Soul Devices, quite different from the Primordial Weapons unique to the Human Clan," commented Lin Qian with a chuckle as he became engrossed.
At this moment, the female host returned to the stage, and the red light on the battle list began to flicker rapidly.
When it finally stopped, surprise flashed in Lin Qian’s eyes.
Because the pair of names now covered by the red glow were unmistakably...
Lin Qian versus Zhang Li!
Today, I’m taking a leave of absence; the surge will be delayed until tomorrow’s Lantern Festival, which I think is a better fit for celebration.
Besides, if I were to surge today, there would only be four chapters. I find that a bit too few, so I might as well save this up for the second day to give everyone a bit more to enjoy at once.
There was no surge during the Chinese New Year, so on this joyous Lantern Festival, we should all have a little more fun.