“Did they say Grand Elder Meng’s artifact? Isn’t that a peak Saint-grade artifact? I can’t believe The Orchid Covenant is willing to use such a treasure just to host the first round of the tournament!”

“It truly is unbelievable! A Saint-grade artifact isn’t something every Violet Core cultivator would own, not to talk about one at the peak of the grade!”

“It has been worth it to travel all the way to Emberglow City to experience this famed artifact firsthand!”

The crowd’s chattering quickly died down as the announcer spoke out once more.

“For those who don’t know, everything within the Ethereal Cauldron’s artifact space is under the control of our Grand Elder Meng. He will be kindly monitoring the situation within and relaying it to us, the spectators. If someone dies within the artifact space or if the Grand Elder has judged you can no longer continue, they will be simply transported outside, so fight to your heart’s content, contestants!”

“Let’s try to stick together. We have too much riding on this to drop out in the first round.” Li Lang muttered to his companions.

It wasn’t only because they valued winning the tournament that he made such a comment. It was because they had also placed bets on themselves prior to entering the competition! Li Lang’s funds had barely increased throughout his stay in Emberglow, which was why he bet over half his remaining fortune on the three of them passing the first round.

The Cleansing Drug they took every day to aid in cultivation balanced out all the income Li Lang had earned from refining pills. While what they already had was considered a decent sum for a mortal to retire on, it was meager if they wanted to procure powerful artifacts or purchase cultivation resources of a higher grade.

Money made the world go round, and few people ever complained they had too much of it.

“Of course. You two stick close to me. I’ll take on anyone who dares challenge us.” Long Yi said as he thumped his chest.

Over the six months, they had each grown by leaps and bounds, especially Long Yi’s figure. Perhaps because of the fast progress he made in cultivation or simply because he had an early growth spurt, the young boy was now over six feet!

It made Li Lang and Wei Ping’s growth pale in comparison, but if they could compare to their past selves, they would surely notice the difference. Li Lang in particular looked a little more normal, as his body caught up slightly with the size of his head. While Wei Ping was still considered small for his age, he was no longer as skinny as before.

The trio soon moved through the orderly line and the Grand Elder’s cauldron soon came into view. It towered over everyone and could easily fit dozens of people within it, but under the control of the Grand Elder, anyone who drew near it vanished into thin air.

Seeing the scene, Li Lang adjusted his hat that had Ruby sewn into it.

“Ruby, is it okay for you to be with me as we enter into another artifact’s space?”

“I…think so, master. I feel as if this cauldron is much weaker than me, but my instincts are telling me it’s fine.”

“What? This cauldron is a Saint-grade artifact! If it’s much weaker than you…”

“Of course, master. While I don’t have most of my memories, I still know that I have existed for eons. No average artifact could accomplish that!” The childish voice proudly declared.

One didn’t need to physically see Ruby to tell they had a smug look on their face.

Seeing how it was okay to enter, Li Lang no longer hesitated. The line moved fast. With hundreds of people already having entered the cauldron’s artifact space, Li Lang’s group soon followed.

The trio made sure to be holding onto each other’s sleeves as they entered, but it proved to be unnecessary. They arrived inside a grand hall where all the other competitors gathered. The entire hall was made of golden material, including the pillars. The scene dazzled many of the young competitors.

However, what stood out the most were the giant stone tablets that surrounded the room. On the tablet was the word ‘Wait’ inscribed on it.

Most of the participants took that as the instruction, but some had other ideas.

They believed the tournament had already begun and opted to launch a sneak attack on their competitors. However, when they attempted to do so, their body would suddenly glow brightly before they began to float into the air against their will.

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They would hover helplessly, which became a reminder to everyone in the room not to act hastily. This only lasted until the last participants entered into the artifact space.

As soon as that happened, all the people who had been floating were dropped, and the words on the tablets all changed in unison. The word for wait disappeared, replaced with several lines of text.

“Hunt the Qi beasts outside these halls for their seals. Return them to this hall to score points. The top half will proceed to the next round.”

Having read the tablet, several quick-witted participants quickly left the grand hall. As the rest noticed, the entire room soon descended into a struggle to get out.

However, Li Lang’s group was still unmoved.

“Come on, what are we waiting here for?” Long Yi complained.

“There’s no time limit declared, and the announcer outside said to survive. I don’t think a minute or two would cost us much. Let’s wait and see how others act first.” Li Lang replied as he put a hand on his chin.

“I a-agree.”

“If you guys think so…But if there turns out to be a hidden time limit, we’ll be behind everyone else!”

“Calm down. Even if there was a time limit, it shouldn’t be short enough that a minute or two will matter. With the organizers also hosting the gambling rings, they’d want to give a show to the spectators, so they can set the odds and appeal to the gamblers.”

“...I didn’t think about that.”

“Knowing people’s motivation helps with everything in life, whether it is coming to an understanding with others or wanting to defeat your opponent in a fight.”

“You’re starting to sound like an old man again.” Long Yi quipped.

Li Lang shook his head as he surveyed the halls to see if anyone else was sitting back like they were. It turned out he had expected too much from a group of such young people when he found no one else. That was until he suddenly heard the sound of snoring.

He turned to the corner of the room and found a young man with silver hair napping away on the ground.

“There…seems to be someone taking this easier than us…” Li Lang muttered as he shook his head.

When Long Yi caught sight of the same person, he instantly burst into laughter.

“Now, let’s not get too relaxed. Come on, the exit is clearing up.”

He then sauntered over to the exit, where the struggle to get out was coming to an end.

The three soon exited the grand golden hall to come out into a luscious forest on a sunny day. It appeared normal except for the fact that all the greenery wasn’t green but blue. The grand hall they exited out of was also enclosed within a yellow barrier, encompassing the stretch of open land around it.

They could immediately hear the sounds of fighting from every direction as the other disciples hunted the Qi beasts on the other side of the barrier in the forest. However, if one listened closely, one could hear that the ones on the winning side were the Qi beasts more often than not.

Li Lang’s party quickly ran to the nearest fight to take a look. The trio quickly found a lone boy locked in a struggle with some type of bear-type Qi beast. While the boy was on the losing end, it didn’t seem the fight would be settled any time soon.

The trio didn’t stop there, as there were still numerous disciples in the midst of fighting. They observed the others and passed by them one by one.

Like this, they came across a dozen different encounters.

“Seems like all the overeager contestants challenged the Qi beasts alone and are being eliminated or bogged down into long fights.” Li Lang voiced his conclusion.

“The ones who were smart enough to distance themselves from the main pack are grouping together as well.”

“W-we should s-strike those who are s-struggling with their battles.”

“That…is quite bold of you, Wei Ping, but I agree. It isn’t against any rules mentioned and is the best course of action. We’ll have to do it somewhere others won’t see, though. We don’t want others meddling in our plans or cause pandemonium when all the contestants begin to fight amongst ourselves, after seeing our idea,” Li Lang replied.

With their course of action settled, the three swiftly made their way to the nearest fight, which happened to be the one furthest away from others among the contestants they had witnessed.

The trio silently sneaked up to the fight where two boys wearing similar white robes were battling a Qi beast by the name of Gale Ursula. One of them was desperately trying to hold the Qi beast’s attention while the other occasionally unleashed attacks from its flanks.

Just as the flanker managed to slip through another opening to stab out with a thrust, a strong gust of wind pushed him back as the bear stood on its hind legs and roared.

The trio waited patiently for the fight to further progress. They didn’t have to wait long as the duo began to get impatient and started to prepare for a decisive attack.

“Brother Diao, give me ten seconds!” The flanker announced.

He then ran behind a tree and stood still as he gathered his Qi. Just as he foretold, after ten seconds, he unleashed a slash with all his might. As a result, a wave of fire rapidly closed the distance towards the Qi beast. The bear noticed it immediately and let out another roar, but the wave of fire managed to bypass the wind pressure, landing a direct hit on the beast’s head.

The flame continued burning the face of the Qi beast and the bear began to yell out in pain. However, the cultivator responsible for the attack appeared haggard after using his attack.

It was at this moment that Li Lang’s party decided to act.

They swiftly split off, with Wei Ping going to attack the exhausted cultivator, while Long Yi headed straight for the Qi beast. This left Li Lang to deal with the man who had been distracting the Gale Ursula.

He instantly jumped out from behind the cover of the tree line and unleashed his well-practiced Skysoar Kick from directly behind the clueless cultivator!