158 Free for All (1/2)

When he grabbed the token in front of him, Xue Wei felt a tingling sensation, and it started shining.

”The tokens will be your identity cards throughout the competition,” Wan Qiang explained. ”I have laid an inscription on them so that they react to your aura. No one other than the current owner of the token will be able to use it, so switching amongst one another is not possible.”

”When you die in combat or forfeit battle, the token will become ownerless and return to me together with your permission to participate in the tournament.”

”I understand that many of you are unwilling to fight against others since you will put your life at risk, so apart from the prizes I have declared, all property on the bodies of your opponent will be yours if you kill them.”

This piece of news made the contestants exchange interested looks between them. There were still a few who looked uncomfortable, while the majority eyed the weaker experts with greed.

Before, although the tournament operated around life-and-death battles, the likelihood of killing one another was low because there was no profit in doing so. However, now the incentive had been provided for them, so killing would become a rather common occurrence in this tournament.

However, although people were eager to kill the weaker experts, they also eyed the experts from the three great sects with a mixture of dread and greed.

Amongst the many experts in the tournament, these experts were without a doubt the richest. But killing them would undoubtedly make one enemies of their sect. When looking at the pros and cons, it was just not worth it.

”I understand your thinking,” Wan Qiang continued. ”You might be able to kill people but unable to bear the retaliation from the faction behind the one you killed - well, fear not!” he grinned.

”I have already signed a contract with all major factions within the entire Skyward Empire. They will not pursue any deaths that happen within the Black Iron Fortress this time.”

While the majority of the experts looked shocked, the expressions of all the cultivators from the three great sects did not change. It was clear that they had already been informed of this prior to departing from their sects.

Still, they had faith in their own ability, and the three great sects had a collective consensus to not kill members from each other's sides. Thus they had little to fear. Although there existed some talented independent cultivators, the majority of them had joined the great sects for the excellent treatment they could get there.

Xue Wei was aware of it beforehand because he had been informed by the expert from the Argent Moon Sect, so he was not surprised, but he noticed that many expressions were alternating between greed and fright.

A group of the weaker experts even hesitated to pick up the tokens that were floating in front of them. It was clear that quite a few had already decided to leave the tournament early.

It seemed that Wan Qiang was aware of this as well. ”If you have not taken the token within ten seconds, then I will move you out of the arena,” he said calmly, and then began his countdown.

A few hesitantly grabbed out and took hold of their tokens, but the majority were standing still. They were still hesitating even when the countdown reached zero.

Wang Qiang waved his hand, and a strong wind blew through the arena. Everyone who held a token in their hand felt the wind pass them, but those who had not touched the tokens in front of them were swept up by the wind and suddenly vanished over the walls of the arena.

These experts were all Sky Warriors, so they had the most elementary ability of flight. They could not fly quickly, and they could not fly far either, but they were more than capable of softening their landing after being dumped over the tall walls.

Xue Wei was astonished. This Wan Qiang was powerful! With a wave of his hand, he had managed to precisely single out the couple hundred experts that were resigning and sent them flying with a single move!

There had not even been any kind of energy fluctuation; it was as if he had commanded the wind itself, his hand smoothly moving to sweep them away.

Xue Wei was astonished, but he was not alone. Even the experts from the three great sects were shocked, their expressions displaying great unease and slight admiration.

These disciples had all been told that Wan Qiang was not an expert they could afford to insult. They had all been warned repeatedly that the sect itself would not take revenge for them should they die on their journey, but the disciples had all felt that this was just a shallow way to put pressure on them.

The sect would say that they would not take revenge for them, and the sects had claimed that this Wan Qiang was a supreme expert they could not insult, but who were they?

They were members of the three great sects! They were never bullied or looked down upon, and when it came to taking vengeance, they would always take revenge for every little grievance.

Were they not just saying these things for the sake of making them steel their minds? That was what they had thought so far. If they truly died, they believed the sects would get revenge for them. If they broke the rules of the tournament, then they believed they would be able to get away with it due to the backing of their sect, but now they understood that their elders had not been joking with them.

This man, Wan Qiang, was truly so strong that the branches of the three great sects within the Skyward Empire had no way of dealing with him. If he set some rules, then these rules were to be followed.

A few of the weaker experts from the sects began sweating in worry. They hoped that their sect's name was still capable of helping them survive this competition. Their pride did not allow for them to give up unless they won or died trying.

A few of the members from the Crimson Sunshine Sect felt hot and scorching gazes lock onto them, and they turned around to see from where it could come.