nycdaug Chapter 84 Preliminary Round
Chapter 84 Preliminary Round
"Why am I even less free than before? I wish I hadn't become human."
Of course, it was just talk, but I still wanted to express my dissatisfaction.
"If you don't want to, I can let you leave immediately. I've already been accommodating enough."
Liu Xingxing does indeed have this ability, after all, she is on her own peak, so she has nothing to hide now.
Yan Qifeng felt that he was no match for this person. The only person who could make him feel pressured was someone above the Nascent Soul stage.
Before he could take human form, he wasn't always awake; most of the time he was in hibernation, only maintaining the basic life activities of a demon beast.
So although he is also Xiao Mo, he only gained true self-awareness today after transforming into human form, so he did not know the woman's identity. However, now that he has merged with her memories, he knows a little bit about her.
It was precisely because he knew her identity and that this place was the territory of the Immortal Sect that he was so eager to leave. However, now that there was a better solution, he naturally went with the flow.
"Now that you have taken human form, you should no longer come to my room, or even this courtyard. Qiwu Peak is so big, just find somewhere to stay."
"How can you be so heartless, my beauty? We were, after all, master and servant!"
Liu Xingxing just stared at him without saying a word, and Yan Qifeng pursed his lips and gave in first.
"Alright, alright, you're just worried I'll scare those little bean sprouts, right? I'll listen to you, my beauty."
Liu Xingxing released her strength and landed on the ground, her face finally relaxing a little. She turned to go back, but then, as if remembering something, she added one last sentence:
"One more thing, I don't like how you address me. From now on, please call me by my Taoist name 'Qingjun'."
Yan Qifeng was silent for a moment, then looked in astonishment at the aloof figure who ignored him and left on his own.
Unexpectedly, she is actually the most famous person on the mainland!
I never expected to end up on her territory by such a strange twist of fate!
Yan Qifeng now felt a chill of fear; he had actually dared to try and seduce this person with the most inferior seductive arts. The joking expression on Yan Qifeng's face vanished, replaced by a calm and composed demeanor. He looked at the somewhat quiet courtyard with an inscrutable expression before slowly leaving the place.
The moonlight remained beautiful, and no one knew what had happened here tonight. The wind was still gentle, and the clouds were still light.
The old ancestor's cat went missing, and the four people living there only belatedly discovered it a few days later. However, the old ancestor acted as if nothing had happened, and none of them dared to be so reckless as to approach her and ask. After all, if the old ancestor didn't care, what face did they have to ask?
However, over the past three years, they had become accustomed to seeing the black cat roaming around the mountain, and its sudden disappearance was a bit unsettling, just like Qin Wen had been.
However, this little thing didn't affect them much, since they still needed to focus on their cultivation, and they forgot about it after a few days.
Time flies, and the official day of the joint competition arrived, with all the sects present.
Although it involved many exchanges of interests, the real purpose of this event was the competition between young people, and it was organized on a very grand scale.
The main figures from each sect sat at the head of the table in the square, while the other side of the square was filled with disciples brought by each sect, with each sect sending about ten elite disciples as representatives.
In addition, there were nearly a hundred independent cultivators, making a total of about four or five thousand people on the field, creating a truly spectacular scene.
"Silence! The sect leader has given instructions!"
The elder in charge of maintaining order shouted with his inner strength, and everyone present heard it and fell silent.
Lu Yuanbai, who was at the head of the list, then stepped forward and said some polite words, but he didn't say much nonsense and signaled another elder who was in charge of explaining the rules to continue.
"Today's first competition will be held in ten venues. Two impartial elders will be assigned to each venue as supervisors and referees. The teams will be drawn into groups of four, and one person from each group will win in each round."
"Tomorrow will be the second round of the competition. The groups will be re-drawn and the rules will be changed to two people per group. The number of venues will be reduced to five. The third day will be the same as the second day. The rules will remain unchanged on the fourth day, but the number of venues will be reduced to one. The competition will last for three rounds, and the winners will advance to the next round."
"The fifth day is the final competition. The winners will enter the Fangcun Haina Illusionary Realm and obtain the secret treasures stored inside. The first one to come out wins. There are three secret treasures in total. The top three will be selected, and the rest will be ranked according to their performance in the illusionary realm."
"Within the illusion, any means are acceptable, but remember not to harm anyone's life. If anyone is found to have harmed someone's life, they will be immediately disqualified from the competition and forcibly expelled from the illusion, and will be severely punished afterwards."
"These are all the rules and precautions for this competition. I hope you will all do your best to achieve better results."
"Yesterday, everyone participated in the first round of drawing lots. The ten venues are arranged in order of the twelve earthly branches, starting with 'Zi'. Those who drew the number 'Jia' according to the round number written on their lot can now go and compete. The rest will compete in turn."
The elder used his spiritual power to explain the competition rules, ensuring that everyone present could hear them. After the rules were explained, the crowd below gradually began to stir, signaling the official start of the competition.
The ten venues are located in different areas, but they are all on the main peak, since there are too many people and it would be inappropriate to put them all in one place.
Each venue's impartial elder has a list of disciples who will participate in their respective venue's matches. If a disciple is absent after the previous match, it is automatically considered a forfeit.
The rules for the first and second days are as follows. After all, there are thousands of people present, and there will always be some who are not strong enough that they cannot manage.
The rules for the elite disciples who remained on the third day were changed to allow the next round to go first. If no one showed up by the end of the match, the other person in that group would be declared the winner. This was to prevent any unknown incidents from happening between the two people in that group, but it only extended the time for one match.
In this respect, Xuanshan Sect has done a much more meticulous job than other sects in organizing the competition. Moreover, they have not revealed any of the illusions in the final competition or the secret treasures they are looking for, which has prevented anyone from stealing the questions in advance. They have done a very thorough job.
The crowd in the square gradually dispersed, leaving only the elders of various families and the heads of various sects at the head of the table. Lü Yuanbai, who was in charge, politely replied to them:
"I wonder what your intentions are now? I have set up a banquet in the front hall. Whether you go to watch your disciples' competition or take a seat is entirely up to you."
Those present split into two groups: some went to watch the excitement, while others followed Lü Yuanbai to their seats, without much formality.
The main hall can accommodate nearly four or five hundred people, and there are nearly a hundred tables set up, all for single or double people. However, ordinary disciples do not have the opportunity to sit down; the tables are reserved for senior disciples and elders.
There weren't many people with particularly high cultivation levels present. The strongest among them were Lü Yuanbai, who was in the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm, and a few elders from their own sect who were in the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm. Most of the people from other sects who came were at the Nascent Soul stage, since those in the Nascent Soul stage had to stay behind to guard their own sects.
However, two figures at the Nascent Soul stage arrived at the Faxiang Temple on Lingshan East Island: Master Lingshan and Monk Puyuan. Both of them were well-known figures on the Yuanzhou Continent.
Faxiang Temple's strength and status are actually no less than the three major sects of today, but they just don't want to be associated with these empty titles.
Three shepherds from the deep-sea tribe of southern Anhui also came, but these shepherds were not the same as the other shepherds.
This shepherd is a remnant of the ancient Holy Emperor lineage. There are many ancient clans, but unlike the serpent demon from before, his lineage is only slightly related to the ancient Nuwa spirit, though they are very remote branches. Moreover, relying on their meager bloodline, they have committed numerous evils. Nuwa spirit's lineage itself has been almost wiped out, and even those who survived mostly hide away from the world.
These shepherds are different. The lineage of the Holy Emperor has lived in the sea since ancient times, and the shepherds are one of the few ancient races known even on the continent.
They formed their own sect in the southern Anhui region, and their practice was not the same as that of cultivators seeking the Dao, but they still belonged to the human faction.
As descendants of an ancient race, they are born with the physique of a half-immortal, but they are also very prone to dying young. Today, their numbers are few and far between, but they are still much better off than those who have only one or two descendants left.
They are not demon cultivators like the merfolk, and they rarely get involved in things on land, making them a special existence.
For Xuanshan Sect to send three people to this event is quite an honor, even though they're not here to participate in any competitions. It's still very kind of them to Xuanshan Sect.
However, I'm afraid they might have ulterior motives, but what those motives are remains unknown.