Shock and Awe

The next day of competition dawned and the crowd quickly filled the stadium. The entire capital city was on vacation as all attention was focused on the immortal sect competition. The Beast God Sanctum citizens expected an easy victory for Prince He Guxie in the junior division but they were bitterly disappointed. He Guxie was touted to be the next immortal of their sect but he was completely defeated by a random girl, in both combat ability and raw talent.

The competing sects and their disciples gathered in the arena, eager to prove themselves in the competition. The junior competition was a nice distraction but only included a very small number of disciples. The others were all itching to show off their ability.

The structure of the next competition, the lower group with Mind Focusing Realm cultivators, was announced. It had a complex competition structure that tested not only combat ability and cultivation base but also unique skills of the mind. Even if a person was not a combat genius, they would have opportunities to showcase display their talents.

There would be two days of competition. In the first day, the participants will go through a series of tests to gauge their skills in unique areas. Each participant would be scored individually but the sect's overall score will be an average of each disciple's score. The four sects with the highest average scores would then participate in a ten verses ten team battle tournament on the second day.

The skill tests examined a variety of factors that would showcase a disciple's mastery of their mind. First was their mind's ability to control the body and organs. They would have to go through an obstacle course that tested speed, strength, and endurance. The second was the ability to control the senses and emotions. The disciples would be subjected to an illusion array and ones that could stay in there the longest would be the winner. The third was mental capacity, logic, and problem solving. The fourth was comprehension.

Comprehension was its own subject because it was the most important mind skill. Entering the Spirit Initiate Realm was very dependent on comprehension. Breaking through to the Spirit Lord Realm was even more heavily dependent on one's comprehension ability.

However, what would a competition be without actual combat? The final winner would therefore be decided in a ten verses ten team battle tournament for the four sects with the highest scores from the previous tests.

The winning sect would receive one hundred kilograms of red spiritual crystal. Red meant the second lowest grade of spiritual crystal above the common color-less spiritual crystal. Ordinary spiritual crystal could be used for powering spiritual arrays and spiritual items. It could also be used to supply a steady source of spiritual energy for cultivation.

Red spiritual crystal could be used similarly but had ten times the concentration of spiritual energy. One kilogram of red spiritual crystal would allow a peak Mind Focusing Realm cultivator to breakthrough without issue. More red spiritual crystal would allow that same person to cultivate in the Spirit Initiate Realm at a steady pace. There was little supply and overwhelming demand for spiritual crystals. One kilogram of red spiritual crystal was worth an incredible one hundred thousand taels of gold!

All the Mind Focusing Realm disciples, including those from the Beast God Sanctum, couldn't help but be excited at this amazing prize. If they won, then they would have no issues becoming a high-level Spirit Initiate Realm cultivator!

Additionally, one more rule for the skills test was announced. A single competitor was allowed to take part in two and exactly two out of the four tests. This had two effects. One, it prevented a genius from dominating all the tests. It also required strategy from the sects about who they would send for each test to maximize their average score.

All the sects seemed to come to the same conclusion after some deliberation and fielded a roster of about fifteen or so competitors. Ten of their best fighters had to be included no matter what for the combat tournament. A few specialists were included to make sure they could compete against the specialists from the competing sects. There was no room for average disciples. As the competition finally started, those that were left out could only retreat to their seats in bitterness.

Chen Wentian had the complete opposite problem as he didn't have enough disciples…

Lin Qingcheng could only compete in two so he would have no score for the other two? He threw a dirty look over at the judges table as if it was all their fault, but in reality, it was his fault for being so stingy about accepting disciples.

Zhou Ziyun saw the problem as well and said, "Master, I'll compete."

There was technically nothing preventing her from competing again though she would be at a huge disadvantage at the 5th Level of the Mind Focusing compared to the 9th and 10th Levels. However, Chen Wentian couldn't think of anything else and could only agree.

"All the rules smell like a scheme." Chen Wentian complained. "First the two out of four rule, then the team battle tomorrow. How can I let you two fight against ten people tomorrow?"

"Don't worry, master. Qingcheng! We'll get first seed today and figure it out later." Zhou Ziyun said with confidence as she held Lin Qingcheng's hands.

"Of course!" Lin Qingcheng said, full of excitement.

The competitors lined up on stage and the four judges checked each competitor to record their age, cultivation, and their spiritual signature. This was to prevent sects from trying to swap out their disciples on the second day. There was much less drama this time compared to the junior competition. The talents and ages of the competitors could vary wildly but usually did not exceed thirty years of age with the average age being around twenty-seven. All of the competitors had a cultivation of 9th or 10th Level of Mind Focusing Realm. There were many at the peak, chosen specifically for the combat round. The lower ones were most likely chosen for their specialty.

The Ten Thousand Flower Valley was last with the least number of disciples. When Lin Qingcheng and Zhou Ziyun walked up to the judges table, the entire stadium erupted in jeers and laughter.

While the other sects had well thought out rosters, this sect only had two people! Many people recognized Zhou Ziyun from the junior competition and started to boo. The Beast God Sanctum supporters desperately wanted to see her fail after she beat their hero prince. They seemed to forget that there was another disciple.

However, when it was Lin Qingcheng's turn to be assessed, the entire stadium fell into a deathly silence.

"Lin Qingcheng, age nineteen, t... t... tenth Level of the Mind Focusing Realm?!" Even the announcer was shocked to the point he couldn't speak properly.

Those in the audience who were shouting insults choked on their words. The disciples of various sects couldn't believe what they heard. He Xinghan's face was especially ugly as he looked from Zhou Ziyun to Lin Qingcheng and back. He though his disciples were geniuses but Chen Wentian had been hiding such a monster disciple! He looked over only to see Chen Wentian giving him a condescending smile.

Every single person in the stadium, the judges and all the sects, were stunned into silence. This was real life? Wasn't this way too heaven defying? While they were awed by Zhou Ziyun's talent, they were completely shocked by the emergence of Lin Qingcheng!