Chapter 68: Victory and Defeat

A total of 153 disciples below the Foundation Establishment Realm advanced to the finals.

Out of two thousand disciples, only 153 had made it through. On average, fewer than forty people advanced from each arena, putting the advancement rate below eight percent. Bian Chunzhou had originally thought at least two hundred of the two thousand would advance. He had not expected the number to be so surprisingly low.

It was worth mentioning that every inner-sect Qi Refining disciple had advanced. Including the three of them, Senior Sister Xia Ying, and Lin Congcong, there were thirty-eight in total. The rest were all outer-sect disciples.

There should originally have been 154 contestants, but after Senior Sister Ming Jing withdrew, they were left one short.

“But doesn’t that mean one person will be left without an opponent?”

The finals followed a different format from the arena relay matches in the preliminary examination. Here, contestants fought one-on-one. The winner advanced, while the loser was simply eliminated.

Sometimes, luck was also part of one’s strength.

In other words, seventy-six people would be eliminated on the very first day of the finals.

Many people had noticed the same problem as Bian Chunzhou. However, once they reached the place where lots were drawn, the mystery resolved itself.

Because—

“I don’t have to fight in the first round? I advance automatically?”

Chen Zui looked somewhat reluctant to accept.

But… in the end, he reluctantly agreed.

After all, when it came to fighting, who would ever complain about getting too many matches? Unfortunately, the senior brother from Kaiyuan Peak overseeing the draw said this was his reward for defeating a Foundation Establishment senior brother, and he had no choice but to accept it.

Chen Zui agreed with a sour expression.

The moment he did, many of the disciples waiting in line to draw lots heaved enormous sighs of relief.

This vicious fellow could even defeat someone in the Foundation Establishment Realm. Fighting him would be no different from handing him an effortless victory.

They had struggled so hard to reach the finals. No one wanted to be eliminated in the first round.

Yet they had barely let out that breath when their hearts leaped into their throats again.

“You two are not allowed to lose!”

Whoa. Who was that?

They turned around.

Oh, it was the Junior Granduncle-Master. Then there was no—

No, there was a huge problem!

Hadn’t the Junior Granduncle-Master still been at the peak of the eighth level of Qi Refining just a few days ago?

How had he reached the ninth level in the blink of an eye?

Was his cultivation some kind of cabbage that grew whenever the wind blew?!

All right, he did possess a mutated wind spiritual root, so saying he grew with the wind was not entirely wrong.

But the real problem was…

Unless they remembered incorrectly, their Junior Granduncle-Master had gone from having no cultivation whatsoever to the ninth level of Qi Refining in just one year.

Meanwhile, they would celebrate wildly for three days and three nights if they advanced by even one minor realm after cultivating for a year.

The gulf between ordinary people and geniuses was indeed deeper than the waters of the Vast Sea Domain.

“Waaaaah—”

“Why are you crying? You… All right. My condolences.”

Hehe. At least he had not drawn the Junior Granduncle-Master. His chances of advancing had just gone up again.

A second later, he could no longer smile.

He had drawn Senior Sister Xia Ying of the inner sect.

The two disciples threw their arms around each other and burst into tears.

Naturally, the results of the draw brought joy to some and sorrow to others.

Wen Xu drew an outer-sect junior brother at the seventh level of Qi Refining. He quickly won the match and placed his name into the drawing artifact for the second round.

As for Bian Chunzhou…

Well, you could not exactly call him unlucky, because he had not drawn a senior brother or sister at the peak of Qi Refining.

But you could not call him lucky either, because he had drawn…

“You two really are bound by fate,” Chen Zui said, once again speaking an inconvenient truth.

What was this supposed to be?

This was the inner-sect tournament!

Why did Bian Chunzhou have to run into that little bastard Lin Congcong yet again?

Could they not come up with something new?

This was already the third time!

Bian Chunzhou climbed onto the stage with great reluctance. Only when he saw the surprise on Lin Congcong’s face did his mood improve.

“Don’t think you can beat me just because you advanced.”

“I could beat you even without advancing!”

Anyone could exchange threats.

The two of them bickered like elementary school children for a few moments before finally beginning the fight in earnest.

As the saying went, the first time made strangers, while the second made acquaintances. Both Bian Chunzhou and Lin Congcong had already developed a clear understanding of each other’s moves and methods.

As a result, the opening exchanges were remarkably even.

One used Water-Fire Talismans, while the other countered with an Earth Trap Array.

Rather than a decisive match, it looked more like… a friendly demonstration.

“Did neither of them take a Fasting Pill today?” Chen Zui asked bluntly.

Wen Xu exposed his true thoughts just as bluntly. “Are you resentful because you didn’t get the chance to fight onstage today?”

Chen Zui gasped in astonishment. “You could actually tell?”

It was not exactly difficult to guess, Wen Xu thought.

He could have figured that out with his eyes closed.

As for why the two people onstage were fighting with such meticulous caution, they were probably afraid of having their spiritual power drained by the other side. They wanted to turn the match into a war of attrition.

Although Chunzhou was better at swift, aggressive attacks, Lin Congcong’s earth-based defenses were nearly impossible to break.

If Chunzhou’s cultivation had been higher than Lin Congcong’s, there would have been no problem with fighting quickly. But with his cultivation suppressed by his opponent’s, the match would depend on who had more patience and who was better at seizing an opportunity.

This was not their first fight. Since they understood each other so thoroughly, there was nothing wrong with this strategy.

It would simply come down to who could outlast the other.

And so, the match continued from dawn until nightfall.

Almost everyone near the arena had already left, yet no victor had emerged.

In fact, every other match drawn that day had already concluded. This was the only one remaining.

Bian Chunzhou and Lin Congcong were clearly approaching their limits.

They were only in the Qi Refining Realm, so their reserves of spiritual power were limited, and the spells they could use in battle were relatively simple. When two opponents were evenly matched, victory sometimes required a little luck.

Bian Chunzhou gasped for breath.

With every breath, he could feel a thick, muddy sensation churning inside his chest.

Being controlled by his opponent like this was far from pleasant.

That little bastard had grown even more proficient with his routine.

During their previous two fights, it had only been the simple three-part combination of sealing him in mud, suffocating him, and crushing him.

Now Lin Congcong had started layering one technique inside another like nesting dolls.

Had Bian Chunzhou not improved his command over water and fire, he would have suffered a disastrous defeat this time.

Calm down, Bian Chunzhou.

It’s not a big problem.

Just hold on a tiny bit longer.

He repeated those words to himself while rapidly regulating his breathing.

He felt awful, but Lin Congcong could not be doing much better.

Their cultivation levels differed by only the smallest margin.

An opportunity.

He needed an opportunity—

Just as Bian Chunzhou expected, Lin Congcong’s spiritual power was also nearly exhausted.

Compared with spells of the other four elements, earth-based spells naturally consumed more spiritual power. Whether used for defense or attack, they demanded exceptional accuracy and precision from the cultivator.

He could not waste any more spiritual power!

With the final bit he had left, defending would be useless.

He had to attack!

Now—

Both of them attacked at the same moment, each intending to knock the other off the platform.

The earth dragon onstage may have looked crudely formed, but it surged forward with astonishing speed, charging straight at Bian Chunzhou’s face.

At the same time, the earth array beneath his feet clung to his legs and trapped them in place.

Unless he dodged, there was only one possible outcome.

He would be knocked off the platform.

The handful of spectators remaining finally focused all their attention on the stage. Someone even cried out, “Watch out!”

But in the next instant, Bian Chunzhou began forming something with his bare hands—

What was he making?!

Why was he not defending himself?!

The spectators below were even more anxious than the person actually fighting.

Yet Bian Chunzhou’s expression was unexpectedly steady.

His hands moved in a blur, and before the earth dragon reached him, he truly managed to break free of the restraints around his feet.

“Wh-what did he just do?! Was he copying Senior Brother Shi from the inner sect and drawing a talisman in midair? He actually succeeded! That’s outrageous! Is this also part of their fight for favor?”

“Wow, Junior Brother, you actually dare to say that aloud? Still, it seems we’re kindred spirits. Did you also stay behind because you heard that ridiculous rumor…?”

The two spectators looked at each other.

Then, with sudden mutual understanding, they grinned.

Naturally, their gazes soon returned to the stage.

However—

The fight was already over.

That quickly?

Who had won?!

Wait.

Was that not Senior Brother Shi Yijian of the inner sect himself?

Could that ridiculous rumor actually be true?

Was it really that exciting?

Had they stumbled upon the real thing?!

Shi Yijian had not expected an inner-sect disciple to appear who was bold enough to imitate him.

In truth, he had only happened to pass by today.

He had not expected—

“Bian Chunzhou of Ruoshui Peak wins.”

With a smack, Bian Chunzhou collapsed directly onto the arena as soon as he heard the result. He looked no less miserable than Lin Congcong below the stage.

Honestly, if he had not tricked Lin Congcong into wasting his ultimate move just now, he would have been the one lying beneath the arena.

Thank goodness for all those days he had spent grinding games on a brutal schedule in his university dorm.

As it turned out, university students playing games was not entirely useless.

The experience had finally come in handy.

“Chunzhou, how are you?”

Bian Chunzhou struggled to swallow the Qi-Replenishing Pill held to his lips.

After lying still for a moment, he finally regained enough strength to climb to his feet.

“I’m fine. I feel fantastic! Better than ever! Chen Zuizui, hurry and submit my name!”

Chen Zui was speechless.

Did he owe Bian Chunzhou something?

He had just turned to submit the name when someone beat him to it.

Chen Zui raised his head and saw Senior Brother Shi Yijian of the inner sect.

“Senior Brother Shi.”

Shi Yijian stepped lightly onto the platform.

His features were cool and severe. When he did not smile, he seemed difficult to approach. But his voice was gentle, and when it carried even a trace of amusement, he gave off the air of…

Hmm.

A refined scoundrel.

Bian Chunzhou felt that Senior Brother Shi’s face lacked only a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. The elite aura radiating from him was practically overwhelming.

“Thank you, Senior Brother Shi.”

“There’s no need. The talisman you drew just now was quite good.”

After praising him, Shi Yijian chatted with the three of them for a while before departing beneath the moonlight.

Bian Chunzhou watched his retreating figure and could not shake a certain feeling.

“Hmm… Do you two ever get the same impression?”

“What impression?”

“I always feel like Senior Brother Shi has the calm, unruffled presence of some hidden expert. Is he really only at the peak of Qi Refining?”

Wen Xu rarely interacted with Shi Yijian.

Earlier, Shi Yijian had also properly greeted him as the Junior Granduncle-Master.

He seemed exactly like the sort of person Wen Xu had disliked dealing with in the past.

He had too many schemes and never revealed his emotions, making him impossible to read.

“Whether he’s really at the peak of Qi Refining or not, I’ll find out the next time I draw him.”

Excellent.

A certain Senior Brother Chen’s fighting spirit had ignited once again.

Unfortunately, in the following one-on-one elimination matches, none of the three encountered Shi Yijian.

Chen Zui did, however, face Xia Ying.

Their match became a rapid exchange between saber and sword, and Chen Zui ultimately emerged victorious.

After three elimination rounds, only twenty contestants remained.

In the first round, Chen Zui had received a bye because he had previously defeated a Foundation Establishment cultivator. In the second and third rounds, the final unpaired contestant had likewise advanced automatically.

Unfortunately, neither Wen Xu nor Bian Chunzhou had the luck to draw one of those fortunate lots.

Still, despite a few scares, all three of them made it into the top twenty.

They needed only one more victory to enter the top ten.

In other words, winning their next match would guarantee them one of the top-ten rewards—

A Foundation Establishment Pill.

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