Just Getting Warmed Up

Lu Yi soon arrived at the Central Arena area. Everyone else was already there.

Jiang Fan had both hands behind his head, a foxtail grass stalk he had plucked from who knew where dangling from his mouth. When he saw Lu Yi, he smiled and greeted him. "Junior Brother Lu Yi, you're here?"

The others looked over and nodded slightly in greeting. Lin Wan'er waved at Lu Yi with a cheerful smile. "Junior Brother Lu Yi, which peak are you planning to join once you enter the inner sect?"

Hearing this, the others looked at Lu Yi with some curiosity.

Lu Yi smiled. "I promised Senior Sister Liu Ningshuang that I'd take Drifting Soul Peak's assessment when the time came."

Hearing this, the handsome senior brother in fine robes at the Qi Refining Tenth Layer smiled. "With Junior Brother Lu Yi's comprehension, entering Drifting Soul Peak really is possible."

His name was Bai Yulong, and he was likewise among the top three Outer Sect Disciples in terms of strength.

The honest-looking senior brother at the Qi Refining Tenth Layer beside him scratched his head and said, "It's a pity my talent isn't good enough. If I went to Drifting Soul Peak, I'd probably be chased right back out."

This senior brother was named Tie Man. He was also quite powerful and cultivated body tempering arts.

"Drifting Soul Peak... even in the inner sect, it's a gathering place for geniuses. How could ordinary people possibly get in?"

"I'm different. I'm planning to go to Crimson Flow Peak. I hear it has the most fire cultivators. After I reach Foundation Establishment, I plan to cultivate fire arts."

"Once we enter the inner sect, I wonder if we'll still be able to make a name for ourselves?"

"We can't be sure about ourselves, but Junior Brother Lu Yi will probably have no problem."

Everyone chatted freely about their prospects after entering the inner sect, their hearts filled with anticipation.

Before long, Dugu Fang descended from the sky and landed on the Central Arena. The ten of them stopped talking and fell silent.

The atmosphere among the disciples watching the tournament only grew more fervent.

Dugu Fang swept his gaze over them and spoke. "Silence!"

The crowd immediately quieted down. Dugu Fang's authority was indeed deeply ingrained.

He looked at the top ten disciples and said, "The ranking matches for the top ten begin now. As in previous years, you will battle in pairs until the final rankings are determined."

As he spoke, he took out ten Jade Tokens. The tokens floated over to Lu Yi and the other nine.

Lu Yi took his Jade Token and looked at it.

1

He froze for a moment. He had not expected to be first.

He looked around and noticed that the others were also examining the tokens in everyone else's hands, apparently curious about their numbers.

Just then, Dugu Fang said, "The matches begin now. Number One remains on the arena. Everyone else, leave the arena."

At those words, eight people pushed off the ground and drifted down from the arena, leaving only Lu Yi and Tie Man staring wide-eyed at each other.

When Lu Yi saw Tie Man, he grinned. "Senior Brother Tie Man, what a coincidence."

I want to defeat Senior Brother Tie Man!

Mission:

Defeat Tie Man (Progress: 0/1)

Reward: Top Grade Yellow Bright Pill ×40 / Perfect Yellow Bright Pill ×4

Accept: Yes/No

Lu Yi froze when he saw the mission. It was not Qi Condensation Pills? It was Bright Yellow Pills?

Bright Yellow Pills were medicinal pills used to cultivate Body Tempering Techniques. They could accelerate the cultivation speed of Body Tempering Techniques. Even without cultivating a Body Tempering Technique, taking Bright Yellow Pills could strengthen one's physical body, though the effect would naturally be far inferior to cultivating a Body Tempering Technique.

Lu Yi had not expected this mission's reward to be such an item.

This was excellent stuff, even more valuable than Qi Condensation Pills.

After all, a cultivator's physical strength generally rose along with their cultivation realm. Only by cultivating a Body Tempering Technique could one further strengthen the physical body. However, Body Tempering Techniques were extremely difficult to cultivate, consumed substantial resources, and required long periods of tempering. Generally, few people had the time, energy, or resources to cultivate them.

Lu Yi had never cultivated one before. His previous talent simply had not allowed it, and after his Golden Finger awakened, he had prioritized raising his Spiritual Qi cultivation to ensure his combat strength increased, all so he could achieve a good result in the tournament.

He had actually considered cultivating a Body Tempering Technique after the tournament, but that was something for later. He had not expected to receive body-tempering medicinal pills as a reward now.

Not bad. The way he looked at Tie Man grew even friendlier. Perhaps he could spar with Senior Brother Tie Man more often in the future?

Seeing Lu Yi's amiable smile, Tie Man gave an equally honest smile. "It is quite a coincidence, Junior Brother Lu Yi. Looks like we'll have to open the show."

The disciples below immediately perked up when they saw that the very first match was between a Qi Refining Tenth Layer disciple and Lu Yi. They watched the Central Arena expectantly.

Dugu Fang glanced at the two of them, then vanished from where he stood. Only his voice remained. "Begin."

Hearing that, Tie Man grinned. Spiritual Qi circulated through his body as his skin slowly turned gray like iron. He clenched both fists and smashed them together, producing a dull boom.

"Junior Brother Lu Yi, please enlighten me."

Lu Yi drew his longsword as well. Sword Cloud flowed over the blade, and he smiled faintly. "Senior Brother Tie Man, please enlighten me."

Tie Man bared his teeth as his thick legs exerted force.

Boom!!

The ground beneath him cracked like a spiderweb. His body abruptly vanished from the spot, appearing above Lu Yi's head in an instant. A ferocious-beast-like aura spilled out from him, terrifyingly fierce.

He clenched his right fist and punched toward Lu Yi's head. A translucent force wrapped around his fist, stirring up a howling gale that sent Lu Yi's black hair flying.

Lu Yi felt even his skin prickle beneath the force of the punch. Senior Brother Tie Man's presence was indeed astonishing.

He circulated his Spiritual Qi, and his body moved like a white cloud—seemingly slow, yet actually retreating at incredible speed.

Tie Man's punch missed and struck the arena floor instead, immediately leaving a shallow crater beneath his fist.

Tie Man stomped with both feet and vanished once more.

At that moment, Lu Yi swung his longsword to the right. Intense Sword Cloud flowed and slashed out, just as Tie Man's body appeared in that very spot.

Feeling the terrifying sharpness of the Sword Cloud, Tie Man's pupils constricted. He let out a low roar, and in the next instant, a layer of Spiritual Qi flowed across his body as the gray-iron color of his skin deepened further.

Tie Man clenched both fists and punched directly at the Sword Cloud.

Boom!!

His Spiritual Qi-infused fists collided with the Sword Cloud, erupting with a violent roar. Airwaves swept in all directions like a storm, and the surrounding Outer Sect Disciples felt the terrifying pressure, their eyes widening.

"Gasp... what terrifying destructive power!"

"This power... I'm not bragging, but if either of those senior brothers hit me once, I'd be lying on the ground and asking them to personally burn incense for me!"

"...Then you really aren't bragging."

"..."

Beside the arena, Bai Yulong and the others watched the astonishing fluctuations on the stage, their expressions changing as well.

Wan Hua and the other three at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer exchanged glances, their expressions somewhat blank.

"...Is that really Qi Refining Seventh Layer?! Are you kidding me?"

"Anyway, I'm lying flat. I've already made the top ten. I'm not asking for a higher ranking; getting into the inner sect is enough."

"...He really is Junior Brother Lu Yi. I'm convinced. When the three of us fight later, let's just stop at the right point, all right? Don't fight as viciously as they are?"

The three nodded at the same time.

Lin Wan'er glanced at them and spoke with a mischievous smile. "You think they're fighting viciously? They've only just gotten warmed up."

Wan Hua and the other two: "????"