Outer Sect Grand Competition

Of course, he couldn't use second- or third-tier Dragon Pattern Pills while cultivating the first layer, either. Their medicinal effects were too powerful and would cause the Dragon Marks he had condensed to collapse.

So the best way to cultivate was to follow the method recorded in the cultivation art and make progress step by step.

There was only one month left before the Outer Sect Grand Competition.

Recently, he had learned that there was a Dao Discussion Hall on Cloud Sea Peak.

It was called a place for discussing the Dao, but in reality, it was a venue specifically set aside for sect disciples to spar with one another.

Chen Xuan went to the Dao Discussion Hall that day.

You had to pay Contribution Points just to enter.

It wasn't particularly expensive, though.

After paying the Contribution Points, Chen Xuan entered the Dao Discussion Hall.

As soon as he walked in, he saw a notice posted in a designated area, listing who would be sparring against whom that day. The Dao Discussion Hall also accepted bets on who would win each match.

Nine-tenths of the Contribution Points wagered would be distributed among the disciples who had placed winning bets. The Dao Discussion Hall, as the bookmaker, and the winner of each match would split the remaining tenth.

Giving the winner half a percent was also meant to encourage more disciples to take part in the matches.

Chen Xuan hadn't come here to fight, of course.

He was here to gather information.

Over the past two months, he had managed to find out who some of this year's "favorites" in the Outer Sect Grand Competition were.

Who they were wasn't important.

What mattered was that he had learned those favorites often came to the Dao Discussion Hall to spar.

On the one hand, they did it to earn Contribution Points. On the other, they wanted to improve their strength through combat.

Chen Xuan didn't place any bets. He went straight inside and took a seat in a spot with a good view.

He had paid a higher entrance fee for this particularly good seat.

It was indeed a decent spot. Not only did it offer a good view, it was also a small private booth, with a pot of tea and several plates of pastries on the table.

The matches began soon after.

Two male disciples took the stage. Chen Xuan was in luck: both were favorites in this year's Outer Sect Grand Competition.

As soon as they stepped onto the stage, they began fighting.

The rules at the Dao Discussion Hall were the same as those of the Outer Sect Grand Competition: magical artifacts were allowed, but only the Floating Cloud Sword could be used.

Neither of them used a magical artifact at the moment. Instead, they fought with Dao Techniques.

They certainly lived up to their reputations as favorites.

Both had reached minor mastery in Flowing Cloud Myriad Forms.

Chen Xuan watched their fight without blinking.

Suddenly, the system's screen appeared.

[Your Dao Technique "Flowing Cloud Myriad Forms" is observing someone else's Dao Technique.]

[Your Dao Technique "Flowing Cloud Myriad Forms" is rapidly gaining proficiency.]

[Your Dao Technique "Flowing Cloud Moon-Chasing" is observing someone else's Dao Technique.]

[Your Dao Technique "Flowing Cloud Moon-Chasing" is gaining proficiency.]

Chen Xuan was slightly stunned.

You two are amazing.

Who knew watching people fight could be useful like this?

Good thing I came.

Chen Xuan's mood grew even better.

At the moment, Flowing Cloud Myriad Forms was improving faster than Flowing Cloud Moon-Chasing because the two onstage were using Flowing Cloud Moon-Stepping for their movement technique, not Flowing Cloud Moon-Chasing.

Still, the two Dao Techniques came from the same lineage, so Flowing Cloud Moon-Chasing was improving much faster than before, too.

The time that followed...

Match after match took place, but only a few featured fighters who had reached minor mastery in Flowing Cloud Myriad Forms and Flowing Cloud Moon-Stepping.

Even so, they helped Chen Xuan quite a bit.

By the end of the day, he still felt he hadn't had enough.

In the blink of an eye...

A month passed.

During that time, Chen Xuan had already signed up for the Outer Sect Grand Competition.

Meanwhile, after spending a month at the Dao Discussion Hall, Chen Xuan had reached minor mastery in Flowing Cloud Myriad Forms ahead of schedule.

Flowing Cloud Moon-Chasing was still a little short of that, having reached only proficiency.

As for Purple Imperial Dragon Flame, he had also cultivated it to proficiency.

The sect's plaza.

Many disciples had gathered there. It was even livelier than the Floating Cloud Trial three months ago.

A great many disciples had entered the Outer Sect Grand Competition.

Although only disciples at Qi Gathering Perfection were allowed to participate, Cloud Sea Sect had so many disciples that those at Qi Gathering Perfection were a dime a dozen.

Not to mention those who deliberately held back from breaking through just so they could take part in the Outer Sect Grand Competition.

Many knew they had no chance of placing in the top three.

But the top three weren't the only ones who received rewards. Those who placed below them could still win Spirit Sea Pills.

They didn't turn their noses up at Spirit Sea Pills, either.

The rewards for the Outer Sect Grand Competition were as follows: the top three could each obtain a spiritual treasure; those placing fourth through tenth would receive a bottle of top-grade Spirit Sea Pills; those placing eleventh through thirtieth would receive a bottle of high-grade Spirit Sea Pills; those placing thirty-first through sixtieth would receive a batch of medium-grade Spirit Sea Pills; and those placing sixty-first through one hundredth would receive a bottle of low-grade Spirit Sea Pills.

Spirit Sea Pills were considered fairly standard second-tier pills.

They could help cultivators at Qi Gathering Perfection break through, and they could also be used to increase one's cultivation.

They were also extremely effective at raising one's cultivation.

The pills commonly used by Cloud Sea Sect cultivators in the Spirit Sea Realm to increase their cultivation were Spirit Gathering Pills.

These pills were a tier above Qi Gathering Pills.

They were already very effective at increasing cultivation.

Spirit Sea Pills, however, were even more potent than Spirit Gathering Pills.

A bottle of low-grade Spirit Sea Pills was definitely worth more than ten times as much as a bottle of low-grade Spirit Gathering Pills.

Put simply, even making it into the top hundred at the Outer Sect Grand Competition would be worth the effort.

Three streaks of light descended at the entrance to the hall on the plaza.

The disciples in the plaza all turned their eyes toward the hall.

The newcomers were three elders. One of them was Elder Zhang, whom Chen Xuan had seen at the Floating Cloud Trial.

Chen Xuan didn't recognize the other two. This was his first time seeing them.

Cloud Sea Sect really did have quite a few Purple Mansion cultivators.

Three elders had presided over the Floating Cloud Trial, and now three elders were presiding over the Outer Sect Grand Competition.

"The Outer Sect Grand Competition begins now."

Elder Zhang announced the start.

His voice rang across the plaza.

Right after that, all the disciples taking part in the Outer Sect Grand Competition were teleported by an array to the foot of the mountain.

At the foot of the mountain stood an extremely long and wide White Jade Staircase, stretching all the way up to the sect plaza at the summit.

"The first hundred to reach the plaza will advance."

Elder Zhang's voice rang in everyone's ears again.

The Outer Sect Grand Competition was more brutal than the Floating Cloud Trial. The very first round would select only the top hundred.

Nearly ten thousand contestants had entered the competition.

More than nine thousand would be eliminated in one fell swoop.

The nearly ten thousand disciples at the foot of the mountain all began rushing up toward the summit.

This first round wasn't simply a matter of climbing stairs.

An array had been activated on the staircase.

Once it was active, the stronger a person was, the faster they could climb.

The array didn't just measure cultivation; it also took a person's Dao Techniques into account.

Using Dao Techniques with a higher level of proficiency could reduce the pressure considerably.

So even among those at Qi Gathering Perfection, there were differences.

When the competition began, Chen Xuan didn't hold back.

With his Qi Gathering Perfection cultivation, first-realm body-tempering cultivation, minor mastery in Flowing Cloud Myriad Forms, and proficiency in Flowing Cloud Moon-Chasing and Purple Imperial Dragon Flame, he was already miles ahead of the others in the blink of an eye.

That meant he didn't have to squeeze in among the crowd.

Nearly ten thousand people were climbing the stairs at once. Even though the White Jade Staircase was wide, anyone who didn't move fast enough would find themselves in a serious crush.