Chapter 52: The Tournament Begins

The sect tournament was held only once every six years, and Yonglu Mountain treated it with considerable ceremony. Sect Master Gu Wufang even delivered a short address, the gist of which was that he hoped the disciples would display their style, demonstrate their strength, and embody the spirit of Yonglu Mountain.

Once the standard proceedings were over, the sect tournament officially began.

The four arena competitions for disciples below the Foundation Establishment Realm were the first to start. Although this division had the lowest cultivation level, it also had the greatest number of participants.

For that reason, the matches used a king-of-the-hill format that depended on both strength and luck. Anyone who stepped onto an arena and defeated five opponents in a row would advance to the next round. Of course, anyone who wanted to defend the arena for longer was perfectly free to do so.

It was also worth noting that each person had three chances to enter the arena. Defeating a cumulative total of ten opponents would also qualify them for the next round.

In other words, if luck failed you, you could make up for it with strength.

The moment the arena matches began, Chen Zui was the first to charge onto Arena A. That kind of drive was not something the average person possessed.

According to incomplete statistics, Yonglu Mountain had more than five thousand Qi Refining disciples. However, a large proportion of them had already become outer-sect stewards or elders, so they did not participate in the tournament. After excluding the outer-sect Foundation Establishment disciples and those whose cultivation was simply too poor to show, there were still a full two thousand disciples taking part in the inner-sect tournament’s below-Foundation Establishment division.

In other words, each arena had at least five hundred people assigned to it.

Out of five hundred people, winning five matches in a row might sound easy, but most of the competitors were evenly matched. The weakest were at the fifth level of Qi Refining, while the strongest were at the peak of Qi Refining. Since the differences in cultivation were not large, the outcomes were genuinely difficult to predict.

“Isn’t that Senior Brother Chen from the inner sect? He went up so quickly.”

“That’s him. I heard Senior Brother Chen Zui reached the peak of Qi Refining after only one year in the sect. Geniuses really do make people jealous.”

“Who could disagree? Which of the inner-sect disciples who joined last year doesn’t make people envious?”

As for the one who inspired the most jealousy, they did not dare mention him at all.

After all… calling such talent enviable was far too mild. He possessed a mutated single spiritual root and had taken a Divine Venerable of the Body Integration Realm as his master. As long as that Junior Granduncle-Master did not perish along the way, he was destined to become a dazzling figure on the Hundred Prodigies Ranking.

As for his impaired eyesight, that was practically insignificant to a cultivator. If losing their sight could grant them talent like his, they would gladly accept it.

Unfortunately, the heavens had never given them the choice.

“Stop talking. Keep going and I’m going to turn sour with envy again. Other people’s Qi Refining years are packed with excitement. They’re fighting Foundation Establishment evil cultivators at the drop of a hat. And us? It feels like their Qi Refining Realm and ours aren’t even the same cultivation level.”

“…Just watch the match. Someone’s gone up.”

“That’s… Senior Brother Li Anqu from our outer sect!”

“You’re right, it really is Senior Brother Li! Now this will be worth watching. Senior Brother Li is also at the peak of Qi Refining!”

The so-called peak of Qi Refining was the tenth level of Qi Refining. However, the number ten was considered too complete, while nine was the number of ultimate attainment in the Dao. Thus, the tenth level was called the peak.

In theory, a cultivator at the peak of Qi Refining could establish their foundation at any time.

But Foundation Establishment was not some cabbage growing in a field. It required opportunity, the right insight, and the natural ease of circumstances falling into place.

To put it plainly, the peak of Qi Refining was the reserve force for Foundation Establishment.

“I can’t believe the very first match on Arena A is already this intense! I love this.”

Who wouldn’t?

With two peak Qi Refining cultivators facing off, Arena A immediately drew a huge crowd of spectators. By comparison, the other three arenas were left looking almost deserted.

“Wen Xuxu, when are you planning to go up?”

“I’ll wait a little longer. I’m going to be targeted either way, so I might as well first see what kinds of moves they’re using on Arena B.”

After answering, Wen Xu turned his head and asked, “What about you? Have you still not found the person who called for help?”

Bian Chunzhou shook his head. “No. I haven’t even found the slightest trace. The senior brother guarding the mountain gate already posted a mission on the wall at Kaiyuan Peak, and a Golden Core True Lord accepted it, but he didn’t find anything either. Without that shadow-recording stone, I might honestly have thought I’d misheard it.”

That was extremely strange.

If even a Golden Core True Lord could not detect anything, what sort of person could come and go freely within Yonglu Mountain’s territory?

“Still, now that I think about it, that night was strange too…”

While sensing the battle on the arena, Wen Xu asked, “What happened that night?”

“Huh? Isn’t that Junior Sister Jiang from the outer sect? I haven’t seen her for only a few days, yet her Daoist arts have improved again.”

Bian Chunzhou had just been about to speak when he heard a fellow disciple behind him sigh in admiration. He turned toward the valiant female cultivator on the arena.

“So that’s Junior Sister Jiang Ying.”

Hearing a familiar name, the disciple behind him immediately joined the conversation.

“That’s right. Senior Brother, you know her too? Junior Sister Jiang truly does cultivate diligently. Otherwise, with her aptitude as someone with five spiritual roots…”

“Junior Sister Jiang has five spiritual roots?” Bian Chunzhou was somewhat astonished.

“That’s right. Senior Brother, didn’t you know? Junior Sister Jiang entered the sect with a recommendation slot. Five spiritual roots really are uncommon at Yonglu Mountain, but Junior Sister Jiang is highly skilled in Five Elements spells. I’m not sure what’s going on today, though. We haven’t seen her signature technique at all. Perhaps she’s saving it as a trump card for later.”

A recommendation slot was, to put it plainly, guaranteed admission.

Every major sect had this kind of recruitment channel. Generally speaking, such slots were distributed to prominent clans and merchant associations on good terms with the sect. Talent was not considered; the recipient could enter the sect directly and painlessly.

Of course, someone who entered Yonglu Mountain through a recommendation slot could only become an outer-sect disciple. To enter the inner sect, they had to rely on the sect tournament.

There were only two routes to becoming an inner-sect disciple of Yonglu Mountain.

The first was to participate in the sect’s disciple recruitment examination, held once every six years, just as Wen Xu and the others had done. Those who passed had a chance of entering the inner sect.

The second was to catch the eye of an inner-sect elder at the Soul Transformation Realm or above and be accepted as a direct disciple. Divine Venerable Chengwei had originally entered the sect in precisely that manner.

But how should one put it?

High-level cultivators who enjoyed picking people up and raising them as disciples were quite rare. After all, most promising seedlings capable of attracting their attention had long since been claimed by someone else.

A pearl lost in the vast sea was called a pearl lost in the vast sea precisely because it was difficult to find.

Returning to the matter at hand, Bian Chunzhou knew recommendation slots existed, but this was the first time he had encountered someone who had used one.

“Does that mean Junior Sister Jiang comes from a prestigious family?”

If she did, then how could the person who had come to visit her that day have frightened Senior Brother Chang, the mountain gate guard, so badly?

The disciple shook his head.

“Probably not. Junior Sister Jiang has never spoken of it publicly. Perhaps she encountered some other opportunity.”

Cultivators could attribute anything to opportunity.

As long as someone had been allowed into the sect, their origins were considered legitimate. Everyone was already too busy concentrating on their own cultivation. Unless they had a grudge against someone or harbored impure intentions, no one would deliberately investigate how another person had obtained their admission slot.

As they spoke, Jiang Ying gave a sharp cry on Arena B and knocked her opponent’s weapon from his grasp. Taking advantage of the opening, she cast a water art that trapped the weapon on the ground, thereby securing her victory.

“Thank you for the match, Senior Brother.”

Jiang Ying was thirty years old and at the seventh level of Qi Refining. For someone with five spiritual roots, that was already very respectable cultivation.

Her opponent was only at the sixth level of Qi Refining, so her victory was not unexpected.

After finishing his conversation, Bian Chunzhou moved close to Wen Xu again.

“Well? How capable is Junior Sister Jiang?”

Wen Xu answered directly, “Not as capable as you.”

“Hehe, really?”

Bian Chunzhou was also at the seventh level of Qi Refining. Unfortunately, he had been assigned to Arena D.

“When are you going up? I just went over to Arena A for a look. Chen Zui has already knocked Senior Brother Li, one of the popular outer-sect competitors, off the arena. The platform is empty now, and no one has dared go up for ages.”

That was hardly surprising.

Each person only had three opportunities to enter an arena. If they did not aim for five consecutive victories, then they needed to defeat at least three opponents each time they went up. Otherwise, reaching a cumulative total of ten victories would be extremely difficult.

Bian Chunzhou had made a rough calculation.

If someone lost the first time they entered the arena, then the route of accumulating ten victories was effectively closed to them. Unless they won five matches in a row during their second or third attempt, they would be eliminated in the preliminary round.

If they managed to defeat three or four opponents the first time, however, things would be much easier afterward.

But… it was still the same problem.

Qi Refining cultivators did not differ greatly in cultivation. Defeating at least three people each time was no simple matter.

Still, the strict rules were understandable. There were far too many Qi Refining disciples. If the preliminary round were not demanding, the tournament would drag on until the year of the monkey.

“What happens if no one goes up?”

Bian Chunzhou was clearly very familiar with the tournament rules.

“Then the referee for Arena A will randomly select a cultivator to enter.”

In other words, they would randomly choose one unfortunate soul.

As they spoke, the unfortunate soul assigned to Arena A had already stepped onto the platform. His cultivation was average, and he had not even been able to breathe on the arena for two full minutes before Chen Zui swept him off with a single slash of his saber.

Thus, while the other three arenas had not even completed a few matches, the first advancement slot had already been claimed on Arena A.

“As expected of an inner-sect senior brother. How terrifying!”

A disciple nearby suddenly whispered like a demon in his ear.

“Let me tell you a horror story. Senior Brother Chen only joined the sect last year! At the time, he was only at the sixth level of Qi Refining.”

“…Go away! I can’t listen to this!”

After defeating five people in a row, Chen Zui still had strength to spare. He had originally planned to fight a few more matches, but…

Fine.

He had spotted his two friends waving at him.

Bullying weaker opponents was not particularly interesting anyway. Aside from his first opponent, who had been fairly decent, the other four had been thoroughly unsatisfying to fight.

The cultivators assigned to Arena A watched the living King of Hell surnamed Chen leave and finally became lively again.

“Congratulations! You were the first to secure a place in the next round. Impressive!”

Chen Zui evaluated his own performance. “It was all right. You two should hurry as well. Junior Brother Bian, especially you.”

“…Why especially me?!”

Chen Zui let out an envious sigh. “If we could trade places, I’d like to go to Arena D.”

Bian Chunzhou was speechless.

“Completely unnecessary. You’ll be able to meet them in the later rounds anyway. Isn’t it better to conserve your strength for now?”

“That isn’t conserving strength.”

Chen Zui paused to organize his limited vocabulary.

“The third person just now was a fragile pill cultivator. I was afraid that if I used too much force, I might seriously hurt him.”

Bian Chunzhou and Wen Xu fell silent.

You’re probably the only one troubled by something like that.

Speaking of which, Yonglu Mountain’s sect tournament did not divide competitors by cultivation specialty.

Pill cultivators, talisman cultivators, medical cultivators, music cultivators, and everyone else were all placed in the same category. They entered the arena, fought, and advanced if they won.

The purpose was to make one thing clear to every disciple in the sect: whether they were offensive cultivators with high attack and low defense or medical and pill cultivators who treated injuries and saved lives, they still needed a certain capacity for self-preservation.

Once they left the sect, they were bound to encounter all sorts of situations.

It was better to rely on oneself than to beg others for help. No matter what methods they used, only by preserving their own lives could they travel farther along the path of cultivation.

“She won again! Junior Sister Jiang has already defeated four people in a row. But in her current condition, I’m afraid the fifth match will be difficult.”

“Is that why no one has gone up yet? The people assigned to Arena B are rather friendly.”

“It isn’t kindness. Anyone who goes up now could beat her, but the victory wouldn’t be honorable. And after winning, they’d probably be knocked off immediately by someone else. The loss would outweigh the gain.”

“That’s true. You have to think farther ahead. The referee is starting to select someone at random!”

“Wen Xu of Spring-Crossing Peak, are you present?”

After reading the name in his hand, even the referee’s breathing faltered.

What kind of luck was this?

He had drawn the biggest one of them all!

A one-in-five-hundred chance, and he had actually managed it?!

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