Chapter 96

After a moment, he looked around clearly and memorized everything in his mind before shifting his gaze to scan the area where the other disciples on the stone mountain had gathered.

Obviously, the older disciples over thirty mostly stood at a distance from the Taiyin Stele, gathering in small groups and pointing at the crowd, whispering incessantly.

The disciples who were to participate in the grand competition mostly had solemn expressions, with a few younger ones looking excited, eager to try their hand.

After a quick glance, Liu Ming recognized some familiar faces, such as Du Hai and Mu Yunxian standing side by side, as well as Jialan, Lei Zhen, and Shi Chuan.

Suddenly, his expression changed, sensing that someone nearby was also watching him. He immediately turned his head to look.

He saw Sima Tian, surrounded by several disciples, staring coldly at him. Upon meeting his gaze, Sima Tian's expression remained unchanged as he turned away.

Seeing this, Liu Ming's thoughts flickered.

"Senior Brother Bai, you're here. Do you plan to take the stage this time?" A woman's excited greeting came from behind him as footsteps approached.

Liu Ming turned in surprise and saw a man and a woman walking over, who turned out to be Xue Shan and Wan Xiaoqian.

Xue Shan was now more robust than before, and Wan Xiaoqian had a hint of shyness on her face.

Judging by their intimate expressions, their relationship had clearly changed significantly since they first entered the sect.

"Senior Brother Xue and Junior Sister Wan! If there's an opportunity, I do indeed plan to take the stage," Liu Ming replied with a smile.

"Senior Brother Bai advanced to the middle stage of the Spirit Disciple realm over a year ago. Now, with even more formidable magical power, there's a chance you could leave your name on the Taiyin Stele. After all, there are probably fewer than a hundred late-stage Spirit Disciples in our sect," Wan Xiaoqian said with a smile.

This woman had also advanced to the middle stage of the Spirit Disciple realm during the last minor competition, but the time was too short for her to participate in the core disciple competition.

"Hmph, a mere new disciple competing for a core disciple position? You should cultivate for another three or four years in the sect first," a young man with a light golden long ruler at his waist walked over and said coldly to the three of them.

"Ah, it's Senior Brother Xi. You won a core disciple position last time, so you'll surely leave your name on the Taiyin Stele again this time," Xue Shan, who was initially angry, forced a smile upon seeing the young man's inverted eyebrows.

This Senior Brother Xi was one of the older disciples from the last two minor competitions, displaying extremely strong power and ranking just below Shi Chuan, the eldest disciple of Jiuying Mountain, and always treating new disciples like Xue Shan with a condescending attitude!

Han Li frowned, about to say something, when another cold voice came from another direction.

"Hmph, who says new disciples can't secure a position on the Taiyin Stele?"

Xue Shan and Wan Xiaoqian were startled and looked over to see Xiao Feng, who had arrived nearby, staring coldly at "Senior Brother Xi."

"Xiao Feng, if it weren't for Senior Master Gui's favor, giving you his cultivation place and personally guiding you, could you have advanced to the late stage of the Spirit Disciple realm so quickly?" 'Senior Brother Xi' saw Xiao Feng and did not hide his jealousy, speaking viciously.

To him, Xiao Feng, a nine-meridian disciple, had immediately occupied a large amount of resources in the mountain after entering the sect, making him far more detestable than Liu Ming and Xue Shan.

"Hmph, no matter the method, do you think anyone can advance to the late stage of the Spirit Disciple realm within three or four years of entering the sect? I wonder how long it took Senior Brother Xi to reach this realm?" Xiao Feng said with a cold laugh, showing no respect to the other.

"You...!"

Senior Brother Xi was furious but couldn't immediately respond to the question.

"Senior Brothers, why argue over a momentary impulse!" A light sigh followed, and another person emerged from the crowd nearby.

Liu Ming looked closely and was slightly surprised to see that it was Shi Chuan, the eldest disciple of Jiuying Mountain.

His surprise was not just because Shi Chuan was there, but because he sensed a distinctly different aura from him, a hint of inexplicable coldness.

Liu Ming's gaze flickered and landed on his waist, where a red-green talisman pouch was clearly visible, seemingly the source of the coldness.

"Senior Brother Shi!"

Whether it was Xue Shan, Wan Xiaoqian, Senior Brother Xi, or Xiao Feng, they all called out upon seeing Shi Chuan, showing no signs of disrespect.

Liu Ming naturally followed with a slight bow.

"Senior Brothers, this grand competition is extremely important for our Jiuying lineage. Anyone who can leave their name on the Taiyin Stele, whether a new or old disciple, will be heavily rewarded by Senior Master Gui and others. If we can help our lineage escape the bottom position, the resources our lineage will receive over the next three years will greatly increase, which will be very beneficial for all of you. Therefore, Senior Master Gui has already given instructions that our lineage's disciples must not challenge the core disciple positions already occupied by our lineage on the Taiyin Stele to ensure a higher ranking," Shi Chuan said slowly.

"Since Senior Master Gui has given the order, I will naturally comply!" Xiao Feng replied with a solemn expression.

The others could only nod in agreement.

At the same time, on a stone platform far from Liu Ming and the others, someone was watching the scene from a distance and said to the person beside them:

"The current Bai Congtian is indeed very different from my impression. No wonder he has gained a bit of a reputation and even made Sima Tian somewhat cautious."

The speaker, dressed in a white robe with a jade belt, had a light golden long sword on his back. It was Gao Chong, the genius of the Blood Transformation lineage.

The beautiful girl beside him was none other than Mu Mingzhu.

Technically, outer sect disciples were not allowed to participate in such grand events of the Mangan Sect, but Gao Chong had somehow managed to bring her in safely.

Behind them stood the arm-ring youth, Senior Brother Wu, and the couple Shi Jian.

"How do you plan to proceed? If he doesn't participate in this grand competition, you won't have a chance to meet him," Mu Mingzhu glared at Liu Ming from a great distance, somewhat worried.

"Not participating in the grand competition? That's impossible. If he truly has the strength to make even a core disciple like Sima Tian, who ranks in the top twenty, wary, how could he not strive for the resources and status he deserves within the sect? As soon as he leaves his name on the Taiyin Stele, I will challenge him," Gao Chong seemed to have already thought this through and said without hesitation.

Hearing this, Mu Mingzhu felt relieved and a smile appeared on her face.

"But my true rival this time isn't Bai Congtian, but that person!" Gao Chong's gaze shifted to a gray-robed man with a silver mask, surrounded by many Yinsha disciples on another stone platform, his expression becoming extremely serious.

"This girl actually treats my words as if they were mere wind, still associating with Gao Chong in such a place without any reservations," Mu Xianyun and Du Hai stood together, their faces turning extremely ugly upon seeing Mu Mingzhu and Gao Chong standing side by side on the stone platform.

"You clearly told her about the furnace vessel matter, but she didn't believe you, and it even had the opposite effect. This is indeed a very difficult situation," Du Hai said with a frown.

"This girl isn't stupid, but how could she be deceived to such an extent by that boy? My brother has always doted on Mingzhu and explicitly entrusted her to my care after she entered the sect. If anything happens to her, I don't know how I'll explain it to him," Mu Xianyun looked somewhat resentful.

"But looking at the current situation, it seems that Junior Brother Bai is in a more precarious position. You don't think Gao Chong will ignore his betrothed, do you?" Du Hai sighed and smiled bitterly.

"Do you think Gao Chong will personally deal with Junior Brother Bai in the grand competition?" Mu Xianyun was startled.

"There's no need for him to act personally. Others under his influence will likely be enough," Du Hai glanced deeply at the arm-ring youth behind Gao Chong, somewhat wary.

"In that case, the only way for Junior Brother Bai to protect himself is to withdraw from this grand competition," Mu Xianyun pondered and replied.

"The grand competition only takes place every three years. Do you think this is possible? Now, we can only hope that Junior Brother Bai doesn't leave his name on the Taiyin Stele, so Gao Chong and his group won't have a chance to act," Du Hai shook his head and replied.

"That's all we can hope for. Speaking of which, I bear a significant responsibility for bringing Junior Brother Bai to this point," Mu Xianyun looked somewhat melancholy.

"It's not your fault! You were just trying to save Mingzhu from a dire situation," Du Hai naturally offered comforting words.

At this moment, the incense on the jade platform in the air finally burned out, and the Mangan Sect's leader stepped forward, announcing loudly:

"The time has come; the grand competition has now begun."

At the same time, another spirit master immediately followed, loudly instructing:

"Disciples who have left their names on the Taiyin Stele will be divided into ten tiers based on their rankings and remain on ten main platforms. Ordinary disciples will challenge these core disciples. The victors will stay, and the losers will step down. Ordinary disciples have only three chances to challenge, and exceeding this will result in the loss of challenge eligibility. Each core disciple can only be challenged once by the same person and cannot be challenged consecutively. Each platform will have a spirit master overseeing the challenges, and any disciple who disobeys their judgment will be penalized."

Hearing these words, the disciples on the stone mountain naturally became restless.

From the air, ten spirit masters directly leaped down and landed steadily in the center of the ten largest stone platforms.

Then, small flags flew out from their bodies, transforming into banners and neatly lining up on one side of the platforms.

These banners were black and red, each marked with a silver symbol representing different rankings from one hundred to first.

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