“That’s one… four to go…”

Zhang Dong was looking at a little white bead that he received after being first at the Appraisal competition. Thanks to his system he was able to instantly know what the items on display were, even the ones that had a hidden function.

After he had filled out the participation form he had to pay quite a hefty sum to take part in all of the competitions. The person he gave his paper to looked at him in bewilderment and he had to convince him to let him participate.

After taking care of the formalities he had two days of free time. This he used to locate the outer sect library. Even though he was confident in winning everything, this didn’t mean that he wouldn’t do any research.

As a trial disciple, he had no way of entering this large building. This did not pose a problem for someone with an immortal level disguising technique. He just needed to find one of the elders and shadow him back to his home. Taking out a late stage Martial Master wasn’t hard for him.

The old man was put to sleep before he could even realize what was happening. He had enough time to raid the library and gather even more knowledge by tapping the scriptures. The techniques were really mostly following the lightning Dao but they were all inferior to even the basic ones that he came to this world in.

If he had his old cultivation level, this Thunderball hall would probably salivate over making him their grand elder.

Now armed with more knowledge he took part in the Appraisal competition which he won. The main judge after being given that pendant was quick to give him this bead while he himself left the rest of the competition up to the side judge.

‘They sure are greedy in this empire… but not like that’s any different than my own.’

While thinking about how that elder was trying to hide the core formation level item he moved towards the next competition. This one would be about formations.

Being a formation master was a sought-after position. Together with Pill makers and blacksmiths they made up the three most important crafting professions. Without possessing a large protective formation a sect could not function correctly.

Formations were very similar to magic circles. A formation master needed to draw them out in specific locations while also placing some formation flags at the focal points. Their Qi would also be utilized to somewhat etch the symbols into the earth. After it was done, the formation circles would become hidden.

That was also how to combat formation worked, by having the practitioners focus their Qi to draw out a smaller formation with their spiritual energy. Those were harder to produce as they required the cultivator to focus but if done correctly the formation would activate and function even while battling.

‘I guess I’m already gaining some notoriety…’

Zhang Dong didn’t turn around but he could feel that some people were following him. After he won the appraisal competition some of the elders and disciples decided to shadow him.

There weren’t that many behind him as the competition that he took place in wasn't that popular. Appraisal was mostly a side profession for people that liked to identify items than to make them by themselves.

“I welcome you to the yearly outer sect formation guild competition.”

Zhang Dong moved together with a large group of disciples while another elder in a white robe showed up. He started discussing how this trial would go down.

It looked to be some type of course that everyone would have to go through. There would be several challenges that the young formation disciples would need to pass.

There would be illusion formations, imprisoning formations, and even slaughtering formations. The contestants would move in groups and the one that arrived at the end with the best time would win.

Zhang Dong being a trial disciple that had to actually pay to get in here, would need to wait. He was dead last with all of the inner sect disciples that had less than stellar backing. This also meant that probably no one would be paying attention to his run.

‘I guess this will give me an opportunity to see how the competition was doing.’

This formation competition took place in a large cavern. The sect actually dug into the large mountain and created many corridors. The whole thing seemed to be a labyrinth with many paths and illusory formations that were there to confuse the disciples.

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There was one entrance through which the participants would go in and also one exit. That was right next to the entrance, the many corridors would lead them here and the first one to come out would be treated as the victor.

There were about three hundred participants here and they would be assigned to groups of thirty people. This smaller group would then compete.

He already knew that with rules like this, it meant that on the inside some young masters would probably use some underhanded methods to get ahead. Deaths and injuries did happen from time to time but everyone could always attribute it to the slaughtering formations.

After a set time, if not all of the disciples made it out an elder would go through the labyrinth to fetch them. At that time they would sometimes find bloodied bodies, or youngsters with broken legs or trapped in an illusion they can’t break.

This was also the first time Zhang Dong could see female cultivators. The formation master profession didn’t require a tough exterior so it was suited for women with high amounts of Qi. Women in this world tended to be less brash and also better at concentrating. They also showed more promise at learning tough formation diagrams than their more rowdy male counterparts.

Thus about a third of the competitors here were young girls between the ages of thirty and twenty. The sect still had a lot more male cultivators so they had the number advantage.

With the genders mixed it brought some more drama to the table. The young men started showing off while using this as a chance. The world of cultivation was mostly one of seclusion which caused the relationships between the two genders to be somewhat rare.

Thus, most of the young men had no idea how to approach the fairy-like jade-like beauties that only got more beautiful as their cultivation increased. Cultivation was a process of bettering oneself and the women of this world focused on the external appearance over pure power.

“This Lai Zhenya will win this contest, beautiful fairy please join me for some tea after the competition is over!”

One flamboyant-looking man in a purple robe and with a fan in his hand approached one of the better-looking young women. This first batch of thirty contestants did have most of the top prospects.

The woman just looked at him without replying but Zhang Dong could spot a little smile hidden under that pale face. Another youth joined in on the conversations soon after.”

“No, I will be the one to take the fairy out for some tea!”

Soon the two started fighting and only did they stop when an elder appeared. Zhang Dong gave out a sigh while standing up against the wall. He would need to wait till these idiots were done with their runs. He was unable to do anything besides waiting.

Time continued to fly and as he had thought there were some injuries. Sometimes some of the kids had to be carried out by the elders with many bruises on their bodies. The competition was harsh and there was minimal help even from the adults. Unless they could gain something in return, it was hard to find a carrying one around.

This all reminded him of the cultivators before he took over. Luckily with him in the driving seat, his sect had stared into a more gentle direction. There was some infighting but not this bad, or at least this was what he hoped.

He mostly took on a hands-off approach, Zhang Dong was not really aware of what was happening in the outer sect area. He only created the merit system that would allow everyone to get into the inner sect. If they worked hard if they used underhanded tactics was unknown to him.

There was the part where the sect scanners didn’t allow any evil people in but there were certain ones that would try to gain the system. They were not outright evil but looking out for yourself wasn’t really considered evil.

“Okay, you are the last ones left, please go in.”

‘Finally…’

The last group was his when they were done, then the last run would take place. From each group, the top three participants would be allowed to move one. Multiplied by ten, a group of the winners would take a harder course and then only would the winners be announced.

With the group of thirty he entered through the corridor while staying a bit to the side of everyone else. After going through the threshold of the passage he could already feel it, he found himself in a large illusory formation.

This was quite the basic one, it kept the people that were affected from seeing the correct path. What the young participants saw was a cavern with three paths but there was a fourth one. It didn’t seem that any one of them could tell as they all headed into one of the other three while he waited and took the correct one.

Little did he know that this was not actually an easy nut to crack. His actions were spotted by the elders outside. They could tell that someone was able to get through one of the more difficult formations that kept all the hidden paths away from the disciples.

These paths were there so that the elders could use them as shortcuts. Only when having a specially crafted item and previous knowledge would they be able to tell the way. Zhang Dong was a special case as he was fully immune to something like mind control due to his oversized soul.

This was also why he found himself at the exit after about only five minutes of walking. He successfully managed to use all the hidden corridors.

“How could this be…”

The main judge called out in surprise after he saw a slightly confused Zhang Dong reach the exit.

‘Did I make myself look a bit too competent with this one…’

He could only shrug while looking at the previous winners, not being able to comprehend how an unknown person like him had managed to beat everyone else. The record set by some formation ancestors from many millennia ago was not this fast.

“Oh, greetings elders, is there a problem?”

He asked while smiling, now all he had to do was beat the other young masters that were resting from their previous run. They all started to whisper, all looked at him and they all couldn’t believe it. It was time to play it up and become the number one prospect that this sect had ever had.