Chen'er was the most innocent and naive. She nodded her head lightly and giggled, "I believe in Brother Qian Yue the most. He will definitely come, and he will definitely win, beating that Shen Rong until he cries out loud, hehe!"
"But Shen Rong is very likely already a Heavenly King..." Yi Wu was most worried about this point.
The Goddess Zhao Jingruo remained composed and calm. "Yi Wu, you're worrying too much. Qian Yue should also be close to reaching that realm. Isn't there a rumor that he personally said he was besieged by more than ten Heavenly Kings and didn't die, even killing one? That represents Heavenly King-level combat power. And you all know the rules of the Ancient Emperor Continent. Heavenly Kings are restricted. Once they display cultivation at that level, they will be sent into the Divine Realm."
"So even if Qian Yue isn't a Heavenly King, Shen Rong cannot suppress him with Heavenly King realm cultivation. Also, even if Qian Yue really loses, so what? At worst, we just won't agree."
"Didn't I just use the phrase 'barring any accidents'? That means there could be accidents. Anyway, we just won't agree."
One sentence, simple and direct, negated everything.
Even if Shen Rong ultimately won, they could just say the three of them were unsatisfied, disagreed, and flatly reject him.
"..."
Even a gentle and serene woman like Yi Wu felt speechless towards the Goddess.
So she had harbored such intentions from the very beginning. Pitiful Shen Rong, a peerless Imperial Son, was actually being played in the palm of the Goddess's hand, still unaware even now.
Yi Wu felt a sliver of pity for Shen Rong in her heart.
At the same time, the Goddess stepped forward, gesturing for the heroes within the city to quiet down, and waved her slender hand.
Boom—
The void collapsed massively. A powerful fluctuation of the Great Dao appeared, not because a super-powerful expert was attacking, but because within the collapsed void, a grand and ancient martial arts arena slowly descended from the sky, gradually appearing before everyone.
However, this martial arts arena was not like the others. With a tremor, the arena rose from the ground, revealing an ancient stone gate. The gate was empty and profound, leading to a mysterious and unknown place.
The Goddess did not speak. Beside her, Yi Wu gracefully stepped forward, her red lips parting slightly, her voice like the tinkling of a spring: "The battle among the heroes is too destructive. To avoid damaging the Imperial City and to avoid disturbing the Guardian Clan within, we will transmit everyone through the spatial gate of the martial arts arena to the starry sky beyond the domain."
"In the depths of the starry sky, we three sisters have set up a total of eighty-one trials. Only those who finally pass all eighty-one trials and successfully return, and also satisfy us three sisters, will become our Dao companions, unchanged for eternity."
The Goddess then declared: "Now, I hereby announce that the Martial Competition for Marriage officially begins!"
As the declaration fell, it instantly pushed the atmosphere of the entire Imperial City to its peak.
Boom! Boom! Boom!—
Visible to the naked eye, within the Imperial City, one majestic pillar of divine radiance after another shot into the sky. These represented the presence of one super-powerful expert after another. Accompanied by them were massive pillars of blood energy soaring upwards.
The sky of the Imperial City was dyed a bleak and brilliant blood-red. The Great Dao was vast, rumbling between heaven and earth.
The entire ancient Imperial City was filled with the Great Dao auras of super-powerful experts. The myriad Daos of the heavens resonated at this moment.
Those pillars of divine radiance stood tall, reaching for the heavens. Their number was astonishing—at least over seven hundred Saints had gathered in the Imperial City.
There were also nearly a hundred super-powerful experts at the level of overlords and Saint Lords among them.
The number of experts at this level was unprecedented. Even the struggle for the Chaos Supreme Treasure in the Hundred Battles Mountain Range couldn't compare. It could almost be said that most of the Saint-level figures on the Ancient Emperor Continent had gathered here.
All of this could only illustrate the immense impact of this Martial Competition for Marriage, attracting so many super-powerful experts to participate. It could be considered one of the few peak grand events in history, ancient or modern.
Not to mention which fortunate person would win the hearts of the three stunning, breathtaking beauties. Just this unimaginably intense battle at the pinnacle of the Saint Realm was destined to be incredibly spectacular, capable of leaving a glorious mark in the annals of history of the Ancient Emperor Continent.
The whole world was watching!
"Hahaha, I, the Cang You Kingdom Lord, am off!"
A long roar exploded. The first expert charged into the spatial gate. He was a Kingdom Lord from among the seventy-two Ancient Kingdoms, powerful and confident enough to brave the eighty-one trials, fight to the end, and win the beauty.
As one person soared, almost simultaneously, the numerous participating super-powerful experts in the Imperial City rushed towards the spatial gate like meteors.
No one was willing to fall behind, especially before the three beauties they admired in their hearts. Each was filled with soaring heroic spirit, vying to be first, afraid of being even a step slower and leaving a bad impression in front of them.
Boom! Boom! Boom!—
One super-powerful expert after another rushed in swiftly, like long rainbows streaking across the sky, causing a huge commotion that made the void tremble.
But the Imperial City did not shake. It remained extremely stable, even emitting a gentle radiance that enveloped heaven and earth, preventing further collapse.
All of this demonstrated the extraordinary nature of the Imperial City.
One after another, a full seven hundred-plus super-powerful experts at the Saint Treasury Realm or above charged into the spatial gate, entering the starry sky beyond the domain, and began tackling the trials.
Those remaining in the Imperial City were cultivators below the Saint level. There were many Demi-Saints, but such figures, who could be heavily relied upon in the thirty-six empires and seventy-two Ancient Kingdoms, had no qualification in this Martial Competition for Marriage, simply because they were too weak.
They could not participate. Participating would only mean death. Therefore, they forcibly suppressed the heroic spirit in their hearts. They could only set up heaven-reaching formations, condense heaven-reaching divine eyes, project everything from the starry sky, and spectate, watching this most prosperous and intense battle of Saints in history, ancient or modern.
Boom—
At this moment, the void, which had just calmed down, trembled once more. Moreover, a vast, boundless divine might of the Great Dao spread and permeated, overwhelming heaven and earth, causing many in the Imperial City to tremble in their hearts.
The crowd looked in shock towards the Imperial City's massive, grand city gate. There, radiance shone for ten thousand zhang, vast and mighty. The Great Dao cascaded down like a waterfall. A supremely powerful figure strode forth, peerless and unmatched, drawing all eyes.
Everything indicated that this person was a Samsara-level supreme expert.
Such a supreme figure had finally appeared, igniting people's passion.
There had long been rumors that Samsara-level supreme experts also admired the three beauties and had expressed their intentions. Now, seeing this, it was indeed true.
This was a handsome man, appearing to be in his prime around thirty years old. He wore magnificent robes and a divine crown upon his head. His hair was streaked with half white strands. He naturally exuded an aura of supreme Dao might, setting him apart as transcendent from the mortal world, commanding awe and attention.
His appearance naturally caused exclamations from the crowd in the Imperial City. He was recognized: "It's actually the Vast Heavens Venerable One! Even this human race supreme expert is participating in the Martial Competition for Marriage. This is enough to make all other participants despair."