The second part of the competition continued for more than five hours, but this amount of time was nothing to cultivators. In fact, the crowd was still in a state of excitement after watching the battle between the best of Silver Wing Empire's younger generation. However, the part which everyone was more excited about was the revelation of Liu Mengdi's cultivation level.

Liu Mengdi had also become one of those considered as the most likely to win in this competition. He was even compared to the three participants who had the same level of cultivation as him.

Liu Mengdi who was the man of the day was nowhere to be seen after all the battles were finished. It was as if he had suddenly disappeared.

Many were curious about his sudden disappearance, and everyone had various speculations about why he was gone. Some said that he was hiding, while others said that he was secretly killed. However, no one knows that had truly happened except for one person who was watching Liu Mengdi's every action through his spiritual perception. This person was none other than Jiu Shen.

He had been monitoring Liu Mengdi from the start and he knew where the latter had gone to.

"Everyone! The one versus one battle will be continued tomorrow morning! To the remaining participants, make sure that you won't be late or you will be disqualified immediately!" The elder on top of the flying carpet said in a loud booming voice.

Just as the crowd had started to disperse, Emperor Elyk suddenly stood up from his seat and said with a dignified tone. "Before everyone leaves, I would like to say a few words." He paused as he surveyed the crowd.

The emperor then continued after seeing that everyone was looking at him. "All the remaining participants will be protected by the Silveria Imperial Family. If I ever find out that they are harmed by anyone, I would not sit idly by."

The emperor's voice was calm and cold, and everyone could sense the seriousness in his tone. This was a warning! A warning specifically aimed at the uncles of Liu Mengdi!

The emperor was a wise person and he didn't want the young elites of his Silver Wing Empire to perish before they could even grow. He wanted to protect them since they would be a valuable asset to the empire when their strengths reach a certain point.

The faces of Liu Mengdi's uncles turned gloomy upon hearing that. Although the emperor didn't implicitly speak about anyone, they knew that these words were meant for them. They were angry, but they didn't dare talk back to the emperor.

The emperor's gaze lingered on them for a brief moment and this made Liu Mengdi's three uncles freeze on the spot. That gaze was an obvious warning!

Some people from the crowd sneered at the three of them, while others wore mocking smiles on their faces. Everyone didn't like these three. They just did not show it since they were deeply afraid of the three's revenge.

"Let's go!" The three uncles of Liu Mengdi left the venue. They had already embarrassed themselves enough and they no longer wanted to continue spectating the event. Besides, the emperor had already stated his warning. It would be foolish to kill Liu Mengdi in front of a large crowd, so they could only choose to wait until the martial arts competition was over.

The crowd finally dispersed after that short interlude.

"Brother Yang, how many among you guys won in the one versus one battle?" Xiao Hua initiated a conversation between her and Yang Zenke. This of course made their friends whistle and smile knowingly.

Yang Zenke spaced out when he saw the beautiful Xiao Hua who was standing in front of him. Just a few months ago, he could not even dream to come in contact with the noble young ladies of the empire, but now, he was already considered as one of the best in the younger generation, and he had already earned the admiration of countless young maidens.

Yang Zenke calmed himself secretly and answered in a slightly milder tone. "Among the ten of us, two are eliminated. One of them was paired with the fourth prince, and the other one was defeated by the Xue Family's Xue Tong."

Yang Zenke was not foolish enough to believe that he had captured the heart of Xiao Hua after revealing his strength. The girl was at the peak stage of the 4th-rank Knight Crusader and he was only at the early stage of the 4th-rank Knight Crusader. He believed that Xiao Hua was merely curious about the results of their group's battles.

Xiao Hua exclaimed when she heard bis reply. "Woah! Someone from you guys was actually paired with the fourth prince? How unlucky! That Xue Tong guy is also strong, so the defeat of your brother is not shameful. As for my sisters, only five of us managed to win our battles. Sigh."

Xiao Hua and her junior sisters might have a high level of cultivation, but their battle experience was almost non-existent, so their results were not that great compared to Yang Zenke's group.

"They still have the chance to join the next martial arts competition, so losing is not a problem. They could use their defeats as a motivation to cultivate even harder." Yang Zenke's voice was still slightly cold, but Xiao Hua did not mind this. She thought that they might have been infected by Jiu Shen's cold personality after being trained by him for more than a month.

"Thank you for your words, Brother Yang. Excuse me. I'll go back to my sisters." Xiao Hua smiled at Yang Zenke before she left.

Yang Zenke watched her retreating figure with unblinking eyes. His thoughts were indiscernible.

Smack.

Han Sen smacked Yang Zenke's back and looked at him with a light smile.

Looking at his friend's smile, Yang Zenke had the urge to punch his face, but he could not bear to do it as it might make the others create unnecessary assumptions.

"Brother Yang, you like her, don't you? Hahaha! Come on! I know that look in your eyes. Hahaha!" Han Sen laughed exaggeratedly as he patted Yang Zenke's back.

Yang Zenke aimed a punch at Han Sen's face, but it was easily avoided by the latter.

"Stop spouting nonsense or I'll beat you up really good." Yang Zenke glared at his friend.

Han Sen put on a fake look of fear, but a light smirk can be seen on his lips. "Alright! Alright! Let's not talk about that. Let's talk about serious matters. Are you confident in getting into the top three?"

If this question was heard by anyone else, they would surely be surprised. Their cultivation levels were on the lower end of the spectrum among the remaining participants, but they were actually talking about getting into the top three as if it was just an easy matter to accomplish...

Yang Zenke was silent for a moment before he eventually nodded his head. "I should be able to rank in the top 3, but it's not my goal. I want to get the first place."

Han Sen was surprised, but he suddenly smiled. "Hahaha! That's right! With the teachings of master, it would not be a problem for you to rank in the top 3. As for getting first place... It's hard to say, but I'm rooting for you, Brother Yang! Hahaha!"