First Battle

The Sect Minor Competition's rewards were simple and brutal: only the top fifty received anything, and the only reward was Merit Points.

First place received five thousand Merit Points, second place four thousand nine hundred, and so on. Fortieth place received one thousand one hundred points, while forty-first through fiftieth place all received five hundred Merit Points.

Of course, where there were rewards, there were punishments. After the Sect Minor Competition ended, the Outer Court would make a comprehensive assessment based on each disciple's time since entering the sect and other factors. Any disciple deemed by the Outer Court not to have reached the cultivation they should have, or to have indulged in pleasure and neglected their cultivation, would be expelled from the sect.

By the day of the Sect Minor Competition, more than ten thousand outer sect disciples had gathered in the square, all waiting for the drawing of lots. The lots were not drawn one by one; the Outer Court would randomly send each disciple's number to their Identity Token.

Fang Xiao took out his Identity Token and activated it with spiritual power. His number began to appear on the token.

The Outer Court divided the ten thousand-plus disciples into one hundred and twenty groups according to the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches. Each group had at least one hundred people, and every disciple had to duel those with the same number.

"Jiachen Group, thirty-six. Looks like I'll have to wait a while."

After roughly locating the Jiachen Group's Dueling Platform, he headed over at an unhurried pace. By the time he arrived, the first pair of disciples had already stepped onto the platform.

Both disciples were at the Qi Refining Third Layer, wielding identical standard-issue sect artifacts and opening with the exact same Fireball Technique. After all, low-level disciples placed cultivation first and knew only a limited number of techniques. Each also had ten Spirit Talismans, all common low-level ones. By the end, their talismans were spent and their spiritual power exhausted, and the two had even resorted to mortal martial arts moves.

Not everyone cultivated a top-tier technique like Fang Xiao. Tianlan Sect naturally possessed quite a few top-tier techniques, but without sufficient aptitude, one could not simply cultivate one at will. Either the cultivation speed would be unbearably slow, or one would be unable to even get started. Most disciples with Four Spiritual Roots or Five Spiritual Roots were suited only for ordinary techniques.

Both men on the Dueling Platform had already been injured, but so long as their future cultivation was not affected and their lives were not in danger, the cultivators responsible for overseeing the matches would not intervene, even if they were gravely wounded.

In Fang Xiao's eyes, this sort of battle had no value as a reference. In the end, with both sides seriously injured, one chose to surrender. From the looks of it, though, even the victor would be unable to participate in the following matches.

The next dozen or so fights were either evenly matched battles between low-level cultivators or one-sided crushings caused by overwhelming gaps in cultivation. They failed to stir even the slightest interest in him.

"Junior Brother, I am Han Dafu. Seeing you watching the duels from the stands, I take it you have some unique insights. Is there anyone you favor? You can place a bet with me."

The man was plump and prosperous-looking, dressed less like a disciple than a wealthy merchant from the mortal world. His cultivation was only at the Qi Condensation Fourth Layer. Perhaps because Fang Xiao looked young, he addressed him as Junior Brother.

"Does the Sect Minor Competition allow disciples to run betting pools?"

"Hehe, the higher-ups turn a blind eye to such trivial matters."

"Then I'll bet on myself to win."

"Full of confidence, aren't you? How many Spirit Stones does Junior Brother wish to wager?"

"There are no odds? Then I'll wager five hundred Spirit Stones first."

Fatty Han was stunned, then immediately changed his form of address.

"Senior Brother, tell me honestly—are you a Nominal Disciple of some Golden Core Stage elder, playing the pig to eat the tiger here?"

"How could that be? I merely have a little family wealth and want to take a gamble with you."

Fatty Han asked about Fang Xiao's cultivation. Upon learning that he was at the Qi Condensation Sixth Layer, he hesitated even more. In the end, he accepted only three hundred Spirit Stones from Fang Xiao, left behind a betting slip, and went off in search of his next target.

The reason there were no odds was that most disciples had no record of prior battles. Other than a few well-known disciples of formidable strength, the odds for all disciples of the same cultivation were one-to-one. Only after they had fought several matches would their odds be adjusted based on their records.

With his own odds at one-to-one, Fang Xiao understood that his opponent was also at the Qi Condensation Sixth Layer.

Boring time truly crawled by, but thankfully, it was finally his turn.

"Jiachen Group, thirty-sixth duel. Both parties, take the stage."

A Foundation Establishment Realm disciple responsible for supervision called the two up.

Fang Xiao stepped onto the Dueling Platform. His opponent was an Iron Tower Giant standing nine feet tall, bare from the waist up, with bulging muscles all over his body and an imposing aura. He was clearly a Body Cultivator.

"Fang Xiao. Please enlighten me."

"Kid, surrender while you still can. Look at those skinny arms and legs of yours. If you wait too long, I'm afraid I'll accidentally slap you to death, hahaha!"

The Iron Tower Giant's voice boomed like a great bell, and his tone was incomparably arrogant. Fang Xiao decided to teach him a lesson later and make him remember it.

The giant slapped his Storage Bag, pulling a pair of iron rings over his hands. He then used a Spirit Talisman to cast an Ice Cone Technique, charging at Fang Xiao right behind the ice cone. With both palms, he struck toward Fang Xiao's head in a Double Peaks Piercing the Ears stance.

Fang Xiao intended to test the movement technique within the Sword Art in battle. With a casual motion, he shattered the ice cone. The instant the giant closed in, spiritual power stirred beneath his feet, and he flashed past the man's side at incredible speed. The giant's palms struck empty air. Judging from their Strength Dao, it was merely an ordinary attack at the Qi Condensation Sixth Layer.

Seeing that he had missed, the giant turned and attacked again. Unfortunately, he still could not touch Fang Xiao in the slightest, and his eyes reddened with rage.

"Will you do nothing but dodge around? If you have the guts, come fight me head-on!"

Fang Xiao ignored him. Feeling that it was about enough, he took out a standard-issue sect flying sword. Holding the sword in one hand and forming a hand seal with the other, he activated Sword Qi with spiritual power and used the Sword Qi Differentiation Method. More than a dozen streams of Sword Qi shot forth at once.

The giant was startled by the sheer number of Sword Qi. He reacted swiftly, using the iron rings in his hands to scatter four streams. Faced with the remaining Sword Qi, however, he had no recourse but to protect his vital points and endure them head-on. Fang Xiao had not intended to attack those vital points anyway. The remaining Sword Qi pierced through the giant's limbs, leaving his body drenched in blood and cutting a thoroughly bedraggled figure.

"I concede."

The giant had lost all face. He also understood that his opponent had clearly not used his full strength, while he himself no longer had the power to fight. He could only surrender and was carried off the Dueling Platform.

Fang Xiao's identity as a Sword Cultivator and his strength were plain for all to see. Clearly, no one in the Jiachen Group could match him. After he stepped down, nearly half the disciples immediately gathered around to introduce themselves, all wanting to build some rapport with him—at the very least, to become familiar faces. Otherwise, if they failed to surrender in time during the later matches, they might not be beaten too badly.

Before Fang Xiao could go looking for him, Fatty Han had already jogged over. Taking the betting slip Fang Xiao handed him, he immediately presented him with six hundred Spirit Stones.

"Senior Brother Fang's cultivation is profound, and your Sword Art exquisite. Congratulations on taking the lead."

"Just luck. Can I still place bets?"

"Senior Brother Fang, you jest. There is simply no one in the group who can rival you, and it is difficult for me to do business that way. You and those disciples capable of competing for rankings can only be bet on after the top fifty."

"All right, then. But you'll have to do a small favor for me."

"Just give the word, Senior Brother. If I can help, I certainly will."

Fang Xiao had Fatty Han investigate information on the other disciples. Though he had great confidence in himself, knowing oneself and knowing one's enemy was still better than knowing nothing at all.

Before long, Fatty Han brought him a Jade Slip. They had long since compiled information on those disciples whose reputations preceded them. Besides taking bets when the competition began, they also sold intelligence on these disciples. Those willing to buy naturally wanted to understand their opponents and find ways to defeat them, so even at a price of ten Spirit Stones, there were plenty of buyers.

Fang Xiao did not watch the duels that followed. He returned directly to his residence. No matter how important the Sect Minor Competition was, it could not compare to his own cultivation. After briefly regulating his breath, he began his cultivation for the day.