Zhao Yi finally found himself in the waiting chamber; there were over twenty of them, and he was the last. He assumed they were broken up into different talent pools. It didn’t surprise nor insult him that he was in the last of them. It was to be expected, given his lack of backing or talent.

“Alright!” a loud voice called out over the idle chatter that filled the room, “you will all make your way into the arena. The top ten of each group will move on to the next round until only one person is left. After all the groups have finished, the winner of their group will move onto the final rounds.”

The man who spoke was bald with not a single piece of hair poking through his skull. The only hair was his big brown bushy eyebrows. The structure made sense.

“If you make it to the top ten of this section, you will be rewarded with a gemstone of your choice.” At the sound of the reward, everyone immediately started chatting amongst themselves.

Zhao Yi was still not certain what gemstones were important for, but apparently, they greatly assisted in cultivation, and so it was a resource he had to get his hands on. Unless he gained a backer of sorts, it was unlikely he would be able to get his hands on much else.

“Alright! We will enter on our way in the halls; there will be racks with embedded weapons. They can be used freely. High-tier cultivators will watch to ensure killing blows are avoided, but we would prefer everyone keep a level head. This is for the audience to see talented up-and-coming youths.”

Zhao Yi stepped out of the waiting chamber, his eyes adjusting to the gradual transition from dimly lit interior to a sprawling corridor adorned with vibrant banners representing the authority of the Xi clan. The hall seemingly stretched endlessly, lined with ornate pillars intricately etched with symbols of previous champions. Shafts of sunlight streamed through small windows that held back a muffled rumble of the crowd outside.

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Striding forward, the air thrummed with anticipation, the murmurs of conversation swirling around him. His gaze swept over the racks of weapons that lined the walls on various racks. The other competitors numbered around two hundred. Zhao Yi’s eyes scanned all the various weapons available, ranging from bows to swords, spears, and everything in between. After looking around, his eyes landed on a familiar sight: a quarterstaff. While he had no formal training, hunting, and self-training with a quarterstaff at least made him confident that he could use it without fumbling around.

With a confident stride, his hand swiped up the staff, allowing his fingers to trace the smooth wood, feeling the reassuring weight in his grasp. It didn’t weigh significantly differently than his own. In this world, cultivators dominated, and he figured since he never had the opportunity to get trained with a more complex weapon, this gave him what he needed, which was simplicity and familiarity.

Clutching the quarterstaff, Zhao Yi proceeded down the corridor, the throng of competitors moving alongside him. After they had selected their own weapons, the sea of faces was a tapestry of emotions, but ultimately it was all connected by a single motivating factor. The air almost crackled with palpable tension as they continued to the large doors ahead.

As they all reached the threshold leading to the competition grounds, a cacophony of noise grew into a deafening crescendo of voices. The massive doors swung open, revealing a breathtaking sight that stole Zhao Yi’s breath away—a sea of faces, an ocean of citizens from Xi city, and their fervent cheers crashed against the arena walls like tidal waves.

Zhao Yi knew they were not cheering for him, but he still felt a surge of emotion that nearly overwhelmed his senses. For just a moment, he took in the adulation and thunderous applause of the crowd. This was a feeling he won’t forget—an orphan having a chance at competing and learning cultivation. It was what he had hoped for since he was in the orphanage as long as he could remember. The moment was surreal. The sheer magnitude of this event contrasted heavily with his simple solitary existence before.

After being overwhelmed by the newness of the situation, Zhao Yi’s resolve hardened. Gripping the quarterstaff tighter until his knuckles whitened, he took a deep breath. The goal was just the top ten of this round. That was all. He just needed that gemstone, and his journey would be off to a much better start.