Chapter 596 - 76: Inner Sect Grand Competition

With Wang Ping, Zi Luan, Wu Quan, and Gan Qi in personal attendance, the start of the Grand Tournament was preceded by a complex ceremony of formal greetings. This process served to affirm the four’s seniority and status within the Southern Cultivation Realm.

First, Xia Wen Yi led everyone in three full prostrations. Gazing at the vast, dark expanse of kneeling Cultivators, the human part of Wang Ping felt a lofty sense of superiority, as if he were enthroned among the clouds. It was a marvelous feeling, one he quite enjoyed. Yet, his cultivator’s instinct immediately put him on guard, for it warned against anything captivating.

As Wang Ping received the adoration of the crowd, Yu Lian spoke to him within his Spirit Sea, "Quite a few of these people harbor hostility toward you. Well, not hostility, exactly. It’s more like how we viewed Zi Luan back when we first reached the Entry Stage."

Wang Ping knew the feeling well; the memory was still fresh. Now, standing in the position Zi Luan once occupied, his perspective on these people had changed. ’How should I put it? ’Ants’ feels a bit excessive, but it’s not far off.’ That was just one side of him, the rational one. His human side still held a sense of reverence for these innocent lives.

After the three prostrations, Xia Wen Yi took out a scroll and recited an invocation. Only after he had finished did he declare the Grand Tournament officially underway.

The Grand Tournament was divided into three segments: the Qi Refining Stage, the Foundation Establishment Stage, and the Entry Stage. The first two days were dedicated to matches between Qi Refining Stage disciples, followed by three days for Foundation Establishment Stage disciples, and the final five days for Entry Stage disciples.

All matches were individual competitions. Initially, the Grand Tournament had included team battles between sects, but these were later abolished. It was found that instead of strengthening the bonds between the four major sects, the team battles only fostered mutual hatred among the disciples.

Shortly after the tournament began, the solemn atmosphere eased. The Sect Leaders on the high platform returned to their respective disciples’ areas, gathering with familiar friends to chat.

Xia Wen Yi came over to Wang Ping’s side to introduce him to some of Qianmu Temple’s most promising Qi Cultivation Disciples. This sparked a discussion among Zi Luan and the others, and in the end, the four of them placed bets on the rising stars from their respective sects.

Three days later, the victor among the Qi Cultivation Disciples was a Fire Cultivator from the Three Flames Temple of Shouhua Prefecture. This was to be expected. Among the Five Profound Sects, only Fire Cultivators could use powerful Fire Spirit Techniques during the Qi Cultivation Stage. As for their usual drawback of having less Spiritual Qi in their Qi Sea, it wasn’t a factor; at the Qi Cultivation Stage, all disciples had comparable Qi Seas.

Hearing the name "Three Flames Temple" stirred some long-buried memories for Wang Ping. During the Yongming Port incident, when he led Qianmu Temple disciples to put down the uprising, the Entering Cultivator supervising them from above was Mars Taoist of the Three Flames Temple.

Back then, Mars Taoist had been a figure completely beyond his reach. So, when Xia Wen Yi brought the victorious disciple from Three Flames Temple up to pay respects, Wang Ping asked with a friendly smile, "Is Daoist Mars from your esteemed sect still around?"

The disciple was clearly taken aback and only replied after a prompt from Xia Wen Yi. "To answer Changqing Zhenren, our Martial Ancestor passed away more than two hundred years ago. I have only ever seen his name in the sect’s old journals."

Upon hearing this, a flicker of emotion crossed Wang Ping’s eyes. With a wistful sigh, he waved his hand, motioning for Xia Wen Yi to lead the disciple away to collect his reward. He then turned to Zi Luan, Wu Quan, and Gan Qi and said, "Back during the Corpse Soldier tide at Yongming Port, I was merely at the Foundation Establishment Stage. I was leading over a hundred Qi Cultivators from Qianmu Temple, serving right under Daoist Mars of the Three Flames Temple."

"Mars? That name sounds familiar!" Wu Quan glanced at Zi Luan.

"He was the man at the top of the list you submitted for commendation after the Yongming Port incident concluded," Zi Luan explained with a chuckle, thinking to himself, ’Time really does fly.’

"Oh, him? I remember the reward he requested was a chance to break through to the Second Realm. What? He failed to advance, even with the True Yang Sect’s help?"

"After the Daoist Scripture Hall’s evaluation, they concluded he had no chance of breaking through to the Second Realm."

Wu Quan gave a nonchalant "Oh," then seemed to recall something and turned to Wang Ping. "You were only at the Foundation Establishment Stage back then?"

Before Wang Ping could answer, Zi Luan spoke up beside him. "Have you forgotten that it took Fellow Daoist Changqing just over two hundred years to advance to the Third Realm?"

"It must have slipped my mind..."

"Don’t be in such a hurry to get nostalgic," Zi Luan said, his eyes narrowing into a smile as he looked at Wang Ping. "Perhaps we’re about to witness the fastest breakthrough to the Fourth Realm by a Human Dao Cultivator! Fellow Daoist, are you planning your move to the Fourth Realm?"

The moment he asked, looks of astonishment appeared on the faces of Wu Quan and Gan Qi.

Wang Ping first glanced at Zi Luan, then turned to Wu Quan and Gan Qi. His gaze then drifted to the plaza below, to the passionate and excited disciples from all the sects. He asked, "Will you support me?"

"Of course! I fully support you, Fellow Daoist!" Wu Quan answered without the slightest hesitation, seeming even more invested in the matter than Wang Ping himself.

Zi Luan cupped his hands. "I wish you a smooth breakthrough, Fellow Daoist. When the time comes, the entire Southern Cultivation Realm will be counting on you."

Gan Qi spoke with the deference of a junior, "Whatever True Man requires, my Loose Cultivator Alliance will do everything in its power to provide. We only hope that after your successful breakthrough, you will grace us with your protection."

Wang Ping just smiled noncommittally.

Down below, Xia Wen Yi was already announcing the end of the day’s competitions and that the matches for Foundation Establishment Stage disciples would begin the next day.

The night passed uneventfully.

At 7:15 AM the next day, when Wang Ping arrived at the plaza, two Entry-level Earth Vein Cultivators were inspecting the defensive Array on the arena stage.

After the competition began, the first to enter the arena was Zhao Mingming, the Hu People disciple taken in by Zhao Yu’er. Upon stepping onto the stage, he first cupped his fist in a bow toward Wang Ping on the high platform. Then, he turned to face the Eastern Continent and began to pray devoutly. This caused a stir of discussion among the disciples around the arena, but he paid them no mind.

"Is that a ritual of the Moon God Sect?"

Gan Qi, being well-versed in such matters, recognized it at once. "The Moon God Sect does not advocate fighting. That’s why they must pray devoutly before every bout."

Wu Quan asked in surprise, "So if they’re ambushed, they can’t fight back?"

"It’s not that extreme!"

"Has Qianmu Temple’s fame already reached the Moon God Sect on the Eastern Continent?" Zi Luan asked with a laugh.

Wang Ping pretended not to hear.

The match ended with Zhao Mingming as the victor. He used his Grass and Wood Soldiers Technique with such mastery that he simply exhausted his opponent’s entire reserve of True Essence.

The next day, the first match once again featured one of Wang Ping’s disciples. It was the baby boy Shen Xiaozhu had brought back from her travels, who had only a monastic name: ’Mu Yun’. Having already cultivated the Foundation Establishment Stage to perfection, he was a favorite to win the entire tournament for his bracket.

However, the final victor was a disciple from Qianmu Temple’s own Fire Institute.

"He’s a disciple that Senior Ruan Chunzi took in sixty years ago, during the unrest in Jinhuai City," Xia Wen Yi explained to Wang Ping. "He’s been very low-key within the sect all these years..."

He had barely gotten a few words out when a commotion suddenly erupted for some unknown reason among the outer sect disciples gathered south of the arena. Wang Ping’s head snapped toward the sound, and he saw a disciple in the Daoist Robe of Qianmu Temple’s outer sect vomiting blood profusely. Writhing chunks of flesh were visible in the blood he spat out.

As Wang Ping shot to his feet, several other outer sect disciples in the crowd also began to vomit blood!