Chapter 78: Chapter 72: The Grand Competition Begins
Chapter 78: Chapter 72: The Grand Competition Begins
Bai Xiaodong and Qian Yun nodded, each taking turns speaking, "The three family competition was moved up because during the ancestral worship, the Ancestral Land accidentally opened."
"After the Ancestral Land opened, it is said that thirty Pass Tokens flew out from within the land. Family members of the three families who are under twenty and possess these tokens will be able to enter into the secret realm within the Ancestral Land to seek great fortunes and creations."
"The three family heads announced that the competition would be held in advance. Those who place in the top thirty in the competition will receive a Pass Token to enter the Ancestral Land!"
"Ye Chen, it is said that entering the Ancestral Land, one might obtain a Secret Treasure, and perhaps even gain a great chance to step into the Spirit Sea Realm in the future!"
"For so many years, no one from our three families has managed to step into the Spirit Sea Realm. This opening of the Ancestral Land is a major opportunity for our family. The family heads and the elders value it immensely, which is why they moved the family competition up to select candidates for the Ancestral Land!"
"The three-family competition will take place in six days. We two may not have the strength to break into the top thirty; we are just returning to watch the excitement. Ye Chen, with your True Qi at the seventh layer, you might have a chance to try and break into the top thirty!"
"When the time comes, if you really can enter the Ancestral Land, remember to tell us all about it. Never thought we'd encounter the opening of the Ancestral Land in our lifetime!"
"I really don't know what's inside the Ancestral Land."
Talking about the Ancestral Land, the faces of Bai Xiaodong and Qian Yun were filled with longing.
The words of Bai Xiaodong and Qian Yun made Ye Chen understand the arrangement of the three families.
The opening of the Ancestral Land offered only thirty spots for entry, and these thirty candidates would be selected through the three-family competition.
Once someone places in the top thirty of the competition, they could enter the Ancestral Land.
This arrangement seemed quite fair, the stronger the strength, the greater the possibility of gaining fortunes and creations in the Ancestral Land, so naturally, the family would want to choose those with stronger abilities to enter.
Those descendants who had rushed back to the family from various places were either coming back to watch the big spectacle or to participate in the three-family competition, striving for a chance to enter the Ancestral Land.
"Secret realm of the Ancestral Land."
Ye Chen repeated these four words in his mind.
As a child, he had heard that their three families had once saved an injured figure of great significance. After recovering, as a token of gratitude, this figure bestowed upon the three families a secret realm within the Ancestral Land.
Inside this secret realm were great trials, opportunities, and creations.
Only those among the three families could enter and seek these fortunes, which was essentially the repayment from that significant figure.
According to clan records, the Ancestral Land had opened five times in the past, and each time, those who entered the secret realm acquired precious treasures that significantly enhanced their strengths, even allowing the birth of Spirit Sea Realm powerhouses within the three major families due to the opportunities provided by the Ancestral Land.
As the years passed and the three families declined, the Ancestral Land had not opened for hundreds of years. Now, to his surprise, Ye Chen was facing the sixth opening of the Ancestral Land.
"As a descendant of the three families, it is natural to enter and see for myself what the Ancestral Land that opens once every few hundred years is like."
"Who knows, I might be able to find some fortune inside, just like our ancestors, and enhance my strength once again!"
"For the upcoming three-family competition, I'll seize one of the spots for entry!"
Ye Chen made up his mind to participate in the three-family competition to earn the right to enter and explore the secret realm of the Ancestral Land!
In four months, Ye Chen was scheduled to go to the Taixuan Sect to participate in the selection for True Disciples.
Right now, he was in dire need of improving his strength.
Encountering the rare opening of the Ancestral Land, of course, he had to participate.
Not only would he participate, but he was also determined to acquire fortunes and further enhance his power!
"Ye Chen, what do you think? Are you confident about making it into the top thirty of the three-family competition?" After speaking about the opening of the Ancestral Land, Bai Xiaodong turned to Ye Chen and asked.
"Yeah, Ye Chen, among us three, you have the highest cultivation level. We can only rely on you to explore the Ancestral Land. We two don't have much hope," Qian Yun also looked at Ye Chen.
Ye Chen looked at Bai Xiaodong and Qian Yun, nodding with a smile, "The top thirty of the three-family competition? No problem."
Seeing Ye Chen confidently assert there was no problem, Bai Xiaodong and Qian Yun were both taken aback.
"Haha, Ye Chen, you sure are a lot more confident than before!"
"That's good. In six days, we'll participate in the three-family competition together!"
The two were not very sure about Ye Chen's chances of getting into the top thirty of the family competition, but since Ye Chen was so confident, they were naturally very happy.
What they didn't know was that Ye Chen's current strength was so formidable that not only was he likely to be in the top thirty of the family competition, but even the first position was highly probable!
...
After parting ways with Bai Xiaodong and Qian Yun, Ye Chen continued towards home with his parents and Tao'er.
Ye Chen's parents and Tao'er, upon hearing about the three-family competition and the opening of the Ancestral Land from Ye Chen himself, were also highly anticipating the event that was to take place in six days.
Especially knowing that Ye Chen was going to participate in the three-family competition, the three of them couldn't wait for that day to arrive, to witness Ye Chen's performance in the family competition!
They were aware of Ye Chen's current strength, and had no doubt whatsoever that he could rank in the top thirty of the family competition.
What they were curious about was how high Ye Chen would rank in the three-family competition.
As soon as they got home, Ye Chen immediately immersed himself in cultivation.
He cultivated "Gang Yuan True Qi" internally while externally he practiced the two profound-grade martial arts "Wind Sword Skills" and "Wind Movement Skills."
While cultivating, he awaited the arrival of the grand competition between the three clans.
The safe return of Ye Chen's parents also caused a great stir within the entire Ye Family clan; the Ye Family's elderly patriarch personally inquired how they managed to escape the clutches of that Spirit Sea Realm individual.
When he learned that the Spirit Sea Realm's Zhou Yuntian had died and that his affairs were connected to Fairy Jia Luo, a supreme being from the eastern domain of the Heavenly Wind Kingdom, the old patriarch was shocked for half a day.
Hearing from Ye Chen's parents about how strong Ye Chen had become, and even Fairy Jia Luo's high regard for Ye Chen, the old patriarch longed to meet with that young lad Ye Chen, whom he hadn't seen in several years.
It was only after learning that Ye Chen was preparing for the family competition that he put aside the thought of summoning him.
"Just see during the family competition how powerful that young lad Ye Chen really is!"
"Over these years, the strength of our Ye Family has gradually been surpassed by the Bai Family and the Qian Family. The Bai Family has a talented girl, Bai Xiaodie, who is now at the eleventh layer of the True Qi Realm, and there is Qian Ming from the Qian Family, also at True Qi eleven. Our Ye Family's most powerful youth is only at True Qi nine."
"I hope that young lad Ye Chen can bring us a surprise. If it's like Xiaotian and Lin Rin said, perhaps Ye Chen can contend with Bai Xiaodie and Qian Ming!"
The old patriarch also began to look forward to the family competition six days later.
...
During Ye Chen's cultivation, as countless people awaited the arrival of the grand competition between the three clans, the days passed by, one after one.
Three days before the competition, the majority of the three clans' external members had already returned.
Two days before the competition, Qian Ming, the strongest of the Qian Family, returned from the Taixuan Sect, and after more than half a day, the talented girl Bai Xiaodie from the Bai Family was personally delivered back by a Spirit Sea Realm senior sister from Peach Blossom Valley, the foremost sect of the Heavenly Wind Kingdom's Southern Region, causing a major stir in her family.
On the last day before the grand competition, aside from a few family youth who were journeying outside and unable to return, all young members of the three clans had returned to their families.
Among these people, the young ones with prominent reputations all returned!
Everyone was waiting for the day of the grand competition between the three clans.
And as the sun rose again after setting, the most important day for the three clans, the day of the grand competition, finally arrived!
Early that day, Ye Chen was roused by Bai Xiaodong and Qian Yun.
Ye Chen's father, Xiaotian, his mother, Lin Rin, and the young girl Tao'er, had all washed up early and were ready to head to the Martial Arts Plaza to watch the competition.
When they arrived at the plaza, it was already crowded with people; nearly all the members of the three clans had gathered there.
The plaza was packed with no fewer than ten thousand people!
Countless individuals looked forward with great anticipation to the official start of the competition.
In the crowd, various young ones set to participate in the competition were excitedly warming up, ready to enter the fray.
"Ye Chen, look, that's Bai Xiaodie!"
"Having not seen her for years, she's become even prettier!"
When Ye Chen, Bai Xiaodong, and Qian Yun squeezed into the crowd of competitors, Qian Yun immediately noticed a girl standing out like a crane among chickens.
The girl was dressed in a bright yellow athletic outfit, her figure alluring, with a pretty face, and jet-black hair that reached her waist tied into a ponytail, giving her a neat and valiant appearance.
She was Bai Xiaodie, the most conspicuous young girl from the Bai Family's younger generation.
"Bai Xiaodie."
Ye Chen looked at the girl, recalling scenes from his childhood embedded in his merged memories.
In those days, he, along with Bai Xiaodong and Qian Yun, would train daily at the Martial Arts Plaza to strengthen their bodies and refine their energies in preparation to open their Qi Sea Acupoint. Back then, the person they most enjoyed watching was Bai Xiaodie, who practiced earnestly every day.
It wasn't just them -- many young members of the three clans loved watching Bai Xiaodie practice.
On one hand, Bai Xiaodie was extremely talented from a young age, opening her Qi Sea Acupoint at eight and quickly becoming the fastest learner in the three clans' younger generation on the plaza before joining the foremost Peach Blossom Valley sect in the Southern Region of the Heavenly Wind Kingdom.
On the other hand, Bai Xiaodie's beautiful face and status as the granddaughter of the Bai Family patriarch naturally drew the attention of countless young boys.
Now, seeing Bai Xiaodie again, Ye Chen, unlike Qian Yun and Bai Xiaodong, wasn't looking at her on account of her beauty. While Bai Xiaodie was indeed extraordinarily beautiful, she was slightly less so compared to Jiang Yao.
Ye Chen just thought back to the past with a faint smile.
In the crowd, Bai Xiaodie, the object of many young boys' attention, wasn't paying attention to anyone else; she was waiting quietly, waiting for the competition to start.
Someone like Bai Xiaodie who attracted so much attention, as well as others from the younger generation like Qian Ming, with True Qi at the eleventh and tenth layers, were potential candidates for champions in the grand competition and naturally drew attention.
Compared to them, Ye Chen and his companions such as Bai Xiaodong and Qian Yun hardly got noticed.
Just as the young participants and the onlooking crowd from the three families were eagerly anticipating the start of the competition, three figures flew directly to the high platform of the Martial Arts Plaza.
These figures were the patriarchs of the Ye, Bai, and Qian Families!
The arrival of the three patriarchs excited everyone on the Martial Arts Plaza.
They knew that the grand competition between the three clans was about to begin!