Heaven's Peak Arena Ground
Mo Gu changed his direction as he saw Xinli talking with Yang Gang and Cao Long, fearing that Xinli would notice him.
"Brother Gu, anything wrong?" Sha Nuo asked Mo Gu, sensing the awkward expression Mo Gu was showing.
"Huh? Nothing, nothing… I just remembered some unpleasant memories," Mo Gu replied as he heard a question from out of nowhere.
"Oh, okay. How is your cultivation going, Brother Gu and Brother Shi?" Sha Nuo asked Mo Gu and Mo Shi.
Just like that, their conversation went on, and everyone's topic was the outer disciple competition.
Seeing everyone's motivation and improvement, Xinli became quite interested, but one thing was for sure: their improvement was not enough to outshine the competition.
Few managed to reach the Bone-Forging Realm. And there was not a single Bone-Forging 4th realm and higher from this group. They were just looking like stepping stones in the competition, but still, there would be another chance next year too.
"How confident are you, Brother Xinli?" Cao Long asked him this time.
"Confident enough to reach the top 25," Xinli said, waiting, fake smiling, but no one could differentiate whether his smile was fake or genuine.
In the cold weather, the surrounding tree leaves fluttered gently, their crisp edges catching the soft, silvery light of the winter sun. The air was quiet, save for the occasional rustle of a breeze, carrying with it the faint scent of pine and earth.
Branches creaked softly under the weight of recent snowfall, their delicate frosty coating shimmering in the pale, wintry light. There was also a lively vibe in the air as disciples and instructors were preparing for the competition.
Everyone was eager to witness the competition. Every outer disciple was eager to participate in it. This was just the beginning of the story of every outer disciple of the Profound Enmity Sect.
Some might fail in this competition, and some might qualify. One thing was for sure: if they didn't give their all, then they would regret it. Opportunity might come many times, but time wouldn't.
Just like that, time tricked by second after second as Xinli just chilled, sipping his tea and sitting on the chair as he enjoyed the vibe of the weather.
The following day, Instructor Li stood in front of them while they listened to his instructions clearly.
"Listen closely to what you need to do tomorrow in the competition. First of all, whoever has not reached the Bone-Forging Realm, do not participate in it; there will be a higher chance that you will get injured in the fight with a higher cultivation disciple.
But if you want to get experience from it, you can try it, but surrender when facing a powerful person you can't defeat. Do not be hopeless; there will be another chance you will get next year.
But if you continuously fail to get into the inner disciple for five years, you will be out of this sect, so strive hard."
"Heaven's Peak Arena, this is the place where the competition will be held. This arena is quite different from what you guys had fought in. The fight will be based on a lucky draw token chosen by, so it will be fair and square."
"Also, to make it even fair, the sect issued that you can only use a wooden weapon. The rule is simple: if you are rung out from the ring, you will lose. If you say 'I surrender,' then you lose. If you get unconscious, then you lose."
"Okay, that's it. You can fight however you like. If your opponent is lying or jumping, you can hit him to a pulp, but you can't use external power to fight or you will be punished. GOT IT?" Instructor Li asked loudly to ensure they understood.
"YES SIR," all disciples said in unison.
"ANY QUESTIONS?"
"NO SIR."
"Okay, I will come tomorrow at 7 am to pick you guys up. Be ready by that time, all of you." After reminding them one last time, Instructor Li walked away with his hand on his back.
Everyone left from there one by one, doing their own things, but nobody trained or anything. A little bit of warming up would be okay, but they thought everyone should relax their bodies for tomorrow. Just like that, one day went by doing nothing extraordinary.
Xinli also woke up at 5 am, yawning and scratching himself to relax his body muscles. Even though he would be all right without sleeping for three to four days, making extra preparations would not cost him anything.
Then, after refreshing himself and wearing an outer disciple robe, Kalu accompanied him. He went outside; his temperament was changing without him noticing day by day.
As he stepped outside, he saw many others gathered, eager to go. Then Instructor Li came exactly at the time he promised.
"Okay, follow me," Instructor Li commanded.
As Instructor Li ordered, they followed him, but there were also some who were not willing to participate while some were going for the fun. They started to go to the inner area side of the sect. Other groups, led by their own instructors, were going in the same direction as they were.
Some minutes later, they started to reach their destination. In front of them lay a big ground, bigger and larger than the size of a football ground, and ahead of that was a big hall. Several throne-type chairs could be seen as if they were for big shots within the sect, still some might be missing for now because of the busyness of the sect.
All disciples were led by the instructor towards the ground. There were at least 8,000 disciples assembling on the ground, divided into almost 50 to 100 lines. Their instructor was standing in front of them.
Then every instructor told their disciples to greet at once when a higher-up would show up.
Some minutes later, out of nowhere, seven powerful figures emerged, and they came using teleportation art or scroll. However, their aura was so powerful that one might get suffocated just from their presence.
"GREETING ALL ELDER AND SECT MASTER," all disciples and instructors greeted the seven powerful figures in unison.
"Okay, start the event," Sect Leader Zhu Zhan said calmly, but his voice echoed through the whole area. Then all seven influential people began to sit on the throne chairs.
Preparation went on.
"Looks like this time's competition will be quite enjoyable, even the sect leader is willing to come with us," one of the six people said amusingly. His appearance looked like a middle-aged man with a beard and long black hair, but that didn't mean he was actually young. He might be from an older generation of cultivators. His name was Yu Moong.
"Did you see any seedlings that caught your interest, Elder Han?" Elder Yu Moong said curiously.
"Yes… there were some," Elder Han said calmly.
"Oh, who might that be?" Elder Sumi said, smiling.
But Elder Han did not reply to the others' questions.
"Hmph… playing mysterious again… Bad Elder Han," Elder Sumi, who looked middle-aged, said while pouting. But one couldn't judge her by her appearance; she might be more sinister than one thought.