Monster Forest, fighting for the nameplate

At this moment, Lü Ziyang, surrounded by a group of powerful cultivators, had already arrived at the main seat of the Arena.

Lü Ziyang surveyed his surroundings and declared loudly, “Today, the Eight Sects Tournament, held once every ten years, is about to begin!”

“Where are the Eight Sects? Come see me at once!”

His voice roared like a storm, spreading in all directions.

Upon hearing this, members from the eight branch Sword Sects rose into the air and flew into the Arena.

Xiao Ming and the others also followed Li Changfeng, soaring upwards, while Hu Yunxi remained in place, finding a spot to sit down.

After everyone landed in the field, Lü Ziyang looked at a powerful cultivator who resembled an elder beside him. The cultivator nodded in understanding and immediately stepped forward.

He held a peculiar mirror in both hands and announced loudly, “The Eight Sects Tournament has only one rule: the age of the participating disciples from each sect must not exceed thirty years old!”

“Anyone who breaks this rule will be immediately expelled from this place!”

With that, the elder raised the mirror in his hand. The mirror glowed brightly, releasing beams of light that enveloped Xiao Ming and the other young disciples.

No anomalies occurred.

Seeing this, the elder put away the mirror and whispered to Lü Ziyang, “Sect Leader, all participating disciples this time are under thirty years old.”

“Understood.”

Lü Ziyang nodded slightly, then slowly stood up and announced to everyone in the field, “I now declare the Eight Sects Tournament officially open!”

“This tournament will be different from previous ones, divided into two rounds of competition.”

“In the first round, each sect will act as an independent team and head to the Demon Beast Forest to collect identification tags from Demon Beasts. The top two sects that collect the most tags will advance to the second round.”

“The remaining six will be eliminated!”

“In the second round, the top two sects will compete as a team. The winning team will receive a large number of rewards. If any disciple performs exceptionally well, he can even join the Qingtian Sword Sect!”

He finished speaking.

Lü Ziyang pointed to the distant mountains and said, “Do you see the forest in the distant mountains? That is the Demon Beast Forest!”

“We have already attached identification tags to every Demon Beast in advance. What you need to do is tear off these tags and bring them here.”

“I must remind you that you only have half a day. After half a day, anyone who has not emerged from the forest will be automatically eliminated!”

“Furthermore, whether it’s collecting tags or the subsequent second round of competition, there are no rules. You can do whatever you want!”

“Finally.”

“We have also planted an azure spirit lotus in the deepest part of the forest’s lake in advance,” Lü Ziyang said, emphasizing his tone and adding meaningfully,

“That azure spirit lotus has already borne an azure spirit lotus seedpod. Any disciple who brings the azure spirit lotus seedpod back will receive an additional reward from this Sect Leader!”

“My words are finished. You may now act!”

Lü Ziyang waved his hand.

The moment he waved, several disciples from various sects immediately shot into the sky, rushing towards the distant Demon Beast Forest.

Xiao Ming did not move immediately. Instead, he looked at Shen Bingqing and the others nearby.

Shen Bingqing’s lips moved slightly, but no sound came out. However, Xiao Ming understood what she wanted to say through her lip-reading.

Shen Bingqing meant that she would wait for Xiao Ming in the Demon Beast Forest to avenge herself!

“Want to get revenge on me? In your next life!”

Xiao Ming sneered, then, taking Lin Feng and Wang Hao with him, he shot into the air, and moments later, entered the Demon Beast Forest, which was surrounded by mountains.

Upon entering the Demon Beast Forest, Xiao Ming and his two companions immediately prepared their defenses.

Xiao Ming drew his tiangang sword, Lin Feng drew his Fire Devouring Sword, and Wang Hao gripped the dragon sparrow blade in his hand.

The three of them were like hunting beasts, ready to deliver a heavy blow to any enemy at any moment!

After all, Lü Ziyang had made it very clear just now: there were no rules during the competition, and they could do whatever they wanted!

In other words.

In this Demon Beast Forest, their enemies were not fierce Demon Beasts, but disciples from other sects.

However, the reverse was also true: Xiao Ming and his two companions were a significant threat to other sects!

“Vice Sect Leader, I have an idea,” Lin Feng suddenly said, “We could guard the exits of the forest. Once other sect teams have finished collecting their tags, we can launch a surprise attack and steal their tags!”

Hearing this, Wang Hao looked at Lin Feng in surprise and said, “That’s a good strategy. This way, we not only conserve our energy and save a lot of effort, but we also gain a large harvest.”

However, Xiao Ming shook his head.

“This strategy is good, but it’s very difficult to implement,” Xiao Ming said solemnly, “You didn’t notice earlier, but there are at least three wide exits from the Demon Beast Forest to the Arena.”

“In other words, if we want to gain tags by robbing other teams, we would have to split up, with one person guarding each exit.”

“However, that’s very unrealistic. Those sect teams are not something you can handle alone.”

After a pause, Xiao Ming added, “So, let’s just proceed steadily inwards. If we encounter other teams, it won’t be too late to strike decisively!”

“The Vice Sect Leader makes sense!”

After discussing, the three began to penetrate the forest in a triangular formation.

They hadn’t gone far.

A pack of Demon Wolves entered Xiao Ming’s sight.

There weren’t many Demon Wolves, only seven, and each Demon Wolf had a metallic-looking iron tag hanging around its neck.

As for their Cultivation Level, except for the pack leader, which was at the late Danhu Realm, the remaining six were all at the middle Danhu Realm.

Without Xiao Ming’s command, the moment they saw the pack of Demon Wolves, Lin Feng and Wang Hao darted out, encircling them from two directions, left and right.

Xiao Ming scoffed, holding his tiangang sword, and charged into the wolf pack.

The battle was extremely simple, without any twists.

After only a few breaths, the seven Demon Wolves lay dead at the hands of Xiao Ming and his two companions, and they also harvested seven identification tags.

After slaying the pack of Demon Wolves, the three continued to advance deeper.

After advancing several hundred meters, a mottled Demon Tiger exuding a strong demonic aura leaped out.

This Demon Tiger’s Cultivation Level was identical to Xiao Ming’s, both at the Great Perfection of the Danhu Realm, and around its neck, there were five identification tags hanging conspicuously.

“Quickly! Let’s all attack together!”

Xiao Ming shouted softly, flicking his wrist, and unleashed two Shattered Yuan Sword Qi radiating five-colored light. Lin Feng unleashed dense streams of flame sword qi, and Wang Hao struck with dazzling and terrifying saber light.

Although the mottled Demon Tiger had some strength and resisted with all its might, it was still no match for the combined efforts of Xiao Ming and his two companions.

In just a few seconds, the mottled Demon Tiger lay on the ground, covered in blood, its aura completely gone.

Xiao Ming stepped forward, extended his palm, and with a gentle tug, pulled off all five identification tags from the Demon Tiger’s neck.

The hunt continued.

With the tacit cooperation of Xiao Ming and his two companions, any Demon Beasts they encountered were killed, and at the same time, the number of collected identification tags rapidly increased.

An hour later.

Xiao Ming and his two companions encountered their first relatively troublesome Demon Beast.

It was a giant green Venomous Serpent, exuding venomous gas, with a body as thick as a millstone. Its Cultivation Level had impressively reached the Half-step Divine Sea Realm!

And on the Venomous Serpent’s body, there were surprisingly more than twenty identification tags hanging, clinking enticingly!