Chapter 654: Familiar Faces in the Guest Seats

The numbers for the arena battles were drawn as soon as the chief referee finished announcing them the day before. Ye Feng drew number 72. According to the rules, his opponent should be number 71. Though no one knew who that person was, Long Tian and the others silently prayed that they wouldn’t be instantly defeated by Ye Feng and suffer a crushing loss.
Long Tian and his group were also relieved that they hadn’t drawn number 71. Even better, all eight of them were assigned to different arenas. This meant they wouldn’t encounter each other at least in the first round.
Ye Feng was also eager to see just how powerful the strong warriors from the intermediate main plane, let alone those from the advanced main plane, really were. Although Luo Yan and the others were already quite skilled, they were still far from matching the top warriors of the intermediate main plane.
They arrived at the competition site early to wait.
There were 128 people in total, with 64 arenas. The battles would take place simultaneously across these 64 arenas, which undoubtedly saved a lot of time.
In fact, according to the chief referee, depending on the progress of the battles, they would see how many matches could be held in a day—two or three might be possible. The entire day’s competition was scheduled to last around ten hours. If only one match could be held in ten hours, then there would be just one match that day.
The chief referee arrived on time, but in the guest seats, Gu Tian Nan and the others were no longer there; instead, there were twelve empty chairs, with no one sitting on them.
“There are 64 arenas in total, numbered from 1 to 64. Arena 1 corresponds to contestants number 1 and 2, Arena 2 to contestants number 3 and 4, and so on, up to Arena 64. Everyone should now find their respective arena number and wait below it. Once all twelve guests arrive, the competition will officially begin. Before going onto the arena, you must hand your number to the referee assigned to that arena,” the chief referee said. Everyone listened attentively, afraid of missing anything.
Ye Feng also took his number card and headed toward Arena 36.
Not long after he arrived below the arena, a young man walked toward it as well. Upon seeing Ye Feng, the man, who had initially been looking forward to the match, was almost in tears.
Ye Feng glanced at him, and suddenly, a strange feeling arose.
“Is this… bloodline resonance?” Ye Feng froze for a moment before hesitantly asking, “Is it my elder brother or my second elder brother?”

He turned his head to look in the direction of the sound—toward the guest seats. A familiar figure winked at him, and then a voice reached his ears, “Fight well. Don’t embarrass me.”
Ye Feng nodded helplessly at Nian Cangsheng in the guest seats. He had never expected Nian Cangsheng to show up just to watch.
Ye Feng’s reaction was also noticed by the others in the guest seats.
“Brother Nian, do you know that young man?” asked the bearded middle-aged man sitting next to Nian Cangsheng.
“That’s my third brother,” Nian Cangsheng replied with a smile.
“The third son of that lord?” The bearded man’s eyes were filled with surprise.
“That’s right. He’s my father’s third son. Dad says he’s the most talented of the three of us,” Nian Cangsheng said proudly.
Nian Cangsheng’s words made the other guests secretly criticize him. In their eyes, Nian Cangsheng and Wu Kuang already had extraordinary talents. If this young man was even more talented than them, just imagine.
Ye Feng naturally had no idea what Nian Cangsheng and the others were discussing in the guest seats. He simply gave Nian Cangsheng a slight nod, which calmed him down. His purpose for participating in this competition was simple: to win first place and gain an opportunity for enlightenment.
After all twelve guests took their seats, the chief referee finally announced the start of the competition.
Without hesitation, Ye Feng handed his number tag to the referee below the ring and leaped onto the ring.
His opponent hesitated for a moment before also handing his number tag to the referee and stepping onto the ring.
Once on the ring, the young man said to Ye Feng, “I know I’m no match for you, but I don’t want to lose without fighting. I want to know just how big the gap between us is.”
Ye Feng smiled and shook his head. In a flash, he appeared in front of the young man and placed one hand on his chest. Without exerting much force, the young man was sent flying out of the ring. The whole process took less than a breath.
The referee was momentarily stunned before immediately ringing the decision bell. “Ring 36: Ye Feng wins!”
This announcement made everyone on the other rings look over.
“Damn, so fast!” Long Tian cursed, but he didn’t slow down either. He threw a punch, sending his opponent out of the ring as well.
“Ring 28: Long Tian wins!”
This announcement came just half a breath after Ye Feng’s.
“Ring 51: Qiu Duanhun wins!”

“Fight No. 39: Bai Yiyi wins!”
……
Soon, news of Shi Tou and the others’ victories also came one after another. Even the slowest, Zhen Zhu, completed her fight in less than five breaths.
It was only at this moment that everyone realized just how formidable Ye Feng and his group really were.
“Interesting. The strength of those who completed their fights in the first nine is quite impressive,” said the bearded middle-aged man in the guest seats in admiration.
Nian Cangsheng suddenly appeared beneath Fight No. 32 and gave Ye Feng, who had just stepped off the arena, a big hug.
“Big brother, how did you get here?” Ye Feng asked with a smile.
“Wu Kuang and I heard long ago that you had arrived in the main plane. But we promised our father not to come looking for you casually to avoid interfering with your cultivation. Wu Kuang, that kid, just ascended to a higher-level main plane a while ago and left some things for you. I guess he’ll ascend soon too, so I took this chance to come to this lower-level plane and deliver them to you directly. Wu Kuang wanted to bring them in person and say goodbye, but our father went to a secret realm recently. Without his permission, that cowardly Wu Kuang didn’t dare come down to this realm, so he had to ask me to do it,” Nian Cangsheng explained.
“Hehe, I couldn’t see you in the Void Realm, but I should be able to see you when I ascend to the True Realm,” Ye Feng said with a smile. “My cultivation speed is quite fast…”
“I know you cultivate fast!” Nian Cangsheng said with a smile as he handed over two rings. “These two rings are for you! Everything inside is meant for use once you reach the Void Realm. One of them contains many martial arts techniques and various divine skills that will be useful. Your second brother didn’t collect many other things, but he gathered quite a few of these. The other ring has various pills, some Void treasures, as well as the magic cores of Void Realm beasts, a few unhatched eggs, and a small amount of Void crystals.”
“Big brother, I still can’t unlock the pills and Void treasures in the ring you gave me last time. Now you give me another ring…” Ye Feng shook his head and laughed.
“That one was different. Most of the things in that ring were my early creations. The pills and Void treasures weren’t very high in grade, with the best being only top-tier Void treasures. But in this new ring, there are over twenty peak-level Void treasures, including two ultimate Void treasures that I personally crafted. The grade of the pills is also completely different,” Nian Cangsheng explained.
“Big brother, why don’t you keep those ultimate Void treasures for yourself?” Ye Feng couldn’t help asking.

“Since being revived by you, my cultivation speed has reached its peak. Now, I am already a half-True Realm powerhouse. With my father’s guidance, I can even craft True Treasures beyond my current level. To reward me, my father gave me twenty materials for crafting True Treasures. I used five of them to create a mid-grade True Treasure for Wu Kuang, and then spent another eight to make a high-grade one for myself. Virtual Treasures are no longer useful.” Nian Cangsheng said with a lowered voice, smiling. Although he had set up a soundproof barrier around him and was using telepathy, “Even my father praised me, saying that this revival seems to have doubled my talent. Normally, talent growth after revival only occurs when one’s bloodline reaches at least the sixth layer. But both Wu Kuang and I feel that it won’t take long before our bloodlines evolve to the second layer, and we’ll soon catch up to you.”

“My bloodline has already evolved to the third layer…” Ye Feng struck back mercilessly.

“What???” Nian Cangsheng was immediately struck hard. “It seems difficult to catch up to you now…”

“That’s hard to say…” Ye Feng also thought that once Nian Cangsheng and Wu Kuang’s bloodlines reached the second layer and became Immortal Bloodlines, they might encounter predecessors after their deaths. With their help, their bloodline evolution could even outpace his own.

“I went through quite a few connections just to come to this realm, all to find you. I didn’t expect you to participate in this so-called Genius Competition. It really saved me a lot of trouble,” Nian Cangsheng said with a smile. “By the way, why are you participating in this competition? With your strength, you shouldn’t fear even Star Universe-level experts. Why compete with these kids at the Sea of Stars level?”

“Bro, I’m only at the Sea of Stars level. Why can’t I participate in this competition?” Ye Feng couldn’t help but complain. “Besides, the champion gets ten days of enlightenment time. How can I easily miss such an opportunity?”

“Who told you there’s ten days of enlightenment time in the Genius Competition? That was billions of years ago, right?” As soon as Nian Cangsheng said this, Ye Feng was stunned.

“What? It’s not ten days of enlightenment?” Ye Feng was extremely frustrated. “Are you sure?”

“I’m of course sure—after all, I’m a guest at this Genius Competition,” Nian Cangsheng said as if it were obvious. “In the past, the reward for the Genius Competition was indeed the same as that of the Strongest Competitors’ Competition: ten days of enlightenment. But since such opportunities were extremely rare, over three hundred billion years ago, the reward was changed to the Origin Blessing from the main plane. Didn’t you even look into it before entering the competition?”
“Uh… I just signed up right after coming out of seclusion…” Ye Feng was speechless.
“Well, the Origin Blessing isn’t bad either. It can at least raise your cultivation to the peak of the Cosmic level, along with many other benefits. And most importantly, the Origin Blessing takes potential into account. Your bloodline is considered extremely noble in the primary main plane, so the blessings it bestows will surely bring endless advantages. Not to mention your own potential,” Nian Cangsheng reassured him.
“Sigh… I originally planned to use this opportunity to cultivate martial arts skills, but it seems that’s off the table now,” Ye Feng said helplessly, shaking his head.
“You can still participate in the Strongest Competitors’ Competition! After receiving the Origin Blessing, your cultivation will already be at the peak of the Cosmic level, fully meeting the requirements for that competition.” Nian Cangsheng’s words lit up Ye Feng’s eyes. “Winning first in the Strongest Competitors’ Competition gives you ten days of enlightenment.”
“Right! Once this competition here is over, I’ll go participate in the Strongest Competitors’ Competition!” After hearing Nian Cangsheng’s advice, Ye Feng made up his mind immediately.