Chapter 12: The Sect Grand Tournament
"Junior Brother, today is the Sect Grand Tournament. You must not make me lose face." Yun Mei gently adjusted Xiao Yichen's clothes while whispering in his ear, looking every bit like a wife seeing off her husband, her expression full of tenderness.
Hearing this, Xiao Yichen only smiled faintly, though his heart raced with excitement. If he could display his Body Tempering Realm strength in this tournament, his talent and ability would surely draw the attention of the sect's higher-ups. By then, if a female disciple with an even higher cultivation base than Yun Mei took a fancy to him and favored him, his chances of surviving and escaping the Meiyu Sect would undoubtedly be much greater.
Noticing the change in Xiao Yichen's expression, Yun Mei paused slightly, puzzled. Pressing her ear against his chest, she listened quietly: "Junior Brother?... What are you thinking about? Why is your heartbeat so fast?"
At this, Xiao Yichen merely chuckled and offered a few sweet words, quickly coaxing Yun Mei so that she stopped questioning him. After seeing Yun Mei off, with still about half an hour before the tournament, Xiao Yichen simply lay down on the bed and recalled his various experiences over the past year or so.
"It truly has been a torment. Day after day of cultivation, reaching the Peak Mortal Realm, and then taking a gamble with lightning to break through to the Body Tempering Realm. Placed anywhere in the world of cultivation, this speed of progress should be considered quite impressive. Fortunately, it finally succeeded." He sighed softly, harboring not a shred of doubt about his own talent; after all, being able to transmigrate into the realm of cultivation meant he certainly possessed extraordinary qualities.
However, as the excitement in his mind gradually faded, a deep sense of reluctance welled up in the depths of his heart.
"To be honest, Yun Mei treats me really well. If only... this were in a normal sect, how wonderful that would be." But the moment he remembered that Yun Mei's kindness toward him was solely to use him as a cauldron five years later, his heart felt as if it had been harshly squeezed, and waves of stabbing pain surged upward.
He thought again of Liu Qingqing, that little girl who, ever since forging a sibling-like bond with him, had followed him around all day calling him "Brother, Brother." He just didn't know how he would face her after this tournament.
He shook his head, casting aside these vexing thoughts, rested a little longer, and then stood up to walk outside.
By now, the area around the sect's martial arena was already packed with numerous disciples. He had arrived right on time; the referee had just finished reciting the rules of the tournament.
Male and female disciples would compete separately. After all, within the Meiyu Sect, the overall cultivation level of the male disciples was far inferior to that of the females.
Over the past year or so, he had roughly figured out the overall strength of all the younger generation disciples in the Meiyu Sect. Among the female disciples, Yun Mei and Zhang Qingyue were undoubtedly the strongest, both at the Qi Condensation Peak, merely a step away from advancing into the Core Formation Realm.
"I wonder who is stronger between Senior Sister and Zhang Qingyue. I heard this match is also tied to the selection of the sect's next Saintess." Hearing these discussions, Xiao Yichen naturally favored Yun Mei in his heart. Coupled with her recovery after that severe injury last time, Yun Mei's strength had undoubtedly improved further. Though she hadn't yet touched the threshold of the Core Formation Realm, she couldn't be far off, and her strength should surpass her opponent's.
As for the younger generation of male disciples, the strongest among them was currently only at the early stage of Qi Refining. Although much stronger than Xiao Yichen's current state, compared to female disciples like Yun Mei, the gap was by no means small.
Just as Xiao Yichen was lost in thought, the referee on the stage announced the official start of the Grand Tournament.
On the stage, the first match was between two senior sisters whom Xiao Yichen had met once before.
Right now, the two of them stared fixedly at each other. The next second, they simultaneously made their move, gripping their weapons tightly and charging at their opponent. Just from their attacks, it was obvious they frequently sparred with each other on ordinary days. Blocking and parrying, intimately familiar with each other's methods, they became entangled in combat, making it hard to tell the winner for a moment. Both possessed Peak Body Tempering cultivation, so for now they could only fight relying on physical combat techniques. Seeing this scene, Xiao Yichen could not help but smile involuntarily.
"It seems that until one advances to the Qi Refining Stage, it's impossible to control spiritual energy to assist in combat. Doesn't that mean the energy inside my body is essentially like a cheat code?"
Before long, the battle between the two on stage reached a new turning point. Their relationship was not bad; exchanging a glance, they understood each other's thoughts. There were no side bets between them, and victory or defeat wasn't all that important. To avoid dragging things out, the two simply decided to settle the match with a single, decisive move.
A powerful sword qi suddenly surged on the stage. Each gathered their strength, unleashing the most powerful strike they could currently control against the other. Finally, with a loud "bang," one figure was knocked flying off the martial arena.
Xiao Yichen turned around, showing little interest in the outcome and not bothering to care who won or lost. To him, this was of no use whatsoever. He stepped out of the crowd, found a shady spot, and prepared to rest for a moment. Who would have thought the tree shade was already packed with people? A group of male disciples were hiding under the tree being lazy and didn't even go to watch the match.
"A bunch of fellows with no ambition," he muttered inwardly, then shamelessly squeezed his way in among them. Soon, the group of them were happily gossiping away.
"Who do you guys think will have the last laugh among the female disciples in this Grand Tournament? I heard the winner of this tournament gets a chance to be chosen as the next Saintess."
"Needless to say, it's naturally Senior Sister Zhang. I don't mind making a fool of myself by telling you, but a while ago I happened to pass by Senior Sister Zhang's courtyard, and the pressure radiating from her room almost made me kneel on the spot. I reckon Senior Sister Zhang is about to step into the Core Formation Realm."
"That's hard to say. I still think Senior Sister Yun has a higher chance of winning. Some time ago, Senior Sister Yun went out on a mission and was severely injured. Later, Junior Brother went to Junior Sister Liu to procure a healing pill for her, and that's how she recovered from her critical condition. Her strength must have increased immensely, though because of that, Junior Sister Liu was penalized by the sect with half a year's worth of cultivation resources."
At this, everyone's gazes simultaneously shifted toward Xiao Yichen, who was still listening to the gossip. Seeing his senior brothers staring at him, Xiao Yichen could only offer an awkward smile.
However, he was actually hearing about Liu Qingqing's punishment for the first time. His blockhead brain truly couldn't fathom such a bizarre rule: a cultivation sect's attitude toward a disciple getting injured was so perfunctory that not only did they not actively treat injured disciples, but they even punished disciples for helping each other.
"What kind of damned sect is this?" he muttered inwardly. How was this any different from capitalists squeezing laborers?
"Speaking of which, does anyone know what mission Senior Sister Yun went on last time to get injured so badly?"
At this, everyone shook their heads and turned their gaze back to Xiao Yichen, but he was equally clueless.
He had once asked Yun Mei what she had encountered to make her so severely injured, but every time he asked, Yun Mei brushed it off with vague replies. Over time, he stopped asking.
Right at that moment, Liu Qingqing's voice drifted over from the stage. Hearing the commotion, Xiao Yichen immediately got up and said goodbye to his senior brothers.
He still had to go watch Liu Qingqing's match, otherwise once that little girl found out he hadn't gone, she would undoubtedly grumble in his ear for a whole month.
Slowly squeezing his way to the front, he watched Liu Qingqing and her opponent trade blow-for-blow in hand-to-hand combat on stage, a sight that left Xiao Yichen somewhat dumbfounded.
"It seems this is the first time I've seen Qingqing fight. Why is she a bit violent?" He inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Good thing he came to watch her match; if Qingqing on stage found out later that he hadn't come, it probably wouldn't just be a simple grumbling session. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he attentively observed the movement on stage.
The opposing female disciple and Liu Qingqing were both at the Body Tempering Realm Mid-stage. It seemed the Sect Grand Tournament didn't randomly select opponents; every disciple's opponent was someone with a similar cultivation level.
Although their cultivation levels were virtually identical, Liu Qingqing relied on a suicidal fighting style to firmly suppress her opponent, and it was quite obvious who held the upper hand. Xiao Yichen would never have imagined that Liu Qingqing, an alchemist, would fight in such a manner; he had no idea where she had learned it.
Soon, the match went just as Xiao Yichen had anticipated: the opposing female disciple was neatly kicked off the martial arena by Liu Qingqing.
Seeing Liu Qingqing dancing around on stage in delight, Xiao Yichen smiled faintly. When Liu Qingqing spotted him, her two little canine teeth could no longer be hidden, and she scampered joyfully toward Xiao Yichen's spot at the edge of the stage, leaping straight into the air to hang onto his body, drawing a chorus of gasps and side-eyes from the surrounding senior brothers and sisters.
There was a rule within the sect that every disciple could only have one cultivation partner, yet in everyone's memory, wasn't he, Xiao Yichen, Senior Sister Yun's partner? How could he be so intimate with Liu Qingqing?
Feeling the gazes cast upon them by the surrounding crowd, Liu Qingqing also jumped down from Xiao Yichen with some embarrassment.
Right at that moment, the referee on stage called out the names of Yun Mei and Zhang Qingyue. Hearing this, the two of them also turned their gazes toward the martial arena.
At this moment, Yun Mei and Zhang Qingyue were walking slowly toward the stage amidst the cheers of the crowd.
Arriving on the martial arena, Yun Mei glanced at Xiao Yichen below, as well as Liu Qingqing who was clinging to his arm, and wryly shook her head. This little girl was simply too clingy, completely ignoring her as a "sister-in-law." If she didn't know the girl was pure-hearted, she would have wanted to step off the stage right then and there to properly discipline the pair of them.
Recalling her thoughts, Yun Mei's expression began to grow solemn. She looked at Zhang Qingyue opposite her, her eyes filled with wariness. This old rival had been opposing her for more than a day or two, especially given some rumors she had heard recently. If they turned out to be true, things could get rather tricky.