The number of fighters gradually decreased.
Over eight thousand, over four thousand, over one thousand.
By the evening of the second day, the number had shrunk to a thousand, many having directly surrendered, as most knew refusing to fight was pointless.
Refusing to fight meant losing half their tokens, and without continuing to compete, there was no point.
Once they entered the fray, they would be challenged, making it impossible to reach the end!
This led many who had refused to fight to re-enter the competition, naturally challenging those of comparable strength.
Yang Feilong also made a few more moves, his performance neither hot nor cold, yet no one dared to challenge him.
And so it went.
By the daytime of the third day, there were still over 180 participants. The weakest among these 180 were cultivators at the Golden Core stage, in addition to some Nascent Soul stage cultivators.
The participation of numerous Nascent Soul stage cultivators left many speechless.
Were Nascent Soul cultivators not simply cheating? Even the top Golden Core stage cultivators were no match for them!
Who could they challenge without surrendering?
Many Golden Core stage cultivators were eliminated, yet not a single Nascent Soul stage cultivator was out. These cultivators did not engage each other!
With fewer than 100 competition tokens, there were matches of ten or twenty. But with over 100 tokens, the rules changed. Those with over 100 tokens could challenge up to a thousand within the token count.
And those with over a thousand tokens could challenge up to ten thousand within the token count.
Yang Feilong currently possessed over 130 competition tokens, not a leading position. The highest numbers were held by those with over seven or eight hundred tokens.
"Yang Feilong, I challenge you!" Just as Yang Feilong defeated a late-stage Golden Core cultivator and was about to step down, a voice rang out.
Yang Feilong looked at the person, and information about him immediately flooded his mind: "Wang Quan, peak Golden Core stage, seventeenth on the Human Ranking!"
This was also the strongest among the cultivators challenging Yang Feilong.
*Whoosh!*
The next moment, Wang Quan ascended the stage.
"You can choose to refuse the challenge!" Wang Quan said to Yang Feilong with a smile.
"Refuse?" Yang Feilong shrugged. "You are not qualified for me to refuse!"
Seventeenth on the Human Ranking.
Could it be that this fellow thought Yang Feilong was exhausted after defeating his previous opponent?
He was indeed somewhat depleted, but this was insignificant to him. The reason Yang Feilong had taken some time to defeat the late-stage Golden Core cultivator was primarily because he had suppressed his Golden Core power to hone his swordsmanship!
These opponents were not simple. He didn't want to rely on his Golden Core power to crush them; instead, he maintained his Golden Core power at a relatively normal level!
For instance, if a normal late-stage Golden Core cultivator's Golden Core power had a might of 10, and his own was hundreds, comparable to Nascent Soul power, he would suppress his Golden Core power to a much lower level, say 10, matching the late-stage Golden Core. Defeating opponents this way allowed him to temper his swordsmanship and movement techniques; otherwise, crushing them effortlessly held no meaning.
"Heh, quite confident, aren't we!" The next moment, Wang Quan said with a hint of disdain. "However, do you think defeating a late-stage Golden Core expert means you can contend with true Human Ranking masters? Let me tell you, that is wishful thinking!"
Moreover, he, Wang Quan, was a top existence ranked seventeenth on the Human Ranking!
Even Nascent Soul stage existences could be challenged by him.
*Whoosh!*
The next moment, Wang Quan, holding a long sword, darted towards Yang Feilong.
His swordsmanship was extremely skillful, his edge sharp, and coupled with his extraordinary movement techniques, he was well-known among peak Golden Core stage cultivators!
"Do you think Yang Feilong can continue to win?"
"Very difficult. It took him so much effort to defeat a late-stage Golden Core cultivator. To defeat Wang Quan, who is much stronger, is impossible!"
"Yes! But considering he's only in his early twenties and possesses such terrifying strength, it's truly remarkable his talent and power!"
"That's true. In no time, he'll be able to reach the Nascent Soul stage. But with his performance today, he's likely enough to make it onto the Human Ranking!"
"Aren't the Human Rankings for people from the Spiritual Realm?"
"Yang Feilong was already on the Dragon-Phoenix Ranking of the Spiritual Realm. What's the problem with him making it onto the Spiritual Realm's Human Ranking? Besides, with Tianjizi here, perhaps even the mortal world will be included in the Spiritual Realm's major rankings."
"That's true... Huh? Yang Feilong is actually fighting Wang Quan on equal footing?"
"No way, his strength is that great?"
Wang Quan initially looked down on Yang Feilong. He believed that while Yang Feilong's talent and strength were formidable, he posed no threat to him.
But this battle made him realize he had overthought things. Even with his full effort, he was being suppressed by Yang Feilong, feeling incredibly stifled.
This was a feeling he only experienced when facing top-three ranked Human Ranking masters like Jiang Yue.
"Yang Feilong has the strength to contend for the top three on the Human Ranking? How is this possible?"
Wang Quan was filled with unwillingness. He was nearly sixty years old and had come to the mortal world to relax before going into seclusion to attempt to reach the Nascent Soul stage.
He truly did not want such a young man as Yang Feilong to tread on his body to reach the pinnacle of the Human Ranking.
Yet, he was helpless. Yang Feilong's swordsmanship was becoming increasingly skilled and powerful. In the end, he could not resist and had his sword tip pressed against his throat.
"I concede!" Wang Quan said with a dejected expression.
"Yang Feilong wins!" Tianjizi's voice followed.
Then, Wang Quan handed his over three hundred competition tokens to Yang Feilong. Yes, his competition tokens were significantly more than Yang Feilong's.
"Yang Feilong really won!"
"His final sword move was truly sharp! Not only sharp but also incredibly fast!"
"Yes! I didn't even react!"
"What do you expect, you're at the Innate stage. I'm a Golden Core cultivator and couldn't even see how he disarmed Wang Quan's sword!"
"If only his cultivation were not just Golden Core stage, he would truly have a chance to contend for the ultimate championship!"
"Yes! What a shame!"
When they saw Yang Feilong participating, everyone from the Luo family, except for Luo Xiangning, was shocked. Yang Feilong was competing?
Regarding Yang Feilong's participation, they had thought he was merely seeking to temper himself. But seeing how far he had come, they felt regret. If only they had set a younger age limit, say, under fifty?
Then, some of the Nascent Soul cultivators participating would be excluded.
Because Tianjizi was in charge, many cultivators over sixty years old did not register, fearing being exposed by Tianjizi. Tianjizi's cultivation was at peak Nascent Soul, and he could easily discern everyone's bone age, so they feared shame.
The Nascent Soul cultivators who participated were all in their fifties.
"What a pity, such a pity!"
"Yes! Otherwise, Yang Feilong could have become our Luo family's son-in-law!"
"If we had known he had feelings for Xiangning, why would we have held this martial arts competition for marriage?"
Overall, holding this martial arts competition for marriage had benefited the Luo family significantly, yielding substantial gains. However, compared to missing out on a prodigy like Yang Feilong, the regret was immense!