Volume 7, Chapter 410 – The Third Round Draw (Part 1)

“Fellow Daoists, after two rounds of competition, those still standing in this arena are undoubtedly the future pillars of our cultivation world. I am proud of you all!”

Steward Cai stood atop the stage, delivering his opening speech with great enthusiasm.

“Hmph! A mere state-level Evergreen Conference, and you dare call them ‘pillars’? Do you think the cultivation world is a latrine, where even a few maggots can become its foundation?”

Lü Er’s mocking voice rang out loudly, dripping with disdain.

“Who are you calling maggots?! Aren’t you one of us?”

A cultivator, unable to hold back, shot back angrily.

“Unfortunately, this young master’s stage is far beyond this pathetic state-level conference. As for you lot? You’re destined to be stuck here forever!”

Lü Er’s arrogance was boundless.

Steward Cai’s face twitched with embarrassment, but he pretended not to hear and continued, “However, to become a true pillar, one must first possess sufficient resources, and this is precisely what our cultivation world lacks most! Thus, to ensure that the finest steel is used for the blade’s edge, we must select the elite among elites! With this in mind, starting from the third round, only three matches will be held each day, and the entire process will still span three days. This will ensure that everyone has ample time to recuperate and adjust their condition to its peak.”

“That guy’s got some nerve, interrupting an Immortal Alliance steward’s speech!”

Shen Yuan whispered in shock.

“The key is that Steward Cai didn’t even dare reprimand him! How bizarre.”

Ruan Lingyu couldn’t help but sigh.

“There’s only one explanation. Lü Er’s background is extraordinary, to the point that even Steward Cai fears him.”

Yun Fei deduced sharply.

“Even an Immortal Alliance steward is afraid of him? Just how powerful must his backing be?”

Shen Yuan’s mouth hung open wide enough to fit an egg.

“Enough! The third-round draw ceremony begins now! Silence during the draw!”

Steward Cai promptly announced, then sealed the stage with his divine sense to prevent any peeping. As the overseer, he had to ensure absolute fairness in the draw. What happened after the draw, however, was up to the cultivators themselves.

As usual, the Honghua Sect sent Qin Quan to draw the lot.

Qi Huang did not stop him. Since they had already chosen their target, it would be best if the old man drew a weaker sect, that would make it easier to arrange a swap later.

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Of course, if Qin Quan somehow drew the Jinliu Sect right away, that would be even better.

Qin Quan soon returned with the lot, carefully shielding it with his divine sense. The Honghua Sect disciples eagerly gathered around and saw the number seven written on it, meaning their opponent would be whoever held eight.

“Number eight? Who has number eight?”

The disciples were burning with curiosity, but since the draw wasn’t over yet, they couldn’t leave to investigate.

Qi Huang extended her divine sense to probe the surroundings but found that every sect that had drawn a lot was hiding theirs, either storing it in a spatial ring or blocking it with their own divine sense. Under broad daylight, she couldn’t just forcibly break their defenses, so she abandoned this method.

After a brief contemplation, she simply took out the Shadow-Retaining Mirror to peek directly. Since all sects were being secretive after the draw, sending people to inquire later would be too troublesome, it was like guarding against thieves.

Thanks to the mirror, by the time the draw concluded, Qi Huang not only knew who the Honghua Sect’s opponent was but had also memorized every sect’s lot number.

“Sect Leader Qin, your luck is truly something. Once again, you’ve drawn a relatively weak opponent.”

Qi Huang’s lips curled in appreciation. Though the old man’s cultivation was nothing special, his luck was undeniable.

“Oh? Then I suppose I really must open that gambling den. How about I rename the Honghua Sect to the Honghua Gambling Den when we return?”

Qin Quan’s eyes gleamed with excitement.

“Why go through all that trouble? You’d have to replace all the facilities too. Why not just buy an existing gambling den in the prefecture and retire there?”

Qi Huang offered helpfully.

“Hah! Just joking!”

Qin Quan laughed awkwardly. With such outstanding disciples, he was still waiting for the day he could “rise to heaven along with his dogs and chickens”, how could he bear to retire now?

Meanwhile, Lü Er had once again begun his public provocations.

“Steward Cai, are you sure there’s no rigging in this draw? How come I got number five again?”

He raised his lot high, and everyone could clearly see the number five written on it.

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“Uh…”

Even Steward Cai hadn’t expected this outcome. He steadied himself and quickly explained, “Young friend, you jest. The Immortal Alliance is revered by all major sects of the cultivation world not just for its strength, but for its fairness and impartiality. How could there be any rigging?”

“Fairness and impartiality? Pfft, that’s hilarious!”

Qi Huang couldn’t resist muttering under her breath.

“Hmph!”

Lü Er smirked dismissively, then swept his gaze across the crowd and demanded, as usual:

“Who has number six?”

“Here!”

An elderly voice responded.

“Speak your name!”

Lü Er commanded impatiently.

“This humble one is Yang Guo, Left Protector of the Yangguan Sect from the Great Yue Kingdom.”

The old man introduced himself.

“What?! The Yangguan Sect?! This’ll be fun to watch!”

“Indeed! The Yangguan Sect is one of the Ten Great Immortal Sects of the Great Yue Kingdom. Their strength is absolutely on par with our Western Radiance Dynasty’s Donglai Sect! Rumor has it their top Immortal Seed has also reached the Incarnation Realm’s fifth layer!”

“Fifth-layer Incarnation Realm?! And with other elite disciples in their ranks… this guy is doomed! Let’s see how he keeps up his arrogance now!”

The cultivators below reveled in schadenfreude, whispering among themselves.

“Does your team have any Incarnation Realm Immortal Seeds?”

Lü Er pressed further.

“We do! Three, in fact!”

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Protector Yang’s tone grew increasingly confident.

“Three?”

Lü Er’s interest was piqued. “What are their cultivation levels?”

“One at the first layer, one at the third layer, and one at the fourth layer of the Incarnation Realm!”

Yang Guo declared proudly.

“That’s it? Still too weak.”

Lü Er’s face fell in disappointment.

Protector Yang’s expression stiffened. He had been boasting, only to be met with disdain. Hurriedly, he added:

“Actually, our sect’s top Immortal Seed couldn’t make it this time. His cultivation has already reached the fifth layer of the Incarnation Realm, but due to personal matters, he chose to participate in our local Evergreen Conference instead.”

“What?! A single sect with four Incarnation Realm Immortal Seeds?! As expected of one of the Great Yue Kingdom’s Ten Great Sects!”

“Right?! Even the Donglai Sect only has three Incarnation Realm seeds. Our Western Radiance Dynasty’s cultivation world is still too weak in comparison…”

“Thank goodness their top seed didn’t come! Otherwise, the rewards of this Yongning Prefecture Evergreen Conference would’ve been theirs for the taking. That would’ve been a humiliating slap to our local cultivators!”

Many cultivators wore expressions of lingering fear.

“Fifth-layer Incarnation Realm? Still too weak. Whether he comes or not makes no difference.”

Yet Lü Er remained unshaken, his words as arrogant as ever.

“Is this guy insane?! He dares to call a fifth-layer Incarnation cultivator ‘weak’?!”

“Exactly! Donglai Sect’s Cheng Kang is at the fifth layer, he’s the top Immortal Seed of our Western Radiance Dynasty!”

“He’s just putting on a brave face. He’s already boasted so much. If he backs down now, he’ll lose all dignity!”

“Hmph! He’s just a doppelgänger. How strong can he possibly be?”

The cultivators from various sects united in their condemnation. Whenever this guy showed up, they somehow became unexpectedly harmonious in their disdain.

“Such bold words. May I ask, fellow Daoist, what your cultivation level is?”

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A voice suddenly resounded across the plaza, it was Cheng Kang, the Donglai Sect’s top Immortal Seed and the only fifth-layer Incarnation Realm expert present. If he remained silent now, it would be a sign of weakness.

“Want to know my cultivation? Test me yourself. If you’re lucky, you might even force me to use one percent of my strength.”

Lü Er replied lazily, not even bothering to look at him. As a Heavenly Soul Doppelgänger at the peak of the Incarnation Realm, he had every right to speak this way to an ant at the fifth layer.

“Very well. Let’s hope you don’t get eliminated too early. Otherwise, I’ll have to seek you out outside the arena, and out there, blades and swords have no eyes. It won’t be as civilized as this stage.”

Cheng Kang’s tone was mild, but his words carried a hidden edge.

“Eliminated by these trash? The odds of that are even lower than you keeping your title as the Western Radiance Dynasty’s top Immortal Seed!”

Lü Er shot back mockingly before finally addressing the Yangguan Sect again.

“I’m a fair man. I’ll still give you a chance to swap lots.”

“No need. My disciples are all eager to learn from you, young friend.”

Protector Yang replied firmly.

“Overestimating yourselves. Fine. Then your sect shall be the third to have its ‘cultivation addiction’ cured by me.”

Lü Er sneered.

“Forget about them. Let the dogs bite each other. We need to swap lots first—we must settle scores with those sects we have grudges against. If we miss this chance, there won’t be another.”

Qi Huang called out to her group, then took the lot and went to find the sect that had drawn the Jinliu Sect.

Meanwhile, the sect that had drawn the Jinliu Sect was plunged into despair.

After all, the Jinliu Sect was the third-ranked immortal sect in the Western Radiance Dynasty. Their strength wasn’t far behind the Huxiao Sect, even with its external reinforcements. Among their Immortal Seeds were two Incarnation Realm disciples, with their top seed already at the third layer of the Incarnation Realm.

At the last national-level Evergreen Conference of the Western Radiance Dynasty, they had secured third place, second only to Cheng Kang and Lin Ran.