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Even though the drama surrounding Fairy Chu was quite intense, the Great Sects Competition was more important. The disciples who were qualified to come with their seniors to Violet Mountain were either outstanding individuals handpicked by their sects, or they were reserve forces the sect considered to have great potential and sent to gain experience. Regardless of which kind of disciple they were, they cared a lot about the competition.
Today was to be the first day of the competition. The matches would occur on Violet Mountain’s main peak, Crouching Tiger Mountain’s Golden Peak. The reason it was called Golden Peak was that whenever the sun came out and the sunlight scattered across the mountain, the entire mountaintop would be tinted gold, creating a beautiful sight. Additionally, unlike most mountaintops, Golden Peak had a wide, flat plateau rather than a normal pointed peak. Apart from the Pure Sun Palace Wang Wuxie lived in and some other important buildings of the sect, it held a large plaza that could be used for martial arts.
Normally, Golden Peak was a restricted area in the Righteous Sun Sect. Only the sect master and the elders of the great peaks, as well as certain important inheritors, could enter freely. The other disciples could only go there briefly during important ceremonies. The reason for that was because, apart from looking golden, Golden Peak had another special use; rich violet ki filled the entire place at sunrise, which was extremely beneficial to cultivation. Such a precious cultivation resource naturally couldn't be unconditionally released to the public. For example, even though disciples had gathered from many different places for the Great Sects Competition, they still hadn’t been able to enter the peak at sunrise.
Today, however, as the Great Sects Competition that happened only once every ten years finally began, the Righteous Sun Sect opened Golden Peak up for the first time, using it as the location of the competition.
The disciples of the different sects were naturally extremely excited. They began to use their own cultivation skills to greedily absorb the rich violet ki around them. Their spirits all felt extremely refreshed, and their cultivation progressed many times more quickly than usual. They were all overjoyed, wondering just how shocking their cultivation would grow if they could cultivate here long-term.
The sect masters and elders were also filled with admiration for the mysterious violet ki around them. They thought to themselves, This Wang Wuxie really is quite generous, actually letting us all enjoy this place.
…
Zu An said to Xie Daoyun, “Little sis Ling’er, you should look around to see if there are any formations while everyone’s distracted.”
They hadn’t found anything when they looked around together, but they hadn’t gotten a chance to visit a restricted area such as Golden Peak then. At present, the sects’ disciples were all focused on absorbing the violet ki, inevitably leading to some disorganization. It was the perfect opportunity for Xie Daoyun to look around without being noticed. Thus, Xie Daoyun voiced her agreement and quietly blended into the crowd.
Zu An began to absorb the surrounding violet ki to see what it was all about, and he was soon stunned. This violet ki was extremely similar to his primordial ki, but it was much thinner. Even so, it was still much higher-quality than normal ki. No wonder everyone present looked so infatuated.
In the Heavenly Sorrow Sect’s group, Guan Chouhai couldn't help but give his complacent disciple a look, saying, “Zhi Yin, the great battle is about to begin, and yet you still look so dispirited. It is just a woman; is there a need to go that far?”
At the moment, Zhi Yin was no longer in his previous high spirits. He even had a thin layer of unshaven stubble growing on his chin. That was something completely unheard of for someone such as him, who cared a lot about his appearance. Additionally, his eyes were strangely unfocused.
Guan Chouhai was a grandmaster, so he naturally knew that one’s vitality was the best reflection of one’s strength and condition. Zhi Yin likely wasn’t even at seventy percent of his best condition. He would definitely pay the price for that during the great competition. And yet, Zhi Yin was the seeded player of Heavenly Sorrow Sect, someone who represented their sect’s pride. How could Guan Chouhai not be worried?
Zhi Yin said helplessly, “That’s easy for master to say. If you found out that Sect Master Yan actually had a man, I don’t believe you could remain that calm either.”
The surrounding disciples were all shocked. They thought to themselves, Has Zhi Yin gone mad? He actually dares to speak like this to the sect master?
However, Guan Chouhai didn’t get angry and simply laughed, saying, “Fairy Yan is different from other women. She is a cold and aloof woman who seems to have come from the starry streams of heaven; why would she like a man from the secular world? If there really were a man for her in this world, it would be none other than me, Guan Chouhai.”
Zhi Yin rolled his eyes. He really didn’t even feel like retorting anymore. Master, just where do you get your confidence from?
Guan Chouhai patted his shoulder to encourage him. Then, he glanced at the nearby Zhao Xiaodie and asked, “What is wrong with you, Xiaodie?”
Zhao Xiaodie was alarmed. She forced a smile and said, “Something’s wrong with me? Not at all.”
“Not at all?” Guan Chouhai sneered. “You have been acting strange for a few days. Compared to how you usually are, aren’t you a bit too quiet? Sometimes, it almost looks as if you are shedding silent tears, while other times, you have a dumb smile on your face, as if someone broke you.”
“Master~” Zhao Xiaodie cried, feeling extremely embarrassed. However, the memory of Zu An beating her viciously couldn't help but appear in her mind again. Her legs couldn't help but close tightly.
“All of you had better readjust your condition quickly. The great competition will begin soon. Your matches during the first day should not be too hard, so use this chance to the fullest,” Guan Chouhai said, his smile fading. Apart from Zhi Yin, Zhao Xiaodie was the second most important disciple to him. Furthermore, it was because of her special identity that he cared more about her than others. And yet, they had both ended up like this somehow. If he didn’t know any better, he would almost have thought that they had recently broken up or something.
“Understood!” both disciples replied. Even though Guan Chouhai was rather tolerant, he was still quite frightening whenever he became upset. The two of them could only force themselves to focus.
…
Meanwhile, within Jadefall Palace’s ranks, Wan Guiyi retracted his gaze and said with a sneer, “Heavenly Sorrow Sect’s Zhi Yin has such a huge reputation, and yet all I see is trash. On top of that, the White Jade Sect’s Lou Wucheng looks half dead too. I refuse to believe that a swordsman can be anything special if they’re in low spirits, even if he has his Immortal Sword.”
Wan Tongtian said seriously, “The two of them seem to have suffered an extreme emotional blow recently, but you cannot be careless. It is not entirely impossible that this might end up being an opportunity for them. It would be one thing if they remain trapped by their feelings, but if they break free, they might reach a higher level.”
“It’s just a woman, and yet they look as if they’re about to die. How can women be as interesting as cultivation?” Wan Guiyi remarked disdainfully. “The classics have stated that when you cultivate the sword, the first thing you need to sever is love. If you don’t have a woman in your heart, your sword will be divine!”
Elder Huo Ling laughed coldly and remarked with a furious expression, “Not bad, Mister Wan. So this is the kind of thing you taught him all this time? So that is what you thought back then.” Next to her, Pei Mianman’s expression didn’t look much better; she was also a woman after all.
Wan Guiyi harrumphed. He looked away and ignored her. As a son, he naturally didn’t carry any good impression of this woman who was rumored to have been his mother’s love rival.
On the other hand, Wan Tongtian quickly apologized while wiping some cold sweat. He said, “Junior sister, I really did not teach him that way. This child has become so extreme that I am even a bit worried that he might end up alone his entire life and end my lineage entirely.”
“You should have been the one to do that,” Elder Huo Ling retorted as a parting shot, then dragged her disciple off to the other side of the group.
Wan Tongtian was left all alone in the wind.
…
Elsewhere, two monks, one old and one young, silently watched everything that was happening. The chubby little monk said with a sigh of amazement, “The daoist sects are so lively! Every single one has so many powerful people. Master, do you think it’s because they’re allowed to have wives and get married?”
The old monk struck his head with a wooden fish and retorted, “Are you saying that you want us Buddhists to allow marriages and children too?”
“That’s not what I meant. I was just wondering what Sect Master Wan meant when he talked about ending their lineage,” the chubby little monk asked curiously.
“It refers to not having a wife and fathering a son, leaving no one to carry on your ancestral line. At that point, you will naturally be without any successor,” the old monk explained.
The chubby little monk voiced his surprise, asking, “Then, doesn’t that mean every single person in our Buddhist sect is going to have their lineage ended?”
The old monk’s breath stopped for a moment, and only after a while did he exhale, saying, “Jie Se, you are quite intelligent, as expected.”
The two monks were naturally Tranquility Temple’s Master Jian Huang and the little monk Jie Se.
“I think so too,” the chubby little monk said, sticking out his chest. “Master, what do you think about women?”
“Jie Se, that is not something you should be concerned with,” the old monk said seriously. “You only need to remember that women are like tigers, that’s all.”
The chubby little monk grumbled, “Tigers eat people; don’t tell me women do too? Their mouths are so small, so how can they even eat that?”
What he got in return was another strike from the rod. The old monk sounded a bit angry as he remarked, “Just what kind of nonsense do you think all day long?”
The little novice monk looked at him with a simple and honest expression, saying, “Master, I feel that you are the one whose thinking has deviated.”
The old monk was stunned. Then, he brought his hands together and said, “Amitabha Buddha, I have committed a sin.”
…
After the disruption caused by so many people trying to make the most out of the violet ki, Wang Wuxie saw that it was about time and stepped forward. He didn’t even have to say a word for everyone present to calm down. All of them felt a mysterious pressure that made them reflexively fall silent.
The sect masters of the other sects frowned slightly. Wang Wuxie’s cultivation seemed to have advanced again. Clearly, Violet Mountain was a precious place, as expected.
“The sects should already have emphasized to all of you what the significance and reward of this competition are, so I will waste no time on repeating that. I will only reaffirm one thing. Any act intended to take another’s life will result in immediate disqualification,” Wang Wuxie said. His voice wasn’t that loud, but those present all heard him extremely clearly.
Wan Guiyi suddenly said, “The competition ought to be one where everyone goes all out. Blades don’t have eyes, after all, so how can a judgment be made if someone unintentionally wounds their opponent?”
All of the disciples felt admiration inwardly. This guy actually dared to directly challenge Wang Wuxie! Just where did he get the guts to do so?
Jie Se, the little monk, said with a sigh of amazement, “Master, that person is really fierce.”
Master Jian Huang didn’t respond to him at all. He only closed his eyes while muttering the sutras, as if he needed to purify the impure thoughts he had just had.
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Wang Wuxie gave Wan Guiyi a deep look, then replied, “There is no need for everyone to worry about that. I have invited sect masters and elders to serve as judges. Apart from that, I have even invited Tranquility Temple’s prestigious Master Jian Huang to serve as a witness. Also…” His expression suddenly became a bit unnatural as he said, “We also have the court’s Sir Zu as a special honored guest. Together, we should be sufficiently capable of judging the fairness of every fight.”
As soon as he said those words, the place immediately erupted into a commotion again.