The female supporting character in the cultivation world only wants to grow flowers and become stron

Several cups of tea's time passed.

It has been almost two hours since the first level began.

With the signal to end, only one hundred people remained on the stage.

Lin Yitang was naturally among them. When the competition ended, she still had about half of her spiritual power left, and the other half was used up in the second half.

It can only be said that even the outer sect of Taique Sect has many experts. If Lin Yitang were an ordinary Qi Refining Ninth Level cultivator, she would now have less than half of her spiritual power remaining, but only a mere ten percent.

Because of the wooden plaque, no one died below the arena. However, many disciples, some with minor injuries and some with serious injuries, were treated by the herbalists or stewards of Lingcao Peak.

The Golden Core Master announced the end of the first match, and then a beam of spiritual energy was projected onto the screen.

The crystal screen changed in a flash. What was originally showing the disciples competing on the arena turned back into the list of the top 100 outer disciples.

The top 100 list has undergone a dramatic change, seemingly transforming from the previous edition to this one.

Everyone who remained on the stage at the end made it onto this list, including Lin Yitang, though ranked slightly lower.

The wooden plaque seems to retain information about the opponents the plaque holder defeated, such as "Qi Refining Level 7 defeated Qi Refining Level 6," etc. Since Lin Yitang hasn't really made a move, it currently shows "Qi Refining Level 9 defeated Qi Refining Level 8," placing him in the middle of the list.

At the top of the top 100 list, there are even people who "defeated Qi Refining Ninth Level Qi Refining Level Eight", but it is more likely that they were ambushed or ganged up on by others.

But regardless, he has a record of defeating others.

Aside from battle records, all other victories against opponents of equal rank were ranked according to cultivation level.

For example, the first place is at the peak of the tenth level of Qi Refining. After defeating someone at the tenth level of Qi Refining, the top few are basically all at the tenth level of Qi Refining, and the bottom 100 are at the seventh level of Qi Refining.

Upon seeing the latest rankings, the Golden Core cultivator announced the end of the first round of competition, instructing everyone to return to their caves to rest, recuperate, and restore their spiritual energy, and to carry the wooden plaques with them.

When the group disbanded, many of those who did not advance showed regret, lamenting that they had not chosen the right opponents and had exhausted their spiritual energy too early.

Especially the eliminated Qi Refining Level 10 cultivator, who cursed inwardly, "If only I hadn't provoked him."

These high-level Qi Refining cultivators clearly had the ability to be on the top 100 list, but due to their mistakes just now, they missed out on making the list.

There's nothing we can do about it. Luck and brains are also forms of ability. We can only hope that we'll have a chance to back out in the next round.

Although Lin Yitang was not seriously injured and did not consume much spiritual energy, she still planned to go back and digest what she had gained that day.

It was her first time participating in the disciple competition, and she watched the entire competition with great interest, memorizing the fighting techniques of the other peak disciples.

What she needs now is to recall the fighting styles of these people, analyze carefully how to resolve the situation, and how to win the match more easily.

Moreover, she also needs to prepare for the second challenge.

But in the instant she turned around, she saw a familiar person in the distance: Nie Muqing.

Nie Muqing, dressed in a clean disciple's robe with her long hair tied up high, stood in the crowd, staring coldly at Lin Yitang, a malicious smile curling at the corner of her mouth.

Lin Yitang was immediately startled. Nie Muqing, what is she doing here?

Wasn't she sent to the back mountain for three months of confinement because of the last incident involving the competition for a spot?

It's only been a month since her confinement began, so how was she released?

Lin Yitang looked around and saw that Ye Qiuli was not there, which meant that Ye Qiuli had not been released.

Even Yuheng Zhenjun wasn't around her, so she must still be in confinement.

Could it be that only Nie Muqing was released? That's strange.

Lin Yitang frowned slightly, sensing that things weren't so simple. She had a feeling that Nie Muqing's appearance here was probably aimed at her.

Fortunately, Nie Muqing wasn't assigned to her area in the first round of the competition; otherwise, she might have fallen into their trap if they had caught her off guard.

Ignoring Nie Muqing, Lin Yitang walked straight towards her cave.

In the audience, True Monarch Zilan sighed regretfully and turned to Xuan Hui, saying, "It seems that the little disciple you had your eye on didn't make it into the top fifty. Are you still going to accept her?"

Xuan Hui laughed and said, "This is only the first stage. The main purpose of the first stage is to select the truly strong and eliminate the weaklings. As for the strength of the top 100, it is still too early to say. Let's wait and see tomorrow."

Zi Lan nodded, rested her chin on her hand, and pondered as she recalled, "I remember that in the last outer sect disciple competition, it was a 50/50 selection process, with the top 100 drawing lots to determine the top 50, then the top 25, the top 10, and the top 3. The first round has changed this year, and I wonder if the rest will be the same as last time."

Xuan Hui shook his head and said meaningfully, "This time it will definitely be different from last time, and there won't be any such thing as the top fifty. Starting tomorrow, it will be the top ten's turn."

Upon hearing this, Zi Lan was shocked, and even Yun Meng, Huan Yue, and the others around her were drawn over, asking, "What's going on? Who set the rules for this year's disciple competition? How could they have changed so much?"

Xuan Hui replied, "Of course it was decided by the sect leader. Last year, the two-on-one duels were too reliant on luck. If you were unlucky and drew a strong opponent, it would be a real pity to lose. That's why the rules were changed this year, so that the disciples are ranked according to their strength, rather than by drawing lots."

Someone asked, "How can you directly determine the top ten from the top 100? Eliminating 90 people at once isn't something you can do in a head-to-head competition, is it?"

Xuan Hui just smiled mysteriously and said, "If you want to know, wait until tomorrow. I'm all waiting to see."

Nothing more was said that night. The next day, everyone gathered again at the outer gate square to listen to the Golden Core Master read out the rules for the second round of the competition.

When the Golden Elixir Master explained the competition format, the entire square erupted in excitement.

Everyone found it hard to believe what they were hearing.

"A title defense match?"

The Golden Core Master announced loudly, "That's right, the second round of the competition will be a contest of defending champions. We will select ten champions from the top one hundred in the first round, and the other disciples will challenge these ten champions. Each champion will guard their own arena and accept challenges from other disciples. Those who succeed in the challenge will become the new champions; those who fail will be eliminated."

These words immediately sparked a flurry of discussion among the audience.

This competition format is completely different from the previous one, full of variables, and involves one person challenging multiple people, which is hard to handle just by thinking about it.

Lin Yitang frowned slightly; this method was indeed beyond her expectations.

She had expected the second round to be a head-to-head duel, but it turned into a contest to defend one's title. Isn't this way of determining the top ten, and aren't they worried that the defending champions might run out of spiritual energy and lose midway through?

If that's the case, then where's the fairness?

The Golden Core cultivator continued, "The contest will last for three days, with each day divided into three periods, each lasting four hours. During each period, challengers can challenge the reigning champion at any time, but they must wait until the champion recovers their spiritual energy before they can do so. Once the champion recovers their spiritual energy, they must accept all challenges until they are defeated."