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Chapter 71: Ch-71: Sect Competition–1
"Registration opens today," Elder Duan concluded. "Train well. Fight fiercely. This is your time to rise."
As he stepped down, disciples exploded into heated discussion.
"Did you hear that?! The Pavilion!"
"Three weeks isn’t enough time—I just broke through to 9th stage of Foundation Establishment Realm!"
"Tch, doesn’t matter. Inner sect disciples always dominate the rankings anyway."
Feng Yin exhaled, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.
"Three weeks, huh. That’s a short fuse."
Tian Shen glanced toward the sky where Elder Duan had departed.
"Exactly the kind of deadline that separates the stagnant from the driven."
Feng Yin chuckled.
"So you’re going to join, I take it?"
"Of course."
Tian Shen’s voice was calm, but behind it pulsed a blaze.
"There’s something I want from the Pavilion. And this is the first step."
As the crowd began to thin, disciples scattered across the sect began training in earnest.
Sparring grounds filled up quickly, and the usual quiet study halls echoed with the sound of flipping pages and focused breathing.
Later that day, Tian Shen returned to his cultivation chamber, cross-legged beside a low stone platform.
In front of him lay his worn talisman pouch, the bottle of pills he refined, and a thick manual on spiritual combat techniques.
He closed his eyes.
Rather than roam the sect now, he focused inward. This time, he needed to deepen his foundation, not just sponge off others.
"Foundation, rhythm, flow... If I’m to enter the top five, I can’t just rely on chance and bubbles."
Tian Shen breathed out, igniting the pill fire in his dantian.
The red-gold flame flickered to life, dancing like a lotus under his navel.
He drew a spirit stone and crushed it, letting the energy enter his meridians.
With delicate precision, he guided it alongside the pill fire—refining it, pushing it through his limbs, tempering his channels.
Outside, in another wing of their shared abode, Feng Yin had turned her room into a cluttered sea of talisman paper and brushes.
She sat surrounded by half-activated talismans, her fingers stained with azure ink.
"...Okay," she muttered, voice determined, "if I can integrate the new formation symbols from that elder’s scroll, I might be able to create something explosive. That’d give me a huge edge in the early rounds."
He paused, staring at one smudged prototype.
"...Or it might blow off my eyebrows again. Better fortify the room."
Three days passed in a blur. Tian Shen trained during the day and refined pills at night.
He visited the martial arena once to scout other competitors—dozens of disciples sparring, exchanging blows, many already showing signs of killer instincts.
He caught a glimpse of one particularly skilled inner disciple—black-haired, tall, and dressed in red robes—who defeated three opponents without drawing his weapon fully. The crowd murmured his name.
"Li Cheng... First ranked inner disciple."
Tian Shen watched quietly, eyes narrowing.
"He’ll probably be in the late stages of Core Formation Realm."
Another figure caught his attention—a girl in light green robes wielding dual fans, her movements graceful and deceptive.
Her name, whispered among watching disciples, was Jiang Qingyue.
"She’s won the lightweight category two years running. Let’s not underestimate her," a senior whispered nearby.
Back in their abode that evening, Tian Shen laid out a rough sketch of his strategy—techniques he’d blend, pills he’d bring, weak points to exploit in certain matchups.
Feng Yin leaned over her shoulder.
"Planning already? How very Sage-like."
"I’m just ensuring I don’t end up as someone’s stepping stone."
"Same," Feng Yin replied with a grin. "I’ll enter the auxiliary division. They have special duels for Talisman Masters and alchemists too. I might not throw punches, but you’ll see explosions."
Tian Shen gave a smirk.
"Just don’t explode the arena."
The couple returned to their own preparations, one refining internal flame, the other inscribing runes with wild energy.
Three weeks. That was all they had.
And the Feilun Sect was already shaking under the ripples of anticipation.
...
Three weeks later.
The dawn broke over Feilun Sect with a solemn yet electric stillness, like the deep inhale before a thunderclap.
Disciples lined up in droves across the main plaza, each clad in their sect robes, freshly washed or embroidered anew.
Elders hovered above on jade flying platforms, their gazes sweeping over the hundreds of cultivators gathered below.
Colorful banners flapped across the plaza, each bearing the Feilun Sect’s sigil: a soaring crane wreathed in flames.
Tian Shen stood at the edge of the plaza, arms crossed, eyes narrowed.
Beside him, Feng Yin muttered through a half-activated protection talisman, its light pulsing softly in her palm.
"They’re not holding back this year," Feng Yin said, nodding toward the golden arch that had appeared at the center of the arena. "That’s the Gate of Names. Once you step through, your name’s recorded for the ranking board—and so is every fight you take."
Tian Shen observed the shimmering veil within the arch.
"And once you’re in?"
"No turning back. You advance, or you lose."
Elder Duan’s voice echoed from above, sonorous and clear.
"Today, the Sect Pavilion Competition begins. Participants, step forward and offer your names to the gate. Outer, inner, auxiliary—your path is your own. May your blades be sharp, and your spirits steady."
The plaza burst into movement.
Tian Shen stepped forward without hesitation, the crowd parting slightly as he moved. He passed through the Gate of Names.
A small burst of light appeared above the golden arch as his name was etched into it.
[Tian Shen – Foundation Establishment, 8th stage]
Almost immediately, murmurs rippled through the plaza.
"Isn’t that the guy who beat Senior Qing during the beast trial?"
"Didn’t he just join recently? Why enter now...?"
But Tian Shen paid no heed. His gaze swept across the arena, where multiple dueling platforms floated above the ground, each prepared for battle.
On the side, a great jade slab floated in the air, slowly filling up with names and ranks.
Feng Yin stepped up next and entered the auxiliary category, his name flashing alongside a talisman glyph.
[Feng Yin – Talisman Division]
And with that, the competition began.
...
The first battle Tian Shen watched was between two inner sect disciples, both at the 9th stage of Foundation Establishment.
Their strikes were swift, spiritual energy flaring like crashing waves. One wielded a whip infused with lightning arts, the other a spear crackling with wind essence.
Tian Shen’s name hadn’t been called yet, but he felt his heartbeat rise with each clash.
This wasn’t the same as sparring in the martial grounds.
This was war in miniature—where reputation, cultivation paths, and dreams would be tested and shattered.
A soft gong rang from the jade tablet.
[Tian Shen vs. Zhang Xun]
His first match.
He stepped onto a floating platform, the crowd following with curious eyes.
His opponent was already there—a tall, broad-shouldered youth with a cleaver strapped to his back and a smug grin.
"So you’re the so-called rising rookie. Let’s see how long that confidence lasts."
Tian Shen didn’t answer. He simply stepped forward, hand resting near his waist.
A low chime marked the start.
Zhang Xun rushed forward, cleaver already ablaze with crimson spiritual energy.
"Eat this!"
He swung down in a brutal arc—but Tian Shen pivoted, dodging with a sidestep as smooth as flowing water.
Crack! The cleaver struck the ground, leaving a crater.
Before Zhang Xun could recover, Tian Shen thrust his palm forward—Blazing Needle Pulse!
Tiny compressed bolts of flame shot forward like darts, riddling Zhang Xun’s shoulder and forcing him to stagger back.
"Cheap trick—!"
Zhang Xun lunged again, this time releasing a wide-area shockwave with his cleaver.
Tian Shen leaped over it and countered with a pill flame burst, casting a flickering red lotus across the stage.
But Zhang Xun roared and charged into the fire.
He’s reckless, Tian Shen realized.
So be it.
Tian Shen sidestepped again, letting the flame partially distract his opponent. Then, he planted a pill-enhanced talisman on the ground. As Zhang Xun charged in again—
Boom!
The platform rocked as the flame talisman detonated, knocking Zhang Xun off his feet.
When the dust settled, Zhang Xun lay sprawled and smoking, groaning with his cleaver twitching on the edge of the stage.
"Tian Shen wins!"
The crowd erupted.
"Who is this guy?!" 𝖓𝔬𝔳𝔭𝔲𝔟.𝖈𝖔𝔪
"That technique—wasn’t that an alchemist’s spiritual flame?!"
Tian Shen exhaled and stepped off the platform. Feng Yin met him with a wide grin.
"Looks like you made a splash."
"That was just the first wave."
...
Over the next two days, the battles intensified.
Tian Shen fought twice more—once against a dual-axe cultivator who relied on brute strength, and once against a slippery water arts user who tried to drown him in illusions.
Both times, he adapted, combining fire bursts and pill-enhanced body techniques to overpower and outthink his opponents.
His name steadily climbed the jade ranking board.
[Tian Shen – Current Rank: 17]
...
Meanwhile, Feng Yin advanced through the auxiliary rounds with a mixture of clever traps and lucky explosions.
Once, a talisman misfired and blasted half the arena wall—but earned her victory.
"They said I wasn’t combat-ready," she bragged afterward, soot-stained and beaming. "They didn’t say I couldn’t win by accident."
On the third evening, the elders announced the next round: the top thirty-two would enter elimination duels in the central arena, under full audience view.
...
Day of the Top 32
The plaza was filled to bursting. Elders floated above like silent judges, and even sect leaders from nearby branches watched from high platforms.
Tian Shen stood beneath the blinding sun, facing his opponent: Senior Brother Lin Mo, a sword cultivator at the early Core Formation Realm.
Not just an inner disciple—one of their elite.
Lin Mo saluted with a calm smile.
"Junior Tian Shen. I’ve watched your matches. You’ve talent, but from here, things become real."
Tian Shen returned the bow.
"Then let’s make it real."
The bell rang.
Lin Mo’s sword flashed like moonlight, swift and silent.
Tian Shen deflected the first strike with a surge of flame around his arms—but the second was already arcing toward his side.
Clang!
