Chapter 120: A Battle of Equals

Chapter 120: A Battle of Equals

As a disciple of the Jie Sect, Ao Yi always stood below with the other disciples of the Duxian Gate, which seemed out of place. Fortunately, this prince's younger brother knew better. Li Changshou, acting as the proxy of a certain high-level figure in the Human Sect, needed to maintain the secrecy of his identity. Li Changshou whispered a few words of advice to him, and Ao Yi smiled, saying, "Let's catch up with Changshou after the internal competition." With that, Ao Yi flew back to the Jade Platform and rejoined his sister and other senior brothers...

Soon after, Ji Wuyou, the sect master, flew out from the Jade Platform. The disciples below held their breath, and the mountain gate fell silent. Li Changshou carefully sensed Ji Wuyou's condition and realized that the sect master might still be injured, with some instability in his aura.

Ji Wuyou began to address the disciples, "On this auspicious day, the young disciples gathered here after nearly two hundred years of recruitment by the Duxian Gate... Today's internal competition is not about ranking you hierarchically. The rankings are only meant to encourage cultivation. Falling behind temporarily doesn't mean you can't catch up in the future. The threat of demonic invasion is imminent, and your determination to advance and retreat with the sect is truly commendable. Now, as the Tri-Sect Assembly approaches, our Duxian Gate, founded by the virtuous and respected Master Du'e of the Human Sect, has been invited to attend. Those ranked by Tian Gang number or recommended by elders may accompany me to Central Shenzhou..."

Listening to the sect master's speech, Li Changshou furrowed his brow slightly. Did all top thirty-six have to attend the Tri-Sect Assembly? Learning from the lessons of the previous Dragon Palace demon-cleansing event, Li Changshou naturally didn't want to get involved in such 'grand occasions'. He just wanted to hide in the mountains and cultivate peacefully. Especially now, with his cultivation improving and Qing XuanYa shining even more brightly, if a couple of infatuated fools were to emerge and challenge him as 'just a friend of Qing', it would be troublesome. At such an event, where experts gathered, there might even be figures like the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Orthodox Sect. His slight disguise might not be enough. If he attracted attention, it could easily lead to uncontrollable situations...

"Maybe I should aim for a ranking between thirty-seven and forty," Li Changshou decided. Just as he made up his mind, he suddenly noticed several gazes falling on him. Quietly checking the sources of these gazes, he spotted Elder Wan Linjun from the Jade Platform, several familiar peripheral elders from the Bai Fan Hall, and a few ambitious elders in the Heavenly Immortal Realm. Li Changshou: ...It seems I'll have to improve the Turtle-Breath Calming Technique.

Seeing this, he realized that he was already 'committed' to attending the Tri-Sect Assembly and had to prepare in advance to handle it with care...

The internal competition proceeded according to the established process. After the sect master spoke, the deputy sect master spoke, then the elder, and so on... Eventually, Elder Ge from the Bai Fan Hall appeared and announced the official start of the event.

Two elders flew out from the Jade Platform, their white hair dancing in the wind, their thin bones giving them a unique appearance. Their long sleeves fluttered, scattering a large swath of starlight, creating a spectacular scene. The starlight transformed into jade slips, slowly descending, with each disciple holding one.

Li Changshou's slip was labeled "Ding Ling Er Liu," while Ling E's was labeled "Xin Yi Er Yi." Surprisingly, the method used to mark their refining bags was unexpectedly consistent.

If the jade slip lit up later, it meant it was time to fight. In addition to their respective numbers, there were twelve blank squares on the jade slip. If they won a match, they could light up one square. These jade slips were a set of treasures, not easily made. Thus, they had a note on the back in small characters: "Do not damage, return after the event; if lost or damaged, you will be suspended from supply for six months."

Dozens of sect servants entered the field first and took their positions on the periphery. The first pair of disciples for the match were already holding glowing jade slips, waiting in the field. Other disciples began to sit down, some using cushions or soft mats, while others simply sat on the ground, intimately connecting with the earth and sky.

"Senior brother..." Ling E whispered, taking out two cushions and a bamboo basket from her storage bracelet, placing the cushions half a meter away from Li Changshou.

Li Changshou transmitted his voice, "Good job. Reduce the number of recitations in the 'Stabilizing Formula' by fifty times."

Ling E pouted, "Brother, I'm not trying to recite fewer scriptures."

"In that case, don't reduce them."

"Hey, don't..." Li Changshou smiled and lifted the front of his robe, sitting down with his junior sister. Just as they settled down, before Ling E could take out the food basket she had prepared for several days, two small white hands reached over from behind and quietly grabbed the bamboo basket...

"Hehe, let your senior uncle see what delicious things Ling E made again?" Jiu Jiu sneaked over and sat between them, opening the cloth covering the basket.

Instantly, numerous gazes shot over, many disciples who had not seen Uncle Jiu before were full of shock...

Li Changshou had anticipated this, remaining calm with closed eyes. Ling E, unable to mess around with Uncle Jiu in front of so many people, watched helplessly as her hard-made snacks were taken away...

As Jiu Jiu and Ling E huddled together, they looked pleasing to the eye and had a delightful encounter in the eyes of the disciples. However, when Jiu Jiu moved next to Li Changshou and asked how he planned to fight later, the disciples' gazes subtly changed.

"As for how to fight, we'll have to adapt on the fly," Li Changshou said with a light laugh.

Jiu Jiu didn't ask much more, offering him some encouragement before moving back to coach Ling E carefully...

The matches proceeded one by one, and Li Changshou secretly observed with his divine sense. Although the matches among these peers no longer provided reference value for him, watching them would help him appear more natural later on.

In the seventy-ninth match of the first round, Ling E entered the stage, showcasing her cultivation at the ninth level of Nascent Soul Realm, easily suppressing a fellow disciple in the Reverting Virtual Realm.

Li Changshou was reasonably satisfied with Ling E's performance and secretly praised her.

Meanwhile, Li Changshou continued to wait, only making his appearance in the competition in the afternoon.

In the three hundred and sixty-second match, Li Changshou's jade slip vibrated gently, emitting a faint light, and the sect servants already called out the number on his jade slip.

Li Changshou stood up and flew to the competition arena. At the same time, a disciple under the 'Lin' flag also flew out, showing a slight smile to Li Changshou.

Li Changshou furrowed his brow slightly...

Having monitored the Immortal Ridge for so many years, he naturally recognized who this person was. He was a seed disciple of the Immortal Ridge, ranked nineteenth among the disciples, at the second level of the Returning Path Realm, just ahead of Li Changshou. Was this a coincidence? It probably wasn't. Previously, similar-ranked disciples had encountered each other. It seemed the elders deliberately arranged for a 'balanced' match every half hour.

Both landed on the level ground enchanted by formation.

Two sect servants stepped forward to check the jade slips in their hands and reminded them of the rule to 'stop when prompted' since some disciples had injured their fellow disciples due to overly intense matches before.

Once the two servants confirmed everything was in order, they stepped back, and Li Changshou and the disciple from the Immortal Ridge both exchanged a polite bow.

Right at this moment, Li Changshou heard a voice transmitting into his ears:

"Brother Li, how about we go all out today and not just stop when we're ahead?"

Li Changshou smiled upon hearing this and nodded slightly, as he flew out a series of talismans from his sleeve.

Defense first, then counterattack!

Facing the disciple from the Immortal Forest Peak, he wouldn't outright admit defeat, but he wouldn't win too easily either, considering they were "similar in cultivation."

This disciple from the Immortal Forest Peak must have done his homework, studying how the top-ranked disciples fought before. Plus, Li Changshou's sparring with Ao Yi from back then was pretty well-known among the disciples.

Now, this disciple from the Immortal Forest Peak summoned three treasures, wielded the Thunderous Wooden Sword, had a plum blossom above his head, and had a protective aura all over him. It was quite impressive, with no gaps in his defense.

Then, he flew into the air and pointed his wooden sword towards Li Changshou from a distance. Dozens of small thunderbolts blossomed into a thunderbird with a wingspan of over ten feet, swooping towards Li Changshou.

Li Changshou lightly stepped back as his hands quickly formed seals, and seventy-two yellow paper talismans above his head condensed into a Fire Formation.

The formation spewed out streams of fire, barely dispersing the thunderbird.

By this time, Li Changshou's feet had already touched the ground again, and he swiftly sank into the earth.

Seeing this, the disciple from the Immortal Forest Peak sneered and quickly cast a Freezing Spell. Ice instantly spread across the ground and rapidly extended in all directions.

Indeed, he was well-prepared.

However, the Fire Formation continued to unleash its power, unaffected by the ice. It summoned countless fire serpents, chasing after the disciple from the Immortal Forest Peak.

The glow from his treasures began to dim under the strain of maintaining them.

As he activated three treasures simultaneously and failed to locate Li Changshou, he found himself caught in a protracted battle...

It was clear to anyone that although Li Changshou used the Earth Escapement Technique, which might seem a bit unsightly, he had a firm grip on victory.

Gradually, the disciple from the Immortal Forest Peak began to show signs of urgency, suddenly shouting:

"What's wrong, Brother Li? Just going to cower in the dirt? Seems like you're embodying the style of your Little Qiong Peak!"

Many disciples frowned slightly, finding the Immortal Forest Peak disciple's words a bit disrespectful.

But Li Changshou remained unfazed. What could words do?

At this point, he was not about to quibble with a fellow disciple in the same realm...

But he had to consider how to handle the situation reasonably, given the apparent grudges between the two peaks.

So...

The talismans in the air gradually increased in number without anyone noticing.

From seventy-two talismans, they multiplied into a hundred and eight, and continued to grow until they reached three hundred and sixty, the number of celestial bodies.

On the jade platform, Ao Yi raised an eyebrow, quite impressed by the power of this formation.

As the three hundred and sixty talismans unleashed their might, torrents of heavenly fire rolled forth, continuously striking down like pillars of flame.

The disciple from the Immortal Forest Peak tried to defend himself left and right, but the brilliance of his treasures gradually dimmed, unable to withstand the onslaught.

He was about to make a final effort when suddenly, he heard a roar of fire behind him. Looking up, he saw the rolling heavenly fire coalescing into a giant foot, descending upon him!

His face changed dramatically as he exerted all his strength to resist. Though he managed to protect himself with his magic, the force of the foot sent him hurtling downwards!

In the blink of an eye, a figure emerged from the ground.

This figure, bathed in a faint aura and visibly exhausted from expending too much mana, had empty hands, devoid of the fearsome artifact from earlier.

Li Changshou looked at the fallen disciple with a furrowed brow and said:

"Just a superficial wound, why did Junior Brother faint? Senior Brothers, please come and check on him!"

The two disciples who had flown up wore somewhat dark expressions.

Why did he faint?

Why did he faint?!

Before long, they declared that the disciple from the Immortal Forest Peak was just overwhelmed with anger, with no serious injuries. Li Changshou heaved a sigh of relief.

"Sigh, indeed, it was truly a battle where both sides were evenly matched."

With the permission of the disciples, Li Changshou turned and flew back to his seat.

There, Jiujiu was pulling Ling'E. The former was laughing uncontrollably, while the latter was trying her best to endure.