Dong! Dong! Dong!
As the melodious bell resounded through the outer gate, all of the Outer Disciples left their room and went toward the outer square.
On the mountain path, the young Outer Disciples marched together.
Su Mo left his room and Niu Xiaohu and Li Feng were already waiting for him in the courtyard.
“Let’s head to the outer square!”
Su Mo invited them to go with him to the outer square for the Outer Disciple Competition.
“Holy cow! So many people!”
Li Feng blurted out as the three of them arrived at the outer square.
Su Mo and Niu Xiaohu also looked surprised, seeing that the outer square was packed with at least 20,000 people.
Gale Island was said to have tens of thousands of Outer Disciples, who were pretty much all gathering there now.
10 huge fighting rings had been set in the middle of the square.
Each ring was three meters high and in a square shape with sides that were 100 meters long.
The 10 rings built were in a row in an extraordinary, imposing manner, and behind the 10 fighting rings was a high spectator stand, which was full of elders, deacons, and many Inner Disciples.
Su Mo saw Elder Wei sitting in the middle of the stands, and next to Elder Wei sat two old men.
Su Mo assumed they were the other two elders in the general management of the Outer Disciples.
Su Mo also spotted Wang Hui and Luo Huan in the spectator stands.
“Senior Brother Su, this way.”
Abruptly, a shout was heard, and Su Mo turned around and saw Zhou Xin waving at him.
Su Mo approached him along with Li Feng and Niu Xiaohu.
“Zhou Xin, you’ve improved a lot!” said Su Mo with a smile as soon as he had noticed Zhou Xin’s great progress.
He would soon reach Lv 3 Spiritual Martial Realm.
Among the three of them, Li Feng was the only one at Lv 3 Spiritual Martial Realm.
Zhou Xin and Niu Xiaohu were both at the Peak Lv 2 Spiritual Martial Realm.
“Hehe… My progress is nothing next to Brother Su’s!” Zhou Xin said with a laugh, very excited.
Just then, screams and shouts suddenly broke out in the stands.
“Look! Brother Lu Shaoyun and Sister Mei Ling are coming!”
“And Brother Fei Kuang!”
“Also Brother Ling Muchen and Brother Gu Zhan!”
“So powerful!”
With the noises and exclamations, everyone turned to the mountain path outside of the square.
Su Mo followed the eyes of the crowd,
He saw a group of five young disciples coming together along the mountain path.
The members of this group were either handsome and delicate; tall, tough and overbearing; or gorgeous and bright.
They looked very different but they did share one thing in common, which was that their bearing was extremely vigorous, way beyond their peers at the same level.
“Interesting!”
Su Mo was watching the group of five and his brows raised.
The power of these five martial artists ignited his fighting desire.
These five of the top 10 Outer Disciples quickly arrived at the square.
“This year, it seems that there is no remarkable experts among the Outer Disciples!” said the two-meter-tall Fei Kuang to the other four after glancing around the square.
“That’s right. But we shouldn’t be negligent, especially in front of the Sky Alliance!” replied a youth who looked fair and clear.
That was Lu Shaoyun, ranked sixth among the top 10 Outer Disciples.
The five disciples chatted casually while waiting for the Outer Disciple Competition to begin.
Around them, several Outer Disciples eyed them with a boiling fighting desire.
It was possible for them to become one of the top 10 Outer Disciples, with all the fame and glory that goes along with it, if they could defeat any one of these five.
All of a sudden, the clamor came to a halt.
Then abruptly, cries and screams burst out:
“The Sky Alliance is here!”
“That is Brother Nangong Linjue, the No.1 Outer Disciple!”
“And Sister Duan Bingye, Brother Yi Xiaoguang, and Brother He Yangjun!”
“So many great martial artists! The Sky Alliance is so strong!”
“Brother Nangong, I love you!”
The crowd was extremely enthusiastic. Many young girls who were infatuated with Nangong Linjue blushed as they called out their affections.
Nangong Linjue was a figure that they usually had no chance to meet.
In the distance, a large group of the Sky Alliance was striding on the mountain path toward the outer square.
The group of a couple hundred disciples seemed vast and mighty.
They appeared confident and arrogant and their air merged together, sweeping over the spectators in an overwhelming manner.
The grim-looking youth with a finely chiseled face leading the phalanx was none other than Nangong Linjue, the No.1 Outer Disciple.
From afar, Su Mo locked his eyes on Nangong Linjue.
The first impression of this man was unfathomable!
Su Mo withdrew his eyes without glancing at anyone else in the phalanx.
As the group of hundreds of Sky Alliance disciples arrived at the square, many spectators moved spontaneously to make room for them.
“Hehe. The Outer Disciple Competition is where we Sky Alliance begins mopping up!”
Most of the Sky Alliance disciples wore a proud smile. The Sky Alliance never failed to grab attention and admiration during the annual Outer Disciple Competition.
“Don’t take the enemy lightly. The rest of the top 10 Outer Disciples are not weak targets!”
A crisp voice came from a cold, yet glamorous, girl next to Nangong Linjue.
That was Duan Bingye, ranked second among the top 10 Outer Disciples.
Duan Bingye turned to Nangong Linjue and continued, “Brother Nangong, we are both from the Sky Alliance, but I won’t hold back if we are to fight in the ring. We shall compete for the top seat fairly!”
Duan Bingye sounded very confident and her faint arrogance remained even in front of Nangong Linjue.
“Haha. Sister Duan, no need to hold back.”
A gentle smile appeared on Nangong Linjue’s face briefly as he continued, “If you make it to defeat me, the top seat will be yours for sure.”
Nangong Linjue appeared to be caring and friendly while facing Duan Bingye because she was very capable and not very inferior to him, and also because she was the younger cousin of Duan Jingtian, the chief of the Sky Alliance.
Now, the outer square was filled with hullabaloo.
Numerous Outer Disciples were either chatting with their mates or recuperating and building up energy before the Outer Disciple Competition.
A half an hour later, an aged man with gray hair rose in the spectator stands.
He was the First Elder of the Outer Disciples, the head of the three elders in the general management of the Outer Disciple affairs, and had been in charge of the Outer Disciples for over two decades.
“Silence!”
The First Elder called out quietly and his voice echoed through the audience.
The entire square quieted down at once.
The First Elder cleared his throat before continuing in a loud voice, “As previous years, this Outer Disciple Competition comprises the elimination stage and the finals. The elimination stage will take place in 10 groups, and the current top 10 Outer Disciples will each be the seed of one group. The Outer Disciples in each group will fight through many rounds, where the winners advance and the losers are eliminated until only 10 fighters are left in the group. The 100 remaining Outer Disciples from the 10 groups will move on to the final stage to compete for the top 10 seats.
“Now, we’ll draw to determine the composition of the groups and the Outer Disciple Competition will begin!”
The square was roiling with screams and shouts as the First Elder announced the official start of the competition.