68: The outer gate competition begins

A few days passed, and the day of the Outer Sect Grand Competition finally arrived.

The massive martial arts arena was surrounded by a dense crowd of Outer Sect Disciples; the sea of people was so packed that not a drop of water could trickle through.

The clamor of voices converged into a buzzing wave of sound, and the air was thick with the scent of excitement, tension, and sweat.

In front of the martial arts stage stood the most eye-catching Disciples of this competition.

Their auras were steady and their postures varied; the surrounding Disciples instinctively backed away a few steps, leaving an invisible circle around them.

Standing in the crowd, Lu Yang calmly scanned these opponents.

Mu Wanqing stood close to him and lowered her voice, clearly relaying the intelligence she had worked hard to gather.

"Look at the one in green; that's Zhai Lingtian."

Mu Wanqing's voice carried a hint of caution. "He reached Qi Refining Great Perfection a month ago.

He has a Metal Heavenly Spiritual Root and practices the Gengjin Sword Art.

His attacks are fast and ruthless, and his movement speed is also extremely quick.

That sword in his arms is a Medium Grade Magical Artifact, the liejin sword. Combined with his sword art, its power is terrifying."

Lu Yang's gaze landed on Zhai Lingtian.

The man stood straight with a cold, hard expression, his arms cradling a longsword that flickered with a piercing golden light.

His eyes scanned the field like a hawk, making no attempt to hide the contempt and arrogance within. It was as if an invisible barrier had formed around him, and no one dared approach.

"The burly man next to him is named Zhao Hu."

Mu Wanqing continued, "He has a Fire True Spiritual Root. Half a month ago, he was still at the Peak of the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, but it looks like he just made a Breakthrough. He's born with shocking strength, and his body is as solid as a rock.

He practices the Raging Flame Body Tempering Art; his close-quarters combat is very fierce, and his fire-element Spells are also violent and overbearing."

Zhao Hu had his arms crossed over his broad chest, his muscles knotted. A combative light danced in his eyes as he constantly sized up the people around him as if picking out prey.

"Look further over there, at that female cultivator in the green dress, Chen Yu. She has a Wood True Spiritual Root."

Mu Wanqing gestured for Lu Yang to look at a woman with delicate features but exceptionally calm eyes. "She also just broke through to Great Perfection.

She is very meticulous and is best at entangling opponents to slowly wear them down and control the situation.

Her weapon is that Green Vine Whip," a jade-green long whip was wrapped around Chen Yu's wrist, its body faintly flowing with green light. "Combined with wood-element Entanglement Spells and Poison Miasma Spells, plus her agile movement, she's very troublesome to deal with."

"Then there's that dark-skinned Sun Mang, who specializes in earth-element defense and is thick-skinned and durable.

And Liu Yingying in the blue dress, who is proficient in water-element illusions and is quite skilled at deceiving people..."

Mu Wanqing quickly pointed out the other top-tier Disciples.

Lu Yang listened quietly with a focused gaze, carefully matching every characteristic Mu Wanqing described with the corresponding figures in the field, etching them into his mind.

He quickly calculated in his heart: besides himself and Mu Wanqing, those at Qi Refining Great Perfection were only Zhai Lingtian, Zhao Hu, and Chen Yu.

There were eight people at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, including Sun Mang and Liu Yingying.

There were about sixteen people at the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining.

And the largest group was those stuck at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, totaling over twenty people.

Lu Yang's gaze inadvertently swept across the edge of the crowd and saw Xia Yuxuan.

Her aura was far more solid and powerful than during their last encounter; she had already stabilized at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer.

Lu Yang understood; it seemed the Medicinal Pills he had left for the three of them, combined with her refining the Primal Yang Power, had helped her successfully break through her Bottleneck.

Xia Yuxuan seemed to keenly sense Lu Yang's gaze. Her body tensed imperceptibly for a moment, and she immediately turned her face away, avoiding his eyes and pretending to focus on something else.

Since experiencing that night at Purple Bamboo Peak and the subsequent self-reflection, her state seemed to have changed slightly. There was less impetuousness in the depths of her eyes, replaced by more calmness and the marks of diligent cultivation.

The presiding Elder on the stage spoke in a booming voice, announcing the start of the drawing of lots.

The Disciples went up to the stage in order to draw their lot numbers and match sequences.

The rules were simple and clear: opponents were matched randomly, and the winner advanced to the next round.

Zhai Lingtian was the first to stride onto the stage.

His demeanor was haughty, his chin slightly raised, and his gaze swept over the crowd below with a condescending scrutiny, as if this grand competition were merely a stage for his personal performance.

As one of the recognized strongest in the Outer Sect, and especially with his startling record of challenging and injuring an Elder,

he was already the undisputed number one in the hearts of many Outer Sect Disciples.

Zhai Lingtian was currently determined to win the generous rewards for the top spot. He even began to envision the scene after the competition, where the various Inner Sect Peak Masters would scramble to offer him olive branches.

He casually reached out and drew a lot, handing it directly to the Elder for registration without even looking at his opponent's name.

A confident and even somewhat cruel sneer curled at the corner of his mouth, as if no matter who he drew, they were merely a footnote to add to an easy victory.

After he finished drawing, the other Disciples followed suit onto the stage.

Lu Yang and Mu Wanqing also took their turns to draw lots.

In the spectator gallery, the Inner Sect Elders responsible for observing and selecting Disciples had already taken their seats.

Chi Rong's figure appeared in a seat at the very edge.

Her appearance immediately caught the attention of some Elders and sharp-eyed Disciples below.

Several neighboring Elders exchanged knowing glances, their lips moving slightly as they discussed in low tones, their gazes occasionally drifting toward Chi Rong with inquiry and a hint of amusement.

Chi Rong acted as if she hadn't heard the surrounding discussions. Her gaze was calm as she looked down at the milling crowd, accurately locking onto the positions of Lu Yang and Mu Wanqing.

This was the first time she had personally attended the Outer Sect Grand Competition since becoming an Outer Sect Elder.

According to Sect custom, the competition was mainly presided over by several Elders responsible for education and enforcement; it had no direct connection to her duties.

Her sole purpose for this trip was to see Lu Yang and Mu Wanqing's performance with her own eyes and to see the results of their cultivation during this period.

However, her appearance inevitably stirred up memories of the recent turmoil.

Some whispered discussions spread like small ripples through the spectator gallery and the Disciple crowd.

Although the specific details couldn't be heard, the gazes cast toward her contained curiosity, scrutiny,

and even a faint, imperceptible contempt and finger-pointing born from Zhai Lingtian's exaggerated battle record.

Standing below the stage, Zhai Lingtian keenly captured these shifts in gaze caused by Chi Rong's appearance. He puffed out his chest even further, the arrogance on his face almost overflowing, and his eyes were full of provocation.

Chi Rong sat upright in her chair, her expression calm and rippleless, as if all the noise and stares around her couldn't reach her. Only her fingertips resting on the armrest moved ever so slightly, revealing a trace of icy anger in her heart.