Chapter 47 : The Competition Begins
Zhong Heng considered himself reasonably good-looking—perhaps not universally adored, but certainly not detested by all creatures—though regarding universal detestation, his Senior Sister had more authority on the matter, as even the sect's transport cranes avoided her. But what was with this little white tiger? She was perfectly fine being held by Senior Sister, yet he'd done nothing, so why did her fur bristle at the sight of him?!
The young cultivator was somewhat bewildered, but the bristling creature before him wasn't an ordinary spirit beast but the sect's future guardian divine beast. Naturally, he wouldn't dare be disrespectful. Even if she bristled at him, he had to bow respectfully: "This disciple pays respects to Jianbing."
The little white tiger scrutinized him up and down with an examining gaze, seemingly unable to discern anything of note, then turned to look at Yun Qingyue.
Yun Qingyue raised her hand and lightly patted the little white tiger's head twice, conveying a sense of reassurance, before introducing: "This is Zhong Heng, my second junior brother. He's been training outside all this time and only returned today to participate in the competition and martial arts contest."
Hearing this, the little white tiger relaxed her vigilance slightly. Although she still looked at him with disapproval, she maintained her dignity and gave a slight nod as greeting. Then she nestled into Yun Qingyue's embrace and didn't look at Zhong Heng again—monster hunting was exhausting. Though she could now kill a Poison Spike Rat with a single needle, she had still depleted all the spiritual energy stored in her body to farm points.
If Senior Sister hadn't come looking for her, she'd actually been planning to head back anyway.
Yun Qingyue looked at the little white tiger sprawled like a pancake in her arms, a trace of helplessness flashing in her crystalline eyes. However, in Zhong Heng's presence, she naturally wouldn't say anything, only stating: "Let's go back."
Zhong Heng acknowledged with a sound, rubbing his nose, somehow feeling as if he'd been disdained.
The two people and tiger thus departed on flying swords, and after they left, the entire forest returned to its former tranquility.
After a long while, a small beast cautiously passed by, seeming to sense something and suddenly accelerating, vanishing in a flash.
Shortly after the small beast departed, strange ripples suddenly appeared on the previously empty clearing. The air seemed to distort for an instant, and then a figure gradually materialized. He raised his head, gazing for a long time in the direction the two people and tiger had left, ultimately waving his sleeve with a gloomy expression and vanishing again.
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After flying back to their residence on swords, Zhong Heng had originally wanted to follow Yun Qingyue into her courtyard—having trained outside for several years, he felt he had made considerable progress and was eager to spar with his Senior Sister—but the Senior Sister, who had never set up defenses against him before, activated a barrier immediately after entering. Thus, the unsuspecting Zhong Heng stepped forward only to collide head-on with the barrier.
The young man rubbed his reddened forehead, glanced at the rippling water-like barrier, then muttered a few dissatisfied words before reluctantly returning to his own residence next door, which he hadn't seen for years.
Once the outsider left, Jiang Mo completely relaxed, her tail wrapping around Senior Sister's wrist, somewhat ingratiatingly.
Yun Qingyue immediately saw through the little tiger's ploy but had no intention of letting her off easily. Her cold expression remained unchanged: "Didn't I tell you to stay home and cultivate properly? Why did you run to the back mountain to provoke Poison Spike Rats again?"
The little white tiger felt embarrassed, and given that she was already completely drained of spiritual energy and very tired, she simply closed her eyes and slumped in Senior Sister's arms, pretending to be asleep.
Yun Qingyue didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but you can never wake a tiger that's pretending to sleep, so in the end, the little white tiger managed to evade this lecture. After a while, Yun Qingyue discovered that the little tiger had genuinely fallen asleep.
She sighed softly and placed the tiger cub back in her nest.
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Jiang Mo slept deeply and peacefully, and when she awoke again, it was another day of brilliant sunshine.
The little tiger cub rubbed her eyes and stretched lazily. Bathed in the morning light, the entire tiger appeared languid, lying in her nest with no desire to move. Only after quite some time did she lazily raise her paw, not to get up but to casually open her character panel and check yesterday's gains that she hadn't had time to review—
[Host: Jiang Mo
Race: White Tiger
Profession: Divine Beast
Level: 21
Combat Power: 5,244,629 (1,859)
Experience: 739,076/5,242,880
Points: 1,512
Potential: ∞
Skills: Meditation, Basic Spiritual Energy Utilization (Blood Inheritance Not Activated)]
After examining the panel, Jiang Mo calculated mentally and discovered that in just half a day yesterday, she had earned 322 combat power and points. The whole numbers all came from Poison Spike Rats, while the extra 2 points came from two spirit rabbits she had casually dispatched while searching for targets.
Undeniably, with Senior Sister's special training boosting her abilities, her speed of earning points through monster hunting had made a qualitative leap. Now, taking down a Poison Spike Rat with a single move, she earned points at a rate no less than when she had previously killed chickens hidden in Discourse Hall's kitchen.
Jiang Mo calculated mentally that at her current monster hunting speed, she would only need to make one or two more trips to the back mountain, spending a day or two, to firmly push her combat power to the level appropriate for Foundation Establishment—though normally speaking, a basic combat power of 2,310 would only be at the bottom of her realm, but being at the bottom compared to not reaching the realm at all was still tremendous progress, wasn't it?
The little white tiger suddenly felt full of confidence, her point-grinding paws itching with anticipation. She turned to ask System: "System, where did Senior Sister go?"
System, during its host's rest periods, was usually in a semi-dormant state to conserve energy. However, for this question, it didn't need to ponder at all and immediately answered: "Has host forgotten? Today is the start of the sect competition."
Oh, right, the sect competition was starting.
Jiang Mo had almost forgotten about this. She immediately leaped out of her nest and ran toward the door, forgetting her earlier plan to sneak out and grind points: "Did Senior Sister go to participate in the sect competition? Why didn't she take me along?"
But why would Yun Qingyue take her to the competition? To watch the show?
System silently criticized in its heart while following its host outside, but this time Jiang Mo couldn't even leave the courtyard gate before being blocked by the barrier. Just as she felt frustrated and was about to raise her paw to scratch at it a few times, the barrier suddenly rippled and opened.
However, before Jiang Mo could rejoice, she saw that the person standing outside wasn't Yun Qingyue but Divine Lord Zhiming in his black robes.
The little white tiger's elevated mood instantly cooled. Her facial expression changed faster than flipping pages, so evident that Divine Lord Zhiming saw it clearly. The latter felt both irritated and amused: "What's wrong? Don't want to see me? Or would you rather stay obediently in this courtyard?"
The round tiger ears twitched, and the little white tiger caught the underlying meaning: "Where does Divine Lord wish to take me?"
Divine Lord Zhiming lightly snorted without speaking, raising his hand as an invisible force gripped the little white tiger by the scruff of her neck. The tiger cub's body immediately stiffened, until she was cradled in Divine Lord Zhiming's arms and her fur stroked. Only then did she raise her paw to push away his hand with a look of refusal: "If you want to talk, just talk properly. Don't get handsy—I'm not such a casual tiger."
Hearing this, Divine Lord Zhiming scoffed lightly. Remembering that this white tiger was actually a rare female tiger, he ultimately stopped his actions: "Clinging to a little disciple all day, wheedling and acting spoiled—aren't you casual enough?"
The little white tiger was momentarily speechless, eventually squeezing out: "I like it that way; it's none of your business."
Divine Lord Zhiming didn't pursue the matter, casually picking up a fluffy tiger paw and pinching it, then frowning: "The Azure Essence Spirit Marrow I gave you—you still haven't used it?"
The little white tiger was first stunned by these words, then recalled the Azure Essence Spirit Marrow gathering dust in her storage space. Although she couldn't use it yet, it was indeed a treasure, and Divine Lord Zhiming had been quite generous after just one meeting. With this in mind, she decided to improve her attitude, taking out the Azure Essence Spirit Marrow and explaining: "I'm still too weak now; it's not suitable for me to use this."
Divine Lord Zhiming, upon hearing this, tapped her head with a curled finger: "Who told you that you can't use it? We divine beasts are born with strong physiques—what treasures can't we digest? Moreover, the Azure Essence Spirit Marrow is naturally gentle in nature, most suitable for cubs."
Compared to two months ago, Jiang Mo was no longer so eager to level up, but hearing Divine Lord Zhiming's words, she couldn't help but be tempted. System, seeing this, hurriedly poured cold water: "Host, stay clear-headed! You're not the original!"
Yes, she wasn't the original—she was a weakling occupying a rerolled account.
Jiang Mo immediately sobered up, her temptation instantly turning to conflict and disappointment. Though she didn't speak, Divine Lord Zhiming seemed to guess her concerns. After briefly pondering, he said: "Your constitution is somewhat weak. If you have concerns, why not pour the Azure Essence Spirit Marrow into a spirit spring before absorbing it? I recall that Mount Mingxia's senior disciple's residence should have a spirit spring."
As he spoke, his gaze looked toward the small courtyard before them.
This was a good suggestion, as there was indeed a spirit spring in Senior Sister's room, but hearing Divine Lord Zhiming's words, the little white tiger nearly bristled again—how did this guy know there was a spirit spring in Senior Sister's room? Could it be that, despite his age, he had peeped at some point?!
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Divine Lord Zhiming would certainly never do such a tasteless thing; besides, at eight thousand years old, Yun Qingyue was like a cub in his eyes. However, he couldn't guess the little white tiger's convoluted thoughts, so he simply ignored them.
Divine Lord Zhiming only mentioned the Azure Essence Spirit Marrow once, seemingly not particularly concerned, and then took the little white tiger away.
Cultivators at Foundation Establishment could levitate objects, while only those at Nascent Soul could fly without external aid. For divine beasts born with Nascent Soul cultivation, flying was almost instinctive, even though the Black Tortoise and White Tiger didn't have wings like the Vermilion Bird. At Divine Lord Zhiming's current cultivation level, he didn't even need to fly; with a point of his finger, he could tear through space, and with a step, he could teleport.
"Crossing a thousand miles in an instant" wasn't just a saying. One moment, the little white tiger was still pondering whether Divine Lord Zhiming had peeped at Senior Sister's residence; the next moment, the scenery before her eyes shifted, and the two had already arrived at Mount Tianyang.
Mount Tianyang stood at the center of the five peaks and belonged to the Sect Leader's lineage, so naturally, the sect competition was held there.
However, saying that the competition was held on Mount Tianyang wasn't entirely accurate—more precisely, it was held on a small spirit peak to the left of Mount Tianyang. Unfortunately, this small spirit peak had suffered a misfortune a thousand years ago when a sword cultivator from Mount Tianyang experienced cultivation deviation. In his madness, he happened to slice off half the spirit peak with a sword, turning the top of the small spirit peak into a flat plateau that was later repurposed into a plaza.
The sect competition wasn't just a matter for one peak. Of the tens of thousands of disciples from the five peaks, at least half would participate. Thus, the mid-mountain plaza on Mount Tianyang wouldn't be sufficient. Besides this massive plaza built from an entire spirit peak, few other places could host such a grand event.
Since dawn today, the small spirit peak plaza had become unusually lively.
Disciples from the five peaks arrived in droves, creating a sea of people as far as the eye could see. Brothers and sisters or those who knew each other gathered together in small groups, their laughter and chatter startling birds in the vicinity to fly away. Only when the Sect Leader and Peak Masters arrived together and took their seats on the high platform in front of the plaza did everyone settle down, the bustling noise finally subsiding somewhat.
Following tradition, Sect Leader Qingxiao would say a few words and then announce the start of the competition. But today, before he could speak, Divine Lord Zhiming appeared in the air above the plaza, carrying the little white tiger.
The little white tiger was momentarily stunned by the sudden change of scenery, then immediately spotted Yun Qingyue standing behind Peak Master Qingyu. Her tiger eyes brightened—today, Senior Sister had exchanged her usual cyan robes for white attire, making her appear like an immortal. Even surrounded by fellow disciples wearing similar clothes, she didn't blend into the crowd but rather stood out even more dazzlingly.
Unfortunately, before the little white tiger could continue admiring Senior Sister's beauty, the Sect Leader, Peak Masters, and Elders all stood up. Above and below the platform, everyone bowed respectfully to Divine Lord Zhiming: "Greetings to Divine Lord."
Divine Lord Zhiming, holding the little white tiger, calmly accepted their respect, merely nodding slightly: "Jianbing and I have come to watch the competition."
The sect competition was not a small matter for Xuanqing Sect, but it wasn't crucial either, as it happened once every ten years. Even the subsequent Three Sect Martial Arts Competition occurred once every sixty years. This timeframe might seem long for cultivators, but for divine beasts whose lives spanned millions of years, it seemed insignificant, even too frequent. Additionally, the Black Tortoise was inherently lazy; Divine Lord Zhiming hadn't attended a sect competition in thousands of years.
However, Sect Leader Qingxiao showed no surprise at his words and immediately ordered two chairs to be added beside the main seat on the high platform—one naturally for Divine Lord Zhiming, and the other for the little white tiger held in his arms, who also had her own seat.
The little white tiger was quite satisfied with this arrangement and was the first to leap up, landing on the chair closer to Peak Master Qingyu.
Peak Master Qingyu's expression remained indifferent, not even raising her eyelids, still not giving Jianbing any face. Divine Lord Zhiming showed no reaction to this either, merely adjusting his robes unhurriedly as he sat down beside Sect Leader Qingxiao.
The little white tiger quickly scanned left and right, seeing a long row of chairs arranged on the high platform. Naturally, Sect Leader Qingxiao sat in the center, with Divine Lord Zhiming, herself, and the four Peak Masters to his left. Opposite them were several accompanying Elders from Tiandao Sect and Buddha Sect, as well as disciples participating in the martial arts contest—all unfamiliar faces who had also bowed to Divine Lord Zhiming earlier.
The little white tiger currently had little interest in people and affairs from other sects.
She turned her gaze back to those beside her. This time, instead of fixating on Yun Qingyue, she noticed Zhong Heng standing beside her. Besides him, there were several other men and women standing behind Peak Master Qingyu.
Counting them, there were exactly seven people—none of the seven small courtyards on the left ridge platform were vacant. Yet remarkably, though Jiang Mo had been living in Yun Qingyue's small courtyard for over a month, of the neighbors, she had only met Zhong Heng yesterday, who was said to have just returned. While Yun Qingyue and Zhong Heng glanced at her several times, the others seemed uninterested in her.
Like master, like disciples... The little white tiger turned up her nose, losing interest in them as well.
At this moment, Sect Leader Qingxiao stood up, his gaze slowly sweeping over the crowd below: "Another ten years, another sixty-year cycle. I presume everyone has prepared for today's competition. That being the case, I won't say more—how your ten years of hard cultivation has paid off will be revealed through victories and defeats."
As soon as Sect Leader Qingxiao rose to speak, Jiang Mo had prepared to hear a long address, just like the countless opening ceremony speeches from principals she had experienced before. To her surprise, Sect Leader Qingxiao didn't follow convention; before the little white tiger could rub her ears and adopt an impatient posture, he had already concluded his speech in two sentences, a brevity that astonished the tiger.
The little white tiger couldn't help but look left and right, only to see everyone acting as if this were perfectly normal. As Sect Leader Qingxiao's words fell, the formation on the plaza activated. After a flash of light, dozens of combat arenas suddenly rose from the ground.
Xuanqing Sect's competition would last half a month, as there was no limit on the number of participants. Mount Mingxia's disciples, though not the most numerous among the five peaks, still had a thousand registered. The five peaks combined had at least seven to eight thousand participants. Calculating two people per match, the first round alone would require three to four thousand matches. Even with the massive small spirit peak plaza, it couldn't accommodate so many arenas.
Thus, the first round wasn't a one-on-one duel but a hundred-person melee. Those who fell off the arena or surrendered were eliminated, with only ten people remaining to advance to the second round. This way, the first round would eliminate ninety percent of participants, and the remaining seven to eight hundred could be further reduced in another round.
The little white tiger had never seen cultivators in a real arena battle and was extremely curious, craning her neck to peer at the arenas several times.
Unfortunately, the competition hadn't started yet, and the rules seemed to be well-known to everyone, as no one specifically explained them. Despite her curiosity, with dozens of empty arenas, there was nothing to see. After glancing for a while, the little white tiger withdrew her gaze somewhat disappointedly. She instinctively turned to look at Yun Qingyue again, only to see Senior Sister's solemn expression, merely glancing back briefly in response.
With so many people on the high platform, there was indeed no opportunity for them to interact... The little white tiger suddenly felt bored. She sat upright in her chair, her tail extending through the gap behind the chair, swaying left and right, the tip inadvertently brushing against Yun Qingyue's sword-holding hand.
The little tiger cub's tail was fluffy and soft, bringing a slight tickling sensation when it swept across the back of her hand.
Yun Qingyue's sword-gripping hand tightened slightly, her gaze seemingly casually glancing at the little white tiger sitting properly in front. The latter appeared unaware, still staring at the scene below, and after a while, perhaps finding it boring, simply lay down on the chair. Yet her tail remained mischievous, occasionally swaying, the tip of her tail brush against Yun Qingyue's hand.
Her slender fingertips moved slightly, somewhat missing the little white tiger's soft fur, but unfortunately, this occasion wasn't suitable for tiger petting.
Yun Qingyue sighed silently, then decided to resist temptation and moved her hand away. Just at this moment, the arrangements for the first round of competition below had been set, and large groups of disciples began heading toward the dozens of arenas.
Those at Foundation Establishment and Qi Refinement weren't deliberately separated; for this competition, the only distinction was between Inner and Outer Sect.
Of the dozens of arenas, a small half was for Inner Sect disciples, and a large half for Outer Sect disciples. Currently, they weren't competitors yet. After the top ten from both Inner and Outer Sects were selected, the Outer Sect top ten would then have the right to challenge Inner Sect disciples—this situation wasn't common but not unprecedented, as some joined the sect with pre-existing skills but could initially only stay in the Outer Sect.
As for why there was no mention of Golden Core cultivators, it was because the age limit for both the competition and the martial arts contest was fifty years. Anyone who advanced to Golden Core before fifty wouldn't remain in the Outer Sect and would certainly have a master.
But these were matters for later; the current excitement was on the arenas.
The little white tiger, who had just lain down, sat up again, her gaze fixed intently on the scene below. Upon seeing that once each arena had a hundred people, a barrier immediately rose around it, both preventing others from entering and containing the attacks within to prevent bystanders from becoming collateral damage. Then, without waiting for any signal to begin, various spells began to fly on the arenas.
Red, yellow, green—all kinds of lights flashed on the arenas, creating an almost eye-blinding spectacle of special effects.
The little white tiger watched until her eyes grew dizzy. With so many people, she couldn't catch individual performances, but already, figures were rapidly being knocked off the arenas. Though there were too many to see clearly, some standouts were apparent.
For instance, with a turn of her head, the little white tiger saw a winged golden lion roar, then kick and stomp, sending many people flying off the arena in just minutes. Looking carefully, she saw someone riding on the back of the flying golden lion, looking somewhat familiar, possibly from the Spirit Beast Garden... This person gripped the lion's mane with one hand while directing the flying golden lion to soar and dive, occasionally eliminating several people—incredibly fierce.
That's... quite impressive...
The little white tiger looked down at her small body, then at the mountain-like flying golden lion, inexplicably feeling somewhat inferior. But just as this thought emerged, she felt a pain at the back of her head, as if someone had slapped her.
The never-to-be-outdone little white tiger immediately grew angry, baring her milk teeth as she turned around to see none other than Divine Lord Zhiming calmly withdrawing his hand. He gave her a fleeting glance, not speaking aloud, yet his voice entered her ears: "Little one, put away that envious look of yours. That sort of thing doesn't deserve your envy—how utterly embarrassing!"
The little tiger cub bared her teeth at the max-level boss, growling "gurgle" twice in her throat, but ultimately deflated—she understood that Divine Lord Zhiming personally bringing her here today, with the Sect Leader arranging a separate seat for her, was intentionally showcasing her and elevating her status. She couldn't devalue herself because of a flying golden lion.
But knowing this didn't change the fact that the little tiger cub who had been slapped felt wronged. Her tail swept backward again, not finding Senior Sister's hand. The little tiger cub, now lonely on her chair, felt even more aggrieved.