Grand Tournament: Showdown with Zhao Feiyun

Five days passed in the blink of an eye, and the day of the Assessment Assembly arrived. This time, without exception, the Asura Sect transported another Hundred Thousand Disciples over. Including Zhuge Xiang, all disciples who had already comprehended Qi Energy received advance notice from the sect that they were to participate in the Grand Tournament on the day of the Assessment Assembly.

For this Grand Tournament, the sect had put up a full seventeen valuable prizes. Some were pills that could add a year of cultivation, some were Two-Star Artifact equipment, and there were even martial techniques and cultivation manuals beyond those in the Martial Arts Pavilion. Every one of them was enough to set hearts racing.

First place in the Grand Tournament could choose five items from the seventeen prizes first; second place could choose three, third place could choose two, and places four through ten could each choose one. The rewards offered by the sect were exceptionally generous, every single one a fine item. Yet only the top ten would be selected from several thousand disciples, showing just how fierce the competition would be.

The day of the Assessment Assembly was extraordinarily lively. Nearly two hundred thousand disciples had gathered in total. The disciples from the previous batch who had failed to comprehend Qi Energy all wore varying degrees of dejection, while the newer batch was filled with curiosity and especially eager for the Grand Tournament.

The horn of the Asura Sect sounded. This was a Treasure Artifact of the Asura Sect; once blown, it could be heard clearly throughout several hundred li surrounding the outer sect base. It was also the signal to assemble for the Grand Tournament. All disciples training in the Endless Mountain Range could hear it. Of course, knowing the date of the Assessment Assembly beforehand, these disciples had not ventured too far away. More of them had long since been waiting inside the Asura Sect base.

"Is the Grand Tournament starting?" Within the Endless Mountain Range, beside a secluded little lake, streaks of afterimages suddenly vanished without a trace, revealing the figure of a youth. It was Zhao Feiyun. Looking toward the Asura Sect base, his eyes gleamed with fierce light.

Zhao Feiyun had been quite fortunate. While training in the Endless Mountain Range, he had happened upon an outer sect steward of the Asura Sect who had died more than a decade ago. Though that steward had only been in the Meridian Opening Realm, the Artifact Boots and Artifact Dagger he left behind greatly enhanced Zhao Feiyun's strength.

Having reached the Qi Cultivation Realm Second Layer and equipped with two Artifacts, Zhao Feiyun not only had absolute confidence in killing Zhuge Xiang, but even intended to vie for a place in the top five of the Grand Tournament.

Although those ranked fourth and below received only one prize, those with higher rankings had the right to choose first. This was an enormous advantage. The farther down one ranked, the more likely the prizes would be leftovers picked over by others, perhaps not even suitable for oneself.

"Blood Thunder Slash!" The Blood Refinement Saber in his hand swept out, turning into a scarlet saber glow. Zhuge Xiang instantly slew a Demon Wolf equivalent to the Qi Cultivation Realm Second Layer before him, gaining 50 experience points. Hearing the horn, he turned to look at the Asura Sect base and knew that the Grand Tournament had begun.

For five straight days, Zhuge Xiang had immersed himself in the Endless Mountain Range, slaughtering Monster Beasts and savage beasts to gain experience. But since he had not killed enemies above his level, there was no experience bonus. Furthermore, killing ordinary savage beasts only gave one or two experience points. This made Zhuge Xiang realize that defeating stronger foes granted bonus experience, while killing opponents far weaker than himself yielded very little. Thus, over these five days, Zhuge Xiang had barely gained more than 1,000 experience points. He needed 2,000 to advance to the Qi Cultivation Realm Third Layer, and was still short by roughly 500 points.

Moreover, over these five days, Zhuge Xiang seemed to have used up all the luck he had accumulated. No valuable items dropped at all. Aside from two Qi Recovery Pills, used to restore Qi Energy, the only worthwhile item was a pair of Boots that increased movement speed by 30%. That was all. It seemed that killing enemies above one's level not only granted bonus experience, but also increased the item drop rate.

The one Skill Point Zhuge Xiang had received upon leveling up after killing the Fox Demon had, after much deliberation, been added to the Bloodthirsty Technique. He directly raised the Bloodthirsty Technique to the Proficient Level. Once activated, it increased all attributes by 50% for a sustained period. Although raising Blood Thunder Slash would have greatly increased his attack power, from a long-term perspective, raising the Bloodthirsty Technique's level earlier would make his trump card stronger.

"The Grand Tournament? My goal is first place." With anticipation on his face, Zhuge Xiang hurried back. With Boots that granted a 30% speed increase, his movement speed had clearly risen by a great deal.

First place—no wonder Zhuge Xiang entertained such thoughts. Though his cultivation was only at the Qi Cultivation Realm Second Layer, he possessed the Blood Refinement Saber and a pair of speed-enhancing Boots, two One-Star Artifacts, as well as two skills. Among them, the Bloodthirsty Technique had even reached the Proficient Level. Even against disciples at the Qi Cultivation Realm Third Layer, he might not be unable to win.

What was more, if luck favored him, he could gain 500 experience points during the Grand Tournament and advance to the Qi Cultivation Realm Third Layer. Then he would climb a hundred-foot pole and rise another step higher. Therefore, Zhuge Xiang was not without hope of taking first place in this Grand Tournament.

"The Grand Tournament has begun? I wonder how much that guy's strength has improved these past few days." Lu Yuling also heard the horn, anticipation flashing across her face. Yet she quickly shook her head. He had only just achieved a Breakthrough to the Qi Cultivation Realm Second Layer, so his improvement could not possibly be too significant. Still, Lu Yuling held greater expectations for Zhuge Xiang, clearly regarding him as a formidable rival.

One disciple after another who was still training in the Endless Mountain Range hurried back. Some had only just comprehended Qi Energy, while others were geniuses like Lu Yuling. There were also those who bore grudges against one another and intended to settle them in a duel during the much-anticipated Grand Tournament. Asura Sect disciples feared battle least of all. Even those who knew they had no chance of claiming a spot in the top ten remained highly enthusiastic about the Grand Tournament.

Nearly two hundred thousand disciples gathered beneath the Asura Sect's enormous Performance Stage. The crowd surged like a tide, and from atop the stage, all one could see below was a vast black sea of heads. Because of the Grand Tournament, it was naturally impossible for several thousand disciples to take the stage one by one, so the enormous Martial Arts Arena had been divided into thirty-two Duel Platforms.

One hundred thousand disciples trained for a year. Though most failed to comprehend Qi Energy, the sheer size of the group could not be ignored. After a rough count, more than five thousand disciples had comprehended Qi Energy this year. Each of the thirty-two Duel Platforms would determine a champion to advance into the Top 32.

"Alright, those are roughly the rules. Before the Grand Tournament begins, following tradition, any disciples with grievances may step onto the stage and duel each other. Naturally, try your best not to cause any deaths," the host of the Grand Tournament said after explaining the simple rules.

In Demonic Sects, especially the Asura Sect, duels were extremely sacred. He merely said to avoid causing deaths if possible, and left it at that. In righteous sects, they would likely tell everyone to stop at the proper point, perhaps even intervene when things grew dangerous. But the Asura Sect would not. In a duel, life and death were left to fate.

As soon as the host finished speaking and stepped down from the stage, quite a few disciples who had long harbored deep grudges could no longer restrain themselves and leaped onto the platforms, as though they had arranged it beforehand. At the same time, taking advantage of Ghost Step's speed, Zhao Feiyun was the first to jump onto a platform and shouted, "Zhuge Xiang, get the hell out here!"

Standing beside Niu Geng, Zhuge Xiang heard Zhao Feiyun's words and smiled at Niu Geng. "Good. Your Blood Spirit Fruit is settled. Comprehending Qi Energy at this time is not too late."

"Be careful. I heard Zhao Feiyun has already achieved a Breakthrough to the Qi Cultivation Realm Second Layer." Niu Geng's face could not hide his worry. Though he knew Zhuge Xiang had also achieved a Breakthrough to the Qi Cultivation Realm Second Layer, he was always concerned for his friend.

"Don't worry. What can he possibly do to me? This time, my goal is first place." Zhuge Xiang nodded at Niu Geng. Then his body moved, and he too leaped onto the Duel Platform, standing before Zhao Feiyun with the blood saber on his back, straight as a standard-bearer.

"Zhao Feiyun? I hope he can force Zhuge Xiang to reveal some of his methods." Beneath the Duel Platform, Lu Yuling watched Zhuge Xiang take the stage, and a hint of brilliance appeared in her calm eyes.

Though Zhuge Xiang had already revealed all his trump cards during his battle with the Fox Demon, in Lu Yuling's view, several days had passed, and it was impossible for him not to have improved. As for whether Zhuge Xiang could win, Lu Yuling had no doubts. She only hoped Zhao Feiyun could cause Zhuge Xiang some trouble.