The announcement of two additional rewards had grabbed the interest of everyone. As soon as the Palace Head uttered the words ‘Spirit Realm Treasure’, almost all female cultivators couldn’t stop their bodies from shaking, including the various elders.
Imbued with the powers of a Spirit Realm Expert, a Spirit Realm Treasure was as scarce as a phoenix feather. In fact, this type of treasure could be considered the highest-graded treasure obtainable inside the Divine Vajra Continent.
If a Qi Seeking Realm cultivator were to utilise such a treasure with full efficiency, then holding off an early foundation expert wouldn’t be an impossible task. Even though few young cultivators were capable of achieving this feat, dealing with a similar-levelled cultivator would be very easy.
The numerous male competitors were momentarily consumed with jealousy. However, when the Palace Head finished his speech, some of them immediately started examining their ears, making sure that there was nothing wrong with them.
The Holy Daughter; the number one beauty of the Divine Vajra Continent.
Only someone living in some backwater town wouldn’t have heard of her. A beauty that could topple the highest mountain and cause empires to fall and rise with just a flick of her fingers. Who knows how many influential Spirit Realm Experts had come knocking to her door seeking her affection, only for them to be rejected over and over again.
And now this very goddess was being offered to them on a silver platter.
The various elders were especially wary however. What was this? Why was she suddenly looking for a spouse? Isn’t she twice older than them? Why was she choosing a Qi Realm cultivator over a Spirit Realm expert?
This marriage proposal sounded wrong on many levels. It wasn’t hard for them to realise that there was more to this than it meets the eye.
The young male competitors didn’t seem to mind this though. The prospect of marrying the number one beauty, who was supposedly still a virgin, was already making their imaginations run wild. This wasn’t a dream come true, this was a once-in-a-lifetime miracle bestowed by the heavens. How could they possibly refuse such an opportunity?
Unlike most, Jack didn’t seem particularly interested. Marriage? That was not in his books. He actually found the others’ reaction a bit exaggerated. Was this woman really this beautiful? In the end, he was more committed to finding that herb rather than waste his time with this stuff.
Long Mu appeared curious as he extended his spiritual vision. If he were anyone else, the other Spirit Realm Experts would have detected him. However, he had the memories of a Heavenly Pillar, one of the three great immortals that not even the Great Clans’ Grandmasters would dare to underestimate. Thus, bypassing their detections was a piece of cake for him.
After exploring for a while, he finally caught a glimpse of his target inside the main Palace, not far from the arena. She was sitting next to another male cultivator, watching the festivities on a large projection.
The man had long grey hair and beard, so wide that nobody would realise if he were to go out naked. As for the woman, she wore a glittering leather dress with a cut from below, revealing most of her alluring legs. A wide belt was rapped against her waist, together with some silver jewellery around her arms.
She bit her lower lips, letting out a hearty laugh. “Look at those fools getting all horny over me. I must confess that I do find the expressions of those fatties adorable.”
“My Lady, I still think that this was a rash decision. Your reputation is going to be tainted from now on.”
The woman waved her grey hair on the side. “You should know by now that I don’t really care what the other sluts think about me, Lai Kun. Reputation comes and goes, but opportunities for power only happen at unique instances. I’m bored here, let’s go pay the arena a visit.”
Lai Kun could only sigh as he hurried his ass after her.
The peeping Long Mu instantly understood what was going on. He didn’t have to worry though. Jack was going to be occupied searching for the herb, with no time to spare for the gemstones. As for the other cultivators, duh, he didn’t care.
It was then that a large stone tablet was brought inside the arena. The stone was blue coloured with three small spheres of mystical lights orbiting horizontally around it.
The Palace Head immediately invited all participants to come down and register for the tournament. The first competitor to do so was a young monk from Vajrayana Temple.
At first, he appeared puzzled on how he should touch the stone without obstructing the spheres’ movement. However, he soon realised that the spheres were actually illusionary. Without further qualms, he pressed his palm against the stone.
The stone immediately released strange swirling lights, forming a hovering talisman.
The same old man that summoned the portal took hold of the talisman and started reading out aloud the results.
“Hmm… 7th Qi Seeking Realm… one essence… 17 years old… ok, next!”
Forming a long straight line, the various disciples started being tested one by one. So far, the examined candidates were of the 7th or 8th Qi Seeking Realm, and all of them possessed one essence. This was within everyone’s expectations.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
It was only when it was the turn of the Cult that interest arouse. The Cult of Blood had always registered second in the rankings, and their cultivators always displayed extraordinary talents.
The first of the three to touch the stones was the youngest-looking cultivator.
“8th Qi Seeking Realm… two essences… 14 years old...”
This particular cultivator’s age surprised the audience. The sounds of clapping resounded while the oldest-looking cultivator placed her hand on the stone.
“9th Qi Seeking Realm… two essences… 19 years old…”
These two cultivators alone were enough to confirm the difference between the various regions.
It was then the turn of the last contestant, the same cultivator that had noticed Jack’s glance earlier. With a grin on her face, she casually extended her finger towards the stone.
The old man seemed more excited than anyone else as he took hold of the resulting talisman.
“10th Qi Seeking Realm… three essences… 18 years old!”
His thundering voice was instantly followed by the spectators’ cheers. There was no doubt that she was a prodigy, and one of the hot favourites to win the Spirit Realm Treasure.
She coolly walked away, ignoring the angry and jealous gazes of the other female cultivators. Instead, she expressed a mocking smile towards the cultivator behind her.
It was impossible to observe what the masked cultivator was thinking as he began walking towards the telepathic stone. He stood at the side, without even bothering to face the stone, punching his fist outwards.
The old man’s hands couldn’t stop shaking as he extended them, waiting for the talisman to form.
“11th! 11th Qi Seeking Realm! Three essences, 19 years old!”
An uproar instantly erupted. An 11th Qi Seeking Realm cultivator and only nineteen. This was a genius amongst geniuses that only appeared once in a century! No wonder the Empire was acting so cocky by sending only this disciple. With such a monster within their ranks, they really had every right to be arrogant!
With everyone’s attention on the masked man, few took notice of the Desert Tribe’s group. Indeed, there was nothing extraordinary about the first four cultivators. They all had ranked at the 8th Qi Seeking Realm, with only one essence.
However, the last candidate was different from them.
He wore a sleeveless robe and had a large axe affixed on his back. His hands were quite muscular and a part of his face was covered by one large tattoo that extended well below his neck. As the direct disciple of Chief Iron Hand, he walked with his head held high.
The old man seemed calm at first as he took note of the talisman.
“Oh? What a nice surprise. 9th Qi Seeking Realm… three essences… 18 years old!”
The arena reacted positively to this unexpected evaluation. One had to keep in mind that the resources of the other regions where quite limited when compared to the Empire and the Cult. For such a genius like this to appear elsewhere was praiseworthy indeed.
The Grand Elder was one of the few that were frowning, still seated on the stand as he waited for the process to conclude. He had already distributed the protective talismans, but he still had a lingering feeling of uneasiness that he couldn’t suppress. All he could do now was hoping for the very best.
Soon, it was the turn of the alliance, which coincidentally happened to be the last group.
There was nothing remarkable about them as they began ranking themselves. Tian Jinse was 7th Qi Seeking Realm while Shui Tao was at 8th Qi Seeking Realm, same as the Grand Elder’s disciple. All these three registered one essence.
Jack kept staring at the mysterious disciple and was about to ask her who from them was going to go first. However, she didn’t give him any face as she walked ahead of him, her ponytail waving left and right according to her footsteps.
Like the masked cultivator, she didn’t even glance at the stone as she punched it.
The old man wasn’t expecting any more surprises, and with only two candidates left, he was looking forward to everything to end. However, when he held the talisman in his hand, all his apathy dissolved away like an ice cube melting on a hot summer day.
“9th Qi Seeking Realm… three essences… 18 years old!”
Leaving the entire arena stunned, Zheng Zexi expressed her usual cold face as she walked away from the stone.
“Wait a moment!”
The one who interrupted was an old monk from Vajrayana Temple. “I don’t believe a lowly region such as the Divinities Alliance is capable of producing such a young genius! This cultivator is surely not related to them and should be disqualified!”
Soon, more elders from different stands began supporting the monk’s view. In reality, they didn’t actually believe his allegations. However, the appearance of another strong competitor would lower their chances of achieving a decent rank. Thus, there was nothing to lose in trying to disqualify potential obstacles.
Zheng Zexi displayed an angry face as she locked her eagle eyes on the monk who dared to spout such nonsense. She raised her voice, making sure she was heard by everyone.
“My name is Zheng Zexi. I am the biological daughter of the Sky Water Sect’s Patriarch. Can I even be more related than this, you donkey-ass face?”
The monk wished he could reply back to this question, but he didn’t know what to say without further embarrassing himself. He lowered his head, not daring to look at anyone.
On the other hand, Tian Jinse, Shui Tao, the Grand Elder’s disciple and Jack, all stared at her with their mouths wide open. Even Elder Tian and the elder from House Shui were acting as they had just heard the shocking news of their lives.
The Grand Elder let out a long sigh. He was expecting her identity to eventually leak out. But he never thought that she would be this reckless and reveal herself with all this fanfare.
Only Dai Jun didn’t bother to show any emotion, although that was understandable given his weird personality. As for Long Mu, he was too busy rubbing his own ass.
The Palace Head glanced angrily at the monk, then signalled for the old man to finish the selection. It was then that a random voice from the stands was heard, triggering a chain reaction.
“Doesn’t each region leave the very best cultivator for the last? If she is this strong, then how much stronger is the remaining cultivator?”
“I’ve almost forgotten about him! If he is stronger than her, then he is at the level of the top regions’ candidates!”
Unwillingly, Jack ended up becoming the centre of attention. The several competitors were looking at him with terrified expressions as he approached the stone. In the stands, a number of spectators were already biting their nails, while others were feeling proud that they were present here, about to witness history in the making.
Jack was regretting this entire affair, but if he wanted to obtain the herb, his only choice was to proceed forward. Observing the anticipating eyes, he didn’t know whether he should start laughing or crying.
He gently pressed his palm against the stone.
The muscles on the old man’s face were twitching with excitement as he grabbed the talisman like it was the most precious treasure in existence. His eyes instantly opened wide.
Seeing this reaction, some spectators couldn’t wait any longer and stood up on their feet. This started an infectious wave, and in just a couple of breaths, almost the entire arena rose up, awaiting the big news to drop.
Perceiving the numerous glances, the old man’s face turned bright red as he coughed multiple times. Then, he spoke with a soft voice that was barely audible.
“Ehh… 19 years old… one essence… 5th Qi Seeking Realm…”