The Long Journey to Immortality

The assembled cultivators, having come to watch the spectacle, were also arranged to gather in the viewing area not far from the arena, awaiting the unfolding drama.

On the viewing platform, which was located high up and reserved for Golden Core cultivators, only five of the thirty-odd seats were occupied.

Those five Golden Core cultivators were all guest elders serving the Zhengyi Sect.

They came here hoping to select a few promising talents from among the disciples at the seventh level of Qi Refining, recruit them, and try to get a share of the profits in the ancient cultivation secret realm two years later.

Under the organization and arrangement of the academy and other institutions, the 640 cultivators participating in the second round of the competition were gathered together and rested in front of their respective arenas, preparing to take turns to show their skills.

There will be a total of ten matches taking place simultaneously on ten different arenas.

According to the academy's plan, the entire second round of the competition will be completed in one and a half days.

The match schedule for the first game had already been arranged, but Han Lu, Wen Erya, and the others only found out who their opponents were at the last minute before the game.

However, they only knew the name; the academy had no obligation to help the contestants investigate their opponents.

"Shen Hongbo? From Sun Yat-sen University." That was all the information Han Lu knew.

Wen Erya, on the other hand, bought a scoop from several cultivators before the competition and learned the general information about several popular figures among the top 64 at the sixth level of Qi Refining.

She stood in front of a ring not far from Han Lu, raised her head, and looked at the match list.

Upon seeing her opponent's name, Wen Erya frowned slightly, a bad feeling creeping into her heart.

"Zhan Luxue, the first place winner of the last Qi Refining Level 3 competition at Dongshan Academy, is a formidable opponent."

Chapter Ninety-Six: Fighting a Powerful Enemy

Even before the competition began, the atmosphere around the ten arenas was already thick with tension after the disciples of the Zhengyi Sect who were participating in the second round of elimination learned about their opponents.

Around Han Lu, cultivators and acquaintances would occasionally whisper among themselves, exchanging information in an attempt to obtain details about their opponents.

As a minor celebrity at Dongshan Academy during this period, Han Lu's information was quickly obtained by Shen Hongbo in a very simple way.

"Han Lu? A vixen? Ruthless? Does she like to break male cultivators' third legs?"

Listening to the rumors and stories told by his companions, Shen Hongbo couldn't help but imagine in his mind a female demon cultivator with a seductive figure, wearing a revealing black leather outfit and holding a long whip.

Imagining that such a female cultivator would be standing not far from him and fighting fiercely with him, Shen Hongbo couldn't help but swallow a few times, unable to distinguish whether his excitement was due to joy or sorrow.

He looked around, trying to find a female cultivator among the sixty-four cultivators standing beside the second arena who resembled his imagined image, but to no avail.

Standing next to Shen Hongbo, his friend, who was also at the second level of Qi Refining and had successfully advanced to the top 64, was still chattering away, sharing rumors about Han Lu, and finally reminding his friend, "..."

"Shen Hongbo, you'd better be careful later. Don't ruin your life's happiness in this game."

This was said in the name of well-intentioned advice, but it sounded more like a joke between close friends.

Shen Hongbo didn't take it to heart, but asked his friend to describe the part of the story about the magical battle in detail, trying to extract some information about Han Lu from it.

Knowing yourself and your enemy will ensure victory in every battle. This saying remains an unchanging truth, whether it's for low-level cultivators or in sect competitions.

As Shen Hongbo and his friend were chatting idly, rhythmic drumbeats began to sound from the viewing platform.

When the drumming stopped, the arena was completely silent.

Everyone knew that the competition was about to begin, and that the senior elders of the sect would soon make their appearance.

More than a dozen streaks of light flew out from several small houses in the Five Elements Mountain Academy and arrived in the sky above the competition venue in the blink of an eye.

As the light dissipated, dozens of Golden Core elders, who were usually elusive and rarely seen, appeared in the sight of the Lieutenant Zhengyi Sect cultivator.

This competition is far more significant than previous ones, so the number and status of the Golden Core elders present are both greater than ever before.

The three sect leaders of Zhengyi Sect all showed up without fail.

The deans of the five mountain academies in the east, west, south, north, and central regions also came to the scene to observe the ceremony.

Dozens of Golden Core elders from different mountain academies also appeared at the competition.

With these prominent figures present, many disciples of the Zhengyi Sect couldn't help but raise their heads and look up at the sky.

Most people had expressions of longing and envy on their faces.

Flying through the air is a special ability that cultivators only possess after advancing to the Golden Core stage.

Even Han Lu, who had memories of Xiaoyaozi's dominance in the East China Sea Islands, didn't show much difference in expression.

After making a dashing entrance, the current head of the Zhengyi Sect, Daoist Yunmin, began his speech.

The content of his speech was his own idea, not written by someone else, so there wasn't much empty talk or clichés.

"I am very happy to be able to participate in this competition with all the disciples of Zhengyi Sect today."

"As everyone knows, the Ancient Cultivation Secret Realm will open its doors to all human cultivators in two years. Qi Refining stage cultivators will be the main force in this exploration of the Ancient Cultivation Secret Realm and will be the fundamental force that determines the development of the Zhengyi Sect in the next ten, twenty or even a hundred years."

"The disciples who are about to participate in the competition are all elites of the sect, and the disciples watching the competition are also the future hope of the sect."

"As the head of the Zhengyi Sect, I hope that everyone can work hard to cultivate and improve their cultivation in the future, not only for the future of the Zhengyi Sect, but also for their own future."

"Now, I declare this competition open."

After speaking, Daoist Yunmin and the two vice sect leaders transformed into streaks of light and flew towards the high platform to watch the ceremony.

After the three were seated, the remaining Golden Core cultivators took their seats in order.

After all the Golden Core elders were in place, the Golden Core elder in charge of the academy's management from the Zhengyi Sect appeared out of nowhere and activated the restrictions placed around all the arenas, completely separating the competition area from the spectator area.

The competition officially began, with each arena operating independently, and the cultivators who had advanced to the second round taking the stage one by one.

For various reasons, including the Golden Core elders on the viewing platform, almost all the cultivators who came to the Five Elements Mountain Academy to watch the competition focused their attention more on the arena of the Qi Refining Level 10 group.

Compared to the group of "low-level cultivators" like Han Lu, the battles between high-level Qi Refining cultivators were undoubtedly more exciting and more likely to attract the attention of spectators.

Han Lu was scheduled to perform in the third group.

At this moment, Han Lu, sitting in the audience, was not as indifferent as she had been in the first round.

She stood below the stage, her gaze fixed on the ring, watching the matches of her potential opponents.

The matches at the tenth level of Qi Refining are more exciting than those at the second level, but the second round of matches at the second level is still somewhat more interesting than the first round.

In the first round, there weren't many evenly matched games. Cultivators like Han Lu who advanced to the second round could often defeat their opponents in just two or three moves.

In the second round, all sixty-four cultivators were top-notch fighters of their respective ranks, resulting in more frequent and intense duels.

In the first match, the two cultivators fought fiercely for more than a dozen rounds before a winner was decided.

The second match was even more outrageous. The two female cultivators fought for nearly a hundred rounds on the stage, and in the end, the outcome was decided by their fist and foot skills, just like martial arts masters in the secular world.

Han Lu was somewhat puzzled by this scene.

"What? Is this arena meticulously designed rather than randomly selected? The difference between the two cultivators is actually very small."

Seeing the defeated man with a swollen face walking off the stage to receive treatment, Han Lu felt a strange sense of foreboding.

"Could it be that this Shen Hongbo is also a master who can defeat cultivators at the sixth or seventh level of Qi Refining with only the second level of Qi Refining?"

With this slight unease, Han Lu straightened her Yan Yu Ni Chang (a type of traditional Chinese dress), and with a light leap, jumped onto the No. 2 arena, which had just been cleaned and restored to its original state.

Entering the second round, Han Lu was confident, but that didn't mean she would underestimate her opponent.

She changed into this magical item before leaving home, wearing it as an extra layer of protection for herself in the second day of the competition.

Compared to Han Lu, who was dressed in bright colors, Shen Hongbo was much more plain.

But among male cultivators, his appearance certainly deserves the description of being dashing and debonair.

The two handsome men and beautiful women on the stage did add some attention to this competition between mere Qi Refining Level 2 cultivators.

As Han Lu and Wen Erya's master, Piaomiaozi was naturally also watching the arena area from the high platform.

When he saw Han Lu appear, Piaomiaozi subconsciously glanced at Wuhu Jushi, who was watching the number ten arena not far away.

After hesitating for a moment, Piaomiaozi did not speak, but introduced his favorite disciple to the dean of Dongshan Academy.

"When Han Lu advances to the top four, we'll talk to the Five Lakes Hermit again to see if he can grant her special treatment and allow her to cultivate for a few more hours each month on Cold Cicada Peak."

Piaomiaozi had always kept that matter in mind.

As for Han Lu, Piaomiaozi had absolute confidence.

In his view, a cultivator who had opened up seventy or eighty acupoints couldn't defeat a cultivator at the second level of Qi Refining? That was absolutely a fantasy.

He was even prepared to receive congratulations from other elders for having such a good disciple.

Chapter Ninety-Seven: Cold Eyes Defeating the Enemy

Looking at Han Lu, Shen Hongbo felt an urge to rush off the stage and smash the head of his friend who was spreading rumors.

How could the beautiful and elegant female cultivator in front of me be the kind of person the rumors say?

"As expected, one should not believe or spread rumors." Muttering to himself, Shen Hongbo finally looked away from Han Lu and showed his identification token to the referee who was walking towards him.

Han Lu was momentarily stunned when she saw Shen Hongbo.

The female hormones surging through her body made her unable to resist glancing at Shen Hongbo's face a few more times.

However, this was only for a moment. In the blink of an eye, Han Lu turned her attention back to the competition.

Han Lu casually tossed aside a few strands of her long hair and tidied her hair to hide her lapse in composure.

After all, Feng Bailu and Xiaoyaozi didn't have any particular feelings for the dashing Shen Hongbo.

With no doubt about the identities of either fighter on the stage, the referee activated the stage's restrictions, reminded the two to keep their distance, and then began a countdown before announcing the start of the match.

"Senior Sister Han." Shen Hongbo bowed to show his friendliness.

Shen Hongbo addressed Han Lu as "senior sister" out of politeness.

"Junior Brother Shen," Han Lu returned the greeting, happy to accept the title of Senior Sister.

"3, 2, 1, start."

As soon as the referee finished speaking, the two fighters on the stage moved simultaneously, displaying their skills.

Facing an opponent who might be quite strong and would require several rounds to defeat, Han Lu showed sufficient respect, immediately using her lightness spell to prepare for a protracted battle.

Unlike ordinary cultivators, Shen Hongbo did not immediately take out magical items from his storage bag or unleash attack spells after the battle began.

He patted the two storage bags at his waist with both hands.

In the blink of an eye, twelve small flags appeared in his hand.