After being reborn, all I want to do is run away.

Chapter 39 Increase the Stakes

"Silence!" the black-robed elder shouted sternly.

"The deacons will now distribute your assigned numbers. Remember them carefully!"

After the black-robed elder finished speaking, he stepped aside, and then dozens of black-robed deacons walked out from behind him and began to distribute tokens to the disciples.

Because there were very few people in Shen Xu's group, Shen Xu quickly got his number: 15! Wu Qi next to him got 13, and Wang Bu got 21.

After some time, the black-robed deacons had finished distributing all the tokens.

"I believe you have all received your assigned tokens. Now, I will read out the rules of the competition: Rule 1: You must not kill or maim a fellow disciple during the competition. Rule 2: You win the match by knocking your opponent off the stage or by having your opponent voluntarily surrender. Rule 3: You must not alter your tokens or conceal or misrepresent your cultivation level; otherwise, you will be considered to have forfeited your participation and will be severely punished by the Enforcement Hall. Rule 4:..."

As the black-robed elder read out the competition rules one by one, the atmosphere at the scene became increasingly solemn.

"Now that the rules have been read, do you have any further questions?" the black-robed elder asked solemnly.

All around was silent, with only the faint sound of the wind.

"Since none of you have any questions, I hereby declare the Green Bamboo Sword Sect's Outer Sect Competition officially open!"

As the black-robed elder's voice fell, a loud bell rang out throughout the Wind-Sounding Platform, instantly invigorating everyone.

"Now we'll proceed with the first round of drawing lots! Based on the number of participants, the rules are that before the top forty are determined, there will be no internal drawing within a group; the rest will be randomly drawn. The referee will draw two cards at a time, and the two drawn will become opponents."

Those who lose can choose to leave immediately, or they can choose to stay and watch on various platforms. As brave warriors who dared to participate in this competition, you have the right to have the best viewing angle.

Then dozens of black-robed deacons filed out and collected all the name tags except for one group. They then divided them into ten portions, put them into ten large boxes, and distributed them to the black-robed referees in front of the ten dueling platforms.

The set of name tags was divided into ten portions and packed into a small box.

With all preparations complete, the black-robed elder gave the order: "Begin the drawing of lots!"

Upon hearing this, the ten judges each drew a card from a small box and then another card from a large box.

"The first battle arena, eleven against seventy-nine."

"Second battle stage, seventeen against five hundred and thirty-one."

"The third battle stage..."

……

The referees' voices rose and fell, and soon all ten platforms had their corresponding owners. Shen Xu's number was not among them, but Wu Qi's was. However, with these rules, it was estimated that it would be his turn in the next round.

"Disciples whose names have been called, please come up to the stage!" the ten referees in black said in unison.

Shen Xu patted Wu Qi on the shoulder, and Wu Qi gave him a reassuring look before walking towards the seventh platform with a girl from the crowd.

As the contestants took their places on the ten dueling platforms, the referee gave the order, and sparks flew, swords flashed, and swords clashed. The stands gradually became noisy.

As the battle began, the atmosphere around them immediately became less tense. The black-robed elder seemed unwilling to interfere, so everyone became bolder and began to scatter to observe their favorite battles up close.

The board next to each platform had the number for the next battle written on it. Shen Xu saw his number on the fifth platform.

Since the first battles were all between Qi Cultivation Level 7 and Qi Cultivation Level 6 or 5, they were basically over in one move, which meant he quickly saw the battle on the fifth stage end.

After the two opponents left the fifth arena, Shen Xu stepped onto the arena, facing the gazes of those around him.

The view from above was undeniably excellent, offering a panoramic view of the entire Fengming Terrace. The familiar scenery brought back memories of his past life. He had been incredibly lucky that time, encountering Shen Guangjian in the very first round. No one would believe there wasn't something fishy going on.

Snapping out of his reverie, Shen Xu looked at his opponent, a young man at the sixth level of Qi Cultivation, but the young man seemed somewhat puzzled upon seeing him.

After everyone announced their draw numbers, the young man instantly got into the zone as the referee announced the start of the battle. He swiftly thrust his sword at Shen Xu, but this speed was child's play for Shen Xu. He easily dodged the attack by sidestepping and casually placed the scabbard on the young man's neck.

The young man seemed a little confused by what he saw, but he still bowed to Shen Xu and jumped off the stage.

"Fifteen against one hundred and thirteen, fifteen wins!" The referee announced loudly before placing the card representing Shen Xu into another small box.

"Who is this person? Is he also at the seventh level of Qi Cultivation? I've never seen him before," someone who didn't recognize Shen Xu asked.

"How dare you not recognize Shen the Gatekeeper of the Hall of Affairs! You're incredibly audacious!"

"Don't you dare bring trouble to Shen Xu. But when Shen Xu fought Mo Shan, he was only at the fifth level of Qi Cultivation! How long has it been and he's already at the seventh level of Qi Cultivation? It's unbelievable!"

"Could it be that he has been hiding his strength all along, and was already at the seventh level when he fought Mo Shan?"

"Very likely, but why would he hide his strength? At this point, he'll have to reveal his true power."

"Who knows what he's thinking! All I know is that his duel with Shen Guangjian is going to be interesting."

"That's right. I heard that if Shen Xu loses, he'll have to apologize to Shen Guangjian in public!"

What if Shen Guangjian loses?

"How could Shen Guangjian possibly lose? At most, he won in a less than elegant way."

"makes sense!"

Ignoring the surrounding chatter, Shen Xu stepped off the battle platform, where Wu Qi was already waiting for him.

"That was a beautiful win!" Wu Qi exclaimed excitedly.

"This is just an appetizer; the real main event is tomorrow!" Shen Xu said calmly.

"That's not necessarily true. There could still be some exciting battles this afternoon, since those ranked 40th and below at the seventh level of Qi Cultivation will also run into each other."

I counted, even with those five elder disciples, there are only twenty-eight people at the seventh level of Qi Cultivation. That means only twelve people at the sixth level of Qi Cultivation will fight us, and the rest will be at the seventh level of Qi Cultivation.

"And do you think the lottery back then was really random?" Wu Qi gave a meaningful look.

"Don't overthink it. As long as you're strong enough, you can beat anyone!" Wang Bu reminded him from the side.

"Of course you two think that way. It's just that I'm not good enough! If I want to get into the top ten, I need a bit of luck and scheming," Wu Qi complained.

"Forget it, let's not think about it too much. There are a lot of people to be eliminated in this round, and we probably won't finish in one day. What are your plans for the future?" Wu Qi asked.

“I want to go find Shen Guangjian!” Shen Xu replied.

"Huh? Why?" Wu Qi's eyes widened immediately.

"I want to raise the stakes," Shen Xu said slowly.