Zheng Yuandong’s face flickered, and he also turned to look in the same direction. The other elders did the same.
A beam of sword light… split through the clouds, rumbling along with incredible momentum. The clouds seethed as an ancient green sword appeared, a beam that cut through everything in its path, piercing through the air as it shot toward the ground.
The sword seemed primeval, forged from bronze, weathered with age and completely extraordinary.
An extremely handsome young man stood atop the sword, wearing the robes of an Outer Sect disciple. His black hair whipped about in the wind, and he held his hands clasped behind his back. A faint layer of golden light flickered around him, and behind him could be seen the images of numerous green lotuses.
In addition to the lotuses was a nine-meter-long fish with the head of a dragon, which swirled about, sending rainwater falling down everywhere around it.
Even before the young man arrived, the rain water was splashing down onto the square. Countless disciples looked up in awe, gasping at the incredible sight.
“It’s Eldest Brother Shangguan!”
“The number one Chosen in the Outer Sect on the south bank. Shangguan Tianyou!”
“According to the rumors, he has a powerful sword spirit body, and is the reincarnation of some almighty sword cultivator. For some reason, the heavens are guilty, and showered him with countless blessings. When he was three, he was walking down the road and happened to find an ancient sword; when he was seven, a baby Crimson Cloudbeast fell out of the sky and instantly accepted him as its master; when he was thirteen, he acquired a golden light shield. That is why his name is Tianyou!” 1
Zhou Xinqi looked over with a grave expression.
As for Lu Tianlei, he looked up, lightning dancing in his eyes, sparks surging around him. From the look in his eyes, he was itching to fight.
As the green beam of light closed in, Shanguan Tianyou clasped hands toward the balcony and called out, “I, Shangguan Tianyou, offer greetings to the sect leader, my Master, the two peak lords, and all of the various elders.”
As he floated down toward the square, he looked around at all the disciples and nodded.
His amiable gaze and friendly nod caused countless disciples to clasp hands in greeting. Many of the female disciples batted their eyes bashfully.
Sect Leader Zheng Yuandong gave a hearty laugh and looked over at the peak lord of Green Crest Peak. “Wonderful. Simply wonderful!” he said. “At only the eighth level of Qi Condensation, he can already transform sword qi into lotuses. Regardless of whether this Shangguan Tianyou really is the reincarnation of an almighty cultivator, he definitely has a sword spirit body. To accomplish what he has before Foundation Establishment is truly a rarity!
“I have to say that I’m shocked by the south bank’s performance so far!”
Li Qinghou and the other peak lords smiled, and the other elders chuckled. All of them clearly wished to have their revenge on the north bank.
Zheng Yuandong was about to continue speaking when suddenly he looked down at the square and saw Bai Xiaochun standing there next to the statue, hands clasped behind his back, looking like a member of the senior generation.
Chuckling dryly, he said, “This Bai Xiaochun… really loves to indulge in his histrionics.”
1. Quick reminder that “Tianyou” literally means “the heavens assist”
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Chapter
83: Elder Zhou, You’re Up
Zheng Yuandong wasn’t the only one who noticed Bai Xiaochun. Everyone else was in a huge commotion, but Bai Xiaochun was simply standing there like a member of the senior generation. He couldn’t have stuck out more from everyone else.
One of the elders on the balcony smiled and said, “Young Bai Xiaochun is already in the eighth level of Qi Condensation, and fought his way out of certain death at the hands of the Luochen Clan. He’ll definitely make it into the top ten. In fact, he probably has a shot at the top five.”
“That’s right,” said another elder. “Not only does he have extraordinary skill with plants and vegetation, he also cultivates a shocking type of body refinement. I’d say he’s a definite dark horse in the qualifying round today.”
Hearing these comments caused the faces of Li Qinghou and Zheng Yuandong to beam. Exchanging a glance, they laughed heartily.
“He’s different from the rest of them,” Li Qinghou said. “He has much stronger convictions than his contemporaries. When I brought him here to the sect all those years ago, I asked him why he wanted to practice cultivation, and he said it’s because he wants to live forever.” He looked over at Bai Xiaochun with a warm gaze. He’d finally finished preparing a defensive magical item that he planned to give Bai Xiaochun after the qualifying matches were over.
“Alright, enough with the praise,” Zheng Yuandong said. “Although he’s my Junior Brother, as Qinghou is well aware, he’s stubborn and mischievous. He still needs much tempering. However, he’s a pure and genuine person who doesn’t seek the limelight, which is laudable.” Despite the words he uttered, everyone could tell that Zheng Yuandong’s eyes gleamed with anticipation.
As the group on the balcony continued to exchange words, Bai Xiaochun stood there next to the statue, proud and aloof as he looked over at Lu Tianlei, and the crowd favorite that was Shangguan Tianyou. Inwardly, Bai Xiaochun was a bit apprehensive.
Lu Tianlei had electricity writhing around him, which left Bai Xiaochun’s scalp numb as he thought back to what it had been like to ride his sword through the thunderstorm. And then there was Shangguan Tianyou, with his incredible good fortune and a sword from ancient times. He also had a shocking energy which left Bai Xiaochun breathless.
As far as he could tell, both of them were incredibly strong.
But then he thought about his own status, and coughed dryly before once again plastering an approving smile onto his face.
“There are plenty of Chosen to go around,” he thought, “which simply goes to show how powerful the Spirit Stream Sect is. But I’m a Prestige disciple, and the Junior Brother of the sect leader. I shouldn’t be comparing myself to my juniors. They are the future of the sect, and bullying them would be wrong. Yeah. Any comparisons should wait until after they’re part of the Inner Sect!” Having made his decision, he continued to stand there looking around approvingly.
More and more people crowded into the valley. All of the disciples who were in the eighth level of Qi Condensation were cracking their knuckles in preparation for the fighting. As for those whose cultivation bases were lower, they were naturally coming to act as the audience.
Among the three mountain peaks of the south bank, there were roughly a thousand disciples in the eighth level of Qi Condensation, and all of them were present in the valley. Bai Xiaochun was familiar with some of them. However, not all were the type of people who liked crowds and excitement. Many prefered to practice their cultivation in secret, waiting for just such an occasion as this to finally show off.
The countless other Outer Sect disciples who didn’t qualify to participate were waiting eagerly to see how the qualifying round would turn out. Everyone was itching to find out who would make it into the top hundred, and of course, the top ten.
As for who would be the top three, there didn’t seem to be much suspense about that. Presumably, those spots would go to Shangguan Tianyou, Lu Tianlei, and Zhou Xinqi.
Gradually, the thousand or so eighth level disciples quieted down, as did the other surrounding disciples. A sense of pressure began to fill the air, and gradually, a foreboding sense of impending violence.
A stifling, suffocating feeling weighed down on everyone, and people started to get nervous.