Xiao Feng

The Azure Cloud Sect's Sect Grand Competition, held once every five years, was not only a grand occasion for the sect, but a major event for the entire Cultivation World!

Not only would the leaders of the hundreds of sects affiliated with the Azure Cloud Sect attend, but the other eight sacred lands would also send representatives to watch the proceedings.

For a time, all eyes would turn to it, and its fame would know no bounds!

It was also an opportunity for countless prodigies hoping to join this Ancient Sect, with its ten-thousand-year legacy, to show what they could do!

Although there was still a month to go, the struggle among the outer disciples had already begun.

The Azure Cloud Sect had hundreds of thousands of outer disciples, all prodigies who had traveled from far and wide, intent on seeking immortality and the Dao.

Outer disciples could be no older than eighteen. Those who passed that age would be dismissed and sent home.

So before turning eighteen, they either had to earn a place in the Azure Cloud Sect or return to their hometowns and get married.

But after traveling a thousand miles to get here, how could they willingly go home just like that? Especially when those capable of entering the outer sect were already outstanding talents in their own regions!

Thus, every outer disciple strained with all their might, not daring to relax for even a moment, afraid that the fellow disciples around them would surpass them.

The Azure Cloud Sect's outer sect was where the competition truly reached its most cutthroat heights.

On a mountainside in the Azure Cloud Sect's outer grounds, a bare-chested young man with bronze skin carried an enormous log on his shoulders, climbing toward the summit one steady step at a time.

The youth had a resolute expression and refined features, with a stubbornness that seemed inborn. More startling still was the enormous scar across his chest, writhing like a centipede with every movement he made.

Sweat soaked his muscles again and again, but his eyes saw only the final step at the summit.

The youth walked steadily, each step leaving a shallow footprint in the bluestone, as though the log on his shoulders weighed ten thousand jin.

At last, he carried the log to the summit, but instead of resting, he turned around and started back down with it still on his shoulders.

Before he could leave, a figure blocked his path.

"Junior Brother Xiao, the Sect Grand Competition is only a month away. Training your body like this isn't a solution in the end. You still can't even draw qi into your body, so this won't get you anywhere. While there's still time, why not hurry back and try drawing qi into your body?" a youth in gray Daoist robes advised kindly.

The youth's name was Xiao Feng. Every day, he carried a hundred-thousand-jin log of iron-gold wood up and down the mountain path, and had already become a striking sight in the outer sect.

When he first began carrying the log up the mountain, he had attracted a great deal of attention.

Some said he was using this method to draw attention to himself.

Some said he was a good-for-nothing who could not even reach the Qi Refining Realm.

Some said he only wanted to idle his days away here.

But when he kept carrying that log of iron-gold wood, weighing over a hundred thousand jin, for five whole years,

going from stumbling along to striding as swiftly as if he could fly,

all the voices of doubt disappeared.

Only admiration remained.

Whether he was putting on an act or simply lacked talent,

the sheer perseverance of carrying that iron-gold wood up the mountain, rain or shine, without taking a single day off, left everyone speechless.

Many people held respect for those who persevered without giving up.

Yet the youth continued to turn a deaf ear to it all, silently carrying his iron-gold wood up his mountain every day.

"Junior Brother Xiao, registration for the outer sect competition has already begun. Hurry down the mountain with me!" Seeing that Xiao Feng still intended to continue climbing, the youth beside him immediately spoke up.

Xiao Feng paused, then said quietly, "Go ahead, Senior Brother Zhao. I'll be there shortly!"

The youth Xiao Feng called Senior Brother Zhao sighed, turned around, and hurried down the mountain.

The top ten in the outer sect competition would enter the Azure Cloud Sect's Sect Grand Competition. Only if they won the favor of a peak lord could they formally enter the inner sect!

Carrying the iron-gold wood, Xiao Feng's eyes flashed with resolve. "My Root Bone was stolen, my dantian crippled, my parents murdered, and my brothers turned against me. The fiancée I grew up with humiliated me, and my Lineage mocked me. One day, I, Xiao Feng, will take back everything that belongs to me!"

"Haa... ah..." Ouyang yawned as he stood atop a bell tower by the entrance to the outer sect competition grounds. Beside him stood a middle-aged man, slightly bowed, his face wreathed in smiles.

Still looking half-asleep, Ouyang gazed at the bustling outer disciples below and felt a little dizzy. Every time the outer sect competition was held, the sect assigned one peak to supervise it.

This time, it happened to be Little Mountain Peak's turn. The three unfilial brats on the mountain had absolutely no interest in watching Foundation Establishment Realm weaklings peck at each other, though Hu Tutu had wanted to come along with him.

But this was a fairly formal occasion, one that concerned the dignity of the Inner Disciples, so Ouyang had not brought Hu Tutu. He had come alone to serve as a mascot.

The middle-aged man beside him, his face plastered with smiles, was the senior brother in charge of the outer sect.

Despite his beaming expression in front of Ouyang, among the outer disciples he was a villain known as the Iron-Faced Tiger.

The senior brother in charge was responsible for distributing the outer disciples' monthly resources, which were allocated according to each disciple's contribution points to the sect.

Without resources, cultivation progressed exceptionally slowly. Thus, holding the authority to distribute the outer disciples' resources was tantamount to holding half the power over their lives and deaths.

And now, his nodding and bowing were not directed at Ouyang himself, but at the Azure Cloud Sect that Ouyang represented.

"Old Sun, don't worry. I'm just here to fill a spot, not interfere with your work. We'll still be relying on you for the outer sect competition," Ouyang said languidly, looking half-asleep as he watched the middle-aged man bow and scrape before him.

"Not at all, not at all. I must ask for your patience, Senior Brother Ouyang!" the middle-aged man replied respectfully, smiling broadly at Ouyang.

After exchanging a few insincere pleasantries with Old Sun, Ouyang once again turned his attention to the bustling outer disciples below.

Countless densely packed panels made Ouyang's eyes swim, but even after looking for so long, he had not spotted any promising seedlings.

Even the few decent ones were considerably inferior to Old Ling of the Azure Cloud Sect.

Just as Ouyang was about to find somewhere to catch up on sleep, an enormous log suddenly caught his eye.

A bare-chested youth was carrying an enormous log toward the outer sect registration desk.

A panel lit up before Ouyang:

Name: Xiao Feng (potential of a Great Emperor)

Cultivation: comparable to Foundation Establishment

Root Bone: 0

Charm: 8

Luck: 8

Body-tempering aptitude: 11

Exclusive skill: Unyielding Will

Evaluation: a tragic male protagonist with a classic good-for-nothing opening!

Root Bone 0? How did that happen? Even someone as hopeless as me has a Root Bone of 1. Reading the system's evaluation, Ouyang could not help taking an interest in the youth before him.

Why was he a good-for-nothing-type protagonist? Just because his surname was Xiao?

Wasn't this "potential of a Great Emperor" a bit of a joke?

And his body-tempering aptitude had actually broken past 10 too?

Just as he was wondering whether this was another Child of the Plane, the youth suddenly roared:

"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river! Do not scorn a youth for being poor!"

Ouyang narrowed his eyes, certain now.

Anyone who could say that was undoubtedly a Child of the Plane!