Family Cultivation: Evergreen of the Song Family

"In the round of 13 to 7, we will have a significant advantage in the next round. Because of this, we may face more targeted attacks in the future."

Let's all share our thoughts. What should we do next?

Inside the main hall, Ji Shinian gathered everyone from Wanxiang Palace and asked them this question.

Ling Xiao slowly said, "Long Han is wearing the Azure Scale Armor, has the Azure Scale Winged Dragon to his aid, and also possesses the precious blood of the dragon race. We must defeat him with overwhelming force, otherwise we will likely fall into a disadvantageous position later. However, due to the influence of the precious blood of the dragon race in his body, his personality is extremely extreme, which is something we can take advantage of."

Although Zhao Yin and Ji Liangyu had made their moves, they were both very decisive and efficient, and little information could be gleaned from them. No one knew how many trump cards they were still hiding.

Moreover, I had a vague premonition that Ji Liangyu was even more dangerous than Long An.

Of the five people from the Ji family who participated, she was the only one who did not register a puppet, and she should not be viewed with a stereotypical perspective.

These three are our biggest obstacles on the road to the top three. Whoever encounters them must give it their all.

Of the remaining thirteen contestants, four are from Wanxiang Palace, giving them a very high chance of running into seeded players.

Currently, only Long An's weakness is relatively obvious, while the other two are like abysses shrouded in mist, making it impossible to discern their depths.

If he were to face a seeded player, he would prefer to face the ruthless Long An, as his chances of winning would undoubtedly be higher.

"We have gathered quite a bit of information in this round."

With only Li Yufeng remaining in Baiding Pavilion, who was originally a substitute, his strength is definitely below that of Li Chengye and others. Unless he draws the next 'bye', whoever encounters him will most likely advance to the next round and is not a threat.

Of the three members of the Beast Taming Sect, Xiong Tu was severely injured and had almost no chance of advancing to the next round.

However, Long An and Hu Lan are no ordinary people. If they both advance to the next round, it will have a huge impact on the semi-finals. Whoever wants to enter the semi-finals and face him may suffer a heavy blow. He is a complete madman.

Of the two finalists from the Tianshui Ji Clan, Ji Liangxuan's puppet was destroyed, and his own strength is not particularly outstanding. If he encounters a strong enemy, he will also have no chance to enter the next round.

In comparison, the Great Zhen Dynasty remains the biggest threat we need to face. Fortunately, the Ji family helped us eliminate the Third Prince Zhao Ai, which relieved a lot of pressure.

So, among the other major forces, only six people actually have a chance to enter the top seven.

Based on our current performance, unless we have extremely bad luck in the draw and face all the seeded players, at least two of us should be able to advance to the next round.

"Given my current state, I certainly won't have a chance to advance to the next round, but my [Phantom Wing Butterfly] Dharma Image has been cultivated to the Great Perfection realm. If I strike unexpectedly, I should be able to severely injure someone," Butterfly said calmly.

As mentioned at the beginning, these people were only there to support the seeded players, and she was very clear about that.

Therefore, she was prepared to pave the way for others from the very beginning. In the recently concluded qualifying round, despite her serious injury, she did not reveal her last trump card that she had been preparing for a long time.

She was born in the Myriad Stone Forest. From the day she was born, she was highly integrated with a trace of the true spirit of the [Phantom Winged Butterfly], and condensed the Dharma image of the [Phantom Winged Butterfly]. Therefore, her parents named her Rainbow Butterfly.

The Dharma Image has always been a trump card she has kept hidden.

Even within the Wanxiang Palace, very few people know about it.

She once used this trump card to severely injure a cultivator at the Great Perfection of the Golden Core stage.

Unless she faces the eldest prince Zhao Yin in her next match, she is more than 80% confident that she can severely injure anyone else by taking them by surprise.

If they can severely injure any one of those six people, Wanxiang Palace's chances of taking the top three will increase by at least 30%.

"I still have one last sword strike to draw, which I can use to severely injure someone if I have the chance," Baili Yuntu said calmly.

His tone was calm, yet full of confidence.

Unlike Cai Die, he has a real chance of advancing to the next round. Apart from the seeded players, he has a chance of defeating the others. This confidence comes from his more than two hundred years of studying sword formations.

Therefore, his use of the word "severe blow" was actually directed at those seeded players.

If only two people can advance in the next round, then the best candidates are Song Changsheng and Ling Xiao. If necessary, he is also willing to play a supporting role.

Both of them have already expressed their opinions, so the only thing Song Changsheng and Ling Xiao need to consider next is advancing to the next level!
……

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and everyone returned to the Cloud Arena within the allotted time.

The referee for the grand competition was still True Lord Yingyue from the Array Dao Academy, and the process was the same as the previous qualifying rounds.

However, before the start, all contestants faced the most rigorous checks from the five True Lords and the referees. This was to prevent anyone from taking any drugs that could stimulate their potential or anything else that could affect the competition during the rest period.

Although such a thing has never happened before since the Five Academies Competition, caution is never a bad thing, and this is to ensure the absolute fairness of the competition.

"The second round of the Five Academies Grand Tournament will now begin with the draw. All participating cultivators, please come forward together."

Yingyue Zhenjun took out the divination tube and presented it to everyone, saying, "There are thirteen divination sticks in the tube. Twelve of them are blank, and the remaining one is the 'passing the round' stick. If you draw this stick, you can advance directly to the next round without participating in this round of competition."

The lottery will be conducted first by the Vientiane Palace branch.

Song Changsheng and the others reached out to draw lots. As the faction with the most surviving players, their chances of drawing a "bye" were still very high.

But when they eagerly showed their jade slips, they found them blank; there were still no "bye slips".

The lottery tubes were passed around in order, and the Beast Taming Sect also failed to draw a winning ticket. When it reached the Hundred Cauldrons Pavilion, Li Yufeng sighed and, after much deliberation, drew a jade ticket. However, he did not continue his previous good luck and did not draw a "bye ticket".

He helplessly showed the jade token in his hand to the people of Baiding Pavilion without saying a word.

The Grand Elder of Baiding Pavilion patted his shoulder heavily and said earnestly, "It's alright. What's meant to happen will happen. We can't rely on luck forever. Just do our best."

The divination sticks spun once more, and Ji Liangxuan drew a jade stick with great anticipation, only to find it blank. He then glanced at Ji Liangyu beside him, who had the same result.

This means that the "bye" has fallen into the hands of the Great Zhen Immortal Dynasty. The contestants present couldn't help but feel a surge of anticipation. If it was that person who drew the ticket, it wouldn't be unacceptable.

Zhao Yin casually picked one up and found that the character "免" (meaning "exempt") was clearly written on it.

"Congratulations, Your Highness."

The students from Zhulu Academy immediately stepped forward to offer their congratulations.

Zhao Yin's face remained expressionless as he casually tossed the jade slip into the divination tube and asked, "What's so gratifying about it?"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other, momentarily at a loss for words.

Yes, with Zhao Yin's strength, this "bye" is indeed like a chicken rib to him; he is confident that he can defeat all his opponents.

If the prize were given to the other two, it would actually provide the Great Zhen Immortal Dynasty with some protection, and he might even be able to use it to eliminate a powerful enemy ahead of time.

The much-anticipated "bye" system has become a useless burden in the hands of the Great Zhen Immortal Dynasty. What is a divine treasure to them is worthless to us.

It has to be said that this result is somewhat ironic.

For the Great Zhen Immortal Dynasty, this result is undoubtedly a disguised form of self-inflicted damage.

But for the other contestants in this round, this is definitely good news.

The process of narrowing down a team from 13 to 7 is already quite brutal. With one less seeded player, the chances for the rest of the team have increased considerably.

Since they came to participate in the Five Academies Conference, all the contestants certainly wanted to go further on this highly anticipated stage, and even Li Yufeng, who was recognized as having "caught the wave," was no exception.

"The second round of the draw will now take place!"

As soon as Yingyue Zhenjun finished speaking, he simultaneously drew two jade slips from the divination tube.

"Li Yufeng, instructor of the Baiding Pavilion branch, versus Ji Liangxuan, instructor of the Tianshui Ji Clan branch."

These words stunned not only the cultivators of the Hundred Cauldrons Pavilion, but also the strange looks of the cultivators watching the battle.

If Li Yufeng wants to advance to the next round, besides drawing a "bye" draw, he has only one chance: to face Ji Liangxuan.

Of the three injured cultivators on the field, Cai Die still had a backup plan, Xiong Tu also possessed a spirit beast, and only Ji Liangxuan's puppet was completely destroyed, which was equivalent to losing an arm for a puppeteer.

With only a dozen or so contestants, the odds were extremely slim, but he just happened to be one of them; luck had smiled upon him once again.

"Fellow Daoist, this junior is quite lucky," Xuanji Zhenjun said in a cryptic tone.

In contrast, the Ji family's luck in this year's draw was truly terrible. If Ji Liangyu hadn't been strong enough, he would probably have been ranked behind Baidingge again.

Although Qianlian Zhenjun felt helpless, he outwardly refused to back down and said, "Luck is also a part of strength."

"Ah."

……

Even though Li Yufeng was just a substitute, someone who could break through to the Golden Core stage at this age and reach the mid-stage of the Golden Core was no ordinary talent. Among the cultivators of the same generation in the Hundred Cauldrons Pavilion, he could at least rank in the top three, and in the entire Hundred Cauldrons Pavilion branch, he could rank in the top six.

In addition, he had been conserving his energy and strength, and had not revealed his trump cards.

Against Ji Liangxuan, who had lost his puppet and was severely injured, it was undoubtedly his victory in the duel.

From a substitute to the top seven in the Five Academies Grand Competition, and to win so easily, is an extremely rare occurrence in the history of the Five Academies Grand Competition.

Fortunately, Li Chengye and the others were still recovering from their injuries and did not arrive at the scene. Otherwise, seeing this, they would probably want to crawl into a hole in the ground and disappear.

"Song Changsheng, instructor of the Myriad Phenomena Palace branch, versus Xiong Tu, instructor of the Beast Taming Sect branch!"

Song Changsheng was stunned. He had actually received the same treatment as Li Yufeng and encountered Xiong Tu, who was seriously injured. What was the difference between this and being recommended for admission?
"That's great! In that case, as long as Martial Uncle can advance, a top-three finish is guaranteed!" Cai Die said with delight.

"This can be considered as collecting some interest for Fellow Daoist Gu in advance. Fellow Daoists, I'll be right back."

Before he finished speaking, Song Changsheng had already flashed into the air and bowed to Xiong Tu, who was pale-faced, saying, "Song Changsheng, a member of the Wanxiang Palace branch."

"If I were in my prime, I might not be much weaker than you. You're just lucky today."

After saying that, Xiong Tu looked directly in the direction of the referee, True Monarch Yingyue, and said, "I concede!"

They simply chose to concede defeat.

Although Gu Xueying had done the same thing before, she had at least made three moves and caused Long An to bleed.

To concede defeat without even making a single move is unprecedented in the history of the Five Academies Grand Competition.

For the Beast Taming Sect, which has always acted with arrogance, this was undoubtedly a great humiliation.

However, this was a helpless move made by the elders of the Beast Taming Sect after careful consideration.

Against an ordinary opponent, given Xiong Tu's current condition and his spirit beast at its peak, even if he loses, it won't be a humiliating defeat.

But he happened to run into Song Changsheng, and the Myriad Manifestations Palace and the Beast Taming Sect had just formed a grudge in the previous round of the competition.

Long An made no attempt to conceal his words afterward, and everyone present heard them.

Similarly, Song Changsheng made no attempt to conceal his earlier statement; he had come here specifically to collect interest.

No one dared to gamble on whether he would actually kill.

Song Changsheng, a man who could destroy a mid-grade fourth-tier living puppet in two moves, could completely cripple Xiong Tu in this state, even if he only had one chance to strike.

Therefore, there is no other way but to admit defeat.

No one dared to gamble with the life of Xiong's most outstanding genius of our time, even in such a humiliating way.

"Song Changsheng, the instructor of the Wanxiang Palace branch, wins. Next match: Ji Liangyu, the instructor of the Tianshui Ji Clan branch, will face Hu Lan of the Beast Taming Sect!"

The faces of the elders of the Beast Taming Sect instantly darkened. Although Hu Lan was strong, how could he be a match for Ji Liangyu?

What was originally a favorable situation has suddenly turned into only Long Han remaining.

It has to be said that their luck with the draw this year has been extremely bad. So far, they haven't gained an advantage at all, and instead have been repeatedly ravaged by Zhao Yin, Ji Liangyu, and Song Changsheng.

In just the second round, the Hundred Cauldrons Pavilion, the Ji Clan, and the Beast Taming Sect each had only one person left, a first in all previous Five Academies Grand Competitions.

This year's Five Academies Competition is only halfway through, and we don't even know how many first places have been won, which gives us a glimpse into its brutal nature.

As one of the top three geniuses in the Beast Taming Sect, Hu Lan believed before the match that even if he couldn't defeat Ji Liangyu, he could still severely injure her and remove an obstacle for Long Han.

It's a pity that the ideal is very full and the reality is very skinny.

Ji Liangyu eliminated him without injury in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, just like when he faced Zhao Ai.

"Ji Liangyu, instructor of the Tianshui Ji Clan branch, wins. The next match will be between Ling Xiao, instructor of the Wanxiang Palace branch, and Long Han, instructor of the Beast Taming Sect branch!"

These words caused an uproar among those present.

...(End of chapter)