How is the strength?

The Coiling Dragon Continent has a long-standing tradition: every year-end, almost every faction, large or small, holds some form of ancestral worship ceremony, and the Cloud Saint Sect is no exception.

However, in addition to the ancestral rites this year, the Cloud Saint Sect has specifically organized an internal selection tournament, as next spring marks the decennial Youth Marquis Tournament of the Yunli Kingdom, and they must make preparations for it.

The Yunli Kingdom has always governed the nation through martial prowess, holding a nationwide youth competition every ten years. The top ten finishers receive immense benefits; not only are they rewarded with gold and silver, but they are also granted titles of nobility and military rank. Once one breaks into the top ten, it can be said that they will soar to the heavens in a single leap.

The tournament has few restrictions, and almost any Spirit Cultivator can participate, provided they are under the age of thirty.

As a top-tier power in the Yunli Kingdom, the Cloud Saint Sect has been allocated ten spots for the final qualifying tournament. Aside from these top-tier factions, ordinary Spirit Cultivators must endure long and brutal qualifying rounds to earn a chance to enter the final tournament of three hundred and twenty participants.

To this end, the Cloud Saint Sect intends to hold an internal selection tournament where the top ten disciples will earn their spots in the national qualifying tournament. The entire process is simple and easy to understand, reflecting the magnanimity and fairness of the Cloud Saint Sect.

On this day, after the master and disciple finished their artifact refining, Jing Yifei handed Luo Sanbao a notice—it was the announcement for the internal selection tournament, to be held in just three days.

"The Youth Marquis Tournament? Under thirty... what chance do I have?" Luo Sanbao smiled, clearly showing no interest.

"Sanbao, go sign up. After all, you've been cultivating at Fire Cloud Peak for over a year. Although your realm has improved rapidly, your practical combat experience is too thin. Going to broaden your horizons will do you nothing but good."

Luo Sanbao had been at the Cloud Saint Sect for over a year. Aside from listening to an elder's lecture at Cloud Saint Square once a month, he rarely left Fire Cloud Hall, pouring his heart and soul into cultivation. Jing Yifei saw this and naturally understood the pros and cons, so he urged him immediately.

"Yes, Master."

Since Jing Yifei had spoken, Luo Sanbao naturally agreed. Besides, broadening his horizons was always a good thing.

Following the mountain path, Luo Sanbao arrived at the main peak of the Cloud Saint Sect—the Cloud Saint Hall.

The Cloud Saint Hall is the center of the entire Cloud Saint Sect, covering a vast area with numerous buildings. However, most sect affairs are still handled in the main hall at the center. The registration for this internal selection tournament was no different. Luo Sanbao had been here more than ten times, so he was quite familiar with the route. As he approached the hall, a cacophony of noise spilled out, appearing extremely lively.

"Hey, isn't this Junior Brother Luo Sanbao?" A large hand suddenly slapped his shoulder from behind. Luo Sanbao turned around abruptly, looking at the person with a face full of confusion.

"This Senior Brother, do I know you?"

"We do! We joined the sect together a year ago. We were both among the eighteen people left at the starting point during the final test! Don't you remember me?" the stranger explained.

"I really don't remember. How do you know me?" Luo Sanbao shook his head and asked.

"Oh, among the eighteen, you were the youngest and acted exceptionally calm, so I had a deep impression of you. Later, I asked around and found out you were apprenticed to Elder Jing. I actually felt sorry for you at the time. Who would have thought that a year later, not only have you grown quite a bit taller, but your strength has also improved by a huge margin! By the way, I've been talking so long I forgot to introduce myself. I am Wang Liang, a disciple under Elder Zhao Youdao. You know Elder Zhao, right? He is a real power-holder in our Cloud Saint Sect..."

"Don't worry, Junior Brother Sanbao, if there are any good opportunities in the future, I will definitely call you..."

As Wang Liang spoke, he draped an arm over Luo Sanbao and walked into the hall, acting as if the two of them were brothers of many years.

At first, Wang Liang's overly familiar personality made Luo Sanbao feel slightly uncomfortable, but he soon adapted. Although the other party seemed a bit snobbish, his nature was likely quite decent.

Through their conversation, they realized both were there to sign up for the selection tournament. Wang Liang's talent was also quite astonishing; he was only a two-star Spirit Scholar before joining, and now he was already a five-star Spirit Scholar. In just over a year, he had jumped three levels—a speed that made even Luo Sanbao feel inferior.

Like Luo Sanbao, his goal in participating in the selection tournament wasn't to advance, but merely to gain experience. After all, within the Cloud Saint Sect, those under thirty were the stage for core disciples; some Spirit Commander protectors were also under thirty, so Spirit Scholar participants were undoubtedly just there to make up the numbers.

However, the final registration results shocked Luo Sanbao. The total number of participants for the selection tournament was two hundred and thirty, and among them, over one hundred were Spirit Scholars. It seemed there were quite a few entry-level disciples with the same idea as him.

This gave Luo Sanbao some thoughts: if his opponents were only Spirit Scholars, he must not lose under any circumstances. If he encountered a Spirit General expert, he would just have to leave it to fate.

At this moment, Luo Sanbao did not fully understand his own comprehensive strength.

Cultivating both the metal and fire elements, Luo Sanbao's spirit power was already significantly more robust than other Spirit Cultivators of the same rank. Coupled with the innate talent of the Purple-Eyed Golden Peng, his physical strength was far superior to ordinary peers. Even without using the high-level Spirit Skills of the Luo Clan, he was not someone an average peer could contend with.

If he were to exert his full strength, he would even have the power to fight against an average low-level Spirit General. Of course, Luo Sanbao was unaware of this; his goal was still set on simply not losing to opponents of the same rank.

Three days later, the selection tournament officially began. The rules were very simple: among the two hundred and thirty participants, except for a very small number of Spirit Commander powerhouses who received a first-round bye, the rest were randomly drawn to face opponents. The winners would advance to the next round until the top ten were determined.

Since it was an internal sect competition, there was generally no danger to life. Of course, blades have no eyes, so some injuries were inevitable.

When the first-round draw results came out, Luo Sanbao's opponent was indeed a five-star Spirit Scholar.

After facing each other, both felt a surge of joy, secretly thinking that their luck was quite good.

Seeing that Luo Sanbao was no more than fifteen, his opponent, a hawk-eyed youth, appeared somewhat contemptuous: "Junior brother is still young, I shall let you have three moves."

Luo Sanbao didn't know how his combat power measured up, but since the other party was being arrogant, he didn't stand on ceremony. His hands moved rapidly, forming heavy palm imprints—the Golden Sand Palm.

The hawk-eyed youth had been standing with his sword in hand. Seeing that Luo Sanbao was truly young and fighting empty-handed, he made a mistake by switching his sword to his left hand and spreading the fingers of his right hand, striking out with a palm imprint of his own—the Water Palm.

Swish, swish, swish...

The hawk-eyed youth retreated six or seven steps before barely managing to steady himself. Looking back, he saw he was only two feet away from the designated combat circle; two more steps and he would have lost. Moreover, his chest felt congested, and his right palm was numb to the point of agony.

Clearly, his estimation of Luo Sanbao's strength was completely wrong. Luo Sanbao was not only a five-star Spirit Scholar, but his physical talent was far beyond that of an ordinary person.

Although they were both five-star Spirit Scholars, Luo Sanbao's spirit power was at least twenty percent stronger than his opponent's, not to mention that one had acted with intent while the other had been caught off guard.

"Such strong spirit power! This is at least the strength of a peak five-star Spirit Scholar." The hawk-eyed youth finally realized his mistake, gripped his sword with both hands, and focused his entire attention.

"Pardon me." Having gained the upper hand, Luo Sanbao did not let up. He unleashed his Nine-Turn Golden Body under his feet while launching a barrage of giant palm imprints at his opponent.

Bang, bang...

Having been caught off guard in the first move, the hawk-eyed youth was forced back step by step. He kept parrying with his long sword, barely blocking Luo Sanbao's countless palm imprints. Fortunately, his sword was sharp, and Luo Sanbao dared not strike the blade directly, only daring to strike from the sides, which slowed his speed slightly; otherwise, the hawk-eyed youth would likely have been defeated long ago.

Even so, he remained at a complete disadvantage. After all, the sword light could only protect part of his body, not all of it, and combined with Luo Sanbao's elusive footwork, he was left unable to defend against the onslaught.

Puff.

As the sword light revealed a slight opening, Luo Sanbao's right palm struck heavily against the hawk-eyed youth's lower abdomen.

Swish, swish, swish.

The hawk-eyed youth was knocked back several steps, his injury causing him great pain. Just as he wanted to swing his sword to attack again, the referee shouted loudly: "Number eighty-eight is out of bounds, Number twenty-four wins."

Sanbao then withdrew his palms and stood straight: "Senior Brother, I concede the win to you."

"Hmph..."

The hawk-eyed youth felt deeply embarrassed, let out a snort, and left quickly without even asking for Sanbao's name.

The first round of the selection tournament was held in the massive plaza in front of the Cloud Saint Hall, with almost all matches taking place simultaneously.

After defeating his opponent, Sanbao finally had the time to observe the other matches; in just this short while, half of the matches in the arena had already been decided, suggesting that the disparity in strength between the combatants was quite significant.

One of the match arenas was surrounded by a large crowd of disciples, and it appeared that both sides were locked in a fierce battle.

After walking over and asking around, he learned that the two combatants were actually core disciples with extremely high cultivation levels, having reached the four-star and five-star Spirit General realms respectively; such a duel appearing in the first round was naturally a major spectacle.

"Senior Brother Li, well done, you're sure to win!" A small group of people shouted thunderously, referring to the five-star Spirit General in the arena.

"If Senior Brother Bai keeps going like this, I'm afraid he'll lose sooner or later..."

"I don't think so. Look at how brilliant Senior Brother Bai's footwork is; once Senior Brother Li's spiritual energy is exhausted, Senior Brother Bai will surely be able to turn the tables."

Many people outside the arena were whispering to each other.