Chapter Twelve: An Unexpected Upset

The elder from Silent Cavern gazed at the Fifth Star Scholar with a cold snort, and the Fifth Star Scholar returned the glare, unwilling to be outdone. Losing a duel was one thing; losing one's momentum was quite another. To turn the tide, it was now up to the Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators.

Zhen Jianping, Zhuge Qingsen, and Zhai Qianqian couldn't help but feel their palms trembling. The recent duel between the Core Formation cultivators had been terrifying—defeat meant death, with not even a chance to escape. The rewards for victory paled in comparison to the importance of one's life.

Zhuge Qingsen pulled Zhai Qianqian aside, telling her that if he died, she should bury him in a certain place with good feng shui, which earned him a barrage of punches and kicks from her.

Yet the strength of Foundation Establishment cultivators was more evenly matched, unlike the vast disparities among the Core Formation. There was still hope in fighting.

Taking the stage, Zhen Jianping employed the same tactics he had used during the sect's grand competition: using his mid-grade defensive artifact, the Eight Trigrams Shield, to defend with all his might. When his opponent's spiritual power waned and a weakness appeared, he seized the opportunity to strike, earning the first victory for the True One Sect.

Zhuge Qingsen faced a cultivator from the Immortal Farmer Garden. Both were exceedingly cautious, prioritizing their lives, clearly shaken by the earlier battle between Core Formation cultivators. Zhuge Qingsen wielded a fan, sending gusts of wind, while the Immortal Farmer Garden cultivator held a massive Golden Flood Dragon Shears, periodically aiming it at Zhuge Qingsen's head.

Their speed was swift, sometimes on the ground, sometimes soaring through the air. Half an hour passed with neither injured, though their spells and techniques were many. Eventually, the Immortal Farmer Garden cultivator's spiritual power dwindled, and while airborne, Zhuge Qingsen seized the moment, fanning his opponent out of the ring.

Zhai Qianqian’s opponent was a cultivator from the Peach Blossom Sect. The Peach Blossom Sect was at a disadvantage against female cultivators—their charm techniques were less effective on other women, their trump cards suppressed. In the end, Zhai Qianqian used her long, beautiful legs to inflict serious injury on her opponent.

The True One Sect swept all three matches in the first round, dispelling the gloom that had hung over them following their Core Formation cultivators’ defeats.

The Fifth Star Scholar cast a sidelong glance at the elder from Silent Cavern, his beard nearly curling skyward in pride.

The elder’s sinister face grew darker still.

In the second round, Zhen Jianping unfortunately encountered Silent Cavern’s peak Foundation Establishment cultivator. The Eight Trigrams Shield could not withstand the assault—the opponent wielded an octagonal purple-gold hammer. One blow struck the shield, and Zhen Jianping was shaken so hard he spat blood, unable to raise the shield again.

The second hammer blow landed on Zhen Jianping’s head. Before he could admit defeat, his head was smashed to a pulp, red and white pooling across the ground in a grisly spectacle.

Even a mid-grade artifact had failed to defend against such an attack. All eyes turned to the peak Foundation Establishment cultivator, their expressions shifting—such was his terrifying strength.

Silent Cavern had clearly come prepared.

Zhuge Qingsen’s opponent was also from Silent Cavern. The death of Zhen Jianping had rattled him; he abandoned his cautious style and launched reckless attacks, eventually splitting his opponent in two at the cost of severe injury.

Zhai Qianqian faced a disciple from Immortal Farmer Garden who wielded a great axe, slashing out beams of axe-light with every strike. Zhai Qianqian avoided direct confrontation, relying on her agile movement to dodge attacks and used her sword to carve wounds into her opponent.

The Immortal Farmer Garden disciple grew frantic, swinging the axe ever faster, each strike narrowly missing Zhai Qianqian. At last, a streak of light shot toward his throat—a slender feathered arrow, swift as the wind, ended his life.

The second round saw one dead and one wounded, with the True One Sect winning two matches.

Only Zhai Qianqian remained for the third round; Zhuge Qingsen’s participation held little meaning.

Seeing her opponent was the Silent Cavern cultivator with the octagonal purple-gold hammer, Zhai Qianqian simply forfeited. The reward for first place was tempting, but one needed to survive to claim it.

The mortality rate among Foundation Establishment cultivators was lower than among Core Formation cultivators, but serious injuries were still common.

The results were in: Silent Cavern won four matches, Immortal Farmer Garden, Peach Blossom Sect, and Heartless Pavilion each won one, but astonishingly, the True One Sect won five.

This unexpected upset from the True One Sect surprised everyone present, even affecting the odds among the disciples of the Gate of Life and Death.

The other sects now eyed the True One Sect’s Qi Refining disciples with cold, threatening looks.

This was bad, Zhou Qi thought. Silent Cavern was firmly first, and the True One Sect’s upset would surely provoke them. To turn things around, their only hope was in the Qi Refining stage.

Even the usually boastful Fifth Star Scholar refrained from showing off, sensing the tense atmosphere. The True One Sect was about to be targeted, and among them was Zhou Qi, whom they had planned to single out.

Liu Piaopiao glanced worriedly at Zhou Qi. He was only at the seventh layer of Qi Refining, while all the competing cultivators from the other sects were at the ninth. Surviving would be a challenge.

Ah, what is the point of these grand competitions among the five sects? Zhou Qi wondered. The sects chose their strongest disciples at each stage to compete. If one won, they received more resources, growing stronger for the next round. But if one lost, most died here—wouldn’t this only make the strong stronger and the weak weaker?

In the long run, the lower-level cultivators would have less and less opportunity to rise.

Zhou Qi shook his head, believing most cultivators understood this truth, but the rules were set. If one wished to continue cultivating, they had to struggle within this circle.

The first round for Qi Refining cultivators had been determined: She Yicheng would face Kuang Wei from Silent Cavern; Wei Jin'an against Xie Zhengqi from Heartless Pavilion; Yi Qiuming against Bai Xinran from Immortal Farmer Garden; Zhou Qi against Sha Dong'er from Peach Blossom Sect.

She Yicheng was first to take the stage. As the True One Sect's champion in Qi Refining, he announced his name.

Kuang Wei replied coldly, "I have no interest in who you are. I know my brother died at the hands of your sect, and I will take your life."

It turned out that Kuang Tiancheng, who had self-destructed with Wan Yanwen, was his brother—yet the two siblings belonged to different sects.

There was nothing more to say. Even without this grudge, stepping onto the stage meant a fight to the death.

She Yicheng clenched his right hand, launching a fireball spell at Kuang Wei. Kuang Wei split the fireball with his sword, not expecting it to explode—it was actually an explosive flame spell, singeing most of his eyebrows and hair.

Caught off guard, Kuang Wei grew more furious. He responded with Water Arrow Spell, five arrows shooting at She Yicheng. She Yicheng dodged quickly, using footwork to evade and then struck with a giant palm, knocking Kuang Wei to the ground.

Had he won? The True One Sect disciples were about to cheer, but a small black sword pierced She Yicheng’s back, emerging from his chest.

Kuang Wei stood up, a sneer on his face.

"You thought it would be so easy? Die!" With one slash, he decapitated the incapacitated She Yicheng.

The True One Sect's Qi Refining champion, She Yicheng, had fallen!