novelapdf Chapter 18: Breakthrough and the Grand Competition
Chapter 18: Breakthrough and the Grand Competition
With three days left until the outer sect disciples' competition, Shen Moqi clearly felt that the spiritual energy in her dantian had reached a certain critical point.
This discovery surprised him somewhat. According to his previous estimate, it would take him at least another month of cultivation to reach the threshold of the second level of Qi Refining. But now, he had achieved it a full month ahead of schedule.
He sat cross-legged on the bed, closing his eyes and focusing his inner energy on his dantian. The thin spiritual energy was much thicker than when he first arrived; although it still resembled a thin mist, at least he could "see" it. It slowly rotated, with a faint feeling that it was about to overflow.
"So fast?" he muttered to himself, somewhat incredulous.
He carefully recalled his cultivation over the past few days, trying to find the reason. Spirit stones—he had used two, which was indeed much faster than simply absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Also, there was the practice of spells; every day he would deplete the spiritual energy in his dantian, then reabsorb and refine it…
and many more.
He suddenly sat up straight. Could practicing spells accelerate cultivation?
The moment the thought crossed his mind, he realized it made sense. The book said that cultivation is a process of constantly absorbing and refining spiritual energy. So, if he used up all the spiritual energy in his dantian and then absorbed and refined it again, wouldn't that be like adding another cycle?
"That should be it," he muttered to himself, but he wasn't sure. "I'll have to ask Xiao Jiu."
However, the most important thing right now is something else—his total spiritual energy seems to be much greater than that of others at the same level.
Both the "Wood Vine Technique" and the "Fireball Technique" record: "Those who are new to Qi Refining only have enough spiritual energy in their bodies to release two or three basic spells before it is exhausted. Remember not to release spells when your spiritual energy is depleted, lest you damage your foundation." However, when he practiced the Fireball Technique, he released seven or eight in one go, and there was still energy left in his dantian.
The same applies to releasing the Wood Vine spell.
"What's going on?" He scratched his head, thinking for a long time but still couldn't figure it out. "Does having all five elements have this kind of benefit?"
He wasn't entirely sure, but he vaguely felt that it might be related to the fact that he was refining five types of spiritual energy. Although it was slow, he refined all five types at once each time, accumulating little by little until the total amount was naturally greater than that of other spiritual energies of the same level.
"I still have to ask Xiao Jiu." He sighed and kept the matter in mind.
Regardless, a breakthrough is imminent; let's just push forward first.
---
For the next three days, Shen Moqi devoted all her energy to cultivation.
During the day, when the library was open, he would wander among the bookshelves, working while silently circulating his cultivation techniques. In the evening, he would return to the courtyard, sit cross-legged on the bed, and begin absorbing the spiritual energy from the spirit stones.
The first spirit stone was exhausted by the evening of the second day. He took out the second one from his pocket and continued to absorb it, refining it all night long before it was completely refined.
On the third night, I took out the third spirit stone, thought about it and put it back. It wasn't that I was reluctant to use it, but I felt that although using the spirit stone increased the absorption speed, it would be a waste if I couldn't refine it in time.
He gritted his teeth: "Let's try the Qi Gathering Pill."
He had been reluctant to use the Qi Gathering Pill that Ji Yao had given him. Now was the perfect time.
He poured out one pill; it felt warm to the touch and emitted a faint medicinal fragrance. He took a deep breath and put the pill into his mouth.
As soon as the pill entered her stomach, a warm aura exploded forth, surging upwards along her meridians and heading straight for her dantian. Shen Moqi quickly steadied her mind and guided the spiritual energy to circulate within her body.
One lap, two laps, three laps...
He could feel the spiritual energy in his dantian growing rapidly, the thin mist becoming thicker and denser, as if something was brewing inside. His meridians were slightly swollen from the spiritual energy, but it wasn't uncomfortable; instead, he felt an indescribable sense of fullness.
I don't know how much time passed, but suddenly—
A slight vibration came from his dantian, as if something had shattered.
Immediately afterward, the spiritual energy contracted sharply, then expanded again. Shen Moqi felt a jolt throughout her body, and an even stronger sense of power rose from within, flowing along her meridians and throughout her entire body. The feeling was like a dried-up riverbed suddenly being filled with water, every inch of her meridians rejoicing.
He opened his eyes and let out a long breath.
Second level of Qi Refining.
He looked down at his hands, clenched his fist, and then relaxed it. The spiritual energy within his body was more than twice as abundant as before, and its circulation was much smoother.
"It's done." He grinned, feeling an indescribable sense of joy.
---
On the day of the competition, before dawn, Shen Moqi went out.
Along the way, disciples were everywhere heading towards the martial arts arena. Some chatted and laughed in twos and threes, some looked solemn and remained silent, and others gestured as they walked, muttering incantations.
Shen Moqi mingled with the crowd and followed along. After traversing several mountain paths and rounding a small peak, a breathtaking view suddenly opened up before her—
It was a huge flat area, hundreds of feet square, paved with neat bluestones and divided into eight squares, with a deacon in a gray robe standing around each square.
A high platform stood to the north, with several chairs placed on it, presumably for the sect elders. It was still early, and only a few disciples were scattered around the platform.
He looked around, trying to find a familiar face. Suddenly, he saw Chen Ping walking towards him.
"Senior Brother Chen!" Shen Moqi walked over and patted him on the shoulder.
Chen Ping saw him and smiled, "Junior Brother Shen, you've come too?"
Shen Moqi nodded: "Senior Lin asked me to come and observe the battle to broaden my horizons."
Chen Ping nodded, about to say something, when his gaze suddenly passed over Shen Moqi and looked behind him.
"Senior Sister Ji is here," Chen Ping said in a low voice.
Shen Moqi turned around and, sure enough, saw Ji Yao walking towards them. She was still wearing the same light blue dress as she had been seen in the Scripture Pavilion that day—simple and elegant. Several female disciples followed behind her, chatting and laughing.
"Junior Brother Shen!" Ji Yao approached, greeting him with a smile, "You've come to watch the competition too?"
Shen Moqi nodded: "Senior Lin asked me to come and broaden my horizons."
Ji Yao hummed in agreement, then turned to the female disciples behind her, her tone warm: "This is Shen Moqi, from the Great Yan Kingdom, working in the Scripture Pavilion. Please take good care of her in the future."
The female disciples nodded in agreement, some smiling and saying "Hello, Junior Brother Shen," while others looked him up and down with curiosity. Shen Moqi quickly cupped his hands in thanks, his face still slightly shy.
Just as they were exchanging pleasantries, a voice suddenly came from the side, cold and tinged with sarcasm:
"Sister-in-law, even though my brother is no longer in the sect, you should still be careful."
Shen Moqi turned her head and saw Su Junmo walking over at some point, arms crossed, a cold smile on his lips.
Ji Yao's face darkened, and her voice turned cold: "Who's your sister-in-law? Don't you dare try to disgust me!"
Su Junmo wasn't angry at all; instead, his smile deepened. "That's just a matter of time."
His gaze shifted to Shen Moqi, and the smile vanished instantly, replaced by an undisguised coldness.
"Kid," his voice wasn't loud, but each word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, "you should think it over carefully, don't be a toad trying to eat swan meat."
Shen Moqi was stunned.
He instinctively wanted to explain something, but Su Junmo had already turned and left, leaving behind a cold back view.
A moment of silence fell over the area. The female disciples exchanged glances, and Chen Ping frowned as well.
Ji Yao took a deep breath, turned to Shen Moqi, and said apologetically, "Junior brother, don't pay attention to him, he's a madman."
Shen Moqi opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but not knowing what to say. His mind was a mess, then suddenly he understood—
It turns out that Su Junmo's hostility towards him was because of Ji Yao.
He glanced at Ji Yao furtively, thinking to himself, "I don't have any romantic feelings for her." Ji Yao was looking in the direction Su Junmo had gone, her face expressionless, but her fingers were clenched tightly.
Shen Moqi smiled bitterly to herself.
The ancients were right when they said that beautiful women can bring disaster.
He did nothing, yet he was dragged into this mess; it's completely baffling.
"Junior Brother Shen," Chen Ping leaned closer and lowered his voice, "Su Junmo is petty and holds grudges. His brother, Su Junli, is an inner disciple, at the Foundation Establishment stage, and has some influence within the sect. You should try to avoid him in the future and avoid conflicts with him."
Shen Moqi nodded, but felt somewhat helpless—he hadn't even exchanged more than a few words with Su Junmo, so how could he avoid it?
---
"clang--!"
A bell rang out from the high platform, its deep and resonant sound overwhelming all the noise.
"The competition is about to begin," Chen Ping said in a low voice.
Shen Moqi composed himself, temporarily suppressing those chaotic thoughts. He raised his head and looked up at the high platform.
An elderly man in a gray Taoist robe walked to the front of the stage. His voice was not loud, but it carried clearly to everyone's ears:
"The outer sect disciple competition is now beginning. The rules are the same as in previous years."
He paused, his gaze sweeping across the room, and continued:
"A total of 341 people registered for the competition. The competition will be held in three rounds."
"The first round is the group stage. The 341 players are divided into eight groups—the first five groups have 43 players each, and the last three groups have 42 players each. The top three players from each group will advance to the second round."
"The second round is the knockout stage. The 24 remaining players will be drawn against each other, and the winners will advance to the third round."
"The third round is a round-robin tournament. The twelve people will compete in turn, and each person will have to compete in eleven matches. The winner will gain one point, the loser will lose one point, and the two sides will not gain points in a draw. The top three in the final ranking will be selected as the inner disciples of this year."
At this point, the old man's tone suddenly became stern:
"Any disciple who is eliminated and believes they are strong enough to defeat any of the top three may issue a challenge after the round-robin tournament. Each person may only do this once, and the challenge will be made without regard to life or death."
A murmur of discussion immediately arose in the room. Shen Moqi's heart skipped a beat. Life or death were irrelevant? This rule was ruthless enough.
The old man ignored the comments and continued:
"During the competition, the use of forbidden drugs to forcibly enhance strength is prohibited. Violators will have their cultivation abolished and be expelled from the sect. However, weapons and talismans are exempt from this restriction. Show me what you've got."
After speaking, he took a step back, and a row of chairs on the platform had been filled with people. These people were dressed in Taoist robes of various colors, some with white hair and some middle-aged, but without exception, they all exuded a kind of oppressive aura that made people dare not look directly at them.
"Those are the elders and deacons of each hall," Chen Ping explained in a low voice. "They come every year for the grand competition, and if they take a liking to someone, they might recruit them into their hall."
Shen Moqi nodded, her gaze sweeping over those high and mighty figures, and she made a mental note of them.
"The first round of group matches is now beginning! Disciples, please proceed to your respective competition areas and take the stage in the order drawn."
The crowd below the stage began to stir; some were nervous, some were excited, and some had solemn expressions.
Shen Moqi looked around and realized that the martial arts arena was already densely packed with disciples, at least seven or eight hundred in total. Normally, the sect was quiet and deserted, but she hadn't expected so many people to appear before the competition. It seemed that some disciples who had gone out had returned.
"Junior Brother Shen, I'm going to prepare for the competition." Chen Ping patted him on the shoulder. "Watch closely, you'll learn a lot."
Shen Moqi nodded: "Go for it, Senior Brother Chen."
Chen Ping smiled, turned around, and squeezed into the crowd.
Ji Yao also left with the female disciples. Before leaving, she looked back at Shen Moqi, hesitated, and finally just smiled and waved.
Shen Moqi stood there, looking at the disciples who were either nervous or excited, and suddenly felt a sense of emotion.
Of the 341 people, only three can enter the inner gate; it's even harder than taking the civil service exam.
This road is indeed difficult to travel.
He recalled Su Junmo's cold gaze, Ji Yao's clenched fingers, and how he had been inexplicably dragged into this turmoil. He shook his head, banishing these thoughts, and focused on the martial arts arena.
The first group of disciples has already taken the stage.
The competition has officially begun.