The First Venerable of the Prosperous Age

"Now, let's welcome the contestants to the stage!" As soon as the words were spoken, a loud cheer erupted from the audience.

The white mist rising from the spirit stones at the edge of the field gradually spread across the entire arena.

Therefore, the only thing exposed to everyone's view was the open space in the middle.

Just as the audience was getting restless, a strong stench suddenly wafted out.

Then a young monk lazily emerged from the mist. He had no fighting spirit and looked disdainful of everything; it was Lu Xiaosan.

The thousands of spectators present were immediately puzzled upon seeing this guy: "Who is he? Is he friend or foe? What is he here for?"

The entire stadium fell silent instantly.

"Brother Lu, keep it up!" Among the thousand people, only Wen Ying shouted with a smile.

Lu Xiaosan smiled and waved at her.

But the crowd was buzzing with discussion:

"Could he be a contestant too? I've never heard of him. Just how good is he?"

"Maybe he's a big shot too?"

"Sigh, as long as I don't hold anyone back, it's fine."

"Come on!" Just as everyone was wondering, such a roar suddenly came from the fog on the other side.

Everyone quickly covered their ears and saw a tall, slender man in black emerge from the fog, unarmed.

The man was handsome and upright, and he was surveying the scene with his bright and piercing eyes.

The audience responded with strong dissatisfaction and boos, indicating that this person was none other than Dragon King Bo, one of the three giants.

"Whoa!!" The neighing of warhorses suddenly rang out.

Two riders charged out from opposite ends of the fog with the force of splitting mountains and cleaving the earth.

As the horses roared and hooves began to rise, one man in golden armor wielding a halberd and the other in silver armor carrying a straight spear appeared; they were none other than Heng Jiuzhou and Zong Wanli.

Heng Jiuzhou laughed heartily, "Since you two brothers are on the enemy's side, then I look forward to your guidance later."

"Don't worry, Brother Heng, we won't be able to fight each other," Lu Xiaosan said calmly.

Zong Wanli remained silent, simply pointing his spear directly at Heng Jiuzhou before him, waiting for the order to charge out.

Just as the four were locked in a stalemate, a black lightning bolt, like a ghost, suddenly flashed from the mist to Long Wangbo's side.

This speed astonished the audience.

Once she stood still, it became clear that she was a dashing woman in black, carrying dozens of sharp swords on her back, exuding an aura of fierce heroism.

At this moment, she faced the audience, pointing forcefully to the ground with both hands, "This is my territory!" This woman was none other than Wei Shanshan.

Of course, the audience didn't stop booing just because she was a woman.

As the hissing subsided, a figure riding on green clouds drifted leisurely out of the white mist.

He wore a green robe and a demon mask, appearing as composed as an immortal.

After emerging from the fog, the person drifted far away to a corner and avoided contact with others. Judging from this behavior and figure, it was undoubtedly Ning Konglou.

He wore a mask, presumably because he didn't want people to see his true face.

Ning Konglou was, after all, a key contributor to Shangyangmen's victory in the previous championship, so the crowd erupted in enthusiastic cheers for him, and many people were even wearing the same mask as Ning Konglou.

After the cheers subsided:

A bright blue flame suddenly appeared in the center of the white mist. Upon seeing this, Wei Shanshan and the Dragon King exchanged a perfectly synchronized and elegant palm strike.

The moment they high-fived, the white mist behind them began to dissipate little by little, slowly revealing the back of a burly and arrogant man.

That magnificent figure always gives people the feeling that he is destined to bear a great deal of burden.

At this moment, the man was holding a blue flame in front of his abdomen.

With a loud "boom," the man threw the flame into the air, where it suddenly transformed into a huge, scorching ball of flame.

The fireworks, with overwhelming force, completely extinguished the white mist in the sky. The fierce and scorching flames instantly illuminated the heavens.

Bathed in the crimson flames, the man stood with outstretched arms, gazing resolutely at the raging fire in the sky, exuding an aura of domineering power. An unparalleled imperial majesty swept across the entire arena, and the audience couldn't help but marvel at the powerful presence of this chosen one of heaven, forgetting even to gasp in awe.

After a moment, the man lowered his arm and clapped his hands gently.

He stood right behind Wei Bo and the other man, in the very center. He turned his face slightly to the side, revealing two deadly eyes filled with murderous intent.

Beneath the chilling flames and crimson light, the three leaders, all clad in black, gleamed with an aura of savagery. An immense, suffocating pressure instantly swept across the land, reaching every corner of the country!

The crowd naturally erupted in boos.

Lu Xiaosan raised his eyebrows and muttered, "These are the three guys..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of running footsteps in the white mist behind him gradually became clearer.

A man with a steady gait jogged out of the white mist and approached Lu Xiaosan...

His entrance wasn't as flashy as the Big Three's; he simply stood there, waving to the audience with his childlike, innocent smile. The audience responded to the arrival of this hero with a thunderous roar.

Seeing the crane standing beside him, Lu Xiaosan was instantly startled:

He was clad in golden armor, and his severed legs and arms were reinforced with red-glowing prosthetics. The previously ugly half-mask had now transformed into a half-dragon mask that shimmered with red light.

Lu Xiaosan was so shocked he couldn't close his mouth. "This...this is Helai??"

Yes, who could imagine such a hero as a crippled fisherman?

Lu Xiaosan finally understood what He Lai meant when he said: "Success and strength are only for others to see. Only you know the effort, self-discipline, and hardships behind it."

After waving, He Lai turned around, his previous smiling expression completely changed.

At this moment, his expression was serious, especially his extremely resolute eyes, as if to tell the world: there is nothing I cannot achieve.

Although he wasn't as tall and imposing as the Big Three, seeing such a resolute and confident figure standing before you instilled a profound sense of security. The oppressive aura emanating from the Big Three vanished instantly.

"Are you ready?" He Lai's words were as firm as his eyes, carrying with them a spirit of never giving up until victory was achieved.

Lu Xiaosan breathed a long sigh of relief, clearing away all the obstacles in his mind, and walked step by step to the front of the line.

Just when everyone thought he was about to do something, he simply closed his eyes, tapped his forehead with his thumb, and then pointed his thumb downwards, making a contemptuous gesture towards the three giants in front of him.

The crowd erupted in cheers once again.

As the shouts rang out, the white mist dissipated. In its place flew huge stones onto the battlefield.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The war drums sounded three times, and the highly anticipated match officially began.

"Welcome to Yu's Sports Talk, this is..."

"…………"

Jingyu and the other three eunuchs each offered their own version of events, arguing incessantly.

On the field where boulders flew: Lu Xiaosan, who was at the forefront, roared loudly, while Heng Jiuzhou and Zong Wanli also rode their horses towards each other, their hooves kicking up dust.

Just when everyone's hearts were in their throats, Lu Xiaosan suddenly turned around and charged at his teammate Ning Konglou.

There was no other way; this was something that had been agreed upon with Ning Konglou long ago.

With his abilities, he shouldn't have been able to even touch Ning Konglou, but fortunately Ning Konglou remembered the agreement and cooperated extremely well.

He deliberately used the green wave to control Lu Xiaosan to fly in front of him, so that Lu Xiaosan would launch a fierce attack on him, while he pretended to dodge and retreat, and said in surprise, "Why did you defect to the enemy in the face of battle?"

Ning Konglou single-handedly created the impression that he was evenly matched with the traitor Lu Xiaosan in a fierce battle, but only he knew the pleasure of slacking off in the process.

However, Lu Xiaosan's fighting posture was really not standard, and even quite comical.

It was precisely these comical movements that allowed Ning Konglou, a top-tier martial artist, to be forced into a series of defeats. This stark contrast caused the arena to erupt in thunderous laughter.

Mr. Jingyu said coldly, "Alas, the fourth contestant of Shangyang Sect actually defected to the enemy at the very beginning of the game. His baseless behavior will never be erased, will be forever remembered by history, and will be forever condemned by future generations!"

"Buh—hahahahaha!" With Jingyu's words of encouragement, the audience laughed and paid the highest tribute to Lu Xiaosan.

The three eunuchs couldn't help but burst into laughter: "Hahahaha, it seems this little monk has a good grasp of the situation, hahahaha."

On the other side of the field, the two riders from Zongheng were locked in a fierce battle on the sidelines. Meanwhile, Ning Konglou and Lu Xiaosan were playfully fighting in a corner.

He was unwilling and unable to ask about He Lai, the only one left behind. At this moment, he could only focus all his energy on the three young men in front of him.

The three of them, Zhan Weibo, walked forward quietly, and behind them seemed to be an inextinguishable fire.

The three men clasped their hands in unison, saying, "It is truly an honor to have the opportunity to fight against Hero Helai today... Hero Helai, please."

He Lai nodded solemnly and said softly, "Please."

As soon as she finished speaking, Wei Shanshan transformed into a bolt of lightning and rushed towards He Lai, leaving behind bursts of sparks along the way.

No sooner said than done, He Lai conjured a red sword in one hand and a red dagger in the other. His determined gaze turned towards Wei, where he saw a girl surrounded by sparks of electricity flashing towards him with her sword drawn.

"Clang!" Sparks flew as He Lai easily parried Wei Shanshan's incredibly fast sword strike.

"How could anyone be faster than me?" He Lai's cold and determined expression met Wei Shanshan's shocked expression, and the audience burst into loud cheers when they saw this scene.

Wei Shanshan gritted her teeth, utterly unwilling to accept defeat. She drew several more swords from behind her back and stabbed at He Lai Huohua with lightning speed.

Each of her sword strikes was so fast it sparked with lightning, yet they were all blocked by Tsuru, whose movements were slower than hers.

As the audience watched in amazement, Jingyu explained, "It's not that Helai is faster than Wei Shanshan. Rather, every move Helai makes is a prediction! On one hand, Helai is a veteran of countless battles and knows this young man's attacks inside and out. On the other hand, Helai must have studied Wei Shanshan's moves extensively in private, which is why he can now control them so accurately!"

Just as he predicted, He Lai bumped into the point where Wei Shanshan's arm was coming from, causing her to drop her sword and stumble.

"One!" He Lai thought to himself, and at the same time, he mustered all his strength and slashed the dagger down at Wei Shanshan with all his might.

With a loud "boom," the bricks and tiles around the site instantly shattered.

The extremely powerful shockwave that erupted was blocked by the spirit stones on the sidelines, as if the inside and outside of the arena were two completely different worlds.

When the thick smoke in the arena dissipated, it was revealed that the one who had blocked He Lai's full-force strike in front of Wei Shanshan was none other than Raymond, whose eyes were as resolute as Wei's, and who wielded a large tiger-mouth blade.

At this moment, two imposing men stood facing each other, swords drawn. Their mere eye contact evoked two continuous, powerful auras clashing. The intense clash of their energy caused everyone present to gasp involuntarily.

He Lai was secretly amazed. "He actually managed to catch my attack." He smiled to himself. "Very good. It's been a long time since I've encountered an opponent who can excite me so much."

The two drew their swords and faced off again. Tsurugai mainly attacked with his sword and used his other sword to thrust, and in a short time he had exchanged dozens of blows with Raymond, who was wielding a single sword.

From a distance, only two figures could be seen constantly flashing and fighting.

Their moves were so fast that only the participants could see them clearly. As a result, the commentary booth was mostly silent, with only Jingyu occasionally offering a few words based on his unique professional understanding.

Not to be outdone, the three eunuchs deliberately started talking about Lu Xiaosan and Ning Konglou's childish bickering, intentionally drowning out Xu Jingyu's voice. This caused another wave of strong dissatisfaction to erupt at the scene.

No matter how funny Lu Xiaosan's part was, the audience's attention was always on He Lai, since He Lai was the key to deciding the victory of the game.

Like the two, He Lai and Raymond were evenly matched for the time being. No matter how fast He Lai increased the speed of his attack or the force in his hands, Raymond could always neutralize it with the same speed and power.

"As expected of the chosen one, his speed and strength are no less than mine," He Lai thought to himself in amazement.

At the same time, black lightning struck again, and James and Wei attacked He Lai together.

Seeing this, He Lai immediately retreated and attacked simultaneously, his sword transforming into a whip. His other hand, a long saber, transformed into a spear, striking out fiercely. This caught Zhan and Wei completely off guard, leaving them in a dilemma.

After Zhanwei gradually calmed down, he and Helai resumed their fierce battle.

From a distance, James and Wei appeared to be surrounded by thousands of whip and spear shadows, powerless to fight back and suffering terribly.

Just as Helai was fully focused on the battle, his arm was suddenly grabbed by a large hand.

Looking up, the person who came was none other than the tall and imposing Dragon King Bo.

He opened his mouth slightly in anger, as if about to unleash a Dragon King's Roar right in front of him.

Taking advantage of the moment, James and Wei rushed forward together. Seeing the critical situation, He Lai's eyes suddenly turned red, and he immediately roared, enveloping himself in a red wave. Three huge red snakes burst out from behind him.

With a loud "boom," Wei Long and his companion were slammed to the sidelines by the giant snake. Only a blue giant lion managed to put up a fight, with Raymond, also shrouded in blue light, beneath it.

The blue lion roared and pounced on the three red snakes in front of it, tearing at them. These two top-tier individuals, empowered by the red and blue waves respectively, clashed once again.

The audience held their breath, not daring to blink.

From a distance, they appeared to be nothing more than two red and blue shadows that flickered intermittently.

In a short while, the two had exchanged hundreds of blows. Faced with such a battle scene, everyone, including the commentators, was completely silent.

As everyone focused their attention, Raymond suddenly shouted, "You all go help Brother Heng first, I'll hold off He Lai."

Wei and Long understood each other, and then focused their attention on the several rocks flying around on the field.

“One, three, seven, that’s it,” Dragon King Bo said, pointing to a flying stone.

Then Wei Shanshan transformed into a bolt of black lightning and rushed forward, slashing at the flying stone with her sword.

The moment the flying rock exploded, a green light flashed inside.

Seeing this, Wei Shanshan smiled smugly, "Found you."

As the bright green light faded, the once open and bright arena transformed into a misty cave. And somehow, Wei Shanshan found herself wearing a golden helmet.

The audience was still in the Ziwei Palace, but the contestants seemed to have been teleported away.

The open battlefield was transformed into a projection within the Spirit Stone Circle, visible to thousands of spectators.

The three eunuchs cheered, "We've cut out the green stone! That's fantastic, Wei Shanshan!"

Jingyu said, "It seems that the Xuanwu Sect took the initiative and started targeting the colored spirit stones. For those watching the Kaiyuan Martial Arts Tournament for the first time, if you cut a green stone, the scene will change randomly, just like before, and the person who cut the stone will receive the corresponding equipment reward."

"But if you cut into redstone, the scene will also change, but it will be an extremely dangerous scene. The closer the person is to the redstone, the more dangerous they are, and the person cutting into the redstone is naturally the most dangerous. Redstone and greenstone are indistinguishable in appearance, so what you cut into depends entirely on luck and experience."

"Red and green stones have an unpredictable chance of appearing, but gold stones have the lowest chance. If you hit a gold stone, everyone on the field will be in trouble."