The Hidden Dragon Ranking Selection Tournament.
The first day of the competition.
Today was the group stage.
Countless young cultivators were divided into three hundred groups, simultaneously participating in the "Group Preliminary Rounds."
Yun Tianzhong and his companions were assigned to Group 188.
They needed to endure twenty rounds of intense battles and win them all to advance to the "Ranking Tournament."
Regarding this, Yun Tianzhong and his group were brimming with confidence.
On the first day of the competition, Little Spirit Monkey King was kept aside and did not enter the stage.
The monkey was very displeased about this.
"Jiji ji, jiji ji..."
What did that mean? Did they look down on me?
Yun Tianzhong explained with a chuckle.
"You are the secret weapon, meant to be saved for last. This minor skirmish doesn't require your involvement!"
Upon hearing this, the monkey finally smiled in satisfaction.
Yes, that's right, I am the secret weapon, the grand finale!
After pacifying the monkey, Yun Tianzhong instructed Yun Tiankong.
"Cousin, you'll make the first move later. For now, hold back the Invincible Heavenly Sword. I will assist you from the side!"
The "Invincible Heavenly Sword" was a Postnatal Spirit Treasure and one of their trump cards.
Yun Tianzhong did not want to reveal his trump card too early.
In his estimation, the initial opponents would not be too formidable. With the combined efforts of himself and Yun Tiankong, they could win even without using the Postnatal Spirit Treasure.
However, Yun Tiankong soon discovered that he had "miscalculated."
The first match.
On the competition stage, an deacon from the "Heavenly Mystery Holy Land" served as the referee and announced the start of the match.
Yun Tianzhong, Yun Tiankong, and Yun Zhaozhao prepared for battle.
Their opponents hailed from a sect in the northwest called the "Wild Wolf Gang."
These three "Northwest Wolves" were ferocious and launched their most aggressive attacks from the outset.
Then, the unexpected happened.
Whether due to excessive excitement or some other reason, a magical artifact wielded by a "Northwest Wolf" standing at the back struck a "Northwest Wolf" in the front.
The "Northwest Wolf" in front was immediately struck unconscious.
However, before he lost consciousness, his most potent talisman had already been successfully activated.
Rumble!
Crackling!
Endless flames surged upwards!
Boundless lightning descended from the heavens!
Heavenly lightning and earthly fire!
The three "Northwest Wolves" immediately suffered the consequences. Their attacks landed perfectly, all of them on themselves.
Some "Northwest Wolves" were burned black all over.
Some "Northwest Wolves" were charred inside and out by the lightning.
Had it not been for the intervention of the "Heavenly Mystery Holy Land" deacon at the last moment, each and every one of these three "Northwest Wolves" would have perished!
Absurd!
Utterly, utterly absurd!
The crowd below erupted in jeers and mockery!
"Hiss, pathetic! Hurry up and go home!"
"Peh, what Northwest Wolves? I call them Northwest Dogs!"
"Attacking themselves, incapacitating themselves, a legend for all time!"
...
While mocking the "Northwest Wolves," the crowd marveled at how lucky Yun Tianzhong and his group were!
They actually won like this!
Their opponents defeated themselves, and Yun Tianzhong's team gained a massive advantage, smoothly winning the first round.
This victory was too easy!
How envious!
Such incredible luck!
Was it luck?
Yun Tianzhong let out a wry, somewhat helpless smile.
He had miscalculated. He had truly miscalculated.
He had thought that even the weakest opponent would at least be able to exchange a few blows with him and Yun Tiankong. He never expected, absolutely never expected, that the opponents would defeat themselves right from the start, their victory utterly inexplicable!
Everyone believed it was Yun Tianzhong's group's good fortune!
Yun Tianzhong did not think so.
He glanced at Yun Tiankong, who stood not far away.
Perhaps it was bad luck.
If Hao Ren were here, by activating the "Nine Dragon Sacred Emperor Qi" cultivation technique, he would have been able to see the "black misfortune" above Yun Tiankong's head intensify even further.
The "black misfortune" was like a ferocious, grasping virus, constantly radiating outwards, eroding...
Those three "Northwest Wolves" were actually quite capable. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't have made such a rookie mistake.
However, they had been entangled by the "black misfortune."
Their minds were muddled, their spirits listless.
Confused, they began to attack themselves!
A tragedy!
The first "friendly fire incident" came to a temporary close.
Soon, Yun Tianzhong and his group faced their second match.
This time, their opponents were from the "Three Revolutions Sect" in the northeast.
These three cultivators were full of ambition, vowing to make a name for themselves at the "Hidden Dragon Ranking Selection Tournament."
The result... as they ascended the stairs, the steps suddenly broke, and all three of them fell.
Normally, a cultivator falling wouldn't be a big deal, at most a little embarrassing.
But, where they fell happened to be precisely at the trigger point of the "arena's protective barrier." A powerful transparent light screen rose, bouncing the three of them back, causing their true essence to be violently agitated and their meridians to shatter, all three sustaining severe injuries.
The "arena's protective barrier" was originally intended to shield the spectators below from the residual effects of combat.
Who could have foreseen such an event?
Utterly preposterous!
Regardless, the three cultivators from the "Three Revolutions Sect" were now unable to continue the match normally. They could still cough up blood, of course...
And so, Yun Tianzhong and his group once again won "inexplicably."
Yun Tiankong frowned in confusion.
"What's going on with these people? They seem so strange?"
Yun Tianzhong gazed deeply at his cousin.
Cousin, your influence is growing stronger and stronger!
If he were to say this had nothing to do with Yun Tiankong's misfortune, Yun Tianzhong would never believe it.
Yun Tiankong's misfortune was growing more ferocious by the moment.
Yun Tianzhong instinctively moved a little further away from Yun Tiankong.
The third match.
It was even more absurd.
Yun Tianzhong's opponents never even showed up for the match.
The reason?
The three opponents' minds had apparently gone haywire. They suddenly felt that the competition was meaningless. Since they couldn't achieve a good ranking anyway, why not make a grand gesture instead of making a wasted trip!
How to make a gesture? What to do?
Steal from the "Heavenly Mystery Holy Land"!
That's right, you read that correctly. These three Foundation Establishment cultivators, who knew how much courage they had consumed, were preparing to perform a "zero-cost shopping spree" at the "Heavenly Mystery Holy Land."
The result? As soon as their "third hand" reached out, they were apprehended by the guards of the "Heavenly Mystery Holy Land."
The three were beaten within an inch of their lives and unceremoniously thrown out of the "Heavenly Mystery Holy Land!"
Match qualification?
Naturally, it was revoked!
What right did these scumbags have to enter the "Hidden Dragon Ranking"?
Begone!
And so, Yun Tianzhong and his group "yet again" won inexplicably.
Yun Zhaozhao yawned languidly.
Although it sounded a bit "showy," competing like this was truly boring.
The miraculous performance of Yun Tianzhong's "small team" immediately attracted a lot of attention.
Everyone affectionately referred to them as the "Lucky Squad," and they discussed with great interest, how much longer could this "Lucky Squad" continue to be so fortunate?