chapter 31: four Village's

The elder retrieved two boxes 📦 and looked toward everyone. "I will take out two names from each box, and these four people will be assigned as opponents. In this way, the duration of the competition will be shortened. So, the first fight is going to happen between…" As he announced the names of the first two opponents, two people stepped forward. One fight would be between a member of Blue Stone Village and an opponent from Black Crow Village, while the second match would pit Black Crow Village against White Sparrow Village.

Luckily, Arya's village would not be fighting in the first round—a good piece of news for them because every advancement in rank would yield better rewards. There were to be seven matches in both stages, and none of Arya's opponents would be from Same Village. This meant that in these seven double matches, all positions below the top seven would be decided, with the winners earning a spot in the top seven.

To determine the top seven ranks, each contestant had to fight twice if they won their first fight. In the first bout, the contestants from White Sparrow Village appeared quite strong. Arya couldn't even gauge his own cultivation level clearly, but he knew that his opponent from Black Crow Village had a cultivation level of 18.

"Aren't you aware of those guys from White Sparrow Village?" Arya asked Kane, who was sitting next to him. "He should be the second-ranked champion in their competition. I've heard someone say his cultivation level is at rank 20, but he doesn't have his second seed."

"Oh… quite a powerful opponent. He's even stronger than you! And that's not all—I also have some secret information: there are cultivators who already possess two seed rings. One is from Black Crow Village, and the other is unknown."

"If I guess correctly, the first person should be Rose, right?" Arya asked Kane again.

"Wow, how would you know that? Did she tell you about her cultivation that day?"

"No, I just felt that she is quite powerful. The Unbreakable Body Shield !" While they were talking, the match between White Sparrow Village and Black Crow Village ended without any surprises.

The contestant ranked second from White Sparrow Village used his first ring skill, "The Unbreakable Body Shield," to catch his opponent in his arms and apply his body force to defeat him. His element was earth, and with level 20 cultivation, he won his first fight amid cheers from White Sparrow Village. Meanwhile, the second match between Blue Stone Village and Black Crow Village also suggested that Black Crow Village would be defeated.

This match featured opponents of equal cultivation—both at level 16. However, the contestant from Blue Stone Village was a weapon master, wielding a pair of hand gloves, a very powerful melee weapon. Weapon masters tend to be a bit more powerful than seed masters at low levels because they possess strong physical defense and offense, whereas seed masters lack ring skills at levels like 10 or 20. That was why the contestant from Black Crow Village was having a hard time against the weapon master from Blue Stone Village.

After several moves, the weapon master from Blue Stone Village defeated his opponent and secured his first victory. The people from Black Crow Village looked quite unhappy because, in just the first round, they had suffered two defeats in a row.

"Village Chief Rick, it seems your village's luck is quite bad this time—you've already faced double defeat in the first fight," commented the chief from White Sparrow Village to Rick. "It's only the beginning; the real match is yet to come. Why is Village Chief Ben in such a hurry to judge the match?"

"Let's just see—the results will be in front of everyone," Elder Jake from the Water Dragon Sect interrupted their conversation. One after another, three matches occurred, and six contestants were eliminated from the 28. In the fourth round, Leo from Black Crow Village was assigned to a match against a contestant from Blazing Inferno Village in the first stage. In the second stage, a contestant from White Sparrow Village was set to fight Kane from Blazing Inferno Village.

Leo secured victory in just a few moves because his cultivation was at level 19—just like Kane's—and his element was wind, which favored speed and flexibility. However, Kane's opponent from White Sparrow Village had a cultivation level of 18. Kane used his sneaky attack—the same tactic he had employed against Arya in the final—and achieved his first victory.

"Congratulations!" When Kane stepped down from the stage, Arya and his team congratulated him.

"Thanks, but it wasn't necessary," he replied as he took his seat. "It seems that White Sparrow Village has some very powerful cultivators," Arya remarked to Kane.

"Yes, the minimum level their team possesses is 16, and you can see how well they've prepared for this competition."

In the fourth round's first fight, it was Arya versus Lee, as Elder Jack announced Arya's name. "It looks like your fight is going to be tough. Be careful—Lee is also a second-ranked fighter from Blue Stone Village."

"Hmm, thanks for the information. What is his cultivation level?" Arya asked.

"I don't know his exact level, but I can confirm he doesn't have two seed rings."

Arya walked up to the stage, and from the other side, another contestant also stepped forward. In the fourth round's second fight, someone from Blue Stone Village faced an opponent from White Sparrow Village. Based on the information Arya had received, this must be the other two-ringed cultivator from White Sparrow Village.

"Huh… just level 17? It seems I'm not as unlucky as I thought," remarked the contestant opposite Arya, whose cultivation level was at 19, after seeing Arya as his next opponent.

Overall, in Arya's seven-round fight, there was only one opponent who could really put pressure on him and potentially defeat him—the third two-ringed fighter from Blue Stone Village. If Arya pushed his limits and revealed all his advantages, he might secure a top-three position. However, going beyond that did not seem feasible, because once he revealed all his cards, the other two-ringed seed masters would know his abilities all too well.

Moreover, exposing all his abilities wasn't an option due to the presence of the unknown guest from Water Dragon Academy. Even though the top-three position was very alluring, the odds were against Arya. After weighing the pros and cons, he decided to remain low-key for a few more years. Although the top-three and top-one rewards were significant and would benefit his village, the potential loss outweighed the gain. For instance, while the opportunity to join Water Dragon Academy and win a white-grade seed stone was attractive, it wasn't enough to force him to expose all his abilities and invite endless trouble.

The opportunity to join Water Dragon Academy was valuable because it could provide resources and help cultivate faster. However, he also had the option to join a normal-ranked academy through his father's arrangements, and with his wisdom, he could achieve great things on his own. As for the white-ranked seed stone, it wasn't that enticing because he planned not to use it for his second seed choice.

In fact, his choice was not even an uncommon seed stone—it was a rare seed stone for the second seed ring, which was nearly impossible to obtain for two reasons. First, the market price for a common-ranked seed is around 150 to 170 black-white coins, which equals about 5 to 6 pink coins—a very large amount even for Bryan, Arya's father, though it might be affordable for one or two needs. As for an uncommon-ranked seed, its price is around 30 black-pink coins (equivalent to 1 black-red coin), and some well-skilled uncommon seeds can cost even more pink coins. Finally, the price for rare-ranked seed stones starts from 50 black-red coins and can go up to 90 coins.