Chapter 49: Giving a Gift

“The Sect Tournament? We have to sign up already?”

Chen Zui was the most enthusiastic about fighting among the three of them. It was a rare occasion where even Bian Chunzhou hadn’t heard any rumors, yet Chen Zui already knew. “It’s not about signing up. Inner sect disciples are required to participate. As a personal disciple of a Soul Transformation Divine Venerable, you’ll be laughed at if you don’t go.”

Bian Chunzhou couldn’t help but punch him playfully. “Who said I wasn’t participating! But is there any prize for this year’s Sect Tournament?”

“There is, but I didn’t listen too closely. For the matches below Foundation Establishment, the top ten should receive Foundation Establishment Pills.” As for any extra prizes, Chen Zui didn’t care much. He didn’t rely on those flashy magic tools and pills for his cultivation anyway.

Bian Chunzhou grew impatient. “No way, I have to go ask around.”

With that, he headed off toward Kaiyuan Peak. After all, if one were to ask which peak of Yonglu Mountain had the best information, it would definitely be Kaiyuan Peak, which was in charge of coordinating missions.

It didn’t take long for Bian Chunzhou to return, looking thoroughly satisfied with his new intelligence.

Yonglu Mountain’s Sect Tournament was generally held the year after the gates opened to recruit new disciples. There were three competition brackets based on cultivation level: first, below Foundation Establishment; second, below Golden Core; and third, below Nascent Soul.

Initially, Bian Chunzhou had been a bit puzzled as to why they didn’t just call them the Qi Refining Stage, Foundation Establishment Stage, and Golden Core Stage brackets. But he quickly realized there was a play on words here. “Below Golden Core” actually included both Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining. If a Qi Refining cultivator wanted to seek excitement and a breakthrough by participating in the second bracket, they were, in principle, allowed to challenge those of a higher realm.

“I see. You’re quite observant, Junior Brother Bian,” Chen Zui said, looking rather pleased.

Bian Chunzhou turned his head in shock. “No way. You want to challenge Foundation Establishment cultivators?”

“Of course. I’m already at the ninth level of Qi Refining and close to peak completion. What’s the fun in only fighting other Qi Refining cultivators?” Chen Zui said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

…Right, that made sense. That was exactly the kind of person Chen Zui was. Look at him-the tournament wouldn’t even start for another six months, and he was already itching to go. Classic Chen Zui. “You’d better be careful. The Foundation Establishment Stage is… really quite strong.”

Chen Zui nodded. “Of course. The stronger, the better.”

True enough. Bian Chunzhou sat down cross-legged. According to Senior Brother Huang of Kaiyuan Peak, fights below Qi Refining indeed lacked entertainment value, which was why they were the first events to start. Aside from the newly admitted disciples, most of the participants in this bracket were outer sect disciples. This was also their most important path to entering the inner sect.

“In that case, the three of us, along with Senior Sister Xia Ying and that annoying Lin Congcong, will probably become popular targets for the outer sect disciples to challenge.”

After all, for one, they had just entered the sect and their cultivation levels were still relatively low. Secondly, they were inner sect disciples. If an outer sect disciple could defeat an inner sect disciple, they would surely catch the attention of the elders.

Man, that actually sounded pretty interesting.

“Is that so? I’m fine with whatever.” Chen Zui wasn’t afraid of the Qi Refining stage at all. “You guys have fought a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator before, so you shouldn’t lose to anyone in the Qi Refining stage, right?”

“Well… to know oneself and one’s enemy is to win a hundred battles. I wonder how many outer sect disciples are participating in the tournament this time?”

Bian Chunzhou’s question happened to be exactly what the outer sect disciples of Yonglu Mountain were most concerned about right now.

Yonglu Mountain was, after all, one of the five great sects, boasting a deep heritage. Outer sect aside, the inner sect disciples, except for the new recruits from the previous year, were basically all at Foundation Establishment or above. The occasional few who weren’t were at the peak of Qi Refining, having entered the sect in the previous two recruitment cycles.

Generally speaking, if an inner sect disciple failed to reach Foundation Establishment after twenty years, it meant either their talent was lacking or they weren’t working hard enough. So far, the inner sect of Yonglu Mountain had only ever seen Qi Refining disciples who met an unfortunate, untimely demise; they had never produced a slacker who loafed around for twenty years without advancing.

As for the outer sect disciples, they were the absolute overachievers among overachievers. Word of the tournament had only gotten out two days ago, and already people were starting to gather the pills and talismans they would need for the competition.

Although the outer sect disciples’ talent might not match that of the inner sect, they didn’t lose out in the slightest when it came to sheer willpower in their cultivation. Some of them had even already advanced to Foundation Establishment. If they could secure a good rank in the tournament, they would be able to enter the inner sect to study.

In this environment of healthy competition, almost every disciple of Yonglu Mountain was pushing themselves to the limit.

Wen Xu, who had originally planned to balance work and rest: …No! I can’t lose!

Driven by this competitive spirit, Wen Xu threw himself into a busy cultivation routine as soon as his injuries healed. As for rest and recreation? There would be plenty of time for that after the tournament. He had been at the seventh level of Qi Refining for quite a while now. He set a small goal for himself: strive to break through to the eighth level of Qi Refining before the tournament, or ideally aim for the ninth while securing the eighth.

Despite his hectic cultivation schedule, Wen Xu didn’t forget about apologizing to Senior Brother Zheng Jin. Although it was his right to use a magic tool however he pleased once it was in his hands, putting himself in the other person’s shoes, he knew he would also be unhappy if a gift he gave someone was ruined.

With this in mind, Wen Xu spent about half a month preparing a birthday gift for Senior Brother Zheng Jin.

As luck would have it, the second day of the next month happened to be Senior Brother Zheng Jin’s birthday. In fact, he had only found out from his little grand-nephew Lu Nian when he went to stoke the furnaces at the Refining Peak.

Thus, early in the morning on the second, he headed to the Refining Peak right after finishing his sword practice.

“Are you looking for me?”

Startled, Wen Xu took a step back. If a Nascent Soul True Monarch didn’t want to alert him, there was no way he would ever notice their presence. “Good morning, Senior Brother Zheng.”

Zheng Jin stroked his chin, looking enigmatic. “You haven’t come to the Refining Peak these past few days. I thought I’d scared you off.”

“…No.” Recently, his master had been giving him private lessons, and he had been busy trying to master the first layer of the 《Myriad Things Simultaneous Eruption Art》. Unfortunately, he was still a little short of full mastery.

“Really?” Zheng Jin smiled. “Are you here to give me a birthday gift today?”

Wen Xu was taken aback, but then it clicked. The guy in front of him had deliberately gotten someone to leak his birthday. This man… seemed a bit contrary.

“Come on, take it out and let me see-“

Wen Xu drew the prepared magic robe from his storage ring. It was Taihu blue, slightly darker than the standard disciple robes. He had personally inscribed the formation array onto it. Of course, given his cultivation level, the defensive capabilities of the array were practically negligible to a Nascent Soul True Monarch like Zheng Jin.

Zheng Jin himself had not expected this usually reserved and introverted Little Grand-Uncle Master to give him such a grand gift.

Indeed, in his eyes, anything specially handmade was a grand gift, even if the array formations on the Dharma robe were of little use to him.

“You…”

But Wen Xu continued smoothly, “Senior Brother Zheng, happy birthday. The array formations on the Dharma robe are ones I specially researched to defend against the wind of furnace fires. However, because my cultivation is low, the arrays will wear down significantly with each use. If they stop working entirely, I can replenish them for you.”

This was the best way to apologize that Wen Xu could think of.

He had used the Wind-Folding Fan improperly, damaging the artifact and forcing it to be repaired. Putting himself in Zheng Jin’s shoes, if he gave Senior Brother Zheng the right to “use it recklessly,” then it would be fair and reasonable.

Even though, perhaps, Senior Brother Zheng might not even wear the Dharma robe he gave him.

“You really are…” Zheng Jin suddenly realized that he might have misjudged Wen Xu. He had originally thought the other boy was just like his past self, but looking at him now, they were completely different.

Indeed, how could people become the exact same just because they had experienced similar suffering?

“Thank you, but today… isn’t my actual birthday,” Zheng Jin suddenly admitted. “It’s the day I truly stepped onto the path of cultivation. I’m ashamed to say that I don’t actually know which day my real birthday is.”

Wen Xu: …What a coincidence, me too.

“So, I set it for today. Thank you for the birthday gift, Junior Brother. It really is a lifesaver. The Dharma robe I’m wearing was attacked by furnace fire again yesterday, and now it’s so scorched there’s barely a whole piece left…”

Zheng Jin quickly changed out of his rags. He even cast a Cleansing Spell on himself, instantly transforming into an elegant young gentleman. “Ah, it fits perfectly. Junior Brother, you really are quite domestic.”

Wen Xu: “…Thank you, but if you don’t know how to compliment someone, you don’t have to.”

“No can do. In my heart, I’m just…” He couldn’t find the right words, but that didn’t matter. “In return, how about I solve the Ten Great Unsolved Mysteries of Yonglu Mountain for you?”

Good grief, had the rumors about these ten unsolved mysteries already reached the person they were about?

“…If I say I don’t want to know, will you be angry, Senior Brother?”

“Not at all, but I’ll burst from holding it in!” Zheng Jin grabbed his junior brother’s arm. “Actually, it’s very simple. Back when my cultivation was still low, I couldn’t afford a Dharma robe. People mocked me, saying that since I couldn’t even afford a decent robe, there was no way I could refine good artifacts! Now, whenever that person sees me, they wish they could crawl into a crack in the rocks.”

Wen Xu maintained a calm expression. How to put it… he wasn’t particularly surprised.

“Hey, why aren’t you surprised? When Sect Master Martial Uncle found out, his face went through a whole spectrum of colors!”

Wen Xu organized his thoughts, but in the end, he decided to be completely honest. “Because you, Senior Brother… well, you really are the type of person who would do something like that. But then again, why would the Sect Master ask you about this kind of thing?”

Sect Master Gu looked like such a serious and solemn person. Why would he care about this kind of gossip?

“Oh, that. Martial Uncle complained that I dressed like a beggar and brought shame to Yonglu Mountain. So I cried to him, saying I had my reasons, but Martial Uncle didn’t understand and ordered me to change immediately. I could only promise him that I’d only dress like this within the inner sect of Yonglu Mountain, and that I’d dress more presentably once I stepped outside the mountain gates.”

Wen Xu: Some people are so ruthless they will even roast themselves.

“But I’m getting tired of wearing rags anyway. Since this is a Dharma robe from Little Grand-Uncle Master, I will definitely cherish it.” Zheng Jin stroked his chin. It seemed he would have to repair the Wind-Folding Fan even better now.

Wen Xu: I suddenly have a very bad feeling about this. He’s not going to tell everyone he meets that I made this robe, is he? Why am I suddenly starting to regret this?!