Chapter 253 Signing Up (2/2)
”Twenty. If you can't gather twenty of them, all of you will be qualified. The last assembly, our sect managed to gather more than twenty with great difficulty, but those b*stards from the Divine Mist Sect ended up stealing them all. How humiliating.”
”Tsk, tsk. Humiliating, indeed,” Xiao Chen teased.
”Stinky brat! What expression is that? Your Muxue and Senior Sister Luo are both in the Jade Qing Sect, remember?” Zi Mo exploded in anger.
Xiao Chen coughed. ”Let's get back on track. What happens after the qualifying round? What will we do for the remaining two months?”
”You'll spend the next two months doing internal training. Whoever who passes the qualifying round can enter the Violet Illusory Realm and cultivate. The Violet Illusory Realm is an extraordinary place. Cultivating in the Earth Symbol Illusory Land for a day will reap you the same benefits as cultivating outside for ten days, and a month's worth of cultivation if you're in the Heaven Symbol Illusory Land.”
Xiao Chen blinked. ”There's such an impressive place like that?
Zi Mo looked smug. ”Of course. I've entered the place once when I was young. Even now, I still relish the memories of it...” His face took on a yearning expression. ”The Violet Illusory Realm is divided into three lands of fantasy: heaven, earth, human. Every fantasy land is divided into three ranks: upper, middle, lower. The better you perform in the qualifying match, the better land of fantasy you'll be able to enter. The reason why so many enter the Immortal's Sword Assembly isn't to make the top ten but to enter the Violet Illusory Land and cultivate.”
After that lengthy explanation, Xiao Chen finally understood a little of what was going on. The qualifying match was a survival of the fittest. Rather than painstakingly gather the Hearts of Illusory Moon, whatever they were, he might as well snatch them away from the weaker sects.
He became certain that he must treat the Immortal's Sword Assembly with utmost seriousness. With this, he would also be able to learn just where he stood strength-wise in this Cultivation Era.
”I got it, Unfettered Senior. Rest assured that I'll do my best.”
Zi Mo grinned. ”That sets my heart at ease. Don't worry about Yu Yifeng's safety and focus on making the top ten. If you can make the top three, the league will give you a mysterious prize, you know.”
”...”
Three days passed in a blur. By now, Xiao Chen was fully recovered and even benefitted from this disaster. His cultivation had increased by a level, meaning he was now in Lv 7 Core Forming Realm.
Today, the registration would be open. It was a beautiful day, with bright weather and moderate winds. The rich spirit energy in the Jade Terrace Mountain meant that the greenery remained lush even in the advent of winter. Cultivators crowded the public square, and all of them here to sign up for the assembly.
Seated on a platform located east of the square were five ethereal-looking old men. They were the Elders representing their respective continents. The representative of the East Continent was Perfected Immortal Qing Chen, the representative of the South Continent was Perfected Immortal Tai Yi of the Order of the Countless Blade, the representative of the North Continent was Perfected Immortal Zhong Li of the Yin-Yang Sect, the representative of the West Continent was Senior Xingxiu of the White Mist Academy, and the representative of the Middle Continent was Perfected Immortal Feng Lan of the Divine Mist Sect.
Staring at the thick crowd below, some nodded while twirling their beard while others smiled without commenting. Perfected Immortal Tai Yi looked at his seat neighbor, Perfected Immortal Qing Chen and smiled. ”Qing Chen, the disciples participating in the Immortal's Sword Assembly this time are all fairly talented. They're not just a little stronger compared to the last batch. I remember being a Core Forming Realm cultivator back then would have been impressive enough. But look, most were in mid-stage Core Forming Realm and above.”
”The world is changing. Back in our times, an Lv 9 Qi Refining Realm cultivator was considered formidable. I remember you won first place as an Lv 2 Foundation Building Realm cultivator back then.”
Qing Chen returned his smile. He didn't look away from the faraway Xiao Chen and Yu Yifeng as he spoke. Tai Yi chuckled. He followed Qing Chen's line of sight and smiled. ”Yifeng has an incredible aptitude. Qing Chen, I envy you for having a disciple like him.”
Qing Chen shook his head, sighing. ”Yifeng has a decent aptitude and his character is rare among mortals too. Unfortunately, he has unresolved karma from an ill-fated relationship in his previous life and is bound to suffer restrictions in this life. It'll be difficult for him to achieve the Way...” He heaved a deep sigh toward the tail of his sentence.
Smoothening his beard, Tai Yi smiled and replied, ”I'd say that Xiao Chen next to Yu Yifeng is the one who has truly unresolved karma from his past life. Otherwise, why wouldn't you, with your incredible magic power of Divine Eyes, be able to tell his destiny...?”
Suddenly, Perfected Immortal Feng Lan sneered. He turned to his seat neighbor, Zhong Li, and said, ”Younger Brother, look at the crowd this time. Who do you think has the biggest hope of winning?”
Zhong Li smoothed his beard with his fingers. With a smile, he said, ”Older Brother, your sect has so many talented disciples. In the last assembly, your people dominated the top ten rankings. The way I see it, your Divine Mist Sect will surely come out victorious again.”
Overjoyed, Feng Lan laughed heartily. ”You're too modest, Zhong Li. I reckon your sect's disciple, Woe-tainted Frost, will surely enter the top three.”
The two of them went back and forth, echoing each other. Evidently, Feng Lan was unhappy with Qing Chen and Tai Yi discussing abstruse ideas like karma from previous lives and thus mocked Jade Qing Sect for failing to even pass the qualifying match and the Order of the Countless Blades for barely making the tenth place.
With their profound Bodhicitta, Qing Chen and Tai Yi merely exchanged glances and smiles after hearing Feng Lan's sarcasm. They said nothing, ignoring him.
Meanwhile, Xiao Chen was walking with Yu Yifeng. Just as he was lamenting that he was facing tough competitors this time, he suddenly stopped. He had just spotted an ”acquaintance”.