Chapter 52: The Tournament Begins

Since the Sect Tournament was held only once every six years, Yonglu Mountain treated it with a great deal of ceremony. Sect Master Gu Wufang even gave a brief opening speech, essentially urging the disciples to showcase their style, demonstrate their strength, and display the spirit of Yonglu Mountain.

Once the routine procedures were completed, the tournament officially commenced.

The matches on the four arenas for those below Foundation Establishment were the first to begin. Although this stage featured the lowest cultivation levels, it also had the largest number of participants.

Therefore, a king-of-the-hill format was adopted, relying on both strength and luck. As long as a challenger stood on the arena and defeated five opponents in a row, they could advance to the next round. Of course, if someone wanted to defend their position longer, that was perfectly fine too. It was also worth mentioning that everyone had three chances to challenge the arena, and accumulating ten total wins would also allow them to advance.

Thus, if one lacked luck, they had to make up for it with sheer strength.

As soon as the arena matches began, Chen Zui was the first to rush onto Arena A. That sheer momentum of his was something ordinary people certainly lacked.

According to incomplete statistics, there were over five thousand Qi Refining disciples in Yonglu Mountain. However, a large portion of them had already become outer sect stewards or elders, so they did not participate in the tournament. Excluding the outer sect Foundation Establishment disciples and those whose cultivation was too low to show in public, there were still a full two thousand disciples participating in the inner sect tournament for those below Foundation Establishment.

In other words, there were at least five hundred people per arena. Defeating five people in a row out of five hundred seemed easy, but most of their cultivation levels were neck and neck. The lowest was the fifth layer of Qi Refining, and the highest was the peak of Qi Refining. Because the gap in cultivation was small, the outcomes were truly unpredictable.

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

“That’s him. I heard Senior Brother Chen Zui only entered the sect a year ago and has already broken through to the peak of Qi Refining. Geniuses really make people jealous.”

“Sigh, tell me about it. Which of the inner sect disciples who entered the mountain last year doesn’t make people jealous?”

As for the one who drew the most jealousy, they did not dare to mention him. After all, to call it envy was far too mild for that kind of talent. A mutated single spiritual root, and apprenticed to a Body Integration Divine Venerable; as long as this Little Grand-Uncle Master did not perish prematurely, he was destined to become a prominent figure on the Heaven’s Pride List.

As for his eye affliction, it was truly insignificant for a cultivator. If being blind could grant them such talent, they would gladly accept it. Unfortunately, Heaven had given them no such choice.

“Stop it, you’re making me bitter again. Other people’s Qi Refining Stage is full of excitement, fighting Foundation Establishment evil cultivators at every turn. What about us? It feels like their Qi Refining Stage and ours aren’t even the same realm.”

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

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

“You’re not seeing things, it really is Senior Brother Li! This is going to be good. Senior Brother Li is also at the peak of Qi Refining!”

The so-called peak of Qi Refining referred to the tenth layer of Qi Refining. However, the number ten was too complete, and in Daoist methods, nine was the ultimate limit. Thus, the tenth layer was called the peak. Theoretically, anyone at the peak of Qi Refining could establish their foundation at any moment.

But Foundation Establishment was not like cabbages in a field. It required opportunities, key insights, and a natural, effortless progression. Simply put, those at the peak of Qi Refining were just reserves for Foundation Establishment.

“I didn’t expect the very first match on Arena A to be this intense! I love to see it.”

Indeed, with two cultivators at the peak of Qi Refining facing off, Arena A immediately drew a massive crowd of onlookers, leaving the other three arenas looking rather deserted in comparison.

“Wen Xuxu, when do you plan to go up?”

“I’ll wait a bit longer. Since I’m going to be targeted anyway, I might as well see what kind of moves they’re using on Arena B first.” After Wen Xu spoke, he 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, not even a trace. However, the senior brother guarding the mountain gate has already posted a quest on the wall of Kaiyuan Peak. A Golden Core senior brother took the quest, but he didn’t find anything either. If not for that Shadow Retention Stone, I really would have thought I misheard back then.”

This was very strange. If even a Golden Core cultivator couldn’t detect them, what kind of person could come and go as they pleased within the boundaries of Yonglu Mountain?

“But it’s also strange. That night…”

While keeping track of the fights on the stage, Wen Xu asked, “What happened that night?”

“Huh? Isn’t that Junior Sister Jiang from the outer sect? I haven’t seen her in a few days, and her spells have improved quite a bit.” Just as Bian Chunzhou was about to speak, he heard a fellow disciple behind him sigh. He turned to look at the spirited female cultivator on the stage. “So, that’s Junior Sister Jiang Ying.”

The disciple behind them, hearing the familiar name, immediately chimed in, “Yes. Do you know her too, Senior Brother? To be honest, Junior Sister Jiang indeed works very hard. Otherwise, with her five-element spiritual root talent…”

“Junior Sister Jiang has five spiritual roots?” Bian Chunzhou was taken aback.

“Yes, didn’t you know, Senior Brother? Junior Sister Jiang entered the sect through a recommendation slot. Five spiritual roots are indeed rare in Yonglu Mountain, but her five-element spells are very powerful. I don’t know what’s going on today, though; we haven’t seen any of her signature moves. Maybe she’s saving them as a trump card.”

The recommendation slots were, to put it plainly, like “guaranteed admissions.” Every major sect had this method of recruiting disciples. Generally speaking, these slots were given to the major clans and merchant groups that had good relations with the sect, allowing recipients to enter the sect directly without their talent being evaluated. Of course, those who entered using a recommendation slot could only start as outer sect disciples. If they wanted to enter the inner sect, they had to rely on the Sect Tournament.

As for the inner sect disciples of Yonglu Mountain, there were only two paths. The first was to participate in the recruitment exam held once every six years, like Wen Xu and the others, and have a chance to enter the inner sect after passing. The second was to be chosen by an inner sect elder of Soul Transformation cultivation or above and be taken in as a personal disciple. That was how Venerable Chengwei had entered the sect back then.

But then again, high-level cultivators who liked to pick up random people to raise as disciples were rare. After all, most of the promising talents they might take a liking to already belonged to someone else. A hidden gem was called that precisely because it was so hard to find.

That being said, although Bian Chunzhou knew about the existence of recommendation slots, this was the first time he had encountered someone who had actually used one. “So, Junior Sister Jiang comes from a prestigious family?” If she was from a prestigious family, how could the person who came to visit her that day have terrified Senior Brother Chang, who was guarding the mountain gate, to such an extent?!

The disciple shook his head. “Probably not. Junior Sister Jiang has never mentioned it to anyone, so perhaps she had some other stroke of luck.”

Cultivators, after all, could attribute anything to a stroke of luck. As long as they entered the sect, the source was deemed legitimate. Everyone was too busy focusing on their own cultivation to care; unless they had a grudge or harbored ill intentions, no one would go out of their way to look into how someone else got their spot.

As they spoke, Jiang Ying let out a sharp cry on Arena B, immediately knocking her opponent’s weapon away. Seizing the opportunity, she cast a water spell to trap the weapon on the ground, securing her victory.

“Thank you for the match, Senior Brother.”

Jiang Ying was thirty years old this year and at the seventh layer of Qi Refining. For someone with five spiritual roots, this was already an impressive cultivation level. Her opponent was only at the sixth layer of Qi Refining, so her victory was not unexpected.

After finishing his chat, Bian Chunzhou leaned in close to Wen Xu again. “Well? How are Junior Sister Jiang’s skills?”

Wen Xu was very direct. “Not as good as you.”

“Heh, really?” Bian Chunzhou was also at the seventh layer of Qi Refining, but unfortunately, he was assigned to Arena D. “When do you plan to go up? I just took a look over at Arena A. Chen Zui has already knocked the outer sect’s favorite, Senior Brother Chen, off the stage. Now the arena is empty, and no one is stepping up.”

But that was no surprise. Each person only had three chances to go up on stage. Without a continuous winning streak, they would have to defeat at least three opponents each time they went up. Otherwise, accumulating ten wins would be no easy feat.

Bian Chunzhou had done some rough math. If someone lost their first match on stage, the path of accumulating ten victories would be blocked. Unless they won five consecutive matches during their second or third turn, they would be eliminated in the preliminaries.

If they could win three or four matches the first time, things would be much easier later on. But then again, there wasn’t a massive gap in cultivation levels during the Qi Refining Stage. Winning at least three matches each time was still no simple task.

Still, it was understandable. There were simply too many disciples in the Qi Refining Stage. If the preliminaries weren’t this strict, the tournament would drag on forever.

“What happens if no one goes up?”

Bian Chunzhou was clearly familiar with the tournament rules. “Then the referee of Arena A will randomly select a cultivator to go up.” In short, they would randomly select a poor soul.

As they spoke, the poor soul on Arena A had already gone up. His cultivation was mediocre, and before he had even been on stage for two minutes, Chen Zui knocked him off with a single swing of his blade.

Just like that, while the other three arenas had barely finished a few matches, the first spot to advance from Arena A had already been decided.

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

A nearby disciple suddenly whispered like a demon, “Let me tell you a horror story. Senior Brother Chen only entered the sect last year! Back then, he was only at the sixth layer of Qi Refining.”

“Go away! I don’t want to hear it!”

Chen Zui had won five matches in a row and still had energy to spare. He had originally planned to fight a few more, but… oh well. Seeing his two friends waving at him, he figured crushing weaklings wasn’t that interesting anyway. Aside from his first opponent, who was decent, the next four fights had been thoroughly unsatisfying.

The cultivators at Arena A, having sent off this living terror named Chen, finally became active again.

“Congratulations! The first to secure a spot in the finals. Impressive!”

Chen Zui assessed his own performance. “It was alright. You guys better hurry up too. Junior Brother Bian, especially you.”

“…Why especially me?!”

Chen Zui spoke with envy. “If we could swap, I’d want to go to Arena D.”

Bian Chunzhou said, “There’s really no need. You’ll face them in the finals anyway. Isn’t it better to conserve your strength for now?”

“That’s not conserving strength.” Chen Zui struggled to find the right words. “The third opponent just now was a fragile pill cultivator. I was terrified of using too much force and seriously hurting them.”

Bian Chunzhou and Wen Xu: …You’re probably the only one with that kind of problem.

Speaking of which, Yonglu Mountain’s Sect Tournament did not categorize by specialization. Whether they were pill cultivators, talisman cultivators, medical cultivators, or musical cultivators, they were all lumped into a single category. They went up on stage to fight, and as long as they won, that was all that mattered. The purpose was to show every disciple in the sect that whether they were high-attack, low-defense offensive cultivators, or medical and pill cultivators who healed the sick, they all needed to possess some level of self-defense.

When traveling the world, one would inevitably encounter all kinds of situations. Relying on oneself was always better than relying on others. Regardless of the methods used, only by being able to protect oneself could one walk further on the path of cultivation.

“She won again! Junior Sister Jiang has won four matches in a row, but looking at her current state, the fifth match is going to be tough.”

“Is that why no one has gone up yet? Arena B is quite friendly.”

“It’s not about being friendly. Anyone who goes up now would win, but it would be an unfair victory. Besides, they’d probably get knocked down immediately afterward, which isn’t worth the loss.”

“True, one has to take the long view. Look, the referee is starting to draw names at random!”

“Is Wen Xu of Guochun Peak present?”

After reading the name in his hand, the referee’s breath caught. With his luck, he had drawn the biggest name! A one-in-five-hundred chance, and he actually pulled it?!