ragginovel Chapter 84 Registration for the Small Competition
Chapter 84 Registration for the Small Competition
After seeing Chen Boyuan off, Zhang Lin did not go straight back to the courtyard, but instead walked along the bluestone path towards Qianzhangyan.
He sets up a stall at Thousand-Foot Cliff every few days to sell pills in exchange for spirit stones. After deducting his daily expenses, he now has more than four thousand spirit stones in his storage bag.
This amount of spirit stones is neither a large nor a small sum.
For a rogue cultivator, this is a huge sum of money, but for the nine hundred-year-old spiritual items required for the Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, it might not even be possible to buy one of them.
After all, these are rare and precious items, with a price that is hard to come by. Even if someone were to sell them, the asking price would be several thousand spirit stones or more.
He needs more spirit stones and more contribution points.
The cliff face was unusually lively today.
Disciples came and went shoulder to shoulder, and the sounds of bargaining rose and fell.
He found his usual spot, spread out a blue cloth, and set out the jade vase.
His pills are now quite famous among the outer sect members. The quality of his top-grade pills is consistently good, and the price is fair. They are always sold out as soon as they are put out to be displayed.
Today is no exception.
In less than an hour, all thirty Qi-Nourishing Pills, twenty Qi-Returning Pills, and ten Mind-Concentrating Pills were sold out, bringing in over 1,100 spirit stones.
Zhang Lin had collected the spirit stones and was about to pack up his stall when he suddenly heard a voice behind him.
"Junior Brother Zhang, what a coincidence."
He turned his head and saw a young man in white standing with his hands behind his back. He had a handsome face, a smile on his lips, and a blue identity token hanging from his waist.
A glint of silver flashed in Zhang Lin's eyes, and his gaze narrowed slightly.
Gu Beichen, a disciple of Tianzhu Peak, has already reached the Great Perfection of Qi Refining. With just one Foundation Establishment Pill, he can enter the Foundation Establishment stage at any time.
"Congratulations on successfully completing your seclusion, Senior Brother Gu." Zhang Lin cupped his hands in greeting.
Gu Beichen walked closer and lowered his voice: "I have taken that Breakthrough Pill from last time and successfully opened up my spiritual sea. I am now at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining. It won't be long before I can break through to Foundation Establishment."
He paused, then cupped his hands in a respectful bow: "I cannot express my gratitude in words. If you ever need my help in the future, please do not hesitate to ask."
Zhang Lin waved his hand: "Senior Brother Gu, you're too kind. It's a mutually beneficial arrangement to receive payment for alchemy."
Gu Beichen shook his head: "It's different. I had already approached three alchemists for the ingredients for my Breakthrough Pill, but none of them dared to take it."
"Either they were afraid of ruining their reputation, or the success rate of refining pills was too low, so they dared not take the risk. Only you, junior brother, accepted the task without hesitation and even refined a top-grade pill."
He took out a jade slip from his sleeve and handed it over.
"This is a compilation of past Tianzhu Peak Junior Competition questions, including assessment points and scoring standards for techniques and practical combat."
"Although it differs from Cuiping Peak, it is roughly similar. Junior brother, take this as a reference; it might be useful."
Zhang Lin accepted the jade slip, cupped his hands, and said, "Thank you, Senior Brother Gu."
Gu Beichen smiled and said, "Junior brother, there's no need to be so polite. We are destined to meet, so let's keep in touch in the future."
He said a few more words, then turned and left.
Zhang Lin put the jade slip into his storage bag, packed up his stall, and returned along the mountain road.
Halfway there, he suddenly stopped, a flash of silver light in his eyes.
When the third-tier Qi Observation Technique is activated, the spiritual energy of plants and trees, as well as the aura of cultivators, appear within sight.
really.
Twenty feet behind, behind an old pine tree, a presence was hidden.
A mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator, dressed in a gray Taoist robe, a thin young Taoist boy was peeking curiously in their direction.
A cold smile curled at the corner of Zhang Lin's mouth.
Ah Fu.
The Taoist boy that Zhou Mingxuan sent to keep watch.
He had long been aware of this person's presence, but had been pretending not to know.
A Daoist disciple at the mid-stage of Qi Refining is nothing to fear.
Killing him is easy, but Zhou Mingxuan behind him is the real trouble.
Now is not the time to tear off all pretenses.
Zhang Lin withdrew his gaze and continued walking, his pace unhurried, as if he had not discovered anything.
When I returned to courtyard number 72, it was nearly dusk.
Zhang Lin closed the door, sat cross-legged on the futon, took out the jade slip given to him by Gu Beichen from his storage bag, and stuck it to his forehead.
My spiritual sense probed in, and a flood of information poured into my mind.
The jade slip contains the test questions and scoring standards for the small competitions held by Tianzhu Peak over the past five years.
The skills assessment consists of two parts: Five Elements skills and auxiliary skills. Participants must choose one skill from each to demonstrate.
There are three scoring criteria: proficiency, power, and variability.
Proficiency is measured by casting speed and fluency.
The power of a spell depends on its destructive force and its coverage area.
Changes reveal the diversity of techniques and the ability to adapt to different situations.
Each of the three items accounts for three points, for a total of nine points.
The practical assessment involves ring battles, draw lots for duels, and single-elimination matches.
Without magical artifacts, one can only use spells.
The scoring criteria are fourfold: application of techniques, distribution of internal energy, on-the-spot adaptability, and fighting will.
Each item is worth two and a half points, for a total of ten points.
After carefully reading the jade slip, Zhang Lin put it away and closed his eyes to ponder.
If the spell assessment for Cuiping Peak this year is the same as that for Tianzhu Peak, he plans to demonstrate his Fireball and Wind Control techniques.
The Fireball spell has three variations: the first-tier Fireball, the second-tier Blazing Bullet, and the third-tier Sky-Burning Flame. These three variations are incredibly powerful and should be among the top in their respective tiers.
The Wind Control Technique also has three transformations: riding the wind, using a wind wall for protection, and using an invisible wind blade. It integrates movement, defense, and attack, making it sufficient to handle various situations.
In practical assessments, he had never participated in ring battles, but he was confident that his understanding and application of the Five Elements techniques were second to none.
The armor-piercing properties of the third-tier Golden Blade Technique, the absorption properties of the third-tier Wooden Vine Technique, the Xuanhuang Great Hand of the third-tier Earth Spike Technique, and the Water Dragon Illusion of the third-tier Water Escape Technique—each one is a trump card.
The key is how to use tactics flexibly in a battle of wits, to play to one's strengths and avoid one's weaknesses, and to use one's strengths to attack the enemy's weaknesses.
Fighting in the arena is different from fighting in the wild.
In open-world combat, they would stop at nothing, using any means necessary: sneak attacks, hidden weapons, poisons, formations—anything goes.
The rules of arena combat emphasize fairness and honor, with techniques clashing and true energy being depleted; whoever can't hold on any longer loses.
This requires a reasonable allocation of internal energy; one cannot go all out from the start, nor can one remain passively defensive.
Zhang Lin opened his eyes, took out a top-grade Qi-cultivating pill from his storage bag, and put it into his mouth.
This is the third Transcendent-level Nourishing Essence Pill.
He takes one pill every half month, and his meridians have widened by 30%, and the capacity of his dantian has also increased.
The more solid the foundation during the Qi Refining stage, the more stable the foundation will be for future Foundation Building.
As the medicine entered his abdomen, the warm spring water flowed along his meridians, and the liquid true qi in his dantian slowly rotated, condensing into the 106th drop of true qi.
Two drops short.
Zhang Lin took a deep breath, closed his eyes, circulated his internal energy, and continued his cultivation.
Silent all night.
The next morning, Zhang Lin went to the Affairs Hall to register.
There weren't many people in the hall; only seven or eight disciples were queuing up, all of them there to register for the minor competition.
Zhang Lin was at the end of the line and waited for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before it was his turn.
The steward behind the counter is Sun Mao, who is in the early stage of Foundation Establishment. He and two other stewards presided over Yu Youwei's assessment.
"Name."
"Zhang Lin".
Deacon Sun opened the register, found the list of names for Cuiping Peak, and wrote down the names.
"Entry category?"
"Report all three items."
Deacon Sun glanced at him, seemingly surprised, but didn't ask any further questions, and put a checkmark after his name.
"The preliminary competition will be held at the Cuiping Peak Discussion Platform at 5:00 AM on the first day of next month. Please bring your identity token to the venue to draw lots."
"No time limit."
Zhang Lin bowed in thanks, then turned and left the affairs hall.
Outside the door, the sun is just right.
He looked up at the distant Cuiping Peak, where clouds and mist swirled, and he could vaguely see layers of blue-brick and gray-tiled buildings nestled among the pines and cypresses.
The first day of next month, there are still eleven days left.
He needs to push his cultivation to the peak of Qi Refining within these eleven days, condense his spiritual consciousness, and refine his spells to make full preparations for the competition.