Chapter 25 (Part 1)

The first three rounds of the Outer Sect Grand Competition were, in all likelihood, elimination matches. Each round eliminated roughly half the contestants.

Xuantian Sect had a huge base of Qi Refining disciples. Aside from those stationed outside the sect or away on missions, most would participate in this Outer Sect Grand Competition. The number of participants was around sixty thousand.

The first round was individual combat, one-on-one matches decided by victory or defeat, eliminating thirty thousand contestants. The second round was mixed combat, small-scale team battles, eliminating fifteen thousand contestants. The third round was consecutive combat, arena defense challenges that tested endurance, eliminating more than ten thousand contestants.

At that point, the remaining four to five thousand contestants would no longer be able to rely on luck. They would begin competing based on true strength, ultimately deciding the top three thousand rankings.

Of course, the top hundred, top ten, and even first place each had material rewards. But to Song Yuanxi, those were far too distant. He was not shameless enough to smash his way into the top hundred using outside items. That would truly be improper.

“Junior Brother Song, you’re up soon. Get ready.” Lu Zihang had already finished his match and won the first round easily, but he did not hurry off. Instead, he stayed by Song Yuanxi’s side, his expression even more serious than the person actually competing.

“Why is it a sixth-level Qi Refining disciple?” Lu Zihang saw the disciple who had already stepped onto the combat platform and frowned. “Junior Brother Song, be careful.”

Song Yuanxi nodded and touched the storage pouch where he could easily reach it. Everything he had prepared was inside. Then he calmly jumped onto the combat platform.

“Song Yuanxi, disciple of Wanhai Peak, seeks guidance from Senior Brother.” The other party’s cultivation was higher than his, so Song Yuanxi greeted him as soon as he went up.

The man only nodded at him and said nothing else, but his expression was clear enough. He did not take his opponent seriously at all.

It made sense. One was at the third level of Qi Refining, and the other was at the sixth level. How was this supposed to be a fight?

“It’ll probably end within three moves again. That third-level Qi Refining disciple is way too unlucky. What rotten luck.”

“Doesn’t the Grand Competition have people like that every year? Did you forget that little junior brother from last year? Now that was unlucky! A first-level Qi Refining disciple drew a ninth-level Qi Refining senior brother. He started crying the moment he got onstage.”

“Haha, let’s see whether this junior brother cries. I think he’s about to—huh?”

The discussions below the combat platform suddenly stopped. One by one, the spectators widened their eyes and looked upward. The expected scene of the junior brother being beaten into a sorry state had not appeared. Instead, the senior brother with the higher cultivation was the one whose clothes had become disheveled.

“What just happened?” Many people had not seen the moves exchanged at all, too busy watching the excitement and chatting.

A little disciple at the first level of Qi Refining, however, was beyond excited. He gestured wildly as he described it. “That Senior Brother Song is amazing! When Senior Brother Zhang used three Explosive Fire Thunderflame Arts in a row, he didn’t dodge or hide. He just stood there and met them head-on. The Explosive Fire Thunderflame didn’t hurt him at all. Right after that, Senior Brother Zhang used the Buddha-Hand Thousand Vine Thrust. I thought Senior Brother Song was definitely going to be stabbed into a hedgehog, but who would’ve thought he only waved his sleeve, and all the Thousand Vine Thrusts softened…”

The crowd quickly fell silent, then nervously watched the match and began discussing the two people on the combat platform.

“Whoa! What an incredible move!”

“Is he hiding his cultivation? Could he be a senior brother rather than a junior brother?”

“It’s not impossible for the weak to defeat the strong. Every year, dark horses emerge in the Grand Competition. That Junior Brother Song must have some trump card.”

The discussion below the stage was too heated. Zhang San, who was standing near the edge of the platform, heard the gist of it. He felt extremely aggrieved. What hidden cultivation? The other side was clearly relying on outside items.

He had used a Dissipation Array to resist Zhang San’s Thunderflame Art, a Softening Bone Pill to neutralize the Thousand Vine Thrust, and there were also handfuls of spirit stones ready at any time to replenish his spiritual energy… How was Zhang San supposed to fight this?

“Junior Brother Song, are you going to rely on these outside items the entire time? Winning like this hardly seems honorable.” He was clearly three levels higher than the other party, yet he was the one being forced into a sorry state. Zhang San was unhappy.

Song Yuanxi finished absorbing the spirit stones, restoring his spiritual power to its peak. He nodded at the other party and said, “Senior Brother Zhang, sometimes luck is also part of strength. Drawing you as my opponent is my bad luck. My having many outside items on me is your bad luck. As for who wins and who loses, that depends on fate.”

Zhang San stopped wasting words and took out his longsword. He stuck several Swift Thunder Talismans onto the blade, strengthening it to its maximum power, then charged straight at Song Yuanxi.

“Junior Brother Song, watch my sword!” Zhang San shouted. The longsword emitted a faint glow, with a sharp aura hidden within.

Song Yuanxi was caught off guard and stabbed. Fortunately, he retreated in time and only suffered a flesh wound. His originally careless gaze turned serious. He had thought that with outside items supporting him, the first round would be very easy. He had not expected this senior brother to actually be a sword cultivator.

But this sword qi seemed a little unorthodox. He probably was not a Qingtian Peak disciple, right?

Song Yuanxi did not like dealing with sword cultivators. Sword Cultivation practitioners were all stubborn to the bone. He had better end this match quickly.

After thinking it over, he simply took out a pile of talismans and decided to wreck the place.

“Junior Brother Song is in danger this time. I didn’t expect Senior Brother Zhang to be a sword cultivator. He hid it really well.”

“Senior Brother Zhang was aiming for Qingtian Peak from the start. Back when Qingtian Peak was selecting disciples, Senior Brother Zhang was the first to sign up. If his spiritual root aptitude hadn’t been lacking, he would’ve entered long ago.”

“Hey, look, Junior Brother Song… heavens! What is he doing?”

Song Yuanxi had taken out a stack of talismans. Facing Zhang San on the other side, he flung out three explosive talismans on his very first move. Before the other party could react, the next wave followed, then another, and another…

Zhang San, who had originally held a slight advantage with his sword qi, was soon bombarded by explosive talismans falling from the sky until he screamed. He could only dodge everywhere, with no attention left to spare for the fight.

“Junior Brother Song, how could you prepare this many explosive talismans?”

“Junior Brother Song, you’re being too wasteful. This isn’t how explosive talismans are supposed to be used.”

“Junior Brother Song, Junior Brother Song, stop this instant!”

The corner of the combat platform where Zhang San stood was bombed over and over. Piles of explosive talismans blasted out a large pit, and in the end, man and stone dropped straight downward together. Fortunately, the combat platform had a defensive array, or the Qi Refining disciples below would definitely have been injured.

When Zhang San landed, he spat out a mouthful of old blood. With hair like a chicken nest and black smoke coming from his mouth, he stubbornly gripped his longsword and spat out resentfully, “No martial virtue. No martial virtue at all!”

Song Yuanxi had used a total of seventy-two explosive talismans and finally sent Zhang San off the combat platform. He touched his storage pouch. There were still one hundred and twenty-eight left inside.

He felt insecure. “I’ll buy more explosive talismans later. These things are really useful. I should need a lot more for the mixed combat and consecutive combat rounds.”

“Senior Brother Zhang, I have greatly offended you. I’m sorry. This is a small apology gift for you.” Song Yuanxi jumped down from the combat platform and offered ten explosive talismans. This Senior Brother Zhang had really suffered by running into him.

Zhang San’s final breath of stubbornness instantly leaked away. His head tilted to the side, and he completely fainted.

“Senior Brother Zhang, thank you for yielding.”

Song Yuanxi personally watched as his opponent was carried away on a stretcher. Then, amid everyone’s whispers, he left the stage.

The pay-to-win contestant had absolutely no sense of shame. Instead, his expression was calm: So what if I pay to win? My family has a mine!

The first round of matches lasted three days. After Song Yuanxi won on the first day, he stopped paying attention. With his cultivation level, there really was no need for him to pay attention to all the popular contestants. To him, they were all the same anyway.

But after his flashy maneuvers and victory over a stronger opponent, Song Yuanxi drew the attention of all the major popular contestants. Some familiar late-stage Qi Refining disciples gathered together to discuss this strange dark horse.

“Song Yuanxi? Does anyone know his exact background?”

To the outer sect disciples, especially those in the late stage of Qi Refining, the name Song Yuanxi was unfamiliar.

When someone asked this, everyone fell silent instead. After quite a while, one of them spoke. “I did hear some other junior brothers mention him. That Song Yuanxi is the son of a Golden Core elder from Redcloud Peak. He’s from the Song family and became a disciple under a Golden Core elder of Wanhai Peak. Apparently… he’s a Body Cultivation practitioner?”

“A Body Cultivation practitioner? A Body Cultivation practitioner who takes a pile of talismans and throws them around?” someone said speechlessly.

Another person laughed. “The Outer Sect Grand Competition never restricts these things. Aside from competing in one’s own cultivation and strength, outside support has always appeared. It’s nothing strange.”

“The problem is that Song Yuanxi is way too nasty about it. He acts like his family owns a talisman shop.”

“Junior Brother Song is still relatively fair. He only used a few more talismans, that’s all. He didn’t bring out pills, talismans, tools, and arrays all at once. If he really did that, then we’d truly be speechless.”

The Qi Refining disciple who spoke last was merely joking, but he did not expect his words to come true.

This gathering soon ended. Everyone only made a mental note of Song Yuanxi and did not pay him too much attention.

Song Yuanxi rested for two days. On the fourth day, he went to the martial field again, preparing to draw lots for the mixed combat round.

This time, there was a bit of fate involved. He and his Wanhai Peak senior brother He Man drew the same group.

He Man had quite the wealthy air about him and had heard about Song Yuanxi’s “battle record” in the first round. He walked over and hooked an arm around Song Yuanxi’s neck, looking like they were the best of brothers.

“Junior Brother Song, I heard you like using talismans to smash people?”

“Senior Brother He, I…”

“I think it’s pretty interesting. Why don’t the two of us form an alliance for mixed combat? I got a lot of Return-Shaped Arrays from No-Return Mountain, and I’ve prepared spirit stones too. When the time comes, I’ll set arrays and you throw talismans. We’ll guard one tiny little piece of precious territory and fish in troubled waters.”

“?” Song Yuanxi blinked.

He Man said, “Ahem, I’ve been learning arrays from a senior brother recently, and I’ve refined far too many array disks. That senior brother is stubborn to the bone and only had me refine one array type. The Return-Shaped Array has no market. I can’t sell it even if I try.”

Song Yuanxi: “…”

So because they would not sell, he was preparing to produce and consume them himself?

He Man patted his chest and guaranteed that the two of them working together would achieve twice the result with half the effort. “Don’t worry, Junior Brother Song. Senior Brother is at least at the eighth level of Qi Refining. I can protect you. Just help me use up more arrays.” Otherwise, once there were too many array disks, that senior brother would bring them back and make him repeatedly calculate and practice with them.

He Man even stuffed a small pouch of spirit stones at him as a bribe.

Song Yuanxi pushed it back and said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, “Senior Brother He, there’s no need for this. Having you protect me is my honor.”

“Good junior brother. Senior Brother will look after you from now on!”

The lot drawing soon ended. Mixed combat used one combat platform for every twenty people. Aside from killing moves, everything was allowed. The match would only end when half the people on the platform remained.

In other words, sneak attacks and schemes were allowed in mixed combat.

After Song Yuanxi heard the match rules, he was very glad he had allied with He Man. At least they could balance offense and defense properly. Otherwise, on his own and with such weak cultivation, he would definitely be the first choice for a sneak attack.

As soon as they stepped onto the combat platform, Song Yuanxi stood together with He Man. He stuffed a stack of talismans over. “Senior Brother He, let’s stand back-to-back. Whoever tries to sneak attack us gets talismans thrown at them.”

He Man returned the courtesy, giving him several array disks and a bag of spirit stones. “Junior Brother Song, act according to the situation later. Whoever has an opening should set the array disks. If there aren’t enough spirit stones, add some first. I’ll reimburse you afterward.”

After saying that, He Man paused and turned his head to look at him. “Junior Brother Song, you do know how to set array disks, right?”

Song Yuanxi looked innocent. “Nope, Senior Brother.”

“You actually don’t know how to set array disks?” He Man was stunned.

Seeing the disbelief in the other party’s eyes, Song Yuanxi had the illusion of being looked down upon by a top student. But this poor student remained calm. It was perfectly normal for poor students not to know many things. Knowing them would be abnormal.

“Senior Brother He, I have five spiritual roots. Body Cultivation is very hard work, and I occasionally have to refine artifacts too. I don’t have the energy to learn anything else.”

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