Ye Yu asked, "I heard that among the three people from major cities like Tian Dou and Soto, one can be selected to be directly promoted to the top fifty?"
Xue Qinghe nodded, "Yes."
"Can that direct promotion slot be given to me?"
"This..." Xue Qinghe hesitated. Although he had already witnessed Ye Yu's strength, which left him shocked, he still wanted to see more.
However, the upcoming matches would reveal everything sooner or later.
Xue Qinghe nodded, "Alright, then this slot will be yours. Tian Dou has a total of ten major cities with such direct promotion qualifications, which means ten people can skip the first few days of the competition."
Ye Yu said, "Thank you, then I'll come back when the top fifty are competing."
"Brother Yu, aren't you going to watch? The battles in the elite competition are all at the Soul King and Soul Emperor levels."
Ye Yu shook his head, "No need, it's better to spend the time on cultivation."
"Alright."
Ye Yu left and returned to Lanba Academy to continue cultivation.
The time during cultivation always passed quickly. Unknowingly, seven days had gone by.
The top fifty of the Tian Dou Elite Competition had already been selected, with three days of matches to determine the champion.
When Ye Yu learned about his opponent, he found out it was a level sixty-two Soul Emperor. To enter the top fifty, besides a few level fifty-nine with top-tier Martial Souls able to fight beyond their level, most were between level sixty-two and sixty-four.
Ye Yu summoned Liu Erlong to ask for help.
At night, Liu Erlong found out where Ye Yu's opponent was staying and directly broke into the room.
The opponent was startled and immediately released his Martial Soul, surrounded by six optimal configuration Soul Rings.
"Who is it? A woman?"
Liu Erlong's face was covered with a black cloth, hiding her appearance, but her voluptuous figure indicated she was female.
Liu Erlong didn't say much and started to fight immediately.
Soon, Liu Erlong had tied up Ye Yu's opponent and dragged him to a forest outside Tian Dou City. Ye Yu was already waiting there.
"Thank you, Auntie."
Ye Yu also had his face covered and jumped down from the tree, looking at his opponent, who was battered and bruised, with blood all over him.
"Auntie, aren't you being too harsh?" Ye Yu could imagine the torment he went through.
"Hmph, an overconfident guy, the more he resisted, the harsher the beating he got."
The man, tied up and gagged with Flande's smelly sock, glanced around and noticed a shovel and a freshly dug pit.
He panicked immediately, making muffled cries.
"Auntie, bury him."
"Alright."
Liu Erlong kicked him hard on the body, sending him tumbling into the pit Ye Yu had dug.
"Mmm mmm mmm... "
The man cried out in panic, while Ye Yu and Liu Erlong ignored him, picking up shovels to fill the pit and bury him.
After burying him, Ye Yu bounced on the spot a few times to compact the soil, causing the ground to shake. The buried man spat out several mouthfuls of blood in horror, feeling as if mountains were crushing him, unable to move at all.
After finishing, Ye Yu and Liu Erlong left.
Early the next morning, Ye Yu went to the competition site.
Upon entering the rest area, Xue Qinghe and two other contestants were already waiting.
The two were amazed at Ye Yu's youth.
They also heard about the events earlier in the week. Although surprised, they were grateful to Ye Yu. Without Ye Yu injuring the previous two, they wouldn't have had the chance to compete.
Xue Qinghe said, "Brother Yu, is your opponent a level sixty-one Strong Attack Type Soul Emperor, are you confident?"
"Honestly, no. The gap in strength is too large, even though I have a well-matched Soul Ring setup and Soul Bones, winning is difficult. But, for the sake of the overall ranking, I'll give it my all!"
Xue Qinghe nodded, "Yes, do your best. Those in the top fifty are all very strong, mostly Soul Emperors, but I believe if you give your all, there's still hope."
Soon, the competition began, with a total of twenty-five stages and the top fifty battling on respective stages.
All contestants took the stage. Ye Yu approached Stage Seventeen, yet his opponent didn't show up.
With only a minute left before the match, all other stages had two contestants, but Ye Yu was alone on his stage.
Everyone's attention turned to Stage Seventeen, talking in surprise.
"Who is that kid? Never seen him before."
"Heard he was one of the top fifty directly promoted by Tian Dou."
"What? He looks so young, maybe he has dwarfism?"
"Possibly, looks like a youth but might actually be over thirty."
"But, where's his opponent?"
The minute passed, and the referee announced, "As contestant Yang Shuo from Stage Seventeen failed to arrive on time, contestant Ye Yu wins and advances to the top twenty-five."
Everyone immediately thought Ye Yu was very lucky.
In the rest area, Xue Qinghe, who was preparing to watch Ye Yu's battle, was stunned, his opponent didn't show up?
Making it into the top fifty means treasuring the opportunity. Almost no one would be late. What happened? Did he really get delayed or encounter an accident?
At this moment, an elderly man stormed in, angrily saying, "Yang Shuo disappeared last night. I've been searching all morning and couldn't find him, there's definitely foul play."
The elder glanced at Ye Yu, sternly saying, "It must be related to him!"
This elder was the City Lord of Celestial Shuttle City. Among their three contestants, only Yang Shuo advanced to the top fifty, yet he disappeared suddenly last night. He felt this was no coincidence.
Ye Yu calmly replied, "Do you have evidence?"
The elder sternly said, "No! But it definitely involves you! You thought you couldn't defeat Yang Shuo, so you used this method to win!"
"No evidence? Then what you're saying is just your speculation."
"You!"
The elder wanted to say more, but the referee sternly interrupted, "City Lord of Celestial Shuttle, stop it. Regardless of the reason, if a contestant fails to arrive before the match, they lose. Here, we remind everyone to take precautions."
Ye Yu left the stage, and the elder gritted his teeth, unable to provide definitive proof.
After returning to the rest area, Ye Yu said, "Very lucky, seems like I can rest today and come back tomorrow."
Xue Qinghe smiled, "Indeed lucky, to think your opponent didn't show up."
The day's competition ended, and participants who advanced all bolstered their self-protection. Achieving a good ranking could elevate their city's status, so each city's City Lord had hired powerful protectors.
After learning this, Ye Yu realized it would be difficult to bury more opponents. The protectors were all of Soul Douluo level, the strongest in their cities.
Just as Ye Yu was about to find Sword Douluo, the list for the next day's matches was released, and to his good fortune, he had a bye. With twenty-five participants advancing, one would get a bye and not have to compete. Twelve against twelve, he directly advanced to the top thirteen.
Xue Qinghe was a little frustrated as he couldn't watch Ye Yu's fight again.