The City Lord of Yuanyue City, along with the patriarchs of the Four Great Families and a crowd of senior officials, hurriedly stood up and paid their respectful, careful greetings to the four elders from the Four Great Sects.
The four elders from the Four Great Sects paid no attention to anyone else. The first thing they did was focus their gaze on Qin An.
"So you are Qin An?"
"In answer to your questions, elders, this junior is indeed Qin An," Qin An saluted and answered clearly, conducting himself with neither arrogance nor obsequiousness, displaying a cultivated air of grace.
"Mmm, very good. Truly a Heavenly Spirit Body. Perform well."
The eyes of the four elders appraised Qin An up and down, and they all nodded slightly. Clearly, their first impression of Qin An was quite favorable.
The reason these four elders had come to watch the competition today was, of course, to see Qin An's performance. Otherwise, given their status, the matches between a few minor families in a mere city wouldn't possibly have been enough to move them to attend!
"Qin An will not disappoint the esteemed elders," Qin An quickly replied.
The four elders nodded slightly once more, then sat down, speaking no further and ignoring everyone else in the square. Not even the City Lord of Yuanyue City or the patriarchs of the Four Great Families earned a proper glance from these four elders!
"Esteemed guests, I declare the competition now open!" At this moment, the City Lord of Yuanyue City stood up and announced clearly.
Every year, the City Lord of Yuanyue City was invited to preside over the Four-Clan Mine Seizing Competition, and this year was no exception.
Upon hearing this, everyone in the square felt their spirits rise. The competition was finally about to begin!
"This year's competition, same as before, consists of two events. The first is the Banner Seizing Competition. The second is the Arena Battle. The family that prevails in the Banner Seizing Competition will gain control of the mining rights for the spirit stone mining region west of Yuanyue City for one year. The family that wins the Arena Battle will gain control of the mining rights for the spirit stone mining region north of Yuanyue City for one year. This, you four families, have no objections, correct?" the City Lord continued.
"We agree," the patriarchs of the four families all nodded.
To the west and north of Yuanyue City were two depleted spirit stone mining regions. Though depleted, their value was still significantly higher than ordinary Profound Iron mines. With luck, one could even directly mine Spirit Crystals from them!
When these two spirit stone regions were first discovered over a decade ago, the Four Great Families of Yuanyue City had fought numerous bloody conflicts over the mining rights. Every family had suffered serious casualties and saw their vitality greatly weakened. Later, the four families sat down to negotiate and decided to hold an annual competition. The outcome of the competition would determine which family controlled the mining rights to these two spirit stone regions for that year. This was the origin of Yuanyue City's Four-Clan Mine Seizing Competition.
"Very well. Competing disciples of the Four Great Families, please take your positions! Make swift preparations, then we will begin the first event: the Banner Seizing Competition!" the City Lord proclaimed.
"Father, I will also participate in the competition," Ye Yunfei said to his father on the Ye Family's temporary viewing platform.
"Fei'er, are you sure? Your current cultivation is only at Body Tempering Sixth Level. Participating in the competition might be dangerous. Moreover, the Qin and Shi families will certainly target you specifically," Ye Tianpeng frowned lightly.
"Father, please trust me. I will be fine," Ye Yunfei smiled at his father.
"Alright then. Be careful in all things." Ye Tianpeng nodded. He knew his son's temperament; once he decided on something, it was difficult to dissuade him. Besides, his son's dazzling performance at the last family tournament had given him some confidence in Ye Yunfei.
"Now, let me explain the rules of the Banner Seizing Competition once more. See that? At the peak of Tianyun Peak, there is a platform. On that platform stands a large banner. Each of the Four Great Families will send fifteen disciples. They will ascend the peak from the four directions of the mountain and compete to seize that banner. Whichever family manages to seize that banner and bring it back to this square will be declared the winner." Ye Tianpeng pointed towards the mountain behind the large square and explained clearly.
"Patriarch, we understand," the fifteen Ye Family disciples participating in the competition all nodded.
In truth, Ye Tianpeng had repeatedly and thoroughly explained the competition rules to these disciples multiple times before they came. Now, it was simply a final review.
"Good, everyone set off. This time, our Ye Family will make the ascent from the southern face of Tianyun Peak. Children, compete well. Show the imposing momentum of our Ye Family!" Ye Tianpeng said in an encouraging tone.
The seven elders of the Ye Family also voiced their encouragement. This was the pre-battle mobilization!
"Yes!"
The Ye Family participants' blood boiled with passion.
On the temporary platforms of the other three great families, patriarchs and senior clan members were also conducting their final pre-battle mobilizations. The disciples from each family who were about to compete were all brimming with energy, rubbing their hands ready for action, their gazes burning with intensity!
"Alright, go now. Remember, our Ye Family ascends from the south. You go to the southern face first and wait. As soon as you see the signal flare, begin the ascent immediately," Ye Tianpeng instructed.
Immediately, the Ye Family's competing disciples set off, leaving the large square and heading towards the Tianyun Peak behind it. Moments later, they arrived at the base of Tianyun Peak's southern slope.
Disciples from the other three great families also moved, arriving at the other three slopes of Tianyun Peak. The Qin Family ascended from the east, the Shi Family from the west, and the Lü Family from the north.
Once the competing disciples from all four families had reached their designated positions...
*Bang!*
A signal flare shot into the sky, exploding high above with a sound that shook the air for several miles.
"Charge!"
Disciples from all four families roared simultaneously, breaking into frantic sprints, beginning the full-force ascent!
Tianyun Peak was smooth and elegant; the mountain paths weren't particularly rugged. Thus, the disciples from the four families advanced with swift, vigorous strides!
*Whoosh!*
On the southern slope, among the Ye Family disciples, a youth named Ye Tianfeng was the fastest. The competition had only just begun, and he shot forward towards the mountaintop like an arrow, putting distance between himself and the other Ye Family competitors.
Ye Tianfeng, Body Tempering Ninth Level!
Among the younger generation of the Ye Family, he and Ye Lei had once been hailed as leading figures. During the previous family tournament, he had been cultivating in seclusion and thus did not participate. Later, he heard the result of the tournament. However, he didn't quite believe it. He felt Ye Yunfei simply didn't possess the ability to defeat Ye Lei, let alone cripple him. Something must have gone wrong in that match. He even suspected Ye Yunfei had employed some scheme or trick to frame Ye Lei.
"Hmm, not bad," Ye Yunfei thought, watching Ye Tianfeng take the lead. Ye Yunfei could sense that Ye Tianfeng's strength seemed slightly superior to Ye Lei's!
Additionally, a few other relatively strong Ye Family disciples like Ye Xue followed closely behind Ye Tianfeng. Behind them were the other, comparatively weaker Ye Family disciples.
"Ye Yunfei is falling behind! With strength like that, how could he possibly defeat Ye Lei? This confirms my suspicions—the results of the previous family tournament were indeed fishy! The strongest of the Ye Family's younger generation is me!" Ye Tianfeng glanced back, saw Ye Yunfei lagging behind, and couldn't help but feel a surge of joy in his heart.