"Xiner, you’re pacing back and forth. How come you seem even more nervous than I am?" 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Under the moonlight, Hong Yuan looked at Ye Xiner pacing around the large banyan tree and said with a smile.

The cool night breeze blew, lifting Ye Xiner’s long black hair and brushing it across her face.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, looked at Hong Yuan in surprise, and said, "The competition starts tomorrow. Our two families have been preparing for a full eighteen years! How could I not be nervous?"

"And then there’s you, how come you look so confident, as if you have everything perfectly under control? Hmm, are you hiding some secret from me?"

Seeing that Ye Xiner couldn’t calm down for a moment, Hong Yuan looked up at the moon again and gently shook his head. "Secrets? There are none."

"It’s not that I’m overly confident; I just understand that being nervous is useless."

As he spoke, Hong Yuan clasped his hands behind his back.

A bright red blood-light circulated through his ten fingers. He lightly tapped the void, and immediately, a cloud of blood-red powder merged into the air.

A light breeze picked up, and Ye Xiner immediately felt an intense wave of drowsiness.

She yawned and, while struggling to keep her eyes open, instructed Hong Yuan not to be careless. Then she walked towards her bedroom.

Under the cold moonlight, only Hong Yuan remained.

Hong Yuan looked up at the moon, a gleam of blood-red light in his eyes. This resplendent Mingyue, as it happened, shared a rather profound connection with him, Hong Yuan.

「...」

The annual competition of the Luochen Ye Family was not much different from those of other families. It involved an open selection, then group-based elimination matches, and finally, the determination of a champion.

Among them, those who ranked in the top five would earn the qualification to travel to the main family to train.

Whether one had the ability to remain in the main family long-term depended on individual Creation.

The competition within the main family was a hundred times, a thousand times, even ten thousand times more severe than that of a branch family!

Because the Ye Family was one of the Four Great Families in the Divine Continent of the Southern Border!

"Gu Fan, you’ve been assigned to Group A. As long as you avoid Ye Qianmei, you’re sure to advance to the next round," Ye Xiner held several white pieces of paper and cheerfully told Hong Yuan.

Hong Yuan didn’t stand on ceremony and directly accepted the intelligence.

When he saw that the strongest, Ye Qianmei, was only at mid-level Tier 3, the corners of his mouth twitched imperceptibly.

A mid-level Tier 3 at thirty... even if she goes to the Ye main family, she probably wouldn’t get much good training. Hong Yuan thought.

In the eyes of the outside world, reaching mid-level Tier 3 at the age of thirty was considered quite talented.

But to a power like the Ye Family, a Divine Continent-level force, such aptitude was utterly lacking!

Even within the Phoenix Creek Sect, it would be difficult to be selected for a True Transmission position.

Except for the rare few Martial Artists who were late bloomers, most achieved breakthroughs through courageous and diligent progress, advancing triumphantly.

However, Ye Qianmei’s strength was indeed enough to gain an edge within the Luochen Ye Family.

DONG! DONG! DONG!

Two hours later, accompanied by the sound of bells, young people from the Luochen Ye Family, aged sixteen to thirty, began to enter the arena in succession, ascending different platforms.

And Hong Yuan, amidst Ye Xiner’s encouraging words, headed towards Platform No. 6 in Group A.

The official raised a small rod and struck the copper drum sharply. "Ye Gufan versus Ye Yizhong, begin!"

Ye Yizhong was a robust man dressed in blue Martial Artist attire.

Once the match began, he wielded the red-tasseled spear in his hand like a venomous snake, thrusting directly at Hong Yuan.

"Hmph."

Hong Yuan snorted coldly, drew the snow-white Longsword from his waist, and boldly met the attack.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG—

The sound of weapons clashing echoed continuously.

For a moment, Hong Yuan fought evenly with Ye Yizhong, his peak Tier 2 opponent; neither could claim an immediate advantage!

"Gu Fan, don’t get hurt—"

Watching this perilous scene, Ye Xiner gripped her pink silk handkerchief tightly, cold sweat beading on her forehead.

Her heart was entirely captivated by the battle!

Fifteen minutes later, Hong Yuan, drenched in sweat, thrust his sword forward, knocking Ye Yizhong’s red-tasseled spear away.

He secured victory by narrowly defeating Ye Yizhong by a single move.

Ye Yizhong wiped the sweat from his forehead and laughed heartily. "Thrilling! Ye Gufan, you are truly a hero. I hope you can continue and carry my hopes forward."

Hong Yuan was speechless internally. Brother, if I didn’t have to act reasonably to achieve a flawless performance, I would have swept you away long ago.

Though he thought this, Hong Yuan bowed with clasped hands and said, "Yizhong, your Spear Skills are exceptional. If we were to fight again, the outcome would still be uncertain."

Their eyes met, and for a moment, a sense of mutual admiration arose between them.

After defeating Ye Yizhong, Hong Yuan continued with this calculated performance.

Along the way, he won each match with apparent difficulty, and with his peak Tier 2 strength, he stumbled into the top ten.

When the crowd realized Hong Yuan was just one step away from entering the top five, they were all shocked and found it hard to believe.

"’What’s going on? How did Brother Gu Fan get into the top ten?’" exclaimed the Luochen Ye Family members who hadn’t paid much attention to Hong Yuan, suddenly taking notice.

"’Although Ye Gufan’s aptitude is mediocre, his combat strength is not to be underestimated. He is a formidable expert tempered in blood and fire. However, I’m afraid he’ll have to stop at the top ten,’ a clan elder with a sharp eye commented.

Ye Xiner, with a radiant smile, grabbed Hong Yuan’s large hand tightly and shook it happily. "This is great, Gu Fan, we’ve finally reached this step! Just one more, and we can ascend to the main family. Even if not this year, we’ll definitely make it next year!"