Chen Lingkong’s voice hadn’t finished resounding through the air when Chen Xi stood up.

He was able to clearly sense that the gazes on him carried surprise, disdain, ridicule, doubt....

But all of this was unable to shake Chen Xi’s determination. His expression was calm and composed as he cupped his hands to his senior brothers, Wu Xuechan and Tang Xian, and then he strode through space towards the altar.

His clothes fluttered as he moved forward by himself. The gazes from the surroundings moved along with him, and it was like all of them desired to see exactly what sort of person he was, and where did he get the courage to actually join this competition.

However, all of this seemed to be nonexistent to Chen Xi. At this moment, only the ancient altar, and the upcoming battles remained to him!

He’d been waiting for this day for too long, and he’d expended boundless effort, blood, and sweat for this. So, he would absolutely not permit himself to fail this time.

Because only success would allow him to rescue his parents before the eyes of everyone and from the Chen Clan that was like a tiger’s lair!

So....

He had to win this battle!

...

“That fellow is Chen Xi? Looks like he isn’t very great.”

“Hmph! He’s just a little bastard from the Ancient God Domain, yet he arrogantly attempts to encroach on the position of successor in our Chen Clan. He’s simply overestimating his ability!”

“I’m very curious. Why did the Supreme Elder agree to allowing an outsider like him to participate? Could it be that it’s merely because he’s a descendant of the criminal, Chen Lingjun? But not a trace of the bloodline of our Chen Clan flows within his body!”

“Haha! There’s no need to be bewildered. No matter how inferior he is, he’s a disciple of Oracle Mountain in the end. Even if we refuse to give him face, we have to give Oracle Mountain face in the end.”

“It looks to me like he’s asking to be humiliated!”

“I’m very curious. Exactly how strong is his combat strength? After all, this fellow relied on a cultivation at the Fourth Star Region Lord Realm to defeat Chen Ziyu who’s a Fifth Star Region Lord just a few days ago. That’s very unusual.”

“Don’t you think that this makes it interesting? If he’s too weak, then we wouldn’t feel a sense of accomplishment even if we defeated him. On the contrary, it would seem like our Chen Clan was bullying him.”

As Chen Xi approached the ancient altar, a wave of discussion had arisen in the surroundings as well.

The attitudes they held were clear. All of them ridiculed and mocked Chen Xi, and they seemed to be very against him. It was like they were watching a clown court death.

Only a small portion of them revealed curious expression. Because as far as they were concerned, Chen Xi’s combat strength would naturally not be weak since he was able to defeat Chen Ziyu.

However, they were merely curious about exactly how long Chen Xi would be able to persist for during this competition to become the next successor of the clan.

As for whether Chen Xi could attain victory, they couldn’t be bothered to give it any thought. Because as far as they were concerned, since overlord figures like Chen Daoyuan, Chen Qiushui, and Chen Xiaoyun were participating in the competition, then Chen Xi would definitely have no chance at attaining victory.

Simply speaking, all of them felt doubtful, disdainful, and aversion towards Chen Xi’s participation in the competition. Even if they felt curious, they were merely curious about why Chen Xi would come her to court death and humiliation!

This was what all the clansmen of the Chen Clan felt, and their opinions were clearly. In their opinion, even though Chen Xi was from Oracle Mountain, he was still an outsider in the end!

Since an outside actually dared to cover the position of successor in their clan, then wasn’t that outsider courting death?

On the other hand, the guests who were watching the ceremony were very puzzled by why Chen Lingkong would allow an outsider to participate in such a solemn and serious matter.

Could it be that he had no choice but to agree out of consideration for Oracle Mountain’s power and influence?

Or perhaps it’s because of Chen Xi’s relationship with Chen Lingjun who has been imprisoned by the Chen Clan?

All of this was very unusual, and it was thought provoking.

However, the more it was like this, the more curious they felt. They wondered what exactly the Chen Clan was doing.

...

In next to no time, Chen Xi arrived on the ancient altar, and he stood casually at the side of the 15 clansmen of the Chen Clan who were participating in the competition.

This scene was quite interesting. Chen Xi was standing all along by himself while a group of clansmen from the Chen Clan stood by his side, and they made clear distinction between each other. While they seemed to be not disturbing each other, they were faintly in confrontation and were like water and fire that couldn’t live together.

Chen Lingkong who stood at the center of the altar acted as if he didn’t notice this at all. As soon as Chen Xi arrived on the altar, he directly announced the rules of the competition in a deep voice.

“The competition will be divided into 2 rounds.

“The 1st round will be carried out in four groups. I’ll choose a person from every single group to ascend the combat arena, and that person will be challenged by the other 3 people in the group. The person that’s able to persist until the end will enter the 2nd round of the competition.”

When he spoke up to here, Chen Lingkong waved his sleeve.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Four deafening bangs resounded in succession, and then four combat arenas arose on the ancient altar.

Every single combat arena was created from strange chaotic rocks. They were densely covered in obscure markings, and they emanated a terrifying aura of war that threw the surroundings into disorder.

Obviously, it was capable of guaranteeing that the aftershocks of the battle wouldn’t spread into the outside world. At the same time, the individuals battling within it wouldn’t be disturbed by forces from the outside world.

At this moment, when they heard Chen Lingkong announce the rules and saw the four combat arenas, the spectators in the surroundings couldn’t help but burst into an uproar.

“Choosing four to accept the challenges of the others. Isn’t that equivalent to using a few in succession to tire the person out? It doesn’t seem too fair, right?”

“No, strictly speaking, it’s a battle of dominance over the combat arena! The person that persists on the arena until the end will be the final winner!”

“Four combat arenas. So, four victors will be born from the 1st round of the selection.”

“But these rules.... They are really very unfair. The 1st person to ascend the arena will definitely be at the biggest disadvantage while the last to ascend the arena would undoubtedly possess the greatest advantage.”

As they discussed animatedly, even many clansmen of the Chen Clan had never imagined that such unique rules would be utilized for the competition.

“That fellow, Chen Lingkong, is really ruthless. If Chen Lingkong were to send Little Junior Brother up the combat arena first, then Little Junior Brother would have to defeat three opponents in succession before he can attain victory in the 1st round and enter the 2nd round.” Tang Xian frowned while his voice was slightly cold.

“He’s just doing everything he can to kick Little Junior Brother out of the competition. Even though his methods are quite despicable, they are normal,” said Wu Xuechan in an indifferent tone.

Tang Xian said coldly, “It isn’t just despicable, it’s simply shameless.”

Wu Xuechan smiled and didn’t say anything else. However, there was actually a trace of anger in his heart. But he was very clearly aware that it was useless to flare-up right now.

At this moment, he could only entrust his hopes on Chen Xi’s performance during the competition.

...

“Silence!” Chen Lingkong couldn’t help but frown as he listened to the droning sounds of discussion in the surroundings, and he shouted loudly in a deep voice. His voice was like thunder that surged through the world, and it instantly caused the surroundings to fall perfectly silent.

“If one intends to become our Chen Clan’s Patriarch without the peerless might to fight many and sweep through armies, then how can that person obtain the acknowledgment of everyone? How could that person lead the entire clan?” Chen Lingkong berated in a deep voice and spoke with a strong sense of righteousness. “If you can’t even endure such a test, then how could you possibly carry the heavy responsibility of leading the clan to rise in power?”

His loud and stern words made many clansmen of the Chen Clan feel ashamed in their hearts. Right, how could it be so easy to become the Patriarch of our Chen Clan?

Only Chen Xi laughed coldly in his heart. He had a strong feeling that while Chen Lingkong made it sound nice, the rules were actually made in order to deal with him!

Sure enough, what happened next proved Chen Xi’s thoughts.

Chen Lingkong didn’t utilize any sort of fair method, and he directly divided Chen Xi and the other participants into four groups.

Moreover, Chen Daoyuan, Chen Qiushui, and Chen Xiaoyun weren’t in Chen Xi’s group.

This made many clansmen of the Chen Clan feel rather puzzled and even displeased. They felt that Chen Lingkong was being considerate to Chen Xi and didn’t want him to encounter Chen Daoyuan, Chen Qiushui, or Chen Xiaoyun during the 1st round so that his defeat wouldn’t be too embarrassing.

Only Chen Xi was clearly aware that it wasn’t any form of consideration at all, and there was definitely a secret behind all of it!

Because if one looked carefully at the situation of the other groups, one would notice that Chen Daoyuan, Chen Qiushui, and Chen Xiaoyun weren’t in the same groups as well.

In other words, Chen Xi, Chen Daoyuan, Chen Xiaoyun, and Chen Qiushui had been divided into different groups.

“Now, Chen Zhonghe from the 1st group, Chen Wenwu from the 2nd group, Chen Jing from the 3rd group, and Chen Xi from the 4th group. Step forward!” Chen Lingkong spoke in a deep voice. “The four of you will ascend the combat arena first and accept the challenges of the other three in your groups. The loser will be directly eliminated while the winner will remain on the arena and continue accepting challenges. Once everyone in the group has ascended the combat arena to challenge the person there, then the 1st round will come to an end!”

As expected! Chen Xi laughed coldly in his heart. He knew that he would definitely be the 1st to be chosen.

At this moment, it wasn’t just Chen Xi who’s realized. Everyone in the surroundings had realized as well. Especially those other clansmen of the Chen Clan. They couldn’t help but start laughing with ridicule as if they’d seen something amusing.

Tang Xian and Wu Xuechan exchanged glances, and they both remained silent. No one knew exactly what they were thinking right now.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The other three who Chen Lingkong had named charged up onto the combat arena.

When he saw this, Chen Xi stopped hesitating as well. Even if he felt extremely disdainful towards Chen Lingkong’s despicable tactics, he had no choice but to face it head-on.

Swoosh!

Chen Xi’s figure flashed onto the 4th combat arena.

As he stood there and swept his gaze through the surroundings, he instantly noticed that Chen Daoyuan, Chen Qiushui, and Chen Xiaoyun’s gazes were looking towards him.

They seemed to have no intention to challenge their opponents right now, and they seemed completely calm, composed, and carefree.

Chen Xi’s heart fell when he noticed this, and he instantly thought of a possibility. Could Chen Lingkong have made such arrangements so that they can seize this opportunity to watch me fight and get a good grasp of my ability?