Chapter 482: 27: Contest for Fame, Abandoning Fame

Chapter 482: Chapter 27: Contest for Fame, Abandoning Fame

“It seems that my entering the dream realm was not influenced by a True Master in the shadows, but rather caused by this new surge of Qi within the ‘Dream Command’.”

Li Fei looked at the surrounding fog, his mind brimming with speculation.

“When did this Qi start to appear? My first dream entry was on Daluo Peak, so did it start back then?”

“The person who said ‘the box is empty,’ is that the disciple of the Daluo Sect that I’m possessing? And who is the little Taoist with the True Master’s cultivation from the Daluo Sect?”

Li Fei had too many questions in his mind.

Unfortunately, the clues known to him were still too few, and he was unable to clarify the truth.

“Perhaps the truth lies within that hall.”

Li Fei once again used the Nightmare Sect’s magic to clear the thick fog before him.

The next second, he found himself back inside that hall.

“Senior Brother, this is this year’s Elixir.”

The little Taoist stepped out from behind the screen again, holding a wooden box as he approached.

“This year’s Elixir, the Daluo Sect…”

Li Fei suddenly recalled something.

It was rumored that the Daluo Sect was supposed to offer tribute to the palace this year, providing the Emperor with a Life-extending Elixir that had gone missing unexpectedly.

Could it be, this box right in front of him?

Li Fei calmly took the wooden box from the little Taoist and turned to walk out of the hall.

In front of the little Taoist, he couldn’t open the wooden box. But once outside, couldn’t he?

However, just as Li Fei was about to step through the grand entrance of the hall, his heart skipped a beat, and his vision blurred.

He found himself back inside the hall.

“Senior Brother, this is this year’s Elixir.”

The young Taoist, holding the wooden box, walked out from behind the screen again.

“Reset?”

Li Fei was taken aback.

He practiced the magic of the Nightmare Sect and had a certain understanding of various kinds of dream realms.

Most dream realms were usually confined within a specific area. Once one left that area, the dream would be interrupted.

Either one would exit the dream realm, or the dream would reset.

“It seems that this dream realm can only be limited to this hall.”

Li Fei once again took the wooden box from the little Taoist.

Then he turned and walked towards the exterior of the hall, swiftly opening the wooden box just before stepping out:

Inside the wooden box, twelve light golden Elixirs with patterns were neatly arranged in three rows.

“How dare you!”

The little Taoist’s authoritative voice once again exploded in Li Fei’s mind.

The next second, Li Fei opened his eyes on his bed.

He had been killed again in the dream realm and was directly ejected from it.

Rubbing his temples, Li Fei retracted his Void Thought from the ‘Dream Command.’

Activating the dream realm this time consumed a lot of his Void Thought.

There was a competition tomorrow, so he decided not to enter the dream realm again to explore tonight.

“Is what’s in this wooden box the Life-extending Elixir meant for the Emperor’s consumption?”

“Then why say the box is empty?”

“Could it be referring to a different box?”

Li Fei still had many puzzles in his heart.

In the end, he was too lazy to think further. After washing up, he lay down to sleep, ready to face tomorrow’s finals.

…

September 24, 9 AM.

Tianqu University’s stadium was filled to the brim.

Today, the Inspector of Cang Province, Zhu Yue, was also present.

If one paid close attention, they would notice that Zhu Yue did not sit in the central main seat but left it vacant.

This implied that someone of even higher status was expected to arrive!

“His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived—”

As everyone gathered, a sharp voice echoed throughout the venue.

Whoosh!

The entire crowd was abuzz.

On the main platform, Inspector Zhu Yue stood up first, followed by other officials.

The president of Tianqu University, Great Grandmaster Qi Zhou, stood up.

True Master Xuan Chen of the Upper Pure Sect stood up.

True Master Qing Xia of the Daluo Sect and several Martial Arts Masters also stood up.

With no True Monarch or Martial Saint present, the Crown Prince was the highest-ranking individual there!

The tens of thousands of spectators also arose, their hearts filled with excitement and curiosity as they looked towards the entrance.

A man dressed in a regal bright yellow python robe walked into the stadium, surrounded by a crowd.

It was the Crown Prince, the one ordered to “inspect the seven provinces of the southwest.”

The Crown Prince had previously visited the Daluo Sect, deciding on the location for this Martial Arts competition.

Afterward, he went to “inspect the seven provinces of the southwest,” only arriving in Cang Province on the last day of the competition, specifically coming to attend today’s finals.

“Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince!”

On the main platform, Inspector Zhu Yue called out loudly.

“Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince!”

Tens of thousands in the venue echoed the sentiment.

“Haha, no need to be so formal, everyone please, sit down, sit down.”

The Crown Prince smiled and waved his hands around, indicating everyone to sit down.

At this point, Zhu Yue led a group of officials down quickly from the main platform to personally greet the Crown Prince.

The two parties met in the center of the stadium, and after a series of formal greetings, Zhu Yue took a microphone from a subordinate and handed it to the Crown Prince:

“Would you like to say a few words, Your Highness?”

The Crown Prince took the microphone, casually remarking:

“I specifically rushed here today to watch the competition, hoping to see some exciting contests. I also hope that the competitors can perform to their best.

Actually, I have previously added a special reward for this final match. The winner will be allowed to pick any Secret Manual from the Royal Book Collection Pavilion.

Today, I’ve decided to up the stakes even more!”

At this, everyone present grew curious, even Great Grandmaster Qi Zhou looked intrigued.

With the multitude of exceptional Secret Manuals in the Royal Book Collection Pavilion, any single one could be described as invaluable!

What else could the Crown Prince add under such circumstances?

“I was ordered to inspect the seven provinces of the southwest, and Cang Province is my final stop. Soon, I will return to Lanling City to report back to the Emperor. Whoever wins this competition, I will bring him along to Lanling City and will recommend him to my father, the Emperor!”

The Crown Prince’s voice reverberated throughout the venue via the sound system.

Whoosh—

The crowd erupted.

Some were shocked, others envious, and still others puzzled.

More than anything, it was eagerness!

Crown Prince personally recommending him to the Emperor—what immense honor was that?

If lucky, he might just achieve rapid ascension, soaring to the skies in one step!

Having staked his “heavy bet”, the Crown Prince and a host of important figures ascended to the main grandstand and sat down, waiting for the match to begin.

“The first match, Gan Jingcheng of the Upper Pure Sect against Ning Chuan of the Daluo Sect!”

A staff member announced through the microphone.

Today’s first battle was for third and fourth place.

Upper Pure Sect VS Daluo Sect!

It was a highly topical match, with many newspapers reporting on it last night:

The Upper Pure Sect had suddenly stepped forward to contest for influence with the Daluo Sect, aspiring to become the new representative of the Taoist sects.

Today was their direct confrontation, and the outcome would directly affect the external perception of both parties.

Gan Jingcheng entered the arena, his usual whiskers gone.

Instead of his usual carefree demeanor, his expression was solemn.

Li Fei had severely injured him yesterday, and after a night of treatment, his injuries had not healed; he could muster at most about sixty percent of his peak combat power.

Whereas Ning Chuan, though he had also exhausted a lot yesterday, hadn’t been much injured, and his condition today was at least ninety percent of his peak!

Thus, even though Gan Jingcheng’s realm was higher than Ning Chuan’s, he wasn’t very confident of winning.

Ning Chuan calmly walked into the arena.

Compared to Gan Jingcheng’s solemnity, his heart realm was much calmer.

As he entered the arena, his mind cleared of any thoughts of the Upper Pure Sect, the Daluo Sect, or any disputes over being a Taoist representative.

For him, at that moment, there was only victory or defeat, only the opponent before him!

“Begin!”

As the referee announced the start, Ning Chuan, just like yesterday, began recreating the environment of Thunder and Lightning.

He was different from his junior brother, Ning Xing.

When Ning Xing had set up the “Beidou Wind and Thunder Array”, he had no power to cover the entire field and could only wait for Li Fei to voluntarily enter the array.

However, Ning Chuan’s combination of four core-level extraordinary abilities allowed him to truly turn the entire arena into his own Thunder and Lightning world!

Thus, he aimed to “seize the ground advantage” from the beginning.

Gan Jingcheng was aware of this and decisively deployed Tao Power “Yiyun in the Sky”, transforming into a wisp of mist and proactively entering Ning Chuan’s world of thunder and lightning to fight him at close quarters.

Bolts of lightning struck the mist but failed to harm Gan Jingcheng at all.

Ning Chuan suddenly dodged to one side, avoiding an unexpected streak of sword light.

While the mist seemed several meters away, Gan Jingcheng had somehow already quietly moved close to Ning Chuan.

In the next second, he was once again enveloped by a cloud of mist, dodging the thunderbolts coming from all directions.

Ning Chuan calmly thrust his sword, and in an instant, a sea of fire erupted, creating a wildfire that engulfed a large area including the mist.

Soon, the mist “melted”, and streaks of black ashes floated in the air, as if the whole world had turned to ash.

Gan Jingcheng’s figure reappeared.

Tao Power— “Tribulation Ash!”

This move, based on the essence of Fire Thunder, was specifically designed to counter various types of force.

“Tribulation Ash” shattered Gan Jingcheng’s “Yiyun in the Sky”, forcing him to use other Tao Powers to contend with it.

Gan Jingcheng, with “Heavenly Heart”, could freely deploy Tao Powers.

While Ning Chuan, standing in his world of Thunder and Lightning, could deploy various Thunder-attribute Tao Powers effortlessly.

At this time, what they were competing for was their level of cultivation and their performance in the moment.

On the arena, lightning flashed, and silver snakes danced.

Mist swirled, sword Qi crisscrossed.

There were booming thunderclaps and the shocking sound of dragon roars!

The two exceptional prodigies from the Taoist sect truly delivered a spectacular contest, competing in cultivation, swordsmanship, extraordinary abilities, and Tao Powers—they competed in every aspect a martial artist could!

Due to his injuries, Gan Jingcheng eventually found himself at a disadvantage.

For someone like Ning Chuan, once he seized even a slight opportunity, he could turn this opportunity into an advantage, then slowly expand this advantage until it became a chance to win!

Therefore, after exchanging two hundred moves, Ning Chuan was thoroughly in the ascendancy.

In a close-quarters battle, Gan Jingcheng risked a life-for-life strike, but Ning Chuan triggered an internal injury with his force and controlled his movements with thunder, eventually stopping his longsword at Gan Jingcheng’s neck.

Splurt—

Gan Jingcheng spat out a mouthful of blood, his face bitter.

“Daluo Sect’s Ning Chuan wins!”

The referee by the arena loudly announced the final result.

In this contest for prestige between the Upper Pure Sect and the Daluo Sect, it ultimately ended with a victory for the Daluo Sect.

“The next match, which is also the final of this Martial Arts Exchange Tournament—”

“Wu’an University’s Li Fei against Pudu Temple’s Ming Qi!!!”

The staff member announced with an enthusiastic voice.

Boom—

The atmosphere in the whole arena ignited instantly.

Everyone had been waiting for this final round— who would be this tournament’s champion?

Who would be the unparalleled prodigy of this era?

Would it be Li Fei, who created history, or Ming Qi, who had displayed nearly overwhelming strength from beginning to end?

Amid the tsunami-like cheers, Li Fei calmly stood up from his seat.

“Let’s go!”

Including Li Tianyu, a host of Wuda students cheered for him.

Li Fei smiled and nodded, picking up the heavy package beside him and walking down the grandstand.

On the other side, Ming Qi, who had specially worn an old monk’s robe today, also descended from the grandstand to the edge of the arena.

As he saw Li Fei opening the package in his hands, taking out an Elixir intending to consume it, suddenly he spoke:

“Benefactor Li, please wait.”

“Hmm?”

Li Fei stopped his actions, looking puzzled at the other.

He’s not trying to stop me from taking the Elixir, is he?

Just as he was thinking, Ming Qi spoke again:

“There’s no need for Benefactor Li to consume the Elixir.”

Then, without waiting for Li Fei to speak, he turned to look at the main grandstand and declared loudly:

“Honored guests.”

His voice, propelled by force, resonated through the entire arena.

Soon, the whole place quieted down, and everyone’s eyes were on the contemporary Buddha’s son.

“I’m truly sorry.”

Ming Qi first bowed to the main grandstand, then turned and bowed in the other directions of the grandstand.

Finally, he straightened up and spoke in a calm voice:

“Today, I concede.”

….

Third update, seeking monthly tickets.