Chapter 29 Foundation Establishment Competition Begins: Shi Heming Establishes Foundation

"I am Cheng Xian."

Cheng Xian? Song Yin thought for a moment, isn't this the person Shi Heming told her about? He's the young master who framed those people back then.

"Fellow Daoist Cheng, this sword was first taken a liking to by Fellow Daoist Song." A shop employee nearby silently noted down the names, and upon closer inspection, realized they were actually the two people most discussed in the Immortal Firmament Sect!

This is incredible! This is incredible! We must record this with a recording stone so we can sell it later. We can say that the two geniuses fought fiercely over the magical artifacts in their building! Selling it will definitely boost business, and he might even get promoted to manager.

Song Yin bought the sword only to participate in the Foundation Establishment Conference; it wasn't absolutely necessary for her. She could just find another second-tier spirit sword. Immortal Cloud City was vast, and this wasn't the only shop selling magical artifacts.

Song Yin: "If Fellow Daoist Cheng likes it, he can take it."

"No need." Cheng Xian tried his best to speak calmly. "Since Fellow Daoist Song took a liking to it first, it naturally belongs to Fellow Daoist Song."

He didn't know when it started, but Song Yin became his inner demon. He couldn't overcome Song Yin, and the inner demon was hard to get rid of.

A nearby shop assistant secretly lamented that the two hadn't actually started arguing. However, the sight of these two geniuses showing mutual deference would certainly generate some discussion even if the item sold.

Song Yin didn't refuse any longer, readily paid the spirit stones, and walked out with her sword.

Seeing this, Cheng Xian followed to the door.

Song Yin: "Is there anything else, Fellow Daoist Cheng?"

Cheng Xian: "I'm determined to win first place in this year's Foundation Building Competition."

Song Yin: ? ? ?

Song Yin was completely confused. "Okay, okay, fine, good luck."

She only wanted to get a good ranking in the competition, not to compete for first place. Besides, she had only reached the Foundation Establishment stage this year, and at most, her cultivation level would be at the early Foundation Establishment stage. In the Foundation Establishment competition, there were quite a few disciples with late Foundation Establishment cultivation levels, so competing for first place would be extremely difficult.

Before leaving, Song Yin glanced at Cheng Xian one last time. Youth is indeed a privilege; people act on impulse. Even she, as the Pride of Heaven, doesn't dream of being number one, yet you, kid, actually want to be number one? Fine, you can have Pride of Heaven's seat.

Having finally managed to get out of the house, Song Yin took a short stroll around other places before returning to her sect with her sword.

After learning that Song Yin had bought a spirit sword, Xia Xining came to Song Yin and asked, "Why don't you come to me and have me forge one for you?"

Song Yin: "I changed my sword just to prepare for the Foundation Establishment Competition. I will definitely ask your Tianqiao Peak to tailor a high-level spirit sword for me in the future."

Xia Xining was finally satisfied. "That's right, we're good friends. If you need any magical artifacts, just come to me, and I'll give you the lowest price. Of course, you'll also have to refine the pills I need in the future!"

Song Yin: "That's for sure."

Song Yin is a pill refiner, Shi Heming is a talisman refiner, and Xia Xining is a weapon refiner. The three of them seek each other's help whenever they need it. Since the three of them chose their development paths and became friends, they have no shortage of first-grade pills, first-tier talismans, and first-tier magic weapons.

Xia Xining ate grapes she had picked from Song Yin's yard. "The competition starts in a month. Are you nervous?"

Song Yin: "It's alright, I won't put pressure on myself. As long as I can pass the competition, that's fine. If I'm lucky, I'll get a good ranking. If I'm unlucky, I can just participate again next year. Anyway, the Foundation Establishment Competition is held every year and there is no limit to the number of times a Foundation Establishment disciple can participate."

At first, she was nervous about participating in the Foundation Establishment Competition. Thinking of all the other competitors with higher cultivation levels and longer training periods, she genuinely felt the competition would be very difficult. However, when she felt anxious, she remembered Sister Yuan, whom she had met before, and miraculously calmed herself down. She told herself that it was just a Foundation Establishment Competition; if she lost, she could fight again, it wasn't a big deal.

The suggestion was very effective; Song Yin now even has time to take a stroll around Xianxiao City.

Xia Xining's eyes lit up with a smile, "Then I wish you good luck in achieving a good ranking, and hopefully you'll break into the top ten!"

Song Yin spat out a mouthful of water, "Pfft, cough cough cough." She wiped her mouth and looked at Xia Xining in disbelief, "Top ten! Are you serious?"

As far as she knew, there were more than ten late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators participating in this year's Foundation Establishment Competition, and she set a good ranking for herself, which was to be in the top 100.

Xia Xining gave a thumbs up, "It would be best if you could win first place."

Song Yin picked a grape and tossed it into her palm, laughing and scolding, "You really dare to dream. Eat your grapes."

The atmosphere here is super relaxed, but the atmosphere on Shi Heming's side is very tense.

Shi Heming was still cultivating all night long. When his master, Elder Yuan, saw this, he advised him not to push himself too hard, as the Foundation Establishment Competition was held every year and there was no need to rush.

Shi Heming: "I'm going to participate in this year's Foundation Building Competition."

Elder Yuan was speechless: ...

This brat is so competitive. Elder Yuan assumed he wanted to surpass Song Yin, so he stopped paying attention to the junior disciple and went to find the senior disciple to check on his cultivation progress.

For more than twenty days, Song Yin had neither visited Danque Peak nor seen Shi Heming. With the Foundation Establishment Competition just three days away, Shi Heming finally appeared.

Shi Heming took the competition number plate and knocked on the door of number 6666.

Song Yin opened the door, and before she could speak, the other person rushed out a barrage of words.

"Song Yin, I've successfully established my foundation! Look, I also got a number for this year's Foundation Establishment Competition. We can participate in the competition together!"

Shi Heming's spiritual energy was still somewhat chaotic, and the experienced Song Yin could tell at a glance that he had just broken through today. She wanted to tell him not to run around and to consolidate his cultivation first, but seeing his happy and expectant eyes, Song Yin didn't say the words.

Song Yin patted Shi Heming on the shoulder and changed her words, "Well done, you're much better than Xia Xining now."

Shi Heming tried to suppress his smile but couldn't. He knew that he was definitely more powerful than that weapon cultivator from Tianqiao Peak who swung a hammer!

"The competition is about to begin. Have you made any preparations?" Song Yin asked as she stepped aside to let him in.

Shi Heming: "I have many first-tier talismans. Although their power is not great, their quantity makes up for it."

Song Yin: "Your basic swordsmanship is not bad. Have you thought about changing your sword? The swords issued by the sect are all ordinary swords without any grade. You will definitely be at a disadvantage against other people's spirit swords."

Shi Heming stared blankly, while Song Yin rubbed her forehead.

"Go buy a spirit sword first, and come back immediately to consolidate your cultivation."

Shi Heming was extremely obedient: "Okay."

So Song Yin took Shi Heming to Xianxiao City again, with the clear goal of quickly buying a second-tier spirit sword.

Shi Heming was making the most of every minute in his small courtyard to consolidate his cultivation.

Finally, the Foundation Building Ceremony has begun as scheduled.

Those who once watched the Foundation Building Competition are now participants in the competition.

All the Foundation Establishment stage disciples who participated were gathered together.

The Foundation Establishment Competition involves hunting monsters in a secret realm, and the assessment lasts for three days.

The highest cultivation level of the monsters in the secret realm is comparable to the Golden Core stage. The more monsters you hunt, the higher your score. Monsters with different cultivation levels also have different scores.

The competition was held in a secret realm specially set up by the Immortal Cloud Sect, and the prey inside was also captured by the sect and released there.

Song Yin was still the youngest Foundation Establishment disciple, but no one dared to ignore her. On the contrary, many eyes were fixed on this youngest Foundation Establishment disciple, especially those who had the idea of ​​taking her as a disciple, who looked at her even more carefully.

"The Foundation Establishment Competition lasts for three days. If you encounter any life-threatening danger in the secret realm, remember to crush the number plate you were given when you registered. It will forcibly send you out of the secret realm. The location you appear in when you enter the secret realm is random. Some people will not have any monsters around them, while others will appear directly in a monster's den and face the monsters face to face."

"In short, safety is paramount. The secret realm is dangerous, so please remember to be extremely careful once you enter. Also, within the secret realm..."

After the rambling instructor finished explaining the precautions, Song Yin breathed a sigh of relief.

Next comes the opening of the secret realm.

An elder from the outer sect opened the secret realm for the contestants. She channeled her spiritual energy in the air, chanting incantations and constantly changing her hand gestures. Soon, mysterious runes appeared beneath the contestants' feet, and with a flash of light, they entered the secret realm.

Meanwhile, many people were standing in the outer square watching the competition.

"It's starting! It's starting!"

"Which of these people is Song Yin?"

"Sister, you've come to see Song Yin too?"

"Yeah, sister! A twelve-year-old Foundation Establishment cultivator, a genius boy, who wouldn't want to see that!"

"The teleportation is random, right? Wouldn't it be incredibly unlucky to be teleported to a monster's lair?"

"You're overthinking it. Nobody's unlucky enough to walk right into a monster's lair."

“But there really is someone in the monster's lair. Look at the water mirror in the middle.”

"What?!"

There was only one person in the water mirror in the middle, and this person was none other than Song Yin, whom everyone had been longing for.

Because many people wanted to see Song Yin, the sect specially used a water mirror to display Song Yin's competition process. Not only Song Yin, but also other well-known figures in the Foundation Establishment stage would appear in the water mirror.

The secret realm is a valley with lush vegetation, where birds can be seen flying overhead and squirrels climbing trees. Flowers on both sides of the path attract butterflies and bees to flutter and hover above.

Shi Heming was eager to participate in the Foundation Establishment Competition with Song Yin, but upon arriving at the secret realm, they were separated. More than a dozen people were teleported to the same location as him, including Cheng Xian.

When Cheng Xian saw Shi Heming in the group, he was horrified, as if he had seen a ghost.

He knew Song Yin, and naturally knew who her close associates were. Shi Heming and Song Yin were about the same age; when did he achieve Foundation Establishment? Why hadn't any news of it leaked out?

The fact that another person younger than Cheng Xian had achieved Foundation Establishment made him feel increasingly threatened, and at the same time, the immense pressure made it difficult for him to breathe.

"What's wrong? Fellow Daoist Cheng, are you alright? Fellow Daoist Cheng?" someone who knew Cheng Xian asked him cautiously.

Cheng Xian suddenly became agitated, and those around him, thinking there was a monster nearby, immediately went on alert.

Cheng Xian snapped out of his daze and forced a smile. "I'm fine, I'm fine."

"Did you see a monster?"

Cheng Xian: "No, I just saw someone I didn't expect."

Everyone followed Cheng Xian's gaze and it fell on Shi Heming; they didn't understand.

"Is there...something wrong with him?"

Shi Heming Thirteen is nearly 1.7 meters tall. Standing in the crowd, no one thinks he is young; they just think he looks young, since one's appearance can stop aging once one's cultivation level is high.

Cheng Xian asked Shi Heming with a complicated tone, "Where's Song Yin? Didn't she participate in the competition?"

Shi Heming said in a flat tone, "She and I got separated because of the teleportation."

Shi Heming, dressed in a moon-white disciple's robe and possessing outstanding looks, easily won everyone's favor. Immediately, someone in the crowd spoke up: "If you and your friends are separated, why don't you travel together?"

Someone tugged at the sleeve of the male cultivator who had spoken and said, "Didn't you hear Fellow Daoist Cheng ask about Song Yin? He's Song Yin's friend, and he might be another young genius. I've heard from others that Song Yin has several close friends who are about the same age as her and have similar talents."

The male cultivator was surprised and whispered, seeking an answer, "You mean him..."

The person who reminded him nodded.

Shi Heming was pondering whether to decline the invitation when he suddenly saw many birds fly into the sky to escape in the distance, and the fierce roars of monsters echoed through the forest.

The male cultivator's voice trembled: "Heavens! What kind of monster is this? Its voice is so terrifying. Could it be that someone ahead has already encountered a monster?"

Shi Heming stared intently in the direction from which the noise originated.

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Author's Note: Shi Heming: I rushed as fast as I could, and finally made it! (wiping sweat)

Song Yin: Cultivate! Cultivate! I want to cultivate! I'll cultivate, cultivate, cultivate! [Clenched fists][Thumbs up]

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[Empty bowl]