Following closely behind Lin Ming were Ling Sen and Ta Ku. In another half month, these three names would be removed from this Ranking Stone. Ling Sen and Ta Ku would graduate, and Lin Ming would become a core disciple.
Thinking this, the middle-aged instructor felt very melancholic. Lin Ming was once his student. Although he had only taught him for a few days, Lin Ming was the most outstanding and wonderful student that he had ever taught in his entire life; it had left a deep and profound impression on him.
“Lin Ming! It’s Lin Ming!
“Wow, I’m so excited! I can actually see the name of my idol in first place!”
“That’s right, Instructor Hong, did Mister Lin Ming participate in this year’s Total Faction Martial Meeting?”
The name of Lin Ming resounded like thunder in the ears of these young martial artists. He was without a doubt the utter and complete inspiration of those in every youthful martial arts circle. These young boys and girls couldn’t help but ask this question.
“He participated! Of course he participated!”
Hong Xi took a deep breath, and his somewhat disconsolate eyes began to suddenly shine with a flashing and glorious brilliance, like a sleeping lion that had woken up.
“Can Lin Ming reach the top 100?” A young girl whispered.
“Of course he can, he definitely will! Not only will he reach the top 100, but he will reach the top 50, even the top 30!” Hong Xi subconsciously gripped his fists, his emotions surging like the tide. It was like the one participating in the Total Faction Martial Meeting wasn’t Lin Ming, but himself. In Lin Ming, he had placed all his hopes.
His eyes shifted towards the direction of the Seven Profound Valleys. Across all those endless miles and rivers and valleys, Lin Ming and his group of three had enormous hopes placed upon them. This wasn’t only the hope of the instructors within the Seven Profound Martial House, but was also the hope of all the generations of martial artists within Sky Fortune Kingdom……
……………………………………..
When the third round began, Lin Ming met with three forfeits. It was not only him, but also Jiang Lanjian and Bi Tinghua who had opponents admitting defeat as the match started. In the group stages, one only had to be in the top ten to advance; there was no need to fight in every match.
Then, it was time for lunch.
Lin Ming, five matches, five victories.
Ling Sen, five matches, five victories.
Qin Xingxuan’s luck was quite bad. She had already lost three matches. Her chances of qualifying for the next stage were becoming increasingly precarious.
Although she had long expected this result, and knew that the main reason she lost was not because of her talent but because of her age, Qin Xingxuan still felt a bit disappointed. During this Martial Meeting, her journey would most likely end at the group stages. But three years from now, this would become her stage.
After five matches, Lin Ming had already gained some fame. As for Ling Sen, the matches he had met were a bit weaker, so his fame was also correspondingly smaller.
There were some people trying to take advantage of the situation and were beginning to estimate the future rankings; they had even opened up gambling houses.
The Seven Profound Valleys would not interfere in this. In fact, the ones that opened these gambling houses were usually the children of the Elders; their backgrounds weren’t small. For them, the gambling house was merely a pleasurable pastime. It was difficult to judge the strength of a participant in the group stages, so the gambling house wouldn’t necessarily make any profit.
During lunch time, Qin Xingxuan smiled at Lin Ming and praised, “Lin Ming, you’re chosen as one of the seeded players in the gambling house. Your odds aren’t too bad.”
“Oh? What are my odds of winning the whole thing?” Lin Ming casually asked. If the compensation rate was good, he might consider placing a bet on himself.
“Uh, well….you have….um, no odds of winning the championship….” Qin Xingxuan didn’t think that the first question Lin Ming would ask was what his rates were for winning the entire Martial Meeting. Even her, who had utter faith in Lin Ming, wasn’t very optimistic in Lin Ming’s chances of winning the championship.