Chapter 825
News from Yuechan, First Strike Advantage
The four finalists are from Baidingge, Dazhenxianchao, Wanxianggong, and Tianshui Jishi.
The dignified Holy Son of the Beast Taming Sect failed to even make it to the semi-finals. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would have been spitting on people's faces if word got out.
Back then, in the genius exchange meeting organized by the Wuliang Sword Sect, nearly twenty Nascent Soul forces participated, with more than two hundred talented cultivators competing. Long Han made a strong showing in the top ten of that exchange meeting, becoming famous far and wide.
Although that battle did not include all the genius cultivators from the major forces, several genius sword cultivators from the Boundless Sword Sect personally participated. They were able to achieve a top ten ranking under such circumstances, but they were unable to enter the top four on the stage of the Five Academies Grand Competition.
The competition format played a part, but the biggest reason stemmed from him himself. He relied too much on the power of the precious blood within him, and in the end, he could only become a "slave" to the precious blood.
The Beast Taming Sect has been established for tens of thousands of years. Because of the four precious bloodlines of "Dragon, Tiger, Bear and Horse", it has always produced geniuses. Its mastery of beast taming is unparalleled in the entire Southern Continent. Even the Nascent Soul sects often send disciples to learn from it.
While the power of the precious blood is immense, its side effects are equally significant.
The cultivators of the Long clan are arrogant and disdainful of others. When faced with inner demons, they often fall into demonic possession.
The Tiger Clan cultivators are irritable and easily angered, have difficulty conceiving, and have few members. They are also easily swayed by inner demons.
The Xiong clan cultivators do not have any obvious flaws in their personality, but they can only follow the path of body refinement that relies on brute force. Moreover, their comprehension is generally low. They cultivate rapidly in the early stages, but become as slow as a tortoise in the later stages. Speed is a major shortcoming that cannot be made up for.
The Ma family cultivators are relatively well-rounded in all aspects, or rather, mediocre. They are not outstanding in any particular area. Fortunately, they have no personality flaws and can manage the various industries under the Beast Taming Sect.
More than half of the elders in the Beast Taming Sect's management team come from the Ma family.
Under such a distorted structure, although the Beast Taming Sect has produced many talented individuals, it has never been able to advance further and become a major sect of the Nascent Soul stage.
Long Han's failure may seem like just bad luck, but it was actually something that could have been foreseen long ago.
The higher one's cultivation level, the more obvious one's personality flaws become.
For the Beast Taming Sect, this defeat in the Five Academies Grand Competition was undoubtedly a huge blow.
In recent years, the Beast Taming Sect has been declining. The True Monarchs who are in charge of the sect and the fifth-level guardian beasts are all nearing their end. They urgently need fresh blood to take their place and protect the Beast Taming Sect.
According to their original plan, they were to win at least two, or even three, Earth Infant Fruits in this Five Academies Competition.
They made thorough preparations to give Long'an another chance.
As a result, Team A, who had the best chance of winning, failed to win anything and didn't even make it to the semifinals. In all the many times the Five Academies Conference has been held, they have never suffered such humiliation.
If it weren't for the fact that opening the small world where the [Earth Infant Fruit] is located would require the participation of True Monarch Tianpeng, I would have left long ago.
Compared to the Beast Taming Sect, there was another person who seemed even more melancholy.
That person is Li Yufeng.
As a substitute who shouldn't have appeared on the stage of the Five Academies Grand Competition, he relied on his good luck time and time again to avoid all the threats and successfully "sneaked" into the semi-finals.
For Bai Ding Ge, he single-handedly preserved the sect's reputation.
However, for him, entering the semi-finals was obviously not a good thing. Just look at the opponents he had to face: Zhao Yin, the unassuming eldest prince of the Great Zhen Immortal Dynasty; Ji Liangyu, the young clan leader of the Tianshui Ji Clan who easily defeated Long Han; and Song Changsheng of the Myriad Elephants Palace, the biggest dark horse of this competition, who caused the Beast Taming Sect to forfeit.
They are all in their prime, and there are no "byes" in the squad, plus a long enough halftime break.
This means there is no longer any possibility of getting away with it.
He was originally indifferent; he had no shame in losing to these prodigies.
However, the format of the semi-finals was a bit of a headache for him. To get into the top three, he had to plunder points. He could get into the top three by defeating any one of them.
As the only easy opponent in the semifinals, it's no surprise who they'll choose.
If he loses before the semifinals, he will at most be tortured once.
But now, he needs to be used as a punching bag and tortured three times in a row!
Who could withstand such torment?
Am I... truly a person of great fortune?
Standing on the edge of the floating island, overlooking the capital city of Gaoyang below, Li Yufeng couldn't help but feel a sense of bewilderment...
If Li Yufeng was filled with melancholy and self-doubt, then these fifteen days were undoubtedly a torment for Song Changsheng.
Even now, with the personal intervention of True Lord Longxiang, he still hasn't received any news about Zhuang Yuechan. Several messages he sent at different times have gone unanswered, as if she had vanished into thin air.
During this period, some unpleasant thoughts would occasionally pop into Song Changsheng's mind.
Even though he tried his best to hide his worries, Gu Xueying still noticed them.
They were worried that this would affect Song Changsheng's performance in the semi-finals, but they didn't know how to comfort him, so they could only try to leave him alone.
"Cough cough cough, the task assigned to us by our sect has been successfully completed, so there is no need to put any more pressure on Fellow Daoist Zixu."
"As comrades who fought side by side, what we need to do is intensify the search and give him enough trust." Ling Xiao, who was seriously injured and bedridden, gave everyone this advice.
In his eyes, Song Changsheng's value far exceeded that of a single Earth Infant Fruit.
The border regions have been weak for a long time. The Wanxiang Palace has been trying to support the country on its own, but it is ultimately unable to do so alone. This feeling has become more and more obvious in recent years.
They desperately need an ally to jointly address the risks, and Song Changsheng undoubtedly possesses that potential.
Therefore, he did not want Song Changsheng to have any bad impression of the Wanxiang Palace because of anything.
This is not about being humble and ingratiating, but rather the best consideration for the future after careful deliberation.
Just one day before the semi-finals officially began, the Marquis of Dingyuan, who had previously guided them, suddenly sent them a message...
"Fellow Daoist Zixu, good news, good news!" Ji Shinian said excitedly.
"Is there news about Yuechan?" Song Changsheng suddenly stood up, his heart filled with excitement, yet also with some hesitation.
"good.
The Marquis of Dingyuan sent word that he had just entered the pass, and he had personally made contact with the envoy. The envoy was on his way to the capital, and he had sent a token as proof. Ji Shinian naturally understood his doubts and took something out of his storage bag and handed it to Song Changsheng.
"This is..." A hint of excitement flashed in Song Changsheng's eyes. He quickly took it and examined it carefully.
This is a jade flute. When he first went to Luoxia City to celebrate the birthday of the city lord on behalf of his family, he stayed at Wangyue Pavilion.
Xiao Qingwan concealed her identity and asked him to forge a jade flute, which she later gave to Zhuang Yuechan.
The jade flute was personally crafted by Song Changsheng, making it more convincing than any other token. Moreover, very few people know about this, so unless Zhuang Yuechan's memories are stolen, it is impossible for it to be used by anyone else.
This means that Zhuang Yuechan is safe and sound and has entered the territory of the Great Zhen Immortal Dynasty. The heavy weight that has been hanging over my heart for many days can finally be lifted.
"The process may be a bit complicated, and your wife has indicated that she wants to tell you in person."
However, due to the sudden appearance of the demonic Nascent Soul, the Great Zhen Immortal Dynasty is now under full martial law, and the capital city of Gaoyang has restricted entry and exit.
Therefore, your wife will arrive in a while, so you can rest assured, fellow Daoist.
The last sentence was full of teasing, but more than anything, it was a sigh of relief. At this crucial moment in the competition, he really didn't want Song Changsheng to be disturbed in any way.
The Five Academy Competition is not only a stage to determine the ownership of the [Earth Infant Fruit], but also a channel for the Wanxiang Palace to showcase and exchange with the outside world.
The Tianshan Mountains are too high and too long, forming an insurmountable barrier.
The borderlands are a bulge on the human territory, barren and remote.
Therefore, most cultivators living north of the Tianshan Mountains have long forgotten the existence of such a place.
This is undoubtedly an extremely dangerous signal. Once forgotten, it will be abandoned, and the final result will be destruction.
Therefore, the Myriad Manifestations Palace could only announce their existence to the world in this way, using the rankings of the Five Academies Conference to tell everyone that there was still a forgotten piece of land on the map of the human cultivation world.
This land once made great contributions to the peaceful development of the entire human race. Even now, it is facing the threat posed by the demon race. This land should not be forgotten!
The higher the ranking, the wider the reach and the more attention it attracts.
Song Changsheng took a deep breath and solemnly bowed to Ji Shinian: "I am sorry to have troubled you and the True Lord with my family affairs."
During this time, he had witnessed everything that Wanxiang Palace had done. In order to find Zhuang Yuechan, they had used a lot of connections, and Wanxiang Palace would have to repay them. However, Ji Shinian and the others never mentioned this to him. Instead, they always thought of him.
Therefore, his gratitude was not just empty words.
"Without you, fellow Daoist, the Beast Taming Sect would be in the same predicament we are facing now. This is a trivial matter, so why bother with words of thanks?"
"In tomorrow's semi-final, you only need to defeat Li Yufeng to secure a place in the top three. From then on, it all depends on your performance. Even if you forfeit, we will still support you."
Ji Shinian's meaning was simple: just pick the easy opponent to secure a top-three finish; the remaining two opponents were too strong, and if they couldn't defeat both, there was no hope of winning the championship.
There's really no difference between third place and second place; there's no need to fight tooth and nail with your opponent and jeopardize your own path.
However, everyone's pursuits are different, and he cannot make choices for Song Changsheng in the name of "for your own good." Therefore, he can only state the pros and cons and leave the choice to Song Changsheng himself.
A warm feeling welled up in Song Changsheng's heart, and he said in a deep voice, "I understand. Please convey to the True Lord that I will not let him down!"
……
The following morning, everyone gathered at the Cloud Arena. The original spectator seats had expanded several times over, and many new faces that had never been seen before appeared.
Shu Qi, who was accompanying them, enthusiastically explained to them: "These cultivators who came to watch the battle come from dozens of cultivation worlds and represent dozens of forces at the Nascent Soul or even Divine Transformation levels."
Originally, the Five Academies Competition was a small-scale event, and except for the first one, only a small number of invitations were sent out each time.
However, this Five Academies Tournament was so spectacular that many photos have already been circulated, and many forces have shown great interest in it, wanting to come and watch the competition.
His Majesty the King granted their request.
If you aspire to fame and renown, now is the best opportunity; Fellow Daoist Zixu, you must seize it.
Song Changsheng smiled in response but did not speak, though he felt that the King of Men's actions were somewhat unusual.
"Perhaps they want to pave the way for the eldest prince," he thought to himself.
As the candidate with the highest chance of winning the championship, it's understandable that the King of Men would want to use this opportunity to make his eldest son famous and break the existing rules.
"I am an elder of the Array Dao Academy, named Yingyue. I am honored to be invited by the Five Academies to serve as a judge for this grand competition."
The next match will be the semi-finals. The order of the players will still be determined by drawing lots. Whoever draws the numbered number will be able to choose their opponent first.
As long as you win the battle, you can continue to choose, unless you give up voluntarily.
Each contestant is given up to fifteen days of rest time after each competition to ensure the fairness of the rankings.
Defeating two opponents is enough to advance to the finals.
Apart from this, the other rules remain the same as before.
If there are no objections, we will now draw lots before the competition. All four contestants are requested to come forward and draw lots together. The person who draws a numbered lot will go first.
In this round, contestants can choose to forfeit.
As soon as he finished speaking, Song Changsheng stepped forward as instructed, while Zhao Yin, Ji Liangyu, and Li Yufeng remained where they were.
Clearly, they simply gave up on this round of the draw.
Zhao Yin and Ji Liangyu both came for the championship, and to win, they had to defeat everyone present. Therefore, the first move was dispensable to them.
Although Li Yufeng didn't come for the championship, he was an easy target, and making it into the semifinals was clearly an invitation for him to be bullied.
He's the one who gets to choose, not the other way around. Whether he smokes or not, it's all the same.
In fact, if it weren't for the need to ensure the fairness of the competition, this round of drawing lots could have been omitted entirely.
Looking at the divination tube containing only one jade stick, Song Changsheng was both amused and exasperated. Nevertheless, he reached out and pulled it out, displaying the number "one" on it to the public.
Yingyue Zhenjun smiled slightly at him, then announced loudly: "The winner of the first move in the semi-finals is Song Changsheng, a mentor from the Wanxiang Palace branch!"
"Congratulations, you can now choose your opponent."
With a wave of his hand, True Monarch Yingyue displayed three jade tokens representing the contestants' identities in front of Song Changsheng.
Without hesitation, Song Changsheng picked up the piece on the left.
"I choose Fellow Daoist Li Yufeng, the instructor of the Hundred Cauldrons Pavilion branch, as my opponent!"
Upon hearing his choice, Li Yufeng sighed with melancholy: "What's meant to happen will happen."
As soon as he finished speaking, he stepped onto the ring with a look of utter despair...
...(End of chapter)