Chapter 843: Chapter 843: Rules of the Martial Arts Tournament (11th Update)

Amidst the crowd, Zhao Yi can be simple, even make beginner mistakes, but Liu Zixuan cannot.

On one hand, he must navigate the Four Great Clans and the Eight Great Powers, while on the other, he has to stabilize the martial artists of the Scattered Sects. If he makes a wrong step, he will immediately fall into the abyss of disaster.

The ones he is dealing with now are all sly old monsters, even craftier than foxes.

Take the Shi Family Patriarch who just left as an example. This guy is definitely not as simple as he appears. Behind the respect and flattery towards Liu Zixuan, he hides his wild ambitions!

For a martial arts tournament, it’s a competition for ordinary martial artists, but for someone like Liu Zixuan, it’s not just a battle of martial arts, but a battle of wits too!

As time passed, more and more martial artists gathered in the mountain stream.

Almost the mountainside, as well as the surrounding corners, were filled with people of all kinds.

Ye Lianyi looked around and smiled, "I used to think I had reached the top or even the entirety of the Martial Realm, but now it seems we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg."

Liu Zixuan nodded and said, "Who wouldn’t think so? Among the people standing here, more than half are strangers to me, and even with the Eight Great Powers and the Four Great Clans, I’ve only dealt with a few."

Zhao Yi asked beside him, "I’ve always had one question, the martial arts tournament is a major event in the Martial Realm, making any party within the Martial Realm act as the judge and host would be unfair. So who exactly will serve as the judge and host for such a grand venue?"

Zhao Yi’s question stumped Liu Zixuan for a moment.

He asked Ye Lianyi with curiosity, "Who recorded the previous tournaments?"

"Each tournament had different judges. As I mentioned before, the first one was hosted by people sent by the Imperial Court at the time, the second and third by the Alliance Leader of the Martial Realm at that time. After the Martial Realm dispersed, they were hosted by people selected from the Martial Realm and the Hidden Sects in the last two tournaments."

Ye Lianyi paused here for a moment, "But I feel that this tournament won’t be as simple, and it probably won’t follow the previous ways. Yet, I can’t think of a more suitable candidate at the moment."

"Let’s hope... it’s not our enemy." Zhao Yi said with piercing eyes, gazing around word by word.

After their chat, the entire mountain stream fell silent with the sound of a deafening drum.

An old man with white hair and a white beard walked to the middle, gave a slight smile to the surrounding crowd, and said, "Martial artists of the Star Sea have gathered here to participate in the martial arts tournament held every sixty years."

"With fifteen minutes to start, let me announce the rules, order, and the selection of judges and hosts for this tournament."

The old man’s voice was loud, echoing throughout the mountain valley without using any amplifiers or microphones, relying purely on inner strength to maximize his voice.

Such a method can only be achieved by an Emperor Realm expert!

This means the old man standing in the middle is a genuine Emperor Realm person! Whether he is Innate or Acquired, no one could determine that on sight.

As the old man’s words fell, people around turned their attention to him, waiting quietly for his next words.

Like a celestial, the old man stood there, lightly stroking the goat beard on his chin, and said with a forceful voice, "Since ancient times, the martial arts tournament has continued to its sixth edition, first held in the thirty-sixth year of Emperor Kun, every sixty years, just reaching this year at the peak of Celestial Spirit, precisely three hundred and sixty years in total!"

"In line with Celestial Spirit matching the Big Dipper and transforming the stars and land, this martial arts tournament will be the most exciting yet unique one. Whether in rules, order, or the future involvement of Hidden Sects, it will differ from the previous five editions!"

As the old man’s words fell, the crowd showed excitement, but more than excitement, there was anticipation, eager to see where this edition would be different.

But Liu Zixuan’s expression changed greatly. The various speculations with Ye Lianyi seemed to have all been validated one by one!

Everything was indeed related to the Big Dipper!

When he turned his head, he happened to catch Ye Lianyi’s eye. She gave him a subtle smile, and with a meaningful tone, said, "I think once it starts, you should restrain your cultivation technique a bit, and it’s best to suppress your realm."

The reason is simple. As long as Liu Zixuan encounters a strong opponent, he inevitably risks exposing the Star Array within the Star Map, at which point his secrets surrounding the Big Dipper will be completely laid bare.

Though few people know of the Seven-Star Tomb, some super-powerful martial artists have a rough notion about it.

If Liu Zixuan exposes the Star Map and the Seven-Star Tomb all at once, he will become the most unique character in the entire martial arts tournament; undeniable brilliance, yet troubles will follow endlessly!

Liu Zixuan nodded slightly and stood behind Zhao Yi. For him, deliberately hiding his strength and realm wasn’t difficult, but if he forced the suppression using a cultivation technique, those of higher realms might notice. Thus, he could only hide using the Holy Medical Scripture now.

Only those from the Medical Immortal Sect who practiced the Holy Medical Scripture could see through this concealment. Fortunately, the Medical Immortal Sect isn’t present now, so no one would discover it.

Just then, the old man began speaking again.

"Considering we are in modern times now, our martial arts tournament will also follow the trend, so the earlier stages will use an elimination system. To ensure fairness, there will be two main stages."

"The first main stage is where martial artists below the Imperial Realm Middle Stage will compete in separate PK rounds to determine the top ten. The second main stage is where martial artists from the Imperial Realm Middle Stage to below the Emperor Realm will compete in separate PK rounds to determine the top ten."

"For these twenty, there won’t be further ordinary martial artist duels. Instead, the judging panel will decide on another method for non-martial PK. Of course, in past tournaments, there have been exceptions, such as the Guiding Token!"

"When a martial artist holding a Guiding Token loses, they will still directly enter the non-martial PK mode. Furthermore, not only the holders of the Guiding Token but also the winners will immediately capture the attention of the Hidden Sects."

As the old man explained, everyone nodded, gradually beginning to understand.

Then, the old man laughed and said, "Two special points to mention, first, during this martial arts tournament, life-and-death agreements can be made, but they must be unanimously approved by the judging panel. Second, this martial arts tournament won’t only be attended by the Martial Realm, but the Hidden Sects will also send some martial artists to participate."

Boom!

As his words fell, there was an uproar all around. The disputes within the Martial Realm were already chaotic enough, and now hearing that the Hidden Sects would also send their disciples to participate, it would be even more chaotic!

Moreover, unlike before, life-and-death agreements could now be set. If encountering an unpleasant enemy, going for the kill would become acceptable...