“To the sect, of course.”
Jiang Lu casually tied the storage bag to her waist, planning to transfer it into her space when she had the chance.
She looked up at the mountains and rivers sweeping past. Her gaze paused slightly, and a hint of doubt quietly rose in her heart.
The surrounding mountains were unfamiliar, and the movement of the clouds and mist was completely wrong. This was not the route back to the Liuyun Sect at all...
Her heart skipped a beat, and she abruptly turned her head to look at Bai Yichen beside her.
Their eyes met suddenly. The moment their gazes collided, Bai Yichen looked like a thief with a guilty conscience. His eyes darted around, and he quickly and unnaturally turned his head away to avoid her gaze.
Jiang Lu caught every bit of this subtle movement, and she instantly understood.
Bai Yichen cleared his throat and spoke with apparent composure, attempting to cover things up:
“Well, Junior Sister, why don't you travel and train with me outside for a few days? Your cultivation is still shallow, so traveling alone or returning to the sect to train is too dangerous.”
Dangerous?
Jiang Lu raised her eyebrows slightly, a playful, half-smiling look flashing in her eyes. She felt that following behind Bai Yichen was actually the greatest danger.
Of course, she was not foolish enough to say that to his face.
Suppressing her internal complaints, she spoke in a flat tone:
“How long do you plan to train outside, Senior Brother Bai?”
Jiang Lu thought about it. Traveling together for a few days wasn't out of the question, and it would also give her a chance to see the strength of the Liuyun Sect's second-ranked genius.
Hearing this, Bai Yichen's eyes instantly became incredibly sincere, and his tone was firm and composed:
“For a few years, of course. The Cultivator Tournament is in five years, and I must participate.”
He spoke as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
A few years?
Jiang Lu was slightly taken aback. Training outside for that long?
But what was this Cultivator Tournament? Filled with confusion, she asked:
“Senior Brother Bai, what is the Cultivator Tournament?”
Jiang Lu stared straight at him with her clear eyes, which were full of curiosity.
“You actually don't know, Junior Sister?”
Bai Yichen was slightly surprised, then explained patiently,
“The Cultivator Tournament is held once every hundred years and sweeps across the entire cultivation world. Each spiritual domain holds its own competition first. Afterward, the top one thousand young cultivators with exceptional talent and peak strength will be selected from the countless participants to go to the Xuanchen Spiritual Domain together for the Heaven's Pride Tournament.”
Bai Yichen's eyes were full of yearning. That was the Heaven's Pride Tournament! It was a place that every cultivator in the cultivation world aspired to reach.
“The Heaven's Pride Tournament? What kind of competition is that?”
Jiang Lu continued to ask.
“The Heaven's Pride Tournament is a competition between the five great domains. The top three cultivators in the tournament will receive the full support and cultivation of all five domains, enjoying endless exclusive resources to smooth their path ahead, specifically to help them charge toward ascension to the upper realm.”
Pausing for a moment, his tone suddenly grew a bit heavier, tinged with a trace of helplessness and regret.
“However, if they fail to ascend before the next Heaven's Pride Tournament, all the top-tier resources tilted toward them will be completely reclaimed by the five domains once the new ranking is established.”
His voice sounded somewhat heavy as he finished speaking.
Sitting on the spiritual boat, Jiang Lu propped up her chin and looked at him with bright eyes. “Why is that?”
“There has been an ironclad law in the cultivation world since ancient times.”
Bai Yichen gazed at the vast sea of clouds in the distance, slowly revealing a long-buried secret. He had only learned of this reason after repeatedly questioning his master upon finding out about the Heaven's Pride Tournament.
“A cultivator must break through to the Tribulation Transcendence realm before the age of one hundred to be qualified to break through the shackles and ascend to the upper realm. The Heaven's Pride Tournament is held once every hundred years, and the genius who took the top spot in the previous tournament is already well over a hundred years old now.
“In truth, their resources were already reclaimed once they passed the age of one hundred. The currently recognized number one genius in the cultivation world broke through to the Tribulation Transcendence realm at the mere age of ninety-five, stunning everyone. Yet, in the end, they were stuck before the hundred-year limit and failed to take that final step of ascension. It is truly a pity.”
Bai Yichen looked at Jiang Lu. Their talent was already considered quite good, but compared to that person, they were still far behind.
No one in the cultivation world had ascended for ten thousand years. If one were to appear now, they would undoubtedly be the treasure of the entire cultivation world.
“But, Senior Brother Bai, the cultivation world currently has abundant spiritual energy and rich resources. According to the elders, the current cultivation environment is far more superior and prosperous than it was ten thousand years ago. Why is it that no one has successfully ascended to the upper realm in over ten thousand years?”
After listening, the doubt in Jiang Lu's heart did not clear up; instead, it grew even stronger. She frowned slightly and softly voiced her confusion.
Bai Yichen shook his head and laughed. This girl was trying to coax information out of him, but there was no harm in telling her.
“In the final analysis, it comes down to nothing more than two points. First, limitations in bone structure and talent; second, difficulty in passing the test of one's own Dao Heart and character.
“Do not be fooled by the countless geniuses. With a new cycle every hundred years, they are beyond count.
“In this vast cultivation world today, there are very few cultivators who can firmly step into the Body Integration realm and beyond. Many geniuses possess exceptional talent and enjoy smooth sailing along their path of cultivation. However, the higher their strength, the more ferocious the backlash from their inner demons becomes. In the end, their Dao Hearts collapse, and they remain stuck in that realm for the rest of their lives without making any further progress.
“This is because the higher their cultivation, the longer their lifespan, and the more conflicts, obsessions, and desires they witness. These various stray thoughts settle in their seas of consciousness, breeding inner demons.
“The stronger a cultivator is, the more dangerous and difficult it is to survive the Inner Demon Tribulation. With even the slightest carelessness, they will be consumed by their obsessions and perish under the lightning tribulation during a breakthrough.
“Aside from this, cultivators worldwide speculate that the ascension passage connecting to the upper realm was sealed by the Heavenly Dao ten thousand years ago, and an invisible shackle in the world suppresses the cultivation of all living beings.
“This is also why the various domains are willing to pool all their efforts to select powerful cultivators to ascend and discover the truth.”
Having said this, Bai Yichen fell silent, feeling somewhat melancholy.
Jiang Lu nodded slightly, her eyelashes trembling to conceal the dark glint in her eyes.
Going by this logic, it was completely normal that her current strength had only reached the Golden Core realm. After all, the further one progressed, the stronger they became, requiring more resources and naturally taking more time.
In that case, whether she should wait until she was nineteen to form her Nascent Soul required reconsideration. She would ask her master once she returned.
Knowing the purpose of the tournament, Jiang Lu looked up at Bai Yichen beside her. Curling her lip slightly, she flatly and directly refused him:
“You should continue your training outside alone, Senior Brother. I won't be accompanying you. I'm going back to the sect by myself.”
Bai Yichen was speechless. After all that explaining, his junior sister was still holding onto this matter?
“Junior Sister, won't you reconsider?”
Bai Yichen winked at her. He felt that his cooperation with his junior sister was seamless. With her around, the journey would definitely not be boring.
Besides, he also wanted to see the strength of this Junior Sister Jiang, whom Senior Sister Fu thought so highly of.
“No!”
Jiang Lu tossed her head. She had urgent matters to ask her master. Moreover, now that her master had gone to the Liuyun Sect, it was better for her to show her face.
“Alright then.”
Seeing Jiang Lu's firm refusal, Bai Yichen was somewhat disappointed.
Sob...
He truly felt he shared a fated bond with Junior Sister Jiang. After all, when fighting the vulture beast earlier, an ordinary Qi Condensation disciple wouldn't have had such capability.
Their peak lacked a little junior sister. Should he go back and ask his master to try and recruit her?
After all, he didn't believe that a disciple whom Eldest Senior Sister directly promoted to the inner sect could be so simple.
Rate on N.U.
