Li Miaozhen watched her senior brother’s furious, fist-clenching expression and couldn't help but shake her head in resignation.
Although her senior brother was the Holy Son of the Earth Sect, he always misjudged his own strength. Alas, it had always been like this.
“The rules have been introduced. Now, the preliminary round of the Heavenly Pride Competition officially begins!”
With Xu Weizhou’s loud announcement, the preliminary round of the Heavenly Pride Competition officially commenced. Xu Weizhou himself then flew to the side as if his task was complete.
In fact, his task was indeed complete. From this point on, it was the stage for the heavenly prides, or rather, the battlefield.
Who would ultimately break through the encirclement and emerge victorious would depend on their own abilities… In short, unless any accidents occurred, he, the host, would have no need to intervene.
And since the inception of the Heavenly Pride Competition, accidents had never occurred.
As Xu Weizhou flew to the side, a rumbling sound echoed from beneath the plaza.
Some people were greatly alarmed, their faces filled with panic, unsure of the source of the commotion. Others, however, remained calm and composed, as if they knew what was about to happen.
As the rumbling intensified, the entire plaza, paved with marble, began to sink.
Eventually, it descended to a depth of over ten meters. Viewed from above, the plaza now resembled an ancient Roman coliseum.
Beside Chen Xiao stood a man who appeared honest and dull-witted, tall and sturdy, with a rough and weathered face.
This burly man, named Wang Dong, was as enthusiastic as fire. Having only known Chen Xiao for a short while, he was already pouring out his heart to him, even revealing his childhood nickname.
Moreover, he claimed to have felt an instant connection with Chen Xiao and vowed to protect him.
Chen Xiao smiled, indifferent to this. He did not believe this seemingly honest and simple man, for once the free-for-all challenge phase began, everyone would be an enemy.
And the more honest and simple such people appeared, the deeper their schemes often ran; they might just stab you in the back at a crucial moment.
Such people were not as straightforward as Li Shouzheng, who openly declared, almost writing on his face, 'I will kill you.'
Of course, regardless of the type of person, Chen Xiao was unconcerned. In the face of absolute strength, all schemes and tricks were futile efforts.
When the plaza stopped descending, Wang Dong patted his chest and said, “You scared me to death! I thought it was an earthquake just now!”
One had to admit, his rugged face, paired with this startled expression, was quite incongruous.
“It seems the trials of the four elements are about to begin. Be careful yourself,”
Chen Xiao kindly reminded him.
“Don’t worry, it’s all a piece of cake. I’m someone who aims to rank in the Heavenly Pride Competition. How could such a small trial possibly stump me?”
Wang Dong said nonchalantly, with great pride.
Just then, a gust of wind, originating from an unknown source, suddenly swept over. Chen Xiao shouted a warning, “Careful!”
The azure gust of wind, like a sharp blade, arrived instantly before Wang Dong.
Wang Dong did not dodge. With a loud roar, a layer of rock-like armor suddenly appeared on his body!
The gust of wind passed, and the rock armor remained unmoved, only showing a few cracks, but it did not truly injure Wang Dong.
“I told you, it’s all a piece of cake!”
Wang Dong winked at Chen Xiao. Looking at him now, he resembled a mountain spirit that had come to life.
With his cultivation at the Great Perfection stage of the Divine Sea Realm, resisting this gust of wind was naturally not a problem.
However, not every heavenly pride participating in the preliminary round possessed his strength.
After the first round of wind swept through, screams echoed endlessly across the plaza.
Broken arms and legs were common, but these were not the worst. The most tragic were those whose bodies were directly split in half…
However, overall, the vast majority of people successfully dodged the first round of wind.
But the trials of the four elements offered no respite, and the second round of trials arrived in an instant.
Puddles of black flames appeared on the plaza floor. The flames emerged very rapidly and their positions were random.
Some people were too slow to dodge and were ignited by the flames. Then, the flames would gradually consume their bodies from the surface of their skin.
More people lost their lives. Next came the trials of water and lightning.
The water could instantly freeze a person into a popsicle, while the lightning would directly turn a person to ash, their souls scattered.
Of course, those eliminated were all cultivators with insufficient strength.
Overall, possessing the strength of the Divine Sea Realm allowed one to survive these four trials with relative stability.
Some cultivators without Divine Sea Realm strength managed to pass through relying on luck or magical artifacts.
At this point, out of the seven to eight thousand participants, only about five thousand remained.
Although many had died, more had survived.
“Hahahaha, it seems the trials of the four elements are not as difficult as the legends say!”
“I heard that in previous Heavenly Pride Competitions, only about half the participants could pass the trials of the four elements. Looking at it now, the strength of our generation is truly formidable!”
“The trials of the four elements are over. Will the next stage be the free-for-all challenge?”
The heavenly prides discussed amongst themselves, some triumphant, some smug.
Others, however, scoffed, such as Li Shouzheng, the Holy Son of the Earth Sect.
“Hmph, a bunch of bumpkins who have never seen the world. You think the trials of the four elements are over so quickly? Heh, naive. The real trial is only just beginning!”
Li Shouzheng said proudly, with his arms crossed.
“The real trial is only beginning now? What do you mean? Hasn’t it ended already?”
Before the questioning voice had even fallen, dazzling array patterns lit up beneath everyone’s feet.
After the array patterns flickered, everyone was teleported to the edges of the plaza.
In the central area of the plaza, a moat like white silk appeared. The moat was about two to three meters wide, and the water within was precisely the type that could freeze a person into a popsicle!
Roar~~
Just as everyone was looking on in surprise, a layer of black flames suddenly emerged from the surface of the river. Immediately after, streaks of lightning arcs, like small snakes, filled the entire river surface.
As for the gust of wind, it was naturally present, rising from the river surface and soaring straight into the heavens, completely preventing any possibility of flying over it.
“What, what is happening?”
Someone asked, confused.
“Hey, look, that moat is moving!”
Someone shouted, and everyone immediately noticed that the moat was slowly expanding outwards, along with the flames, lightning, and gust of wind above it.
“Heh heh, I told you the trials of the four elements are only just beginning!”
Li Shouzheng grinned, “The moat will continuously expand. Only by passing through that moat, filled with the four elements, and entering the small island in the center will one be considered to have passed. Otherwise, this moat will eventually spread to your feet…”