Outer Court Grand Competition

Chen Yan didn't respond to Sun Lu's flattery.

First of all, he himself wasn't particularly eager to become a disciple of Kongyuan Mountain. Second, Lin Qifeng had been driven out of Kongyuan Mountain by Yun Yichen.

If Lin Qifeng wanted to return to Kongyuan Mountain, he'd have to admit he was wrong first.

But judging by their interactions lately, getting that stubborn old man to back down was no easy task.

"Senior Brother Chen and Steward Cheng are both prodigies of the Outer Court. You ought to greet each other and get acquainted."

Sun Lu said this, then, without waiting for Chen Yan to respond, took it upon himself to call out to Cheng Ziying, who was standing in front of the martial arts arena.

"Steward Cheng! Steward Cheng!"

Cheng Ziying, some distance away, raised her head and looked toward Chen Yan and Sun Lu. Her gaze swept over Chen Yan.

"Come over for a moment, Steward Cheng!" Sun Lu continued to call.

Cheng Ziying's body language showed an unmistakable reluctance, but she had no choice. Standing there were the personal disciple of an Outer Court Elder and the apprentice of a Spirit Herb Workshop steward.

"The Outer Court Grand Competition is about to begin. You and the other disciples on duty at the martial arts arena must have been working hard lately, Steward Cheng."

Sun Lu made polite conversation with Cheng Ziying, then turned to Chen Yan beside him.

"You may already know him, Steward Cheng. This is Senior Brother Chen Yan, personal disciple of an Outer Court Elder of our Empty Mountain Sect."

"..."

"..."

Cheng Ziying's gaze rested on Chen Yan for a moment before sweeping away again.

Neither of them said a word, and the atmosphere grew awkward.

Chen Yan was even more confused. Today, Cheng Ziying was treating him with a frostier coldness than the last time Lin Qifeng had asked her to pass him a message.

The person most on edge, and most uneasy in this awkward situation, was naturally Sun Lu, who knew nothing of the history between the two.

But Sun Lu was a clever man.

He quickly caught on that their relationship might not be as simple as he'd imagined. They might even have some undisclosed history together.

"I just remembered. My master asked me to check on the spirit rice we planted in the Spirit Field behind the mountain a while ago. You two, I'll be off..."

Then, without giving Cheng Ziying or Chen Yan a chance to react, Sun Lu immediately fled.

He'd made a mess of things. As for Chen Yan, he'd think of a way to send him some more spirit herbs as compensation later.

That was what Sun Lu thought.

That left Chen Yan and Cheng Ziying awkwardly standing there alone.

"Senior Brother Chen, what can I do for you?" Cheng Ziying finally spoke first.

"Zi... I wanted to give you this."

Chen Yan took a wooden box from his pocket. Inside was a whole Ice Soul Grass.

He'd meant to call her Ziying, as he had before, but given their relationship now, he just couldn't bring himself to say it.

Cheng Ziying didn't reach for it.

She merely looked coldly at the box Chen Yan was offering, then curled her lips in a seemingly playful smile.

"Is it because your Inner Sect senior sister doesn't want this?"

"What?"

Chen Yan was taken aback.

"Senior Brother Chen, please go back. I don't need this."

Without giving Chen Yan another chance to speak, Cheng Ziying turned and headed back toward the martial arts arena.

What was all that supposed to mean? What Inner Sect senior sister...?

Then Chen Yan remembered the scene from just a short while ago, when he'd discussed the Monster Suppressing Stone with Chu Xiyao nearby.

There were many Outer Court disciples, but they all had to wear the same uniform. So Chu Xiyao, dressed in white, already stood out here, to say nothing of her peerlessly beautiful, aloof face.

Had Cheng Ziying seen all of it?

Then what was this reaction? Was she jealous?

Chen Yan couldn't help suspecting as much, but he wasn't sure. He and Cheng Ziying hadn't had any contact for the past few years. To think she was jealous over him would be a little too self-important.

He took back the Ice Soul Grass and sighed.

Chen Yan had always wanted to find an opportunity to give Cheng Ziying a few Qi Condensation Pills and some Ice Soul Grass.

There was no other reason. He simply hoped Cheng Ziying could reach the Martial Spring Realm soon, become an Inner Sect Disciple, and escape the fate of dying in the Outer Court calamity.

Three days later.

The Outer Court martial arts arena was packed with people, voices clamoring everywhere.

Eight circular platforms of blue brick and stone stood in the middle of the arena. At the center of each platform were the carved characters "A, B, C, D" and "Heaven, Earth, Profound, Yellow."

These eight blue-brick platforms were the rings where the disciples would soon compete.

In front of the platforms, some young, newly admitted disciples held basic sword manuals or other simple cultivation texts, trying to etch every move and detail from the books into their minds.

Some more experienced Outer Court disciples, a little older as well, had already hidden Qi Gathering Pills in their sleeves in case they ran out of true qi, grew too weak to fight, and lost.

"Chen Yan, come here."

On the viewing platform, Lin Qifeng sat high in the center, looking down over the entire arena. He called Chen Yan to his side.

Below Lin Qifeng sat elders and disciples from the various peaks of the Three Mountains Four Peaks.

"Here, Master."

Chen Yan came to Lin Qifeng's side and answered.

"Which group were you assigned to?" Lin Qifeng asked.

"The Profound Group."

"Good, the Profound Group..."

Lin Qifeng closed his eyes briefly, as if trying to recall which strong fighters were in the Profound Group this time. But soon, he shook his head and opened them.

"What strong fighters could there be in the mere Body Tempering Realm?"

"..."

Chen Yan said nothing.

He thought the same thing.

Chen Yan was no longer what he'd been. Just two days ago, he'd broken through and become a true Martial Spring Realm cultivator.

"Temper the body, gather qi; when qi flows through, a spring forms."

This was a small passage from the Empty Mountain Sect's foundational cultivation method, the Empty Mountain Art.

Feeling the true qi flow endlessly from his Martial Spring into his meridians, Chen Yan felt a sense of fulfillment unlike anything he'd experienced before.

At last, he understood how Lu Li had been able to kill him so easily with a single Kongshan Finger from dozens of meters away.

Now Chen Yan was confident he could use a single Kongshan Finger to kill any Qi Condensation Realm cultivator on the viewing platform before him from a distance.

But at the Outer Court Grand Competition, he still had to suppress his cultivation to the Body Tempering Realm Peak to compete.

The Outer Court Grand Competition differed from the Inner Sect Grand Competition. It had only two groups: Body Tempering and Qi Condensation.

The Inner Sect Grand Competition, also known as the Sect Grand Competition, had not only Body Tempering and Qi Condensation groups, but also competitions for the Martial Spring and Sea of Qi groups.

The reason the Inner Sect Grand Competition was also called the Sect Grand Competition was that Outer Court disciples could sign up and compete if they wanted to, though few ever did.

Who would willingly invite humiliation?