On the outskirts of the grand hall, many contestants of The Orchid Covenant’s annual tournament were currently rushing back to deposit the seals they had hunted from Qi beasts.
The young demonic cultivators found the first round had changed drastically every few moments. From the beginning, they all rushed to hunt Qi beasts, but sometime after, the contestants found out they could rob others, which made them battle against each other instead. Then, the winners of these battles all hurried to deposit their gains in the grand hall to prevent becoming a juicy target.
However, what they didn’t expect was one of the participants suddenly suffered from cultivation deviation.
“Senior Ma, snap out of it! Don’t you remember our master’s teachings? You can’t let the animalistic urges win out!” a boy yelled out toward his senior brother, who was panting heavily while kneeling, and both hands nursing his head.
Despite his junior’s attempts at calling out to him, the cultivator suddenly jumped up and let out a primal roar. Its intensity was so fierce that all the other nearby contestants reflexively covered their ears and wore pained expressions.
It had been too late for Ma Zhongtian. Demonic cultivation always came with risks. The Fierce Beast Codex that he practiced allowed relatively easier progression by absorbing any quadrupedal Qi beast’s essence. In exchange for more flexibility on the type of beasts it could absorb, the practitioner was more prone to the animalistic urges of their prey.
Just as the sound relented, the culprit who unleashed the roar abruptly dashed forward on all fours. He easily knocked aside his junior brother, heading straight for the other contestants, who were still dazed.
His first prey, a young girl, was completely caught off guard and could only make out the shadow of a tiger-like figure before claws came down on her. She instantly disappeared, replaced by white lights.
All the contestants weren’t stupid and quickly recognized the situation after having heard the roar. That was why shortly after Ma Zhongtian had claimed his first victim, the nearby cultivators swiftly gathered together for safety.
Cultivation deviation may have caused the cultivator to lose their mind, but it also made them gain abnormal strength. It was only when half a dozen competitors joined together that they were able to hold their ground against the frenzied beast.
“We can’t keep this up for much longer! The moment our formation falters, we’re all going to get eliminated by this idiot! How come the elders aren’t making a move yet? This clearly isn’t part of the competition.”
“Be quiet and focus! We’re almost at the barrier. I think it should repel this guy now that he resembles a beast more than a human!”
“Everyone…I’m sorry, I’m running out of Qi,” one of the boys weakly cried out.
The group all felt their heart lurch out at the news. They turned in time to find their companion faltering behind, and the beast-like deviator lunged at the opening. Just as the remaining cultivators each plotted for their own safety, a lazy yawn resounded throughout their vicinity.
In an instant, a figure dashed by them with remarkable speed, arriving right between the faltering contestants and the man suffering from cultivation deviation, Ma Zhongtian. As if sensing the threat coming from the sudden appearance of the white-haired boy, even Ma Zhongtian, who had lost his mind, abandoned his charge and regarded the new opponent carefully.
“Deviation from practicing a quadrupedal technique of some sort? That won’t do. Those methods are ill-suited for someone eager to make quick progress.”
As the white-haired boy leisurely spoke, the entire scene suddenly came to a standstill as he stared down his fellow competitor, who had an animalistic glint in his eyes. Neither side moved, and the spectators finally had time to take in the sudden development.
“Is that Liang Po from the Myriad Bones Pavilion?”
“If he’s here, then we’re saved. We can leave the rest to him.”
The group of six quietly began to slip away from the scene. As soon as they moved, so did Liang Po.
He charged at Ma Zhongtian, who reacted by doing the same. The beast-like cultivator lunged forward at his prey, but his movements stilled the moment Liang Po held up his sword. Having lost his mind, he couldn’t pull any tricks as he was swiftly cut down while immobilized.
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By the time the deviator had landed on all fours, he was already surrounded by white light and swiftly disappeared as he got teleported out of the artifact.
Not stopping there, Liang Po dashed across the treeline and materialized right in the fleeing group’s path. They awkwardly shared glances, as they were surprised at the abrupt appearance.
“Umm, Senior Liang. Thank you for your assistance.” the previous boy, who had been saved, bowed politely.
“No need to thank me.” Liang Po shook his head. “We’re all competitors here.”
It only took a split second for the group to realize what Liang Po had meant. The dawn of realization instantly turned into fear.
Liang Po didn’t bother elaborating further before he swung down his sword. Just like before, the moment he raised his sword, his targets froze, and could only be slaughtered like lambs. Liang Po didn’t rest there. After he was done eliminating his competition, he ran off into the distance toward his next prey.
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Back inside the barrier around the grand hall, cries could be occasionally heard.
Li Lang’s group glanced anxiously around until they spotted a group successfully entering the barrier and immediately collapsing on the ground.
“We…made it!”
They smiled and laughed as they caught their breath.
“Damn that Liang Po. Can’t believe he’s just eliminating everyone trying to return. How is it fair that he’s in the competition too?”
“...It can’t be helped. He meets every criterion to be here. There’s no rule against contestants who have comprehended a way or law.”
“That’s because you normally wouldn’t expect anyone in the Energy Gathering realm to have comprehended them already!”
Soon, more people returned, as not even Liang Po could block off all the contestants.
Li Lang’s group gathered off on the edge of the barrier.
“Who knew that guy we saw earlier ended up being so dangerous?” Long Yi muttered.
“Everyone i-is waiting f-for him to return b-before they dare to head o-out again.” Wei Ping added.
“Let us wait as well. No point standing out from the crowd.”
However, contrary to everyone’s expectations, an announcement reached the ears of everyone within the artifact space.
“Half of you have been eliminated. We will now be ending the first round.”
Immediately after, everyone found their vision obscured by white smoke, and in an instant, they found themselves standing in the middle of the stadium once again. They all gawked up at the audience, who were in the uproar up in the stands.
It was only when an authoritative voice rang out that the venue began to quiet down.
“The second round will begin shortly! Each contestant will now be fighting a Qi beast for the second round, and the results will be based on how fast you are able to vanquish the beast.”
Some gasps and complaining could be heard, as several contestants complained about jumping straight into the second round. However, Li Lang was dissatisfied with how fast the next round was proceeding for another reason.
All my energy has been restored to peak condition…no…what happened inside that artifact wasn’t real, so we hadn’t actually expended anything! But how come my talisman was still consumed? Those cost a fortune! Too bad I can’t place another bet since there’s no downtime for us contestants.
With one hundred and twenty-eight contestants left, the center ring was swiftly cleared, as groups of cultivators dragged cages into the arena. While this happened, the spectators all sprinted toward the nearby gambling stations to place the new bets.
The staff knew what they were doing and created a sense of urgency for them to place bets quickly, but also allowed enough time for all of them to have the opportunity to do so. Time passed by very quickly as the audience returned to their seats.
An expert then hovered right above the ring and formed several hand signs, causing the ground beneath it to let out a bright light. The elevated ring disappeared and was replaced by eight smaller arenas.
Eight names were called and Li Lang watched each one step up to their respective stage. It seemed like all eight of them would be simultaneously undergoing the second round, but everyone’s attention was drawn to the boy with white hair.
The cages were soon opened beside each arena, and the staff dragged their respective beast onto the stage by the collar.
On Liang Po’s stage, there was a giant ape-like Qi beast.
A cultivator flew up to Liang Po and spoke a few words to him before he loudly yelled out to his companions to free the beast. The white-haired boy examined the beast with a smile, but didn’t make a move. However, the ape wasn’t so polite and quickly charged towards him.
As everyone expected, Liang Po only had to swing his sword once before the ape was felled. After he was done, he even sat down in the lotus position and began cultivating.
“Liang Po, two breaths of time!”
“Interesting. The moment he held up his sword, the Qi beast’s movement stiffened. And I wonder what type of demonic cultivation technique he employs,” Li Lang muttered to his companions.
“Do you have time to be worried about that? If we face that guy in the next round, you know we’re done for, right?” Long Yi nervously said.
“We s-should be w-worried about this r-round first. Look, they’re c-calling for y-you, Long Yi.”
At Wei Ping’s reminder, Long Yi glanced back over to the arena where Liang Po had just completed his fight. The referee there was holding up a sign with Long Yi’s name on it.
“Next, Long Yi! Please hurry over!”