Chapter 377: A Last-Minute Rule Change

“Token!”

“Quick, grab it!”

Stage One.

More and more tokens were being found.

Some people silently pocketed a token and escaped into the water.

Some directly threw a token into the crowd, drawing everyone into a chaotic scramble.

In the end, it became almost a constant scene of several martial artists all targeting one person holding a token.

The stage had turned into complete chaos.

More and more martial artists fell wounded and lost their combat strength.

But there were also several quick-witted ones who took advantage of the confusion and swam ashore from the river.

They were all Caobang disciples or men from its subordinate dock factions, people with strong swimming skills. Clenching the tokens between their teeth, they emerged from the water and secured advancement spots ahead of time.

As the number of remaining tokens rapidly dropped by more than a dozen, everyone on Stage One grew anxious.

“Damn it!”

“To hell with it!!”

“I’ll kill whoever gets in my way!”

One man, relying on his high skill and bold courage, snatched up a token from the ground and, looking like a fiend, brandished his saber as he retreated toward the riverbank.

The result was that he was immediately brought down by several martial artists working together.

There was also one man whose lightness skill and movement technique were excellent. He opened the distance in an instant and shot away like a lone rider far ahead of the rest.

A real oddity also appeared on the stage. One fellow suddenly scattered a cloud of lime powder, using such a dirty Jianghu trick to force back a whole group of competitors in a pinch.

But the good times did not last!

Before he could even make it ashore, several throwing knives struck his body.

Someone seized the chance to snatch up the token and dive into the river, profiting like the fisherman who catches the fish after others fight.

“Damn it!”

“It’s another one from the Caobang!”

“I finally understand why they built the stages on the river.”

“Damn them!”

“Take down the Caobang men first!”

“Exactly!”

“Crush those water rats!”

A whole group of landlubbers were instantly united in hatred.

Several Caobang disciples were quickly knocked down.

The remaining ones saw that the situation was bad and immediately fled underwater.

By the time it took to burn one stick of incense had run out, those who still held the tokens had all advanced, while the rest of the martial artists were left bedraggled and eliminated.

The wounded were sent for treatment!

Caobang disciples carried wooden planks and piles over to repair the damaged sections.

The martial artists who had advanced turned in their tokens.

After a brief discussion among the judges, Wan Xiwen stepped forward and raised an objection:

“After deliberation, we have decided that Advancement Tokens will no longer be placed in advance. Instead, the judges themselves will cast them onto the stage, in order to improve the fairness and impartiality of the competition!”

The moment those words were spoken, the martial artists along the riverbank erupted in cheers of support:

“Exactly!”

“The tokens can’t be placed in the river anymore!”

“We support the judges’ decision!”

The martial artists who could not swim were unanimously in favor of the rule change.

The Caobang and the people from the dock factions were furious, but did not dare voice it.

Old Seven smoothly followed up with the announcement:

“Next, the competition moves to Stage Two! All participants, enter the field!”

“Wait for the judges to cast out the Advancement Tokens.”

As the competitors entered the field, the ten fifth-rank martial artists each held four tokens and used hidden-weapon methods to scatter them to various parts of the stage.

Bang!

Crack!

Some tokens were embedded into the wooden piles of the stage; some dropped directly onto the ground amid the crowd; some hung high up from the masts...

The landing points of these tokens had clearly been chosen with care, instantly igniting battle.

The two hundred first-rank martial artists all clashed with the competitors nearest them.

Blades flashed and swords gleamed.

In an instant, more than twenty martial artists were knocked down;

more than ten fell into the river.

On Wangchuan’s side, he was directing the martial artists numbered 401 through 600 to head toward Stage Three and prepare themselves.

Everyone was more than happy to step onto the stage early, survey the terrain, and make ready.

But just after they finished their preparations,

the judges’ side announced the lighting of the incense, and the token-casting began.

As the number of competitors on Stage Two rapidly dwindled, the battle on Stage Three began.

Then came Stage Four, then Stage Five...

The rate of elimination quickened!

Wangchuan noticed several familiar faces from the hall appearing on the stages.

Among them were Zhang Yao and Chen Hong from the Sanjiang Branch Helm, who had both stepped onto the field as well.

Some advanced; some were eliminated.

Every time someone fell into the water, or someone else secured an advancement spot, it tugged at the hearts of family, friends, and spectators on shore.

Even those disciples of famous sects and great families inside the inns and restaurants, people who disliked showing themselves publicly, watched with loud laughter and great amusement before falling into deep thought once more.

Lu Ping’an also fell into thought:

The elimination round for the third-rank tournament would be the same...

Only there, it would be one hundred third-rank martial artists competing for twenty Advancement Tokens.

That was somewhat dangerous.

During the elimination rounds, if one lacked brains or sharp judgment, it would be all too easy to become the target of the crowd and lose the chance to enter the next stage...

“Wangchuan.”

“Let’s work together during the elimination rounds.”

After the eleventh group had taken the field, Lu Ping’an found Wangchuan and made the suggestion.

Wangchuan agreed without hesitation.

After about one hour, the first round of the first-rank elimination tournament finally came to an end.

Only a little over seven hundred first-rank martial artists remained—some had voluntarily withdrawn from the next stage because of their injuries.

Then came the next round: one hundred people competing for forty Advancement Tokens, under the same rules.

Only this time, everyone behaved far more cautiously, with greater experience. They watched in all directions and listened on every side, and even began forming temporary alliances.

In the end,

one hundred people were selected, and then came the contest in which ten people competed for four Advancement Tokens.

Only at this stage did people finally begin displaying their personal skills and techniques.

At last, some truly impressive martial artists began to emerge. Some, relying on their body-hardening skills, took on three or four opponents by themselves and seized an advancement spot with imposing force;

others displayed superb hidden-weapon skills, forcing competitors to keep their distance and carrying their Advancement Tokens ashore with ease to secure early advancement;

of course,

there were also Caobang disciples who snatched a token and immediately dove deep beneath the water, giving no one a chance to get near them.

But it was not long before the Caobang found itself being targeted by nearly all the martial artists present, who no longer allowed Caobang disciples any chance to approach the tokens.

By the time the final contest was reached, every last Caobang disciple had already been eliminated.

As for the top ten...

the Caobang came away with nothing at all.

Wan Xiwen’s expression turned rather ugly;

Old Seven’s face did not look any better.

They both understood:

the bad consequences of the river stages were beginning to rebound on them.

If everyone continued targeting the Caobang afterward, then the Caobang’s competitors would find it very difficult to reach the final rounds.

While the second-rank elimination tournament was still being prepared, Cui Mingjue came over and spoke softly into Wangchuan’s ear:

“Hall Master Wangchuan.”

“Old Seven asked you to think of a way. In the third-rank tournament, we must absolutely secure a placing. At the very least, we must make it into the final top ten.”

“The Hall Master says that if our hall comes away empty-handed, the people above will lose face. When that happens, it will be very hard to explain matters.”

Third-rank martial artists were more cunning, and the competition would be even fiercer. The Caobang could very well be cleared out in advance.

No wonder Old Seven was nervous.

Wangchuan, however, replied in an utterly calm manner:

“Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.”

Cui Mingjue left.

A faint smile appeared on Wangchuan’s face.

In the third-rank tournament,

he was definitely going to fight his way in.

For this tournament, he had not only allied himself with Lu Ping’an, he had also reached an agreement with Qinghe Commandery’s Deputy Hall Master Zhang Zishan. Together they would fight for a ranking for the Caobang and keep one another warm in a group.

Chen Libin of the Gold Coin Gang had also agreed to cooperate.

At his side were Lin Jiahe, a newly advanced third-rank martial artist, as well as Bai Yuhui, who had broken through to third rank a few days ago, and...

Yang Feiyue. That old fox had also broken through to third rank a few days earlier.

In the third-rank tournament, he was certain to enter the top ten.

What he cared more about now was the second-rank division.

Because the hall had entered not only Chen Ergou, Zhao Heiniu, Hong Kaibao, and Wang Yuehui, but also Lin Xun, Fei Zai, Gao Quan, Li Qing, Ye Baiyi, Chen Gang, Li Xiangyang, and the rest. Nearly every second-rank martial artist the Caobang could put forward had registered.

On top of that!

There were also Monk Dalong, Old Qiu, Old Yuan, and Sister Yuan from Warring States Game Studio...

He wondered whether even one of them would be able to fight their way through.