The Long Journey to Immortality

"Even my grandmaster thought I fought beautifully."

"My efforts over the past few days have not been in vain."

Overjoyed, Hong Tong felt as if he had opened another spiritual meridian.

Many Foundation Establishment disciples watching from below the viewing platform also noticed this scene.

They all speculated which disciple among the twenty arenas had earned the praise and recognition of the two elders of the Dongshan Academy.

The first day of the competition ended quickly. Wen Erya's disciples, having received Han Lu's "true teachings," naturally displayed their full strength on the stage.

Several disciples achieved a perfect record, while others only suffered one defeat. Even the weakest disciple, who had just advanced to a higher cultivation level, managed to secure a victory, thus avoiding bringing shame to the sect.

Qiu Peng's disciple, Hong Tong, performed exceptionally well.

Three wins in three battles, each one a resounding victory.

Such a performance naturally made Hong Tong, who had already won first place in the department in a previous small competition, a hot candidate for the big competition.

Han Lu also placed high hopes on this grand-disciple. On the same day, she entrusted Qiu Peng to send Hong Tong several effective healing and qi-nourishing pills, urging him to give it his all. If he won the championship, there would be even more and better rewards.

Having received "benefits" from Han Lu, Hong Tong felt increasingly confident in following her lead.

In the second round of the preliminary competition, several elders joined Han Lu and Wen Erya.

Nian Haoge and Piaomiaozi were among them.

The gathering of four Golden Core cultivators from the Misty Child lineage was the envy of the other elders of the Eastern Mountain Academy.

The group silently resolved to make a name for themselves at the upcoming apprentice recruitment events and recruit exceptionally talented disciples. They were determined not to let Piaomiaozi, who was "just lucky," completely outshine them.

By the first day, the differences in strength among the participating disciples were already quite obvious.

Therefore, during the second day of the competition, Han Lu, who was sitting on the viewing platform, knew that she should pay more attention to her disciples who had great potential.

On the first day, Piaomiaozi missed the start of the competition because of his cultivation.

While still managing the academy part-time, he was more concerned about the performance of the Dongshan Academy disciples in the competition.

The healthy competition among the various colleges did not stop because of the major competition reform; in fact, it intensified.

The preliminary rounds of the entire competition lasted for three days.

After the reforms by two generations of sect leaders, Xuan Chengzi and Qingxu Daoren, a disciple must fight at least seven battles over three days to determine the order of succession.

Three days is but a blink of an eye for a Golden Core cultivator.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and the arenas of each branch academy returned to calm. The arena competition for the Qi Refining Realm also successfully determined the top 64 in each level.

Of the eight Qi Refining disciples under Wen Erya's tutelage who were eligible to participate, three successfully advanced.

Although the proportion wasn't particularly high, in Han Lu and Wen Erya's opinion, the three disciples who advanced all had a good chance of making further progress in the subsequent competitions.

As geniuses among their peers, Han Lu and Wen Erya are well aware that one championship is far more important than sixty-four top-sixty-four finishers.

In the event of a potential great war a thousand years from now, a disciple with the potential to advance to the Nascent Soul realm would be more important than five or even ten disciples with the potential to reach the Golden Core realm.

Wen Erya achieved numerous victories, while Han Lu's grand-disciple Hong Tong, needless to say, triumphantly won seven battles.

Such a record made Nian Haoge somewhat envious.

For the first time, Nian Haoge, who was rather aloof, had the idea of ​​finding a good disciple to cultivate seriously.

With the preliminary rounds of the various colleges concluded and after a day of rest, it will soon be Han Lu and Xianyu Ji's turn to take the stage.

The Taoist Qingxu, who orchestrated this great battle, sensed something amiss, so before the competition, he carried out a simple expansion of the arena stands at the Five Elements Mountain Academy.

Nearly two thousand new seats were added, making it large enough to accommodate twenty-two thousand cultivators to watch the battle on site.

On the first day of the final round of the Grand Qi Refining Realm competition, the two thousand newly added tables were not wasted.

Nearly 90% of the disciples of the Zhengyi Sect gathered at the arena area of ​​the Five Elements Mountain Academy to watch the battle, filling the stands, which usually had 20% of seats available, to capacity.

The stage is set up and the audience is in place, waiting for the two lead actors to appear.

Chapter 1088 A Dazzling Debut

The final three days of competition were unlike the previous minor skirmishes.

Although the sect did not make it mandatory, almost all the elders who had been cultivating in the sect in the past few days came out to support the ceremony and came to the viewing platform to watch the ceremony.

Of the 67 seats prepared on the viewing platform, only two soft chairs were empty.

A hand was placed in front of all the cultivators of Xishan Academy.

The other one was next to Wen Erya.

The owners of these two soft chairs, needless to say, are none other than Xianyu Ji and Han Lu, who are about to make their appearance.

One of the many requests made by Qingxu Daoren was for the two to make a grand entrance, and it was also one of the easier ones to accomplish.

Naturally, both Golden Core cultivators who were invited to spar had put in some effort in this regard.

It would be too boring to simply fly from the viewing platform to the arena in a mundane way.

In this setting, and for what purpose, the natural thing to do is to "make a grand entrance" and elevate the program's effect and the enthusiastic atmosphere to the extreme from the very beginning.

As is customary, the first ceremony after the start was a speech by the current sect leader.

Although the content of each speech was not exactly the same, they were all similar.

Looking back on the past and envisioning the future, I'd also like to offer some comments on the preliminary rounds held a few days ago and mention the names of several outstanding students as encouragement.

If a disciple of the Qingxu Sect were to have their name called out by the sect leader at this time, it would be a great honor for both inner and outer disciples, making them excited for several days and allowing them to hold their heads high in front of their fellow disciples for at least three years.

The Zhengyi Sect is never stingy with its rewards, which do not require any tangible material compensation.

Compared to the competition five years ago, this time, Master Qingxu talked more about the external environment.

East-West exchange, internal cooperation within the Central Plains...

These topics were just polite conversations to the ordinary disciples, but they held profound meaning for the sect elders who knew about the "calamity a thousand years from now".

The speech lasted only three or four hundred sentences and ended in a short period of half an hour.

Continuing from the previous point, at the end of his speech, Master Qingxu uttered some seemingly grandiose and empty words, leading the disciples of the Zhengyi School to imagine the wonders of reaching a higher realm of cultivation, and thus began the next ceremony.

"For this year's competition, I have invited two elders from our sect to have a fierce battle here."

"I hope that all the disciples present will watch the battle attentively. If you can strengthen your Dao heart or grasp the superficial aspects of the supernatural powers displayed by the two elders through this fierce sparring, then it will not have been in vain for me to shamelessly present this great battle without the time and spiritual energy of the two elders."

Looking at the disciples on the stands on both sides, who were full of anticipation, Qingxu Daoist said, "Elder Zhenfeng, Elder Xianyu, please come up."

After saying that, he sat back down in his seat, also looking forward to watching a wonderful magical duel "performance".

Although there was no difference in their order of appearance, Han Lu and Xianyu Ji neither communicated beforehand nor "hid" in one place.

But when they appeared on stage, the two still showed some tacit understanding.

Xianyu Ji was the first to appear.

Stepping on auspicious five-colored clouds, Xianyu Ji flew from Xishan Academy to the sky above Wuxing Mountain Academy in an instant.

Amidst the applause and cheers of the Xishan Academy disciples sitting in the audience, Xianyu Ji landed in a spiral and stood steadily on the huge arena.

The arena at Wuxing Mountain Academy underwent special renovations for this exhibition match.

The restrictions and formations were strengthened, and the area of ​​the arena was increased tenfold.

This measure is mainly to prevent Han Lu and Xian Yuji from being restricted by space during their battle, or to prevent their powerful and explosive supernatural abilities, spells, and magical treasures from accidentally breaking through the restrictions and falling onto the stands, causing unnecessary group damage.

Turning a joyous occasion into a tragedy is a losing proposition.

Just five breaths after Xianyu Ji stepped onto the stage, Han Lu followed suit.

Accompanied by a phoenix's cry, Han Lu, transformed into a phoenix, took off from her residence at Dongshan Academy and soared above Zhengyi Gate.

When she arrived above the Five Elements Mountain Academy, Han Lu used illusion magic, repeating the same trick she had used at the Western Regions Grand Ceremony.

The Qi Refining Realm disciples sitting in the stands, as well as some Foundation Establishment disciples with weak spiritual senses, were easily caught off guard.

Caught in the illusion, the disciples saw Han Lu transformed into a phoenix that resembled a true deity, draped in colorful light, surrounded by clouds and accompanied by celestial music as she appeared.

In their eyes, this was ten times more magnificent than the scene when Xianyu Ji made his appearance.

Descending in the form of a phoenix spirit, Han Lu shed her feathers the moment she landed on the arena, transforming back into human form.

For this performance, Han Lu changed her phoenix feather costume into a more eye-catching, form-fitting style.

Although she wasn't as revealing as the demonesses or demon cultivators in "cultivation novels," her naturally flowing black hair still perfectly showcased her graceful figure.

Thunderous applause erupted from the stands, and many disciples subconsciously used their supernatural eyesight to try and see Han Lu's figure on the stage clearly.

The disciples of Dongshan Academy applauded and cheered enthusiastically.

They viewed this exchange as a "battle of wits" with Xishan Academy.

Naturally, at this time, they also wanted to become Han Lu's solid support in the stands, just like the disciples of Xishan Academy.

"Elder Zhenfeng," Xianyu Ji greeted Han Lu with a cupped-hand salute, "You seem quite different from usual today."

"Of course, it's a grand competition, and today I'm facing Elder Xianyu, so I naturally have to wear my finest attire to show respect," Han Lu returned the greeting with a cupped hand. "Elder Xianyu, please don't let my beautiful clothes make you feel sorry for me and go easy on me later."

Xianyu Ji laughed and said, "This outfit is indeed gorgeous and beautiful, and it is very suitable for this occasion. I will do my best later, and I hope Elder Zhenfeng will give me more guidance."

"Elder Xianyu, you're too kind. We've known each other for many years, and I know your strength very well," Han Lu said in public without saying anything harsh. "It's not about giving you pointers, let's just improve together."

After saying that, the two of them tacitly leaped backward, creating a distance of about 200 meters between them on the arena, which was only 300 meters wide.

Xianyu Ji bowed again toward the viewing platform, "Sect Master, I am ready."

Han Lu chimed in, "Please, Sect Leader, announce the start of the sparring session."

Both Han Lu and Xianyu Ji fulfilled their duties of etiquette, demonstrating the demeanor expected of elders of the Zhengyi Sect.

The restrictions and formations surrounding the arena were triggered and activated by ten Foundation Establishment cultivators who had been waiting around the arena.

A light blue light barrier isolated Han Lu and Xian Yuji from the outside world.

Seeing this, the Qingxu Sect Master stood up from his seat again and announced in a loud voice that could be heard by the entire audience, "I hereby declare that this duel between Elder Xianyu and Elder Zhenfeng shall now begin!"

Chapter 1089 Long Spear

Once both sides have reached the Golden Core stage in a duel on the arena, there is no such thing as striking first.