Now that everyone had arrived, the ranking ceremony was about to begin. With so many sects gathered at the Xinyi Sect, many were at odds with each other and had long-standing conflicts over interests, making the event quite lively, but also inevitably fraught with trouble.
However, since everyone was a cultivator, they at least maintained a facade of respectability and avoided a public falling out. The atmosphere of eager competition had only intensified. The nine great immortal sects were not a monolithic entity; since their rankings were related to those of their subordinate sects, they could not be taken lightly. Therefore, boosting morale before the competition was essential, and oversight was crucial afterward when distributing rewards.
Thus, inner disciples were dispatched as envoys to the stone platforms of the various lower- and middle-ranking sects during the ranking ceremony, to experience the entire event alongside them.
Yu Tianze pulled Mu Zirun to sit on a large chair. As a top-tier enforcer within the Jiuyang Sect, he enjoyed special privileges. Given his temperament, he generally didn’t concern himself with troublesome matters. This envoy, of course, was received by the leading elder—Chen Yiheng, a man obsessed with fame and fortune—and several elders who greatly admired the Zheng Gang Immortal Sect also quickly went to curry favor.
The arriving envoy was also a Nascent Soul cultivator, appearing quite young and exuding a certain arrogance. He clearly didn’t have much affection for those who fawned over him, and his attitude was rather perfunctory. However, this envoy was obviously not a first-timer with the Jiuyang Sect; he was likely one of those who consistently handled Jiuyang Sect affairs. He was being fawned over by the elders, but occasionally, he didn’t forget to glance at Yu Tianze appearing to also dislike him.
Mu Zirun realized his understanding of his peak master’s hatred level had been refreshed again. This envoy clearly both disdained those from mid-level sects and enjoyed the flattery, while simultaneously being even more displeased with Yu Tianze for not flattering him—as the saying went, “I may look down on you, but you, a mere Nascent Soul cultivator from a mid-level sect, dare to look down on me?”
Mu Zirun understood the issue of face-saving arising from status and position very well; he himself disliked it, but what could they do when they lived in such a complex environment? Sometimes, dislike was one thing, but patience was another. He was certain that if given the chance, this envoy would definitely make things difficult for his peak master. Fortunately, in the cultivation world, face wasn’t only based on status but also, and perhaps more importantly, on strength. So, with his peak master’s late-stage Nascent Soul strength, if he didn’t give this envoy enough face, the envoy couldn’t do anything openly.
Though it must be said that Yu Tianze’s personality actually made the Jiuyang Sect members feel more at ease. If he really started forming factions and becoming universally loved, wouldn’t the sect’s deeply entrenched power dynamics be greatly altered? Those people would probably rather he stay alone.
Just as Mu Zirun was pondering this, the host of the ranking competition, a remarkably beautiful Golden Core cultivator from the Xinyi Sect, gracefully landed in the center of the arena and began announcing the rules.
The rules were simple: Foundation Establishment cultivators competed against Foundation Establishment cultivators, Golden Core cultivators against Golden Core cultivators, Nascent Soul cultivators against Nascent Soul cultivators, and lower-level sects and mid-level sects could compete together. The disciples were ranked, and the total number of the top one hundred disciples at each level determined the ranking of their respective sects. The ranking of lower-level and mid-level sects, along with the number of their top one hundred disciples, became one of the ranking factors for the nine great immortal sects. Meanwhile, the disciples of the nine great immortal sects competed last, with a winner among them, but this ranking was only within the higher-level sects.
In short, these rules showed that the nine great immortal sects looked down on their affiliated sects; otherwise, why wouldn’t their disciples participate in the overall ranking, instead being ranked separately from those of lower-level and mid-level sects?
The disciples of the lower and middle-level sects knew this, but the nine great immortal sects weighed on their heads like nine mountains, a situation that had persisted for millennia, leaving them with no way to resist—besides, resistance required resources, and they were indeed no match for the disciples of the higher-level sects in every aspect, so why should they have expected the latter to respect them? They had no choice but to make do for now.
Soon, the ranking competition officially began. First to take the stage were undoubtedly the disciples at the Foundation Establishment stage. Their competition was divided into several large arenas, each with one hundred participants in a round. Within each round, ten participants would engage in a free-for-all elimination to leave one winner. This winner would then compete against other winners to determine the top one hundred.
Because Foundation Establishment cultivators were the most numerous, many smaller sects, eager to secure more resources, always tried their luck. Unlike mid-level sects, which at least selected their best disciples, they practically wanted every Foundation Establishment disciple to participate, resulting in a much larger and more unevenly matched pool of participants.
Of the dozens of people from the Jiuyang Sect this time, twenty-two were Foundation Establishment cultivators, and all of them had now entered the arena.
The envoy from the Zheng Gang Immortal Sect, upon seeing them, spoke with a rather sarcastic tone: “I’ve been here several times, and your Jiuyang Sect hasn’t achieved any good results in the past few times, causing me to lose face. I hope this time you can bring me some glory.”
The leading elder, with a good temper, repeatedly assured, “We will definitely try our best, we will definitely do our utmost.”
The Foundation Establishment cultivators were quite nervous, but some of them had participated in competitions before and had some confidence. Moreover, since they had been selected, their strength was not lacking; as long as they performed well, at least the first round should be no problem. So, after being ridiculed like that, these cultivators were somewhat spurred on, their blood boiling, and they became even more eager for the competition.
Yu Tianze wasn’t interested in this level of competition; usually, he would just close his eyes and meditate, waiting for his turn to go up and fight. But this time was different; he wanted to broaden Mu Zirun’s horizons. Speaking of which, he was under a lot of pressure.
If he had just casually taken in a servant, it wouldn’t have mattered, but he knew about Mu Zirun’s later achievements, at least as a Nascent Soul cultivator, and after receiving the Immortal Palace he had gifted, who knew how far he would go. This meant that Mu Zirun at least had the potential to form a Nascent Soul, a good seedling. If such a good seedling grew smoothly and vigorously in the wild, but was ruined by him bringing him back and raising him, wouldn’t that mean he hadn’t taught him properly? He wanted to find someone he could trust, that was true, but he didn’t want to end up harming Mu Zirun instead.
Therefore, whenever there was an opportunity, Yu Tianze would seize it to teach Mu Zirun. In his eyes, this Foundation Establishment stage competition was full of flaws, but for a mere Qi Refining cultivator, it was quite a remarkable feat. Moreover, it could be considered setting a short-term goal for him.
Feeling that he had found a way to train him, Yu Tianze pulled Mu Zirun aside and made him watch the battles between Foundation Establishment cultivators. Mu Zirun was indeed dazzled by the sights, and he himself was filled with longing for the many spells used in both group fights and one-on-one duels. However, after watching and watching, he still felt that the fighting was somewhat limited in scope. As someone who had only watched a lot of TV and movies in his previous life, witnessing real magical power was indeed astonishing, but he was no longer a child of only a few years old, and having almost personally experienced a domineering lightning ball attack, he felt his own strength was insufficient when watching the Foundation Establishment cultivators’ competition.
He looked more closely. Although he couldn’t unleash that kind of power himself, after observing for a while, he could see that the Foundation Establishment cultivators’ movements weren’t so crisp and clean, so decisive, so forceful… In short, they were far inferior to his peak master. That’s right, a Foundation Establishment cultivator was indeed far inferior to a Nascent Soul cultivator.
Yu Tianze, of course, had no idea that the little brat was constantly comparing himself to others, so he pointed at a female cultivator and asked, “What did you feel about the spell she used?”
Mu Zirun replied respectfully, “I think the connection between her movements was too slow. If she could have cast that fire talisman earlier, it could have coordinated with her later spells, increasing their power and directly injuring her opponent.”
Yu Tianze raised an eyebrow. He thought the little brat had just started cultivating and probably didn’t have much experience. But now it seemed his comprehension was beyond his expectations… no wonder he himself had worked so hard to reach the Nascent Soul stage.
He bluntly asked, “If you had that female cultivator’s abilities, how would you do it?”
Mu Zirun thought for a moment and replied, “I would use three fire talismans. I would use one to hold off the opponent, then circle around to their retreat route and use another, then seal off another location and use the same talisman. During this process, I would quickly form hand seals to prepare my divine power. Finally, at the only opening to dodge, I could unleash my divine power.”
By then, the opponent, having already lost most of their strength due to the fire talismans, would definitely be unable to dodge the divine power and would have to withstand it head-on. However, this head-on confrontation would inevitably consume a large amount of true essence, forcing them to admit defeat. On the other hand, he himself would consume far less and recover faster, waiting for the next round.
Yu Tianze listened and naturally imagined the scenario, then nodded, “Not bad.”
He himself had also cultivated step by step, and although his personality led him to often kill opponents simply and directly, he wasn’t oblivious to the subtle layout and careful calculations in Mu Zirun’s fighting method. He had also conserved true essence when his strength was insufficient. However, this also showed that the little brat’s personality was completely different from Yu Tianze’s.
Should I change my teaching methods? He wondered. Just as he was thinking this, the female cultivator below, whose spellcasting process wasn’t concise enough, suddenly let out a scream.
“My face, my—”
Yu Tianze and Mu Zirun looked over, and sure enough, something strange had happened again.
