The disciples from various nations returned to the viewing stands. The elders immediately called them over, using the rest period to strategize for the upcoming group stage battles.
To reduce the number of matches, the group stage battles didn't simply have everyone fight each other once. Instead, they used a rule system similar to a reverse-challenge ladder.
The fifth-ranked disciple in a group would initiate the first challenge, taking on any disciple ranked higher than them.
If they won, the two would swap ranks, and the winner could continue challenging upwards. If they lost, their rank would remain unchanged, and so on.
In most cases, the top-ranked disciple in a group only needed to wait for the lower-ranked members to sort themselves out and then fight a single match against the second-place disciple.
Sometimes, if the second-place disciple felt their chances of winning were slim, they would simply forfeit the challenge.
