Chapter 29 - The Blossom Tournament_Our God Was Just Bored

Yù Quán always felt the movement of his flesh and muscles when using the [Mùmùlián Eye Refining]. He had just gotten used to it. But, this time, it was different. He felt the eyes he chose be pulled inwards, towards his core. The technique was moving skin and muscle out of the way, tempering it at the same time. When the eyes reached the core, each individual eye fit itself into a socket. Then the [Mùmùlián Eye Refining] would alter his skin back.

Once the eyes were in a socket, qi came up in the form of a wire and connected each eye to the inside of the core. Yù Quán felt a weird sensation when one of the eyes was fastened. He now knew what qi felt like because he made his own qi in his core, but now he felt he could sense all the qi around him. Not how a cultivator could sense ambient qi, but he could feel every wisp. He could feel it in the ground, the plants, the trees, surrounding him in the air; he could sense all of it. And every eye connected after that extended the range. Soon enough, he could see all the qi within nine meters.

“Is this what it meant by seeing qi?”

It was hard for Yù Quán to explain, but he didn’t feel he could see it. Just sense it. That was until he blinked. When he blinked, he could see all the qi he sensed.

“It must have overlaid it with my real sight, which blocks out the visual, but I can still feel it. This should be useful in some ways.”

Yù Quán went to check his information.

Yù Quán

Realm: Body Tempering Realm

Stage: 1st Level Skin Tempering

Main Cultivation Art: [Stolen-eyed Mùmùlián Body](Level 3)

Strength: 550 Catties

Qi: 2000/2060 wisps

Mùmùlián Core: 6/100

Strange Fire: (Level 2)Murderous Flame(x1)

Techniques:

[Mùmùlián Eye Stealing](Level 3)

[Mùmùlián Eye Refining](Level 3)

[Murder Mantra](Level 1)

Attributes:

[Strange Fire: Murderous Flame]

[Star Gazing Eyes](Level 1)

[Top-Quality Mortal Avarice Eyes](Level 1)

[Top-Quality Three-Finned Boar Aggression Eyes](Level 5)

[Top-Quality Three-Finned Boar Aggression Eyes](Level 1)(x2)

[Top-Quality Five-Finned Boar Aggression Eyes](Level 1)

[Low-Quality Blue Wolf Ferocity Eyes](Level 1)

[Low-Quality Winged Watcher Awareness Eyes](Level 1)

[Low-Quality False Dragon Pride Eyes](Level 1)

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“Hmm, my strength went up as expected. But, my max qi increased by ten for every eye attached to the core. It also shows how many eyes I have attached to my core. The information screen is becoming more and more useful.”

Yù Quán wanted to use more of the eyes he had on his body, but he decided to wait. He hadn’t checked what the tempering method would be for the Skin Tempering Stage, so if having more eyes was better, he didn’t want to give them up. He would quickly attach them to the core if he found out he didn’t need them.

Not that he got that out of the way; he would dedicate his time to learning and getting used to the [Yellow Qilin Dance]. Adding it to his arsenal should make him a formidable opponent in the tournament.

Teaching [Yellow Qilin Dance]...

Yù Quán felt the familiar feeling of receiving all the information. The [Yellow Qilin Dance] was complex. Even though he knew all the steps, he still couldn’t use it well. It was like looking at a diagram of the footwork for ballroom dancing versus actually doing it. He would still need practice, which he would spend the time he had left doing.

…

In Blossom Falls, there was an arena. It was initially built for the Blossom Tournament. Since then, it was sold to a sect with the condition that it would still be used for the Blossom Tournament every five years. The rest of the Eccentric Branch were at the arena. Yàn Lìqín signed everybody in, and they went and took their seats. They wanted to scope out the competition they might meet later in the fight. When everyone was signed in and seated, a man walked onto a balcony on one of the arena's walls.

“Welcome everybody!”

He didn’t need a microphone; he used qi to carry the sound of his voice further. It wasn’t considered a very useful skill, but it shined in the entertainment business.

“The Blossom Tournament will now… begin!”

Cheers were heard from the crowd. Most cultivators stayed silent, but the mortals watched this for entertainment. Some even were fans of certain cultivators or groups and would root for them.

“Alright, quiet down… This year, we have many familiar faces and even more newcomers. It should be an exciting sight to see. As always, I will explain each round before getting started. There will be two rounds of elimination before the real fights begin. The first round of elimination will be group battles. All the participants will be divided into groups of ten. These groups are picked so that no one from the same sect will be in the same group. Everyone in that group will fight until only one person is left standing.”

Yàn Lìqín turned to them. “All people in charge are given a jade tablet that sends us information. I’ll tell you when and where to go.”

“If they give them out to our guardians, what about the itinerant cultivators?” Rèn Chāngmíng asked.

“They get their own. It just only gives them their information. It helps reduce the amount of jade tablets that need to be used. Imagine if everyone needed their own jade tablet and someone had to worry about sending each individual their information. It just makes things run smoother.”

Rèn Chāngmíng nodded and looked back to the arena grounds. There were already groups gathering in their designated areas. Each area was within an array that an array master had made. Each array was opened to let the participants in, then closed to keep them in and protect the audience. The Yellow Qilin disciples mentally prepared themselves to compete, but Yàn Lìqín thought elsewhere. He wondered how Yù Quán would fit into all this and if he would surprise him yet again.

…