"By the way, tomorrow is the annual martial arts tournament in Crescent Moon City. The winner will receive a reward personally bestowed by the city lord of Crescent Moon City. I wonder if you would be interested in participating?"
Xie Zhou then sat down in front of the old man and said, "This martial arts competition? I wonder if you know what the conditions are for this competition?"
"Hahaha... Besides the people from the four major families, there are ten spots for independent cultivators, but they can only be obtained through a competition. That's the only way to have a chance. Why don't you give it a try, young lady?"
The old man was also a discerning judge of character. He sensed that the young woman in front of him possessed an extraordinary aura and would definitely participate in this martial arts competition.
Seeing the old man's tone of voice and his eyes were different, with a cunning look in them, Xie Zhou found it quite interesting. She didn't know what was wrong with the old man, but the way he looked at her felt like she was a piece of meat on a chopping board. She felt uneasy and put some distance between herself and the old man.
She then lowered her head and pondered. This martial arts competition could provide an opportunity to get close to the city lord of Crescent Moon City, and could be a breakthrough point.
Just then, the system suddenly issued a warning: "Host! The system has detected a forbidden area within this city. There may be traces of monsters there."
Xie Zhou then transmitted his voice to the system, "In that case, let's set off another day."
However, to secure a spot in the competition, one must still pass the test.
Without a second thought, Xie Zhou said to the guide, "Uncle, I'm quite interested in this kind of thing. Please help me sign up!"
"good……"
The guide then stood up and said, "Please come with me, young lady. I'll take you to the registration place right away."
Xie Zhou followed the guide to the registration area, where a long queue had formed.
Upon noticing the notice on the side, Xie Zhou went over to take a look. He discovered that in order to secure a spot in the competition, one had to compete against one hundred rogue cultivators. Only by ranking among the top ten of these one hundred rogue cultivators could one participate in the competition.
Looking at the long queue and considering the number of people, Xie Zhou felt a little tired. Competing against a hundred independent cultivators was quite tricky and exhausting.
However, Xie Zhou noticed while queuing that there were very few female rogue cultivators in the long line, and it was mostly male rogue cultivators. Did female rogue cultivators not deserve to enter this competition?
Xie Zhou didn't think much of it and then began a long wait.
This period was quite boring, but fortunately the guide kept telling her about the results of the annual competition that took place in Crescent Moon City and the rewards given by the city lord.
"Young lady, you don't know this, but back in the day, I was also furious. I wielded a Green Dragon Crescent Blade and was a force to be reckoned with. Those unfortunate rogue cultivators who were drawn into the same group as me were all defeated by me in one move. That was truly a glorious time..."
She never expected the old man to be so talkative, chattering on and on about so many things along the way, and still enjoying talking to her about these trivial, old stories.
However, Xie Zhou didn't find it annoying and just let it go in one ear and out the other.
Just as it was about to be her turn, she stood in front of two registration staff members with a registration form in hand. Both of them looked surprised, and then showed a hint of disdain for Xie Zhou.
The two men smiled knowingly and said, "Young lady, you seem to have come to the wrong place. This is a martial arts competition arena. You should be in the beauty pageant area over there, shouldn't you?"
This caused a burst of laughter from those around them.
"Hahaha……"
Xie Zhou saw that the two looked down on him, but to avoid unnecessary trouble, he coldly said, "I didn't come to the wrong place, did I? Does this place not allow female rogue cultivators to participate in the competition?"
One sentence left the two speechless, since it was stipulated that any independent cultivator could participate in the exam, and anyone with the ability could participate.
The two men exchanged glances but didn't laugh any further. However, the discrimination lingered in their eyes for a long time. Then, rather reluctantly, they asked, "Name of the applicant..."
"Xie Zhou, female, skilled in swordsmanship..."
After registering, Xie Zhou received a sign with a string of numbers on it.
According to that person, each person has a number, and those who draw a group will compete in batches.
After Xie Zhou put the item away, he and the guide arrived at the competition venue.
Meanwhile, a crowd gathered around the martial arts arena, making quite a racket, their laughter almost drowning out the sounds of some people training.
"Come on...come on...is it big or small?"
Xie Zhou noticed that the leader was dressed in coarse linen clothes, but had a big smile on his face, and was holding something in his hand.
When the guide arrived, he stared intently at the spot like a turtle stretching its neck. Xie Zhou then teased, "What has stolen your soul? If you're interested, go and take a look. Don't worry about me."
"Young lady, you don't understand. These people are betting in batches on who will win the martial arts competition. It's a way to make a fortune. Why don't you come and take a look?"
Seeing the people crammed together, Xie Zhou looked around and realized there was no room for him to squeeze in, so he shook his head and said, "This is too crowded, let's forget it. But old man, who do you think will win?"
"The outcome of a match is predetermined; it depends on the individual. After all, you can't judge a book by its cover, can you? If you judge someone's chances based solely on first impressions, you might miss out on even more opportunities..."
The old man then went forward to watch.
The competition was about to begin, and the news of those people opening betting odds was also released. However, as Xie Zhou had expected, this group of people did not have any optimism about the female rogue cultivator. They were full of disdain and even disgust.
Therefore, no one bet that Xie Zhou would win.
"Bang!"
After a bang, someone called out their number.
"...Please welcome these two to the stage!"
"Anaconda! Anaconda!..."
At that moment, she heard the shouts of a fanatic. It seemed that her opponent was this person called Python. The name sounded very imposing. She wondered what he looked like.
The man named "Mad Python" lived up to his name; he was tall and burly, and the aura he exuded was that he was not to be trifled with, implying that he could kill anyone who displeased him. He had a fierce and menacing appearance.
Every step he took left a deep footprint on the ground.
Xie Zhou had no fear of her opponent, after all, she knew that her cultivation level was considered top-notch in this place, so she was not nervous at all. No matter what, she had to get a spot in this competition, because only in this way could she have a chance to get close to the Lord of Crescent Moon City.
Seeing these two somewhat comical opponents, the onlookers predicted that the Python would definitely win one of the ten spots for rogue cultivators.
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