Chapter 243: Satiated

Chapter 243 -160: Satiated

Qiu Yuehan opened her eyes.

Everything in the grotto-abode was as it had been. The fierce struggle in her dream hadn’t spilled over into reality; the wooden stool and table remained peacefully in their places.

Day had broken.

The Black Skirt Fairy let out a breath, rose, and opened the door to her grotto-abode.

The sun seemed listless today. Its light diffused dimly, and a thick humidity hung in the air.

She looked up.

Clouds were silently gathering on the horizon, turning the sky a dull, grayish-white. A few hoarse bird calls echoed from the distance, their wings seeming to struggle as they cut through the stagnant air.

The cloud cover was so heavy.

It looked like it was about to rain.

Just then, Bai Lu and Nan Xun walked over from nearby.

Qiu Yuehan nodded to them and asked, “How did you rest last night?”

Nan Xun replied casually, “It was fine, but not as good as my own grotto-abode in the sect.”

“Did you encounter anything strange?”

‘Strange?’

Bai Lu then said, “No, we didn’t encounter anything strange. Did something happen to you, Junior Master Qiu?”

Qiu Yuehan shook her head, not explaining the strange events of the previous night to them.

‘Was she just being paranoid? Did the Dream Demon single her out?’

“Let’s go to the Sword Testing Platform.”

It was impossible to go looking for trouble with the Green History Sect Master right now. Qiu Yuehan had no concrete evidence, not to mention the Green History Sect Master was a Yao Guang Great Power.

Qiu Yuehan frowned, thinking about Xue Mingjing’s condition. Then she asked, “The Clan Leader of the Dream Demon Race came to the Daoist Sect once, didn’t he?”

Bai Lu grunted in affirmation. “Yes, the Sect Leader summoned him directly with a decree.”

For now, there was no one in the world who dared to disobey a decree from the Daoist Sect Master.

“Do you know what the Dream Demon Clan Leader did within the sect?”

“That, I don’t know. After all, as soon as that Clan Leader arrived, the Sect Leader dragged him off to Celestial Mountain. When he left, he was raving mad.”

Qiu Yuehan felt a headache coming on. She wasn’t very good at this kind of analysis, especially when there seemed to be no leads at all.

The token inside her robes suddenly began to radiate heat.

The three of them took out the tokens from their robes at almost the same time.

It seemed these tokens weren’t just for opening the grotto-abodes prepared by the Qingcao Sword Sect; they had other uses as well.

A gilded word, “Five,” slowly appeared on Qiu Yuehan’s token.

Bai Lu said, “It seems they’re matching opponents by number.”

A gilded word, “Nine,” was written on her token.

The Sword Testing Platform was just ahead.

The twenty-four towering pillars that had stood there yesterday had vanished without a trace, as if they had never existed.

In their place were twelve floating martial platforms, each one tightly enveloped in a translucent barrier that swirled with Spiritual Light of different colors.

Li Qingcao was standing on one of the platforms, a True Master at his side.

“Master has left the Sword Sect?”

“Yes. He left in a hurry and didn’t say where he was going.”

Li Qingcao pondered for a moment. “I can preside over the Grand Competition here. What about the rewards for the champion and the other ranks?”

The True Master said, “They have been brought over.”

“Thank you for your trouble, True Master.”

“Qingcao, what are your chances of taking first place?”

Li Qingcao was currently only at the Peak of the Fourth Realm, not yet having entered the Fifth Realm. While defeating a Fifth Realm cultivator with a weak foundation would be an easy victory for him, nearly everyone in this competition of prodigies was a monster.

Especially with Bai Lu and Qiu Yuehan in the running. After seeing their Swordsmanship, Li Qingcao had lost all confidence in his own chances.

The True Master added, “If it is not meant to be, then let it go.”

“I will do my best not to bring shame to my Master. Besides, victory and defeat are common in battle.”

Li Qingcao gave a carefree smile, not overly concerned with winning or losing. The sleeves of his green robes fluttered in the breeze as he took a step toward the edge of the Sword Testing Platform. The mountain wind brushed past the gourd at his waist. His gaze swept over the gradually assembling crowd below, and thousands of eyes followed his every move.

“Fellow Daoists.”

Li Qingcao’s clear voice, amplified by an array, spread across the grounds, drowning out the murmuring discussions. “You all should have seen the numbers on your tokens. These will serve as your credentials for the second round of the competition. Ascend the Sword Testing Platform corresponding to the number on your token, and you will meet your opponent.”

The rules for this second round were also extremely simple and brutal.

Twenty-four contestants, randomly paired off to fight. The winners would advance to the top twelve, while the losers would fall into the bottom twelve.

After that, they would continue to fight in a cycle until eight groups of three were formed.

In the final battle, the three members of each group would fight on the same platform. Their final rankings would be determined by the order in which they were knocked off.

Below the stage, some people were already looking thoughtful, whispering to their companions.

This arrangement could cause powerful opponents to face each other too early. If Bu Chi, the Buddha’s Son from the Ten Thousand Buddha Palace, were to encounter Qiu Yuehan in his first match, he would be forced to fight for a lower rank.

This second round could hardly be called fair and just. But on second thought, the Celestial Dao Grand Competition held by the Qingcao Sword Sect had been filled with unfair matchups since the very first round.

“When that legendary figure dominated the world for a thousand years, he once said to the Cultivation Realm of his time: ‘Those who do not submit to the sword in my hand may come and test it together.’ All of you who have come to my Qingcao Dao Sect today, whether from the righteous or demonic paths, likely wish to emulate him.”

‘Fair or unfair, a lucky draw or an unlucky one… None of that mattered. I will dominate my peers single-handedly, defeating the other twenty-three contestants by my own power alone.’

This was likely what this group of people was thinking.

Li Qingcao flicked the sleeves of his green robe, and his voice suddenly rose in pitch.

“Therefore, from this moment until the champion is decided, there will be no more rest periods between matches! Fellow Daoists, you must fight continuously until you emerge victorious. The final champion will be able to take that legendary figure’s sword!”

The crowd immediately erupted into an uproar.

Continuous battles with no rest.

This meant there would be no time to recover spent True Qi or accumulated injuries. Such a trial tested not just one’s Dao Realm, but one’s overall comprehensive strength.