Chapter 35 of 100

Chapter 35

15 min read3,742 words

As the sun rose, at the very top of the steps in front of the Grand Mystic Hall, eight seats were lined up. The Grandmaster of the Grand Mystic Sect, Xuantian Daoist, sat in the center, with the seven heads of the sects sitting on either side of him.

At this time, all the disciples of the nine sects of the Grand Mystic Sect had gathered on both sides of the square below the steps.

In the square, nine circular arenas had been set up, each one ten feet high and fifty feet wide. At this moment, all the disciples were whispering to each other, discussing who would ultimately win the final victory of today's competition and who would make it into the top ten.

The topic of conversation among the disciples revolved around Li Lingfeng, Dongfang Chen, and a person named Ziyu. No one talked about Gufei from Cui Ling Peak, because in the eyes of the young disciples, Gufei was the weakest among the younger generation. His participation in the Nine Sects Examination was simply a waste of a spot.

"Li Lingfeng, Dongfang Chen, Ziyu?" Gufei sneered. His gaze swept over the many disciples, paying attention to the young disciples who might become his opponents today. He saw Dongfang Chen and the person he detested, Wang Yuanzhi. Among the outstanding disciples of the Grandmaster's lineage, the one standing at the front of the young disciples was a young man around twenty years old.

Gufei knew that this person was the eldest disciple of the Grandmaster's lineage, Li Lingfeng. Since joining the sect, Gufei had not seen Li Lingfeng many times, as both of them were obsessed with cultivation and spent all their time on it, rarely leaving their cultivation places.

Li Lingfeng was a cultivation genius. He joined the Grandmaster's lineage and, before the age of twenty, had already stood out among the young disciples, reaching the peak of the Eighth Heaven of Awakening. This made him the undisputed top expert among the young disciples.

He did not have an outstanding appearance or a tall and slender figure. Li Lingfeng's appearance was quite ordinary, but this unremarkable person displayed extraordinary cultivation talent.

It had to be said that in the cultivation world, there were always some exceptionally talented individuals. In every era, there were no shortage of geniuses.

"Li Lingfeng is definitely a good opponent!" Gufei thought. As for Dongfang Chen, although he was also a strong rival, after practicing the Body Transformation Technique last night, Dongfang Chen no longer posed a threat to him.

This was not Gufei being arrogant, but rather a warrior's intuition. Although Dongfang Chen was strong, Gufei did not believe that Dongfang Chen could block his path.

In close combat, warriors were stronger than cultivators. Once a cultivator was engaged in close combat by a warrior of the same level, it meant the cultivator had already lost. In close combat, warriors had an absolute advantage. Martial techniques were also killing techniques. Once in close range, it was either death or injury. Even without close combat, martial techniques could counter the spells of cultivators.

Therefore, a warrior at the Seventh Heaven of Awakening facing a cultivator at the same level would have a clear outcome. Even against a cultivator at the Eighth Heaven, a warrior still had a chance to fight.

Behind Li Lingfeng stood a handsome but somewhat delicate-looking young man.

"That must be Ziyu! Indeed handsome, but perhaps too handsome, almost feminine." Gufei noticed that the young man had fair skin and a radiant appearance, making one even doubt if he was a girl in disguise.

At this moment, Xuanfa Daoist, the head of Bixuan Peak, who was sitting next to Xuantian Daoist, stood up and walked to the front. He looked around at the disciples on both sides of the square and then announced loudly, "I hereby declare the Nine Sects Examination officially begins. Disciples participating in the competition, please come forward."

The Grand Mystic Sect's nine lineages, with the exception of Cui Ling Peak, each sent ten disciples. Only Cui Ling Peak sent one disciple, and that was Gufei.

As soon as Xuanfa Daoist finished speaking, ten young disciples from each lineage immediately stepped forward. Gufei also walked up. Cui Ling Peak had only him as a disciple, so he directly qualified for the competition, unlike the other lineages, which had to hold internal competitions to determine who would participate.

Thus, eighty-one white-robed disciples gathered in front of the square and below the steps. The competition for the top ten among the younger generation would begin among these eighty-one disciples.

As the disciples stepped forward, a middle-aged Daoist and two young Daoist boys also walked down the steps. The middle-aged Daoist held a brush in his right hand and a book in his left, while the two young Daoist boys carried a wooden box together.

The middle-aged Daoist stood to the side, and the two young Daoist boys carried the wooden box to the front of the disciples.

"Begin the draw!" Xuanfa Daoist's voice echoed throughout the square. The draw would determine each disciple's opponent, the fairest method.

Whether one drew a good or bad lot depended entirely on personal luck.

Li Lingfeng, the eldest disciple of the Grandmaster's lineage, was the first to step forward. He reached into the round hole on top of the wooden box and pulled out a jade token, then handed it to the middle-aged Daoist standing nearby.

The middle-aged Daoist looked at the jade token and wrote down a name in the book he held.

The disciples gathered around the square whispered to each other, all curious about who the top disciple of the Grand Mystic Sect's younger generation, Li Lingfeng, would face. Who would be so unlucky to encounter such a formidable opponent right from the start?

There were exactly eighty-one jade tokens in the wooden box, each inscribed with the name of one of the eighty-one disciples. Whoever was drawn would be one's opponent.

If one was extremely lucky and drew their own name, they would have to draw again until they drew someone else's name.

After Li Lingfeng drew his lot, he stepped aside, and the other disciples followed, drawing their opponents from the wooden box.

Gufei did not rush to draw his lot. Among the disciples of the eight lineages, he noticed the figure of Zhao Zirou. He was somewhat surprised that Zhao Zirou could rank among the top ten of the Zizhu Peak lineage.

At this moment, Zhao Zirou also saw Gufei and walked over to him.

"Senior Brother Gufei," Zhao Zirou greeted Gufei. She was not surprised to see him here, as Cui Ling Peak had only Gufei left, and his participation in the Nine Sects Examination was a certainty.

"Junior Sister Zhao, I didn't expect you to also participate in the Nine Sects Examination," Gufei looked Zhao Zirou up and down, somewhat surprised. Half a year ago, Zhao Zirou's cultivation seemed to be at the Fifth Heaven of Awakening, but today, she appeared to have broken through to the Sixth Heaven.

Under Gufei's intense gaze, Zhao Zirou blushed and said softly, "I hope Senior Brother Gufei will show mercy in the upcoming competition."

"Strike without mercy, show mercy without striking. But if the opponent is Junior Sister Zhao, I will make an exception," Gufei said with a serious expression.

"Strike without mercy, show mercy without striking!" Suddenly, a disdainful voice came from beside Gufei. Then, a handsome and proud young man in a white robe walked past Gufei and Zhao Zirou.

"Dongfang Chen?" Gufei stared at the young man walking forward, a flash of determination in his eyes. "I'll make you pay today," Gufei thought, a surge of anger rising in his heart.

At this moment, while Gufei and Zhao Zirou were talking, a small number of people had already stepped forward and drawn their opponents from the wooden box held by the two young Daoist boys.

"Senior Brother, let's go draw our lots too!" Zhao Zirou said to Gufei, seeing that most people had already drawn their lots.

"Alright," Gufei responded and walked forward with Zhao Zirou.

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