After several days, the competition of a thousand people has been reduced to only 60 people. The winners of each of the twenty groups will be selected today, and the remaining twenty people will compete in the next round.
In Lu Zhaozhao's group, the other two winners besides her were Jin Ke from the Sword Tomb and Cen Jianwen from the Empty Mountain Sect.
"Haha, I didn't expect that everyone in our group would be familiar with each other!"
Jin Ke patted Cen Jianwen on the back, his face beaming with a smile.
Cen Jianwen returned his smile.
Actually, this result was within everyone's expectations after the groups were drawn.
Every year, a betting pool is set up at the Golden Banquet. As the competition progresses, the betting pool expands. Lu Zhaozhao's group of three has the highest odds of winning, which means that the most people are betting on them to win.
The betting results released today, up to yesterday, show that the betting pool is for the winner of each group.
In some groups, the situation is unclear, so everyone's odds are almost the same, while in other groups, it's different.
Bai Yuanshi, Lu Zhaozhao, Liao Chou... the top few on the Wenrenlu list displayed terrifying strength in this selection competition, and almost everyone placed bets on them.
"It seems everyone is really looking forward to Junior Sister Lu."
Jin Ke looked at the list, her tone tinged with bitterness.
When the group was drawn up, he had a bad feeling, and after seeing Lu Zhaozhao's performance on stage, that feeling turned into worry.
He watched the match against Bai Yuanzhou attentively from the sidelines. Bai Yuanzhou was a disciple of Wenyuan Academy and a student of the sect leader Qing Songzi. His older brother, Bai Yuanshi, was an outstanding individual. Therefore, he had a great reputation at a young age, and he certainly lived up to his reputation.
In these matches, he demonstrated strong abilities. Even when he lost to Lu Zhaozhao, his strength was still formidable. He was just unlucky to have encountered the even stronger Lu Zhaozhao.
While sitting in the audience, Cen Jianwen secretly wondered if he could win the match if he were on stage.
He didn't know.
Facing Bai Yuanzhou will be a tough battle, but it will be evenly matched; facing Lu Zhaozhao, the balance will be broken, and he will fall into a worse situation, but he will not be without the ability to fight back.
As for Lu Zhaozhao, she stood in front of the gambling table, her heart calm, but another thought came to her mind.
Won't the other two team up against the most anticipated person first?
The answer is: Yes.
Standing on the stage, Lu Zhaozhao looked at the two opponents who had hit it off immediately, feeling inexplicably helpless.
As soon as they stepped onto the stage, Jin Ke and Cen Jianwen reached a consensus: they would first defeat the strongest Lu Zhaozhao, and then the two of them would decide the winner.
The whole process was exceptionally smooth, and within a few words, the two of them turned their anger towards Lu Zhaozhao.
"I'm sorry, Junior Sister Lu." Jin Ke greeted her apologetically.
Lu Zhaozhao didn't have any opinion on their alliance, since the rules didn't prohibit it and what they did wasn't against the rules.
Her gaze shifted between the two men.
Jin Ke, a disciple of the Sword Tomb, ranked thirteenth in the Wenren Record, has a mid-Nascent Soul cultivation level. His weapon is an ancient sword called Qing Shuang. It is said that this sword was left behind by a powerful figure from the Sword Tomb after his death, and it reappeared after a hundred years of silence.
Cen Jianwen, a disciple of the Kongshan Sect, ranked fifty-first in the Wenrenlu (a list of notable figures), possessed the cultivation of the early Nascent Soul stage. The Kongshan Sect cultivated talismans, and she had glimpsed some of Cen Jianwen's strength at the Mushan Nunnery.
Both of them are quite strong, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to get this far. Therefore, if they joined forces, they would pose an even greater threat, but Lu Zhaozhao didn't care.
She hadn't considered seeking cooperation, firstly because she didn't want to entrust her back to outsiders; and secondly, because she believed her current capabilities didn't require collaboration. She even thought that a partnership between these two would be ideal, saving her the trouble of defeating them one by one.
Lu Zhaozhao twirled her sword and gestured with her chin toward the two people opposite her, who immediately attacked her.
Jin Ke swiftly closed the distance, wielding his heavy sword; the heavy sword dealt considerable damage in close combat. Cen Jianwen, meanwhile, continuously threw out talismans from behind to provide cover for him.
"Bang bang bang!"
Three talismans were thrown in succession towards Lu Zhaozhao, white smoke billowed and enveloped the entire arena, making visibility extremely low.
Jin Ke, hidden in the smoke, kept approaching Lu Zhaozhao.
"Clang!"
The two swords clashed. Lu Zhaozhao looked at Qing Shuang, which was a whole size larger than Ni Ye, raised an eyebrow, and felt the weight in her hand remind her of the greatsword's power, which was indeed well-deserved.
Upon seeing the two entangled, Cen Jianwen immediately threw out other talismans.
"Bang!"
A fire talisman flew towards Lu Zhaozhao, but was intercepted halfway by her sword intent. As the fire talisman fell, a great fire immediately broke out all around.
Another talisman followed closely behind.
"Boom—"
Accompanied by lightning and thunder, a beam of light ripped through the sky and slammed into Lu Zhaozhao.
Lu Zhaozhao wanted to dodge, but Jin Ke in front of her did not intend to give her that chance. He entangled her tightly, determined to trap her in place.
The lightning struck, and Lu Zhaozhao withstood the blow, while Jin Ke, who was also within the attack range, was affected.
He coughed twice, retreated to a safe distance, and exchanged a glance with Cen Jianwen.
The black smoke from the thunderbolt hadn't dissipated yet, and they didn't know what was happening inside, but judging from the power just now, Lu Zhaozhao couldn't possibly have escaped injury.
As the smoke gradually dissipated, a beam of light pierced through the black smoke before the figure could appear.
The sharp sword light aimed straight at Cen Jianwen's vital point.
Cen Jianwen was unable to dodge in time, and Jin Ke instinctively threw out the sword in her hand to block the attack for him.
The person who acted against the tide was knocked backward and sent flying.
The next moment, Lu Zhaozhao appeared out of thin air in the middle of the field, used the momentum to grab the sword hilt, and attacked Jin Ke, who had lost her sword.
"careful!"
Cen Jianwen shouted, not having time to think about why Lu Zhaozhao's clothes weren't even damaged after being struck by lightning; the current situation was even more dire.
Jin Ke was forced to retreat repeatedly, and could only rely on her body to withstand the onslaught.
The blade of Niye struck his body repeatedly, seemingly finding its mark, each strike aimed directly at his meridians. Cen Jianwen was not skilled in close combat, so he could only keep his distance and throw talismans as support.
Just as Jin Ke was about to take this attack head-on, he met Cen Jianwen's gaze.
He understood with just one look.
The two set a trap, and Jin Ke deliberately created an opening, waiting to lure the other party into the trap.
But the next second, Lu Zhaozhao's figure flashed, and Niye conjured three swords. Two of them continued to pursue Jin Ke, while the phantom sword, along with the real sword in Lu Zhaozhao's hand, appeared in front of Cen Jianwen in the next moment.
With her current strength, she can conjure up to four swords, but this effort is not perfect. The three swords that are compressed and condensed are virtually identical to the original swords, and when stacked together, their power is even greater.
Cen Jianwen was shocked and, in his haste, threw away countless talismans, wanting only to create distance as quickly as possible.
Lu Zhaozhao quickened her pace, her afterimage flashing in the air as she weaved through the gap between the two talismans, constantly closing in on Cen Jianwen.
The balance of power was completely reversed at this moment.
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