Just then, the sky suddenly blazed with brilliant light. Dozens of rosy streaks shot across the sky. One moment they were on the horizon, and in the space of a single breath, they arrived. They circled once before landing on the balcony of the floating pavilion. When the light faded, twenty to thirty cultivators were revealed. The leader was an old Daoist with long eyebrows, wide eyes, and a fair, solemn face. It was the Sect Master of the Malevolent Spirit Sect, Yan Longzi. The rest were a mix of men and women, the Peak Masters of the various peaks and a dozen or so Golden Core elders. However, for a colossal sect like the Malevolent Spirit Sect, there were at least fifty or sixty Golden Core cultivators, but not all of them came. The ones who came today were the Sect Master, who was presiding, and some elders who were supervising the competition. Of course, a few elders who were more interested in the competition also came to watch.
After everyone had taken their places, Yan Longzi swept his gaze downward. A powerful pressure surged from the sky, and the platform, which had been bustling with noise, instantly fell silent. Even all the spirit beasts began to tremble. But in an instant, the pressure vanished without a trace, released and retracted like the tide.
Seeing that it had quieted down below, Yan Longzi spoke. "This competition is being held for next year's secret realm harvest. The competition is divided into Foundation Establishment and Qi Condensation. The significance of the competition has presumably been conveyed by each peak. There are two hundred participants in the Foundation Establishment competition, and four hundred and thirty in the Qi Condensation competition. The top forty-nine from Foundation Establishment and the top one hundred and eight from Qi Condensation will be chosen. Five days after the Foundation Establishment competition ends, the Qi Condensation competition will continue. Let it begin."
Yan Longzi's speech was very concise. After a few short sentences, he announced the start. His breath was long and his voice was calm, but everyone within a radius of several hundred li heard him clearly.
After speaking, he led the way to his seat. The other Golden Core cultivators followed and sat down, leaving only a tall, thin old man standing there.
Li Yan, being dozens of li away, also heard it very clearly. Thinking about how one hundred and eight people would be chosen from over four hundred Qi Condensation cultivators, he felt a sense of uncertainty. He had too little practical combat experience, and his magical power was only at the late stage of the seventh layer of Qi Condensation. Fortunately, many people had not participated this time, otherwise he would have even less confidence.
The Malevolent Spirit Sect had seven to eight thousand Qi Condensation disciples, while the total number of Foundation Establishment cultivators was only a little over three hundred. However, this competition had requirements for the realm and cultivation techniques of the participants. Many non-combat type cultivators in the Foundation Establishment realm had not signed up, and the Qi Condensation competition was even more restrictive, only allowing those at the ninth or tenth layer to sign up. Therefore, the number of participants was reduced by more than half. And among this remaining smaller half, many non-combat type cultivators were also excluded, just like with the Foundation Establishment cultivators.
As Li Yan was thinking, a resonant voice spread across the sky. Li Yan quickly looked up and saw the tall, thin old man who had been standing in front of the pavilion's balcony now floating in the air with his hands behind his back, looking down at the nearly ten thousand people on the platform.
"I am Peng Buxing, the Hall Master of the sect's Law-Enforcement Hall. This competition is divided into ten battle stages. Opponents will be decided by drawing lots. Each person can fight five matches. Those with three wins and two losses will advance to the next round, otherwise they will be eliminated. In the competition arena, both sides can go all out. At the moment of life and death, the elder in charge of that battle stage will be responsible for safety. As for injuries and disabilities, you will have to recuperate on your own," the tall, thin old man said. He had a full head of black hair, a purplish-black face, and a dignified expression. His speech was completely devoid of emotion.
Li Yan was a little alarmed. This meant that on the battle stage, apart from not being able to kill, causing serious injury or disability to the opponent was allowed, and all consequences were to be borne by oneself. He estimated that if it weren't a competition within the same sect, life and death would certainly be disregarded.
"Will the participating Foundation Establishment disciples from each peak please come up and draw your lots," he said. With a wave of his large sleeve, small arrows emitting a red light instantly floated in the air. Then, Peng Buxing took a few steps back and said no more.
There was a moment of silence below, then streaks of colored light flashed from the various diamond-shaped areas below, soaring into the air one after another. A few streaks of light also shot out from beside Li Yan, heading straight for the small red arrows in the sky. These small red arrows were all identical, so the people who went up just reached out and took the one closest to them. Once these small red arrows were in hand, they transformed into specks of red starlight and flew into their sleeves. A small character appeared next to the golden emblem of their respective peaks on the cuffs of their sect's dark green robes.
Looking at Lin Daqiao who had flown back down, Li Yan glanced at his sleeve. Next to the small golden bamboo was a line of bright red small characters: "Seventy-nine." He couldn't help but be stirred. No wonder it was said that one must wear the sect's long robe for major sect events. It seemed some arrangements were to be completed with the help of this robe.
At this time, his Second Senior Brother and the others had also returned. Each of them was silent, staring intently upward, waiting.
Seeing that all the small red arrows in the sky had been taken, Peng Buxing formed a seal in front of his chest, raised it upward, and then shouted loudly, his voice shaking the heavens. Ten huge Crystal Panels suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the sky, forming a large arc. A halo of light flowed across the ten huge Crystal Panels, and then they slowly became clear, finally revealing ten different scenes, which were precisely the ten battle stages. Li Yan and the others below could see every angle of the ten crystal screens.
Although Li Yan had his guesses, he still wasn't sure. On Little Bamboo Peak's side, only he and the three martial nephews had never participated in sect affairs. People like Lin Daqiao had participated in several major and minor sect events, so the four of them were somewhat clueless about such changes.
"This is the Thousand-Li Flowing Light Mirror. Because each of these ten battle stages is about fifty li long, and with the space in between, the total area is several hundred li. So if disciples want to watch, they would have to either stand high in the air or watch one match up close. Therefore, Elder Peng is using his great magical power to drive the Thousand-Li Flowing Light Mirror, so everyone here can see all the matches in the arena clearly. You just need to choose a screen you're interested in to watch. It's just that there's no sound here. However, the last three matches will usually be held on one battle stage separately, and then you can watch directly." As Li Yan was pondering, a gentle voice came, and it was, of course, Li Wuyi. This person was truly meticulous. No wonder Wei Zhongran had handed over all the major and minor affairs of Little Bamboo Peak to him. Even at a time like this, he could still think of newcomers like Li Yan.
After activating the Thousand-Li Flowing Light Mirror, Peng Buxing flew back to the floating pavilion. Not long after, ten more people slowly flew out, heading toward the ten battle stages. Li Yan thought they must be the elders supervising each battle stage, responsible for safety and refereeing.
After the ten people flew to the sky above their respective stages, they also each formed hand seals. Li Yan saw a transparent blue light shield slowly rise from the battle stages on the ten crystal screens, stopping only when it reached a height of several dozen zhang. Then, the blue light on each blue light shield began to flow continuously, finally condensing into two lines of small characters. On the crystal screen Li Yan was looking at, the blue light condensed into "Twenty" and "Sixty-three." Then, Li Yan heard a loud shout from the sky, "First round, first set of lots, begin!"
In the floating pavilion, watching Peng Buxing arrange matters, a dozen or so cultivators chatted over tea. A beautiful woman of about forty smiled enchantingly. "Sect Master Senior Brother, Little Junior Brother Wei isn't here again this time. Could he be at a critical point in breaking through to the late stage?" As she spoke and laughed, her beautiful eyes glanced around, full of charm. Her curvaceous figure was like a ripe peach, and the smooth white skin on her chest made one want to take a bite before being satisfied. The others quickly ignored this woman and focused their minds on the Sect Master.
Yan Longzi glanced at her. "Junior Sister Li, I can't see through Little Junior Brother's realm either. Only his constitution is suitable for cultivating Teacher's 'Immeasurable Nine Traverses Scripture.' He has been in the Golden Core realm for over two hundred years. According to his speed, he is probably trying to break through to the peak of the mid-stage."
"But whenever I've faced Little Junior Brother, I've always felt that the flow of his aura is far beyond what I can compare to. The 'Thousand-Faced Reality' I cultivate is not only extremely sensitive to all phenomena, but also to a person's aura. Teacher searched for over a thousand years before finally finding a successor like Little Junior Brother for his 'Immeasurable Nine Traverses Scripture.' His wish has been fulfilled. I wanted to cultivate it back then, but Teacher didn't even pay attention to me," the beautiful woman said, her waist swaying lightly, her full hips taking up more than half of the bamboo chair. The scholarly man with the surname Feng from Spirit Insect Peak, the dark and burly man from Four Symbols Peak, and many other elders quickly looked away. Only the woman from Never-Parting Peak, who was also plain-looking but seemed like an eternally frozen block of ice, frowned but did not speak.
Seeing that every discussion had this kind of atmosphere, Yan Longzi said helplessly, "Junior Sister Li, it's been so many years. There are quite a few Golden Core cultivators in the sect. How is it that you haven't taken a liking to any of them?"
"Oh, Sect Master Senior Brother, are you implying that I've tarnished the reputation of the Malevolent Spirit Sect? That I should marry early and settle down to be a wife and mother? Don't say that. In this sect, apart from Little Junior Brother, there's really no one I've taken a liking to. But Little Junior Brother is a romantic, with only Junior Sister Zhao in his heart. If I can't meet a suitable partner, I'll just stay like this. If the Malevolent Spirit Sect feels I've lost face, then I'll just ask Teacher to let me leave the sect," the beautiful woman said with a pout, leaning back in her chair.
Hearing this, Yan Longzi looked at the others. The elders were all looking serene, as if they hadn't heard anything. The scholarly cultivator surnamed Feng and the other junior brothers were also looking down at their tea, as if they were all deep in thought. He couldn't help but sigh bitterly. 'Teacher, what a good disciple you've taken. Every time we have a meeting, as long as she's here, she's sure to make everyone's heart flutter. I just don't understand. They are all people who have cultivated for thousands of years. Why are they like this when they see Junior Sister Li?'
He cleared his throat and glanced down again, but didn't see anyone from Little Bamboo Peak. "Your niece, Changting, is said to be close to that boy Li Wuyi. Why don't you just arrange it with Little Junior Brother? It would be a beautiful match."
"I'm still looking to settle scores with that boy Li Wuyi. Every time he's the last to arrive and the first to slip away. There's not a single good thing on Little Bamboo Peak. Isn't Li Wuyi also entangled with a junior sister of his? If Changting is betrayed, I won't even let Wei Zhongran off," the beautiful woman said, straightening her previously leaning body, her chest jutting out three points more, in a light and dismissive tone.
Yan Longzi saw that they were getting off topic. Seeing that everyone was afraid of seeing this junior sister at every meeting, he had brought up an off-topic subject, and now it was getting further and further away.
"Speaking of Little Bamboo Peak, all the Foundation Establishment cultivators except Li Wuyi are participating, including the Qi Condensation competition this time. That disciple with the Fragmented Poison Body is also participating," Yan Longzi said with a serious expression.
"Oh, that disciple is really participating? I heard he's already reached the mid-stage of the sixth layer of Qi Condensation. I remember he had just entered the second layer of Qi Condensation three years ago. By that calculation, his cultivation speed is very fast. Besides the sect giving him some resources, could it be that the Fragmented Poison Body also has a boosting effect on miscellaneous spirit roots?" the scholarly Peak Master of Spirit Insect Peak said.
"A miscellaneous spirit root advancing more than three layers in three years, this is on par with the geniuses of the various peaks in the sect. I'd like to cut him open and see what kind of mutation is happening in his body," the plain-looking woman from Never-Parting Peak said coldly.
"If Little Junior Brother Wei heard you say that, he would definitely not let you off," another elder said.
"Researching the essence of this constitution would be of greater use to our sect," the plain-looking woman said expressionlessly.
"You're getting off topic again. Since this child has been entrusted to Little Junior Brother, none of you are to mention this again. I hope that in the future, the sect's Foundation Establishment realm will have one more combat power. The Foundation Establishment competition has begun. Let's watch," Yan Longzi said. Seeing that these madmen, after just a few sentences, were starting to talk about dissecting people for research again, did they think this was a demonic beast? If the cultivation world didn't forbid experimenting on humans, these people would have probably started doing it long ago. This was also why he always wanted to start meetings simply and end them quickly. Most of the elders here had been studying poison techniques for a long time and were already half-crazed.
Li Yan, of course, did not know that after so many years, there were still people who wanted to dissect him for research.