Chapter 135: Claiming the Reward
"Then just give him the chance, Senior Sister," Fang Yun said.
Bai Qinying continued to shake her head. "Given Junior Brother Wu’s personality, he wouldn’t accept it even if I gave him the chance."
"I’ll earn it myself!" Wu Junxin said with conviction.
Fang Yun looked at Wu Junxin and Bai Qinying. The topic ended there.
He had brought up the subject mostly as a way to deflect attention from himself.
Now that he had achieved his goal, he had no intention of continuing the conversation.
"Junior Brother, you’re not leaving today, are you?" Song Qiaoqiao asked at that moment.
"I can’t very well leave in this state, Senior Sister," Fang Yun said with a small smile.
To everyone else, his Spiritual Power was nearly depleted. It would be outrageous if he suddenly sprinted away from Battle Peak.
"Junior Brother, you can go over there to recover," Bai Qinying said, pointing to a designated recovery area on Battle Peak.
It was currently empty.
There were no rules against sparring during the Inner Sect Grand Competition; any available Dueling Platform could be used. However, none of the Inner and Outer Sect Disciples would actually choose to spar at a time like this.
Since no one was engaging in Magical Combat, no one needed to recover their Spiritual Power.
"Never mind." Fang Yun shook his head, declining Bai Qinying’s suggestion. ’It would be a little strange to be the only one recovering my Spiritual Power over there.’ "Besides, there are only three matches left. It won’t be too late to leave after they’re finished."
As he spoke, a Lower Grade Spirit Stone appeared in his hand.
As he began to recover his Spiritual Power, his gaze shifted to the Dueling Platform.
"Junior Brother, I have a Spirit Revival Pill," Song Qiaoqiao said, taking out a pale white pill.
A Spirit Revival Pill could rapidly restore one’s Spiritual Power.
"Thank you for the kind offer, Senior Sister, but I really don’t need it." Fang Yun shook his head, gesturing for Song Qiaoqiao to put the pill away.
’A single Lower Grade Spirit Stone is enough. I can’t afford to be so wasteful.’
"Alright, then."
The second match was a contest between the fourth and fifth-ranked disciples on the Inner Sect Ranking.
For the disciples watching, this contest was also incredibly exciting.
Ultimately, the senior brother ranked fourth on the Inner Sect Ranking was victorious.
This match was more highly regarded by the disciples because it reached a proper conclusion, unlike the fight between Fang Yun and Bai Qinying, which had ended right at its climax.
...
「The ninth day of the first month.」
It was the final day of the Inner Sect Grand Competition.
Fang Yun hadn’t come to watch the seventh round yesterday.
For Fang Yun, the outcomes of the matches in both the seventh and eighth rounds were foregone conclusions.
Yesterday had also been a very happy day for Fang Yun, because his influence within the sect had increased by another one percent.
From Song Qiaoqiao’s description today, Fang Yun learned that Bai Qinying had defeated the fourth-ranked senior brother on the Inner Sect Ranking quite quickly in their match yesterday.
’In other words, the fourth-ranked senior brother didn’t even last as long as I, a mere Qi Refining Seventh Layer disciple, did.’
Through Senior Sister Song’s account, Fang Yun now had a good idea why his influence in the sect had increased yesterday.
As the saying goes, comparisons can be brutal.
The comparison between the two matches only served to further demonstrate his formidable strength.
Now, many disciples believed that if Bai Qinying could dispatch the fourth-ranked senior brother so easily, Fang Yun could probably do the same.
Therefore, his strength was now considered to be on par with the fourth-ranked disciple on the Inner Sect Ranking.
This perception inevitably elevated his status in the eyes of the other disciples, hence the change in his influence.
Today was the eighth round, and the four people fighting were the same ones from yesterday.
However, their opponents had changed, as they were now competing for different final placements.
First was the match to determine third and fourth place.
Then came the final match of the Inner Sect Grand Competition: the contest between Wu Junxin and Bai Qinying for first and second place.
The final result was self-evident.
With little suspense, Bai Qinying defeated Wu Junxin to win first place in the Inner Sect Grand Competition. Wu Junxin placed second.
Wu Junxin felt very lucky to have placed second in the Inner Sect Grand Competition. For a start, he had been assigned to the weaker right-half of the bracket.
In the entire right half, the only person with more than a fifty percent chance of defeating him was Yuan Yunfan.
Their strengths were very similar, and Wu Junxin ultimately defeated Yuan Yunfan by relying on his superior reserves of Spiritual Power. During the match, there was one moment where he truly came close to losing; fortunately, he reacted in time to defend himself.
Third place went to the disciple ranked fourth on the Inner Sect Ranking, who had been defeated by Bai Qinying in the seventh round.
Fourth place went to the disciple ranked twelfth on the Inner Sect Ranking.
For both the second and fourth place winners, there was an element of luck in their results.
In the last Inner Sect Grand Competition, one very lucky disciple who wasn’t even strong enough to be on the Inner Sect Ranking had managed to take fourth place purely through luck.
"The winner is Number 114, Bai Qinying!"
After Feng Tianrui announced the result of the final match, Miao Qinghong and Long Xiangwen, who were on either side of Dueling Platform One, proceeded onto the stone stage.
Feng Tianrui was the last to walk onto the stone stage.
Seeing this, the disciples below the Dueling Platform also began to gather around the stone stage.
With all the matches of the Inner Sect Grand Competition concluded, it was time to distribute the rewards.
That was why Fang Yun had to come to Battle Peak today no matter what, taking the opportunity to watch the final two matches as well.
"Next is the awards ceremony for the Inner Sect Grand Competition. When your number and name are called, please come forward."
"Number 114, Bai Qinying!"
"Present."
After responding, Bai Qinying went onto the Dueling Platform to receive her reward.
Unlike the other prize winners, Bai Qinying had to present her Identity Token when she received her reward.
While the others received Spirit Stones, her first-place prize was awarded in Contribution Points.
Contribution Points could be exchanged directly for Spirit Stones and were more versatile within the Celestial Cloud Sect.
Wu Junxin went up after Bai Qinying, followed by the third and fourth-place winners. All four of them went up one by one to receive their rewards.
"Number 116, Fang Yun! Number 67, Yuan Yunfan..."
Feng Tianrui then read out four names and numbers in one go.
Since their rewards were the same, they would collect them together.
The reward for reaching the sixth round was three hundred Lower Grade Spirit Stones and the right to choose any Upper Grade Magical Artifact from the Artifact Pavilion on Artifact Casting Peak.
The Lower Grade Spirit Stones were placed directly into Fang Yun’s hands.
In addition, he received a white voucher imbued with a trace of Spiritual Essence. With this voucher, he could go to the Artifact Pavilion and redeem it for any Upper Grade Magical Artifact.
Looking at the voucher in his hand, Fang Yun wondered, ’Can I exchange this directly for Spirit Stones?’
’If I can’t exchange it at the Artifact Pavilion, maybe I can trade it with another disciple.’
By the time he stepped off the stone stage, Fang Yun already had a plan.
’After all the disciples have received their rewards, it should be time for the Elders’ speeches.’
’They give a speech at the beginning of the Inner Sect Grand Competition, and another one at the end.’
"Next, I have an important announcement to make." Feng Tianrui’s gaze swept over the disciples below. He didn’t begin his closing remarks as Fang Yun had expected.
’An important announcement?’
Hearing this, Fang Yun’s gaze immediately shifted to Bai Qinying.
’Perhaps she knows something.’