67: Chapter 67 Departure

Years pass in silence, time turns, and another month has gone by.

During this month, the secluded courtyard deep within Luoxia Valley remained almost completely isolated from the world as Lin Qing immersed himself in the monotonous grind of cultivation.

In one month, he had cultivated all the Earth Rank Cultivation Techniques he had collected from the Luoxia Valley Library Pavilion to Perfection, and his body control rating successfully reached Advanced Earth Rank.

The only downside was that despite this month of secluded cultivation, he still had not begun the fifth-stage cultivation. However, although his Realm had not increased, his strength had been growing steadily.

His body control rating went without saying; he had a premonition that once he cultivated a few Heaven Rank martial arts, there would be an earth-shaking change, just like when he had brought all his Stance Trainings to Perfection.

The Innate Mysterious Fetus was naturally continuing to enhance his physical strength. Furthermore, he had previously received his monthly stipend as a True Disciple from the Sect: one Spirit Stone. When the Spirit Stone was placed against his body, he felt the enhancement from the Innate Mysterious Fetus accelerate, though one Spirit Stone only lasted ten days.

Aside from that, the greatest change was in his Divine Thought. The two visualization methods were constantly running automatically within his body; he didn't need to look at the sun or the moon for his Divine Thought intensity to continue increasing. Now, when he expanded his Divine Thought, it could cover a radius of fifty zhang around him.

Within fifty zhang, the blowing wind and moving grass, the chirping of insects and the crawling of ants—not even the slightest movement could escape his perception.

On this day, Yun Nian came to find him again.

A knock sounded on the courtyard gate, and a crisp, pleasant female voice came from outside, breaking the long-standing silence within the yard.

"Senior Brother Lin Qing, it's time to set off."

Outside the gate, Yun Nian stood elegantly in a plain white Sect Disciple dress. Her features were delicate and pretty, and her charming face carried a hint of respect.

Ever since Lin Qing had killed Yuan Heng in a single move a month ago, Yun Nian had also begun addressing Lin Qing as Senior Brother.

Lin Qing pushed open the simple wooden door and looked calmly at the young girl outside, his voice sounding flat:

"Isn't there still a month left before the Heavenly Pride Competition?"

Facing Lin Qing's question, Yun Nian was well-prepared. Hearing this, she explained softly:

"Senior Brother Lin Qing, we first need to rush to Qingzhou City, and then take a Flying Boat from Qingzhou City to reach the capital of the Great Qi Dynasty."

"The journey is long, and there's no guarantee we won't be delayed by Yao Beasts blocking the path or other accidents. Therefore, the teams participating in the Heavenly Pride Competition usually set off early to leave enough buffer time."

Lin Qing nodded slightly in understanding: "I see. Wait for me a moment."

After saying that, he turned back into the courtyard and began packing his belongings. In truth, he didn't have many items to pack—just a Black Iron Saber and two bottles of body quenching milk.

body quenching milk was no longer useful to him. On this trip to Qingzhou City, he planned to sell these two bottles of body quenching milk to see if he could trade them for a Pulse Opening Method or some basic Spells he could start using at the fifth stage.

Theoretically, at the fifth stage, one could already fly or use minor tricks like sound transmission and object manipulation. Unfortunately, he had never had the chance to encounter methods for these things.

A moment later, having finished packing, Lin Qing walked out of the small courtyard and walked side-by-side with Yun Nian toward the mountain gate.

At this moment, the area in front of the Luoxia Valley mountain gate was already a scene of bustling activity.

The team representing Luoxia Valley to go to the Great Qi capital for the Heavenly Pride Competition was assembling and waiting. Besides them, many inner and Outer Sect Disciples who couldn't go to watch the competition, as well as some Elders staying behind at the Sect, had specially come to the mountain gate to see them off.

Including Lin Qing and Yun Nian, a total of five Disciples from Luoxia Valley were participating in the battle.

Aside from the two of them, there were two familiar figures: Jing Rong and Yun Chong, who had appeared previously in Luoxia Hall. There was also a female Disciple Lin Qing hadn't seen before named Xing Mian.

Jing Rong, Yun Chong, and Xing Mian had all fought their way through layers of competitions among many Disciples to earn their spots. Lin Qing and Yun Nian, naturally, did not need to compete.

The five young Prodigies each had their own temperament, standing quietly before the mountain gate. They drew frequent glances from the surrounding Disciples who were seeing them off, their eyes filled with envy.

Not long after, three figures came flying through the air from deep within Luoxia Valley. The leader was none other than the Luoxia Valley Sect Master, Sect Master Shen Yurong. She wore an elegant Daoist robe, her bearing graceful and refined, surrounded by a faint Immortal Qi.

Coming with her were two Sect Elders. One was Elder Yuan Kun, and the other was a middle-aged woman whom Lin Qing had also seen in Luoxia Hall but whose name he did not know.

For this Heavenly Pride Competition, Luoxia Valley had not only dispatched two Elders but was also being personally led and escorted by Sect Master Sect Master Shen Yurong, which showed how much the Sect valued this competition.

Sect Master Shen Yurong landed before the mountain gate, her gaze sweeping over the five participating Disciples as she nodded. She lightly raised her jade-like hand and took out a long sword from the Storage Pouch at her waist; it was pure white and shimmering with light.

She formed a hand seal and chanted an incantation. The originally three-foot-long Flying Sword erupted with brilliant light, its body expanding at a speed visible to the naked eye. A moment later, it transformed into a giant Flying Sword several zhang long, hovering before the mountain gate.

"Everyone, we are setting off."

Sect Master Shen Yurong's cool voice rang out, spreading across the entire field.

Lin Qing did not hesitate further, following Yun Nian, Jing Rong, and the others as they leaped onto the broad Flying Sword.

Seeing this, the many Disciples seeing them off at the mountain gate immediately erupted into a chorus of cheers and shouts of encouragement.

"Good luck, Senior Brother Lin Qing!"

"Senior Sister Yun Nian, may you win from the very start!"

"Senior Brothers and Sisters, you must shine brilliantly at the Heavenly Pride Competition and bring glory to our Luoxia Valley!"

The endless blessings and shouts echoed before the mountain gate, lingering for a long time.

Under the watchful eyes of the Disciples, the giant Flying Sword slowly rose into the air, pierced through the clouds, and charged straight toward the vast, boundless horizon.

Except for Yun Nian, who was already used to it, the other four Disciples were all experiencing flight for the first time. At this moment, uncontrollable excitement and novelty sparkled in their eyes as they couldn't help but look down at the mountains and rivers receding rapidly beneath them. Even Lin Qing felt his heart swell with emotion.

Since Transmigrating to this world, this was the first time he had flown into the sky to overlook thousands of miles of territory.

Even though he was currently relying on someone else to fly, he knew that before long, he would be able to travel through the air using his own power.

At the front of the Flying Sword, Sect Master Shen Yurong sat cross-legged, focused entirely on controlling the sword without the slightest distraction. For a fifth-stage Cultivator, carrying people while flying was actually a very difficult task.

Fifth-stage Cultivators have only just begun to use Spiritual Qi, and the Spiritual Qi in their bodies only exists in small amounts within the opened Meridians. Even flying alone for a long time is difficult, let alone carrying so many people.

The reason Sect Master Shen Yurong could achieve this was, firstly, by relying on Spirit Stones she carried to replenish her Spiritual Qi consumption, and secondly, because this Flying Sword was a Spirit Treasure that had already recognized her as its master through a blood bond, which significantly reduced the cost of flying.

The Flying Sword broke through the sea of clouds, shuttling smoothly across the azure sky. Below were undulating mountain ranges and vast lands, a magnificent sight.

A moment later, Elder Yuan Kun finally broke the silence on the Flying Sword. A kindly smile appeared on his face as he spoke slowly to the five young Disciples.

"Alright, everyone, pull your gazes back for now. The road ahead is long. I will take this time to tell you about the intelligence regarding this Heavenly Pride Competition."

Hearing this, Lin Qing and the others composed themselves, suppressing the novel feeling of roaming the Nine Heavens, and turned together to listen attentively to Elder Yuan Kun.

Yuan Kun's gaze swept over everyone as he spoke slowly:

"In every Heavenly Pride Competition, there are approximately five hundred participants from the entire Great Qi Dynasty. The tournament format is divided into two rounds."

"The first round is a platform defense battle. Five hundred Prodigies will take to the platforms on their own, competing and killing one another. Ultimately, the twenty top Geniuses remaining on the platforms will be selected to advance to the second round."

"The second round is a brutal single-elimination tournament. The twenty people will face off in pairs until the top five of this Heavenly Pride Competition are decided."

"As long as you can successfully break into the top twenty, you will receive generous rewards from the Great Qi Imperial Family. If you can make it into the top five, not only will you obtain Heaven Rank Cultivation Techniques and a large amount of Spirit Stones, but you can also go to the Beichen Empire to participate in the entry examination for the Chuyun Immortal Sect. It can truly be described as a meteoric rise."

After finishing the simple explanation of the tournament format, Elder Yuan Kun's expression gradually became serious, and his tone grew heavier.

"Although the format is simple, the competition must not be taken lightly. Within our Great Qi Dynasty, there are six top-tier powers with deep foundations and many Geniuses."

"In almost every competition, young Prodigies with cultivation reaching the Late Fourth Stage or even the Peak Fourth Stage appear from these six powers. During the platform defense battle, if you encounter Disciples from these factions, remember to act within your capabilities and try to avoid their edge."

"They are the Great Qi Imperial Family; the two top aristocratic clans in the capital, the Sun Family and the Li family; and the three Advanced Sects: Qingsong Valley, Yunxi Sect, and the Qiushan Sect."

As time passed during Yuan Kun's explanation, the group drew closer and closer to Qingzhou City.