Chapter 248 – The Second Round Begins … … … The snow fluttered in the falling light and the icy wind was chilling to the bone. Crown Prince Yang Lin had a thick golden-purple cloak draped over his body, he was waiting patiently on a thick wooden chair. The truth was that Yang Lin didn’t have to stay here to listen to the message as it came. As long as the Total Faction Martial Meeting victory report arrived, thousands of sound transmitting talismans would instantly light up and the report would be sent to important figures of all the great power players. Tomorrow, the national newspaper of Sky Fortune City would publish the results. The reason that Yang Lin personally insisted on waiting here was besides Qin Ziya, there was no one else that was more concerned about Lin Ming’s results than him. His destiny had already been tightly bound together with Lin Ming. Now that Ouyang Dihua was dead, as long as Lin Ming’s influence increased just a little bit, his chances of winning the throne were that much higher. Outside the temple, there were many disciples of the Seven Profound Martial House waiting, many of them being the new disciples that had entered the Seven Profound Martial House through the entrance exam. The words that Instructor Hong Xi had said to them had left a very deep and shocking impression on their young minds, and they had braved the chilling cold to stand here because they believed that they would be able to witness a historic moment. The results from the Total Faction Martial Meeting wasn’t only related to the glory of Sky Fortune Kingdom’s Martial House, it also had a very important political significance and it represented the power of the country’s martial artists. The dazzling successes of the young martial artists was a manifestation of the nation’s strength. If they could reach a result that was up to the standards of the Seven Profound Valleys, the Seven Profound Valleys would also increase the resources allotted to Sky Fortune Kingdom. Although the Seven Profound Valleys was a blood sucking vampire, they weren’t completely merciless or without foresight. If a country could prove its value, then the Seven Profound Valleys would be willing to help elevate it. For instance, Huoluo Nation, Grace Venerate Nation, and some of the 16 martial cultivation families like the Zhang Family were like this. In summary, the Seven Profound Valleys would use their resources in a way to maximize efficiency. It would not waste any resources on the weak and the wasted. In the sunset of early winter, the clouds were thick in the sky, and the dark night fell sooner. There were some maids near the altar that had lit candle lamps under the shade. In such cold weather, these maids that had no martial cultivation could not stay warm, no matter how much they wore. Even though there was shelter, the light was erratic and the snow sporadically fell, turning into small droplets of water that wet the lamp paper. Just when everyone was beginning to become anxious, the sound transmission array suddenly activated, and the 36 true essence stones began to light up one at a time. Yang Lin immediately stood up, looking unblinkingly towards the sound transmission array, his ears at full attention. A sound transmission array was different from a sound transmission talisman, everyone around it would be able to hear the message. As the light of the transmission array began to reach a peak, the sound of Qin Ziya’s voice was emitted. “Qin Xingxuan was off by two necessary wins. She can go no further in the group stages.” “Ling Sen won 12 and lost 3. His results in group six qualify him to take part in the next stages. He has entered the top 100.“ “Lin Ming… all matches were complete victories. He is first in the qualifying group and he has entered the top 100!” Even though Qin Ziya was usually tranquil, his voice still trembled as he said Lin Ming’s results. All matches were complete victories! This was a glory that had never happened ever since Sky Fortune Kingdom was founded! For the countries ranked in the middle of the 36 countries, it was already a cause worth rejoicing if they had a talent that could pass the mountain gate trial every 2 or 3 Total Faction Martial Meetings. A local talent of Sky Fortune Kingdom hadn’t passed the mountain gate trial in the last 15 years! But now, the three disciples, Lin Ming, Ling Sen, and Qin Xingxuan, had all crossed the mountain gate trial. Not only that, but Lin Ming and Ling Sen had both passed the first group stage. What was even more riveting was that Lin Ming had passed by having a complete victory! What kind of glory was this? Even Huoluo Nation had never achieved something like this! “All matches, complete victory? If it really is a complete victory, then Lin Ming has just created a Sky Fortune Kingdom record!” The Heavenly Abode Elder Sun Sifan gleefully laughed. He was probably the Elder in the Seven Profound Martial House that had the best relations with Lin Ming. He had supported the newbie Lin Ming during the time of the entrance examination when he had achieved first place. Now, Sun Sifan believed that this was the wisest decision he had made in his entire life. Compared to the laughing Sun Sifan, Yang Lin sank back into his chair. His hands were trembling as they gripped the armrest. This revealed his inner excitement and roiling emotions. Yang Lin was absolutely the most overjoyed person here. Someone like Lin Ming with such a strong and pure heart of martial arts would never be ungrateful and renege on a promise that he had made. As long as there wasn’t an accident, Yang Lin would be able to smoothly inherit the throne. Yang Lin had already been waiting too long for this day. Although everybody looked up to him as the Crown Prince and they were in awe of what a great position he had, no one actually understood the pain, doubt, and fear that pierced Yang Lin’s deepest feelings. Once the struggle for the throne began, there was no turning back. Once he walked down that harsh path, there was no redemption if he fell. Even his own mother’s and sister’s life were tied together with his. It was as if he were walking on a tightrope every day and living in abject fear of the future’s possibilities. But now that he finally saw the dawning sun, how could he not be excited? The new Seven Profound Martial House disciples also cheered as they heard the news. They had braved this cold wind in order to stand here because they were part of the Linmaniacs that had taken Lin Ming as their idol. To them, they would never envy Lin Ming’s glory, they would only admire and respect him. Hu! Hu! Hu! Several dozens of sound transmitting talismans simultaneously lit up at once, rapidly circulating the joyous news. Because of the distances, series of sound transmitting talismans were used. These ordinary sound transmitting talismans could only work in a hundred mile range. A large sect could use high-grade sound transmitting talismans that could send messages tens of thousands of miles, but Sky Fortune Kingdom naturally wouldn’t have this sort of sound transmitting talisman. As one batch of sound transmitting talismans burned out, the second batch was lit! In the dark night, the dancing flames of the sound transmitting talismans became increasingly brilliant and gorgeous. Yang Lin took a deep breath. Watching these burning flames, he suddenly thought that this sight was extremely beautiful… ………………………………………… Next day, Profound Sky Mountains – It was a new day and a new martial stage. There were less matches today, but the matches were much more intense. The matches were still arranged without drawing lots, the referee was the one who organized the brackets. This was to arrange the various participants based on their strength, and so that the extremely formidable seeded participants wouldn’t meet ahead of time. Lin Ming had been placed in the seventh group, and this group also had ten people. Within these ten was actually a direct disciple of the Array Faction, Fang Qi. In addition, there was also the Mirage Faction’s Bi Tinghua. In this group of 10, every disciple had to fight in 8 matches, there would only be one person they wouldn’t battle. The match between Lin Ming and Bi Tinghua was said to be inevitable. Even though two strong participants like Lin Ming and Bi Tinghua would meet, this would be replicated across many martial stages. Out of each group, the participants would be divided again based on their final result. The top three would enter the first tier, the next three would enter the second tier, and the remaining four would enter the third tier. With ten groups, there would be a total of 30 people in the first tier. Although these 30 people weren’t considered to be the top 30, there wouldn’t be much difference. When the time came for the round robin tournament, the final result would be decided by points. In that case, the first place participant in the first tier would become the champion of the Total Faction Martial Meeting. The second tier would also carry out a round robin tournament. The top ten rankerd of the second tier would earn the qualifications to challenge the rankings of the first tier disciples. If they won, they might be able to advance into the top 30. But, it would basically be impossible for them to reach the top 20. The third tier was the same except they could earn the qualifications to compare to the second tier. In short, this current group stage was extremely critical, it would directly decide the final result of a contestant. Whether a carp fish could become a dragon would all be decided here! If one wanted to struggle for the top 20, they would have to at least reach the first tier! This time, unless one was a talent on par with a direct disciple, there was no way that they would be able to hide the extent of their strength. The first tier of each group only had three people. After deducting a spot for the seeded player, there were in fact only two spots that the disciples could struggle for. With nine people competing for 2 spots, and not only that, but with these 9 disciples being top-tier geniuses that had passed through layers and layers of screening, the intensity of the competition could be imagined. “First match! Jing Chanyu against Zi Ling! With the referee’s announcement, a woman activated her movement technique and jumped onto the stage, her clothes fluttering in the wind just like a heavenly fairy maiden that was riding the surging waves. The woman’s face was covered with a thin light gauze veil, but it was still possible to faintly make out the image of her face. Although she wasn’t considered to be a heavenly beauty, there was actually something mysterious about her that was extremely fascinating. Qin Xingxuan was slightly stunned. She said to Lin Ming in a low voice, “That’s Jing Chanyu from Grace Venerate Nation. She’s the sister of the brother sister pair from Huoluo Nation, the two of them are called the Jingchan Duo, and they are more famous than you right now.” Grace Veneration Nation was an extremely mysterious country. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that they were the strongest country within the 36 countries. The whole population of Grace Venerate Nation believed in a goddess named Chan. In Grace Venerate Nation, the theocracy was above the imperial throne. If the Emperor ascended the throne, he also needed to be crowned by the leader of their church. Lin Ming guessed that this ‘goddess’ named Chan had a very high possibility of being someone like the Southern Wilderness’s Sorcerer. She might have been a Supreme Being that had appeared in ancient times and left behind some inheritances and legacies after flying towards the Realm of the Gods. With her good fortunes and lucks that she left behind, this would have been the reason for the power of Grace Venerate Nation. The Jingchan Duo’s compensation rate for becoming the top champions of the 36 countries was 1:2. As for Lin Ming, his odds had been 1:6. After he handily defeated the Refiner Faction’s Sun Dong, his compensation rate had dropped to 1:3. Although his odds were good, he was still overshadowed by the Jingchan Duo. This caused Lin Ming to have a wondering curiosity about these twins. What was exactly so great about them? Seeing Jing Chanyu step on stage, the audience was stirred into a furor. Especially the male disciples, their interest towards Jing Chanyu far surpassed everyone else. The obsessive light from their eyes was nearly visible. “I heard that she is only 18 years old and this is her first time participating in the Total Faction Marital Meeting. I wonder what rank she’ll reach in her first time!” “She might be the next Zhang Yanzhao!” “Up until now there hasn’t been an opponent that has disturbed her calm, no one has even managed to take her veil off, it really is indescribable. Such a beautiful girl, it’s a pity she’s wearing a veil… ” As the people hollered in excitement, all of their eyes were focuses in Jing Chanyu. Suddenly, the referee announced, “Match, start!” Everyone hesitated. Mm? An opponent hadn’t appeared on stage yet, where was Zi Ling? “How come there’s only Jing Chanyu on stage?” Qin Xingxuan asked, also puzzled. She looked at the martial stage in confusion. Lin Ming smiled at her and said, “Zi Ling is already on stage. It’s just that she went on earlier and she’s hiding in distorted light so she can’t be seen so easily.” “What? How is that possible?” Qin Xingxuan was shocked. Isn’t this just invisibility? The path of martial arts truly diverged and converged into endless profound paths, any strange and wonderful phenomenon could occur. At this moment, an indifferent voice could be heard from behind them, “Zi Ling is a talented disciple of the Mirage Faction. She is able to manipulate light to deceive the eye. During the last Total Faction Martial Meeting, she attained a 56th ranking. Now after three years, it looks quite promising that she’ll reach the top 30.”