At those words, the cruel reality pressed down on their hearts like a mountain, and the atmosphere of their conversation grew somewhat heavy.
A trace of unease appeared on Ning Yuerong's face. She began to regret having gone too far.
In truth, things were often just like that, but as long as nobody brought them up, nobody paid them much mind.
Fang Qianyuan suddenly spoke up. "Senior Sister Ning is right. Noble families and aristocratic clans produce geniuses too, and plenty of those geniuses work hard. But that's no reason for us to sink into despair and pity ourselves. Whatever happens, the more we give up, the wider the gap becomes. Precisely because we fall short in so many ways, we must strive all the harder to better ourselves."
"In this tournament, those aristocratic elites are indeed our greatest opponents. But beyond the tournament, we still have our own lives to live. In life, we can choose our opponents, but there's one we can never avoid: ourselves."
As he said this, he inexplicably thought of his father, Fang Hai.
Fang Hai had once been a Spirit Tamer, and a disciple of one of the world's great sects, the Spirit Taming Sect.
Of course, someone of his humble origins would have been much like Ding Long, Wei Wen, and the others before him when he was young. There must have been times when he competed against aristocratic elites, lost, and felt discouraged.
Yet looking back over his father's life, he had also had extraordinary encounters and opportunities of his own. Had he seized that chance to soar into the heavens in a single bound, everything afterward would surely have been different.
Even when he later suffered setbacks and never recovered, it had been because he willingly let himself sink.
Although Fang Qianyuan loved and respected his father, he also understood that if Fang Hai had pulled himself together after coming back to life, he could surely have risen again. He had the advantage of having consumed a Treasure Pill, and even held secrets related to it.
But he had not done so. Instead, he had placed all his hopes in his son.
That golden Treasure Pill was not merely a legacy of an ancient cultivator obtained through a chance encounter. It also carried his father Fang Hai's lifetime of painstaking effort and regret.
First his father, then himself-different ways of using it meant different lives.
"Looking at life as a whole, our greatest opponent is ultimately ourselves!"
At this, something stirred in all their hearts.
Indeed, comparisons were inevitable in life. Seeing someone else basking in boundless glory, one could hardly avoid envy. Comparing that with one's own shortcomings, one could hardly avoid disappointment. But in truth, these were all demons clouding the mind.
Fang Qianyuan had neither preached that hard work would always bring rewards nor surrendered himself to despair and resigned acceptance of his fate. Instead, he focused all his energy and attention on himself.
Seeing himself progress and improve was the greatest reward.
Seeing himself stagnate and fall behind was the greatest crisis.
As long as he could overcome himself, nothing could shake his resolve, and in the end, he would surely achieve something.
"The greatest opponent... is myself!"
Ding Long, Wei Wu, and Ning Yuerong all froze. They pondered those words for a long time, unable to come back to their senses.
This Junior Brother Fang will definitely amount to something one day!
Wei Wen was even more deeply shaken.
He had originally thought Fang Qianyuan was merely a genius of humble origins with a little talent. But competition in this world was far too cruel. There was no telling when someone like him would be battered by the wind and rain of reality, finally falling into the mortal dust and becoming as unremarkable as a speck of it.
But now, sensing Fang Qianyuan's conviction that with himself standing firm, no enemy could prevail, he finally realized he had underestimated this newly admitted junior brother.
Someone like him was destined to be extraordinary from birth. His life ahead would surely be magnificent.
Before they knew it, November arrived, and the Training Institute's selection trials officially began.
Fang Qianyuan and the others had signed up long before. Afterward, they listened to an Administrative Affairs Institute steward responsible for the arrangements explain that the selection would follow the principle of choosing the best to win glory for the institute, sending the strongest lineup to Headquarters.
Since each Training Institute had only four fixed places, everyone had to go through multiple matches, with four losses resulting in elimination. The winners would then compete against one another to determine the final rankings. With so many matches to hold, the institute arranged for them to take place simultaneously in four arenas to the east, west, south, and north.
On the eastern side of the Training Institute, at Arena One.
"Ha! Take this!"
A disciple shouted loudly and struck his opponent with the force of a fierce tiger descending a mountain. Caught unprepared, his opponent was driven back step after step, lost his footing, and collapsed onto the ground.
"Number Three wins!" the steward disciple supervising from the side immediately announced.
Scattered applause rose from below the arena. The victorious disciple waved and called out smugly, looking utterly delighted.
Fang Qianyuan, Wei Wen, and the others watched with little interest, though they could understand it.
"After all, everyone is taking part in these trials, so the good and the bad are all mixed together. Besides, plenty of people know they won't be selected, so they simply treat it as entertainment and come to join the fun," Wei Wen remarked.
"Actually, we originally planned to just go through the motions too. But since we're taking part, why put a limit on what we can achieve and not dare to give it our all? We might as well do our best," Wei Wu said, unconsciously glancing at Fang Qianyuan.
"Number Seven against Number Eight... both contestants, please enter the arena!"
"It's my turn! I'm Number Seven!"
Not long afterward, Wei Wu's turn finally came. Excitement appeared on his face as he hurried up into the arena to wait.
Yet he waited a long time without any sign of his opponent. After a while, another steward approached with a displeased expression and said something to him.
Wei Wu looked as though he did not know whether to laugh or cry, but he could only return helplessly.
"What happened?" Wei Wen asked in surprise.
"My opponent suddenly got a stomachache and abandoned the match to run to the latrine, so I won this one without a fight," Wei Wu said.
At that, the others likewise did not know whether to laugh or cry.
After another while, Fang Qianyuan's turn finally came.
"So you're my opponent, Junior Brother Fang. I really do owe you an apology this time!"
The senior brother who appeared in the arena was a burly man. As it happened, he was Feng Bao, whom Fang Qianyuan had met once when they went down into the Demon Suppression Cavern together.
He had seen Fang Qianyuan fight, but that had been two months ago, and he did not think he would lose.
On the contrary, he felt nothing but relief. In his mind, with his sixth transformation cultivation, he could easily defeat this junior brother who was only at the fourth transformation.
"Senior Brother Feng, please." Fang Qianyuan remained quiet and unassuming, saying only that.
Feng Bao thought he was nervous and reassured him. "Don't worry. I won't hit you too hard."
Clang! A gong rang out, and the match officially began.
Feng Bao took his stance, manifested a wolf spirit around himself, and looked toward Fang Qianyuan. But all he saw was a sudden gust of wild wind sweeping toward him. Fang Qianyuan's figure had already vanished from the arena.
"Where did he go?"
Feng Bao's eyes widened in surprise, but then he suddenly felt a sharp rush of wind behind him.
"Ah!" Caught completely off guard, Feng Bao pitched forward and hit the ground hard, the impact leaving him dazed and disoriented.
Fang Qianyuan immediately pounced on him, twisted both his arms behind his back, and pinned him down completely.
Feng Bao's face flushed red. Ashamed and angry, he struggled a couple of times, but could not break free. He could only cry out in frustration, "I surrender! Junior Brother Fang, let go!"
"Sorry, Senior Brother." Fang Qianyuan immediately released him and stepped back.