Fourth-Class Invitations

Zuoqiu Ting's brows furrowed with worry. "What I fear most is this. Who can guarantee that Ge Xiantong and Phoenix-born Unicorn-young only fought once at Soldier Ancestor Marsh and didn't reach some kind of consensus? For example, first eliminating the rest, destroying Zuoqiu, beheading Zhumen, sweeping through Leixiao and Dragon Gate, and then having a final showdown."

"If you consider Phoenix-born Unicorn-young to be nothing more than a reckless brute who only knows how to stir up trouble, then you are sorely mistaken. Your Bright Moon Seven Stars Pavilion, Zhu Huan's death might very well be Phoenix-born Unicorn-young's way of greeting Ge Xiantong."

Only the strong have the right to engage in dialogue.

Li Weiyi let out a long sigh. If this was really the case, tonight would be terrifying!

Zuoqiu Ting thought for a moment, then said, "What you said, I have actually considered. But if we want to openly compete and secretly cooperate, we must build on a foundation. That is, we must first make Ge Xiantong suffer, make him pay the price. Only then will he take us seriously and have the possibility of sitting down to talk."

Li Weiyi nodded slightly, believing that Zuoqiu Ting's understanding of top experts and the world situation was superior to his own, and that his judgment would certainly be more accurate. He suddenly said, "Didn't you say that only the world's number one has the mindset of a strong person? How can you stand at the perspective of the world's number one?"

Zuoqiu Ting laughed, "Have you forgotten that I have a younger sister? She is the one who truly manages the younger generation of the Zuoqiu Courtyard. She is not at all convinced by Ge Xiantong and Phoenix-born Unicorn-young. She believes that the best in the world is not bestowed by the world, but earned through battle."

Li Weiyi asked, "She's that strong?"

"Otherwise, why would he be Hidden Person from the Zuoqiu Hidden Gate?" Zuoqiu Ting asked.

Li Weiyi asked, "How confident are you in tonight's battle?"

Zuoqiu Ting's eyes were sharp as swords. "To be honest, I have no confidence whatsoever. But only by holding out tonight, only by teaching Ge Xiantong, the number one in the world, a lesson, can we reduce the fear of the Imperial Court among the Zhu Clan, Lei Xiao Sect, Dragon Gate, and other forces. If we lose, the Qianlong Lantern Festival will only be a spectacle of Ge Xiantong and Phoenix-born Unicorn-young performing!"

"Cangli and Li Jiufu are here!"

Li Weiyi looked down from the tower and indeed saw the two figures. "Is there no other way to leave the tower?"

"Afraid to see my brother-in-law?" Zuoqiu Ting chuckled.

"Don't talk nonsense. Li Ling is only sixteen years old, still a little girl. I don't know which bastard spread this rumor and slandered her reputation out of thin air."

Li Weiyi felt that she had been badly harmed by the rumors.

Cangli arrived at the top of the stone tower and quickly spotted Li Weiyi, who was having a secret discussion with Qi Xiao. He immediately walked over with a sharp look in his eyes and questioned, "Li Weiyi, where is Li Ling?"

Li Weiyi remained seated in her chair, without getting up. "Are you sure you want to discuss this here?"

Cangli frowned, realizing that this matter involved the spirit of Zen Sea Observing Mist, and immediately backed down.

Hidden Nine advised, "Let's go, business is more important."

"You stay here and don't go anywhere."

Cangli left these words behind and, together with Hidden Nine, headed towards the Zuoqiu Courtyard resided.

How could Li Weiyi possibly stay to listen to his lecture? He immediately got up to take his leave and quickly walked down the tower.

If tonight's battle is unavoidable, then it's best to stay as far away as possible from the top experts of the Zuoqiu Courtyard and the Jiu Li Tribe. As a mere martial artist at the Fourth Realm of the Five Seas, choosing to protect himself shouldn't be objected to, right?

Li Weiyi used Disguise Art to change his appearance and move among the many martial artists, gathering information while contemplating how to deal with the unpredictable changes to come.

The hour of midnight has arrived.

Above the Xuantian Stone Wall, amidst the thick clouds of magical energy, countless peach blossom petals drifted down like a pink rain of flowers.

"These are petals from Ancient Peach Tree on Peach Plum Mountain!"

"As clear and lustrous as crimson jade, it is said that wine brewed from these petals is comparable to a precious medicine."

"It takes ten years to blossom, ten years to bear fruit, and ten years to ripen. On Peach Plum Mountain, there are three thousand such Ancient Peach Tree. Zuoqiu Courtyard has monopolized too many resources!"

Countless martial artists released their magical energy and Psychic Power Spiritual Light to collect flower petals.

Suddenly, exclamations rang out. "The immortal master from the Du'e Temple has descended to the mortal realm!"

Li Weiyi and the others looked up.

Suddenly, amidst the thousand-meter-high clouds of magical energy, thirteen figures in Daoist robes descended from the sky.

Each of them was bathed in auspicious light, standing on clouds, their skin as clear as jade. The men possessed an otherworldly air, while the women were as beautiful as celestial maidens. Their ability to descend from the clouds indicated that their cultivation was unfathomably profound.

The Du'e Temple Immortal Master appeared to be in his forties or fifties, with a Daoist hairstyle and a wooden hairpin. He was clearly a man with white hair and a youthful face, but his true appearance was obscured. The surrounding space was extremely distorted, and his cultivation level was unknown.

The other twelve people are arranged as follows: six men on the left and six women on the right.

They were all very young, but their cultivation levels were not at the Five Seas Realm. They stood in a row behind the Immortal Master.

The thirteen people stood on the Xuantian Stone Wall, a hundred feet above the ground. They were truly Transcendent and otherworldly, like hermits who had cultivated themselves outside the secular world. They were pure and untainted, and did not eat or drink.

The young martial arts practitioners in the plaza below were filled with longing and admiration. Some whispered, "It's said that those who perform exceptionally well at this Qianlong Lantern Festival may have the opportunity to become disciples of the Du'e Temple. That would truly be a meteoric rise!"

"Whoosh!"

After a brief exchange, two men and two women floated down from the cliff face onto the plaza behind the Du'e Temple Immortal Master.

The four of them each took out a wooden plaque and hung it below the top three martial artists of the four realms.

Below the top three is the second tier.

"Each region has twenty Class B officials."

Li Weiyi was still quite concerned about whether he could get an invitation, and kept moving towards the bottom of the Xuantian Stone Wall.

The list of twenty people in the second rank from the southern region was being posted by a Daoist woman in a robe from the Du'e Temple; nine wooden plaques had already been hung up.

The "Dao Truth" and "Extinction Truth" of Coffin Mountain, and the "Shi Shishi" of the Earth Wolf King Army are all included.

Dao Truth, a Pure Immortal Body from the Nine Springs, was ranked in the second tier, clearly because he was missing an arm, which greatly reduced his combat power.

"That kid Shi Shishi is actually ranked so high, he must have broken through to the Seventh Sea!" Li Weiyi thought to himself.

Twenty wooden plaques, but the number of spots is dwindling.

Even those in the second tier are mostly cultivators of the Seventh Sea or Calamity Fire Realm Great Mind Master, with renowned reputations.

The Southern Hell Field is no joke.

The Zuoqiu Courtyard and Jiu Li Tribe took up too many spots.

At the nineteenth wooden plaque, Li Weiyi saw another familiar face, Yang Yue, a young master of the Sui Sect second only to Yang Qingxi, who was a reincarnated Perfected Person.

"Does the Du'e Temple truly only select those with high cultivation levels?"

Li Weiyi was naturally disappointed. Just as the thought crossed his mind, his pupils suddenly contracted, and he saw the three words "Li Weiyi" in the hand of the Daoist woman from the Du'e Temple.

The twentieth wooden sign was hung up.

With all two hundred spots available, Xuantian Plaza was a mix of joy and sorrow.

Those who made the list were naturally overjoyed and delighted.

The Qianlong Lantern Festival isn't held all the time. Just being on the list is enough for him to brag about for a lifetime. If someone on the list becomes Longevity Realm Giants or transcends it in the future, then his descendants can boast about it for dozens of generations.

"It's one thing that Phoenix-born Unicorn-young You wasn't among the two hundred, but why wasn't Ge Xiantong included either?"

Li Weiyi searched around but did not find Ge Xiantong's wooden plaque among the forty people in the first rank.

Just as he was wondering, the Du'e Temple Immortal Master, who was standing above the Xuantian Stone Wall, drew two names in the air with his finger.

"Phoenix-born Unicorn-young!"

"Ge Xiantong!"

Two names, seemingly born from divine inspiration, fell from above, crashing heavily into the stone wall and imprinting themselves directly onto the top of two hundred wooden plaques, one on the left and one on the right, as if carved by swords.

You should know that this is the Xuantian Stone Wall.

The words carved on this will surely be preserved for thousands of years, for future generations to admire.

What an honor this is!

The vast voice of the Immortal Du'e Temple Immortal Master resounded. "Phoenix-born Unicorn-young and Ge Xiantong already possess the potential to become Young Son of Heaven, a rare sight in a thousand years. Naturally, they must surpass all other martial artists; a mere top-tier ranking is insufficient to commemorate them."

"Boom!"

This statement sparked heated discussions from all sides.

No one dared to refute it; on the contrary, most people agreed with it.

"This is too much! This immortal master is trying to make these two the targets of all the top-tier experts." One of the ranked martial artists said.

The voice of the Du'e Temple Immortal Master rang out again, echoing throughout the city. "Invitations to this year's Qianlong Lantern Festival will only be sent to the two hundred and two people listed on the stone wall. The date is the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival. Those cultivators listed who wish to participate, please release pillars of magical energy or beams of light from your brows."

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

Countless pillars of magical energy rose up in the city.

One by one, the lamps of spiritual light shone on some Calamity Fire Realm Great Mind Master.

Li Weiyi circulated his magical energy, and a pillar of light rose above his head, causing many martial artists around him to exclaim in surprise.

After observing for a moment, the Du'e Temple Immortal Master smiled, ignoring those who deliberately released magical energy to cause trouble. He knew every martial artist on the list.

His Daoist robe billowed, his wide sleeves like clouds.

"Whoosh!"

One by one, glowing jade tokens flew to various parts of the city.

More than 90% of them actually fell near Xuantian Plaza. Very few people attending the Qianlong Lantern Festival would not have come here tonight.

Li Weiyi received the jade token that had flown in; it was only the size of a palm, made of white jade, and could be opened.

It was completely empty; there was nothing written on it.

A martial artist from the Eastern Territory who had also received a Class B invitation asked loudly, "There's nothing on the jade invitation. Where should we go to attend this grand event?"

The Immortal Master said, "The invitations for martial arts practitioners at each level are different. The location for the Qianlong Lantern Festival is only written on the invitations received by the top ten masters as determined by the Du'e Temple."

That second-tier martial artist had a fiery temper. "What does your Du'e Temple mean by this? Do you want us to participate, or do you not want us to participate?"

Feeling discriminated against, the other second-tier martial artists were also displeased. "I understand! The Du'e Temple means that we must join the ranks of the top ten masters to participate in the Qianlong Lantern Festival. Our invitations are just worthless pieces of paper."

The Du'e Temple Immortal Master laughed and said, "A second-class invitation is indeed no different from a piece of waste paper, but at least it qualifies one to participate in this competition."

"The invitation to the top three ranks contains a Dragon Bone Ticket. With this voucher, you can exchange it for a dragon bone at the lantern festival on the night of the fifteenth of the lunar year to strengthen your body."

"The invitation for the second-tier class contains a Dragon Seed Ticket, which can be exchanged for one Dragon Seed."

"The invitation to the first-class event contained one Dragon Bone Ticket and Dragon Seed Ticket."

"As for the Longevity Pill everyone is most looking forward to, the Du'e Temple will provide twenty of them this time. However, only the invitations of the top ten experts will include a ticket for the Longevity Pill. Depending on their cultivation level, some will receive one, some two, and some three."

"Martial artists who received blank Class B invitations should not be disappointed. The time to exchange for treasures is the fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year, which is still half a month away."

"The more invitations and receipts someone has, the more dangerous they are in the next two weeks."

"The more you gain, the greater the challenge."

The young martial arts practitioners in the square were once again engulfed in heated discussion.

"The Du'e Temple is deliberately making us fight and pushing us into conflict."

"I've done the calculations. Excluding Phoenix-born Unicorn-young and Ge Xiantong, the Du'e Temple has issued eighty Dragon Bone Ticket and eighty Dragon Seed Ticket each."

"A single Dragon Seed can allow a top martial artist in the Five Seas Realm to break through to the Dao Seed Realm in an extremely short time, and their cultivation speed in the Dao Seed Realm will be extremely fast. Within a few years, they should be able to become a powerhouse below the Longevity Realm Giants, competing with the top experts of each state."

"With a casual move, he pushed a large number of young masters into an even greater vortex of competition for supremacy."

Li Weiyi smiled wryly. Only the top ten strongest individuals had the Longevity Ticket and knew the location of the Qianlong Lantern Festival.

This is going to be difficult!

Twenty Longevity Pill —far exceeding the ten many had predicted—are indeed a significant number. But which one will be easy to seize?

More importantly...

The names of the top ten martial arts practitioners have not been announced, so we can only speculate.

A dazzling spiritual light emanated from the brow of the Du'e Temple Immortal Master. He slowly raised his right hand, and instantly, an incomparably terrifying pressure emanated from beyond the heavens.

The clouds above Qiuzhou City trembled violently, and an ancient rune, tens of miles long, floated in the clouds. It had no light and looked like it was carved from a giant stone, appearing and disappearing in the rapidly flowing clouds.

All formations within the city that surpassed those set up by the Great Mind Master were suppressed and lost their luster.

The waterfall cascading down from Peach Plum Mountain converges into a river, flows through the South City, and heads towards Soldier Ancestor Marsh.

At this moment, on the Qiankun River, which was over twenty zhang wide, a slender jade hand lifted the beaded curtain as the boat moved slowly forward. A smile appeared on the exquisitely beautiful face of Zen Sea Observing Mist, a face beyond description. "Decipher the talisman!"

Li Ling sat opposite her and asked, "Master, what is the 'Unraveling Character'? The pressure is so strong, it feels like it could crush the entire city of Qiuzhou if it were to fall."

"Anyway, they don't allow formations above the Great Mind Master to exist. There's no way to hide; you can only fight them with raw power. We're not too late, are we?" Zen Sea Observing Mist asked.

Li Ling said, "Anyway, I made it back before the end of the year."

On the Xuantian Stone Wall, the Du'e Temple Immortal Master began to read out the rules of this battle.

(Ugh, I feel like writing an extra chapter a day is too difficult. Can I still manage 1,000 words a day? 7,000 words today.)