Chapter 14

The five days passed in a flash, and the day of the testing assembly had arrived. This time, the Asura Sect did not make an exception and once again transported one hundred thousand new disciples. All the disciples who had already comprehended Qi Energy, including Zhuge Xiang, received a prompt from the sect in advance, informing them to participate in the grand competition on the day of the testing assembly.

For this grand competition, the sect had prepared seventeen excellent items. Some were pills that could increase one year of cultivation, others were two-star magical artifacts, and there were even martial techniques and cultivation methods that surpassed those in the Martial Arts Pavilion. All of these were highly desirable.

The first-place winner of the grand competition could choose five items from the seventeen prizes, the second-place winner could choose three, the third-place winner could choose two, and the fourth to tenth-place winners could each choose one. The rewards offered by the sect were extremely generous, all of them being excellent items. However, selecting only the top ten from thousands of disciples made the competition extremely fierce.

The day of the testing assembly was very lively. Nearly two hundred thousand disciples gathered, including those from the previous session who had not yet comprehended Qi Energy, who all wore expressions of disappointment, and the new disciples, who were filled with curiosity and anticipation for the grand competition.

Woo... Woo...

The Asura Sect's horn sounded, a magical treasure of the sect. The sound of the horn could be heard clearly for hundreds of miles around the Asura Sect's outer sect base, serving as the signal for the grand competition. All the disciples who were training in the Endless Mountains could hear it. Of course, knowing the date of the testing assembly, these disciples would not have strayed too far, and most had already been waiting at the Asura Sect's base.

"Is the grand competition about to start?" In the Endless Mountains, by a secluded small lake, a figure suddenly appeared, the afterimages vanishing. It was Zhao Feiyun, his eyes filled with a fierce light as he looked toward the Asura Sect's base.

Zhao Feiyun had been very lucky. While training in the Endless Mountains, he had accidentally encountered a deceased outer sect manager of the Asura Sect who had died over a decade ago. Although the manager was only at the Pulse-Through stage, the pair of magical artifact boots and a magical artifact short knife he left behind greatly enhanced Zhao Feiyun.

Having reached the Second Layer of Qi Cultivation, Zhao Feiyun, equipped with the two magical artifacts, had absolute confidence in slaying Zhuge Xiang and even aimed to place in the top five of the grand competition.

Although the fourth place and below only received one prize, the higher-ranked winners had the right to choose their prizes first, which was a significant advantage. The lower the rank, the less suitable the remaining prizes would be.

"Blood Thunder Slash!" With the Blood Refining Knife in hand, Zhao Feiyun swung it, creating a crimson blade of light. He instantly slew a Second Layer Qi Cultivation-level demon wolf, earning 50 experience points. Hearing the horn, he turned to look at the Asura Sect's base, knowing the grand competition had begun.

For five consecutive days, Zhuge Xiang had been in the Endless Mountains, slaying demons and beasts to gain experience. However, without killing higher-level monsters, there was no experience bonus, and slaying ordinary beasts only granted one or two experience points. This made Zhuge Xiang realize that killing higher-level monsters provided an experience bonus, while slaying much weaker beings yielded very little experience. Over these five days, Zhuge Xiang had barely managed to gain over 1,000 experience points, needing 2,000 to reach the Third Layer of Qi Cultivation. He was still short by about 500 points.

Moreover, during these five days, it seemed Zhuge Xiang had exhausted his luck. He did not obtain any valuable items, only two Qi Recovery Pills for restoring Qi Energy and a pair of boots that increased his movement speed by 30%, which was the only valuable item he got. It appeared that killing higher-level monsters not only provided an experience bonus but also increased the drop rate of items.

Previously, when he slew the demon fox, Zhuge Xiang had gained a skill point, which he decided to allocate to the Bloodthirsty Technique, bringing it to the Proficient level. Although enhancing Blood Thunder Slash would greatly increase his attack power, in the long term, improving the Bloodthirsty Technique would strengthen his trump card.

"Grand competition? My goal is first place?" With a look of anticipation, Zhuge Xiang quickly returned. With the 30% speed boost from the boots, his movement speed had significantly increased.

First place, it was no wonder Zhuge Xiang had such thoughts. Although he was only at the Second Layer of Qi Cultivation, with the Blood Refining Knife and the speed-boosting boots, two one-star magical artifacts, and two skills, one of which, the Bloodthirsty Technique, had reached the Proficient level, he could potentially defeat even Third Layer Qi Cultivation disciples.

Moreover, if he had good luck, he could gain 500 experience points during the grand competition, advancing to the Third Layer of Qi Cultivation. This would further enhance his capabilities, so Zhuge Xiang was not without hope for first place.

"Has the grand competition started? I wonder how much that guy's strength has improved over these few days," Lu Yuling also heard the horn, her face showing a hint of anticipation. She then shook her head. She had just broken through to the Second Layer of Qi Cultivation, and even if she had improved, it would not be significant. However, she had more expectations for Zhuge Xiang, clearly considering him a strong competitor.

Disciples who were still training in the Endless Mountains quickly returned. Some had just comprehended Qi Energy, others were geniuses like Lu Yuling, and some had unresolved conflicts, planning to settle them in the grand competition. The Asura Sect's disciples were not afraid of battles. Even if they knew they had no chance of placing in the top ten, their enthusiasm for the grand competition remained high.

Nearly two hundred thousand disciples gathered at the massive arena of the Asura Sect, a sea of heads. From the arena, looking down, it was a vast, dark expanse. Due to the grand competition, it was impossible for thousands of disciples to all go on stage, so the massive arena was divided into thirty-two battle platforms.

After one year of training, although most of the one hundred thousand disciples had not comprehended Qi Energy, the large base number meant that over five thousand had done so. Each of the thirty-two battle platforms would determine a first-place winner to enter the top thirty-two.

"Alright, the rules are roughly as follows. Before the grand competition, as per tradition, disciples with conflicts can duel on the stage, but try not to cause fatalities," the host of the grand competition explained the simple rules.

In the demonic sects, especially the Asura Sect, duels were very sacred. The host only said to try not to cause fatalities, whereas in righteous sects, they would likely say to stop at a point and even intervene in dangerous situations. However, in the Asura Sect, life and death in duels were left to fate.

As the host finished speaking and stepped down, many disciples with long-standing grudges could not resist jumping onto the stage, clearly having prearranged their duels. At the same time, taking advantage of the speed from the Ghost Step, Zhao Feiyun was the first to jump onto the stage, shouting loudly, "Zhuge Xiang, come out!"

Zhuge Xiang, who was with Niu Geng, smiled at him upon hearing Zhao Feiyun's words. "Alright, your Blood Spirit Fruit is secured. Comprehending Qi Energy at this time is not too late."

"Be careful. I heard Zhao Feiyun has already broken through to the Second Layer of Qi Cultivation," Niu Geng's face showed concern, though he knew Zhuge Xiang had also broken through to the Second Layer, he was always very concerned about his friend.

"Don't worry, he can't do anything to me. My goal this time is first place," Zhuge Xiang nodded and said to Niu Geng. Then, he moved and jumped onto the battle platform, standing before Zhao Feiyun, his blood knife on his back, standing tall like a pole.

"Zhao Feiyun? I hope he can force Zhuge Xiang to use some of his techniques," Lu Yuling, watching Zhuge Xiang step onto the stage, her eyes lit up with interest.

Although Zhuge Xiang had revealed all his trump cards in the battle against the demon fox, Lu Yuling believed that he must have improved over these few days. As for whether Zhuge Xiang would win, she had no doubts. She only hoped that Zhao Feiyun could give Zhuge Xiang some trouble.