Most of that spirit beast flesh and blood would ultimately become nourishment for ordinary bacteria, plants, and insects.
Perhaps some creatures would embark on the path of becoming spirit beasts because of it, or perhaps none would.
Regardless, through this annual Year Festival, Lin Ke sensed the respect and awe the people of this world held for heaven and earth, and for the Great Dao and nature itself.
And once the Year Festival ended, the thing that truly made Lin Ke nervous arrived.
"The Year Festival is over!"
"Let the Sect Grand Tournament begin!"
"All outer disciples will participate in this tournament. Everyone who advances will receive one low-grade spirit Titan Giant Spider egg. Three exceptionally outstanding participants will be selected to receive an additional stalk of mid-grade spirit Light-Spot Cordyceps!"
"The champion of this tournament will also be awarded one mid-grade spirit insect egg of their choice from the Spirit Insect Cave!"
The Grand Elder at the head of the group announced the beginning of the Sect Grand Tournament, then flew off with the other Grand Elders to somewhere deep within the clouds overhead.
Before anyone in the arena could cheer over the Sect Grand Tournament rewards, a woman dressed in pale red gauze arrived at the center of the plaza, her expression cold.
She was the Transmission Elder, who was specifically responsible for the outer disciples.
"I am the Transmission Elder!"
"The opening round of this Sect Grand Tournament consists of fifteen matches. Those who win ten will become inner disciples, while those who win a hundred will compete for the final rankings!"
"Numbers have appeared on your sect tokens. Simply match them to the corresponding arenas."
"The arenas have been divided. Enter the arena corresponding to your number!"
The Transmission Elder's voice rang across the entire plaza.
Then she used Spirit Power to divide the plaza into separate arenas, each marked with characters such as "One," "Two," and "Three."
These were the numerical designations of the arenas.
Names also appeared above each arena.
Ye Fan, Han Li, Shi Hao, Xiao Yan, Lin Ke...
"It's starting!" Lin Ke picked up his disciple token and saw the number 6532 appear on its back.
He found the corresponding arena in the plaza and walked down into it, token in hand.
The Poison Tempering Mountains were vast. The Golden Wing Sect occupied one small branch of the range, with enough space to accommodate several hundred thousand disciples.
Among those several hundred thousand people, outer disciples were the most numerous, accounting for roughly eighty percent of the sect's population.
Thus, the first set of matches alone involved more than twenty thousand people.
Lin Ke was utterly inconspicuous among them.
His aura, however, could not be concealed.
The moment Lin Ke entered the arena, the Transmission Elder noticed that he was no longer a Qi Refining Stage disciple.
"Lin Ke, have you advanced to the Dao Foundation Stage?" The Transmission Elder raised a slender eyebrow and flew straight over him, questioning him through a voice transmission.
The Year Festival had only just ended, and countless eyes were still fixed on the Transmission Elder.
Her movement made everyone turn their gaze toward Lin Ke in unison.
They simply could not hear the Transmission Elder's voice.
"Yes, Elder." Lin Ke smiled and cupped his hands. "By a stroke of luck, I ate a fruit and discovered that three years' worth of Spirit Power had gathered in my Cinnabar Field. Then I broke straight through to the Dao Foundation Stage."
"A fruit?" The Transmission Elder nodded thoughtfully, then announced aloud, "Any outer disciples who have broken through to the Dao Foundation Stage, rise into the air!"
As the Transmission Elder spoke, the disciple at the ninth level of Qi Refining opposite Lin Ke stared wide-eyed, pointing at him and struggling to speak. "You... you..."
"Junior brother, it seems you won't be able to complete the task Li Le gave you." Lin Ke smiled at him, then rose straight into the air.
Then he saw three people rise into the air, one after another, from the spectator seats not far away.
One was Li Le, and another was Zong Ya.
The third was the man beside Li Le, presumably the steward Li Le had commissioned to arrange Lin Ke's opponent this time.
Li Le and the steward had flown up because Lin Ke's ascent had startled them.
Zong Ya, meanwhile, had flown up because she was wary of Li Le and feared he might do something. Her concern had thrown her judgment into disarray.
Following Lin Ke's gaze, the Transmission Elder immediately spotted Li Le and the others, particularly the steward who had risen alongside him.
She glanced down at the disciple at the ninth layer of Qi Refining who had originally been matched against Lin Ke, and understanding seemed to dawn on her face at once.
"Hmph!" The Transmission Elder shot Li Le and the steward beside him a cold look, then spoke out loud:
"I have said before that outer disciples are the foundation of the inner sect. No one is to stretch their hand into these affairs. Otherwise, I will cut off that hand on behalf of my elder sister, the sect master!"
"Duan Ligang, you disobeyed my orders and privately assigned Lin Ke and Du Hui to the same group. You must have accepted someone's favors! On behalf of the Discipline Hall elder, I hereby sentence you to three years in Dung Beetle Valley! Furthermore..."
"Furthermore, Li Le!"
The Transmission Elder narrowed her eyes. "You dare meddle in sect affairs, and your father actually indulges you to this extent! Once the Sect Grand Tournament ends, I will personally pay him a visit and seek his instruction!"
The Transmission Elder's voice rolled outward in a mighty wave. She seemed genuinely furious.
Li Le and the steward beside him, Duan Ligang, who had abruptly risen above the tournament grounds, immediately paled.
Duan Ligang was about to speak, but the Transmission Elder swept her sleeve. A surge of Spirit Power hurled him back into his seat, leaving him unable to move or speak, with only terror showing in his eyes.
Li Le, however, remained silent, his expression dark.
He swept his gaze around. Almost everyone in the tournament grounds who could see him was looking his way and discussing him.
But he said nothing. He merely cupped his hands toward the Transmission Elder, gave Lin Ke a long, searching look, then flew out of the tournament grounds without looking back.
He left behind Zong Ya, whose expression mingled disbelief with wild delight... After all, she had never imagined that the Transmission Elder would rebuke Li Le so directly in public.
Still, Zong Ya said nothing either. She quickly descended and disappeared back into the crowd.
Lin Ke was rather surprised that the Transmission Elder had suddenly erupted like this.
The Transmission Elder was the sect master's younger sister.
Although she normally seemed aloof, cold, and proud, keeping strangers at arm's length, Lin Ke had never expected her to deny Li Le any face before so many people.
To put it more bluntly, this was practically a slap in the face of the father backing Li Le!
But this was not normal at all!
Never mind other times-even after "Lin Ke" had joined the sect, during the years Zong Ya had raised him, he had actually witnessed quite a few instances of interference in outer sect affairs.
The Transmission Elder had always kept one eye open and the other shut. Otherwise, the siblings Han Yun and Han Fu would never have been so brazen before.
Yet today, she had suddenly changed her tune and reprimanded the son of a distinguished Nascent Soul elder before the entire sect.
Lin Ke refused to believe there had been no change behind the scenes.
Still, she had spoken up on his behalf, so he hastily prepared to thank her through a voice transmission.
Unexpectedly, the Transmission Elder sent him a voice transmission first.
"Lin Ke, there will be another Sect Grand Tournament in a couple of days, presided over by the third supreme elder. It is a competition among you Dao Foundation Stage disciples and will not be open to outsiders."
"You need not participate in the outer disciples' matches. Just wait a couple of days and exchange pointers with the other Dao Foundation Initial Stage disciples."
The Transmission Elder looked at Lin Ke, her voice gentle. She even managed a faint smile on her icy face. "Do you have any questions?"
A thousand thoughts flashed through Lin Ke's mind, but in the end, he asked, "Will I receive the Sect Grand Tournament rewards?"
Rewards?
I'm telling you about matters at the upper levels, and you're asking whether you'll get the rewards meant for kindergarten children?
The Transmission Elder's expression froze. After a moment, she slowly nodded. "You have already established your Dao Foundation. By rights, you should be the champion of this tournament."
Once an outer disciple broke through to the Dao Foundation Stage, they automatically became an inner disciple.
The Qi Refining Stage was merely a period of accumulating cultivation. Strictly speaking, those disciples did not even count as immortal cultivators, and the gulf in strength between them and Dao Foundation cultivators was immense.
As the only Dao Foundation cultivator to emerge from so many outer disciples, it was perfectly reasonable for Lin Ke to receive the rewards from the Transmission Elder.
After all, many Qi Refining Stage cultivators with poor aptitude might remain stuck at the first layer of Qi Refining for their entire lives.
"Go back for now. Your matches as Dao Foundation disciples will only begin after the Sect Grand Tournament ends tomorrow."
The Transmission Elder gave her instructions.
Thus, Lin Ke cupped his hands in farewell and left.
Lin Ke's unexpected series of actions also set the entire plaza abuzz.
"Dao Foundation? Why hasn't he become an inner disciple?"
"I heard it also has something to do with Li Le... Which elder has the surname Li?"
"He's being declared the winner outright. How wonderful! I wonder whether I'll ever establish my Dao Foundation in this lifetime."
"If I could break through to the Third Layer of Qi Refining right now, I'd be burning tall sticks of incense in thanks..."
As the disciples chattered among themselves, Lin Ke happened to remember another question. He turned back and sent the Transmission Elder another voice transmission.
"By the way, Elder, I have a younger relative who wishes to join the sect. I heard enrollment has expanded this year. Would it be possible..."
"Oh? This year? Are you certain? Never mind. Though it violates the rules, there is little harm in telling you...
"War is about to break out, and Qi Refining Stage cultivators will become cannon fodder. Your younger relative should wait until later to join the sect!"
Before you continue