Wei Wen's words were worth their weight in gold. The Sect Grand Tournament involved both interests and honor: the victors could gain tremendous attention and opportunities to grow, while the losers could only sink into gloom.
A single match could even cause the gap between them to widen steadily, leading them toward entirely different lives.
Often, the ruthless competition between people began in just such an inconspicuous way.
At first, Fang Qianyuan had found Ding Long's exaggerated account rather amusing, but now that he thought about it, he could no longer laugh at all.
For every person who caught someone's eye, gained both fame and fortune, and held a beauty in his arms, there was someone who gained nothing, perhaps even having to part with a lover forever.
Without sufficient preparation, it truly would be better not to participate.
Yet Fang Qianyuan soon smiled calmly again and said, "Thank you for the reminder, senior brother. I've thought it through. I still have to enter this tournament."
He explained, "If I don't participate, I won't know my own limits, nor will I know just how many brilliant talents there are in this world."
"I, Fang Qianyuan, want to take this opportunity to test myself against them properly."
"Such ambition! Now I believe you truly are prepared, rather than merely agreeing on a whim. In that case, devote yourself to training over the coming days. You aren't like us, already caught at a bottleneck where improvement is hard to come by even after a long time. Perhaps by the time the selection officially begins, you'll have grown stronger still. If you earn a good placing then, we'll share in your glory as fellow disciples of the Heavenly Hall," Wei Wen said approvingly.
Fang Qianyuan nodded at his words.
He had recently acquired a high-grade spirit creature and an Inscribed Talisman. Although his cultivation had yet to break through, his strength had advanced by leaps and bounds.
If he trained hard over the coming days, the outcome would surely be different.
Several days soon passed. As expected, news of the academy selection and the Sect Grand Tournament began to spread. Many disciples had no such elaborate considerations; they simply wanted to join the excitement and threw themselves enthusiastically into preparing to participate.
Of course, among them were also genuine outstanding talents who yearned to gain both fame and fortune and lay the foundations for their future careers.
Outside the Cang Mountain Academy, two figures darted through a grove of green bamboo, locked in fierce combat.
They were Ye Tianming and Ba Ming, sparring with each other while using their respective spirit creatures to possess their bodies.
Suddenly, a silver gleam flashed across Ye Tianming's hand, and a brilliant Gang Edge shot out like a crescent moon.
"Crescent Slash!"
The surprise attack at such close range caught Ba Ming somewhat off guard. He hurriedly twisted aside to dodge, but the Crescent Gang Edge spanned over a foot, and its outer edge sliced through the leather armor over his chest like a curved saber.
With a ripping sound, a line of blood appeared across Ba Ming's chest.
Ba Ming retreated with a hand over his chest, breaking out in a cold sweat.
"Your reaction was slow. Why didn't you dodge?" Seeing this, Ye Tianming stopped as well and spoke coldly.
"I... I just..." Ba Ming's face flushed red. He thought for a moment but could find no explanation.
"Let's stop here for now. Be more careful next time," Ye Tianming said indifferently.
"All right." Hearing this, Ba Ming could only withdraw his spirit essence and walk back with Ye Tianming.
"Junior Brother Ye, the academy selection is about to begin. Is Elder Ye planning to let you participate this time?" Ba Ming asked, keeping a hand pressed against the wound on his chest.
"Yes," Ye Tianming said.
"He's finally willing? That's wonderful! Your cultivation is almost at eight revolutions this year. You're sure to astonish everyone in a single stroke," Ba Ming said happily.
"That's right. Last year, my father wouldn't let me participate because he feared six revolutions wouldn't be enough, and I would damage the Ye Household's prestige. But this time, I absolutely won't miss this golden opportunity again!" Ye Tianming said, clenching his fist.
"Judging by past experience, those with ** revolutions of cultivation are already among the academy's strongest disciples. Those above them are Wandering Disciples who have obtained a Wandering Permit and gone out to travel. Though those people are powerful, they're no longer counted on the academy's rolls and can't participate in the tournament."
Ba Ming spoke.
"Junior Brother Ye, although you're young, your cultivation is above seven revolutions. With your supreme-grade spirit creature, Inscribed Talisman, and secret arts, you already have the potential to challenge those at eight or nine revolutions. Add your talent to that, and even nine-revolution experts from other aristocratic clans might not be your match!"
"If you can fight your way into the finals at your age, that alone will cause a sensation. The entire sect might not produce a genius like that even once in ten years!"
Ye Tianming nodded, but a trace of dismissiveness appeared in his eyes.
Ba Ming did not know that the proud and lofty-minded Ye Tianming had set his sights on far more than merely reaching the Finals Arena.
After they returned to the academy, Ba Ming said goodbye and left, while Ye Tianming went home first.
Toward evening, Ye Li returned home and asked Ye Tianming about his lessons that day. Ye Tianming briefly described what he had learned from his training.
At the end, he suddenly said to Ye Li, "Father, it seems I need a different sparring partner."
Ye Li was somewhat surprised to hear this. "What happened?"
Ye Tianming said, "Ba Ming sparred with me this afternoon, and he couldn't even dodge Crescent Slash. If this continues, something is bound to happen sooner or later."
Ye Li smiled. "My son, it's because you've grown stronger."
Ye Tianming nodded. "I have indeed grown stronger, and I'll keep growing stronger!"
Ye Li said with satisfaction, "That's right."
Ye Li said, "Father, since I've already grown stronger, then Ba Ming..."
Ye Li said, "Changing sparring partners isn't that easy. Think about it. Others might not be as loyal and reliable as Ba Ming, nor have they worked with you before. Without enough mutual understanding, they'd be even more likely to get hurt. Besides, however strong you become within human rank, there's still a limit. You'd be better off learning to control yourself. Only when you can avoid hurting him will you truly be able to unleash and withdraw your power at will."
Ye Tianming fell silent for a while after hearing this, then asked, "But what if I really do injure him? What should we do?"
Ye Li said dismissively, "If you're worried about delaying your training, just get him a Spirit Turtle Inscribed Talisman. I remember he doesn't have anything like that yet, does he?"
"The Spirit Turtle Inscribed Talisman is too cumbersome. It doesn't suit his current spirit creature or combat arts, so it would be difficult to form a cohesive system..." Ye Tianming mused. "Still, he only managed to advance to seven revolutions because of our Ye Household's support. It isn't his place to decide how he develops. Besides, he never had the potential to advance to earth rank anyway, so there's no need to consider so much. Having this will make him stronger."
Ye Li said, "Exactly. It's worth at least several hundred spirit jade, so let him enjoy the bargain. Serving well as your sparring partner is the greatest contribution he can make."
In the course of their conversation, father and son had already settled Ba Ming's future.
A few days later, Ba Ming indeed received a Spirit Turtle Inscribed Talisman derived from a Mystic-Pattern Turtle, which Ye Li had purchased from the nearby Market District for over three hundred spirit jade.
Seeing how much Ye Li and his son cared for him, Ba Ming was moved to tears of gratitude. "Thank you, Elder Ye. I'll master the use of this Inscribed Talisman as soon as possible!"
Ye Li nodded indifferently. "It's good that you understand. The academy selection is about to begin. Make absolutely sure you don't hold back my son's training."
Ba Ming hurriedly said, "I certainly won't. Please rest assured, Elder."