The first round of challenges concluded, followed immediately by the second round.
There were a total of five challenge rounds, after which the Azure Cloud Ranking Battle would end. After a half-month rest period, members of the Azure Cloud Ranking would face challenges from others, but that was under different rules and unrelated to this Azure Cloud Ranking Grand Assembly.
Challengers and challenged continuously ascended the stage; some succeeded, some failed, some rejoiced, some sorrowed.
Soon, the challenges reached the top ten. Qin Mo, ranked eighth, followed Qin Chu's arrangement not to initiate a challenge. Accepting one challenge per round was enough; he would only make a move when others were in a low state.
When it came to the seventh position, a member of the White Tiger Sacred Family, ranked seventh, challenged Zhen Ji, who was ranked fifth.
Zhen Ji had been pierced through the right chest by a Sword Qi from Shang Shu Chun Xie. Although her heart was not injured, her Meridians and Qi and blood were severely damaged. He still had a chance.
However, in reality, even with her injuries, Zhen Ji was not someone anyone could bully. She deployed a large shield to defend herself, withstood a barrage of frantic attacks from her opponent, and then defeated him. However, this aggravated her injuries, causing her to spit out a mouthful of blood. This meant that when it was her turn to challenge, she no longer had the ability to challenge upwards and could only forfeit her challenge right. In fact, even at her Peak, she was not a match for the top few, and now it was even less possible.
With Zhen Ji, ranked fifth, forfeiting her challenge, it was Shang Shu Yu's turn, ranked fourth.
Shang Shu Yu stood up, her gaze bypassing Shang Shu Chun Xie and falling upon Shang Tian Du. "You can't hold the second position. Get up and accept the challenge."
Shang Tian Du, who was originally meditating to recover, was very angry because in his Peak state, he was no match for Shang Shu Yu. But now Shang Shu Yu wouldn't let him sit in the second position. Very angry, Shang Tian Du had just opened his mouth when he spat out a mouthful of blood, losing half a day's recovery. He could only directly concede and move to the fourth position.
Ye Ming looked at Shang Tian Du, who had moved to the fourth position, and asked if Shang Tian Du wanted to challenge. Having dropped from above, he now had one challenge opportunity.
At this moment, Shang Tian Du no longer had the ability to fight again and could only forfeit the challenge.
Next, Shang Shu Chun Xie, ranked third, looked at Shang Shu Yu and Qin Chu. Shang Shu Chun Xie shook his head and forfeited the challenge. Shang Shu Yu was a direct descendant of the Azure Dragon Sacred Family, a princess, so he naturally couldn't challenge her; that would be insubordination. As for fighting Qin Chu and then ending up severely injured like Shang Tian Du, only to be beaten when down? He wouldn't do that either.
The second round of challenges concluded, and the third round began. The rules were this cruel, a comprehensive test of intellect, endurance, and combat power.
There were almost no battles in the third round because the previous round had just ended, and everyone needed to recover.
However, there were still some who wanted to fight. For example, the member of the Black Tortoise Sacred Family, ranked sixth, made a move. He wanted to fight Shang Tian Du, ranked fourth.
Looking at the member of the Black Tortoise Sacred Family, Shang Tian Du's eyes were practically murderous. The opponent was taking advantage of his injury and poor condition. He truly couldn't fight now and could only get up and switch positions. He could only recover quickly to fight his way up.
The sixth position changed hands. Ye Ming shook his head and asked Shang Tian Du, who had moved to the sixth position, if he wanted to challenge.
Shang Tian Du shook his head, forfeiting again. He had no choice; the situation was stronger than him. No matter how strong his power was, his current state was not good. He felt that his strategy of targeting Qin Chu from the start was a huge mistake.
Zhen Ji, ranked fifth, did not challenge. She had been pierced through the chest by Shang Shu Chun Xie's sword and then forced herself to fight another battle. Not only did her injuries not ease, but they also showed some signs of worsening. The member of the Black Tortoise Sacred Family, ranked fourth, had just fought and now did not have the qualification to challenge.
Shang Shu Chun Xie, ranked third, forfeited again, and Shang Shu Yu did the same. Qin Chu, at the top of the ranking, had no qualification to fight.
Ye Ming told everyone to take a tea break and rest. A quarter of an hour later, the fourth round of challenges began.
Starting from the back, everyone gave up their challenges. Everyone had fought several matches and was exhausted. They all planned to fight fiercely in the fifth round to determine the final rankings.
When it came to the eighth position, Qin Mo made his move, directly challenging Shang Tian Du. This directly pushed Shang Tian Du, who had just recovered a little but still couldn't fight, down to the eighth position. Qin Mo moved to the sixth position.
Shang Tian Du, at the eighth position, took a deep breath and stood up, looking at Zhen Ji, ranked fifth. He was injured and couldn't fight Qin Mo, who was in his Peak state, but bullying Zhen Ji, who was also injured, was still possible.
"Trash!" Zhen Ji, targeted by Shang Tian Du, felt a stampede of horses in her heart. You don't dare to fight others, but you, an injured person, come to bully another injured person? Furious in her heart, Zhen Ji and Shang Tian Du began a desperate fight.
The result was Shang Tian Du's challenge failed. Zhen Ji was injured, but the Black Tortoise Sacred Family was skilled in defense. In a war of attrition, Shang Tian Du couldn't afford the consumption and could only stop attacking and leave the stage.
The seventh position was a member of the Blazing Thunder Sacred Family. He was not in good condition and directly forfeited the challenge, moving to Qin Mo, ranked sixth.
Qin Mo smiled at Zhen Ji, who was in the adjacent position. "I'll take your spot."
"Shameless!" Zhen Ji cursed, then yielded her position. She had just been dragged into a fight by Shang Tian Du and simply couldn't afford to fight Qin Mo to the death.
Zhen Ji, now at the sixth position, forfeited her challenge. Then Ye Ming bypassed Qin Mo and looked at the member of the Black Tortoise Sacred Family, ranked fourth. He shook his head, content with reaching fourth place. The top three were all in their Peak state now, and he simply couldn't fight them. The top three still hadn't moved; Shang Shu Chun Xie and Shang Shu Yu hadn't challenged, and Qin Chu couldn't challenge even if he wanted to.
Then came the final round of challenges, which was also the ultimate ranking battle. Everyone knew this round would be intense.
To give everyone a chance, Ye Ming gave them an hour of rest time so that those who had expended a lot could recover somewhat and fight one more time.
Qin Chu looked at Shang Shu Chun Xie and Shang Shu Yu. "In the final round of challenges, you can fight. Even if there's consumption, others won't gain an advantage, but I won't give way because I must obtain the Vermilion Bird Soft Armor."
In fact, the Azure Dragon Sacred Family indeed had a great advantage because both third and second place were Azure Dragon Sacred Family members. After Shang Shu Chun Xie, ranked third, fought Qin Chu, Qin Chu would certainly be depleted. Then Shang Shu Yu, ranked second, would have a much greater chance to challenge. If Shang Shu Chun Xie and Qin Chu both ended up severely injured, Shang Shu Yu could easily take first place.
An evil Qi appeared in Shang Shu Chun Xie's eyes. He had no friendship with Qin Chu. Not fighting before was because it wasn't in his interest. Now it was the final round, and if there was a chance, he would naturally fight. Even if he lost, he would have gained an opportunity for the Azure Dragon Sacred Family.
"Junior Brother, how can you say that? Do you think I would challenge you?" Shang Shu Yu knew that Qin Chu had a barrier in his heart towards her.
"Senior Sister is an Azure Dragon Sacred Family member. Family interests are paramount, and I can understand that, because it's the same for me!" Qin Chu exhaled.
Shang Shu Yu felt a pang in her heart. "Junior Brother, I won't!"