Chapter 486: The Finals Begin

The State Preceptor was adept at concealment; even as the finals commenced, the Eldest Senior Sister had yet to find him.

The favored geniuses of the realm had feasted and made merry, resting for an entire day to enter the final arena in peak form.

The atmosphere at the tournament grounds surged with excitement as the elders of various sects raised their voices to cheer for their disciples, hoping they might secure a distinguished rank.

To merely reveal one's prowess and cut a striking figure in these finals would serve as ample capital for boasting in the wider world.

Following the ordained guidance, the geniuses stepped forward to draw lots, their pairings determined by chance to establish their opponents.

Meng Jingzhou, Bai Ming, Yan Tianzhi, and Lan Ting, the four representing the central golden core stage of the immortal sects, gathered in a close circle.

"Who is your opponent?" Bai Ming inquired, ensuring they would not prematurely clash with one another in the opening bout.

"My opponent hails from the Qi-Governing Sect."

"Mine is from the Profound Sect."

Having confirmed that none would cross paths in the first round, a collective sigh of relief washed over them.

"I see no one from the Hanging Temple; did they not say the immortal sects would dispatch disciples of every single realm?" Meng Jingzhou scanned the surroundings; though a few monks were visible, none bore the visage of the Hanging Temple.

Bai Ming frowned as well, being the most well-versed in the affairs of the Hanging Temple: "By all reason, it should not be so. Shi Chan surely meets the requirements and ought to be participating in the finals."

"Perhaps some urgent matter prevented his arrival?" Lan Ting offered a gentle conjecture.

"It is possible."

"I had thought I would cross blades with Lu Yang this time." Bai Ming shook his head; having tasted defeat at Lu Yang's hands twice before, he had hoped to wash away his previous shame, only to find Meng Jingzhou representing the central golden core stage of the Dao-Inquiring Sect instead.

Yan Tianzhi also felt a touch of regret; having never contested with Lu Yang, he harbored a desire to measure his strength against him.

Meng Jingzhou curled his lip: "Rest assured, you will encounter him. He is participating in the finals as well."

Bai Ming started: "Has he broken through to the late golden core stage?"

"Look upon the judges' bench," Meng Jingzhou reminded him with mock benevolence.

Bai Ming, Yan Tianzhi, and Lan Ting raised their gazes in unison.

The sect masters of the five great immortal sects sat enthroned upon the judges' bench, and right in the center sat Lu Yang, waving down at the trio with a brilliant, beaming smile.

Bai Ming: "???"

Why did a sense of deja vu wash over him?

It seemed that during his last visit to the Dao-Inquiring Sect, Lu Yang had occupied this very seat.

Meng Jingzhou sighed, bitterly denouncing Lu Yang's lack of decency: "That dog Lu Yang uses his authority for personal gain, deceiving those below and flattering those above, completely lawless. He forces me into battle while he lounges on the stage enjoying a life of ease. Once I become the Acting Sect Master, I shall surely have my revenge!"

Upon the judges' bench, Lu Yang withdrew his gaze and turned curiously toward Master Jie Sha: "Master, did no one arrive from the Hanging Temple?"

Master Jie Sha remained silent, casting Lu Yang a meaningful glance meant for him to comprehend on his own.

Lu Yang understood perfectly, returning a glance of mutual comprehension to Master Jie Sha.

Lu Yang did not truly grasp Master Jie Sha's meaning, nor did Master Jie Sha comprehend Lu Yang's.

At that moment, the final judge arrived, a youth clad in robes of bright imperial yellow, bearing an approachable smile upon his face.

"Jiang Qun greets the various seniors," the youth named Jiang Qun said, clasping his hands in salute to the five.

"The First Prince need not stand on ceremony," Luo Hongxia remarked, cradling a precious treasure box in her arms; along her journey here, many had fussed over the box with deep concern, terrified lest some mishap should befall it.

Jiang Qun found it strange that Palace Master Luo would cradle the box so, but deeming it a private secret of her sect, he refrained from pressing further.

The tournament was hosted by the imperial court, so the court naturally had to dispatch an emissary.

The newcomer was an acquaintance of Lu Yang as well—Jiang Qun, the First Prince of the Great Xia, who had used the alias Xia Qun during the Qingzhou Grand Ceremony while serving as the deputy to the Qingzhou Governor.

"Sect Master Lu is indeed young and promising," Jiang Qun said with a laugh, showing great warmth toward Lu Yang.

He possessed a cultivation of the early integration stage; among the six individuals present, his cultivation ranked second from the bottom, so he naturally felt a closer affinity to the one at the very bottom.

If Lu Yang were to depart, he would inherit the lowest rank.

Furthermore, before his departure, the Xia Emperor had strictly enjoined him to foster good relations with the Dao-Inquiring Sect and with Lu Yang in particular.

The explicit mention of Lu Yang illustrated just how heavily his royal father regarded the youth.

"This... I have rendered great and meritorious service, so acting as the Sect Master is only fitting," Lu Yang declared placidly, leaving Jiang Qun momentarily speechless, utterly at a loss for how to continue the conversation.

How could this Sect Master Lu lack even a shred of humility?

"Sect Master Lu has indeed toiled hard," Jiang Qun managed to squeeze out after a long pause.

Naturally, Sect Master Lu would not be humble, for the one currently commanding the physical form was Sect Master Huang Doudou.

The true Sect Master Lu had been sealed away within the spiritual space, crying out to heaven and earth in vain, suffering a tragic and wretched fate that would make any onlooker call out in approval.

"The Qi-Refining group matches should be starting soon, I suppose."

While the other realms were divided into early, central, and late stages, the Qi-Refining stage alone stood as a single group without finer distinctions.

Mainly, there was no necessity for it; the core focus of this tournament was to weed out ancient cultivators who had dispersed their cultivation to retrain.

It was impossible for ancient cultivators to linger around the seventh or eighth tier of Qi-Refining; they had no reason to waste too much time in this initial stage, so the lowest among them would be at peak Qi-Refining, and it was highly probable they had bypassed the realm entirely.

Those capable of fighting their way to the finals were uniformly at peak Qi-Refining, standing a single thought away from the Foundation Establishment stage.

At the city and provincial levels, a few instances had occurred where ninth-tier Qi-Refining cultivators defied the odds to defeat peak Qi-Refining opponents, but these ninth-tier cultivators were swiftly eliminated afterward.

The opponents these few ninth-tier cultivators faced were no ordinary peak Qi-Refining individuals, but rather peak Qi-Refining paragons who rarely met their match within the same tier.

"What a pity there are no Qi-Practitioners left in this era, otherwise you could have witnessed a Qi-Refining cultivator vanquishing Golden Core and Nascent Soul stages," the Immortal Fairy remarked with a tinge of regret.

"Qi-Practitioners?" Lu Yang had never encountered this concept.

"Qi-Practitioners belonged to the cultivation system inaugurated by the very first cultivators; by continuously nurturing a breath of air within the abdomen, one could ceaselessly elevate oneself. In theory, achieving immortality through Qi-Refining alone was entirely possible."

"If Qi-Practitioners were so formidable, why did they vanish later on?"

"Formidable as they were, the restrictions were far too severe; only a minuscule fraction of people could ever cultivate it. One could scarcely find a single person meeting the criteria among millions. Moreover, it existed during the pioneering phase of cultivation systems, so the Qi-Practitioner system was soon abandoned. The current Qi-Refining stage is precisely what evolved from it."

"Conversely, Qi-Practitioners were exceedingly rare, but once one became a Qi-Practitioner, the speed of cultivation was absurdly swift."

A disciple of the Dao-Inquiring Sect sent a divine transmission to the Immortal Fairy, informing her that preparations below were complete and the Qi-Refining group matches could commence. The Immortal Fairy then solemnly announced the official beginning of the finals.

"The Qi-Refining matches are so tedious; they cannot compare to the brilliance of the Foundation Establishment stage," Yang Ding muttered, secretly stifling a yawn so those below would not perceive it.

Upon the arena stage, two Qi-Refining geniuses stepped forward.

"Junior brother, after you."

"Then I shall not be polite."

The opponent laughed heartily, executing a flourish with his blade before thrusting toward the other.

A gleam of a successful ruse flashed within the other's eyes as his aura suddenly exploded, breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage!

Let us see how you fight now!

The opponent merely smiled; while raising his sword to thrust forward, his aura likewise exploded, breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage!

Let us see how you fight now!

Yang Ding's wish was fulfilled; the Qi-Refining match had transformed into a Foundation Establishment battle.

The second update will arrive around eleven o'clock.