Chapter 67: A Costly Victory

Chen Zui. Few people would choose the name “Zui,” which carried the meaning of the absolute extreme. Fullness brought disaster and overflow; ordinary people would rather name themselves “Que” to represent deficiency than push a name’s meaning to the absolute limit.

But Chen Zui was clearly no ordinary person. Anyone who knew him or had heard of him felt that this name was chosen perfectly.

The man was an absolute battle maniac. If you wanted to make friends or build a connection with Chen Zui, ten thousand words wouldn’t compare to a single fight. If you could beat him, you wouldn’t even need to speak; he would chase after you to… well, chase after you to fight.

Some people were born without knowing what sharp edges were, let alone what it meant to have them smoothed away. They never cared about such things; they were born with an unstoppable, piercing sharpness.

To describe his friend, Bian Chunzhou had a specific term. To put it nicely, it was “thick-skinned resilience”; to put it bluntly, it was just being clueless.

But without exaggeration, Chen Zui was the most eye-catching among the few peak Qi Refining competitors. This was not only because he had easily defeated his outer sect Qi Refining senior brother, Li Anqu, but also because just yesterday, Chen Zui had won a duel against a Foundation Establishment cultivator surnamed Jiang at the foot of the mountain.

Indeed, the disciples of Yonglu Mountain were always well-informed. Furthermore, the victim had been an outer sect disciple of their own mountain. Although their junior sister, now renamed Mingjing, had turned disaster into a blessing and made rapid progress in her cultivation, they still had to despise the perpetrator.

Thus, the rumor of Chen Zui’s successful cross-realm challenge spread like wildfire.

It was… quite ridiculous. Although there had been genius junior brothers in previous cohorts, this generation seemed to have far too many, and each was more competitive than the last. If the older disciples didn’t show off some of their signature skills soon, they would be like the old waves crushed on the beach by the new.

Consequently, the Foundation Establishment senior brothers and sisters decided to “give Chen Zui some extra training.”

Just like the arena matches below the Foundation Establishment stage, every registered disciple had three chances to take the stage. Winning three consecutive matches or a total of six matches would allow them to advance to the finals. Although Chen Zui was reckless, he also knew that with his cultivation level, he probably wouldn’t make it to the finals. However, he had come specifically to fight Foundation Establishment cultivators, so he had to fight all three matches without missing a single one.

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

Bian Chunzhou squeezed into the crowd of onlookers, nearly getting squished like a sandwich. Fortunately, Wen Xu arrived shortly after. With the golden shield of the “Little Grand-Uncle Master” present, the human sandwich was finally liberated.

“Look at him, he practically has ‘I want to fight’ written all over him! So smug!”

“…This is his Dao.” But indeed, Chen Zui’s excitement was very obvious today, showing that he was truly looking forward to fighting Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The Foundation Establishment senior brothers and sisters who took the stage also had a tacit understanding. Whenever they faced a Qi Refining disciple, those in the early stage of Foundation Establishment would step up. So far, no weak Foundation Establishment cultivator had been defeated by a Qi Refining disciple.

After all, losing an arena match was one thing, but if they were actually humiliated by someone of a lower realm, how could they face anyone in Yonglu Mountain in the future? No one could afford to lose that kind of face. Therefore, when facing a battle maniac like Chen Zui, this Foundation Establishment senior brother did not let his guard down at all.

In fact, he didn’t dare to. After all, what on earth did this guy eat to grow like this? The pressure from a peak Qi Refining cultivator was actually this intense. He was starting to believe that Chen Zui had indeed defeated that weak Foundation Establishment cultivator at the foot of the mountain!

But he would absolutely not lose.

Chen Zui indeed did not win. This was his first defeat in the arena matches, and it likely wouldn’t be his last. Yet even though he lost, he did so in a way that inspired dread. The senior brother who had won on stage was clearly exhausted and unable to secure a victory in a second match.

How should one put it? As long as they weren’t the ones standing on the stage, everyone was more than happy to watch and mock.

The senior brother on stage: “…You bunch of jokers! Can you give me a break!”

The answer, of course, was no. The referee randomly selected the next challenger, and a senior sister in the late stage of Foundation Establishment took the stage. Within ten moves, she gracefully sent the early Foundation Establishment disciple off the stage.

Who could have expected it? Although this early Foundation Establishment senior brother hadn’t been confident about reaching the finals anyway, having nearly eighty percent of his spiritual energy reserves drained by a Qi Refining junior brother meant that, when all was said and done… he had still lost.

Wasn’t this junior brother supposed to have joined the sect less than a year ago? How could he be so terrifyingly strong? Does he not care about his own life?!

Clutching his chest, he quietly slipped away. Once he recovered and decided to return to the arena on the third day, he actually ran into this jinx of a junior brother, Chen, yet again! Why was it always him?!

“Junior Brother, are your injuries fully healed?”

Chen Zui was brimming with battle intent. “Senior Brother, please guide me.”

There was absolutely no need. He had come to participate in the Sect Tournament, not to serve as a whetstone for you Saber Peak disciples! If a tiger doesn’t show its strength…^[1]

Well, crap. This time, it was actually a narrow victory. By just a single move, he had almost been sent off the stage by this brat. That was close, so close. Heavens protect him, he must not run into this saber-wielding fiend in his third match.

Yet, it was strange. Although Junior Brother Chen’s saber techniques were bold, sweeping, and immensely powerful, they lacked any unique or subtle finesse. In fact, from his perspective, Junior Brother Chen wielded his saber with raw, unadorned force, completely disregarding his own safety. It could be said that he had no defense whatsoever, only offense.

Yet despite being full of openings, he was incredibly difficult to deal with. This kid was truly ruthless to himself. Even though it was just a sparring match between fellow disciples, he didn’t care about getting injured in the slightest. It was only natural that he had been drained to this extent before winning the match.

At the very least, he lacked Junior Brother Chen’s cloud-piercing courage.

Perhaps he shouldn’t have rushed to participate in the Sect Tournament right after advancing to Foundation Establishment. Stopping to carefully refine his state of mind was the proper path.

Thus, when Chen Zui took the stage for the third time, he finally faced someone other than that same Foundation Establishment senior brother.

Remarkably, there was even a trace of regret on his face.

As his close friend, Bian Chunzhou understood instantly. “Look at him. He’s definitely disappointed that he didn’t get the same senior brother from the first two matches. He wanted a rematch to win! Speaking of which, where did that senior brother go?”

Wen Xu smiled. “Are you a roundworm in his stomach^[2]?”

“Hmph, if you don’t believe me, just ask him when he comes down. He’ll definitely tell the truth.”

…That was true. When had Chen Zui ever lied?

“He won!”

Bian Chunzhou shrieked, his voice cracking. “Wen Xuxu, Chen Zuizui won! Oh my god, he’s simply…”

He couldn’t find the words to describe it. It was just too astonishing.

Because it was a match between an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator and a peak-stage Qi Refining cultivator, not many people had gathered around this arena. But now that the battle was decided, a crowd suddenly rushed over!

After all, this was an underdog victory, a Qi Refining cultivator defeating a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Such an upset hadn’t happened in several tournaments! Even the referee from the neighboring arena craned his neck to look, though it was too far away to see clearly.

“Chen Zuizui, you’re the best…”

Bian Chunzhou was never stingy with praise. His friends could always count on him to cheer them on. Even though Chen Zui was currently standing on the stage, struggling to catch his breath, he had won. He had successfully knocked a Foundation Establishment senior off the stage.

And he had done it in front of his friends.

As expected, listening to his mother and coming to Yonglu Mountain had been a good choice.

Right now, he was already the strongest Qi Refining cultivator.

When the referee announced the victory of Chen Zui, a Qi Refining disciple of the Blade Peak, the crowd erupted in gasps. Unfortunately, Chen Zui, the center of attention, was completely exhausted. Even though he wanted to fight another match, his body would no longer allow him to be so reckless.

Chen Zui struggled off the stage and was escorted back to his cave dwelling by his two friends. Without ten days to half a month of recuperation, he would definitely not recover.

“I won. Did you see that?”

Bian Chunzhou laughed. “Yes, yes, yes, you won. Today, you really stole the show, like…” He couldn’t help but give a thumbs-up. “…this!”

“Congratulations on pushing your limits once again.”

Praise from a scholar always sounds so nice, Chen Zui thought. He just loved pushing his limits. “I’ll keep winning.”

“…Fine, fine, fine. Heal up first. With you in this state, are you still going to participate in the finals for those below Foundation Establishment?”

Chen Zui gave him a look that said, Who do you think you’re looking down on?

Bian Chunzhou: …I yield.

But then again, after Chen Zuizui’s rise to fame today, he was the undisputed final boss of the tournament for those below Foundation Establishment. Speaking of the finals, didn’t that mean both he and Wen Xuxu had a chance of facing Chen Zuizui?

Fighting one of their own? How was that going to work?

Bian Chunzhou’s face stiffened. Moreover, knowing Chen Zuizui’s style, the guy had absolutely no concept of holding back. He was doomed. With his luck…

“Why has your face become so… pale?” Chen Zui began to wonder if he was the one injured, or if it was Junior Brother Bian.

“It’s nothing. Take your time recovering. I’m going back to cultivate.” No way, he had to step up!

Thus, over the next few days, the three grinders worked hard cultivating in their respective cave dwellings. Heaven must have pitied him, or perhaps it was because he didn’t want to be swept off the stage by Chen Zuizui’s blade, but on the eve of the finals for those below Foundation Establishment, Bian Chunzhou narrowly broke through to the eighth layer of Qi Refining.

Excellent. Now the gap between his cultivation and Lin Congcong’s was even smaller. He heard that the brat had won five matches on the final day to advance to the finals.

“How did you two…”

Bian Chunzhou looked at the first one. Oh, his injuries were completely healed, and he looked fully revived. Then he looked at the other. “When did you break through again?! Are you some kind of grinding god?!”

Did Wen Xuxu have a spare liver just for grinding?! Although Bian Chunzhou knew that those with Mutated Spiritual Roots cultivated quickly, within reason, it shouldn’t be this fast! It had only been half a month. Didn’t they see back then… Forget it, a brave man doesn’t boast of past glories.

Geniuses really knew how to demoralize people. Fortunately, he was immune to it, hehe.

“What liver?^[3] It was just a natural progression,” Wen Xu said briefly. “Late at night a couple of days ago, I suddenly had a flash of insight regarding the first layer of my cultivation method. After a night of cultivation, I woke up at the ninth layer of Qi Refining.” Speaking of which, he had to thank Mingjing. Her experiences and transformation had given him a deeper understanding of cultivation.

In a way, his situation was somewhat similar to Mingjing’s.

Chen Zui took this in stride. He wished his friends were even stronger so he could have two evenly matched sparring partners. “Junior Brother Bian, you need to work harder.”

…Your Junior Brother Bian here just broke through a minor realm, you know :).