Chapter 231: Confrontation
Chapter 231: Chapter 155: Confrontation
The Sword Intent soon swept past, caressing everyone’s cheeks like a spring breeze. It was a refreshing, life-giving sensation.
Li Dashu stated calmly, “I have released the Xiumu Qi accumulated in the Sword Burial Tomb over the last century. This should prevent any major casualties during this competition.”
The dense Spiritual Qi that radiated outward, combined with the Qingcao Sword Sect’s inherent status as a Grotto Heaven Blessed Land, made the sheer concentration of Spiritual Qi an opportunity in itself.
But most importantly, the presence of this Xiumu Qi would minimize casualties among the prodigies.
It was called the Celestial Dao Grand Competition, but tempers often flared in the heat of battle, leading to fights to the death.
Li Dashu didn’t want to see such exceptionally talented youths of the Human Race fall at the hands of their own kind, so he had opened the Sword Burial Tomb without a second thought.
A shadow crossed Xue Mingjing’s eyes. “A grand gesture, Brother Li.”
“It’s nothing special. Compared to when the Chang’an Daoist dealt with the Desire Demon and caused the Yao Guang Well to erupt for the Human Race, my contribution is insignificant.”
Li Dashu swung his sword once more.
The whistle of the blade grew from a sparse patter to a dense roar. At first, it sounded like rain on banana leaves, then like a surging river, and finally, it transformed into a roaring torrent that swept across the world.
A calm voice spoke: “Open!”
The earth trembled faintly. Accompanied by a low rumbling, twenty-four colossal structures slowly broke through the ground and rose into the air.
They were twenty-four pillars made of stone!
The appearance of these twenty-four stone platforms didn’t cause a major stir, but it certainly captured everyone’s undivided attention.
The twenty-four pillars were a bleak, cyan-gray color. The stone was rough, as if it had been weathered by wind and rain for countless ages. Atop each pillar was a fighting platform seventy-two zhang wide.
The rules of the Celestial Dao Grand Competition hadn’t even been announced. Why had these twenty-four pillars appeared first?
Li Qingcao glanced toward his master, then took a deep breath, leaped into the air, and became the first to land atop one of the pillars.
“Everyone, the rules for the first round of the grand competition hosted by my Qingcao Sword Sect are extremely simple. It will last for three days. Whoever is left standing on these twenty-four fighting platforms at the end will be the winner of the first round.”
The younger generation beside the Sword Testing Platform remained silent. Some stood proudly on floating stone platforms, some sat cross-legged on Spiritual Energy Lotus Seats with their eyes closed, Concentrating Spirit, and others stood directly in the air, their flying swords humming beneath their feet, poised for action. Not a single one of them spoke.
After a long moment.
Finally, someone asked a question.
“Doesn’t that put the first person to take a platform at a major disadvantage?”
Li Qingcao nodded, his clear, calm voice carrying across the entire Sword Testing Platform. “That is correct.”
‘Simple and brutal, just as I thought.’
This wasn’t just a simple king-of-the-hill challenge, because the rules set by the Qingcao Sword Sect didn’t prohibit contestants from ganging up on someone.
In other words…
If a disciple with exceptional talent and profound Daoist Techniques were to take a platform first, they could be worn down by a gauntlet of challengers and then be defeated when several people besieged them at once.
This gave disciples from sects with fewer resources than the Nine Gates and Twelve Palaces a fighting chance.
‘They might not be able to beat someone from the Nine Gates and Twelve Palaces in a one-on-one duel, but they could surely win through a relentless, three-day siege.’
The disciples from the minor and mid-sized sects all looked excited.
Someone muttered to himself, “So… wouldn’t it be better to make a move on the third day? What if the truly powerful cultivators wait until the last day to act?”
No one answered him.
Li Qingcao had already sat down cross-legged. Countless fragments of Sword Intent, all astonishingly sharp, quickly materialized on the platform around him.
“Li Qingcao of the Qingcao Sword Sect, here to challenge… any friend from the White Realm!”
He intended to defend this platform for three consecutive days.
Someone quickly claimed the second stone pillar as well.
It was a young woman in a Daoist robe embroidered with cranes. “Bai Lu of the Daoist Sect.”
Only then did Qiu Yuehan realize that Bai Lu was no longer beside her.
Nan Xun explained, “That’s just how Senior Sister Bai is. She said she wants to be like the Chang’an Sect Master and the Daoist Sect Master—to dominate everyone all by herself.”
In other words, the legendary ‘it doesn’t matter how many of you there are, or how strong you are, I’ll take you all on by myself.’
Both of the last two generations from the Daoist Sect were like that.
It seemed this third generation was aiming for the same goal.
Qiu Yuehan wasn’t surprised in the slightest. She just said, “Then she probably won’t get her chance. Emulating those two is far too difficult. Besides, among your peers… Su Youwan from the Compassionate Palace is incredibly strong.”
Nan Xun blinked, looking Qiu Yuehan up and down. ‘Aren’t you the same age as us? Why do you talk like such an old-timer… Is this what they mean by seniority being a crushing weight?’
Qiu Yuehan, of course, had no idea what Nan Xun was thinking. With a flick of her longsword, she flashed onto the third platform.
“Qiu Yuehan of Miao Yu Palace.”
The disciple from the minor sect who had asked the question earlier had clearly been worrying for nothing.
These disciples from the major sects were more arrogant than the last. They were all thinking about dominating their generation; very few planned on waiting until the final day to make their move.
RUMBLE.
A giant wooden man flew in from the sky with a person sitting on its shoulder. He laughed heartily. “In that case, I’ll be so bold as to take this fourth platform! Wang Yi of the Lu Ban Palace!”
Ten Thousand Buddha Palace.
Qingluo Painting Palace.
Corpse Puppet Sect.
Sword Control Sect.
Fire Fist Sect.
One by one, the twenty-four Sword Testing Platforms were soon occupied. A single glance revealed that none of them were weak; the lowest among them had already reached the Fourth Realm.
“The Miao Yu Palace Chief… why is she coming down? Did she change her mind?”
Someone cried out in surprise.
After all the platforms were occupied, the Black Skirt Fairy unexpectedly stepped down from her Sword Testing Platform.
“That can’t be it. I’ve heard that the Miao Yu Palace Chief is known as Sword Li, and that her Moonlight Method is especially terrifying.”
“Why is she… walking toward Xue Nichang of the Blood Demon Palace?”
In full view of everyone, Qiu Yuehan stepped onto the fighting platform occupied by Xue Nichang.
Xue Nichang quickly realized what was happening, and her face turned livid.