Chapter 67: A Pyrrhic Victory

Chen Zui.

Few people would choose the character “zui,” meaning “the utmost,” for a name. Anything filled to the brim invited trouble and overflowed. Most people would rather name a child “Lack” than push the auspicious meaning all the way to its limit.

But Chen Zui was clearly no ordinary person. Everyone who knew him—or even merely knew of him—thought the name suited him perfectly.

He was the very definition of an extreme battle maniac.

If you wanted to befriend Chen Zui and build some rapport with him, ten thousand words would not be worth as much as fighting him once. If you managed to beat him, you would not even have to say anything. He would come chasing after you of his own accord...

All right. He would chase you down to fight you again.

Some people were born without ever understanding what sharp edges were, much less what it meant to have those edges worn smooth. They had never cared about such things. From birth, they possessed a keen edge that drove them relentlessly forward.

Bian Chunzhou had a special term for describing his friend.

Put nicely, Chen Zui had an impressive lack of sensitivity.

Put bluntly, he was missing a few screws.

Yet without exaggeration, among all the peak Qi Refining Realm contestants, Chen Zui was the one drawing the most attention.

That was not merely because he had easily defeated Li Anqu, a Qi Refining senior brother from the outer sect. It was also because, just yesterday, Chen Zui had fought a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator surnamed Jiang at the foot of the mountain—and won.

That was right. News among the disciples of Yonglu Mountain had always traveled quickly.

Moreover, the victim had been an outer-sect disciple of their own sect. Although Junior Sister Ming Jing, who had since changed her name, had gained a blessing in disguise and made rapid progress in her cultivation, they still had to condemn the person who had harmed her.

And so, word of Chen Zui successfully defeating someone above his realm spread like wildfire.

It was... honestly absurd.

There had been gifted junior brothers in past tournaments too, but this generation seemed to have far too many geniuses. Worse, each one worked harder than the last. If the senior disciples did not bring out some real skills soon, they would become the old waves smashed to pieces on the beach by the new.

Thus, the Foundation Establishment senior brothers and sisters decided to give Chen Zui a little “extra practice.”

Just like the matches for those below Foundation Establishment Realm, every registered disciple had three chances to enter the arena. Winning three matches in a row or accumulating six total victories would qualify them for the finals.

Chen Zui might have been reckless, but even he knew that, at his current cultivation level, he probably could not force his way into the Foundation Establishment finals.

However, he had come precisely to fight Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Therefore, he absolutely could not miss any of his three matches.

Naturally, if he could fight four, five, or six matches, that would be even better.

Bian Chunzhou squeezed himself into the crowd of spectators and was nearly flattened into the filling of a sandwich.

Fortunately, Wen Xu arrived not long afterward. With the shining title of “Junior Granduncle-Master” hanging over his head, the crowd finally made room, and the sandwich filling was liberated at last.

“Just look at him! Every inch of him is screaming that he wants a fight! He looks so smug!”

“...This is his Dao.”

Still, Chen Zui was indeed far more expressive than usual today. It was obvious that he truly could not wait to fight a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The Foundation Establishment senior brothers and sisters had also reached a silent understanding. Whenever they faced a Qi Refining disciple, someone in the early Foundation Establishment Realm would take the stage.

Up to this point, no Foundation Establishment cultivator who had relied on a Foundation Establishment Pill had been defeated by a Qi Refining disciple.

After all, losing an arena match was not a serious matter.

But if someone truly got slapped in the face by a lower-realm opponent, how were they supposed to continue showing themselves around Yonglu Mountain afterward?

No one could afford that humiliation.

Thus, when facing a combat fanatic like Chen Zui, the Foundation Establishment senior brother onstage did not underestimate him in the slightest.

In truth, he did not dare to.

What in the world had this fellow eaten while growing up?

The pressure he gave off at the peak of Qi Refining Realm was already this intense. The senior brother was beginning to believe that Chen Zui really had defeated that pill-assisted Foundation Establishment cultivator at the foot of the mountain.

But he would not lose.

Chen Zui truly did not win.

This was his first defeat in the arena tournament, and it would not be his last.

Yet even in defeat, he inspired fear.

The Foundation Establishment senior brother who had won was clearly in no condition to secure a second victory.

How should one put it?

As long as they were not the ones standing on the stage, everyone was delighted to send him teasing looks.

The senior brother onstage fell silent.

You pack of spectators who only came for the entertainment! Could you people behave for once?

The answer, of course, was no.

The referee randomly drew the next challenger. A late Foundation Establishment senior sister stepped onto the stage and, in ten dignified moves, sent the early Foundation Establishment disciple off the platform.

Who could have expected this?

The early Foundation Establishment senior brother had never been confident that he could enter the finals, but a Qi Refining junior brother had drained nearly eighty percent of his spiritual energy reserves.

Rounding things up...

He had basically lost.

Had they not said that this junior brother had joined the sect less than a year ago?

Did he have to be this terrifyingly strong?!

Clutching his chest, the senior brother quietly slipped away.

After recovering for two days, he decided to challenge the arena again on the third day.

And somehow, he ran into that same cursed Junior Brother Chen again.

Why was it you again?!

“Junior Brother, have your injuries fully healed?”

Chen Zui radiated fighting spirit from head to toe.

“Senior Brother, please instruct me.”

There was really no need.

He had come to participate in the sect tournament, not to serve as a whetstone for the junior brothers of Saber Peak!

A tiger might not show its might—

Damn it all.

This time, he only barely won.

He had been one move away from being knocked off the stage by that wretched brat.

Too close. Far too close.

Heaven above, please show mercy. In his third match, he absolutely could not run into this saber-wielding demon again.

Still, it was strange.

Junior Brother Chen’s saber techniques were broad, forceful, and immensely powerful. Yet they possessed nothing particularly unusual or exquisite.

At least, in the senior brother’s eyes, Junior Brother Chen treated the saber exactly as a saber. He paid no heed whatsoever to his own safety.

There was no defense.

Only attack.

His style was clearly riddled with openings, yet dealing with him was unexpectedly difficult.

This kid was genuinely ruthless toward himself.

It was merely a match between fellow sect disciples, but he did not care in the slightest about getting injured.

Considering the senior brother had been exhausted to this extent before securing the victory, the outcome made sense in a way.

At the very least, he did not possess Junior Brother Chen’s fierce courage—the kind capable of piercing through the clouds.

Perhaps he should not have rushed to participate in the sect tournament immediately after advancing to Foundation Establishment Realm.

Stopping to carefully temper his state of mind might be the proper path.

And so, when Chen Zui entered the arena for the third time, he finally did not face the same Foundation Establishment senior brother again.

He actually looked somewhat disappointed.

As his close friend, Bian Chunzhou understood him instantly.

“Look at him! He must be disappointed that the senior brother from his first two matches didn’t come back. He definitely wanted to win! Speaking of which, where is that Foundation Establishment senior brother? I haven’t seen him at all.”

Wen Xu smiled.

“Are you a worm living in his stomach?”

“Hmph. Ask him once he comes down if you don’t believe me. He’ll definitely tell the truth.”

...That was fair.

When had Chen Zui ever lied?

“He won!”

Bian Chunzhou shrieked so loudly that his voice cracked.

“Wen Xuxu, Chen Zuizui won! Heavens, he’s simply—”

He could not think of an adjective.

It was far too astonishing.

Because the match was between an early Foundation Establishment cultivator and a peak Qi Refining cultivator, there had not been many people gathered around this particular arena.

Now that the match had ended, however, a flood of spectators surged over.

After all, this was a victory of the lower over the higher.

A Qi Refining cultivator had defeated a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Such a thing had not happened in several tournaments.

Even the referee at the neighboring arena craned his neck to look over. Unfortunately, he was too far away to see clearly.

“Chen Zuizui, you’re the best—”

Bian Chunzhou had never been stingy with praise.

Anyone who became his friend could always count on being showered with compliments.

Even though Chen Zui stood in the arena barely able to breathe, he had won.

He had successfully sent a Foundation Establishment senior brother off the stage.

And his friends had witnessed it.

As expected, listening to his mother and coming to Yonglu Mountain had been the right choice.

He was now the strongest Qi Refining cultivator.

When the referee announced that Chen Zui, a Qi Refining disciple of Blade Peak, had won, cries of astonishment erupted throughout the venue.

Unfortunately, Chen Zui, the center of everyone’s attention, was thoroughly drained.

Although he desperately wanted to fight another match, his body would no longer permit him to act recklessly.

Chen Zui made his way down from the stage with great difficulty. His two friends then escorted him back to his cave abode.

Without ten days to half a month of recovery, he was definitely not getting better.

“I won. You saw it, right?”

Bian Chunzhou laughed.

“Yes, yes, you won. You really stole the show today. You were—this!”

He could not resist giving him a thumbs-up.

“Congratulations. You have surpassed your limits once again.”

Chen Zui thought to himself that praise from a scholar truly sounded wonderful.

He simply loved challenging his limits.

“I’ll win again.”

“...Fine, fine. Focus on recovering first. After injuring yourself like this, are you still planning to compete in the finals for those below Foundation Establishment Realm?”

Chen Zui gave him a look that plainly said, Who are you looking down on?

Bian Chunzhou fell silent.

He was thoroughly convinced.

Still, now that Chen Zuizui had become famous through a single battle, he would be the undisputed great demon king of the matches below Foundation Establishment Realm.

Speaking of the finals...

Did that not mean both he and Wen Xuxu had a chance of being matched against Chen Zuizui?

Was it really all right for allies to beat up their own allies?

Bian Chunzhou’s expression stiffened.

More importantly, given Chen Zuizui’s usual behavior, the fellow had absolutely no concept of holding back.

Damn it.

With his luck...

“Why has your face become so... unpleasant?”

Chen Zui began to wonder which of them was actually injured—himself or Junior Brother Bian.

“It’s nothing. Take your time recovering. I’m going back to cultivate.”

No.

He had to rise up!

Thus, for the next few days, the three kings of overachievement diligently cultivated in their respective cave abodes.

Perhaps the heavens had taken pity on Bian Chunzhou. Or perhaps he simply did not want Chen Zuizui to send him off the stage with a single saber strike.

On the eve of the finals for those below Foundation Establishment Realm, Bian Chunzhou narrowly broke through to the eighth level of Qi Refining Realm.

Excellent.

Now the gap between his cultivation and Lin Congcong’s was even smaller.

He had heard that the bastard won five matches on the final day and qualified for the finals.

“Why are you two—”

Bian Chunzhou looked at one of them.

Oh. His injuries were completely healed. He looked as though he had returned at full health.

Then he looked at the other.

“When did you break through again?! Are you some kind of grinding emperor?!”

Did Wen Xuxu have an extra Wen Xuxu growing out of his liver?!

Bian Chunzhou knew that cultivators with mutated spiritual roots cultivated quickly.

But honestly, there should still be limits to how fast someone could be!

It had only been half a month.

Back then, he himself had—

Forget it.

A true hero did not brag about past glories.

Geniuses truly knew how to crush a person’s confidence.

Fortunately, he was not afraid of being crushed.

Heh heh.

“What liver?”

Wen Xu answered simply.

“I suppose it happened naturally. Two nights ago, I suddenly gained a trace of insight into the first layer of my cultivation method. After cultivating through the night, I woke up already at the ninth level of Qi Refining Realm.”

Speaking of which, he had Ming Jing to thank.

Her experiences and transformation had given him a deeper understanding of cultivation.

In a certain sense, what had happened to him and what had happened to Ming Jing were somewhat similar.

Chen Zui accepted the news without difficulty.

He wished his friends would become even stronger. Then he would have two evenly matched training partners to spar with.

“Junior Brother Bian, you should work harder.”

...Your Junior Brother Bian had only just broken through a minor realm, thank you very much. :)

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