Mortal: Fairy Song Yu has issued you a task.

Chapter 58 Sect Selection

Half a month has passed in a flash.

Lin Jingchu had already mastered the Flying Ripple Step. When activated, this technique made him move like lightning, instantly covering a distance of eight zhang (approximately 33 meters). It was swift, unpredictable, and quite powerful, but it also consumed a great deal of spiritual energy. With his current cultivation level, he could only use it a maximum of ten times in a short period of time.

Furthermore, he currently only has a rudimentary understanding of this technique, and a single misstep could lead to failure. To achieve mastery, he would need more than ten days of practice. Fortunately, the Three Sects Competition still has a month to go, so there's still time after the preliminary rounds.

Lin Jingchu boarded the Azure Wing Boat and headed towards the main peak once again.

As I pondered, the huge plaza at the foot of the main peak came into view.

At this moment, the square was filled with the sounds of bells and chimes, the chimes of birds, the fluttering of banners, and the sea of ​​people.

In the center of the plaza, six stone platforms, each fifty feet tall, had been magically formed. The surrounding area was filled with disciples from the six peaks participating in the competition.

Tianquan Peak had a large number of participants this time, with more than sixty people, including four Foundation Establishment cultivators, among whom was Zhou Qinghe, whom we haven't seen for a long time.

"Brother Zhou, it's been a long time. I didn't expect you to be participating as well."

Upon seeing Lin Jingchu land, Zhou Qinghe quickly stepped forward to greet him: "No! I was a step late in establishing my foundation, so please just call me junior brother, senior brother."

Lin Jingchu readily agreed: "Junior Brother Zhou just reached the Foundation Establishment stage, why are you participating in the competition too?"

Zhou Qinghe leaned closer and whispered, "The Sword Testing Tournament is limited to those under thirty years old, and the disciples of the appropriate age in the sect are generally of average strength."

"It's normal to lose to the Ancient Sword Sect and then to the Hundred Crafts Academy in the last competition. But failing to even secure a spot in the Spirit Eye Tree's Cleansing Hall is truly shameful. This time, no one wants to be laughed at."

"The sect had no choice but to order all eligible late-stage Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators without any specific duties to participate. I was exactly twenty-nine, so naturally I couldn't refuse."

Lin Jingchu suddenly realized that, apart from eating too many sea cucumbers, who else could be so shameless?

"Look! It's Fairy Song Yu from Baifeng Peak!" A sudden exclamation came from the side.

Lin Jingchu turned around and saw Song Yu and Meng Yao flying towards the competition area of ​​Bai Feng Peak.

Song Yu also saw him and nodded with a slight smile.

"Ah! Fairy Song Yu smiled at me!"

"What qualifications do you have, a mere early Foundation Establishment cultivator? It's clearly directed at me!"

"Ridiculous! Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror?"

Lin Jingchu suppressed a laugh as he listened to the "argument" between his fellow apprentices.

Although Zhou Qinghe knew that he was acquainted with Song Yu, he assumed that the two were just having ordinary business dealings. He asked nervously, "Senior Brother, have you become increasingly familiar with Fairy Song lately?"

"It's alright. We haven't seen each other much in the past two months," Lin Jingchu replied truthfully.

Seeing his sincerity, and with so many people around, Zhou Qinghe decided not to ask any more questions.

clang--

The heavy tolling of the bell reverberated from the main peak, suppressing the noise of the entire venue.

"The elder has arrived!" a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator announced loudly.

Six beams of light arrived in an instant, transforming into six extraordinary figures that hovered in front of the main hall, looking down at the crowd below. These were the peak masters of the six peaks of the Falling Cloud Sect.

Elder Feng leaped forward and loudly proclaimed the competition rules.

"This selection will adopt a ladder system, with two players competing against each other in five rounds, divided into points ranges. In the first four rounds, Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators will compete separately; the winner will receive three points, a draw will result in one point for each player, and the loser will receive no points. In the final round, all disciples, regardless of their cultivation level, will fight to determine their ranking. After the five rounds, the rankings will be determined according to the total points. The top ten on the leaderboard will be awarded one hundred spirit stones."

Zhou Qinghe, who had originally planned to just give a perfunctory answer on stage, suddenly had his eyes light up.

For ordinary disciples without a background or special opportunities, even at the Foundation Establishment stage, a hundred spirit stones is a considerable subsidy, enough to make up for a lot of the daily cultivation expenses.

Seeing that the disciples' previously lax attitude had improved, Elder Feng's expression softened, and he announced loudly, "The Luoyun Sect Sword Trial Selection Competition begins!"

As soon as the words were spoken, protective barriers rose simultaneously on all six stone platforms. Two late-stage Foundation Establishment disciples were stationed at each platform, one in charge of adjudication and the other dedicated to providing on-site support to prevent serious injury.

The adjudicator of Arena C was none other than Senior Brother Ye, an old acquaintance of Lin Jingchu.

Senior Brother Ye shouted loudly, "Athle C, Zhou Qinghe of Tianquan Peak and Zhang San of Huoyun Peak, step forward for your duel!"

Zhou Qinghe nodded to Lin Jingchu, leaped onto the stage, and summoned his flying sword. His opponent, not to be outdone, activated fire magic, and the two began playing a game of ping-pong.

The other five arenas were also filled with dazzling lights, and the battles were quite lively.

The matches concluded one after another, the referee determined the winners and immediately summoned the next group of players to the stage.

At the top of the square, Elder Feng, having finished reading the rules, sat down with the peak masters of each peak in the halls and pavilions, looking down at the entire competition.

As Duan Peak Master watched Song Yuqian cleanly defeat her opponent below the stage, he turned to Song Peak Master sitting beside him and said, "Junior Sister Song, your daughter, the pride of the Song family, has only been at the Foundation Establishment stage for half a year, yet her combat strength is already outstanding. Among her peers, she is hard to find a worthy opponent. This competition will surely bring glory to the Luoyun Sect."

Peak Master Song was naturally satisfied with his daughter's performance, but he remained calm on the surface: "My daughter has never slacked off in her cultivation, but the other two sects are full of hidden talents, and the future is uncertain. I only ask that she give it her all and leave no regrets."

"It's good that we've achieved something," Peak Master Duan remarked with a sigh. "There's nothing we can do; our Luoyun Sect always struggles to recruit good talents in the Yunmeng region, and we have no successors!"

He turned to Elder Feng, who was seated in the main seat, and asked, "I heard that Senior Brother Feng recently took on a disciple. Will he also be participating in the battle this time?"

Elder Feng stroked his beard and smiled faintly: "My disciple's talent is just average, not as good as the outstanding disciples of my fellow disciples. However, this boy does have some experience in combat. In this competition, let him show his skills."

"This boy has a good character," Peak Master Song suddenly added.

Everyone in the pavilion was stunned and looked at her in surprise. Peak Master Song remained expressionless and continued, "That kid has gone up. He's even facing Yao'er."

Upon hearing this, everyone's gaze immediately turned back to the audience.

Meanwhile, the disciples in the square who had noticed the competition were also discussing it animatedly.

"This disciple who's fighting Senior Sister Meng from Bai Fengfeng looks unfamiliar!"

"He seems to be Feng Feng's newly accepted disciple. It is said that he was admitted to the sect through special circumstances because of his talent in array formation."

"Formation? There's no time to set up a grand formation in a tournament. Looks like we're doomed to lose."

On the arena, Lin Jingchu and Meng Yao stood facing each other, each bowing with their hands clasped in greeting.

"The match begins. Both players must stop when they have made their point; malicious injury is prohibited." After giving these instructions, the referee stepped back to the edge of the table, remaining alert and ready to act at any moment.

Meng Yao made a hand seal, and with a clang, three short-bladed flying swords shot out from behind her.

She stared coldly at him: "I possess the Wind Spirit Root and cultivate the White Phoenix Peak's ultimate technique, the Azure Phoenix Riding the Wind Technique. Junior Brother Lin, a wise man knows when to yield; I advise you to avoid physical suffering."

As she introduced herself, Lin Jingchu thought to himself that the Luoyun Sect really had a refined style.

Seeing that he stood still and did not move, Meng Yao did not wait any longer and took the initiative to activate her spiritual power to launch an attack.

A sudden gust of wind swept across the table, and three short blades, carrying the fierce wind, advanced in three directions to encircle and attack.

Just as the short sword was about to reach him—

Lin Jingchu stomped on the stone platform! With the support of the Wind-Stepping Shadow-Split Boots, his figure shot out, leaving only an afterimage as he was pierced by the short sword.

Startled, Meng Yao hastily formed a hand seal, attempting to remotely control her short sword to turn back and pursue. However, she saw Lin Jingchu, in the midst of his rapid charge, throw three low-level fireball talismans at her.

"Boom!" Flames and smoke instantly rose up, obscuring the view.

A pale blue aura shield was erected in front of Meng Yao in time to block the attack.

However, before she could even breathe a sigh of relief...

"Crack!" A crisp cracking sound.

A long, feathered dagger pierced through the lingering black smoke, easily penetrating the protective shield. The cool blade rested firmly on her shoulder.

"Senior Sister Meng, you lost." Lin Jingchu's calm voice came from behind her.

Meng Yao's face turned pale and then red, and in the end she just angrily retracted the three flying swords that had just returned, and left the arena without saying a word.

"This disciple of Elder Feng is incredibly skilled!"

"He's just relying on a top-tier magical artifact. If I had one, I could easily win too."

Lin Jingchu calmly sheathed his embroidered spring knife, his gaze inadvertently drifting towards the area where the Bai Fengfeng disciples were participating in the competition.

Song Yu, who was quietly comforting Meng Yao, looked up as if sensing something, met his gaze, and smiled slightly.