Chapter 209: Preparing to Go On Stage

As the nominal leader of the entire Eight-Armed Sea Tribe, Zhang Tianxin's cultivation level was unfathomable. Rumor had it that he had surpassed the Awakening Realm.

After Zhang Tianxin stood up, he began to deliver some formal remarks for the clan assembly, including welcoming the numerous human allies.

However, the most important part of his speech was the explanation of the rules and restrictions for the competition.

The rules were simple and straightforward.

First, participants must be under thirty years old and could only compete if they had been officially registered. No substitutions or impersonations were allowed.

Each participant had been given a special ring to wear, which indicated their status as a competitor in the clan assembly.

When entering the arena, the formation would verify their identity. Additionally, with so many powerful beings watching, any attempts to use pills, illusion techniques, or substitute participants would be immediately discovered.

Second, participants were allowed to use soul artifacts, but their quality was restricted to Upper Grade B.

Since human allies were participating, they were permitted to use their race's unique yuan artifacts, also restricted to Upper Grade B.

During the competition, participants were prohibited from consuming pills, using formations, or relying on servants, followers, summoned puppets, or enslaved soul beasts.

The battles must not involve killing blows, intentional crippling, or disabling of opponents.

If the battle became too intense and participants could not pull back in time, such situations would be excusable.

However, with Zhang Tianxin overseeing the competition, if things went out of control, he would intervene to prevent any accidents.

After announcing the rules, Zhang Tianxin declared the start of the competition!

Boom!

The water around the arena began to shift, with formation runes and symbols lighting up and flowing over it, signaling the activation of the formation.

As the arena's formation came to life, the matchup list floated higher, eventually hovering above the center of the arena.

At that moment, a young Eight-Armed Sea Tribe woman gracefully swam to the center of the arena, her presence drawing everyone's attention.

"Everyone, the Eight-Armed Sea Tribe's clan assembly is about to begin. Let's see who will be competing in the first match!" The young woman announced, her sweet voice amplified by soul power, echoing around the arena.

With a wave of her eight arms, a red glow appeared on the white matchup list formed by the formation's power. The glow moved across the lowest row of names, flashing between them, leaving everyone guessing when it would stop.

"Stop!" The female host called out.

As her voice rang out, the red glow halted abruptly, highlighting a pair of names.

In an instant, the two names enlarged, and the formation's power condensed into images of the two participants, along with information about their origins and cultivation levels.

Both were from the smaller tribes of the Eight-Armed Sea Tribe, with cultivation levels at the Void-Fragmentation Realm, fourth and fifth stages, respectively.

The two participants promptly ascended to the arena to begin their match.

Once on the arena, they hovered quietly on opposite sides, waiting for the host to announce the start of the battle.

"Are you both ready?" The host gave them a sweet smile before drawing out her words, "Let the match begin!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the host swiftly swam upward, exiting the range of the arena's formation in the blink of an eye.

Seeing this, Lin Qian's eyes narrowed. "What speed! She's at least in the Life and Death Realm."

At the same time, the two young Eight-Armed Sea Tribe members in the arena collided with each other.

Their eight arms moved in tandem, manipulating the surrounding water to attack each other.

The Void-Fragmentation fifth-stage participant fought with a more aggressive style, while the fourth-stage participant took a more defensive approach.

Both wielded long spears, with each pair of hands holding a spear, totaling eight spears clashing in the center of the arena.

Water-attributed soul power wrapped around the spears, enhancing the intensity of their collisions.

Many spectators found the match rather dull, including Zhang Qi and the others.

The one hundred and eight smaller tribes occupied the lowest rung of the Eight-Armed Sea Tribe's hierarchy. Even their most talented members were only at the Void-Fragmentation Realm, making them unimpressive to the minor branches, major branches, and main clan.

As such, it seemed laughable that the Eastern Branch had sent a human ally at the Void-Fragmentation Realm.

Yet Lin Qian watched the match with keen interest, closely observing the two fighters.

This caught the attention of several others, who began to gossip and ridicule.

"Did you see that human from the Eastern Branch? He's watching this match as if it's the most fascinating thing in the world."

"Well, he's only at the Void-Fragmentation sixth stage, so of course, he finds it interesting."

"It's strange, though. The Eastern Branch may have declined recently, but how did they end up with a Void-Fragmentation human ally? And he's all by himself."

"That's because you don't know. The Eastern Branch is next to a continent that's considered a backwater by the humans. They probably picked this Lin Qian from that remote place just to fill the spot."

"Zhang Li is so lucky to have drawn him as an opponent."

"I also heard that Zhang Li plans to thoroughly humiliate Lin Qian during the match, supposedly on orders from the Northern Branch's chief, to embarrass the Eastern Branch."

The whispers of the Eight-Armed Sea Tribe's young geniuses on the surrounding platforms went unheard by Lin Qian, and he also remained unaware of the disdainful looks from other human forces.

He was simply engrossed in watching the two fighters, enjoying the spectacle.

Lin Qian found the match so captivating because it was fascinating and novel to him.

After all, on his home planet in his previous life, such scenes were only found in movies. The concept of otherworldly beings only existed in alien-themed films.

So, in Lin Qian's eyes, this match between two Eight-Armed Sea Tribe members felt like watching a live special-effects movie.

In the end, the victor turned out to be the Void-Fragmentation fourth-stage participant, whose endurance far exceeded the other. He landed the decisive blow when his opponent was exhausted, securing his victory.

"The weapons of these otherworldly beings are soul artifacts, quite different from the unique yuan artifacts of the human race," Lin Qian mused with a chuckle.

At that moment, the female host returned to the arena, and the red glow on the matchup list began flashing again.

When it finally stopped, Lin Qian's eyes widened in surprise.

The red glow had highlighted the next pair of names:

Lin Qian versus Zhang Li!