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Qing Xuanling rose as soon as the sun came up. She quickly got ready, bathing and donning an inner plate armor she had received as a reward for rescuing the children from the clandestine auction, along with the red tunic representative of the clan.
She glanced briefly at her reflection in the mirror before nodding and leaving her room. She headed straight for the main plaza of the second ring, where commemorative events or festivals were usually held every few years.
There were slightly fewer than thirty people in the plaza.
Qing Xuanling quickly approached, and seeing no one she knew, she stood slightly apart from the crowd. Her relationship with the other clan members wasn't particularly close.
'There are people much older than I initially thought.'
She was somewhat surprised. According to what she had heard, the tournament rules had changed slightly from the original plan. Although initially only the youngest generation was to participate, it was finally decided that anyone with the necessary cultivation level could join.
Even so, the three major forces preferred to send their younger generation rather than their aged veterans. This was not only to give the youth a chance to shine but primarily to demonstrate to the entire city which force had the greatest future potential.
Thus, Qing Xuanling was surprised to see twelve old men among the gathered participants. Almost half of the participants were middle-aged men who had to shave their beards!
Qing Xuanling sighed and waited patiently for the last members, along with the Young Master, who was leading this operation, to arrive.
Luckily, the wait wasn't too long.
The few people who were missing, including Qing Muyu and Qing Tanwei, arrived.
Qing Xuanling wasn't very surprised to see those two arrive; after all, they were at the eighth layer and were undoubtedly among the strongest people the current Qing clan could field.
She quickly approached them, but before she could greet them, four figures appeared in the air. She looked up rapidly and stared in surprise at the Young Master and the three elders beside him!
The elders were: Qing Meipon, the First Elder; Qing Xuyun, the Third Elder; and Qing Huomei, the Fourth Elder!
Qing Xuanling didn't recognize the First Elder at first, but Qing Muyu was quick to inform her of the wrinkled hag's identity when he noticed her confusion. By the way, it was Qing Muyu who called her a "wrinkled hag," not her...
The Young Master quickly counted the people below and nodded.
"Alright, since everyone is here, I won't beat around the bush." The Young Master's voice was firm. "The benefits we can obtain by winning this tournament are clear. Six spiritual mines, two Supreme Grade Level 2 artifacts, and two Level 2 Celestial items."
"All of these are things that can become catalysts for strengthening the Qing clan, so I hope you all give your best in these battles!" The Young Master's gaze suddenly softened. "But remember, your lives are still the most important thing. So do not dare waste your lives for this. Items can be acquired over time, but your lives cannot."
The eyes of everyone fighting today turned slightly red. This genuine concern for them was what made most willing to risk their lives for the clan! A strong will to win by any means necessary arose in their hearts.
The Young Master smiled bitterly upon noticing this. He wanted to say something, but in the end, he shook his head. It wouldn't be good to damage everyone's soaring morale. He could only sigh in resignation and changed the subject.
"The tournament will have three leagues, each with participants from the three cultivation stages. The rewards for winning the initial league are the two Celestial items and one spiritual mine; the rewards for the intermediate league are the two artifacts and one spiritual mine. Finally, the reward for the advanced league is the remaining four spiritual stone mines."
"As you can see, each league has a substantial reward, so if you manage to win one, all participants of that league will be rewarded with ten thousand spirit stones, the opportunity to choose any manual from the Scripture Pavilion, and a custom-made Supreme Grade artifact!"
The Young Master's voice was loud, filling the listeners' chests with excitement. The rewards were simply too juicy!
Although there was one person who remained impassive.
Qing Xuanling smiled bitterly. Now that she had money, the clan's rewards seemed somewhat simple...
Indeed, wealth corrupts people!
The Young Master gave a brief speech about how proud the clan was of them all and several other things before finally pointing to the elders behind him.
"The Ink Sword Sect, the Mo clan, and we agreed that we could bring three elders for security, serving as protection and a warning to the others. So thank the elders for clearing their schedules to come protect you."
""Thank you, clan elders, for always protecting us!!""
Everyone shouted in unison, much to the elders' satisfaction. The Young Master shook his head and quickly took out a flying boat from his storage ring. The boat was large enough for a hundred people to board without feeling cramped.
Qing Xuanling and the rest of the clan members quickly boarded. The flying boat sped through the sky once everyone was on board. The tournament location was in the center of the city, so there was actually no need to use a flying boat, but the Young Master was sure the others would use theirs, so the Qing clan couldn't fall behind!
Everyone began chatting among themselves, trying to calm their nerves. Qing Xuanling saw the scene and quickly moved away, staying in a secluded corner away from everyone. Only two people noticed where she had gone.
"Little ninth, it wouldn't hurt you to go talk to them a bit, you know?" Qing Muyu smiled bitterly. "It's good to have many friends!"
Qing Xuanling rolled her eyes. "The immortal path is a solitary one by nature. I don't think having many relationships is good. It could affect our Dao heart..."
"Stop making such grand excuses and just admit you're bad at socializing." Qing Tanwei rolled her eyes while letting out a chuckle. "Anyway, are you confident? You're still at the fourth layer, while your body cultivation shouldn't have advanced yet."
A confident smile appeared on Qing Xuanling's face. "Do I need my cultivation to improve? It's not the first time I've faced opponents at the sixth layer."
Qing Tanwei and Qing Muyu exchanged glances and smiled ironically. That was quite true. Rather, Qing Xuanling was used to fighting opponents at the advanced stage. It was foolish to ask her if she was confident.
The flying boat reached its destination in ten minutes while the three of them chatted.
Qing Xuanling went to the deck and observed the ground, where a large quadrilateral area of at least one hundred meters on each side could be seen in the middle of an empty plot in the heart of the city. She frowned.
In her memories, there was no such large empty plot in the middle of the city, so this could only mean that...
'They really went all out with this, even demolishing buildings and everything.'
Qing Xuanling shook her head as the flying boat slowly descended. Two other flying boats were already stationed at a certain distance from the large quadrilateral. She narrowed her eyes, noticing a large crowd around the quadrilateral, at least three hundred people.
It was clear that only sixty of those people were going to fight, so she couldn't understand why so many had gathered. She pondered this as the flying boat descended.
"Arriving late as always. The Qing clan people really like to act important." A mocking voice sounded as soon as the Qing clan's flying boat touched the ground.
The Young Master simply smiled faintly. "I see your mouth is still as cheap as ever, Chu Feng. Don't you have anything better to do than chatter as soon as I arrive?"
On one of the flying boats, which had the Yin and Yang symbol carved into it, Chu Feng, a young-looking man with a long nose, frowned. "If my mouth is cheap, then yours is full of trash. Everyone knows the Young Master of the Qing clan never loses an argument!"
"Haha, I prefer to say I have a sharp tongue." The Young Master covered his mouth with his hand. "I think that's better than having a cheap mouth. In fact, I have a friend with peculiar tastes who might need your services..."
Chu Feng's face immediately turned red. "Qing Yenglan, what are you trying to say?!"
The Young Master simply stuck out his tongue, not responding.
Rage rushed to Chu Feng's head as he unsheathed his sword and surrounded it with ink-black Qi. He swore he would cut off the head of that smooth-tongued scoundrel!
"Don't embarrass us further, Chu Feng. Stop this theater right now."
An elder behind Chu Feng sighed in disappointment. Initially, Chu Feng had been seen as a seedling for the Ink Sword Sect, advancing in his cultivation easily and reaching the Foundation Establishment realm even before the Qing clan's Young Master.
But aside from that small victory, Chu Feng had always lost to the Young Master. He lost so many times that his intelligence even seemed to drop, always falling for the dirty tricks of that fresh-faced brat...
Chu Feng clenched his fists tightly, but he couldn't disobey the elder's orders. In the end, he just snorted while looking at the Qing clan people with murderous intent.
The Mo clan people also didn't look favorably upon the Qing clan. Mo Yufan, the leader of the Mo clan's young generation, watched the spectacle with a cold gaze. His disdain as he looked at Chu Feng was clear.
Another scene was unfolding in the skies as the young leaders interacted.
"It's been a long time since I've seen such a prominent figure as Elder Meipon! I really thought you had died when those rumors started spreading!" A Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Mo clan, named Mo Suyan, smiled. His smile seemed as poisonous as snake venom.
Qing Meipon rolled her eyes. "Die, me?! I don't know who started spreading such rumors, but I'll surely break their legs! How can they say that about a woman who is barely in the spring of her youth?!"
Mo Suyan's smile stiffened. 'Old hag, don't get so dramatic. Do you think we're so stupid as not to realize that it was the Qing clan who spread the rumors now that you're standing here...?'
As the rumors said, this elder had skin tougher than a boar and a tongue more slippery than a jellyfish!
"Hahaha, Friend Meipon is still as lively as ever! I don't know how happy I am to see you again." An elder who looked like he had one foot in the grave smiled as he approached. "I almost cried when I heard that another person of our generation had died, but it seems it was just a false alarm!"
Qing Meipon rolled her eyes and made a grimace that was clearly visible despite the wrinkles on her face. "Bei Shifeng, stop the clowning! I clearly remember the news that you celebrated a grand banquet when the news of my death spread!"
Bei Shifeng, an elder from the Ink Sword Sect, tilted his head with a perplexed expression.
"I think you're mistaken, Friend Meipon. I didn't celebrate a banquet for your death. It was simply a grand gathering to commemorate the death of a great warrior and friend who protected Ziyu City with her blood."
Qing Huomei smiled bitterly upon hearing that. Relations between the three forces had always been complicated, so even when the Qing clan heard the news of such a banquet, they simply took it as a personal grudge between Bei Shifeng and Qing Meipon and didn't go to the Ink Sword Sect to demand explanations.
But seeing it now, that the Ink Sword Sect had actually conspired to kill their geniuses, it seemed the Qing clan had been too indulgent. She quickly joined the verbal war, supporting Qing Meipon.
The verbal war between the elders of the three forces was intense, each bringing up grudges from decades past to attack the other. They had so much stored up that the war extended for more than thirty minutes...
After all, if there was one thing cultivators couldn't be surpassed in, it was holding grudges!
It was only after everyone had let out the grudges accumulated over decades that they began to discuss important matters.
"So we start with the initial league, is anyone in disagreement?" Qing Xuyun, the person who had remained the calmest during the verbal war, finally ended the matter.
Bei Shifeng nodded. "That sounds fine to me. One must always save the most exciting for last!"
The other elders also nodded. It seemed the most appropriate. With that said, everyone descended from the sky to officially begin today's tournament.
Qing Xuanling, who until now had been sitting on the deck of the flying boat with nothing to do, watched them descend and sighed in relief. She had noticed they had been in a rather heated discussion, but they were so far away that she hadn't managed to hear anything.
Although she was curious about what they were discussing so intensely, she didn't have the ability to listen currently. So instead, she observed more people gradually arriving around the quadrilateral.
Surprisingly, people from the five Qi Refinement forces of Ziyu City had arrived. The Li family, the West Sun Hall, the Centennial Tree School, the Zi clan, and the Warrior Tower.
Besides the two largest commercial forces in Ziyu City, the Golden Pig Trading House and the Traveler's Ark.
There were also other small organizations that came to watch the spectacle, but none worth mentioning.
Qing Xuanling didn't have much contact with the spectators besides the Li family and the Golden Pig Trading House.
The Golden Pig Trading House was where she had bought the Clear Flame manual, while she had met a spoiled young lady from the Li family who had tried to slap her... Neither connection was very good, to say the least.
Now that she had gained some experience, she realized that the Clear Flame was a trash technique for ordinary people, being impossible to master due to its great complexity. That the Golden Pig Trading House sold it to her without explaining its disadvantages was simply a rather malicious sale.
As for her bad relationship with the Li family, that needed no explanation...
But in the end, she just sighed. Neither matter was important, especially since she had benefited enormously from obtaining the Clear Flame manual. One could even consider that she owed something to the Golden Pig Trading House.
She shook her head and observed the nine elders floating in the air. It seemed the tournament was finally about to begin.
"After a long discussion between the three forces, we have decided that the initial league will start first. Furthermore, we have all agreed to make an oath to give the rewards without any trickery to the winner of each league!" Qing Meipon took the initiative to speak and even made the oath first.
"I, Qing Meipon, swear by the heavens that the Qing clan will respect the results of this tournament and give the established rewards to the winner of each league! If I break this contract, may my soul be devoured by inner demons and my body incinerated by a thousand lightning bolts!"
"I, Qing Xuyun,..."
"I, Qing Huomei,..."
The elders of the Mo clan and the Ink Sword Sect looked at the Qing clan elders in disbelief. The oath they had originally decided to make was not one so dangerous and deadly!
But now they couldn't back down in front of such a large crowd, otherwise, the reputation of both forces would hit rock bottom!
With no other option, they gritted their teeth and made the same oaths as the Qing clan elders.
Qing Xuanling, unaware of the tricks her respected elders were pulling, descended from the flying boat along with her clan companions and gathered under the quadrilateral to get a good view of the battles.
The Young Master stayed beside them while explaining the combat rules.
"It will be a three-way battle, with one member from each force participating." The Young Master's eyes suddenly filled with disdain. "It is highly likely that the Ink Sword Sect and the Mo clan will join forces, so pay special attention to ensuring your safety and energy. Fighters can continue to the next match if they are still standing at the end."
"We just need to have the largest number of participants who haven't lost in order to win in the end."
Although the combat model clearly put the Qing clan at a disadvantage, they couldn't do anything to change it. The other two forces wouldn't have accepted holding the tournament otherwise.
After saying a few more things, he chose a middle-aged man who was at the third layer of Qi Refinement.
"Qing Kufeng, you go first."
Qing Kufeng nodded and headed toward the quadrilateral, where Qing Xuyun and two other elders floated in the air, positioning themselves to protect the lives of their subordinates.
"You can do it, Kufeng, show those bastards what it means to be a member of the Qing clan!"
"Come on, man, prove that your life hasn't been useless and help the clan win!"
"Kufeng, win, or else I'll tell everyone our secret~"
Qing Xuanling's eyelid twitched upon hearing the encouragement Qing Kufeng was receiving. Her eyelid twitched especially at the last one, which came from a deep, bear-like voice...
Qing Xuanling shook her head and watched the arena carefully, her eyes fixed on the people sent by the Ink Sword Sect and the Mo clan. Both opponents also seemed to be around thirty years old.
The elders in the air exchanged a brief glance before shouting in unison.
"Let the battle begin!"