62: Hundred Cities League, participate in the selection

Lin Yuan calmly said, “City Lord, you flatter me. You came to the Deng Residence today, surely not just to apologize, right?”

Chi Ji stroked his beard and said, “Young Master is truly a brilliant strategist. I do have another matter, and I wonder if you would be willing to spare some time to listen?”

“No problem, City Lord, just speak directly.”

“The Hundred-City League, which takes place every three years, is about to be held. Are you aware of this?”

“Hundred-City League?”

Lin Yuan looked puzzled: “What kind of competition is that?”

Chi Ji explained, “Within the Cloud Ripple Sect’s territory, there are thousands of affiliated forces, with cities being the most numerous. Cities are divided into three levels: upper, middle, and lower, corresponding to the Core Formation, Qi Gathering Realm, and Condensing Core Realm cultivation levels, respectively.”

“You mean that as long as there are strong Cultivators of a certain cultivation level in a city, the city can be upgraded to the designated level?”

“Yes, for example, our Luoxiao City is a low-level city. If a Qi Gathering Realm Family force appears within the city, the city can be upgraded to Intermediate.”

“I see. So, the Hundred-City League is a competition among a hundred cities?”

“Strictly speaking, it’s a competition among Advanced cities. Also, it’s not a hundred, but several hundred.”

“Several hundred!?”

Lin Yuan’s face showed a hint of surprise, and he asked directly, “Are there hundreds of Advanced cities within the Cloud Ripple Sect’s territory? Does that not mean there are hundreds of Core Formation Realm forces?”

“Yes, and some Advanced cities have more than one Core Formation Realm force. So, in the case of a hundred Advanced cities, there are at least over a hundred Core Formation Realm forces.”

“So many Core Formation Realm forces represent hundreds of Core Formation Realm Cultivators. These could be considered top-tier strong Cultivators, right? Are they as common as cabbages?”

Lin Yuan couldn’t help but retort.

Chi Ji chuckled, “It sounds like a lot, but it’s not. Think about it, within the vast territory of the Cloud Ripple Sect, there are hundreds of millions of people. One-tenth of them have the talent for Opening Meridian. One-tenth of those in the Opening Meridian Realm can Condensing Core. One-tenth of those in the Condensing Core Realm reach Qi Gathering. This leaves only a hundred thousand people. And only one percent of those in the Qi Gathering Realm have a chance to form a Yuandan. If you calculate it this way, aren’t there only a few thousand left?”

After listening to this explanation, Lin Yuan nodded thoughtfully, “You’re right. Looking at it this way, the number of several hundred Yuandan Cultivators within the Sect’s territory is not many; it can be said to be quite rare.”

Chi Ji continued, “Yes, the Hundred-City League I mentioned is a competition among these hundreds of cities. Cultivators participate as representatives of their cities, and as long as they win a top ten spot, they can receive generous rewards.”

Lin Yuan became interested: “What exactly are these rewards?”

“The rewards for second to tenth place are ten thousand Origin Stones and a hundred-pattern Spiritual Artifact. The champion’s reward is thirty thousand Origin Stones, a thousand-pattern Spiritual Artifact, and a piece of purple cloud agarwood.”

“purple cloud agarwood? What is that?”

“This is a piece of wood cut from an ancient purple cloud tree, containing vigorous ancient wood vitality. After a Cultivator refines it, it can greatly enhance their physique.”

“Enhance physique? Can it improve cultivation?”

“No, but after a Cultivator’s physique is strengthened, the circulation of Origin Qi will be faster and smoother, and their combat power will also increase accordingly.”

“I understand.”

Lin Yuan understood: “This purple cloud agarwood must be quite rare, right? Otherwise, why would it be given as the champion’s reward?”

Chi Ji nodded and said, “Of course it’s rare. The ancient purple cloud tree is rare in the world. For Advanced cities to be willing to use this item as a reward, they are already considered extremely wealthy. If converted into Origin Stones, this item is worth at least several hundred thousand Origin Stones.”

“Hundreds of thousands!?”

Lin Yuan exclaimed, “Isn’t that even more valuable than a thousand-pattern Spiritual Artifact?”

Chi Ji said disdainfully, “A high-quality thousand-pattern Spiritual Artifact is only a little over a hundred thousand Origin Stones. How can it compare to purple cloud agarwood?”

Lin Yuan chuckled: “It seems the champion’s reward is indeed generous, worth me trying. Do you know the requirements and methods to participate in this competition?”

“The Hundred-City League requires participants to be under twenty-five years old and must be native Cultivators within the Cloud Ripple Sect’s territory. As for the method, one only needs to go to a nearby Advanced city to participate in the selection. After passing, one can become a city’s representative.”

“I meet the age and origin requirements. Where is the nearest Advanced city? Can you point me in the right direction?”

“Yes.”

Subsequently, under Chi Ji’s guidance, Lin Yuan learned the location of that city.

“Young Master, please fill in Luoxiao City as your place of origin when registering for the competition. This way, after you achieve a ranking, our city will also receive certain blessings.”

“Understood, I will fill in Luoxiao City.”

“Then I can rest assured.”

Having achieved his goal for this trip, Chi Ji turned and left decisively.

“Husband, are you going to participate in this competition?”

After the City Lord left, Deng Fuxi asked with parted lips.

“Yes, anyway, the next Inner Sect Assessment isn’t due yet, so I’ll go and participate first. Maybe I can win a prize.”

“But according to the City Lord, any Cultivator under twenty-five can participate in the competition. There must be many Condensing Core Realm Cultivators among them. You are only at the Opening Meridian Realm, so it might be difficult to win.”

“It’s fine if I lose, just consider it a form of experience.”

“That’s true. So, will Ling’er and I accompany you?”

“That is, after all, an Advanced city, with many strong Cultivators. It’s inevitable to encounter danger, so I’d better go alone.”

“...Alright, then we’ll wait for you to return in Luoxiao City.”

Having made his decision, Lin Yuan stayed in Luoxiao City for another half a day. Finally, under the reluctant gazes of the two women, he mounted his white horse and embarked on a new journey.

...

Great River City.

This was the Advanced city closest to Luoxiao City, and Lin Yuan took over an hour to reach it.

In the city center square, a huge arena was set up.

A young man in luxurious clothes stood on the arena, scanning his surroundings, and asked proudly, “No one dares to come up? If so, the representative spot for Great River City in this Hundred-City League will be mine.”

“Xiao Wei’s strength is too terrifying. Even Zhou Qing, who was at Condensing Core Realm third level, was defeated by him just now. It seems no one in the younger generation of Great River City is his match.”

“He broke through to Condensing Core Realm second level at such a young age, and with the help of the Azure Luo Treasure Body, he is enough to sweep through Cultivators of the same rank.”

“Heh, then may I ask if he is Miss Lu’s opponent?”

At the mention of Miss Lu, everyone’s expressions became solemn, and then they all shook their heads.

“Miss Lu possesses the Star Destiny Bone and can mobilize the power of thousands of stars. Fighting beyond her realm is not a problem, let alone a mere Xiao Wei.”

“In terms of combat power, Miss Lu is comparable to a Peak Condensing Core Realm strong Cultivator. Xiao Wei is nothing but an ant in front of her.”

“If Miss Lu didn’t already have a predetermined spot, when would it be this person’s turn to show off on the arena?”

The public opinion was overwhelmingly one-sided, which showed that this Miss Lu had quite a reputation in Great River City.

“City Lord, Xiao Wei has fought to this extent. Can the selection end early?”

On the distant stands, an official asked the man in the main seat.

If Lin Yuan were here, he would realize that the City Lord the other party spoke of was the yellow-clothed middle-aged man he had seen before.

“Yes, all the known young talents in our city have been on stage. There should be no more challengers, so let’s end it here.”

The yellow-clothed man stood up, about to announce the results, when he suddenly heard a voice from outside the crowd: “If no one is challenging, then I’ll come up and give it a try.”