Chapter 175: Her Regret
Shortly after Feng Tianrui’s voice rang out, the disciples slated for the Four Sect Trial boarded the Spirit Ship.
The twenty-five of them stood in five rows before the Elders on the Spirit Ship.
At that moment, Feng Tianrui glanced at his disciple, Bai Qinying, and the other Elder leading the group.
Understanding the signal, the two of them went to the left and right sides and activated the Spirit Ship.
The Spirit Ship slowly ascended, flying off into the distance under the watchful eyes of the many disciples on Battle Peak.
"Time to go back and cultivate."
"Aren’t you going to have a Magical Combat match, Senior Brother?"
"No, I just came today to see Senior Brother Fang off."
"Now that Senior Brother Fang is gone for the Four Sect Trial, we won’t get to see any of his Magical Combat matches for the next half a month."
The round trip to and from the Four Sect Trial would take ten days alone.
The trial itself, held within the Secret Realm, would last for three days.
In total, the trip would take about thirteen days.
In the disciples’ eyes, knowing Fang Yun’s personality, there was no way he would rush to Battle Peak for a Magical Combat match within two days of his return.
Aboard the departing Spirit Ship.
Feng Tianrui began his address.
The content of his address mainly covered the rules of the Four Sect Trial and the rewards up for grabs.
The total prize pool was ten thousand Lower Grade Spirit Stones, with each of the four sects contributing two thousand five hundred.
The sect with the highest total score would win five thousand Lower Grade Spirit Stones.
After explaining the rules and rewards, he gave the disciples a map of the Trial Secret Realm. Finally, Feng Tianrui added a few last-minute instructions.
This time, there was no long-winded lecture, so Fang Yun didn’t get drowsy by the end.
Afterward, they each chose a room on the Spirit Ship.
The rooms were small, containing nothing but a bed and a meditation mat.
For temporary quarters, it wasn’t bad at all.
They would be spending most of the next five days in these small rooms.
After choosing his room and parting ways with the others, Fang Yun immediately began to go through his books.
For these five days, and the five days of the return journey, he would spend a great deal of time reading. As for his cultivation, he would refine and absorb two Upper Grade Qi Enhancement Pills each day.
When cultivating for several consecutive days, it was best to limit oneself to refining and absorbing just two Upper Grade Qi Enhancement Pills.
That night.
After finishing his cultivation, Fang Yun went out onto the deck of the Spirit Ship to look at the world outside.
They had now entered the territory of the Black Ghost Cave.
The entrance to the Four Sect Trial Secret Realm was located at the border between the Vast Sea Sect and Star Moon Valley.
To get there, they first had to pass through the Black Ghost Cave, followed by the territories of the Ghost Control Sect and the Blood Dew Palace.
Without a doubt, these three Core Formation Sects were all Evil Sects.
While the Spirit Ship flew through their territory, its concealment had to be perfect.
The Spirit Ship’s Concealing Array had been activated a full hour before they even entered the Black Ghost Cave’s territory.
With the Concealing Array active, the Spirit Ship’s speed was reduced by thirty percent, which also made it harder to detect.
"Junior Brother Fang."
"Senior Brother Yuan." Hearing his name, Fang Yun turned to see Yuan Yunfan.
"You’re already at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining, aren’t you, Junior Brother?"
"Yes."
"I look forward to you reaching the Qi Refining Tenth Layer. We can have a match then," Yuan Yunfan said.
Fang Yun was incredibly strong, currently first on the Inner Sect Ranking, while he himself was only fifth. But Yuan Yunfan still wanted to wait until Fang Yun was in the same Realm before challenging him, no matter how great the power gap between them might be by then.
"Definitely," Fang Yun agreed with a nod.
Knowing Yuan Yunfan’s personality, Fang Yun wasn’t surprised to hear him say that.
Yuan Yunfan had his pride.
"Senior Brother Yuan, what’s your goal for this Four Sect Trial?"
"...Fifth place will be fine."
He had his pride, but that didn’t mean he was blind to the realities of the Four Sect Trial.
Everyone attending the Four Sect Trial was an elite disciple under the age of thirty. For a single sect to have three disciples place in the top ten would be considered a great success.
’He’d leave the top three spots for Fang Yun to fight for. He would aim for fourth, fifth, or sixth himself. As for the rest, there was still Wu Junxin.’ ’As for Wu Junxin, ranked ninth on the Inner Sect Ranking, he didn’t think he had a good chance of making the top ten in the trial, even though his strength placed him fourth on their Celestial Cloud Sect team.’
Yuan Yunfan didn’t chat with Fang Yun for long before he took his leave.
Fang Yun remained on the deck, continuing to observe the environment below.
Every part of the Black Ghost Cave’s territory looked sinister and gloomy.
Fang Yun could feel it even from a great distance.
「Time flew by.」
They had just passed through the territory of the Blood Dew Palace.
At last, they arrived in the territory of the Vast Sea Sect.
By then, it was already the first day of the new year.
Under the cover of night, the Spirit Ship picked up speed. Fang Yun was still on the deck.
Before leaving his room, he had finished drawing this month’s Life Talents.
His first-place finish on the Inner Sect Ranking had netted him more Talent Points than he expected.
It gave him three thousand Talent Points directly!
His influence in the sect had now reached 33%.
Five days after becoming number one on the Inner Sect Ranking, his influence in the sect had risen by one percentage point. The last time his sect influence had increased was half a year ago.
The increase in his sect influence brought his Talent Point bonus up to 219%.
The base Talent Points from the settlement, plus the bonus, meant that his first-place rank alone provided him with ninety-five chances to draw for Life Talents.
He had just drawn for Life Talents a total of one hundred seventy-three times.
Now on the deck, Fang Yun watched the territory of the Blood Dew Palace recede into the distance, and his mood improved even more.
In the territory of the Blood Dew Palace, even the clouds had looked dark red.
As he gazed at the scenery of the Vast Sea Sect’s territory, Fang Yun glanced at his Life Talent interface again.
Alchemy Talent ★★★★ (220/720)
Artifact Refining Talent ★★★★ (215/720)
Planting Talent ★★★★ (208/720)
Even his Alchemy Talent, the closest to leveling up, still needed a full five hundred points to upgrade.
Barring any surprises, upgrading his Life Talents to five stars would be a matter for next year.
"Getting impatient?"
Bai Qinying asked, walking over to stand beside Fang Yun.
Before Fang Yun could answer, Bai Qinying continued.
"We’ll reach our destination before dawn. I’m suddenly feeling a little regretful. I’ve never participated in a Four Sect Trial myself."
"I can make up for your regret, Elder Bai," Fang Yun replied.
"In that case, set your goal for one hundred seventy points."
’She truly was a bit regretful. Why had I listened to Fang Yun’s advice back then? If I could have participated in the Four Sect Trial, I’m confident I could have taken a spot in the top three. That way, the Celestial Cloud Sect would have had an even better chance of taking first place in the overall standings.’
Fang Yun thought for a moment, then actually nodded.
"Alright."
Seeing Fang Yun’s serious expression, Bai Qinying suddenly laughed. "Aren’t you full of yourself? To get one hundred seventy points, you’d need a special rule."
"What rule?" Fang Yun asked.
"That points can be transferred between disciples of the same sect."
"If luck is on my side, I really might get one hundred seventy points."
"Oh, come on. Anyone can say that. You’re just hoping that by the end of the trial, disciples from the other sects will just run up and hand you their points."