Lord Of Martial Arts

The arena was a comprehensive square platform, vast and spacious enough to handle several martial artists. Those who were going to take part in the tournament all flew into the platform. All the participating warriors stood on both ends. All of them were busy flexing and getting themselves ready for the battle to win Hailey's hand in marriage—so was Darren.

"Everybody, listen up. Remember that you're allowed to attack your opponent for one time only. You had better avoid meaningless or intentional harm to your opponent during the combat. Friendship first, competition second. Are we all clear?"

That was the second time that the elder of the Violet Phoenix Sect hosting the competition reminded the participants. For Hailey's hand in marriage alone, more than one thousand cultivators took part in the contest, which was unprecedented in scale. Such number of participants made the sect elders a little uneasy. They were worried that something would go out of control.

Soon, the two groups which were divided by the elder were on their position; they had chosen their opponents and spread out around the platform.

As for Darren, his opponent was a man in his thirties. His cultivation level was at the premium stage of Wonder Realm. Awaiting for the signal from the elder for the battle to start, the man looked contemptuously at Darren and laughed.

"Lad, have you grown up? I don't want to hit a kid. I'm afraid you'll cry and make yourself look silly in here. Just go home!" the man mocked Darren. Concealing his face, Darren was wearing a mask. But using his spiritual sense, the man judged that his opponent was apparently under the age of twenty. Generally, one's cultivation level was proportional to his age. Hence, the man assumed that Darren was not that strong and wouldn't stand a chance against him.

"Stop nagging, old man. Bring it on!" Darren countered with a sinister expression drawn on his face. Hearing those words, the man burst out in rage, especially when Darren called him "o

lief at Darren's show of power.

"Hmm, that was interesting. I think that the warrior's cultivation level must be at the supreme stage of the Wonder Realm. He is a top-level cultivator even though he looks very young," adjoined in another grandmaster.

"Yeah, it seems that there are quite a lot of talents in this competition. This guy is one of them. I'm not entirely sure I can beat him," stated another skilled warrior.

The crowd went bustling as the discussion about Darren spread. Some grand warriors also attached great importance to his ability, while some thought that he was using some arcane tricks.

Of course, among the more than one thousand cultivators present, some of them mastered the supernatural martial skill. Darren also noticed that and realized he should be more careful in the next rounds.

With such a showcase that was hard to ignore, Hailey's attention was caught by Darren's performance. But it was too brief that she soon looked away from him, that even their gaze had no chance to meet. The curiosity on her face, however, was replaced by calmness.

In the first round of competition, more than five hundred candidates were eliminated. Those who had won were separated on the other side of the arena, waiting for the second round. The second round, third round... The competition had been going on.