On and Off the Arena

"Fellow Daoist Mu, I concede."

On the martial arena, Zhou Chun looked at his opponent across from him. He had shattered the man's protective barrier and was holding his sword against his heart. With a smile, he cupped his hands in salute and withdrew his magic tool.

This was his second Daoist martial arts competition. His opponent was a Level Eight Qi Refining cultivator from the Mu Family of Biyun Mountain, and he did not possess a First-grade High-tier magic tool.

Thus, Zhou Chun had won fairly easily and had not fought as fiercely as he had in the first match.

After this match ended, once the second round of the Daoist martial arts competition was over, the fifty contestants in the youth group would be reduced to thirteen.

Therefore, Zhou Chun only needed to win one more match to enter the top ten directly.

However, after coming down from the arena and looking at the remaining contestants, Zhou Chun still did not dare relax.

That was because the cultivators now qualified to compete for the top ten were either late Qi Refining stage cultivators who possessed First-grade High-tier magic tools, or mid Qi Refining Stage cultivators like him who also possessed First-grade High-tier magic tools.

Every one of them was difficult to deal with.

When the second round of the competition had completely ended, only four Zhou Family cultivators, including Zhou Chun, remained in the youth group.

The other three were Zhou Zhengkang, Zhou Zhengtao, and Zhou Zhengyong.

This result surprised quite a few Zhou Family cultivators.

On the contrary, Patriarch Zhou Daoyi, seated in the audience, seemed to have expected it and was not surprised in the slightest.

During the Family Selection Competition, Zhou Chun had not used a First-grade High-tier magic tool. Zhou Daoyi had already known what Zhou Chun was planning.

As for Zhou Zhengyong, after his Spirit Pet, the Crimson Tail Monkey, advanced into a First-grade High-tier Demonic Beast, his own strength was already no weaker than that of an ordinary late Qi Refining stage cultivator.

Moreover, with some decent luck and no overly powerful opponents, winning two matches in a row was perfectly normal.

As for Zhou Zhengkang and Zhou Zhengtao, both were late Qi Refining stage cultivators, and both had First-grade High-tier magic tools in hand. They could eliminate their opponents entirely through their own strength.

Soon, the draw for the third round began.

This time, Zhou Chun drew the Ding Two Yin number. His opponent would be the one who had drawn the Ding Two Yang number.

"My luck could have been better. If only I'd drawn number three!"

He looked at the wooden tag in his hand and could not help feeling regretful.

Because only fifteen people were competing for the top ten spots, the person who drew the Ding Three number could wait until the first fourteen people had fought for the first seven spots, then compete with the seven eliminated contestants for the remaining three spots.

Since those opponents would have fought one extra battle, their condition would certainly be worse than that of Zhou Chun, who had conserved his strength. He could also first learn the opponents' methods through the preceding seven battles.

However, since the draw had already been made, there was no use saying anything now. He could only wait calmly for his turn.

What Zhou Chun did not expect was that, in the very first match, two of the four Zhou Family cultivators would be pitted against each other.

The two who had drawn the Jia One number were none other than Zhou Zhengkang and Zhou Zhengyong!

"Ah, I didn't expect to end up in the same group as you, Seventh Brother. Looks like this is where I'll have to stop!"

On the arena, Zhou Zhengyong looked at Zhou Zhengkang across from him with a face full of gloom and began sighing.

There was no way he could be Zhou Zhengkang's opponent, given that Zhou Zhengkang was at Level 10 Qi Refining. To avoid wasting Zhou Zhengkang's magical power, he could only voluntarily admit defeat and walk off the arena.

After coming down, Zhou Zhengyong went straight to Zhou Chun's side and cheered him on. "Thirteenth Brother, it's up to you now. You have to make it into the top ten!"

Seeing that the gloom had not yet faded from his face, Zhou Chun could not help comforting him. "Brother Yong, don't lose heart. You voluntarily yielded this time for the sake of the greater good. After you return to the family, the Family Head will most likely compensate you."

Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Zhou Zhengyong only sighed and said, "Ah, I don't care about that. It's just that I told Miss Yujiao earlier that I would definitely make it into the top ten. How am I supposed to face her now?"

Miss Yujiao?

Zhou Chun was slightly stunned. Then he thought back to the several female cultivators he had spoken with the day before, and soon the image of a big-eyed female cultivator in a goose-yellow dress surfaced in his mind.

She seemed to be from the Sun Family of Golden Maple Ridge. Her name was Sun Yujiao, if he remembered correctly?

He really had not expected it. Zhou Zhengyong had moved fast.

He immediately smiled and comforted him. "Brother Yong, don't worry. I think Miss Yujiao is a sensible person. Your yielding to your clan brother for the sake of the greater good this time might even earn her admiration. Besides, this gives you another excuse to find an opportunity to get closer to her, doesn't it?"

"Really?"

Zhou Zhengyong was slightly stunned. Then, half worried and half expectant, he muttered, "Then I really hope it turns out as you said, Thirteenth Brother!"

Seeing his anxious, lovesick appearance, Zhou Chun actually understood him quite well.

As far as he knew, this was probably Zhou Zhengyong's first love, though for now, it might still be unrequited.

Not long afterward, Zhou Zhengtao, who ranked eighth among the Zhou Family's "Zheng" generation, also entered the arena.

After a bitter struggle, Zhou Zhengtao successfully defeated his opponent and advanced into the top ten.

Thus, even if Zhou Chun lost, the Zhou Family would still have two people in the youth group's top ten. No matter what, they would not end up last among the Five Great Cultivation Families.

Therefore, Patriarch Zhou Daoyi, seated in the audience, also revealed a smile at this point, his mood completely relaxing.

After waiting for nearly an hour, once the first six Daoist martial arts competitions had ended, Zhou Chun finally entered the arena.

"Major Family of Green Bamboo Mountain, He Chengfeng."

"Zhou Family of Nine Peaks Ridge, Zhou Chunchun."

On the arena, Zhou Chun and his opponent announced their names. Then they both looked at each other solemnly, waiting for the referee to announce the start.

In the audience, seeing the final battle for the first seven spots in the youth group begin, Wang Family Patriarch Wang Zhixiong suddenly narrowed his small eyes and looked toward Zhou Daoyi and the He Family Patriarch beside him. "Fellow Daoist Zhou, Fellow Daoist He, who do you think will win this match?"

Hearing this, Zhou Daoyi raised his eyelids, turned to glance at him, and said calmly, "Either side winning would be perfectly normal. Does Fellow Daoist Wang have some special insight?"

"I wouldn't call it special insight. I just feel that the one who wins in the end should be that little Fellow Daoist from the Zhou Family."

Wang Zhixiong rolled his eyes and softly voiced his opinion.

As soon as he said this, the He Family Patriarch immediately grew displeased. "Fellow Daoist Wang, how did you come to that conclusion? My Chengfeng's cultivation is clearly higher, and he also possesses a First-grade High-tier magic tool. How can you be sure he'll lose to that little Fellow Daoist from the Zhou Family?"

Seeing this, Wang Zhixiong waved his hand. "Fellow Daoist He, don't take offense. I'm merely stating my own opinion."

He continued, "The reason I see it this way is, of course, that little Fellow Daoist from the Zhou Family's Spirit Pet. A Rock Earth Turtle Spirit Pet at the same cultivation level as its master, combined with a battle on this sort of arena, will affect the outcome far more than the mere difference of one cultivation level."

The He Family Patriarch did not refute him for a moment.

But the Sun Family Patriarch, who had been watching the show from the side, repeatedly nodded in agreement. "Fellow Daoist Wang is right. In this kind of arena competition, cultivators who raise Spirit Pets have far too great an advantage."

At this point, he looked at Zhou Daoyi with an expression that was half-joking and half-serious. "It seems that, for similar events next time, we'll have to change the rules of the Daoist martial arts competition so our Fellow Daoists from the Zhou Family can't steal all the glory!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Daoyi immediately put on a stern expression and waved his hand. "I can't agree with you there, Fellow Daoist Sun. Why do our Zhou Family cultivators generally lag behind cultivators from your families in cultivation? Isn't it because we invest a large amount of resources into raising Spirit Pets? If our Zhou Family cultivators aren't allowed to bring Spirit Pets into battle, wouldn't that be tying their own hands behind their backs?"

After saying this, he swept his gaze across the various Family Heads. "Besides, raising Spirit Pets isn't an ability unique to our Zhou Family, is it? If you Fellow Daoists feel that bringing Spirit Pets gives us an unfair advantage, you can have your juniors raise Spirit Pets and bring them into battle too!"

These words left Wang Zhixiong and the others exchanging awkward glances, with no good response.

In theory, what Zhou Daoyi had said was naturally impeccable.

But in actual practice, the problems were considerable.

Not to mention how they could equip every family disciple with a Spirit Pet.

Even if they truly did equip them, as Zhou Daoyi had said, for a Spirit Pet to quickly develop combat strength and keep pace with its master in cultivation, it would also consume a vast amount of resources.

Not every cultivator was willing to spend their Spirit Coins on a Spirit Pet.

Thus, after a moment of silence, Wang Zhixiong let out a soft laugh. "Fellow Daoist Zhou certainly has a fine scheme."

With a smile on his face, he looked at Zhou Daoyi and said in a joking tone, "If every family really had its disciples raise Spirit Pets, I'm afraid the Zhou Family's pills for Spirit Pet growth would sell out completely by then!"

Hearing this, Zhou Daoyi also chuckled. "Heh heh heh, Fellow Daoist Wang, you're joking. If that truly happened, wouldn't the Wang Family still profit either way? After all, you'd still be the ones supplying the medicinal ingredients for alchemy!"

As they chatted and laughed, the several Family Heads tacitly let the earlier topic of restricting Spirit Pets from participating in battles pass without further discussion.

On the arena, Zhou Chun's battle with his opponent had reached its critical moment.