In the end, he flicked his sleeve, causing the sword projections to vanish. Only one wooden sword remained, which then shot back toward Bai Xiaochun and vanished into his bag of holding.
“Now I finally feel ready to get into the top 5.” Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath. Although he didn’t feel one hundred percent confident, time was running out. All he could do was settle his qi and calm his mind, then sit down cross-legged to meditate and put himself in the proper state.
1. I already did the math, and for a boulder that tall to weigh only 1,500-1,600 kg, it would have to be really, really skinny. I think we can assume that Er Gen either made a mistake in how much it weighed, or it’s some sort of magical rock that doesn’t weigh as much as real-world boulders
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Chapter
30: Bring It On!
Three days later. Dawn.
Bai Xiaochun’s eyes opened at sunrise. He took a deep breath, and a serious expression could be seen on his face. This was his first time taking part in a competition like this.
His fight early on with Xu Baocai actually didn’t really count as much of a battle. However, now that he was going to participate in Fragrant Cloud Peak’s Outer Sect competition, he would be truly fighting against his fellow sect members.
He slowly rose to his feet, organized his bag of holding, and then somberly walked out of his residence. Moments later though, he came running back and started rummaging around under his bed until he found the leather coats he still had from back in his days at the Ovens. After donning several layers, he then placed his jade pendant somewhere he could access it easily.
Were it not for the fact that it would have led to too many questions, he would have put his turtle-wok on his back.
“Ah, why didn’t I think of this earlier!” he thought regretfully. “I can’t believe I forgot about that big black wok of mine.” However, he was running out of time, and had no choice but to grit his teeth, turn, and leave. Taking a glance in the direction of the distant sun, his eyes filled with determination. Puffing his chest out, he began to climb toward the top of the mountain.
At the moment, he was wearing far too many layers of leather clothing. Even though he didn’t have the big black wok on, he still looked somewhat like a sticky rice dumpling…. He was bundled up so tightly that after walking for only a little bit, he was already starting to sweat.
However, even if he sweat more profusely, he wouldn’t shed even one item of clothing. The competition was too important, and he couldn’t stop thinking about how brutal it would be. As he walked along the path, he suddenly realized that it was quite a foggy morning on the mountain, and he actually had no idea where exactly he was.
“Did I take a wrong turn…?” he thought, and instantly looked around for someone to ask directions from. At the same time, his heart began to thump from the fear of possibly being late.
**
At the top of Fragrant Cloud Peak was a fighting arena, which was where the competition was to take place. Quite a few people were already gathered there to watch the proceedings, and were chatting in hushed tones.
There were even some disciples in the audience who were in the fifth level of Qi Condensation, although most of them stood there with arms folded across their chests as they looked at their Junior Brothers and Sisters who would be participating in the competition. Of course, there were also people there to cheer on their friends.
This Outer Sect competition wasn’t very formal, but it was a place where the participants could stand out from the crowd. There were about twenty people who had come to join the competition, all of whom were sitting in the area cross-legged in meditation, preparing in earnest for the fighting to begin.
No one in the competition was in the third level of Qi Condensation. Although the rules allowed for that, most of the people who actually joined the competition were in the fifth level of Qi Condensation, although there were five or six who were in the fourth level.
There was one young woman among the group who stood out from everyone else. She was tall and beautiful, and her Outer Sect disciple uniform could not conceal her curvaceous form. Anyone who laid eyes on her wouldn’t be able to stop from slipping into a bit of a reverie.
Her skin was white like snow, and she had eyebrows that curved as gracefully as willow leaves. She really was spectacularly beautiful. As for the Daoist trousers she wore, although they were loose, they stretched tightly around her rear end in a way that made it virtually impossible for any man to look away.
There were quite a few Outer Sect disciples clustered around her, obviously her admirers.
Although she couldn’t quite compare to Zhou Xinqi, she was still one of the most famous of the Outer Sect disciples, Du Lingfei. 1
“Elder Sister Du’s cultivation base is in the great circle of the fifth level of Qi Condensation, so she’ll definitely take first place in this competition. There’s not even any suspense in the matter.”
“You can’t underestimate Elder Brother Chen Zi’ang, though. I heard that he had a cultivation base breakthrough last month. He might not be in the great circle of the fifth level of Qi Condensation, but he’s close.” Standing not too far away from Du Lingfei was an arrogant-looking young man, the same Chen Zi’ang who had been shocked by Bai Xiaochun’s bamboo outside the Missions Office that day.
Even as everyone was discussing the matter, Chen Zi’ang looked over at Du Lingfei with a strange gleam in his eyes. Although he wasn’t too confident in being able to take first place, he was pretty certain he could take second. Besides, he might also be able to take advantage of the situation to get to know Du Lingfei a bit better.
It was at about this point that two beams of light whistled through the air from off in the distance. It was none other than Li Qinghou, followed by an emaciated old man. The old man had swarthy skin, but his eyes shone brightly, and he seemed like a very strict person.
The surrounding Outer Sect disciples were completely shocked to find that Li Qinghou would be in attendance at the competition, and quickly clasped hands in greeting.
“Greeting, Peak Lord. Greetings, Elder Sun.” Everyone was flabbergasted that the Peak Lord would personally come to an event like this. Small competitions like this were almost always presided over by Elder Sun.
Du Lingfei and Chen Zi’ang were also shocked, and had very serious expressions on their faces as they bowed in greeting to Li Qinghou.
Li Qinghou looked around benevolently, nodding. As he scanned the crowd of disciples, however, he frowned when he realized that Bai Xiaochun wasn’t there.
When the surrounding Outer Sect disciple saw Li Qinghou frowning, their hearts began to thump. Du Lingfei instantly began to get nervous, unsure of why the Peak Lord might be displeased.
“Shall we begin, Peak Lord?” asked Elder Sun, who stood next to Li Qinghou.
Li Qinghou was just about to reply when, all of a sudden, a sweat-soaked spheroid shape could be seen speeding toward them from off in the distance.
“I got lost!” cried Bai Xiaochun as he ran along. “It was too foggy….” Not only was Bai Xiaochun very nervous, he also felt that the whole situation was very unfair. After all, he wasn’t very familiar with all the mountain paths, and considering how foggy it had been, he had simply gotten lost while thinking.
As soon as the words left his mouth, all of the Outer Sect disciple involuntarily looked over. There were quite a few of them who were familiar with Bai Xiaochun, and when they heard the words he called out, they began to snicker. As for those who didn’t know him, they frowned, and gleams of derision could be seen in their eyes.