Chapter 522: A Gamble

After a series of intense battles, the results of the first of the knockout round were finally confirmed. Shi Mu was ranked 36th on the list.

This was the result Shi Mu aimed for. After confirming that he had successfully entered the second round, he conceded to an elder disciple who was in his last stage of cultivation.

Among the new disciples, Zhao Ji’s journey was like an oak tree. He had eventually defeated several elder disciples and became the undisputed leader. Throughout all of his matches, including the last one, he never had to resort to using the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art to win, which everyone had expected.

Zi Ling performed equally well in her battles with her famed magical techniques, which landed her at 11th place in the rankings.

Among those Shi Mu knew of was Qing Zhangtian, who ranked 27th. Jiang Shuishui placed 40th and Chinizi ranked 87th in the ranking.

One of the upsets that surprised Shi Mu was the Wu Brothers of the Wu Clan. It shocked him that both of them ranked 105th and 107th. They barely made it into the top 108.

Shi Mu had thought something like that might happen eventually. After all, the two brothers had always fought side by side. Their individual strength was no match for the rest of them. In this grand championship, they were not allowed to join hands in their fights, which resulted in them falling behind in the rankings.

If one were talking about strength, Lu Jing should have been able to enter the top 108. Nevertheless, he was out of luck when he came up against an opponent like Shi Mu. Having lost that fight, he placed 120th in the end, disqualifying him from the second round of the championship.

As for Ma Long, she had bad luck ever since the first round where she battled an elder disciple who possessed great strength. In the following battles, her performance was mediocre, and she wound up being 912th among all disciples of the Holy Land of Qinglan. At such a rank, she was in danger of losing her rights as a disciple and being banished from the Holy Land.

The schedule of the grand championship was tightly arranged. After the end of the first round, there was only a single day of peace before the second round of the championship began.

Going by these results, the top 108 winners of the first round would compete among themselves, so it was considered one of the most anticipated rounds in the grand championship. The number of people watching the battles this time had greatly increased as well.

The cyan block that was initially placed in front of the Qinglan Ranking had been replaced by another cyan block that was many times larger than any other platform. It was placed high so that everyone could watch the battle.

About half an hour before the battles began, the square hall had filled with crowds of people. They all surrounded the three floors of cyan blocks. No one was able to move among the crowds.

However, there was still nobody at the high platform behind the ring. The disciples that were kicked out of the knockout rounds came over to watch the battle, still high on fighting spirit and passion.

At the corner of the crowd, Shi Mu stood still at his tracks.

Cai was on his shoulder, gazing at the lively scene before him excitedly.

“Hey Shi Mu, this platform is really big! Wow! Look at the water-attribute spirit women over there! Speaking of which, which one of them will be your opponent? You better not mess this up in front of everyone!”

“Be quiet or you’ll end up in the spirit bag,” Shi Mu said as he gently tapped Cai’s head.

Cai’s body trembled at Shi Mu’s words. He immediately kept its mouth shut, but his beady little eyes continued to skim over his surroundings.

Shi Mu brows were slightly wrinkled. He originally had no intention of bringing Cai along, but the bird had insisted and gone on whining for hours. He had no choice but to bring him along just so he would stop and be quiet.

He heard a sharp female voice come from the side.

“Big brother Shi Mu, there you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

Shi Mu turned to see who it was. It was none other than Ma Long, looking at him with a big smile on her face.

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“Lady Ma Long, congratulations on passing the round,” Shi Mu said.

“Compared to your results, mine are not even worth mentioning. Today is the survival round. With the abilities brother Shi Mu possesses, you will definitely do well,” Ma Long said confidently as he looked at Shi Mu. She then shifted her gaze to Cai, perched on Shi Mu’s shoulder.

“These top disciples are natural geniuses with great talents. I won’t say that I’ll win for sure, but I’ll try my best,” Shi Mu said with a grin.

“Shi Mu, look at how lively this place is. It looks like someone is taking bets. Let’s go take a better look, shall we?” As Shi Mu and Ma Long were conversing among themselves, Cai suddenly muttered in Shi Mu’s ear.

As soon as both Shi Mu and Ma Long heard the bird’s suggestion, they immediately turned their heads toward the direction he spoke of.

There were a few tables not far away and on them were numerous betting slips. Several individuals in green robes were seen standing in front of the tables. The situation seemed to be serious.

“This… the Holy Land of Qinglan is considered one of the most authentic sects, yet they allow such behavior openly?” Shi Mu said.

“Oh, how ignorant of you! The management of the disciples of Qinglan is far more important than one could understand. It may be gambling, but it’s harmless. In fact, it boosts their morale. Naturally, the elders of Qinglan are not all that bothered.” Suddenly, a figure appeared next to Shi Mu. The person was none other than Qing Zhangtian.

“Brother Qing, you sure move like a silent ghost. If anyone ended up as your enemy, they would have to be extra careful,” Shi Mu said with a smirk as he turned to him.

Qing Zhangtian nodded at Ma Long in greeting. “Brother Shi Mu, it appears that you’re extremely relaxed. I guess you’ve prepared yourself well?” He said, smiling.

Shi Mu shook his head and said, “Brother Qing knows how to joke around. As far as I know, most of these elder disciples have been immersed in the Holy Land for more than a hundred years now. However, it is not comparable to the new disciples in the first round. Although I possessed a decent amount of strength, it doesn’t seem to have been enough.”

“Shi Mu, the gambling looks interesting. Let’s go take a gander,” Cai suddenly interjected.

Qing Zhangtian glanced at Cai and said, “This parrot seems to be brother Shi Mu’s spirit pet. To have a spirit pet with such vast knowledge is a rare and unusual occasion.”

Cai returned Qing Zhangtian’s stare and then turned away arrogantly.

Shi Mu shook his head and said.

“This parrot has no other skills aside from being noisy and greedy. It is embarrassing.” Shi Mu laughed.

“Haha! If brother Shi Mu is interested in gambling, let’s go take a look at it together. I’m itching to try my luck as well and earn some spirit stones in the process. Oh, I forgot to mention that the person in charge is a thousand-year disciple and his credibility is fully guaranteed,” Qing Zhangtian stated as he walked toward the tables.

Shi Mu’s eyes flashed and he followed right behind Qing Zhangtian with Cai cheering in anticipation on his shoulder.

Seeing this, Ma Long turned around and decided to come along as well.

They were countless people surrounding the tables. However, there was nothing related to gambling on them.

Qing Zhangtian came over with Shi Mu and Ma Long as they squeezed through the crowd and ended up separated.

A middle-aged man with a bulky figure loudly announced, “Everyone, today is the survival round, and we were unable to release the contents of the rounds in advance over the past few days. However, I can assure you that as soon as someone issues a challenge, we will immediately start the betting here! I promise that there will be a bet for every round to satisfy your needs!”

“Great!”

“If brother Duan Muguang says so, we will surely trust in it!”