NOVPUBIn the hunting grounds, the reward for first place on the Kills Ranking included nine gold-hued spirit fortune sticks and a portion of Class A Spiritual Spring.
It's only logical that for an event as grand as the Cloud River competition, the rewards would be double those of the hunting grounds.
Moreover, Lu Ye's gains in the Soaring Dragon World couldn't be used as a standard for comparison.
Normally, a cultivator from the Cloud River Realm who had been through a secret realm would at most gain up to three gold-hued spirit fortune sticks.
In this light, the rewards for the Cloud River competition were astonishing indeed.
This grand event, which only took place once every five years, basically gave every cultivator from the Cloud River Realm at least one chance to participate, with some even being able to join twice.
Over two months ago, with Heaven's Augury revealed, the registration for the Cloud River competition had already started. Now, with just a few days left before it ended, anyone who missed the registration period, regardless of their status or strength, would have no qualification to participate and would have to wait for the next opportunity.
"Two months ago..." Lu Ye silently calculated. At that time, he had just entered the Soaring Dragon World not long ago and should have been cultivating the Tyrannical Saber Technique on the small island at the heart of Tyrannical Saber Villa's lake.
After returning from the secret realm of the Soaring Dragon World, he had stayed in the Heaven's Augury Mercantile Union for a month, diligently engaging in cultivation. Hua Ci, although aware of the Cloud River competition, didn't mention it, fearing she might disturb him.
Thus, it was only today that Lu Ye learned about the Cloud River competition.
Luckily, there were still a few days left, so he hadn't missed it.
"Moreover, I heard that those who rank in the top ten of the Cloud River competition not only receive gold-hued spirit fortune sticks as rewards but also gain the favor of Heaven's Augury," Hua Ci added.
The favor of Heaven's Augury was intangible and invisible, its greatest benefit being to bless the cultivator with good fortune, making everything they undertake successful.
Lu Ye had received the favor of Heaven's Augury several times, but upon reflection... whether it truly had any effect, he couldn't say for sure, since luck was something intangible and elusive.
Sometimes, he was lucky, but there were also times when his luck wasn't very good.
But for ordinary cultivators, the favor of Heaven's Augury was undoubtedly a great temptation.
In any case, having encountered the opportunity, participating shouldn't be a bad thing. Setting aside whether the favor of Heaven's Augury was effective, those gold-hued spirit fortune sticks' rewards were definitely real.
And considering his current strength...
Thinking this way, his luck indeed seemed to be good.
Two months before, when registration for the Cloud River competition began, he was at Cloud River Level 6. Although his strength wasn't weak, he didn't stand much of a chance against Level 9.
Now, as a cultivator at Cloud River Level 8, the Cloud River competition was just about to begin.
Was this the will of fate, or merely a coincidence?
Registration was simple, done through the Heaven's Augury Pillar.
Hua Ci hadn't registered either, so she went with Lu Ye to the spirit ground where the Heaven's Augury Pillar stood, each taking action.
Mingming in between, the decree of Heaven's Augury descended, and various information about the rules of the Cloud River competition flowed through Lu Ye's mind.
Understanding this, he didn't pay further attention. As of now, since he had the chance to be part of this grand event, all he had to do was his best. He believed he could achieve a good result, so there was no need to be too concerned.
After tidying up the bowls and chopsticks with Hua Ci, Lu Ye returned to his room and sat down cross-legged.
He swallowed an elixir pill and silently refined it.
For others, increasing one's cultivation too quickly in a short time would inevitably lead to an unstable foundation, requiring a long period of settling and polishing.
But during that month in the Heaven's Augury Mercantile Union, Lu Ye had not only increased his cultivation but had also continuously entered the Mirage Scene to temper himself, familiarizing himself with his growing strength.
Those life-and-death temperings were far more efficient than ordinary meditative polishing.
Therefore even though his strength had increased swiftly, there was no sign of instability in his foundation. He could fully utilize his power, which was why he could easily eliminate Xia Liang.
Otherwise, having strength but not being able to use it would be useless.
There were still several days until the Cloud River competition, enough time for him to explore the Origin of the Soaring Dragon World.
During a previous unintended attempt, he accompanied a cultivator from the Soaring Dragon World named Qin Zhao through life from an unusual perspective, witnessing Qin Zhao's major life achievements and drawing the essence of his lifelong cultivation.
Without this experience, Lu Ye wouldn't have been able to perform secret techniques like the Mental-lashing Whip.
With such an experience, how could Lu Ye not realize that the Origin of the Soaring Dragon World was an untapped treasure trove?
Last time he was uninformed, but this time he came prepared. Lu Ye wanted to find a record left by a saber-wielding cultivator in the Origin of the Soaring Dragon World.
If he could do so, his saber skills would surely leap forward!
As his mind immersed, he quickly re-entered the inner workings of the Origin, stepping into that marvelous world full of Myriad Stars.
Countless cultivators had lived in the Soaring Dragon World through the ages, each one leaving behind traces in the world. Time passes, and later generations may not remember them, but the Soaring Dragon World itself does not forget, and these traces remain in the Origin.
The stronger and higher achieving the cultivator, the brighter their corresponding star shone; the lesser, the dimmer.
Since Lu Ye wanted to gain something, naturally, he headed towards the bright stars.
Still, it was a challenge to make a choice.
Generations come and go, leaving countless dim stars in this unique Origin world, but the number of bright stars was also beyond counting.
How to choose, is a problem.
Fortunately, Lu Ye was prepared. His psyche sensed each bright speck of starlight, feeling the aura each emitted while constantly making choices.
In the end, he focused on a bright spot of starlight.
From this starlight, he felt traces of a faint but sharp aura. Although he couldn't confirm that the cultivator represented by the starlight used a saber, he could at least be certain that it was a combat cultivator!
Compared to that, the starlight representing Qin Zhao seemed deeper and lacked this distinct sharpness.
With a thought, the feeling was the same as last time—the spot of starlight in his psyche infinitely magnified, then obscured everything else.
The familiar cries of a newborn resonated again, clearly a scene of a recent birth.
This time, Lu Ye was mainly conducting some experiments.
He wanted to judge a cultivator's sect through the aura of the starlight while also trying to control the passage of time within such scenes.
In essence, he was leveraging the Origin of the Soaring Dragon World to trace the remnants left by powerful cultivators and subsequently relive their experiences.
Since it was an investigation, he could naturally choose time points instead of passively following the cultivator's growth.
If he could achieve this, then his efficiency in such acts would undoubtedly be much higher in the future, as he could choose to witness valuable scenes and discard meaningless ones.
With that thought, Lu Ye began to try.
He soon found a clue; perhaps because he had accessed the Origin of the Soaring Dragon World, this was not too difficult for him.
In an instant, the wailing infant had grown into a tall and strapping youth.
Unlike Qin Zhao, who was born in a mercantile family, the subject of this investigation was born within a cultivation sect, in an environment highly conducive for cultivation. With the aid of various elixir pills and miracle cures from the sect, he had built a solid foundation from a young age.
As time passed, the youth grew rapidly. His cultivation increased daily, and Lu Ye, as if attached to him, practiced and fought alongside him, facing life and death situations and rapidly becoming stronger…
The only thing that frustrated Lu Ye was…
This time, the object of his investigation was not a saber user. This was a combat cultivator who wielded a long spear. Dressed in snow-white attire, with his spear like a dragon, he had made a significant name for himself in that era of the Soaring Dragon World, attracting the adoration and love of countless female cultivators, with numerous wives and concubines at home.
Not everything can be perfect.
Fortunately, whether it's using a saber or a spear, both are combat cultivators. Although Lu Ye did not enhance his saber skills through this, he still had many enlightening insights.
So it wasn't without gain.
Moreover, with such an experience, if he were to pick up a spear or a similar Spiritual Artifact, he would certainly be able to exhibit the demeanor of someone well-versed in this art, just as he could wield Qin Zhao's unique Mental-lashing Whip at any time.
However, this cultivator's fate was not as good as Qin Zhao's.
Qin Zhao had died a natural death from exhaustion of his lifespan.
But this person had been ambushed by enemies, fought against adversaries on all sides with his own strength, and ultimately perished from exhaustion, not living past a hundred years, which was truly regrettable.
With the death of this person, Lu Ye's psyche also withdrew from the world within the Origin.
An encompassing sense of fatigue struck him, not as severe as the last time, but still enough to leave one feeling exceedingly weak.
"How long has it been?" Lu Ye asked.
Yiyi, who had been meditating nearby, replied, "About half a day."
Lu Ye nodded slightly. Half a day in the Cloud River battlefield, but in the inner world of the Origin, it had felt like a hundred years has passed by. Naturally, he hadn't lived through the entire hundred years meticulously but had selectively experienced some significant periods, which definitely amounted to more than half a day.
Such return to his senses unexpectedly gave Lu Ye an illusion as if he had lived through another lifetime.
He did not consume soul water to recover his body.
Soul water was ultimately precious, and there was no urgency at the moment. If it could be saved, it was better not to waste it.
Moreover, his psyche was powerful, and his mental power recovered relatively quickly.
During the recovery period, it was good timing for him to review the gains from this experience, thus killing two birds with one stone.
A day later, Lu Ye had fully recovered. Estimating the time, he realized he had enough time for one more investigation, and thus, he once again immersed his psyche to probe the Origin, searching for that bright starlight.
Time flew, and three days passed.
Lu Ye, who was in the midst of recovery and inspection, suddenly sensed something through the mingming.
Without any apparent reason, he realized something.
The contest for the Cloud River had begun!
He rose and exited his room, just in time to see Li Baxian, Feng Yuechan, and even Hua Ci with his Giant Armor, all simultaneously opening their doors.
The few exchanged glances, and without prior agreement, headed toward the location of the Heaven's Augury Pillar.
Moments later, everyone was sitting in a circle around the Heaven's Augury Pillar.
Then, with a dull thud that was deafening, as the sound spread, all the clouds in the sky above the Cloud River battlefield instantly dissipated.
