The Sect Grand Competition (I)

On the sixth day of the eleventh month of the 449th year of the Qianfeng reign, the day was governed by the God of Fate, and the night was inauspicious, with Jupiter appearing and disappearing.

Tomorrow is the day Chongming Sect will hold its sect competition. Because of this, Jin Shilun helped Jin County clean up the Evil Cultivator who had appeared. He didn't even have time to rest for a moment before Swift Movement back from outside.

It was already evening when he returned. Jin Shilun didn't have time to hand over his duties at the Merit Points Hall. He only chatted briefly with a few familiar fellow disciples before he didn't even have time to see Mo'er. He returned to his courtyard and devoted himself to meditation and cultivation.

This time, he only cultivated until the next morning. When Jin Shilun went out, the sun had already risen. He looked at the sky and was afraid of missing the appointed time, so he hurried all the way to the sect's training ground.

Upon arriving at the training ground, Jin Shilun unexpectedly saw Pei Yi, the long-absent elder who had been passing on his skills, standing on the platform loudly announcing names.

Although the latter still looked sickly, he was full of energy, and when he spoke, it was like the sound of a great bell, so loud that some of the less experienced disciples nearby felt a little pain in their ears.

Apart from Pei Yi, who rarely makes an appearance, all the other teachers and elders of the Chongming Sect were also present.

Jin Shilun even caught a glimpse of a high platform erected in the distance, where two figures, one tall and one short, stood. Judging from their outlines, one of them should be his grandmaster, the one in Black Shoes, but as for the other, he had no idea who this master was.

When Jin Shilun arrived, Pei Yi had just started calling out names, so he didn't expect to be scolded by his elders. He stealthily slipped into the crowd and soon walked quickly to Ye Yaoling's side.

The latter laughed at his actions, glanced at Pei Yi on the stage, and then cautiously said, "Senior Brother Jin, what are you doing? Our position as True Disciple is too conspicuous. No matter how careful you are, the elders will find it hard to miss you."

Jin Shilun realized the truth of Ye Yaoling's words after hearing them. He turned around and saw his master's small eyes fixed on him. He immediately sat up straight and pretended to close his eyes and meditate.

"Senior brother, don't look at him like that. Shilun is doing a good job in Jin County. The Jin County even wrote a letter to thank him before. Don't be too harsh on him," Yuan Jin said with a smile, trying to smooth things over.

"Whoever my Chongming Sect sends to help, how dare Jin County not send a letter of thanks?" Although Sect Leader Kang Da said this, he no longer held Jin Shilun accountable for being late.

He glanced briefly at the high platform in the distance before speaking, "It's rare for Lord Shan to grant my request to come out and relax. I just hope that this time, he won't be too disappointed."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Jin also frowned.

Jiang Qing sighed softly, "As the saying goes, 'A fine sword is forged through tempering, and the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from bitter cold.' If the eldest brother can't bear to see his disciples suffer, they will hardly amount to anything."

Jiang Qing's words displeased Kang Dabao, but the latter did not retaliate. This was because what Jiang Qing said was not wrong; the next generation of disciples was indeed much inferior to their generation.

Duan Anle is nearly forty, but he is still far from reaching the Foundation Establishment; Jin Shilun is already past forty, yet he is still stuck at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer.

As for Ming Zhe, Ye Yaoling, and the others, although they are all True Disciple, their methods and temperament are far inferior to the former two. Even if they reach the Qi Refinement Ninth Layer Refining in the next few years, it will probably take them quite some time to reach the Foundation Establishment. They may not be able to reach the threshold of Foundation Establishment earlier than Jin Shilun.

It now seems that among the next generation of Double Brightness disciples, only Kang Rongquan may be able to achieve Foundation Establishment before the age of forty, just like Jiang Qing.

But what were the conditions under which Jiang Qing cultivated, and what were the conditions under which Duan Anle, this generation of Double Brightness disciples, cultivated?

Thinking of this, Sect Leader Kang Da sighed again.

They focused their attention on Kang Changyi's younger disciples, believing that given their current cultivation level, achieving Foundation Establishment would be a natural progression, just like Jiang Qing's, and there was no need to worry.

However, it remains to be seen what kind of Dao Foundation one can achieve with only Dual Spirit Root, and whether one can even compete for the path of the False Dao of Alchemy.

"How can a sect produce geniuses in such a short time?" Ye Zhengwen saw through Kang Dabao's thoughts and, after speaking, comforted him, "You have not even been restoring the sect for half a century. It is already quite remarkable that you have achieved such a situation."

Even families like the Ma Household and Shan Household, who have cultivated Foundation Establishment for generations, sometimes experience a shortage of promising young talents. Our sect, with only two or three hundred disciples, has one or two among them who are on the verge of Foundation Establishment. Compared to them, how fortunate we are!

Ye Zhengwen's words do make sense, and Kang Dabao is not unaware of this truth, but knowing it himself and being persuaded by others are two different things.

After considering the matter, Sect Leader Kang Da's gaze returned to the few True Disciple. After observing them for a while, he thought to himself:

"Yes, Anle and Shilun only possess the Four Spirit Roots. To have cultivated to this level at such a young age, even with the support of a sect providing resources, is truly remarkable. It was my greed that led me to covet such things."

He had just realized that Pei Yi had already called out the names. He stopped talking, his gaze sweeping over the disciples on the training ground, a barely perceptible trace of sadness flashing in his eyes.

But the trace of sorrow in his eyes was fleeting, something even someone with the Sect Leader Kang Da couldn't detect.

Pei Yi let out a long sigh, and a radiant light appeared in his hand. The jade slip containing the roster in his palm Jade Slip dispersed, and the jade slips fell one by one into the hands of the Double Brightness disciples.

What followed was an uncontrollable uproar. The disciples sighed, rejoiced, were surprised, or were terrified.

Pei Yi sat firmly on the stage, taking in all the expressions and movements of those present. He remained silent for a long while before finally speaking:

"Having said enough, let's begin. Apart from the prohibition against intentionally harming anyone or maliciously injuring an opponent, there are no other rules for this competition. Let me first reiterate the prizes for this competition:"

The winner of any match in this competition will receive twenty Merit Points.

Those who rank in the top twenty in this competition will receive 200 Merit Points, one mid-stage magic Law Artifact, and two bottles of Jade Treasure Pill;

Those who rank in the top ten of the competition will receive 500 Merit Points, a high-grade Law Artifact, and two bottles of Yellow Dragon Pill;

Those who rank among the top three in the grand competition will receive 800 Merit Points, a top-grade magic Law Artifact, and two bottles of White Dew Pill;

The winner of the grand competition will receive 1,500 Merit Points, one top-grade Law Artifact, one Pseudo Spirit Artifact, and one Foundation Establishment spiritual item;

In addition, outer disciples who rank in the top twenty of the competition may be promoted to inner disciple at the discretion of the elders and sect leader; inner disciple who rank in the top three of the competition may be promoted to Double Brightness True Disciple at the discretion of the elders and sect leader.

Jin Shilun's anxious return was not without reason; with each sentence Pei Yi uttered, heavy breathing filled the room.

Leaving aside the fact that the prizes are all extremely valuable, the opportunity to be promoted to disciple status simply because of the competition rankings is extraordinary.

If the True Disciple are all difficult to deal with, then the inner disciple probably don't have much interest in competing for a top-three position.

However, the outer disciples are different. Many of them have been cultivating for quite some time, but because they were already over forty years old when they broke through to the middle stage of cultivation, they could only bear the identity of an outer disciple and felt very depressed.

Cultivators like Du Qing and Wei Gu, who had been in the sect for many years, entered the sect much earlier than many inner disciple, and their cultivation levels were not necessarily weaker.

In addition, they are older and more experienced in battle. If they were to fight against these inexperienced newcomers in the sect, they would already have a 30% chance of winning as soon as they stepped onto the stage, and their chances of making it into the top 20 would not be small.

Even if we take a step back and assume we only win one match, we still gain twenty Merit Points. Under normal circumstances, even those junior inner disciple would probably need half a year to earn that much.

These outer disciples, lacking any real skill, had no idea how much time they would waste. Therefore, how could they not be excited about this grand competition?

Of course, it wasn't just the outer disciples who were full of energy; even the True Disciple sitting in front of the platform, who usually had plenty of resources, were all eager to get started and couldn't contain their excitement.

Compared to the previous smaller competitions, this large-scale competition organized by the teachers and instructors is much more ambitious.

After all, the prizes for the sect's annual minor competition used to be at most one or two high-grade Law Artifact, or pills of equivalent value.

Characters like Kang Rongquan and Duan Anle, who were once considered outstanding figures among the younger generation, wouldn't deliberately put aside their work or cultivation progress to compete if they didn't have the time.

This time, however, if one could win first place, the teachers were even willing to bestow upon them Foundation Establishment spiritual treasures like the Reed Flower Pill. Compared to that, the rewards for the top three, which were originally quite tempting, paled in comparison and had no appeal whatsoever.

Kang and Duan keenly sensed that an invisible barrier had suddenly appeared between them and their previously harmonious fellow disciples.

The feeling wasn't exactly unpleasant, but rather strange, which greatly displeased them.

Yuan Jin, who was on the upper floor, saw this scene, but his reaction differed from that of the younger generation below.

His smile widened further before he said, "Third's idea was brilliant. Setting the first-place prize so high ensures the competition will be lively without us having to hire people to promote it."

Jiang Qing, whose name was called, simply nodded and said calmly, "Cultivators are meant to compete and vie for supremacy. Since you're participating in the Grand Competition, you should all have the ambition to win first place. If you still act as amiable as you did in the previous smaller competitions, without a trace of ferocity, you'll have no future."

Although the Sect Leader Kang Da, whose name wasn't mentioned, was displeased, he had to admit that Jiang Qing's actions were indeed effective.

In fact, most of the magical Law Artifact used in this competition were taken from Jiang Qing's Storage Bag and handed over to Yuan Jin and several Fei Household artifact masters for repair. Kang Dabao didn't contribute any money, so he couldn't be too proud of himself.

Seeing Ye Zhengwen deliberately looking at him with a mocking expression, Sect Leader Kang Da felt a little embarrassed and immediately urged Pei Yi, "Junior Brother Pei, it's almost time, let's begin."

The latter quickly responded, and within a few breaths, the hand seals in his hands changed several times.

After a series of booming sounds, the formations on the five jade arenas, each about five zhang tall, next to the training ground were activated one after another. With Pei Yi waving his command flag, Ye Zhengwen, Yuan Jin, Jiang Qing, Zhang Qingran, and Yuan Xiyue, the five Foundation Establishment, each landed on one of the arenas.

This time, Chongming Sect has 295 disciples who have signed up to participate in the competition, excluding those disciples still in the Nurturing Qilin Hall.

This is not the total number of disciples, after all, there are always some cultivators who are not good at fighting and feel that even if they go up to the arena, they will only humiliate themselves. They might as well just watch the battle from below and learn more than if they went up and got kicked off the arena in a few moves.

This time, the Chongming Sect Grand Competition did not have a preliminary selection; the draw was entirely based on chance. However, the first two rounds of the competition did not involve True Disciple like Jin Shilun.

This isn't exactly preferential treatment; it's just that the number of participants in the first two rounds was considerable, and Pei Yi needed help maintaining order. Besides, this should also be considered a good thing for the other disciples present.

After bringing his junior brothers under his supervision to the arena, Jin Shilun couldn't just sit idly. He, like them, turned his attention to the various arenas that were bustling with activity.

The first round of arena matches was not very interesting; it was either two Qi Refinement Refining cultivators at the second or third level, who were not yet of the age of Elephant Dancer, using low-level Technique Method that they had just begun to learn to blast each other from a distance.

Alternatively, some inner disciple might be lucky enough to be matched with weak outer disciples, and the latter wouldn't be given much of a chance to perform before the competition was swiftly and decisively ended.

Such a scene naturally left little impression on Jin Shilun.

However, after the second batch of disciples went up to the arena, he found two rather familiar figures among them, both in the same arena.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Mo!" Kang Changyi cupped his hands in a salute, his body radiating a dazzling light that made Mo Ku, who was opposite him, almost unable to open his eyes.

Mo Ku, who hadn't expected such bad luck with the divination, could only manage a bitter smile upon seeing this scene.

Little did he know that he was incredibly unlucky. He hadn't encountered so many low-level Chongming Sect disciples, but right from the start, he ran into Kang Changyi, the only one in the entire group who could only be considered a half -Double Brightness disciple.

Mo Ku didn't sigh inwardly for long; he simply clasped his hands in return and respectfully said, "Greetings, Junior Brother Kang!"

"Stop with the pleasantries, let's get started quickly, there are still many disciples waiting!" Jiang Qing, the chief referee guarding the arena, urged repeatedly. He didn't want the two sides to waste time on the stage, since the outcome of this match was already known before it even started.

"Yes!" The two disciples, one old and one young, responded simultaneously, each employing their own methods.

Despite being nearly seventy years old, Mo Ku's cultivation level has only reached the Qi Refining Fifth Layer.

If it weren't for his seniority—having been a disciple for nearly thirty years— Kang Changyi, the eldest son of the sect leader, might not have even recognized him or addressed this outer disciple as "Senior Brother."

Kang Changyi then summoned a high-grade Law Artifact, a three-pronged halberd. With a light swipe, three streaks of azure light easily overturned the mid-grade shield that Mo Ku had painstakingly acquired over countless years.

Before the latter could react, he felt a gust of wind hit him, making his eyes hurt and causing him to instinctively close them. When he opened his eyes again, he felt a chill run down his spine.

The three small branches on the trident were positioned half an inch in front of his eyes and between his eyebrows. In a life-or-death battle, this single exchange would have already blown his head off and killed him.

"Kang Changyi wins!" Jiang Qing said indifferently, his face expressionless.

"You flatter me, Senior Brother Mo!" Despite receiving twenty Merit Points, Kang Changyi showed no joy on his face.

Mo Ku's bitter smile only deepened. He cupped his hands in a fist salute and said in a hoarse voice, "Junior Brother's profound skills are unparalleled; I, Mo Ku, am ashamed to admit my inferiority."

"Senior brother, you flatter me. I am just a junior brother."

"I already said, get off the stage immediately!" Jiang Qing, with a stern face, shoved Kang Changyi, who was still making humble remarks, and Mo Ku, who was still smiling bitterly, off the stage together, and called for the next batch of disciples to take the stage.

After the two finished their match, Jin Shilun came over to greet them, saying, "Senior Brother Mo, you had bad luck with the draw this time. If you had met Brother Yi later, you might have been able to win a few more matches with the wealth you've accumulated."

Mo Ku didn't take Jin Shilun's words of comfort seriously. Instead, he took out a handful of low-to-mid- First Tier -tier talismans of varying quality and said, "Fortunately, Junior Brother Kang won quickly, preventing me from having any illusions. Otherwise, these talismans I bought at a high price would have been wasted."

"It won't go to waste. The first round of the competition isn't even over yet. Senior brother, you can just raise the price and sell it there. You might even make a profit."

Jin Shilun's years at the Chongming Small Pavilion were not wasted; his business acumen far surpassed that of Mo Ku, an honest man who only knew how to bury himself in farming. As soon as he finished speaking, Mo Ku's eyes lit up. After bowing and thanking them, he bid farewell to the two and squeezed into the crowd.

After Mo Ku left, Jin Shilun spoke to Kang Changyi:

"Senior Brother Mo's cultivation hasn't been going smoothly, and he's been constantly distracted by matters concerning Jiaqiang. It seems he probably thinks he won't be able to break through to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer before he's eighty-five. If he didn't really not want to leave the sect, given his temperament, he probably wouldn't have participated in this minor competition."

The latter sighed upon hearing this. It wasn't because he felt guilty about winning on the stage, but after thinking for a moment, he said, "If that's the case, then Junior Brother should help Senior Brother Mo acquire more spirit fields and go to Ingenious Craftsman Fort to Xiu Ming Brother Xiuming to make a few mechanical puppets to send over."

I've heard that although Senior Brother Mo Ku has many concubines, he has never had a principal wife. It seems he still harbors the thought of marrying a female Daoist. There are quite a few maids in my mother's courtyard who are over forty years old, already old women, and their beauty is fading. Perhaps I could ask Senior Brother Mo to introduce them to some women."

Jin Shilun smiled upon hearing this. His master's eldest son was indeed very thoughtful and generous, unlike his father.

No, that's a misinterpretation.

Although their master was diligent and frugal, he was always generous to his disciples. Otherwise, how could they have achieved such smooth progress in their cultivation if they had only focused on their own hard work?

Although Kang Changyi hadn't broken a sweat, he still needed to prepare for the next round of the competition to avoid an unexpected defeat and having to learn a lesson from Sect Leader Kang Da when he returned.

Jin Shilun had his own things to do, so he didn't talk much and went back to the crowd to maintain order.

With the five elders serving as referees urging him on, the first round of competition quickly came to an end, and Kang Changyi soon faced his next opponent.