When Golden Finger Meets Salted Fish

Inside Lingyun Hall, Sect Leader Qingxiao sat at the head, with the four peak masters seated on both sides, along with elders from various peaks and the other two sects. Combined with the dozens of sect elites who had just entered, there were nearly a hundred people gathered in the hall.

Despite the crowd, the hall remained silent.

Sect Leader Qingxiao's gaze swept over everyone below before he finally spoke: "Everyone present represents the elite of our three sects. I needn't explain why we've gathered here today. Xuanqing Sect, Tiandao Sect, and Buddha Sect—our three righteous sects have always been like branches from the same tree, maintaining good relations. While we avoid disputes, competition remains necessary. Thus, our ancestors established this martial arts competition, held once every sixty years, where disciples from the three sects determine their rankings."

This was common knowledge, so everyone listened quietly without making a sound. Only the little white tiger, who had been provided with a chair after entering the hall, watched Sect Leader Qingxiao with curiosity.

Fortunately, Sect Leader Qingxiao wasn't verbose. His opening remarks were nearly complete, and he redirected his attention, saying: "This competition is hosted by our Xuanqing Sect, and we have prepared three rewards for the victors..."

As he spoke, he waved his hand, and three golden luminous spheres floated before him, their contents faintly visible within.

Under everyone's intense gaze, he calmly reached into one sphere and drew out a gleaming spiritual sword: "The first reward is this Autumn Water Containing Light sword. This sword was forged by Peak Master Qingyuan of Mount Qingyun, a sixth-grade superior spiritual weapon with no attribute. Its wondrous properties will be discovered by the sword's master after it recognizes its owner."

When this first prize appeared, exclamations of surprise finally erupted from the disciples below, clearly astonished by Xuanqing Sect's generosity. A sixth-grade superior spiritual weapon was considered precious to these disciples, and its non-attribute nature was even more valuable. This meant that regardless of a disciple's spiritual root, anyone who possessed this sword would achieve the best compatibility and unleash maximum power.

Moreover, this spiritual sword came from Peak Master Qingyuan, who was known for his perfectionism. For this sword to be offered as a competition reward, it surely wasn't an ordinary spiritual weapon. This sword could undoubtedly be refined and upgraded, perhaps even accompanying its owner all the way to the Great Achievement or Tribulation Crossing realms!

The little white tiger perked up her ears, clearly hearing the discussions below, and her gaze toward the Autumn Water Containing Light sword grew complex. Since Senior Sister had just refined the Fuxue Sword, she understood more about spiritual sword refinement. She had previously thought the Fuxue Sword bestowed by Peak Master Qingyu was excellent, but now, after such a short time, she had already seen something better.

Moreover, the three competition rewards were clearly intended for the top three competitors. Judging by the order of presentation, this sword was likely the reward for third place.

Thinking of this, the little white tiger couldn't help but glance toward her Senior Sister. Yun Qingyue had advanced to Nascent Soul, making her exceptional among the disciples of the three sects. Additionally, her cultivation had mysteriously progressed further, nearly breaking through to mid-stage Nascent Soul. She definitely had a chance to compete for the top three.

However, the cold-natured woman standing at the front of the crowd, holding her ice-snow sword, looked at the Autumn Water Containing Light sword with a calm, unrippled gaze. She already possessed her own spiritual sword and showed no interest in coveting another. Even if she ultimately won a top-three position and obtained this sword, she likely wouldn't use it.

For some reason, seeing Yun Qingyue's steadfast nature, the little white tiger felt a secret joy—once Yun Qingyue claimed something as her own, she wouldn't easily abandon it, even if something better came along. Now that she was the only one by her side and Senior Sister had accepted her, perhaps in the future, even if some immortal spiritual beast tried to get close to her, Senior Sister wouldn't give it a second glance.

The little white tiger lay on the chair, her tail swishing behind her, not daring to hope for more at the moment.

After everyone's surprise subsided, Sect Leader Qingxiao smiled slightly and reached into the second sphere. This time, he withdrew a jade bottle, immediately indicating that this reward was certainly a medicinal pill: "This is the second reward, the Boundary Breaking Pill. This pill was refined by Peak Master Qinglan of Mount Qionghua, a seventh-grade mid-quality spiritual pill."

With these words, the disciples below held their breath for a moment, their gazes growing increasingly fervent. Even those few proud talents who had maintained some restraint regarding the Autumn Water Containing Light sword now couldn't help but feel tempted.

The so-called Boundary Breaking Pill was meant to break through cultivation boundaries. When faced with a bottleneck in cultivation, this pill served as the best auxiliary medication. As cultivators reached higher realms, breakthroughs became increasingly difficult. Advancing from early-stage Nascent Soul to mid-stage Nascent Soul was a minor breakthrough, while advancing from Nascent Soul to Void Crossing was a major breakthrough. Each breakthrough multiplied a cultivator's strength, but each one was increasingly difficult.

For minor realm breakthroughs, taking the Boundary Breaking Pill increased the success rate to ninety percent. For major realm breakthroughs, it increased the odds by at least fifty percent. Most importantly, it left no adverse effects.

A seventh-grade spiritual pill indicated it could be used by anyone below the Spirit Division realm. Naturally, no one would be willing to use it now, much less for a minor breakthrough. Using this pill when advancing from Void Crossing to Spirit Division would virtually guarantee success. All present were elite disciples from their respective sects, with many already advancing to Nascent Soul. Barring an untimely death, there was no doubt they would eventually advance to Spirit Division.

While a mid-quality spiritual pill wasn't as potent as a superior-quality one, it remained an invaluable treasure. That said, given the rarity of Boundary Breaking Pills, even if Peak Master Qinglan had refined a superior-quality one, he wouldn't have offered it as a competition reward.

After displaying two consecutive rewards, the vast majority of disciples were enticed, and their gazes toward the final sphere grew even more expectant.

Sect Leader Qingxiao didn't build suspense, quickly reaching into the last sphere. This time, he withdrew something resembling a piece of blue-green jade. But it clearly wasn't jade, because as soon as Sect Leader Qingxiao brought it out, even from a distance everyone felt a powerful aura of pressure. Among those present, only the little white tiger remained completely oblivious, and only a few peak masters remained unaffected.

"This is a piece of dragon-veined beast bone," Sect Leader Qingxiao explained. "One hundred and twenty years ago, a dragon-veined beast wreaked havoc at the foot of Mount Cangming. An elder from our sect happened to encounter and slay it, bringing back its skeleton for crafting weapons. This is one of those pieces."

He spoke casually, but a dragon-veined beast was at least a seventh-grade spiritual beast. Seeing how this bone had developed a jade-like quality and exuded such pressure, it might have been close to advancing further. Though what Sect Leader Qingxiao held was only palm-sized, it remained extremely valuable. Adding it during weapon crafting or spiritual treasure refinement would undoubtedly provide a significant enhancement.

If some had previously resisted the Autumn Water Containing Light sword because they already possessed weapons, they were now determined to obtain this dragon-veined beast bone. Even Yun Qingyue's gaze lingered on the bone, clearly tempted.

The three treasures having stirred everyone's hearts, Sect Leader Qingxiao finally announced the start of the competition with satisfaction.

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For this martial arts competition, Xuanqing Sect had selected the top ten from their sect competition as participants. For fairness, Tiandao Sect and Buddha Sect also sent ten representatives each. The format remained a platform tournament with one-on-one battles, but to ensure fairness, the outcome wasn't determined by a single random match, preventing participants from feeling that their ranking was unfair due to mismatched opponents.

The competition was divided into three rounds: a formal round, a revival round, and an elimination round.

In the first round, opponents were determined by drawing lots, with the losers entering the second round. Those who lost again entered the third round, and if they lost in the third round, they were eliminated without further recourse. Conversely, if they won in the third round, they could return to the second round, and if they won in the second round, they would return to the first round.

Through these three rounds, basic fairness was ensured. Opponents were still determined by drawing lots, but if someone drew significantly mismatched opponents three consecutive times, they could only blame their luck, and there was nothing to say about being eliminated. After all, cultivators also depended on fortune, and with such poor luck, they likely had little future prospects.

Unlike the previous competition, the drawing process was not handled by elders arranging everything at once. Instead, participants came forward to draw their own lots.

Within a jade box lay sealed numbers. Once drawn, breaking the outer spiritual energy seal would reveal the number inside. Drawing the same number indicated who your opponent would be, and the number represented the match order.

For Xuanqing Sect, Su Hao was naturally the first to draw. With his graceful demeanor and warm smile, he didn't rush to draw after stepping forward, but instead invited representatives from Tiandao Sect and Buddha Sect to join him.

This time, Tiandao Sect's first representative was no longer You Yi, but Jiang Shen, who had remained largely secluded. Since arriving at Xuanqing Sect, he had rarely appeared, but his seclusion didn't indicate a detached personality—on the contrary, it reflected his arrogance in not considering fellow disciples worthy of his attention. Now as he stepped out from the line, though his expression showed no particular sentiment, the inherent arrogance emanating from him made him unlikable.

Buddha Sect's representative was quite predictable—Tanming was the first to step forward. However, an observant person would notice that before stepping forward, he glanced to his side, where an unfamiliar young monk stood—the little white tiger recognized him as the young monk she had briefly seen at the auction house two days ago.

The little white tiger hadn't thought much of it then, but judging from Tanming's attitude now, this person was likely the rumored Buddha's Disciple.

The three who stepped forward exchanged brief greetings. As the host, Su Hao from Xuanqing Sect was the first to draw. Then came Jiang Shen from Tiandao Sect, who showed no inclination to be courteous and followed immediately after Su Hao. Tanming didn't mind, only stepping forward after Jiang Shen had finished.

The three didn't immediately open their lots after drawing them. The remaining disciples from the three sects came forward one after another, and within moments, everyone had received their lots. Then, as if by tacit agreement, everyone simultaneously crushed their lots, revealing golden numbers. After seeing who their opponents were, their reactions naturally varied—some delighted, others worried.

The little white tiger ignored everyone else, her gaze fixed intently on Yun Qingyue from the moment her Senior Sister stepped forward to draw until she opened her lot. A golden number emerged from the lot—the seventh match.

Scanning the entire hall, she discovered that the opponent was You Yi, Tiandao Sect's second-ranked figure. Senior Sister's luck wasn't particularly good.