Chapter 80: Chapter 74 Bell Snatching
Seeing the expressions of the young men, Patriarch Bai nodded his head.
"I have already explained the rewards for this tri-clan competition."
"Now, let us officially start the three rounds of the competition!"
"The first round will be hosted by Patriarch Ye!"
After Patriarch Bai finished speaking, he stepped back, and the Ye Family's elder stood forward.
"Our Ye Family's elder!"
Ye Chen looked towards the elder, curious about how he would explain the rules for the first round.
Patriarch Ye's gaze swept across the competitors at the Martial Arts Plaza, then, he extended his right hand.
In his hand were two small bells, one white and one black.
"The first round is called 'Bell Snatching'. These bells in my hand were specially forged by our ancestors from the three clans--the Yin Yang Profound Bell!"
"There are one hundred Yin Yang Profound Bells in total. Among them, the black bells, known as 'Yin Xuanling', number ninety, while the white bells, known as 'Yang Profound Bell', number ten."
"Once activated, the Yin Yang Profound Bells will fly chaotically in every direction across the sky. Your task is to capture these one hundred bells!"
"Whoever captures a bell will pass the first round and enter the top hundred, qualifying for the second round of competition--the Arena Battles!"
"Capturing one of the ninety black Yin Xuanling is somewhat easier. The ninety individuals who capture a Yin Xuanling will earn a place as challenger in the second round's Arena Battles!"
"The ten white Yang Profound Bells are extremely difficult to capture. Those who capture any of these ten will earn a place as main defender in the second round's Arena Battles!"
"As for the positions of challenger and main defender in the second round, we will explain how the battles will be conducted when the time comes. You just need to know that the main defender's position is, of course, more valuable than that of a challenger. If you are capable, try your best to capture one of the ten Yang Profound Bells!"
"Even if you can't capture a Yang Profound Bell, you must capture a Yin Xuanling; otherwise, you will be directly eliminated!"
"Remember, only one hundred competitors will advance from the first round; the rest will be eliminated!"
The words of Patriarch Ye made the young men preparing to participate in the tri-clan competition take a deep breath.
The youths participating in the competition numbered seven to eight hundred, yet in this first round, the vast majority would be eliminated, leaving only one hundred to progress to the next round.
This elimination rate was extremely high!
"Yin Xuanling, Yang Profound Bell?"
Ye Chen looked at the two small bells, one black and one white, in the elder's hand.
Like Ye Chen, Bai Xiaodie, Qian Ming, and others also looked towards the bells in Patriarch Ye's hand, their eyes particularly fixated on the white Yang Profound Bell.
Clearly, they intended to take the lead in this first round of the competition by snatching up the ten most elusive Yang Profound Bells.
Patriarch Ye continued, "The 'Bell Snatching' competition will take place on the 'Thousand Feet Field' to the west of our tri-clan Martial Arts Plaza. After seizing a bell, infuse it with True Qi. The bell will burst, claiming it as your own. Each person can only infuse True Qi into a bell once, and once a bell is claimed, they must withdraw from the contest!"
"Now, all those participating in the first round, head to the 'Thousand Feet Field' to prepare!"
After Patriarch Ye finished speaking, all the young men participating in the tri-clan competition rushed towards the "Thousand Feet Field", while the spectators also moved to watch from outside the field.
The Thousand Feet Field was an enormous area thousands of feet in square to the west of the Martial Arts Plaza, usually used by the members of the three clans for martial demonstrations.
At that moment, over eight hundred youth stood in the Thousand Feet Field.
They waited in silence for the beginning of the first round of the "Bell Snatching" competition!
"Ye Chen, are you confident you can snatch a black Yin Xuanling?"
Seeing each young man around him staring up at the sky, Bai Xiaodong started to feel nervous, fearing he might be eliminated in this very first round of Bell Snatching.
At that moment, Qian Yun wasn't much better off than Bai Xiaodong. To be among the top hundred out of more than eight hundred contenders, his odds weren't great.
Ye Chen looked at Bai Xiaodong and Qian Yun, smiled, and said, "Just now, the elder said that each person can only infuse True Qi into a bell once and choose only one bell, but he didn't say we can't help others snatch, right?"
"Xiaodong, Yun, I'll try to see if I can help you snatch two."
"Do you want a Yin Xuanling or a Yang Profound Bell? However, I've never snatched a Yang Profound Bell, so I'm not sure how easy it will be to snatch."
Ye Chen's words took Bai Xiaodong and Qian Yun by surprise.
What?
Ye Chen was going to help them snatch bells?
With all the young men around them completely focused, fearing they might not catch one, Ye Chen was confident he could help them both snatch a bell?
And he had even proposed to help them snag the most difficult Yang Profound Bell?
Considering there were only ten Yang Profound Bells in total and that Ye Chen was only at the seventh level of True Qi, with no less than thirty people on the field of a higher realm than him, he still aimed for the Yang Profound Bell?
Bai Xiaodong and Qian Yun were startled by Ye Chen's words.
What they didn't know was that Ye Chen had already cultivated the Xuan grade movement technique "Wind Movement Skills," which he obtained from the Thousand Lotus Cave Abode, to a minor level of proficiency, allowing him to fly more than fifty meters or even soar up to fifty plus meters with the wind!
It was rare for disciples in the realm of True Qi to cultivate such a Xuan grade movement technique, let alone to reach a minor level of proficiency.
One hundred bells? Ye Chen was certainly going to try and snatch a few more!
"No need for the Yang Profound Bell!"
"Even if we manage to snatch the Yang Profound Bell, the second round of the competition might not be easy!"
"Ye Chen... if you can really help, it would be great if you can help us snatch the Yin Xuanling..."
The two looked at Ye Chen, who didn't seem to be joking, and impulsively spoke out.
"Okay!"
"I'll try, whether it's the Yang Profound Bell or the Yin Xuanling, I'll snatch two for you!"
Ye Chen's eyes sparkled with divine light; this first round of "Bell Snatching" was indeed interesting, and he was keen to really give it a try!
While Ye Chen and the others were talking, Patriarch Ye had already carried a large bag to the outskirts of the Thousand Feet Field.
Seeing the large bag in his hand, everyone knew that this must contain the Yin Yang Profound Bells for the first round of the competition!
"The bells that fly!"
"The first round of the competition is about to begin!"
Everyone watching from outside the field turned their attention towards the Thousand Feet Field.
In the crowd, the little girl Tao'er was with Ye Xiaotian and Lin Rin, and she too got excited: "Young Master is about to compete, I wonder what color bell he will snatch in the first round?"
"Chen, come on! Strive to snatch a bell!"
Ye Xiaotian and Lin Rin were also getting anxious at this moment, watching Ye Chen's faintly visible figure in the Thousand Feet Field without blinking.
When Patriarch Ye reached the edge of the Thousand Feet Field, all the young participants of the three clans' grand competition gathered their full attention.
They were ready to snatch the moment the old patriarch activated the Yin Yang Profound Bell.
As everyone held their breath, Patriarch Ye's bag suddenly shook violently.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Countless black small bells flew rapidly towards the inside of the Thousand Feet Field in an instant.
Among these countless black small bells, ten white Yang Profound Bells shot out like flames towards the sky at high speed.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As countless bells surged out in an instant, the youths in the Thousand Feet Field shook their True Qi violently, using their movement techniques to chase after the scattered bells.
Among these numerous figures, several shot directly towards the white bells soaring into the sky, and it was evident they were after the white Yang Profound Bells!
Within these figures, one moved faster and soared higher than all the others.
In an instant, he powered up and soared straight up forty to fifty meters high, even surpassing the white bells shooting towards the sky.
This figure then reached out with a large hand and grabbed at three white bells, and with a lightning-fast move, he actually snatched three white Yang Profound Bells!
"What!"
"Who is that!"
"Such swift movement!"
When spectators outside the Thousand Feet Field saw the figure soaring higher and faster than anyone else, grabbing three white bells in one go, they all shouted out in shock.
The three great patriarchs watching this first round of competition from outside the field were all agape as well.
"It's not Xiaodie!"
"It's not Qian Ming!"
"Which youth is that?"
Patriarch Bai and Patriarch Qian from the three great patriarchs were completely dumbfounded.
And in Patriarch Ye's mind flashed a name: "Could it be him... Ye Chen?!"
Within the crowd of onlookers, the little girl Tao'er saw the figure that had soared into the sky and grabbed three white small bells, and she exclaimed excitedly, "It's Young Master!"
This figure, surpassing everyone and grabbing three white Yang Profound Bells, was none other than Ye Chen!