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As soon as Lan Nianhua spoke, the entire venue fell silent.
Immediately afterward, murmurs erupted from the audience stands as discussions broke out everywhere.
"This… isn't appropriate, is it? After all, he's not the host of this Soul Master Exchange Tournament."
"Tch, what's inappropriate about it? He's the one who provided a hundred-thousand-year spirit bone as the prize for the champion. So what if he wants to handle the draw?"
"Besides, his disciples are merely Soul Sects. Even if they possess ten-thousand-year spirit rings, so what? Among the direct disciples of the Upper Three Sects, which Soul King doesn't have a ten-thousand-year fifth spirit ring?"
Voices rose in debate—some felt that Lan Nianhua handling the draw was perfectly reasonable, while others insisted it was a breach of decorum.
However, their opinions carried no weight against Lan Nianhua's decision.
From the Upper Three Sects' seats, Gu Rong, Tang Xiao, and Yu Yuanzhen exchanged quick glances.
"What should we do? Should we allow him to handle the draw?"
"He's the provider of the hundred-thousand-year spirit bone. It wouldn't be inappropriate for him to do so. We really have no grounds to refuse."
"It's no big deal. We have more participants—do we really need to fear underhanded tricks? Even if it comes down to sheer endurance, our disciples can exhaust his four students."
After a silent exchange, the three agreed that Lan Nianhua could handle the draw.
Gu Rong stood up with a beaming smile and said, "Of course, that would be fitting. Since the champion's prize comes from you, the honor of drawing the lots naturally belongs to you as well."
Lan Nianhua gave him a faint glance, catching the mockery hidden in his tone.
"Hmph, fine. I'll let you prance around for now. When the time comes, we'll see who has the last laugh."
And since he truly did intend to manipulate the draw, he didn't bother expressing any hostility toward Gu Rong.
Still, his so-called manipulation was limited to ensuring that his four disciples—Oscar, Zhu Zhuqing, Dugu Yan, and Meng Yiran—wouldn't face one another too early.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Lan Nianhua raised his hand toward the two boxes on the arena stage.
In an instant, sixty-four streaks of silver light burst forth from within the boxes.
Name-engraved plaques shot into the air like heavenly decrees, colliding midair with sparks.
One by one they paired off, swiftly forming the brackets for the upper and lower halves of the competition.
The plaques floated in the air, their names glowing dazzlingly under Lan Nianhua's deliberate control.
Even from a considerable distance, every contestant could clearly make out the names on the plaques.
With a wave of his hand, Lan Nianhua said indifferently, "It's done. The matchup chart is ready—let the matches begin."
At his words, the participants hurried to check their assigned opponents.
Oscar, Zhu Zhuqing, Dugu Yan, and Meng Yiran all revealed astonished expressions as they read the matchups.
This arrangement placed Oscar at the very top of the upper bracket (participant #1) and Zhu Zhuqing at the bottom (participant #32). Similarly, Dugu Yan was at the top of the lower bracket (participant #33), and Meng Yiran was at the very bottom (participant #64).
If all four of them advanced, they would only encounter each other in the semifinals.
Clearly, this was no coincidence—Lan Nianhua had arranged it intentionally.
Yet this arrangement actually aligned with the original intentions of the Upper Three Sects.
Upon noticing this, Gu Rong sneered coldly. "Hmph. Lan Nianhua, is this because you're so confident in your disciples, or because you're looking down on the direct disciples of our Upper Three Sects?"
"No matter what, this outcome only benefits us," Tang Xiao reminded him.
Yu Yuanzhen said in a low voice, "Enough. Let's see how Lan Nianhua has assigned opponents to his disciples."
At his words, Gu Rong and Tang Xiao immediately looked back at the matchup chart.
Of course, they weren't focused on Oscar and the others' opponents, but on the matchups involving their sects' strongest disciples.
After all, those were the ones most crucial to seizing the hundred-thousand-year spirit bone.
If Lan Nianhua had arranged for their top disciples to clash in the very first round, that would have been tantamount to eliminating them from the competition entirely.
But once they examined the matchups, Gu Rong, Tang Xiao, and Yu Yuanzhen all breathed a sigh of relief.
Their strongest disciples hadn't been set against one another directly.
Even if they all continued to advance, they would only meet in the semifinals or finals.
Lan Nianhua watched their shifting expressions with amusement.
"The competition hasn't even begun, and already they treat the championship as if it belongs to them. They truly don't take me seriously, do they?"
But he didn't feel the slightest anger—because there was no need for it.
For him, this Soul Master Exchange Tournament was only a chance to let Oscar and the others gain more combat experience.
In fact, he had not only ensured that the four of them wouldn't clash early but had also carefully assigned them specific opponents.
Among them, Tang San's matchup had naturally been arranged as well.
Once all opponents were confirmed, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan arranged multiple arenas to run several matches simultaneously.
Elders of the sect served as referees.
Following the floating matchup chart, the disciples called out loudly:
"First match, Oscar versus XXX. Contestants, enter the arena!"
"Second match, Tang Long versus XXX. Contestants, enter the arena!"
"…."
"Seventh match, Tang San versus…"
Lan Nianhua's lips curled into a faint smile. For the well-known names, he had arranged easy opponents for their first battles.
The only exceptions were Tang San and Dugu Yan—both of whom had been given opponents of equal renown.
Tang San was matched against Feng Xiaotian.
Dugu Yan was matched against Yu Tianxin.
These were the two most anticipated matches of the opening round.
When Gu Rong, Tang Xiao, and Yu Yuanzhen heard the names, they finally snapped back to their senses.
Just moments ago, they had been calculating how to claim the championship and win the hundred-thousand-year spirit bone fair and square.
Tang Xiao frowned and asked with concern, "Xiao San's first opponent is Shenfeng Academy's Feng Xiaotian. Can he win?"
"He will," Gu Rong replied firmly, his eyes narrowing as he watched Tang San on the stage. His confidence was unshakable. "Even against a Soul Sect, Xiao San will absolutely prevail."
Although Tang San was only a Rank 31 Soul Elder, his mastery of hidden weapons gave him the ability to challenge those beyond his rank.
As the one who had helped Tang San refine those hidden weapons, Gu Rong knew exactly how terrifying Tang San's strength was when he went all out.
It was no exaggeration to say that aside from certain Soul Sects who had perfected one specific ability to the extreme, very few could defeat him.
Tang Xiao and Yu Yuanzhen didn't understand why Gu Rong had such unwavering faith in Tang San, but they didn't press the matter.
In this exchange tournament, winning the championship required everything one had—whether Soul Sect or Soul King, all had to fight with their utmost strength.
The matches proceeded swiftly, and Oscar and the others soon finished their opening battles.
By fate—or perhaps coincidence—Tang San versus Feng Xiaotian, and Dugu Yan versus Yu Tianxin, were scheduled as the very last matches of the round.
This was unavoidable, as the second round could not begin until the first was completely finished.
In an instant, all eyes were drawn to these two battles.
Oscar, Zhu Zhuqing, and Meng Yiran all used voice transmission to cheer for Dugu Yan.
Yet Lan Nianhua, their master, had his attention fixed elsewhere.
His gaze lingered on Tang San in the arena, his expression tinged with mockery.
"Let me see then, how a mere Rank 31 Soul Elder dares to stand in this tournament."
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan disciples called out loudly:
"In the final match of the first round for the upper bracket: Tang San versus Feng Xiaotian! In the final match of the first round for the lower bracket: Dugu Yan versus Yu Tianxin! Contestants, enter the arena!"
Tang San's eyes snapped open, gleaming with confidence—bordering on arrogance.
"At last, it's my turn. Now, let me show you all the true might of the Tang Sect's hidden weapons!"
(End of Chapter)