Gao Wu: Oh no! Young Master Zhen is a cultivator!

Bai Ruolin's lips twitched: "Couldn't you just buy him a new one?"

"That's such a waste!"

"You, the young master of the prestigious Lin family, are so frugal?"

"I used to be an orphan, isn't it normal for me to be frugal?"

"It seems that being an orphan isn't all bad," Bai Ruolin said with a hint of amusement.

"What kind of talk is that?" Lin Ran feigned displeasure. "You want to experience it too?"

Bai Ruolin waved her hand: "Forget it, I can't handle that kind of hardship."

"How come I didn't realize you had such a sharp tongue?" Lin Ran glanced at him, her gaze scrutinizing him.

Upon hearing this, Bai Ruolin's lips curled up slightly: "One is influenced by one's company."

So it's my fault after all?

"What's wrong with it?"

Lin Ran's lips twitched slightly, but he finally gave her a thumbs up: "You can do it!"

Back at the entrance of the training center, Zhao Yanran stopped and tucked the stray hairs that had been blown by the night wind behind her ear.

She turned to Lin Ran, a smile playing on her lips: "Young Master Lin, see you tomorrow."

Lin Ran nodded to her: "See you tomorrow."

Watching Zhao Yanran leave, Chu Xining curled her lip: "Hmph! A woman who only cares about profit!"

Lin Ran turned her head away: "How did you know?"

"She's definitely after your cultivation technique!" Chu Xining hugged Lin Ran's arm even tighter.

Little did she know, Zhao Yanran had already obtained a cultivation technique, even earlier than her.

However, Lin Ran did not explain these things, otherwise, someone would definitely have been jealous again.

Back in the room, Lin Ran handed the cold skewers to Qin Wuyai.

"No need, I've already had dinner."

"Oh, then I'll just throw it away, it's already cold anyway."

Qin Wuyai frowned slightly: "Wouldn't it be such a waste to throw it away?"

"You're not going to eat it anyway," Lin Ran said, feigning helplessness.

"I think I can eat a little more."

The next morning, Zhang Qichuan led ten students into the main hall of the Kyoto Martial Arts Training Center on time.

The entire venue is several times larger than the Xinhai Martial Arts Training Center, with a high dome and stands filled with spectators and media reporters from all over the country.

More than 3,000 candidates from hundreds of cities across the country gathered here.

A virtual screen hangs directly beneath the dome, scrolling in real time with the list of contestants and their cities.

Once everyone was present, the host stood in the center of the stage and announced the rules in a loud voice.

"This martial arts exam is divided into two parts. The first part is a virtual arena competition to determine the top 16. The second part is a real combat arena competition to determine the ranking of the top 16."

"The first half of the virtual arena competition is divided into two stages."

"In the first stage, a double-elimination tournament, the winners continue to compete in the winners' bracket, and the losers enter the losers' bracket. Two losses result in elimination."

"The final winners will be 32 and the losers will be 32, for a total of 64 people, who will then enter the second stage, a round-robin tournament within their respective groups."

"The 64 participants are divided into 8 groups for a single round-robin tournament. The top 2 from each group will be the top 16 to advance to the second half of the tournament."

"In case of a tie, the head-to-head record will be considered first. In case of a draw, the total points from the previous stage will be considered first, followed by the points from the points competition."

Before he finished speaking, a murmur of discussion arose in the stands.

"More than 3,000 people were selected to form the top 16, with an elimination rate of over 99%."

"I feel like I'm just here to go through the motions."

"Who isn't?"

"You didn't expect this, did you? You came to participate in the arena competition, but you can't even get onto the real arena."

"Actually, it's fine. Not going into the ring saves me from getting beaten up."

"Why be a martial artist if you're afraid of getting beaten up?"

"Isn't this competition format mainly to save time? If everyone goes into the ring, how long will it take to finish with over three thousand people?"

To ensure fairness in the competition, a single-elimination tournament cannot be adopted directly.

Otherwise, if two strong teams meet, the outcome is predictable.

The double-elimination tournament combined with the group round-robin format has ensured the true strength of the top 16 teams to the greatest extent possible.

After the rules were explained, the host announced the start of the competition.

The floor in the center of the venue slid open to both sides, and more than 3,000 holographic capsules slowly rose from the ground, their silver-white bodies neatly arranged under the dome lights.

Lin Ran walked towards the holographic capsule according to his assigned number.

This time he carefully checked all the functions, focusing on the conversion ratio between power and speed.

However, he was clearly overthinking it; the Sun family's influence couldn't possibly extend that far.

The double-elimination tournament was very fast-paced, with more than 3,000 people playing at the same time, and more than 800 people were eliminated in just two rounds.

Lin Ran's first opponent was a peak Tongqiao Realm earth-type awakener.

Just as his opponent adopted a defensive stance, Lin Ran appeared behind him and delivered a karate chop to the back of his neck.

The battle lasted less than three seconds.

The second round was against a metal-type opponent in the early stages of the Inner Breath Realm. The opponent lasted two seconds longer, but the result was the same.

The third, fourth, and fifth rounds were all completed quickly.

Throughout the entire process, Lin Ran needed to suppress his strength to below the Innate Realm.

Unfortunately, these candidates were only at the Body Tempering Realm or the Qi Opening Realm, and could not pose any obstacle to Lin Ran at all.

Two hours later, all eight rounds of elimination matches concluded, and the top 32 teams in the winners' bracket were determined.

Just as Lin Ran stepped out of the virtual pod, Chu Xining had also finished her battle.

At the Innate Realm level, it's like a game of dimensional reduction in high school. Her ice spikes are so powerful that she hardly needs to get close to her opponent on the virtual arena; the opponent is eliminated before they even have a chance to make a move.

Bai Ruolin was dragged into a war of attrition in the fifth round of the winners' bracket by an earth-type awakened user. Her wind blades were unable to cut through the opponent's rock armor, and she fell into the losers' bracket.

Qin Wuyai made great strides in the winners' bracket, but in the seventh round he encountered a metal-type awakened individual.

The speed-type was naturally countered by the well-rounded gold-type Awakened One, and ultimately lost, falling into the loser's bracket.

Fortunately, the two performed steadily in the loser's bracket, and after twelve rounds of competition, they both made it into the top 32 of the loser's bracket.

After lunch break, the second phase of the lottery began.

Lin Ran was drawn into the third group.

After seven rounds of competition, he successfully secured first place in his group.

Chu Xining drew the seventh group and won quickly and without any suspense.

Unfortunately, Bai Ruolin and Qin Wuyai ultimately failed to make it into the top 16.

Bai Ruolin finished third in her group, while Qin Wuyai underperformed and only managed fourth place.

Stopped at the virtual arena.

Even so, three people from Xinhai City still made it into the top sixteen.

Besides Lin Ran and Chu Xining, there is also Su Jin from Xinhai No. 7 Middle School.

This guy was a complete surprise from the start.

Despite being a low-ranked high school in Shinkai, they managed to secure second place in the points competition and have now advanced to the actual combat arena stage.

Zhang Qichuan sat in the stands, unable to suppress the smile on his face.

The students under his rule were able to achieve excellent results, which added a lot of color to his political achievements as the city lord.

After the top 16 contestants exited the holographic capsules, all the capsules slowly sank to the ground.

The floor closed, and the floor in the center of the arena slid open to both sides again, revealing an alloy ring that slowly rose from below.

The host stepped onto the stage, his voice echoing throughout the entire venue.

"After fierce competition, the top 16 finalists of this year's National Martial Arts Examination Tournament have been determined. Let's give them a warm round of applause!"

clap clap clap!

The host started by clapping, and then the audience erupted in applause.

After a moment, the applause gradually subsided, and the host spoke again.

"The virtual arena competition has now ended. The real-world arena competition will begin at 9:00 AM tomorrow. Please leave in an orderly manner."

As everyone left their seats, Lin Ran's bracelet started vibrating just as he reached the entrance of the training center.

He turned on the holographic projection, saw Zhao Yanran's name, and raised an eyebrow slightly.

With a casual click, Zhao Yanran's figure appeared in the holographic projection.

She waved to Lin Ran: "Young Master Lin, how did the competition go?"

Lin Ran casually replied, "Guess."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yanran was slightly taken aback, then smiled and said, "I bet it will go very smoothly."

"Congratulations, you guessed right!" Lin Ran shrugged. "Unfortunately, there's no reward."

"Hehehe... Young Master Lin is so humorous." Zhao Yanran laughed heartily.

Her chest heaved with laughter, which was quite noticeable.