66: Chapter 66 Xuanyangzi

Just at this moment, several streaks of light suddenly appeared on the horizon.

Those streaks of light were extremely fast; the previous moment they were still on the horizon, and the next moment they had already swept above the plaza.

Every streak of light emitted an astonishing aura, like a mountain pressing down from above, making people look upon them with awe.

The streaks of light dissipated, revealing the figures inside.

Some were middle-aged men with majestic faces and profound auras.

Some were white-haired old men with Immortal-like demeanors and torches for eyes.

Some were stunning young matrons with graceful bearings and spiritual light flowing around their bodies.

These people were unexpectedly Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, the Elders of the Xuanyang Sect.

They usually lived in seclusion, cultivating in closed-door sessions within their Immortal Caves, pursuing the Great Dao of longevity, making them rarely seen.

Today, during the Inner Sect Grand Competition, eight or nine of them actually came all at once, which was enough to show how much the Sect attached importance to this grand competition.

The eight or nine streaks of light headed straight for the Elders' viewing platform and steadily landed on those vacant chairs.

After taking their seats, some Elders spoke in low voices with their fellow Sect members beside them, while others directly closed their eyes to rest their minds, turning a deaf ear to the surrounding clamor.

But no matter what they were doing, that vague and indistinct pressure constantly enveloped the entire plaza.

Ever since these Nascent Soul Elders appeared, the plaza instantly fell into absolute silence.

The Disciples who were still talking loudly just a moment ago were now as quiet as cicadas in winter, even making their breathing lighter by a few fractions.

Those arrogant Inner Sect Geniuses on ordinary days also restrained their sharpness at this moment, sitting upright in their seats and behaving extremely cautiously.

Baili Yunche sat among the crowd, his gaze sweeping over those Nascent Soul Elders on the viewing platform, and his heart was likewise secretly startled.

He had been in the Xuanyang Sect for so many years, yet he had never seen so many Nascent Soul Cultivators gathered in one place.

The auras emitted by these Elders were as deep as an abyss and as heavy as a mountain; merely the pressure unintentionally leaked from them made his heart skip a beat.

He did not even dare to use his Divine Sense to probe, for fear of attracting the attention of these big figures.

The territory of the Cangxuan Empire was vast, spanning tens of thousands of li, but the number of Nascent Soul Cultivators was pitifully small, amounting to no more than a few dozen people at most.

These existences standing at the apex of the cultivation world usually saw their heads but not their tails, making them rare to see.

Today, for an Inner Sect Grand Competition, there were actually eight or nine Nascent Soul Elders attending in person, which was quite uncommon in the past.

As time passed, the seats on the Elders' viewing platform gradually filled up.

Just at this moment—

A golden streak of light suddenly flew over from the horizon.

That streak of light was completely different from the previous ones; it was unhurried yet carried an unspeakable majesty.

The golden streak of light stopped above the plaza, its light gradually dissipating to reveal the figure inside.

That was an old man.

The old man looked to be in his seventies, with white hair and a white beard, a ruddy complexion, and wearing a moon-white robe embroidered with golden cloud patterns at the hem.

He stood with his hands behind his back, his sleeves fluttering in the wind. The moment one first saw him, it was as if one were seeing an Immortal with an Immortal-like bone structure descending from the Nine Heavens into the mortal world.

His face was stern and his gaze was deep. Standing high in the air, an invisible majesty naturally permeated from him, enveloping the entire plaza.

Baili Yunche's heart shook.

Could this be the Sect Master of the Xuanyang Sect?

He had never seen the true face of the Sect Master before, but he had only heard people say that the Dao title of the Xuanyang Sect's Sect Master was 'Sect Master Xuanyangzi', with a cultivation base of the Nascent Soul Late Stage, and he was one of the absolute top existences in the cultivation world of the Cangxuan Empire.

Such a figure generally saw his head but not his tail, yet unexpectedly, he personally attended the Inner Sect Grand Competition today.

Sect Master Xuanyangzi overlooked the densely packed crowd below. Wherever his gaze passed, everyone subconsciously lowered their heads, not daring to meet his eyes.

At this very moment, those nine Nascent Soul Elders on the viewing platform stood up simultaneously, bowed and saluted toward the old man high in the air, and spoke in unison:

'Greetings, Sect Master!'

The voices were uniform and resounded through the clouds.

The more than one thousand Disciples below also stood up with a rustle, collectively bent their bodies to salute, and shouted:

'Greetings, Sect Master!'

The voices of over a thousand people merged into a torrent, echoing endlessly across the plaza.

Sect Master Xuanyangzi nodded slightly, his voice peaceful yet clearly reaching everyone's ears: 'Everyone, rise.'

'Thank you, Sect Master!'

Everyone straightened up, yet they still stood respectfully, with no one daring to sit down.

Sect Master Xuanyangzi did not land on the ground, still standing high in the air with his hands behind his back. His gaze first looked towards the Nascent Soul Elders, and he said:

'Today is the once-every-five-years Inner Sect Grand Competition. All Elders must observe these Disciples carefully and make sure not to miss a single good sapling. These people will also be the backbone of our Xuanyang Sect in the future.'

'We obey the Sect Master's decree!'

The nine Nascent Soul Elders spoke in unison and bowed once more.

Sect Master Xuanyangzi then turned his gaze toward the direction of the Inner Sect Disciples, his voice becoming a bit gentler: 'All Disciples, you must perform well today. If you can break into the top one hundred, the Sect will definitely Cultivate you with all its might. For those with outstanding results, the School will also grant heavy rewards.'

He paused, swept his gaze across everyone, and finally said: 'Alright, let the grand competition begin.'

As soon as his voice fell, he stayed no longer. The golden streak of light lit up once more, and his entire person turned into a stream of light, flying toward the horizon and disappearing into the sky in the blink of an eye.

After Sect Master Xuanyangzi left, the pressure enveloping the entire audience also dissipated accordingly.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief simultaneously; that feeling of needles pricking their backs finally vanished.

At this time, on the Nascent Soul Elders' viewing platform, a middle-aged Cultivator of about forty years old stood up.

He had a slender figure, a refined face, wore a set of cyan Daoist robes, and tied a white jade belt around his waist, making his entire person look gentle and cultivated.

But his aura was as deep as the sea, unexpectedly also at the Nascent Soul Stage cultivation.

He walked to the front of the viewing platform, glanced around at the densely packed crowd below, and said:

'All Disciples, my name is Yun Qingfeng, and you can call me Elder Qingfeng. Today is the once-every-five-years Inner Sect Grand Competition. Before it begins, I will first explain the rules of the grand competition.'

'The rules are the same as in previous years. Everyone is divided into ten arenas, dueling in pairs and competing in turns until the top one hundred are decided.'

'Those who enter the top one hundred can receive generous rewards. Those with outstanding performances will have the opportunity to be accepted as Disciples by the Elders present.'

'After the top one hundred are decided, the competition will continue to select the top ten. As for the top ten Disciples, they will engage in a round-robin battle once more.'

'The specific rules for the round-robin battle will be explained in detail after the top ten are decided. The rewards for the top ten will be far more generous than those for the top one hundred.'

A low murmur of discussion sounded among the crowd.

The rewards for the top ten were rumored to include Tier 3 Magic Treasures, and even supplementary Medicinal Pills for breaking through to the Golden Core Stage. For Inner Sect Disciples, every single item was an irresistible temptation.

Elder Qingfeng raised his hand and pressed downward virtually, and the discussions instantly subsided.

'Before the official matches begin, everyone needs to draw lots to determine your respective arenas and opponents.'

He flipped his right hand, and a cyan jade pot appeared in his palm.

That jade pot was about a foot tall, crystal clear throughout. Through the pot wall, many jade slips could be seen inside, with numbers engraved on each jade slip.

'This is the lot-drawing jade pot, containing over twelve hundred jade slips inside, corresponding to all participating Disciples today. Everyone step forward to draw one, and the number on it will be your arena number and appearance order.'

'For example, drawing '3-17' means being in arena number 3, appearing 17th. Drawing '9-5' means being in arena number 9, appearing 5th.'

'Drawing lots relies entirely on heaven's will. Regardless of which arena you draw and who your opponent is, it cannot be changed. Now, starting from the first row, step forward sequentially to draw lots.'

As the words fell, the Disciples in the front row stood up one after another, walking toward the front of the viewing platform in sequence.

Baili Yunche sat in the crowd, watching the Disciples ahead step forward one by one to draw lots.

'Senior Brother Baili Yunche! Senior Brother Baili Yunche!'

Sun Huo's voice came from behind.

Baili Yunche turned back and saw that Xiao Pangzi had sneaked behind him at some unknown time.

'Have you drawn your lot? Which arena did you draw?'

Sun Huo asked eagerly.

Baili Yunche shook his head: 'It hasn't reached my turn yet.'

'Then you must draw a good arena! I've inquired about it: Arena number 1 has Xie Guangkun, arena number 3 has Ye Hongyu, and arena number 5 has Zhou Dafu.'

'You must not run into these few; otherwise, you'll be eliminated in the first round, and my gambling stall will be completely lost!'

Baili Yunche was torn between laughter and tears: 'Do you have that little confidence in me?'

'It's not that I don't have confidence in you, it's...' Sun Huo scratched his head and chuckled sheepishly, 'It's that those half-step Golden Core ones are too fierce. I know you're powerful, but you're only at the Foundation Establishment 7th Layer, three minor Realms away from a half-step Golden Core.'

'Why don't you go up to draw lots a bit later and let the people in front draw away the bad lots first—'

'Lot fortunes are determined by heaven, how can there be any distinction between early and late.'

Baili Yunche shook his head, ignored him, and cast his gaze toward the front of the viewing platform.

The queue moved forward slowly.

Finally, it was Baili Yunche's turn.

He stood up and strode toward the viewing platform.

Elder Qingfeng stood beside the lot pot with a calm expression, his gaze casually sweeping over every Disciple stepping forward to draw lots.

Baili Yunche walked to the lot pot, took a deep breath, and reached his hand into the pot.

Without hesitation, he casually grabbed one, took it out, and glanced at it.

Several words were engraved on the jade slip—

'9-23'

Arena number 9, appearing 23rd.

Baili Yunche glanced at it with a calm expression, put away the jade slip properly, turned around, and walked down the viewing platform.

'Which number did you draw?' Sun Huo immediately crowded over, his face full of tension.

'Arena number 9, appearing 23rd,' Baili Yunche said indifferently.

Sun Huo was slightly stunned, then calculated in his mind, his small eyes lighting up:

'Arena number nine... I checked the name list, and arena number nine doesn't have any fierce fighters at the half-step Golden Core Stage!'

'The strongest one seems to be at the Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer, called... what was his name... Anyway, it's not Xie Guangkun and those few!'

Baili Yunche couldn't be bothered to pay attention to him and swept his gaze across the ten arenas on the plaza.