On the other side, at the registration area for the tournament.
After receiving his registration token, Ye Xiaofan and Ye Xiaoyue walked straight to a corner of the Martial Arts Arena.
Waiting there were mostly individual participants without background connections, with teams that were uneven, unlike those teams allied by family, which appeared superior.
Logically, if he hadn't been expelled from the Ye Race, he would have been standing in the ranks of Ye Xiaotian and others at this moment. But unfortunately, he no longer belonged there.
As nine bell chimes echoed, Ye Xiaofan stood among the crowd, his gaze instinctively scanning the entire Martial Arts Arena.
He saw the grand and magnificent Star Moon City's Martial Arts Arena packed with a sea of people, the arena circular in shape, surrounded by ten viewing stands.
In the center of these stands were towering platforms, the arenas for the Star Moon City tournament.
There were a total of ten platforms, allowing ten matches to occur simultaneously. On the viewing stand in the east, numerous sect elders with overwhelming auras were already seated; some sat upright while others rested with closed eyes, exuding an intimidating presence.
The most unfathomable among them were the three elders of the Divine Sects, seated at the center: Divine Sword Sect, Yunlan Sect, Li Yang Sect.
Following the three Divine Sects were more than a dozen top-tier sects and countless sect elders and disciples, whose purpose this trip was to select talented awakeners in the tournament, to find fresh blood for their sects.
The annual Star Moon City tournament naturally began with a few words of introduction.
The City Lord of Star Moon City personally went on stage to deliver a speech, passionately igniting the atmosphere of the entire venue.
Before long, everything proceeded as planned.
According to the rules, the tournament commenced from the lowest level, starting first with Profound Spirit First Layer awakeners, followed by Profound Spirit Second Layer, and so on.
The initial stages of the tournament were unimpressive, with many sect elders not even bothering to watch. Although occasionally an outstanding participant might catch the attention of a few top-tier sects, most awakeners were still recruited by smaller sects.
It wasn't until the tournament reached the fifth stage, involving Profound Spirit Fifth Layer awakeners, that it became the highlight of the annual Star Moon City tournament.
At this point, even some top-tier sects grew restless, witnessing the phenomenon of several top-tier sects simultaneously extending olive branches to exceptionally gifted talents, eager to recruit them.
These awakeners were indeed the true prodigies of Star Moon City, the top-tier talents among the pyramid of gifted awakeners.
For instance, Zhao Yan from Zhao Village, with an eighth-level Martial Soul Black-scaled Leopard, early stage of Profound Spirit Fifth Layer, demonstrated exceptional combat prowess, being courted by four top-tier sects before ultimately joining the Black Rock Sect.
Above the Profound Spirit Fifth Layer, participants were indeed as rare as phoenix feathers.
"From Star Moon City, Long Aotian!"
"From Ye Village, Ye Race, Ye Xiaotian!"
At a particular moment.
As Ye Xiaotian first stepped onto the platform, he caused a sensation throughout Star Moon City.
"It's Ye Xiaotian from Ye Village and Long Aotian from the Long Family of Star Moon City, a showdown of prodigies. Who's stronger, I wonder?"
"It's hard to say. Although that young guy from Ye Village has a high Martial Soul level, facing Long Aotian, it's hard to tell who'd come out on top."
Many local residents of Star Moon City discussed it animatedly; it was well-known that Ye Xiaotian awakened a ninth-level Martial Soul, but Long Aotian also had a high Martial Soul, being an eighth-level Martial Soul Snow Wolf King.
Though Long Aotian's Martial Soul was at the eighth level, his background far exceeded that of a rural village offspring; whether in terms of cultivation techniques or resources, they weren't in the same class.
"Brother Ye, let me see what a ninth-level Martial Soul looks like?" Long Aotian sneered with a slight upward curl on his lips.
Ye Xiaotian replied bravely with a smile, "Brother Long, let's see all you've got."
Both were brimming with confidence, and after exchanging polite words, they suddenly raised their eyes, sharp glints flashing, as their Profound Spirit Fifth Layer aura exploded, spiritual power wreaking havoc across the platform.
In an instant, everyone was invigorated, and even elders from the top-tier sects showed interest.
One had to admit, these two were rare prodigies, captivating the crowd at their mere appearance.
Especially Ye Xiaotian, whose temperament and talent were outstanding, a clear indication of a promising cultivator.
"Who is this young fellow?"
An elder from a top-tier sect, sensing the aura emanating from Ye Xiaotian, inquired about his identity.
"Reporting to the elder, he appears to be an offspring from a rural village named Ye Xiaotian, who awakened a ninth-level Martial Soul Nine-headed Flood Dragon."
"Oh? So this is the young man who awakened the Nine-headed Flood Dragon?"
Upon hearing that Ye Xiaotian had a ninth-level Martial Soul, many great sect elders took serious notice. As for Long Aotian's details, they were already well aware.
Indeed, anyone who had awakened a high-level Martial Soul had already been noted by these sects even before arriving, with some top-tier sects specifically attending for a particular individual.
For example, the Divine Sword Sect came for Nangong Jianchen, known as the foremost prodigy of Star Moon City.
And Yunlan Sect came for the heavenly maiden Shangguan Wan'Er, reputed to rival Nangong Jianchen as first among equals.
However, this did not prevent them from recruiting capable awakeners.
Evidently, despite Ye Xiaotian and Long Aotian not yet making their move, many sects already viewed them favorably.
"Brother Xiaotian, go for it!"
Below the platform, members of the Ye Race were breathing heavily, and even elders like Ye Wuyuan couldn't help but feel their heartbeats quicken. Ye Xiaotian's achievements today depended entirely on this platform.
Ye Xiaotian, of course, understood the importance of this battle.
In the Star Moon City tournament, no one would hold back their strength on the platform.
Because at this moment, everyone was watching—they were being scrutinized by tens of thousands of eyes.
Only by showcasing enough talent would the competitors have a better chance to enter powerful sects, allowing them to learn more potent cultivation techniques and obtain top-notch cultivation resources, hence soaring to greater heights.
There were also significant differences between sects.
Taking a deep breath, Ye Xiaotian slowly gazed at the silhouette standing on the peak of the mountain outside the city, couldn't help but clench his fists, secretly vowing to win the Sword Saint's favor.
Retracting his gaze, Ye Xiaotian subtly rotated his sword, initiated the offensive, and fiercely thrusted a sword toward Long Aotian.
The terrifying spiritual power infused into the blade burst forth with earth-shattering momentum.
"Just in time!"
Seeing his opponent being so aggressive from the onset, Long Aotian naturally refused to be outdone, brimming with fighting spirit. He wielded a Profound Shield and Cold Blade, his massive build allowing him to use his size advantage as he blocked the sword with his left hand shield.
BOOM—!
The clash between sword and shield erupted with a deafening boom, the entire platform instantly erupting with spiritual power, terrifying upon unfolding, causing countless cultivators to gasp in shock.
Long Aotian blocked the sword, following through with a slash of his Cold Blade towards Ye Xiaotian.
Seeing this, Ye Xiaotian suddenly lifted his gaze, twisted his sword edge, and clashed with Long Aotian's blade.
The speed of both fighters was unimaginably fast, engaging in dozens of rounds in a blink of an eye, amidst a whirlwind of sword light and shadow on the platform.
Long Aotian's strength was no lesser than Ye Xiaotian's, coupled with both probing each other, it remained an even contest for a while.
However, countless times their swords and blades narrowly missed vital points, thrilling onlookers and causing waves of excitement among tens of thousands of spectators.
"A showdown of prodigies is indeed extraordinary."
Many people sighed in admiration, even high-ranking sect elders couldn't help but show eyes gleaming with appreciation.
Of course, elders with overly high standards admired the two while shaking their heads internally.
Even among the crowd, Ye Xiaofan could see through it.
They were certainly peerless geniuses rarely seen in a century, yet their combat experience was evidently lacking. If either had more battle experience, a winner would be decided much sooner.
Nonetheless, this was understandable, as they had just awakened their Martial Souls, and a lack of combat experience was natural, something sects could nurture later on.
On the platform.
Both fighters retreated simultaneously and instinctively halted.
The emotions of tens of thousands of cultivators swayed accordingly.
Because everyone knew that at this moment, the probing between Ye Xiaotian and Long Aotian had ended. What followed would be their absolute full-force attack—their most powerful strike.
Even Ye Wuyuan and others held their breath, Ye Xiaotian's outcome rested on this final sword.