Chapter 68: The third match begins! Who will you team up with? ...

The third round of the spiritual competition will begin at 3:45 noon. Participating disciples must arrive at the gathering point before 3:45 noon, otherwise they will be disqualified from the competition.

Ji Mingran met up with Shen Qingluo first. After getting ready, the two hurried along, urged on by the noisy voice of Guan Wangzhen coming from the sect's jade token at their waists. They finally arrived just before the gathering point closed.

Suddenly, a crowd swarmed around her.

"Ji Meizi! Your habit of being so punctual is not good. I thought you were going to miss it!" Before she even arrived, Fu Daolan's loud voice came first.

Zhu Shibai smiled gently, his warm eyes shining with joy, and the smile on his lips never stopped: "Grandma, you've successfully advanced to the next level, congratulations!"

Shi Le, dressed in pink, hurriedly led a group of beautiful girls and boys over, pointing at her proudly and saying, "Look, look, isn't the person I've chosen exceptionally special!"

A tuft of blond hair forcefully pushed his way into the crowd. Ji Xingyang wiped away his tears and shouted, "That's wonderful! That's wonderful! Mother, you've reached the Foundation Establishment stage, so your legs must be healed too!"

Ji Mingran reacted extremely quickly, tiptoeing and peering in the direction Ji Xingyang was running from.

Not far behind him stood three disciples from the Unnamed Sect who were participating in the trial. They wore bamboo hats, black robes, and carried swords, dressed identically and in the same standing posture.

None of them were injured or bleeding, and none of them felt familiar to her.

Yu Tianxing was not among them.

Ji Mingran was about to ask Ji Xingyang a question, but the latter noticed first the direction of her gaze and her slightly furrowed brows.

Unable to think of an excuse to cover for Yu Tianxing in a short time, Ji Xingyang quickly slipped away, crying and shouting, "Mother, something has suddenly come up. I'll come to congratulate you later."

Ji Mingran tried to grab him, but a group of people surrounded her and chattered excitedly. She couldn't maintain her medical ethics for a moment and could only watch as Ji Xingyang ran away.

Oh well, there'll be a chance to catch him and ask him eventually.

Ji Mingran asked another question that had been bothering him: "Why are you all here? Is the next match a team competition?"

"Not really." Zhu Shibai replied when he heard her question, "It's just that waiting is boring, and we all got to know each other from the first competition, so we got together."

As the participating disciples gathered to wait, they would subconsciously gravitate towards familiar sects or families, or those that had formed alliances with them.

In reality, Zhu Shibai and Guan Wangzhen didn't really know the others. The Dingsheng Sect, the Nameless Sect, the Void Sect, and the Hehuan Sect were not allies; they had only met once during a competition.

Everyone gathered together simply because of Ji Mingran. Ji Xingyang, Fu Daolan, Shao Qingshang, and Shi Jinle all wanted to say a few words to Ji Mingran, so they all secretly followed Zhu Shibai and Guan Wangzhen, eagerly waiting for him.

It really does seem like an alliance has been formed.

As soon as she appeared, everyone swarmed together, and even the other disciples from other sects who were a little further away cast curious glances at her.

"Our Granny Ming is quite something!" Guan Wangzhen put his right hand on Ji Mingran's shoulder, leaned back with his hands on his hips, and generously showed off to the crowd of onlookers: "You've improved a lot! You made such a commotion just by advancing to the Foundation Establishment stage, you're just as impressive as I was back then."

Ji Mingran: "You all saw it?"

Guan Wangzhen: "Of course, we're not blind or stupid."

The cloud platform competition is progressing at different rates. The cultivators who have finished their duels first still need to wait for the remaining duels to be completed. During this period, the participating cultivators can take a short rest to recuperate and recharge.

At 15 noon, the disciples who had successfully entered the third round of the spiritual competition had basically gathered. The gathering place was not far from the observation platform, and everyone present had clearly seen what had just happened.

At first, everyone could only guess in secret who the person undergoing the tribulation was.

Until Venerable Chongjue intervened and blocked the full-force attack from the Mahayana cultivator, everything became clear.

If the Qi Refining Ancestor of Dingsheng Sect advances to the next level, he will be protected by his senior brother, Venerable Hongyan.

The heavenly lightning was terrifying, but it couldn't withstand the person's extraordinary luck, and they still managed to overcome the tribulation smoothly.

Admiration, jealousy, disdain... The gazes falling on Ji Mingran, who arrived late, were varied, but after a few glances, everyone gradually withdrew their attention.

Relying solely on luck won't get you far. They've only reached the Foundation Establishment stage; they're hardly formidable opponents.

Only one gaze remained fixed on it.

Sensing that gaze, Ji Mingran turned his head to follow it.

The people surrounded by others suddenly turned their heads and looked over, their eyes meeting. Meng Yingyang's expression stiffened slightly, but he quickly regained his composure, nodded in acknowledgment, and then awkwardly looked away.

At this moment, Zhu Shibai reminded them, "It's about to begin."

As soon as he finished speaking, the ground trembled, and dark caverns opened up one after another in the rock walls surrounding them.

There are a total of 180.

Shi Jinle squeezed through the crowd, put his arm around hers, and happily invited, "Mingran, why don't we go in together!"

"Go away!" Guan Wangzhen waved his hand protectively like a mother hen: "Who's with you? We're from the same sect, so we should stick together."

Fu Daolan scratched the back of his head and said with a smile, "Not necessarily. If Ji is willing, she can join us. We'll team up, we have experience!"

Shao Qing chimed in, "Indeed, each entrance has a limited capacity. Even disciples from the same sect will have to split up if the entrance is full."

Zhu Shibai smiled and replied, "The four participants from Dingsheng Sect are just within the capacity of the entrance, so there's no need to worry."

With everyone chiming in, Ji Mingran gradually figured out the rules of the competition.

The Mysterious Universe has 180 entrances, each with a different capacity, up to a maximum of five people.

Participants who win both the first and second rounds have the right to choose their entrance first. Losers can only choose from the remaining entrances after all the winners have entered. The order of selection is based on the order of victory in the platform competition.

At their peak, all four players won their matches, and their consecutive victories were timed perfectly, greatly increasing their chances of entering the same entrance.

Among the sects, Meng Yingyang was ranked first, followed by Shi Jinle, Fu Daolan, and Shao Qingshang. Then came four disciples from Hongqi Sect, Zhu Family, Liuhuan Valley, and Baiyang Sect. After that came Shen Qingluo. Separated by one disciple from the Shen Family, it was Guan Wangzhen and Zhu Shibai's turn. After another ten participating disciples, it was Ji Mingran's turn.

Guan Wangzhen frowned and said to Ji Mingran, "After our winning streak, several sects joined forces and surrendered directly, even before you."

However, most of the disciples at the front of the line would choose their own entrance and wait for the other disciples to join them. As long as no other sect interfered, Ji Mingran should be able to enter the same entrance as the three of them smoothly.

But just in case, Shi Jinle, Fu Daolan and others saw an opportunity and sent Ji Mingran team invitations to avoid leaving her alone.

"I'll see how it goes." Ji Mingran had already reached his position and stopped. "We'll go together if there's a chance."

The participating disciples quickly took their places, and those at the front of the line made their choices without hesitation.

After all, this was not the first spiritual cultivation competition. With the post-competition summaries of the participants from each year, everyone has figured out some patterns.

For example, the entrance and exit of the Qiankun Maze are closely related. According to statistics on successful challenges of the maze in previous years, the closer one enters from the highest rock wall cave entrance, the higher the probability of passing through the maze.

Meng Yingyang chose the central entrance. Shi Jinle chose the first entrance to the left of the center, while Fu Daolan chose the first entrance to the right of the center, and Shao Qingshang followed closely behind Fu Daolan.

When it was Shen Qingluo's turn, she chose the third entrance from the right in the middle, which no one had entered before.

After she entered, four glowstones above the cave entrance flickered, and then one went out.

"Perfect timing." The sect's jade token relayed Guan Wangzhen's message, "That's enough people. I'll head over later, you all follow."

Ji Mingran replied "okay", but when he looked up, he saw that the Shen family disciples behind Shen Qingluo had also chosen the same entrance.

"What's going on! Didn't the Shen family dislike her and want to stay away from her? Why did they go in with her!" Guan Wangzhen raised the sect's jade token and complained for a while, then turned to look at Zhu Shibai, who was next to choose an entrance.

Zhu Shibai shook his head helplessly.

Someone has to be left out.

"Alright, I'll do as I please." Since things can't go according to plan, I might as well follow my intuition. Guan Wangzhen put down the sect's jade token, grabbed a handful of red hair, glanced at the many cave entrances, turned on his toes, and walked into the fourth entrance from the right in the middle.

Is this a case of giving up entirely, or a change of strategy?

Each disciple participating in the trial watched intently as the person in front of them chose their entrance. Seeing Guan Wangzhen walk alone into another entrance, the disciples in line couldn't help but wonder about his choice, while the rest of the group held their breath and looked at Zhu Shibai.

Zhu Shibai stood still for a moment, then stepped forward with a normal expression. He neither followed Shen Qingluo nor Guan Wangzhen, but instead walked alone into the fourth entrance from the left in the middle.

What are they doing? The three members of Dingsheng Sect all chose different entrances. Are they giving up on forming a team?

With the Dingsheng Sect's forces scattered, they can take the opportunity to form a team to intercept one of them!

The remaining disciples' sect jade tokens vibrated continuously, and all sorts of messages were frantically transmitted.

Then the ten participating disciples made their choices. When it came to Ji Mingran's turn, the remaining participating disciples finally understood why Guan Wangzhen and Zhu Shibai had entered the entrance separately.

Currently, the caves where Shen Qingluo, Guan Wangzhen, and Zhu Shibai are located are not full, and even the entrances where Meng Yingyang, Shi Jinle, Fu Daolan, and Shao Qingshang are located are available for selection.

Originally, each person occupied one entrance to the cave, but in order to reserve enough space to ensure that their little darling could successfully team up with one of their own people.

It seems that the other disciples of Dingsheng Sect who participated in the test were determined: it didn't matter whether they formed a team or not, the most important thing was to ensure that their little ancestor could successfully form a team.

We must take her with us no matter what! She's so lucky; her fellow disciples are really taking good care of her.

The other disciples from various sects had differing thoughts as they watched Ji Mingran make his choice.

Whoever she chooses, they will target. Having a burden like this is enough to hinder even the most powerful Foundation Establishment cultivators. This little devil is their weakness.

Ji Mingran's gaze lingered on the cave entrance where the five people were, and as if he had made up his mind, he lifted his foot and walked towards the cave entrance where Zhu Shibai was.

They chose Zhu Shibai. The remaining disciples exchanged glances, having already decided to enter the entrance together.

However, the thin figure slowly passed the fourth entrance from the left and entered the fifth entrance from the left.

What is she doing?

"Not going to team up?"

"What a waste of their sect's plans for her. Now look what's happened, none of them are together."

Darkness surged from within the cave, and Ji Mingran watched as the darkness engulfed his entire body, dragging him into another dimension.

The whispers behind her were instantly silenced; she could hear them, but she didn't care.

Different entrances will lead people to different places.

Since we've already scattered, let's go all the way and explore the mystery and gather information separately.

If you're lucky enough to meet someone, it just means you're destined to meet, right?