Mortal: Starting by joining the Falling Cloud Sect

Inside the stone pavilion.

Song Yao jumped up happily, her excitement making it seem as if she were the one who had won on stage.

"Sister, Brother Zhou's emerald green longsword is really amazing! It flashed out of its sheath in a flash, and then whooshed right to that guy's forehead. He was so scared he stood there like a statue, completely frozen in place! It cracked me up! But why haven't I ever seen Brother Zhou take it out before?"

"That should be a top-tier magic weapon, or at least a top-grade one. Even Foundation Establishment cultivators within the sect would have a hard time obtaining one of these."

Song Yu slowly voiced his judgment, then inwardly grumbled, "This Zhou Qing held back a bit. If he had revealed this magical artifact earlier, I wouldn't have needed to come here specifically to see it. He's ruined my cultivation! That guy!"

Seeing that Zhou Qing had secured his spot, Song Yu had no desire to stay any longer. She then called Song Yao, and the two of them left the stone pavilion together, returning to Bai Feng Peak.

Below the arena, under the admiring gazes of the crowd, Zhou Qing still found a quiet spot and sat down peacefully on the ground.

This time, however, he didn't go far.

He wanted to see what the next match would be like.

He learned an unexpected piece of news from other cultivators: the elderly cultivator named Li Shouli had defeated several fellow disciples in succession and successfully entered the final round, including disciples whose cultivation was far higher than his own.

Within the grand formation, the law enforcement cultivator stood atop the magical artifact, shouting loudly.

"In the next match, Xuan Ya from Bai Feng Peak will face Li Shouli from Tian Quan Peak."

Xuan Ya was the female cultivator who left a deep impression on Zhou Qing. She was skilled in using a long whip as a magical weapon and had fought fiercely and decisively in the previous matches, demonstrating remarkable strength.

Li Shouli, on the other hand, can be described as a remarkable cultivator.

In every match, almost no one believed he could win, thinking he wouldn't last a round.

But the result was that even though he was beaten and ran around on stage, with all sorts of injuries, his clothes burned, and his beard singed, he always managed to win unexpectedly, and always at just the right moment, as if it were really just luck.

The magical artifact was a fraction too short, the talisman failed at the last moment, and the opponent, lacking spiritual power, reaped what he sowed, being injured by his own magic.

After a fierce battle, someone unaware of the situation would really think he had fought his way up through sheer strength and hard work.

……

A quarter of an hour later, looking at Xuan Ya, who was entangled by his own magic weapon and unable to move, and then at Li Shouli, the law enforcement cultivator's eyes were filled with disbelief, astonishment and shock.

After some hesitation, he finally announced the result in a loud voice: "Li Shouli of Tianquan Peak wins."

Li Shouli was panting heavily, his whole body covered in whip marks. He forced himself to stand up and slowly walked off the stage.

Zhou Qing witnessed the entire process from the audience.

The battle seemed perfectly normal.

Li Shouli maintained a defensive posture throughout, using talismans to create terrain and maneuver against Xuan Ya.

Xuan Ya's attacks were fruitless. Although she could injure Li Shouli, she could not win. Her emotions gradually became irritable. She completely abandoned the idea of ​​a protracted battle and focused all her energy on activating her magical artifact.

In the end, he was left with depleted magical power and trapped by his own magical weapon, the long whip.

This seemingly normal battle of wits sparked a different thought in Zhou Qing, or perhaps another possibility came to mind.

"An old man teases a mischievous child!"

It's not surprising that Zhou Qing would have this idea, because he has seen too much of this, and in this world, there are only a few people who would do such a thing.

For example, Han Li.

There are also Nascent Soul cultivators in this realm, pay your respects!

Despite possessing immense supernatural powers, in order to find the Reverse Spirit Passage, he had to disguise himself as a low-level cultivator, like a clown, and mingle in the secret realms of various sects.

The more Zhou Qing thought about it, the more terrified he became. In the end, he had no choice but to use the blue light from the lotus to help calm himself down.

"Since this powerful being wants to find the Reverse Spirit Passage in the secret realm, let him go find it. I'll just pretend I know nothing about it. In such a vast secret realm, it's impossible for him to just happen to stumble upon it, right?" Zhou Qing thought for a moment, and could only comfort himself with this thought.

Soon after, the sect competitions came to an end.

All ten candidates have been selected, with only Zhou Qing from Bai Fengfeng making the cut.

They were then led together to a council hall.

Inside the hall, a middle-aged man dressed as a Confucian scholar and an elderly man in a blue robe with a flowing white beard and a face full of wrinkles were sitting on a rosewood chair on one side of the council hall.

Standing in front of the two was Wei Yiming, the sect leader of Luoyun Sect, who was extremely respectful.

"These two are Elder Xin from Tianquan Peak and Elder Feng from Huanshi Peak. Haven't you greeted them yet?" Wei Yiming introduced the two elders to Zhou Qing and the others.

Zhou Qing and the others dared not be negligent and bowed in unison, saying, "Greetings, Elder Xin and Elder Feng!"

The middle-aged man smiled slightly, nodded, and had a very kind expression.

The old man in blue robes gave a soft "hmm," then his gaze sharpened as he scrutinized Zhou Qing and the others, exuding an air of authority.

After a moment of silence, the old man in the blue robe spoke.

"The ten of you will represent the Luoyun Sect in the Yunmeng Secret Realm this time. There are some rules and consequences that I must explain beforehand. First of all, although fighting to the death is strictly prohibited in the Yunmeng Secret Realm, this only means preventing blood feuds that could lead to certain death."

Within this secret realm, rare and precious resources are finite. It's inevitable that competition and even fights will break out over these treasures. Therefore, you must act with discretion and tact within this realm, and never be timid or cowardly. If you manage to obtain various spiritual herbs and rare treasures from this realm, hand them over to the sect upon your return. The sect will be extremely generous with its rewards!

"Disciple understands!" Zhou Qing and the others replied in unison.

"Alright, we'll meet here again tomorrow morning and depart!" After giving his instructions, the old man in blue robes turned to the middle-aged man and asked, "Junior Brother Xin, is there anything else you wish to instruct me to do?"

The middle-aged man nodded slightly, then flicked his sleeve, sending out several jade slips that hovered in front of Zhou Qing and the others.

"This jade slip contains the information of the disciples from the Ancient Sword Sect and the Hundred Crafts Academy who entered the Cloud Dream Secret Realm this time. Take a look at it tonight; I believe it will be helpful to you."

"Junior Brother Xin is incredibly meticulous; I am far inferior to you in this regard," the blue-robed elder said, stroking his white beard with a sigh.

After Zhou Qing and the others accepted the jade slip, they bowed again and respectfully withdrew from the council hall to rest.

Night fell, and the moon and stars were few.

In the courtyard, Zhou Qing sat cross-legged on the wooden bed, probing the jade slip with his divine sense to read its contents.

The content was not very detailed, only listing the names of disciples from various sects, their cultivation levels, and the magical artifacts they had used recently.

He memorized them all; these people were his main opponents in the secret realm. Knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory in every battle.

Of course, even among fellow disciples, one cannot be completely trusting within the secret realm.

After all, if one can monopolize the credit and enjoy the rewards all by oneself, who would be willing to share the spoils with others?

After putting down the jade slip, Zhou Qing lay down on the bed with a relaxed mind.

"I haven't had a proper night's sleep in ages. Before I leave, I should relax a bit."

Then he closed his eyes and fell peacefully asleep.