[Vol. 6] Chapter 209: In a Crowd of Three, There’s Always Someone Familiar
The grand competition in Xingyuan City continued to progress smoothly.
After a month since it began, the initial pool of over a million contestants had been whittled down to a select few. Those who remained were truly elite. Individuals with both skill and foundation to back them up. These were the powerhouses of their regions, and the battles had only grown more intense as the competition advanced.
Round after round of eliminations tested not only strength but also stamina and endurance. The importance of the guaranteed spots earned in the preliminary rounds became increasingly evident. After all, if one contestant had to endure grueling matches back-to-back while another rested and conserved their energy, the advantage in the subsequent rounds was substantial.
Some might view this system as unfair, arguing that it made it harder to determine the true champions. However, fairness was a relative concept. The guaranteed spots were earned through effort, and those who refused to put in the work while crying out for equality were merely inviting ridicule.
After numerous rounds of eliminations, the time had finally come for the much-anticipated “final”.
216 contestants.
These were the top-tier elites of the Eastern Kingdom, carefully selected from over a million participants. They would represent their nation in the upcoming main event of the [Four Saints' Immortal Selection Ceremony], held at the Western Kingdom’s base. There, fewer than a thousand contestants from across the world would compete for the honor of ascending Spirit Veil Immortal Island.
However, before that, they needed to determine the champion of the Eastern Kingdom’s regional competition. While this additional step might seem excessive for the overall tournament, it was a matter of great importance to the Eastern Kingdom itself.
As Violet walked into the finalists’ lounge in the main venue, she happened to see three familiar yet unexpected figures.
"Ah! It’s the boss! Long time no see!"
"Miss Violet, it’s been a while… huh? Huh?"
"………?"
Le Qiaoqiao, Yu Dan’er, and the gray-haired swordswoman Hongyan, spotted Violet at the same time. They began to greet her, only to pause mid-sentence, exchanging puzzled glances as if caught off guard by each other’s presence.
"Huh? What’s going on? You two know the boss too?"
"Wait, that’s what I should be asking! So Miss Violet really is competing in both the literary and martial tournaments? I thought it was just someone with the same name. And what’s with calling her 'boss'?"
"I see… Violet, thank you for looking after them before. I am Hongyan, and I apologize for my earlier lack of courtesy."
The three of them spoke all at once, their chatter like a flock of sparrows, drawing exasperated looks from the other contestants passing by or lingering nearby.
"Shouldn’t I be the most confused here? How did the three of you, from completely different places, end up together? Did you team up just to surprise me?"
The trio exchanged uncertain glances, none of them sure how to explain. After a brief awkward silence, Yu Dan’er, being the most articulate, stepped in to clarify.
"It’s like this, Miss Violet. Do you remember when I mentioned that small group I joined to come to Xingyuan City? Well, the three of us aren’t from the same place, but we all happened to join that group. Since arriving here, we’ve been staying at the same inn. And, well, since we’re all girls, we naturally got to know each other over time."
"Exactly, boss! This is what you call fate!" Le Qiaoqiao chimed in cheerfully.
"Really? That’s… a bit too much of a coincidence, isn’t it?" Violet muttered, still skeptical.
But, to be fair, Yu Dan’er had no reason to lie about something like this. Hongyan’s modest appearance seemed to support the story. Her gear looked far from luxurious, and aside from her sword, she didn’t appear to own anything particularly valuable.
And Le Qiaoqiao? Well, Violet already knew her peculiar, insatiable appetite made her perpetually broke. Back in the forest, she’d complained multiple times about "never getting enough to eat" and grumbled about "greedy shopkeepers who don’t offer discounts for eating so much."
Considering their circumstances, it wasn’t far-fetched for the three of them to band together to save on travel expenses.
"Fine…" Violet sighed, shaking her head. "If this is just a coincidence, I guess you could call it fate."
It seemed Hongyan was about to head to the arena for her match, with her two companions accompanying her to cheer her on from the stands.
Although this final was just a competition to determine rankings within the Eastern Kingdom, and even those who lost could still compete in the Four Nations Grand Finals, the Holy Sect had generously prepared rewards to boost the contestants' enthusiasm. Along with a hefty cash prize, the top ten would receive special, exclusive rewards.
For some participants with empty pockets, the prize money was a huge motivator. And securing a top-ten spot in the national rankings was more than enough to prove their strength. Achieving this could even open the door to opportunities, such as becoming an exclusive guard for a prestigious sect.
On a side note, while Yu Dan’er wasn’t competing in the martial contests, she had advanced to the finals of the literary competition after passing three rounds of qualifiers. This earned her the privilege of accessing the final’s inner venue as a spectator. A well-deserved benefit in line with the rules.
After chatting briefly, Violet didn’t keep them for long. She bid the trio farewell and made her way to another part of the venue, where three other people awaited her in the contestants’ lounge. Together, they used the room’s projection screen to watch the matches.
Incidentally, the advanced projection equipment, which seemed entirely out of place in the [Ancient Spirit Realm]’s aesthetic, appeared to operate on a mysterious technology called [Heaven’s Eye]. The exact workings of this technology were a closely guarded secret, known only to the highest-ranking officials in various nations.
Thanks to the device’s dynamic aerial views and shifting camera angles, the situation in the arena was displayed with remarkable clarity.
By the time the national finals began, the tournament’s format had stripped away all the gimmicks and returned to the simplest structure: one-on-one matches. The 216 remaining contestants would fight in single-elimination duels, with the winner advancing to the next round.
This straightforward format, combined with the limited seating and high demand, made tickets nearly impossible to obtain. Even the Eastern Saint and the sect leaders were said to be watching from the VIP section, further heightening the event’s grandeur.
At that moment, the match featured none other than the gray-haired swordswoman Hongyan, who had recently crossed paths with Violet. From their very first meeting, Hongyan had struck Violet as somewhat familiar. Hongyan’s opponent was a middle-aged woman wielding a long whip, appearing to be in her forties.
This was actually quite normal. In fact, world-class tournaments like the [Four Saints' Immortal Selection Ceremony], which placed no restrictions on participants’ age or background, were naturally the stage for seasoned, highly experienced powerhouses. Talents like Hongyan, who was young yet managed to reach the finals, were exceedingly rare.
According to the pre-match commentary, the whip-wielding woman wasn’t on the [Ancient Spirit Realm Top 100] list, but she was a core elder of a significant sect in the Eastern Kingdom. Her strength was formidable, reportedly just a step away from reaching the [Seeker of Immortality] stage. In terms of raw power, she should have had the upper hand over Hongyan.
But Violet could see it at a glance. This woman was no match for the gray-haired swordswoman.
It wasn’t because the elder was weak. It was because Hongyan was too strong. If this were a novel, Hongyan would undoubtedly be one of those prodigies who could take down opponents well above her level, a natural genius.
The sword is often called the "king of all weapons" for good reason. Across both the [Ancient Spirit Realm] and other continents, it’s the most commonly used weapon. However, despite its popularity, truly mastering the sword is incredibly rare.
Swordsmanship isn’t just about wielding a blade. It’s about cultivating the heart. A person who focuses solely on the weapon’s form will never fully grasp the essence of swordsmanship, let alone reach its peak.
At higher levels, truly powerful swordsmen often move beyond the physical constraints of the sword itself, embarking on a deeper, more profound path.
This philosophy reminded Violet of someone she knew. A person who also loved swords and always carried seven of them, constantly preaching the same ideas. To put it simply, mastering the sword was like mastering both magic and martial arts simultaneously. It had an incredibly high ceiling but an equally low floor.
Hongyan, without a doubt, was a swordswoman who could touch that ceiling. Her actual strength couldn’t be accurately measured by conventional ranks or levels.
Violet had experienced this firsthand.
Wait a minute… now that she thought about it, wasn’t there something strangely familiar about Hongyan? From her appearance to her demeanor to even her hair color. There was a certain resemblance to…
…Huh?