Chapter 20: Daring

One night without a word.

The next morning, Lu Yi got up, had breakfast with Lu Gaoyang and Wang Siqi, and Lu Gaoyang said, "Let's go to the Martial Arena!"

Lu Yi looked at Lu Gaoyang's outstretched hand, his face changed, and he quickly said, "Old Lu, wait! I plan to go by myself today!"

Lu Gaoyang's hand stopped, and he looked at Lu Yi with some confusion, "Why? Wouldn't it be more convenient for me to take you?"

Lu Yi cleared his throat and said, "You know I'm quite famous now. It's still early, and if I go too early and get surrounded by people, it would be so embarrassing. It's better to go slowly."

Hearing Lu Yi's words, Lu Gaoyang thought for a moment and felt it made sense. Wang Siqi, beside him, also laughed and said, "In that case, let Yi'er go by himself. Yi'er has grown up and has his own ideas."

The two of them left on their swords, and Lu Yi breathed a sigh of relief. Today, he finally didn't have to be dragged along. There might still be a chance to redeem his reputation.

Lu Yi, full of joy, ran out the door.

When Lu Yi arrived at the Martial Arena, a lot of people were already gathered. Since the initial and preliminary selections had been completed yesterday, there were fewer people in the square, but more and more people were surrounding the Martial Arena.

Seeing Lu Yi coming, the eyes of the Outer Sect disciples lit up.

"It's Junior Brother Lu Yi!"

"Yesterday, I was hoping to see Junior Brother Lu Yi's swordsmanship. Whether at White Sun Peak or on the Martial Arena, I wasn't there. Unexpectedly, Junior Brother Lu Yi didn't even draw his sword yesterday, and I still didn't get to see it."

"Yes, but today is the day to select the top ten. We will definitely see Junior Brother Lu Yi's sword!"

"..."

The many disciples were somewhat expectant.

Lu Yi walked into the interior of the Martial Arena, towards the area near the Central Platform.

There were ten slightly larger platforms around the Central Platform, which were the platforms for the ranking competition.

In the past, the grand competition consisted of 320 disciples competing on ten platforms to select the top ten disciples.

At this moment, there were already quite a few disciples in the platform area. These disciples were those who had made it into the top 320.

Seeing Lu Yi coming, the disciples all looked over, some with inquisitive eyes, some with a bit of caution, and even some with hostile looks.

He glanced at those disciples with hostile looks; they were all Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer disciples.

Lu Yi thought for a moment and felt that he didn't seem to have provoked them. Why did it feel like these people were very unhappy with him?

Lu Yi couldn't figure it out, so he didn't think much about it.

At this moment, Lu Yi heard Wang Wulian's voice, "Junior Brother Lu, over here!"

Lu Yi turned his head and saw Wang Wulian waving at him with a smile.

Lu Yi walked over and smiled, "Elder Wang!"

As he spoke, he looked around and asked somewhat puzzled, "Where is Brother Lu?"

Lu Ling's strength was not weak, and Lu Yi was surprised not to see him here.

Wang Wulian smiled bitterly and said, "Brother Lu was unlucky. On his platform was Senior Brother Jiang Fan, and he didn't qualify."

"Senior Brother Jiang Fan?" Lu Yi thought for a moment and then realized, "The senior brother at the Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer?"

"Who else could it be?" Wang Wulian said.

Lu Yi: "..."

He realized that it wasn't just Senior Brother Li Qi who was unlucky; Brother Lu was also quite unlucky.

Despite his strength being in the top hundred, he did not even pass the preliminaries.

However, the Outer Sect wouldn't care if this was fair or not. The saying went that for cultivators, luck, though elusive, was indeed quite important. Luck was even considered a part of one's strength.

Lu Yi didn't find it a problem. In his past life, he had read many novels, and those favored by fortune didn't always have exceptional talent, but they always seemed indestructible, and managed to get all sorts of good things. Who would argue with that?

"By the way, Senior Brother Wang, who is that senior brother in the green robe? Why does he look at me as if I took something important from him?" Lu Yi asked, puzzled.

That guy's eyes were too unfriendly, making Lu Yi wonder if he had stolen the man's wife.

Wang Wulian glanced in the direction Lu Yi indicated and quickly retracted his gaze. He grinned and said, "Isn't it because Junior Brother Lu Yi's cultivation base has broken through to Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer now?"

"What does that have to do with me breaking through to Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer?" Lu Yi was a bit confused.

"Heh...because Junior Brother Lu Yi has amazing talent; even at Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer, you had the combat power of the Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer. Now that you've broken through to Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer, some people are worried, right?" Wang Wulian said with a schadenfreude smile.

"Junior Brother Lu Yi should also know that the top ten in the grand competition each year can directly enter the Inner Sect without a test, right?"

Lu Yi nodded, "I know that."

To be honest, this was also Lu Yi's goal.

Wang Wulian explained, "Among the Outer Sect disciples this time, there are only six senior brothers and sisters at the Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer. The remaining four spots are chosen from the Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer disciples. The guy you saw just now is Mo Lingxi. He has the strength of the top ten, or should I say, he is stuck at the tenth position. Junior Brother, do you understand what I mean?"

Lu Yi suddenly understood why a few Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer disciples gave him hostile looks.

Those guys were probably eligible to compete for the top ten of the Outer Sect, right? Now that Lu Yi had emerged, it meant they had one more competitor. Moreover, considering Lu Yi's displayed strength, they probably felt less confident in winning.

As for the one who looked particularly unfriendly, Lu Yi also understood. That guy was stuck at the tenth position, and if Lu Yi made it to the top ten, he would be squeezed out and couldn't enter the Inner Sect. That would be quite frustrating.

No wonder the guy was so unfriendly. Lu Yi couldn't help but feel a bit sympathetic toward him.

He sighed and said, "I hope that Senior Brother Mo has better luck next year."

Wang Wulian: "???"

He was full of black lines, looking at the sighing Lu Yi, "Junior Brother, do you think you'll definitely be in the top ten?"

Lu Yi smiled and said, "Isn't it obvious?"

In fact, Lu Yi's goal was the first place. He still remembered that the sect's task rewarded based on ranking—the higher the ranking, the better the rewards.

Wang Wulian gave a thumbs up to Lu Yi, "Junior Brother Lu has guts! But don't underestimate those competing for the top ten. They are not like me or Brother Lu; they all have some special skills. At the very least, they've all cultivated a technique to the transformation stage, and some even have magic artifacts."

Magic artifacts? Lu Yi felt strange. He had two—a Low Grade magic tool sword and a Mid Grade magic tool pair of shoes.

As for techniques at the transformation stage, Lu Yi thought that compared to his, they were somewhat lacking.

As they were talking, Dugu Fang stepped onto the Central Platform again.

Dugu Fang looked at Lu Yi and the others, his expression softer than yesterday. He said, "Those who can enter the ranking competition are the elite disciples of the White Cloud Sect's Outer Sect. I believe you all will surely enter the Inner Sect in the future. I hope you perform well in today's competition. Now, let's start the ranking competition!"

As he spoke, Dugu Fang waved his hand again, and 320 stone plates appeared, flying toward Lu Yi and the others.