"You all should know these rules by now, but for the sake of safety, we'd like to make sure that they are enforced as strictly as possible. The first rule of the tournament, if a fight happens to get out of hand, the offending party will be disqualified immediately. Second, you should have all learned this in your preparations, but please pay attention to this next rule, as it will greatly assist you in the tournament. No fighting with weapons made of anything other than wood. Usable weapons are supplied by the tournament just in case some of you are unprepared.", Meng Liang said, taking a brief pause.

"If you fail to follow this rule, you will be disqualified right away and banned from entering the next two tournaments for four years. There are no exceptions to this rule.", Meng Liang continued, turning his gaze directly to where Chen Zhen stood. He nodded in response.

"Lastly, I'd like to remind everyone to keep the spirit of the tournament in mind during the tournament. This event is a chance to show off your talents, and as such, it should be treated with a certain degree of honour. Let the tournament begin!" Meng Liang yelled out and clapped his hands, causing the crowd to roar with excitement and anticipation.

Not too long after the crowd started cheering, they were silenced by a loud clap of thunder that rang out and a loud whistle, followed by a bright flash of light.

A few seconds later, the bright flash of light was replaced by a mass of dark clouds that swirled around the stadium but then dissipated, leaving behind a massive white sphere in front of Meng Liang.

Everyone stared in shock as Meng Liang stood in the middle of the sphere, his eyes closed as he concentrated, and his face twisted in concentration. After a few more seconds, the crowd finally let out another collective gasp.

"Are you ready for the tournament to start?" Meng Liang asked, his voice resounding throughout the stadium.

The crowd erupted into loud cheers and the contestants answered with roars of their own.

Meng Liang smiled and opened his eyes, gazing upon the crowd with pride and satisfaction.

"This is a massive, three-dimensional, world sphere that has been built using the power of the heavens and the earth. The sphere's outer surface is made from the purest snow and ice, while its inner space is constructed of the purest and refined spiritual energy.", Meng Liang announced.

"On the inside of the world sphere is where you will be fighting your matches today."

Jian Li's heart started pounding rapidly as she tried to process the information. As far as she remembered, He Yu had told her something about a sphere, but seeing it in person felt very different.

It was a lot smaller than she expected but He Yu said that its inside was at least 30 times larger than the venue itself.

"You may enter the world sphere once you are satisfied with your equipment.", Meng Liang continued, smiling at the audience. Chen Zhen was among the first contestants to walk into the sphere.

"The first match will begin now," he announced and Jian Li's heart pounded faster.

There were many other contestants around her, each of them looking very serious as they had their weapons checked by elders for the tournament. There were also many contestants around them, examining the other contestants to see which one they would want to fight against.

"I assume that the contestants are all ready, so shall we proceed to the first half?", Meng Liang asked the crowd.

As she stepped forward, Jian Li felt her body trembling with nervousness. There were already a few contestants that had entered the sphere after being checked for their weapons and gradually the stage was being emptied of contestants.

He Yu had already told her that the weapons would be provided inside the sphere if anyone didn’t have them ready. But Jian Li had already prepared some spare wooden swords inside her inner world for this occasion.

As she came closer to the world sphere, she could feel her heart beating fast with excitement and anticipation. More than half of the contestants had already gone inside the sphere on the stage and vanished. If Jian Li had to guess how many, she would probably say around a hundred of them were left.

"Let's begin with the first half of the tournament, and the contestant who scores the most points will advance to the second half of the tournament.", Meng Liang said, before raising his hand high in the air.

The moment he did, the chilly wind suddenly stopped blowing and the sounds of the crowd disappeared completely for Jian Li.

She looked around in confusion at Jian Chen, wondering what was going on before a loud whistling sound rang out from all directions and suddenly the area surrounding the sphere began to glow.

Before Jian Li could react, she and all the others on the stage were suddenly enveloped in an extremely thick, blinding light. It felt as though she were immersed inside the sun itself as she could barely breathe in the light.

After a few moments, the light suddenly receded until there was nothing left, revealing the beautiful scenery before her.