"Shi Lishan, you're up first!"
As the wisp of qi went towards the participant named Shi Lishan, the same participant that Shi Li asked about the tournament a few hours ago, everyone in his surroundings looked at him. Some gave him words of encouragement, some couldn't help but sneer as they knew they weren't the first person to break the ice, while some looked at him with pity and then there's those who ignored him.
"Ah, it's that guy I asked a while ago," Shi Li couldn't help but blurt out. He could see Shi Lishan's current cultivation level, it was at the intermediate stage of the 2nd Martial Novice stage, not too weak...but not too strong either.
Shi Lishan couldn't help but let out a sigh as he looked at the raised platform a few meters away from him. All of a sudden, he felt someone glaring at him and turned around, only to be shocked as to who glared at him. It was Shi Li. Shi Li gave Shi Lishan a thumbs up and mouthed out the words 'Good luck!' from far away.
Being encouraged by the clan patriarch's son, Shi Lishan gained a bit of confidence as he slowly walked towards the raised platform, respectfully bowing in front of Shi Xingtai as he went to one side of the strength measuring pillar.
"I know you're feeling tense, but just relax and do your best," Shi Xingtai looked at Shi Lishan and gave a few words of encouragement.
Bending his knees perpendicular to the pillar, Shi Lishan looked back at Shi Xingtai and smiled as all of his strength converged towards the tips of his contracted fists.
"Thank you Elder for the encouragement. I'll do my best since someone looks at me with confidence."
Bang!
At the instant the two of his fists collided with the pillar, a short yet loud explosion sound resounded throughout the center stage, only to be muffled by the familiar white light that covered the pillar not long after.
Shi Lishan looked at the pillar for a bit before looking at the multiple participants that would come up after him. He then focused at a certain person that unintentionally gave him the confidence he had.
"Young Master Shi Li..." He couldn't help but clench his fists. Although he knew Shi Li's past, after Shi Li started to assiduously cultivate, he could see how he grew more chivalrous and brave in every action he did. Even when he just asked him a question, he felt like a peasant kneeling under the majesty of a king.
Not long after, the white light shrouding the pillar gradually dissipated, revealing two digits that not only surprised Shi Xingtai, but the one who did it as well.
"Eh? 62 ren? Have you broken through in cultivation or something?" Shi Xingtai couldn't help but ask. In the tournament last year, Shi Lishan was only able to deal out 44 ren at most, so this was pretty much a 50% increase in strength for him.
"Huh? I didn't do anything special at all. I just used [Proud Lion's Paw] like normal and—" As Shi Lishan answered the elder's question, he realized something that he was lacking. After stiffly transitioning the topic to another one, Shi Lishan thanked Shi Xingtai and walked down the platform while looking at Shi Li, to which Shi Li nodded his head.
"Alright, let's move on to the next participant!" With Shi Lishan finishing his turn with a good result, Shi Xingtai tried to continue this cheery mood as he tapped another wisp of qi as it darted towards the chosen participant afterwards.
"Okay! Shi Susheng, come up!"
...
As Shi Xingtai continued to call names as they showed their current limit, some of these clan members showed a strength that definitely wowed the others due to it just being baffling.
Bang!
"83 ren? Shi Dengtie, what did you do to get this strength?"
"Oh? I only practiced the [Lightning Spear] technique to the Elite level, allowing my spear to move at an extremely fast speed!"
Boom!
"75 ren! Shi Huaqiang! If I remember correctly, you were only able to reach the low 30s in terms of strength last year, am I not wrong? If so, what did you do to boost your strength this much?"
"Ah. That is because I changed weapons, Elder. Remember how last year I used the zither to attack? I finally found the perfect weapon for me these past few months, which was the palm!"
Swoosh!
"Am I seeing this correctly? I-I am! 105 ren! Shi Daoliang, have you attained a breakthrough?"
"Indeed, Elder. I have recently attained a breakthrough to the 3rd Martial Novice stage, allowing me to show more of the [One Fleeting Slash] technique."
While this happened, Shi Li would take note of the significantly strong participants as he had a feeling that their destinies will cross in the future.
"I wonder why I have this feeling, but I should never treat it as a joke."
"I wonder why I feel the same thing from Shi Lishan?"
...
Midway through the 153 participants that entered this tournament, Shi Xingtai tapped on a wisp of qi before it darted out towards a certain someone.
This certain someone wore a gray robe as his pitch black hair swayed with the wind, looking at the front platform with confidence.
"Finally, it's time."
All of the participants looking at the direction where the wisp of qi was headed, shutting up at the next instant. Shi Li was surprised that the center stage instantly became quiet. Hence, he also looked at the direction of where the wisp of qi landed, revealing a somewhat handsome man that wore a gray robe, as the aura he exuded showed intense confidence and strength.
In an instant, Shi Li knew that he should focus on this man. From the man's appearance, it would seem that he had been cultivating for multiple years now.
The man looked at Shi Xingtai and bowed respectfully as he stood in front of the pillar, revealing a extremely thin sword that glistened silver the rays of the scorching sun. At the instant it glistened, the sword revealed an aura of pride and confidence that made it look like a perfect pair for the man.
"Alright." Shi Xingtai didn't mind the person's confidence in himself as he saw how strong he was last year. "Shi Shisi, don't hold back."
Indeed, this man was Shi Shisi.
"I definitely won't." Shi Shisi revealed an evil grin as he stabbed at the pillar with a speed akin to lightning striking down.
Bang!
A loud explosion sound resounded throughout the center stage that was extremely loud compared to other explosions, letting everyone know that these strength Shi Shisi showed was superbly higher compared to others.
The white light surrounding the pillar disappeared in an instant and showed everyone a three digit number that made others gasp in shock and some scream out as well.
"1-136 ren?!" Even Shi Xingtai was not spared from this shock. Just when he was about to ask Shi Shisi as to how he did it, Shi Xingtai was already going down the platform, leaving Shi Xingtai hanging.
Seeing that he was left alone without an answer, Shi Xingtai lightly coughed as he tapped on another wisp of qi. At the instant this wisp of qi darted towards the chosen person, Shi Xingtai's eyes couldn't help but light up.
'I wonder how strong you are right now, my nephew?'
Without letting his excitement interfere his judgement, Shi Xingtai then took a deep breath and said...
"Shi Li, you're up next!"