After entering the cave, I held onto the man's hand and walked a long distance. Under his guidance, I climbed some steps and finally heard his voice: "You can take off your hoods now."

Upon hearing the prompt, I reached out and pulled off my hood, then looked around at my surroundings.

I was right, we were indeed in a cave, but it wasn't a huge cave, but a square space with obvious signs of human excavation. I didn't know if it was modified from the original structure or if a cave was dug out directly.

Beneath our feet are incoming cables, and overhead are several surgical lights that illuminate the space brightly, providing the contestants with a better field of vision during the evaluation process.

In front of us was a long stone table with the items we brought in for the competition laid out on it.

Jiang Man noticed that we were the only group in the room, and asked the man, "Is this the rest room for the competition?"

"I guess so. This place is not only your rest area, but also your competition arena."

The man explained, "Fengmen Village has always invited an even number of people each year, and this year is no exception! Today, there are a total of 36 groups of contestants, divided into 18 groups for the competition. The 14 winning groups will advance to the second round, which is the decisive round."

The monkey interjected, "Wait! You just said there were thirty-six groups participating in the competition, so shouldn't eighteen groups win?"

The man glanced at the monkey: "Indeed, eighteen groups won, but we will only let the top fourteen groups enter the finals. This is to put pressure on the contestants and prevent them from wasting too much time."

"Isn't this biased?"

Jiang Man also found the loophole: "The first competition was a 'fishing for the moon in the sea' event, and all the items were prepared by the contestants themselves, so naturally the quality varied, and everyone's winning time was different."

"The question was prepared in advance, and you prepared the items yourselves. This game of 'Fishing for the Moon in the Bottom of the Sea' is all about sharp eyesight. The items you prepared were meant to deceive the other party. If they see through it at a glance, that's your own problem, not our responsibility."

The man finished speaking expressionlessly and handed out a lottery box: "You can draw lots to decide your opponents first."

"Shall we draw lots?"

Lin Que scratched his head: "There are thirty-six groups here. If we draw someone else's name, does that mean the person who was drawn has no choice?"

"These thirty-six groups have been divided into eighteen groups on each side. You draw a prize from the other side once, and the other side draws a prize from you once. One round is for attacking the title, and the other is for defending the title. The winner of both rounds will advance!"

I licked my lips: "What if we fail in one round?"

The man was very familiar with the rules: "If you fail in both rounds, you are eliminated. If you fail in one round, you will be re-drawn with other losers! The competition ends when there are fourteen winning teams."

I frowned: "So, you mean we won't see any other teams besides our own opponents, is that right?"

The man nodded: "Of course, otherwise if everyone competes together, no matter if your genuine items are found or displayed, others will see them, which would be truly unfair."

I understood the rules, so I didn't say anything more. I drew a stick from the lottery box, which had a bright red "4" written on it.

Jiang Man sighed when she saw the number: "Bad luck."

I smiled and handed the fortune slip to the man: "It's not unlucky at all, my lucky number is 4."

The man noted down the number, confirmed that no other team had drawn it, and said to me, "You drew the number 4 for the red team, and the opponent's number is 9 for the black team. Take a break. You will defend your title in the first round. When the time is up, the opponent will come here. Our people will be supervising the whole process. During the match, you can communicate with your own people, but you cannot communicate with the opponent's people. If you take the initiative to speak to the opponent, it will be considered as a forfeit. Is that clear enough?"

I nodded: "Mm."

After reading the rules, the man left the space through the passage.

Jiang Man frowned and looked at me: "Duan Shenxing, this competition is a little different from what we imagined. Only those who are selected or their selected opponents can meet. It's even more difficult for us to confirm whether Duan Jinyan has sent a representative."

"As you said yourself, Duan Jinyan is a shrewd person. The people he selected and sent here are definitely not ordinary. If we can make it to the finals, we will definitely meet his people."

I paused for a moment: "Right now, I don't want to run into Duan Jinyan's people. Otherwise, meeting him so early will definitely cause us a lot of trouble."

Jiang Man smiled and said, "The people invited by Fengmen Village must be a gathering of experts. Even if we don't encounter Duan Jinyan's people, it will still be a great test."

"Perhaps."

Thinking about the upcoming match, I couldn't help but feel a little nervous, so I lit a cigarette to calm myself down.

It's not that I don't trust myself, but the genuine item that Jiang Tianyi prepared was of superior quality, while these fakes are simply no match for the ones Su Jialiang gave me.

Before we participated in the competition, the people of Fengmen Village took away all our belongings, including my dragon-patterned necklace, which was temporarily kept safe.

I don't know how much time passed, but suddenly someone entered our room, carrying a large table.

As I watched these people enter, I asked, "Brother, is the competition about to begin?"

"We've entered the preparation phase. From now until the referee speaks, you are not allowed to speak."

A man nodded and then drew a curtain inside the cave, separating us from the other side. The referee also had all our belongings brought out and placed on the table, covered with a red silk cloth.

Soon, I heard the sound of things being arranged on the other side of the curtain, as well as footsteps coming from outside.

Immediately afterwards, two lights, one red and one blue, illuminated the room.

A few minutes later, the blue light went out, and the referee stood at the end of the curtain and announced loudly: "Our competition will officially begin in five minutes. Now I will read out the rules! After the competition begins, neither side may have any verbal communication or physical contact. During the identification of cultural relics, it is forbidden to interfere with the other party's judgment in any way or to damage the other party's items. Violation of any of the above rules will be considered as disqualification from the competition."

After hearing the referee's words, I took a deep breath, and my palms became slightly sweaty.

Although the environment here is simple, I am facing real masters from across the country. Once this curtain is lifted, what awaits me is a bloodless battle.

Five minutes passed in the blink of an eye. As the red light went out, the referee pulled back the curtain: "The treasure battle officially begins. Both sides, please take your eyes off each other."

Suddenly, my view opened up, and I saw Wei Shengnan, Qu Ruilin, Song Laosan, and others opposite me. I was stunned.