Chapter 63

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Chapter 63

At the Hundred Sects Conference, there were a total of five hundred ninety-eight sects participating, with thirteen thousand nine hundred eighty contestants. The Tianheng Sect, as the host, had the most contestants, with as many as eight hundred spots. Some sects barely met the requirements, with only a few dozen, or even just a single digit.

The number of contestants from the Qingxu Sect was not the very last among the five hundred ninety-eight sects, but it was among the worst.

Contestants entered the arena while people from other sects who accompanied them had to wait outside. Because the Qingxu Sect had too few participants and had a poor overall assessment last time, they naturally stood in the same position as those low-level sects this time.

Fortunately, no matter the position, it did not prevent these cultivators from seeing their own disciples’ situation inside; it was just that their view was not as good, and the seating was not as nice.

To say it differently, only the leaders from top sects had seats; for the low-level sects, whether they brought disciples, elders, or even the sect leader, they all had to stand.

In the audience, a middle-aged cultivator with bright red hair and a matching beard spotted Xie Fuzhi standing out among the crowd.

Although there were no seats, the place was not too crowded. The cultivators did not have to push against each other; they mostly stood together in small groups. Some nearby small sects had about ten people each.

Only Xie Fuzhi stood alone, with a clear space around him, looking very lonely. The red-haired cultivator, who was the leader of Fire Stone Sect named Hong Hu, glanced over and felt a desire to start a conversation with Xie Fuzhi.

Fire Stone Sect is a small sect with more than two hundred members. However, in the past hundred years, they have recruited a few very talented disciples. This time at the Hundred Sects Conference, Fire Stone Sect hopes to make further progress.

This young cultivator, who stood alone, looked very impressive, but he was with a lesser sect and might just be a disciple from a newly emerged small sect.

The leader of Fire Stone Sect certainly had more experience than his disciples. He quickly noticed that Xie Fuzhi’s clothes were very expensive, and the Spirit Connecting Jade hanging at his waist was something Hong Hu had to save for a whole year to buy.

This was because Fire Stone Sect discovered a small spiritual vein on their territory ten years ago; otherwise, he might have had to save for ten years to afford that Spirit Connecting Jade.

This young cultivator looked wealthy. If they could build a good relationship, both sides would benefit, and it would definitely help the sect grow quickly.

However, as the leader of Fire Stone Sect walked through the crowd towards him, he soon understood why this young cultivator was all alone. The closer he got, the more he felt an icy chill. The flow of spiritual power in his body became slower, and if he got too close to this person, he might end up frozen like a human ice sculpture.

Perhaps this was a cultivator with an uncontrollable Ice Spiritual Root, unable to manage the icy force in their body. Hong Hu imagined some sad stories and became even more determined to seize the opportunity to befriend this lonely and wealthy companion.

Because he had the Fire and Wood Dual Spiritual Roots, the leader of the Fire Stone Sect was not very afraid of the cold. He pushed through the chill, but as he got closer, Hong Hu felt even more pressure.

He didn’t dare to make any sudden movements and stopped about fifty centimeters away from Xie Fuzhi. He raised a bright smile and greeted, "Hello, friend! I am Hong Hu, the leader of the Fire Stone Sect. May I ask which sect you belong to?"

Xie Fuzhi ignored him, so Hong Hu repeated in a loud voice, "You in the red clothes, holding a small red flag!"

This time, Xie Fuzhi turned his face to look at Hong Hu, who was shivering from the cold, and asked, "Are you talking to me?"

Seeing him respond, Hong Hu let out a sigh of relief, "Yes, you are the only one here holding a small red flag."

To have good luck, Xie Fuzhi specially wore a new outfit made entirely of red and held a red flag, which symbolized a victorious start.

In addition to this outfit, he wore a translucent pendant around his neck, which was a millennium-old ice bed that Xie Fuzhi had shrunk down using a three-inch talisman.

Recently, he had felt a bit hot, so to keep himself calm, Xie Fuzhi took out this cooling treasure from his storage ring. However, the bed was too large, and he found it much better to observe it from a standing position. Therefore, he shrank the ice bed and hung the artifact on a chain around his heart area.

All the other cultivators were forced back by the cold, and he stood there for nearly half an hour, with only Hong Hu daring to come closer.

The competition had not started yet, and Xie Fuzhi patiently answered the other person’s question, "I am the leader of the Qingxu Sect…"

He almost forgot that he was no longer the leader of the Qingxu Sect. When he said this, Xie Fuzhi paused for a moment and calmly added, "of my future partner."

Hong Hu’s mouth fell open. The old man, who had been single for over a thousand years, doubted what he had just heard. He quietly repeated, "The future partner of the leader of the Qingxu Sect?"

Xie Fuzhi’s eyes were proud as he emphasized again, "Soon, it will no longer be the future; it will be my partner."

"Oh, congratulations in advance!"

Qingxu Sect was unfamiliar to Hong Hu. He was a middle-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. In his early years, he had some opportunities, and thanks to his Fire and Wood Dual Spiritual Roots and alchemy talent, he achieved Nascent Soul at five hundred years old. Now at one thousand five hundred, he still remained at the middle stage of the Nascent Soul.

All these years, his mind was filled with hard cultivation, and he never thought about finding a partner. Seeing the handsome young man before him, who was also wealthy, he couldn’t help but feel a little envious.

No wonder this young man was so rich and powerful; he must have climbed up to the leader of a sect. Although he had never heard of Qingxu Sect, the leader should be quite old.

Xie Fuzhi did not notice Hong Hu’s envy; instead, he felt a bit favorable towards him for saying congratulations, though this was built on a very low level of favorability.

Hong Hu asked again, "Where are the leader of the Qingxu Sect and the other disciples?"

Xie Fuzhi looked straight ahead and replied, "They are all competing inside today."

Hong Hu understood; in this small sect, there were not many disciples qualified to compete. This year, the Fire Stone Sect had twenty disciples, half of whom were still at the Foundation Establishment Stage.

If the leader of the Qingxu Sect is competing inside, they might be seven or eight hundred years old, at the middle or even late stage of the Nascent Soul Stage. If the Qingxu Sect is a young sect established in the last hundred years, it wouldn’t be surprising to have a young talented leader.

Many years ago, when Hong Hu was five hundred years old and reached the Nascent Soul, he also participated as a disciple in the Great Competition of the Hundred Sects. Unfortunately, due to limited resources, he only competed once.

Of course, this is also related to his early elimination in the Hundred Sects Competition. Saying it was just bad luck for going once is one thing, but if he kept getting eliminated each time, it would be very embarrassing for him as the leader.

Another important reason is that small sects have limited spots and should give opportunities to younger and more talented disciples who have not yet competed.

For sects ranked at the bottom like theirs, this Hundred Sects Competition is a chance to change their fate. If a disciple earns the favor of a great sect elder, not only can they rise up, but the small sect that loses the disciple can also receive some compensation and even build a trading relationship with the great sect.

If the disciples of a small sect are not capable and resources are scarce, this small sect might disappear from the spiritual world before the next Hundred Sects Conference.

As the leader of the Fire Stone Sect, Hong Hu naturally had to think about the sect and not exploit all the resources. Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but feel a little sad.

Xie Fuzhi was not the type of person who talked a lot; after responding with just a sentence, he fell silent. Hong Hu had to rack his brain to find a topic.

To show his sincerity, he first introduced his Fire Stone Sect, "Our Fire Stone Sect is not far from here. We only have twenty disciples participating in this competition. I wonder how many participants the Qingxu Sect has."

Xie Fuzhi replied, "One and a half."

The leader of Fire Stone Sect couldn’t help but chuckle a few times, "Haha, my friend loves to joke."

Xie Fuzhi said with a blank expression, "Who joked with you?"

Among their sect’s competing disciples, there was only Chuyou, and Zhong Wei could only count as half a person, so it truly was one and a half.

Hong Hu wisely chose to avoid that topic, "Our sect has twenty disciples—ten at Foundation Establishment, nine at Golden Core, and one extraordinary talent at Nascent Soul. I believe they have a great chance of reaching the second round; at least half of them can make it to the third round. What about you? You are the future partner of the leader, so you should have confidence in her."

"First."

Hong Hu was taken aback, "What?"

"She will come in first," Xie Fuzhi said, "I think my Chuyou will come in first."

Hong Hu was surprised, "May I ask, what is the current level of the Qingxu Sect leader?"

There was no need to hide this, as anyone could see during the competition, "She is now at the primordial stage of the Nascent Soul."

"Ah," so she was only at the primordial stage of the Nascent Soul; it turns out she was just boasting.

Only a few famous figures from the spiritual world could surpass those in the middle stage of the Nascent Soul or later, with a cultivation at the primordial stage of the Nascent Soul.

There was Ye Xuanye from Tianyuan Sect, Song Mingzhu, the direct disciple of the Soul Changing Stage master from Tianheng Sect, and Hua Zhao Xi from Beast Control Sect… but definitely not Chuyou from Qingxu Sect.

Hong Hu, who had just been intimidated by Xie Fuzhi’s presence, thought this was the way of Little Bai thinking that relies on sects; first place? They might just survive the first round.

He felt a bit disappointed; it seemed this friend wasn’t very clever. But then Hong Hu thought, isn’t it better if the other person isn’t clever? Foolish people with money are easier to trick.

Hong Hu thought for a moment and smiled as he said, "What you said is true. I believe that Chuyou has a good chance to compete for first place."

"Can you really call him Chuyou?"

Xie Fuzhi’s expression changed instantly; his aura slipped a little, and the pressure from the high-level cultivator almost made Hong Hu kneel.

At that moment, Hong Hu realized he had misunderstood. The person in front of him was not a weakling like Little Bai, but a powerful being with a higher cultivation level than his own.

He was already in the middle stage of the Nascent Soul Stage, but he was just a bit away from breaking through to the late stage of the Nascent Soul Stage. Even a late-stage perfect cultivator could not easily exert such pressure, meaning that the other person was likely a powerful being in the Astral Projection Stage.

"This respected friend, no, this True Lord, I mean no offense!"

Really, if you are a powerful being in the Astral Projection Stage, you should have said so earlier. Why hide your cultivation level and make me think so much?

Hong Hu said, "I am not familiar with Qingxu Sect; I thought you were referring to the famous leader of your sect."

Xie Fuzhi also did not intend to create trouble and withdrew his pressure, "Her name is Yun Chuyou; you can call her Master Yun."

He clearly said my home Chuyou, but obviously, this old man with a red beard is not very smart.

Even though Xie Fuzhi is now thirty thousand years old, in his eyes, the fifteen hundred-year-old Hong Hu is indeed an old man, after all, his companion is still not even fifty years old.

"I remember, I really remember! Master Yun will definitely have a chance to win!" Although Hong Hu did not think so, who could argue with someone from the Astral Projection Stage? The one with the strongest fist gets to say what’s right.

He didn’t expect the opponent to be from the Astral Projection Stage. Hong Hu, feeling a bit embarrassed, stepped back, afraid Xie Fuzhi would hold a grudge. He quickly found an excuse to leave Liaokong and ran straight back to his own sect, "The competition is about to start, so I won’t disturb the True Lord."

Xie Fuzhi did not look at Hong Hu; his gaze shifted back to the water screen in front of him.

The competition area was set up by the Tianheng Sect in advance. On the first day, it would be one-on-one matches, and the winners could keep challenging, up to a maximum of twenty rounds, leading directly to advancement.

The site could not accommodate too many spectators, so the content of the competition would be projected on a water screen maintained by spiritual power. The most successful competitor would have the biggest screen.

The audience could place bets on the performers’ performances in advance through the screen. Once bets were placed, they could not be changed.

If you guess the qualifying list correctly, and guess all eight strong contestants correctly, you can receive rewards based on a certain ratio; if you guess seven correctly, your reward will be halved; if you guess six correctly, you will only get one-tenth; and if you only guess five correctly, there will be no reward at all.

If you want to bet more spirit stones, you must correctly guess the order of the contestants. Guessing the second place as third place will not earn you a reward; you must get it exactly right.

There are three rounds in total for the competition. In the first round, there is a bonus on bets. Each participating cultivator will wear a counting bracelet. In the first three rounds, anyone who loses two rounds will be eliminated. In the first five rounds, anyone who loses three rounds will be eliminated. In the first seven rounds, anyone who loses five rounds will be eliminated, until only two hundred disciples remain from each level.

The elimination process on the first day of the competition is very intense.

Among the outstanding disciples, the most participants in the competition are from the Foundation Establishment Stage, with one thousand disciples. There are three thousand from the Golden Core Stage, and only about nine hundred nascent soul cultivators.

The nascent soul cultivators seem the least stressed, but their fighting power is unmatched by the disciples of the first two levels.

On the water mirror, each disciple’s arena match will be recorded with information. Their bracelets will show their cultivation level and which type of cultivator they are, such as sword cultivator, pill cultivator, or demon cultivator, along with their sect.

This cultivation level is noted on the day of the competition, and before each round starts, the level is tested again.

If someone tries to hide their cultivation level, being able to deceive the spirit tool that measures levels is considered their own skill.

After all, no one will raise their cultivation level during the competition; they will only lower it.

Generally speaking, a cultivator who can achieve Astral Projection by the age of eight hundred must have participated in the Grand Tournament of the Hundred Sects at a lower level. For top talents, attending once is enough; they do not need to come every hundred years.

In this Grand Tournament of the Hundred Sects, the few most-watched top talents, who can break through to the Astral Projection Stage before the age of one hundred, have not appeared for thousands of years.

The host of this Hundred Sects Conference, the leader of the Tianheng Sect, appeared on a high platform above the water mirror and pulled back a curtain covering it. With ripples quivering, the voice of this Soul Changing Stage cultivator traveled for miles, "I declare, the competition officially begins!"

On the first day of the arena, cultivators of the same major realm will be randomly assigned opponents. Each match must have a winner within half an hour; if either side can no longer fight, that side loses. If both sides fight for an hour without a winner, the match is a draw.

Considering that some cultivators might be unlucky and repeatedly draw opponents of similar strength, if a contestant has five consecutive draws, that contestant will also be eliminated. To ensure a spot in the top two, one must win many matches in a row.

In the knockout rounds, cultivators can choose to give up or withdraw at any time. The matches focus on skill, with many powerful cultivators watching. If there is any danger to life, they will step in promptly.

There are enough healing teams on standby, so even if someone is seriously injured, they can be saved in time. However, most cultivators’ injuries are not that severe; usually, taking a single healing pill will heal them significantly.

Magical tools that can resist fatal attacks are not something that even a big sect like the Tianheng Sect can distribute freely in large numbers, so cultivators must rely on themselves.

The path of cultivation is not fair; even among Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators, the wealthy ones use equipment that is vastly superior to that of the poor.

Like Hong Hu, they have done their best to provide good things for the competing disciples, but they cannot compare to the children of those wealthy cultivation families in terms of resources.

Luckily, there are not many rich family children, and the outer disciples and servant disciples in the large sects, who have no background, do not have much less wealth than those from the lower-tier sects.

"Wang Jiu is eliminated."

"Li Fugui is eliminated."

Those disciples in the early stage of Foundation Establishment, who were unfortunate enough to face opponents a level or two higher than them, could not show their skills and were quickly eliminated.

They returned to the arena through the exit, feeling downcast. In just a few rounds, three thousand of the ten thousand Foundation Establishment disciples had been eliminated, five hundred Golden Core Stage cultivators were gone, and one hundred Nascent Soul Stage cultivators had also disappeared.

After all, the Nascent Soul Stage cultivators have many techniques, and battles in the arena are much slower than those in the Foundation Establishment Stage, where a single sword strike can end a match in an instant.

Among the disciples brought by Hong Hu, four out of ten Foundation Establishment disciples made it out, one from the Golden Core Stage, and the Nascent Soul Stage disciples are still inside.

His own sect is barely above average for now, which he finds satisfactory.

Hong Hu kindly patted his disciple on the back and said, "The most important thing is that you are okay. This time, I didn’t think about winning. Just do your best and try to watch the competitions of other cultivators. Watching the contests of the disciples from the big sects will help you on your path."

He cast a glance at the somewhat strange Qingxu Sect cultivator, who still had a clear space around him.

Xie Fuzhi’s gaze was very focused. From the start of the competition, he spotted the arena where Yun Chuyou was, and he didn’t take his eyes off it, always looking at her small screen.

As one of the nine hundred Nascent Soul cultivators, Yun Chuyou didn’t need to win many matches to secure a spot in the top two hundred. Winning twenty times was for the Foundation Establishment Stage; for the Golden Core Stage, winning ten times was enough; for the Nascent Soul Stage, winning five times would do.

In the first match, the matched cultivators would generally be at a similar level of cultivation.

Yun Chuyou was not so unlucky; her first opponent was a primordial stage Nascent Soul cultivator, a body cultivator who was very tall and strong.

Before the match began, they both bowed to each other to show respect.

Body cultivators are famous for their strong defense; besides sword cultivators, they are unbeatable at the same level.

As soon as the match started, the body cultivator shone with golden light and called out, "Please, fellow cultivator!"

The body cultivator planned to use stillness to counter movement. He waited for his opponent to waste their spiritual power, realize they could not break through his defense, and become unbalanced in their mindset. Then, he would strike with one move to defeat them.

As the body cultivator unleashed a golden light, he suddenly grew taller and stronger, becoming a giant twice the height of Yun Chuyou.

This move filled him with a sense of power; if the delicate-looking female cultivator could recognize the gap between them and willingly admit defeat, it would be wonderful.

It was Yun Chuyou’s first time battling a cultivator of the same realm; she had little experience. To break through her opponent’s defense, she started with a strongly offensive sword technique called "Ten Thousand Swords to the Temple."

This was a sword technique she learned during her Foundation Establishment Stage; it wasn’t exceptionally advanced, but as her skills improved, its power increased significantly, making it suited for breaking defenses.

Countless sword beams struck the solid golden light, shattering the body cultivator’s proud defensive move in an instant.

The power of the Soul Changing Stage cultivator enveloped the body cultivator, and just a little more, and this tall body cultivator would have been sliced into pieces by the myriad of sword lights.

Although the body cultivator had strong recovery abilities, even if he was left as just a skeleton, he could still recover, but if he were truly shattered, it would require expensive pills and a long time to heal.

If that were the case, he wouldn’t need to compete in the next round; he would be automatically eliminated.

Seeing her foolish disciple almost eliminated, Yun Chuyou couldn’t help but step in just in time to stop her opponent’s master.

The results on the arena were announced, "Yun Chuyou wins."

While waiting for her next match on the arena, Yun Chuyou felt a bit confused; she saw the body cultivator looking very proud and confident, so she adopted a serious attitude.

After all, there are always stronger people out there; even though she had some confidence in herself, she definitely could not be careless.

The opponent’s reaction was surprisingly slow, and the shiny golden shield was unexpectedly fragile; with just one move, the person nearly fell. She started to question everything: Is this how weak the geniuses outside are?