The Long Journey to Immortality

Han Lu didn't want her first major competition in "her life" to be spent in this way.

As for the competition itself, Han Lu was not worried.

Those three matches gave her enough confidence.

Even as a Daoist disciple, he was able to easily defeat three cultivators at the second level of Qi Refining.

During the grand competition, only cultivators of the same level will become opponents and compete on the arena.

No matter what level she is at that time, or how many acupoints she has opened and how many spiritual veins she has cultivated, Han Lu is 100% confident that she can defeat these newbies.

Han Lu felt nothing about the grand competition that was coming in just over four months, but that didn't mean the other cultivators in the Zhengyi Sect felt the same way.

After all, this is a major competition held once every five years, which is very different from the smaller competitions held annually in their respective mountain courtyards.

During the smaller competitions, each mountain academy only competes internally.

Often, the fellow disciples standing on either side of the ring are acquaintances. During the matches, they know their own strength and rarely suffer serious bloodshed.

Even if you rank high in the small competition, you will at most receive a lot of spirit stones and pills as rewards.

Even if you rank low in the competition, you will only be penalized by having your spirit stone supply deducted for one month.

superficial.

But the Grand Competition is different.

The grand competition held every five years is a major event that Zhengyi Sect takes very seriously, as it has a significant impact on the entire sect.

Leaving aside the "Secret Realm Exploration," which is only open to cultivators at the sixth level of Qi Refining and above, the scale of the arena competition alone is several times larger than that of the smaller competition.

Not only will disciples of all levels from the five mountain academies compete on the same stage, but several smaller sects affiliated with the Zhengyi Sect will also be invited to send outstanding disciples to participate.

The presence of "outsiders" intensified the tension in the competition.

For the sake of the sect's reputation and its status as the number one sect in the Southern Dynasty, the disciples of the Zhengyi Sect would be more willing to give their all on the arena.

In addition to spiritual incentives, there are also richer material rewards.

In addition to receiving spirit stones and pills as rewards, top-ranking disciples in the competition may also receive magical treasures from the sect's treasury as a reward.

This also fueled the competitive spirit of the cultivators in the Zhengyi sect who were accustomed to "Buddha-nature".

People die for wealth, birds die for food, and cultivators are no exception. Moreover, obtaining magical treasures doesn't actually require sacrificing one's life; one only needs to strive to win more matches on the arena.

The seventh-grade magic weapon that Feng Bailu once owned was a reward he won by ranking in the top ten in the competition for early Foundation Establishment cultivators.

There are many benefits, but naturally, there will also be plenty of punishments.

During the Grand Competition, the bottom twenty cultivators in each realm competition will be expelled from the Zhengyi Sect.

Those ranked in the bottom few hundred will have their subsidies cut off for a full six months.

Such a severe punishment could easily create a chain reaction.

The stories of Qi Refining cultivators, who were already considered mediocre, slowed down their cultivation progress due to the lack of spiritual stones and pills from the sect, and eventually stagnated at a certain realm for three years, only to be expelled according to the sect rules. Such stories were common in the Zhengyi Sect.

Nobody wants such bad luck to happen to them.

If you fall behind, you will be attacked. If you don't want to be ranked last and punished, you naturally need to study hard on weekdays, and at least put in effort before the big competition, cramming at the last minute.

Therefore, although there are still more than four months until the competition, some "old hands" who are not focused on cultivation and whose strength is not comparable have begun to become active.

Under the influence of these seasoned veterans, a tense atmosphere began to permeate the Zhengyi Sect, even making the new disciples who entered the sect around the same time as Han Lu nervous.

Han Lu had stopped attending morning classes long ago, so she was unaware that the number of "students" in the morning classes was increasing day by day.

All she knew was that even her neighbor Duan Xiao, whom she had only met once, had taken the initiative to visit her, a Golden Core cultivator who was only a novice Daoist, to ask her about cultivation.

That day, the competition outside the Seventh Hospital caused quite a stir, and Duan Xiao was among the onlookers.

After answering the question, Han Lu, the "academic star," was naturally completely baffled.

One day, during lunch, she casually mentioned this to Wen Erya and complained about it a bit.

Upon hearing Han Lu's words, Wen Erya couldn't help but cough a few times, lower her voice, and said, "Junior Sister Han, actually, I've also started preparing for the competition."

"Huh? Really?"

Although Han Lu did not know Wen Erya's level of combat skills, she felt that with Wen Erya's talent and the protection of numerous magical artifacts, it would be easy for her to avoid punishment, if not to be among the top.

"Would I lie to you or make fun of you?" Wen Erya sighed and continued, "Didn't you suggest I find someone to spar with to gain some real combat experience?"

Han Lu nodded; of course she remembered what she had said to Wen Erya after those three matches.

“So, a couple of days ago, I specially invited several fellow disciples who were also at the fifth level of Qi Refining to the arena to compete,” Wen Erya recalled. “I paid for the rental of the arena, and those fellow disciples who were willing to fight with me could also receive a spirit stone as an appearance fee.”

"Such generous treatment?" Han Lu joked. "It's only because my cultivation level is low that I'd be willing to accept Senior Sister Wen's invitation and participate in a match."

Wen Erya pretended to be angry, ruffled Han Lu's hair, and continued, "In the end, I played ten matches against five fellow disciples and lost seven of them."

Han Lu was somewhat surprised, wondering if the cultivators in the Zhengyi Sect had taken some potent medicine during the month she was away, causing their strength to increase exponentially.

However, Han Lu comforted Wen Erya, saying, "It's normal. The fellow disciples who fought with Senior Sister Wen have probably been cultivating in the sect for three or four years and have participated in at least three or four small competitions."

"Their experience in combat is definitely greater than yours, so it's perfectly normal that you can't defeat them right now."

“That’s why,” Wen Erya said seriously, “I’m worried about the competition.”

"No need for that," Han Lu comforted her, "With Senior Sister Wen's record, as long as she performs normally during the competition, she will definitely fall into the bottom twenty more times than once."

"As for falling into the bottom hundred," Han Lu shrugged, "Senior Sister Wen probably wouldn't care about the spirit stones and pills she lost in the past six months."

In Han Lu's opinion, Wen Erya's storage bag contained at least a thousand spirit stones and a hundred or so pills. If you included those valuable magical items, the mere six months' worth of subsidies was nothing.

"It's about face! It's about face!" Wen Erya raised her voice slightly, as if talking to herself.

"How could Wen Er Ya be content to lag behind?"

“Wen Erya is the thirteenth princess and the disciple of Elder Piaomiao, a Golden Core cultivator. She must be among the top thirty-two to receive the sect’s reward.”

After hearing these two sentences, Han Lu finally understood the real reason why a genius like Wen Erya would be anxious along with those "old hands".

Han Lu nodded and said, "Senior Sister Wen has high standards for herself, which is understandable and a good thing."

"How can a cultivator without ambition overcome obstacles in the pursuit of the Great Dao?"

Wen Erya held her head, massaging her temples with her fingers. "Junior Sister Han, how about you do me a small favor after my major cultivation?"

Worried that Han Lu might refuse, Wen Erya explained in advance, "I will give you spirit stones as payment, and it won't take up too much of your time."

"I don't need Senior Sister Wen to pay me," Han Lu said generously. "Just tell me what kind of help you need."

"Can you accompany me for some special training?" Wen Erya was a person with her own opinions and plans.

"Me?" Han Lu pointed to herself. "I'm still only at the Daoist novice level."

“No problem,” Wenya explained, “You don’t need to sell it.”

Wen Erya had great confidence in Han Lu, saying, "Based on Han Junior Sister's performance in those three matches, she will definitely be able to help me."

Since things had come to this point, Han Lu naturally didn't refuse anymore, "Fine, since you're my senior sister."

[Author's Note] A small deal, "Greem's Journey," is a crossover anime/manga story. Those who are curious can check it out.

This chapter is also known as, "The Troubles of a Top Student Who Studies Even More Diligently Than a Slacker Before Final Exams."

Chapter 42 Wen Er Ya's Special Training

Born into the royal family of the Southern Dynasty, and as the apple of the emperor's eye, Wen Erya received the best education from a young age.

She had long accepted and become accustomed to holding herself to a high standard in everything.

The same applies to the path of cultivation.

The path to enlightenment is long and arduous. Although Wen Erya is confident that she possesses top-grade spiritual roots and has a good chance of achieving the Golden Core stage, the journey is still long and arduous.

However, she dared not make any boastful claims that she would be able to fly through the air and become a Golden Core cultivator within a hundred years.

Wen Erya doesn't like to aim too high, so he can only focus on the immediate challenge of the competition and set requirements for himself.

After breakfast, Han Lu followed Wen Erya to the arena area next to the academy.

There, there are 24 standard-sized arenas, protected by enchantments, specifically for combat and skill contests.

The major and minor competitions within the sect are all held on arenas in various mountain courtyards.

The conditions for the competition here are much better than those for Han Lu's duel in the open space in front of the courtyard that day.

Among the newly initiated disciples, only those from families like Wen Erya's could afford the rental fee of two spirit stones every half hour to practice themselves in actual combat on the arena and increase their combat experience.

We also need to add the step of getting used to the venue in advance.

After all, the arena is limited in size and the environment is fixed, so it is quite different from the real battles in the cultivation world.

There are specific fighting styles for fighting in the ring.

It's not necessarily true that dominating the arena guarantees an advantage in the power struggles of the cultivation world.

The same logic applies from the opposite perspective.

Arriving at a fighting ring, Wen Erya, who had been active there for two days, was already quite familiar with the place.

After paying two spirit stones, a disciple responsible for maintaining the daily operation of the arena received a token, granting him the right to use a particular arena for one hour.

Holding the token, on their way to a certain arena, Wen Erya discussed her plans with Han Lu.

“Junior Sister Han, here’s my plan,” Wen Erya said, assigning tasks to Han Lu. “Later, I will find a few cultivators at the fifth level of Qi Refining to compete. You will watch from the sidelines. After each match, regardless of whether you win or lose, I hope you can give me some advice.”

Although Han Lu nodded and accepted the not-so-troublesome task, she still reminded Wen Erya, "I am only a Daoist disciple now, so my advice may not be of much help to you, Senior Sister."

"It's alright," Wen Erya said nonchalantly, joking about the payment. "You didn't charge me any spirit stones either, so you're doing me a free job. It's fine as long as you're happy."

"If all else fails, just stand in the ring and cheer me on. Maybe it will help me perform exceptionally well."

Although they had only known each other for a month, Wen Erya had developed a trust in Han Lu that far exceeded that between ordinary fellow disciples through their interactions.

Since Wen Erya had said so, Han Lu didn't mince words. She recalled Feng Bailu's memories of competing and sparring with others when he was at the fourth or fifth level of Qi Refining, thinking of extracting some key points from them so that she could use them to counter any moves later.

On the short walk towards the arena, many cultivators who had been loitering near the arena rushed up to Wen Erya as soon as they saw her arrive.

Clearly, after giving away a lot of spirit stones on the arena in the past two days, Wen Erya has already gained some fame here, and many cultivators want to earn some spirit stones from this "rich woman".

Han Lu even spotted other disciples from the mountain academy among these cultivators.

With so many sparring partners offering themselves up, Wen Er Ya was happy to save herself the trouble of searching for them.