After breakfast, the Dean and others went to the Martial Cultivation Hall again, but Zhou Hong and Changsun Ruoyan did not follow.
Changsun Ruoyan returned to her room to continue her body training, while Zhou Hong continued to wander around.
Just like that, another two days passed.
Finally, all the groupings for the Martial Cultivation Tournament were completed, and the ranking battles for each level officially began.
"Zhou Hong, Changsun Ruoyan, you two rest early tonight. Tomorrow morning, it will be your turn among the top ten to compete for rankings." On the evening of the second day, the Dean instructed Zhou Hong and Changsun Ruoyan.
"Okay!" Zhou Hong nodded, thinking to himself, it was finally their turn.
And so, the night passed uneventfully.
The next morning, Zhou Hong and the others arrived at the Martial Cultivation Hall early.
The Martial Cultivation Hall seemed exceptionally lively today because at nine o'clock this morning, the battle for the top ten would commence.
Who among the ten contestants who had entered the top ten would become first, second, or third, would soon be revealed.
At this moment, in Jinzhou City, Qiao Xiaoyu and others were all watching the live broadcast on their phones, their expressions filled with excitement.
"Zhou Hong, go for it!" Qiao Xiaoyu silently cheered in her heart.
"Everyone, please be quiet!"
At this moment, a referee suddenly shouted, and the bustling Martial Cultivation Hall fell silent. Everyone's heart raced as they looked at the arena.
"From today onwards, the ranking battles for each group will officially begin. This morning, we will hold the ranking battle for the top ten group."
"Ooh ooh ooh!" The audience present erupted in cheers.
"Next, please invite the ten contestants who have entered the top ten to step onto the stage."
"Clap clap clap!" Amidst thunderous applause, the ten contestants successively arrived on the stage.
Zhou Hong and Changsun Ruoyan were naturally among the ten participants.
Shouts echoed from the stands surrounding the Martial Cultivation Hall.
"Wang Jie, go!"
"Abu, go."
"Lanhua, go!"
Numerous spectators cheered for the geniuses they supported.
"Quiet!" The referee shouted again.
Finally, the venue became completely silent.
"Next, I announce that the battle for the top ten officially begins. The rule for the top ten battle is free competition. There are numbers 1 to 10 on the ground. Whoever grabs number one becomes the first place, whoever grabs number two becomes the second place. The time limit is one hour. Here, I hope everyone will do their best, understand their own strength, and not be overly ambitious. Don't think you can get first or second and blindly compete for first or second, only to exhaust your stamina and end up in the last place when you could have secured fifth or sixth."
"Alright, start the timer." The referee immediately pressed the timer.
"Changsun Ruoyan, you go directly for the first position, and I'll go for the second," Zhou Hong said to Changsun Ruoyan.
"Mhm!" Changsun Ruoyan looked confident.
Thus, Changsun Ruoyan immediately went to the first position. However, three other people had already rushed to that position.
And so, Changsun Ruoyan began fighting those three people.
Zhou Hong headed for the second position. However, several people were already fighting for the second position.
Zhou Hong shouted, "You guys get lost, second place is mine."
With that, Zhou Hong swept out with a kick, sending the people fighting away.
"What the hell!" Those who were fighting seemed startled when Zhou Hong so easily swept them all away.
Thus, Zhou Hong effortlessly secured the second position.
At this moment, at the first position, Changsun Ruoyan and the other three were locked in an intense battle.
However, at this moment, one of the men burst into laughter and said, "Sorry, the three of you, I'll reveal my hand. Actually, I'm a Martial Artist level forty-five. I'm not pretending anymore, hahaha!" As the man's laughter rang out, in the next second, Changsun Ruoyan and the other two were sent flying with a single move by this boastful person, crashing to the ground.
"Wow!" Everyone in the audience was shocked. The four of them had been fighting intensely, seemingly of similar strength, but unexpectedly, one young man revealed his hand and knocked the other three away.
"Hahaha, I'm sorry. Actually, I'm a Martial Artist level forty-five. I was just afraid of causing a stir, so I deliberately hid my strength. Now I'm not pretending anymore, I've revealed my hand, and first place is mine, hahaha!" The young man roared with laughter.
Changsun Ruoyan was dejected. She had thought it would be easy to get first place, but she never expected that three people would be of similar strength to her, all at Martial Artist level thirty-eight or thirty-nine. What she didn't expect was that one person she thought was of similar strength had actually hidden his power, reaching Martial Artist level forty-five.
Now it was impossible for Changsun Ruoyan to get first place.
The other two who had been competing for first place were also dejected. They were both second or third-tier geniuses from the capital, and their goal was first place, but their calculations were off.
Thus, those who failed to secure first place could only turn their eyes to the second position, where Zhou Hong was currently standing.
Zhou Hong was also speechless. He had thought Changsun Ruoyan would easily get first place, but the competition was far more intense than he imagined.
At this moment, Changsun Ruoyan glanced at Zhou Hong and helplessly shrugged. Zhou Hong had given her the first position, but unfortunately, she didn't have the ability to obtain it.
At this point, the two youths who failed to win first place walked towards Zhou Hong.
"Brother, take a step back. Second place doesn't belong to you," one of the youths said to Zhou Hong.
"Indeed, it doesn't belong to me!" Zhou Hong nodded and voluntarily gave up the second position. The reason he gave up second place was that he wanted to contend for first. Since Changsun Ruoyan couldn't get first place, he naturally couldn't let someone else take it. Revealing his hand, who couldn't do that?
"Thank you. It seems you're sensible. Go and compete for third or fourth place," one of the youths said to Zhou Hong, chuckling at his compliance.
And so, the two youths who failed to win first place immediately began competing for second place again.
Zhou Hong walked up to Changsun Ruoyan.
"I'm sorry, I asked you to give me first place, but unfortunately, I couldn't get it," Changsun Ruoyan said with a wry smile.
"It's alright. I also didn't expect someone this strong to be here."
"So, what do you plan to do now?" Changsun Ruoyan asked.
"Nonsense. We both represent Jinzhou University. Since you can't get first place, I can't let someone else get it, can I? I'll reveal my hand too."
With that, Zhou Hong walked towards the first position.
At this moment, the audience was looking at Zhou Hong with confusion, wondering what he was going to do by walking towards first place. He should have been competing for third or fourth, or even fifth or sixth.