198: The competition begins

On Nine Leaf Mountain, the main trunk of the White Cedar Spirit Tree was extremely thick, like a pillar reaching the sky, straight into the clouds.

The spirit leaves of the White Cedar were also exceptionally prominent, cluster after cluster, emitting a vibrant green Spirit Light.

What was even more astonishing was that every hundred meters or so, there would be one or two massive spirit leaves, like an Enlightenment Platform for Cultivation. Nine spirit leaves formed nine Enlightenment Platforms, appearing once every ten years.

Cultivators ascending the mountain all stopped to gaze into the distance, marveling at the vastness of the White Cedar Spirit Tree and the profoundness of the Enlightenment Platforms, and increasingly anticipating today's Nine Leaf Grand Competition.

Lin Shiming was among them, accompanied by Xie An and Lin Xianzhi.

The Nine Leaf Grand Competition unfolded on the mountainside of Nine Leaf Mountain, but this area belonged to the Spirit Beast Sect's territory. Unless one was a Purple Mansion Cultivator, one could only ascend on foot.

The number of Cultivators coming and going was surprisingly high. Besides the prosperity of Nine Leaf City, it was also related to the large number of Cultivators from Tianhe Province who had withdrawn into Nine Leaf City.

Cultivators from the Heavenly Demon Sect and the Corpse Refinement Sect could attack the city at any time. Naturally, Cultivators in secluded Cultivation became increasingly rare, and conversely, more people came to watch the Nine Leaf Grand Competition.

The three of them unhurriedly arrived at a massive plaza. Inside the plaza, many beast-fighting arenas had been built. These were normally used by the Spirit Beast Sect for beast taming and fighting, but today they were all empty.

The viewing stands were also filled with Cultivators.

Beyond the viewing stands, higher up, were towering viewing pavilions.

The viewing stands were for all Spirit Beast Sect Disciples and Foundation Establishment Cultivators from other Sects to watch, while the viewing pavilions were reserved for Purple Mansion Cultivators.

Lin Shiming also held the number plate that Xie An had helped him apply for in advance and registered with the Spirit Beast Sect steward.

This time, there were thirty-two Foundation Establishment Cultivators participating in the Nine Leaf Grand Competition. The number was not large, but it should be noted that the requirement for the Nine Leaf Grand Competition was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator under sixty years old. To stand out, one needed to be at least a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Cultivator before sixty.

After Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, it was not like Qi Condensation, where one could Breakthrough every few years. If one's talent was insufficient, it often took thirty or forty years to Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment Middle Stage.

Just like Lin Shiming's father, Lin Houyuan, who had been in Foundation Establishment for nearly twenty years but had not even managed to condense his true Qi.

Therefore, even among Sect Cultivators, if one's talent was not exceptional, not many would Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment Middle Stage before sixty.

Among them, Cultivators who were confident in themselves and willing to fight for it were even fewer. The fact that there were thirty-two people was due to the ongoing wars this year, coupled with the frequent emergence of nascent Purple Mansion forms on the Enlightenment Platform last time.

Of course, the thirty-two participants this year were all extremely strong. Among them, Lin Shiming was the only Cultivator from a Foundation Establishment Family, and there were only five Cultivators from Purple Mansion Families. The remaining twenty-six were all Sect Cultivators.

Lin Shiming stood on the viewing stand, observing the other Cultivators. Among them, only three were highly revered and praised: Chen Yuan of the Spirit Beast Sect, Xu Hao of the Spirit Talisman Sect, and Ye Changyuan of the Ye Family.

Among the three, Chen Yuan exerted the most pressure on Lin Shiming. He himself relied on the Golden Winged Mantis and the Red-haired Demon Monkey, and the latter probably had more and stronger Spirit Beasts than him.

Next was Ye Changyuan. The Ye Family Cultivators were also highly renowned in the Qingxuan Sect, and this one was an outstanding individual among them.

"Alright, welcome everyone to Nine Leaf Mountain of the Spirit Beast Sect. This old man is Sanye, and my master is Immortal Master Baishen!" On the high platform, a Cultivator wearing a Sanye Daoist robe stepped out.

Sanye Daoist's words caused all the Cultivators in the plaza to look in his direction.

"This Nine Leaf Grand Assembly will still be managed by this old man. Any Cultivator above Foundation Establishment and under sixty years old can participate. Two individuals will ultimately receive Enlightenment Platform spots. This Sect does not charge any fees, but successful Enlightenment seekers will need to do one thing within their capabilities for the Spirit Beast Sect and participate in defending Nine Leaf City against the Demon Sect for at least three years..." Sanye Daoist continued to explain.

Since Xie An had told him in advance, Lin Shiming was not unfamiliar with these matters. As for participating in the resistance against the Demon Sect, he himself had to do so due to his connection with the Qingxuan Sect.

"Alright, no more idle talk. Let's draw lots and begin!" Sanye Daoist took the labels representing each participant's name from the steward, then waved his hand.

The labels could be seen combining in pairs in mid-air, then flying towards the various empty beast-fighting arenas.

These beast-fighting arenas were battle platforms normally used by Spirit Beast Sect Disciples for Spell battles and beast taming. Each one had reinforced Formations.

The names of thirty-two people appeared on all sixteen beast-fighting arenas.

Lin Shiming was on the fifth beast-fighting arena, and his opponent was a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Peak Cultivator from the Spirit Talisman Sect.

After Lin Shiming stepped onto the stage, a steward from the Spirit Beast Sect also came out to act as the referee.

At his signal, the two began their Spell battle.

The young Cultivator opposite him took out three spirit talismans, then slammed them down. The first was a High Grade Tier 3 Earth Shield Talisman, the second a High Grade Tier 3 Wood Entanglement Spell, and the third a High Grade Tier 3 Gold Sword Spell.

As soon as the young Cultivator finished releasing them, he became incredibly smug. With these three spirit talismans, he could even fight a Late Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator.

Let alone facing a Cultivator from a small Family.

Moreover, Lin Shiming hadn't even made a move yet!

Countless wooden vines began to entangle Lin Shiming, followed by a brightly shining golden sword slashing down. While smug, the young Cultivator even took out a High Grade Flying Sword and slashed it towards Lin Shiming.

However, at this moment, Lin Shiming finally made his move. First, the Purple Wood Mysterious Sky Sword Formation, with nine Formation swords transforming into a sword curtain, completely cut through all the vines. Forming a sword Formation, it instantly blocked the Gold Sword Talisman.

The young Cultivator was instantly horrified, but he quickly sneered.

A Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Cultivator controlling nine Spell swords was already almost the limit; there would be no chance to defend.

With a sneer, the young Cultivator slightly raised his hand, and luxurious spirit talismans unique to the Spirit Talisman Sect appeared one by one, a full ten of them, all High Grade Tier 3 spirit talismans.

Fire Snake Spell, Gold Sword Spell, Wood Entanglement Spell, Ice Arrow Spell, attacked Lin Shiming from four directions, and countless earth spikes surged up from underground.

Instantly, Spirit Light burst forth, and various Spells filled the entire beast-fighting arena, engulfing Lin Shiming.

The spectating Cultivators sighed repeatedly, especially those Foundation Establishment Family Cultivators, who directly lamented the pity.

Lin Shiming's sword Formation technique was indeed graceful, but it also had significant drawbacks. How could he, with his Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Cultivation, control it? Moreover, a Sword Cultivator inherently needed to attack like thunder.

Not only did the Spirit Talisman Sect Cultivator seize the initiative, but Lin Shiming also didn't release a spirit shield!

However, to everyone's surprise, a massive shield suddenly appeared in front of Lin Shiming. Surging starlight blocked all Spells.

Meanwhile, the sword Formation almost completely severed all the vines and headed towards the Spirit Talisman Sect Cultivator.

"Impossible!" The Spirit Talisman Sect Cultivator instantly exclaimed in shock, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Not only did Lin Shiming have spare energy to control the sword Formation, but he also controlled a top-grade spirit shield. In his opinion, this was simply a fantasy.

This would require Divine Sense at least at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage, yet Lin Shiming's Cultivation was only at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage.