Not only did the audience find the final seed selection difficult, but the judges on the referee panel were also frowning over the last seed contestant.
“There are exactly ten judges and one chief judge. Why not just vote? Whoever gets the most votes becomes the seed. How about that?”
Someone proposed.
“Good suggestion.”
The chief judge, unwilling to decide alone, nodded in approval.
“Fine, I choose Long Chen. His defence is remarkable, and no one has broken it yet!”
“I choose Hong Li. Her strength surpasses Bai Qianjiao’s. It’s a pity she hasn’t faced the Six Young Masters, or her results wouldn’t be worse than Qin Bixue’s.”
“I’ll go with Ling Xiao. Defeating Jian Wuji shows his strength can’t be underestimated.”
After the votes, three of the ten judges chose Long Chen.
Four chose Hong Li.
Three chose Ling Xiao.
So far, Hong Li had the most votes.
But the chief judge, whose vote carried the most weight, had yet to cast his.
“The chief judge’s cultivation and insight surpass ours. His vote should count as at least two, right?”
“Agreed!”
“Then it’s settled.”
The chief judge didn’t object.
After a moment of silence, he cast his vote for Ling Xiao. “This lad is unfathomable!”
Thus, the six seed contestants were decided.
Ji Mingkong, Mo Wushang, Bai Qianjiao, Qin Bixue, Liu Taiyin, and Ling Xiao.
Most had no objections to this outcome. The ten judges and chief judge were widely respected for their strength and discernment, so their decisions were unlikely to be flawed.
Of course, some were dissatisfied.
Hong Li and Hong Sanmei, for instance, were not convinced.
Hong Li believed her strength exceeded her senior sister’s, yet she wasn’t a seed contestant. She felt this was a great humiliation and was deeply unhappy.
As for Hong Sanmei, she had lost to Qin Bixue but believed she wouldn’t lose to her senior brother Liu Taiyin, let alone Ling Xiao. Why hadn’t she been selected?
Both were plotting to prove the judges wrong.
“Hmph, Ling Xiao may have defeated Jian Wuji, but our Hong Sanmei could do that too. It’s outrageous that a small sect like Yuehua Sect is riding over our Xuanhuo Sect!”
The Xuanhuo Sect’s leadership was also displeased with the result.
They felt it was a loss of face.
After all, Hong Sanmei was one of the Holy Dynasty’s Six Young Masters in the last competition, yet now she was excluded from the seeds, a significant blow to Xuanhuo Sect’s prestige.
But even in their discontent, they dared not speak out, only grumbling in private.
The ten judges were all Dongtian realm experts, no weaker than the Xuanhuo Sect’s leader.
The chief judge was a Yin-Yang realm expert, even more untouchable.
Only a fool would criticise the judges, and the consequences would be dire.
“Forget it. As long as Sanmei proves herself and defeats Ling Xiao, our Xuanhuo Sect’s face will be preserved!”
The Xuanhuo Sect leader remained calm.
He had no choice.
At this point, even if he was unhappy, there was nothing he could do.
“Damn it, if we knew it would come to this, we should have let Sanmei use her trump card to defeat Qin Bixue. It wouldn’t have ended like this!”
“Doing so would have been unwise. Revealing her trump card too early would disadvantage her in later matches. Rest assured, aside from a few opponents, no one else is likely to beat Sanmei.”
“True.”
The Xuanhuo Sect knew Hong Sanmei’s strength surpassed Liu Taiyin’s. They believed she would at least secure a spot among the Six Young Masters.
“Junior Sister, don’t be so upset. With your strength, even without being a seed, you can still reach the top six.”
Liu Taiyin knew his junior sister’s capabilities. He believed that if she wanted, reclaiming the glory of the Six Young Masters was entirely possible.
“Understood, Senior Brother!”
Hong Sanmei nodded, calming her restless heart.
Since the matches hadn’t started, the audience had their own opinions on the six seed contestants.
“Hong Li and Long Chen not being selected is unfair. Their strength surpasses most, and I think they’re stronger than Ling Xiao!”
“Please, is your judgment better than the judges’?”
“Regardless, Ling Xiao only got points for defeating Jian Wuji. Without that, he might not have made the seed list.”
These commentators were unaware of the events from two nights ago, or they wouldn’t have spoken so.
“The match is starting. Let’s stop talking.”
With the rules announced and seeds selected, the chief judge declared the competition’s start.
This was the most thrilling moment.
The seed selection was trivial compared to the actual performance in the matches.
If a seed contestant was quickly defeated, that would be even more humiliating.
All eyes focused on the platform.
On the square stage stood two martial artists.
One was Huo Mozun from Xuanhuo Sect, the other was Feng Mo Ting from Tianwang Gate.
Feng Mo Ting had only joined the top twenty due to Jian Wuji’s death, and his strength was clearly inferior to Huo Mozun’s.
But he had no intention of conceding.
Having finally become one of the twenty Tianjiao and gained some luck, he wasn’t ready to give up so soon.
Yet, under everyone’s gaze, his lesser skill led to defeat by Huo Mozun.
After Feng Mo Ting’s loss, the aura from the bronze cauldron behind him flowed into Huo Mozun’s cauldron.
Some time later, Feng Mo Ting’s cauldron became faint, nearly invisible, while Huo Mozun’s grew clearer.
One cauldron’s worth of luck had nearly taken shape.
“Interesting!”
Having gained three cauldrons of luck from Jian Wuji the previous night, Ling Xiao was familiar with the scene, but it still felt fascinating and thrilling.
The matches continued, and the second contestant was Long Chen.
Ling Xiao had high hopes for him.
The luck of Shendao Gate depended on Long Chen’s performance.
Long Chen’s opponent was Li Xuefeng, whom he had previously defeated, so the match held little suspense.
Long Chen won easily.
Li Xuefeng, from a strong sect with considerable strength, started with two cauldrons of luck.
After defeating him, Long Chen’s one cauldron became two, while Li Xuefeng’s dropped to one.
This showed that the more luck one had, the greater the loss in defeat.
Feng Mo Ting lost less than one cauldron’s worth, while Li Xuefeng lost a full cauldron.
The logic was simple.
Those with less luck gained more by defeating those with more, and lost less in defeat.
Those with more luck gained less by defeating those with less, but lost more in defeat.
