Bold

Nothing happened that night.

Early the next morning, Lu Yi got up and had breakfast with Lu Gaoyang and Wang Siqi. Then Lu Gaoyang said, "Come on, let's go to the Martial Arts Stage!"

Lu Yi's expression changed when he saw Lu Gaoyang's outstretched hand. He quickly said, "Old Lu, wait! I'm planning to go by myself today!"

Lu Gaoyang's hand froze. He looked at Lu Yi in confusion. "Why? Wouldn't it be much more convenient for me to take you there?"

Lu Yi gave a dry cough and said, "You know I'm rather famous now. It's still early, and if I get there too soon and people crowd around to stare at me, how embarrassing would that be? Better to take it slow."

Hearing Lu Yi's words, Lu Gaoyang thought about it and felt that it made some sense. Wang Siqi, standing beside them, also smiled. "In that case, let Yi'er go on his own. Yi'er has grown up and has thoughts of his own now."

The two flew away on their swords, and Lu Yi let out a sigh of relief. At last, he would not have to be carried around today. There was still room to salvage his image.

Beaming, Lu Yi jogged out the door.

By the time Lu Yi arrived at the Martial Arts Stage, quite a few people had already gathered there. Since the Preliminary Selection and preliminaries had been completed yesterday, there were now far fewer people in the plaza. Instead, the crowds around the Martial Arts Stage had grown ever larger.

When they saw Lu Yi arrive, the eyes of the Outer Sect Disciples lit up.

"It's Junior Brother Lu Yi!"

"Yesterday, I was hoping to witness Junior Brother Lu Yi's swordsmanship. Whether at White Sheep Peak or earlier at the Martial Arts Stage, I wasn't there. And yesterday, Junior Brother Lu Yi didn't even draw his sword, so I still didn't get to see it."

"Exactly. But today they'll be deciding the top ten rankings. We'll definitely get to see Junior Brother Lu Yi's sword!"

"..."

Many of the disciples were quietly looking forward to it.

Lu Yi entered the inner area of the martial grounds, approaching the region near the Central Arena.

Around the Central Arena stood ten somewhat larger arenas. These ten arenas were for the ranking matches.

In past sect competitions, 320 disciples would compete on the ten arenas to determine the top ten.

At this moment, quite a few disciples were already in the arena area. These disciples were all among the top 320.

When Lu Yi arrived, every one of them looked over. Some gazes carried curiosity, some wariness, and Lu Yi even spotted several openly hostile looks.

He glanced at those hostile disciples. They were all Qi Refining Ninth Layer disciples.

Lu Yi thought about it. He did not seem to have provoked them, so why did they all look as though they found him so disagreeable?

Unable to figure it out, Lu Yi simply stopped thinking about it.

Just then, Lu Yi heard Wang Wulian's voice. "Junior Brother Lu, over here!"

Lu Yi turned and saw Wang Wulian waving at him with a broad smile.

Lu Yi walked over and smiled. "Senior Brother Wang!"

Then he looked around and asked in confusion, "Where is Senior Brother Lu?"

Lu Ling was not weak, yet Lu Yi did not see him here.

Wang Wulian gave a bitter smile. "Brother Lu had bad luck. Senior Brother Jiang Fan was actually on his arena, so he couldn't advance."

"Senior Brother Jiang Fan?" Lu Yi thought for a moment, then recalled something. "The senior brother at the Qi Refining Tenth Layer?"

"Who else could it be?" Wang Wulian said.

Lu Yi: "..."

He realized that Senior Brother Li Qi was not the only unlucky one. Senior Brother Lu Ling was quite unlucky as well.

He clearly had the strength to rank among the top hundred, yet he had not even passed the preliminaries.

But the outer sect would not concern itself with whether that was fair. As the saying went, for cultivators, luck might be intangible and elusive, but it was truly important. Luck was even part of one's strength.

Lu Yi did not think there was anything wrong with that. In his previous life, he had read all sorts of novels. Those chosen by fate were not necessarily extraordinarily talented, but they were like cockroaches that could not be killed. No matter what happened, they would not die, and they could obtain all kinds of treasures besides. Who could reason with that?

"By the way, Senior Brother Wang, who is that senior brother in the green robe? Why does he look at me as though I stole something important from him?" Lu Yi asked in puzzlement.

That fellow's gaze was far too unfriendly. Lu Yi had nearly wondered whether he had stolen the man's wife.

Wang Wulian glanced in the direction Lu Yi indicated, then quickly looked away. He grinned. "Isn't it because Junior Brother Lu Yi, your cultivation broke through to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer?"

"What does my breakthrough to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer have to do with it?" Lu Yi was a little numb.

"Heh... Junior Brother Lu Yi, your talent is astonishing. At the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, you already possessed the combat strength of the Qi Refining Ninth Layer. Now that you've broken through to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, certain people are getting scared, aren't they?" Wang Wulian said with a somewhat gloating smile.

"Junior Brother Lu Yi, you should know that the top ten in the annual sect competition can enter the inner sect directly without undergoing assessment, right?"

Lu Yi nodded. "I know that."

To be honest, that was also Lu Yi's own goal.

Wang Wulian explained, "Among this generation of Outer Sect Disciples, there are only six senior brothers and sisters at the Qi Refining Tenth Layer. The remaining four spots must be selected from the Qi Refining Ninth Layer disciples. The fellow you just saw is named Mo Lingxi. He has the strength to enter the top ten, or rather, he is right at the threshold of tenth place. Junior Brother, you understand what I mean now, right?"

Lu Yi suddenly understood. At last, he knew why several Qi Refining Ninth Layer disciples had looked at him with hostility earlier.

Those fellows were probably all Outer Sect Disciples qualified to contend for the top ten. Now that Lu Yi had emerged, it was equivalent to gaining another competitor. Moreover, given the strength Lu Yi had displayed, they probably did not feel confident they could defeat him.

As for the one who looked especially unfriendly, Lu Yi understood that too. That fellow happened to be in tenth place. If Lu Yi entered the top ten, he would certainly be the one squeezed out, and then he would not be able to enter the inner sect. How miserable would that be?

No wonder the man was so unfriendly. Lu Yi even felt a little sympathy for him.

He sighed and said, "I hope Senior Brother Mo has better luck next year."

Wang Wulian: "???"

His face darkened as he looked at the sighing Lu Yi. "Junior Brother, do you think you'll definitely enter the top ten?"

Lu Yi smiled. "Is there even any need to ask?"

In truth, Lu Yi's goal was first place. He still had not forgotten that the sect competition's mission rewards were based on one's ranking. The higher the rank, the better the reward.

Wang Wulian grinned and gave Lu Yi a thumbs-up. "Junior Brother Lu has courage! But don't underestimate those disciples who can contend for the top ten. They're not like Brother Lu and me. They all have one or two special tricks up their sleeves. At the very least, they have a spell cultivated to the Transformation Realm, and some even possess Magic Items."

Magic Items? Lu Yi found that rather amusing. He had two of them: a Low-Grade Magic Item longsword and a pair of Middle-Grade Magic Item shoes.

As for spells at the Transformation Realm, Lu Yi was not boasting when he said they still fell somewhat short compared to him.

While they were talking, Dugu Fang arrived atop the Central Arena once more.

Dugu Fang looked at Lu Yi and the others. His expression was somewhat gentler than yesterday's as he said, "Those of you who have entered the ranking matches are all elite disciples of White Cloud Sect's outer sect. In the future, you will surely enter the inner sect. In today's matches, I hope you perform well. The ranking matches now begin!"

As he spoke, Dugu Fang waved his hand again. Three hundred and twenty stone plaques appeared and flew toward Lu Yi and the others.