Chapter 33: A Grand Gathering Revitalizes the Cultivation World (33% complete)
The lively atmosphere at the foot of Kunpeng Mountain continued until the day of the Lingzhou Grand Event.
The day the grand event began was sunny and cloudless, perfect weather for the competition.
Young cultivators from all corners of the world gathered at Kunpeng Mountain, harboring dreams of making a name for themselves and eager to show their skills.
Such events naturally attract a large audience. In addition to the elders and disciples sent by various sects, the number of independent cultivators is also considerable.
Even though Kunpeng Mountain is vast, the size of the venue is limited. Therefore, those who are qualified to enter almost all exude strong spiritual energy fluctuations. Those who are slightly weaker are mostly from aristocratic families, wearing brocade robes containing spiritual energy and carrying high-grade spiritual talismans and artifacts.
The audience naturally split into two distinct areas: one for the scions of prominent families and disciples of major sects, and the other for independent cultivators without any background or status. The audience in each area stayed in their own small circles that reflected their status, and even their seating arrangements were clearly separated.
Lin Ming entered wearing a veiled hat. When he saw the open space left between the two sides, he paused. His cold gaze fell on several cultivators whose spiritual energy was weak and whose cultivation was obviously built up with pills, and then he went to the area where the rogue cultivators were gathered.
Few people who come here dress so discreetly, and many independent cultivators cast curious glances their way over.
Upon closer inspection, the cultivator in the blue robe was tall and slender. His long, ink-black hair, flowing beneath his hat brim, was neatly tied back with a white jade hair ornament. A jade pendant resembling a mythical creature, Pixiu, hung at his waist. His overall demeanor suggested he was not a rogue cultivator without a sect, but rather a noble young master from a prominent family, or a carefully cultivated disciple of a sect.
Lin Ming hesitated for a moment when choosing a seat. He was a pure, unaffiliated, and unreserved cultivator, but now that Tianyan Academy was about to begin enrolling students, he could no longer be considered completely without any affiliation.
Logically, now that he had a place to belong and was one of the few "students" currently in the academy, he should have represented Tianyan Academy and sat in another area. However, he felt uncomfortable when he saw the critical and disdainful looks that the scions of aristocratic families gave to rogue cultivators. Not to mention that there were quite a few cultivators among them who relied solely on pills to get ahead, which he least wanted to see. Compared to his true self, he was more gentle and wouldn't give the unworthy juniors a "love education" on the spot, but he really disliked it, so he simply chose to stay away from them and stay with the rogue cultivators.
He had no objection to passing on the resources accumulated by his parents to the younger generation, but resources should not be used in this way when it comes to cultivation.
Once Tianyan Academy opens, he will provide students with the best cultivation environment, the best practical training ground, and the most comprehensive knowledge instruction, but he will not give them special spiritual medicines to increase their spiritual power or directly replace their golden cores with other people's.
Forcing growth by pulling up seedlings results in a spiritual foundation as thin as a sheet of paper, easily seen through. The key is that there are quite a few cultivators like this, which makes him frown. If his true form were here, he would probably be so angry that he would grab those sect leaders by the collar and ask them what their intentions were.
No wonder the cycle of "things reaching their extremes will reverse" in the Heavenly Dao has gone awry; even the middle and upper echelons of the cultivation world are almost collapsing from their own mishaps.
Perhaps it was because his aura was so overwhelming even without revealing his face, and the undetectable fluctuations in his spiritual energy indicated that his strength was significantly higher than that of the others around him, that the cultivators silently gave him their seats in the first row, as no one wanted to provoke a mysterious cultivator.
Just as the Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, and Nascent Soul stages are all unfathomable to the Qi Refining stage, people of different strengths can only sense the strong spiritual energy around Lin Ming, but they do not know how profound his strength really is.
Lin Ming didn't stand on ceremony and chose a seat with the best view.
He arrived at a rather late time, as the Lingzhou Grand Gathering had already been underway for some time. He missed the opening segment of the event, where the leaders of several major sects took turns giving speeches.
This opportunity is gone if it's missed, and it just so happens that he dislikes listening to other people nagging.
There were many young cultivators participating in the grand event, so the Xuan Tian Sword Sect, the master of Kunpeng Mountain, specially built thirty-six arenas for cultivators to compete at the same time.
The comparison lasted for a full five days.
For five days, Lin Ming came every day, patiently sitting in his fixed spot overlooking the lively faces on the arena, observing the open and covert battles between sects and families, occasionally stealing a moment to compile academy textbooks in his mind, and sometimes participating in betting in the audience when he was in the mood.
He had already planned to use this competition, which included people from all over the world, to announce that Tianyan Academy would be opening its doors.
A storyteller leaked the news in advance, and the mission participants inadvertently fueled the flames, causing news of the Tianyan Academy, which had been dormant for three years, to suddenly resurface and spread widely.
It's just a matter of bringing everything to the forefront.
He brushed past several arrogant and unrestrained young cultivators, then lowered his gaze thoughtfully and walked to an inconspicuous corner of the unaffiliated cultivators' seating area.
"Fellow Daoist, you're here again. Which arena and which cultivator are you betting on this time?" the old Daoist who opened the betting booth asked with a smile, his hands clasped behind his back.
What initially impressed him about Lin Ming was his unique attire, but what made him remember him completely was his uncanny ability to predict the outcome of every bet.
Lin Ming glanced at the thirty-six betting tables in front of him, his gaze lingering on familiar names.
Before he could make a decision, someone cautiously moved closer.
He glanced to the side.
The man tried to cover the lower half of his face with his sleeve, his eyes darting around. He moved in small steps, and after confirming that no one was looking at him, he quickly threw a bag of spirit stones onto the gambling table.
"I bet a thousand high-grade spirit stones that Qi Tian will win in Arena Number Three!" After saying that, he buried his head and walked away quickly, as if a demonic beast was chasing him.
Lin Ming was slightly surprised.
The seemingly simple-minded boy was dressed from head to toe in top-grade defensive spiritual artifacts. His outer robe was even more rare, being a sacred-grade spiritual artifact embroidered with arrays. Even the hair ornament he wore was no ordinary item.
As far as he knew, the cultivation world today was different from what it was 10,000 years ago.
In the past, after the rise of rogue cultivators led by him, might made right, and the cultivation world only respected strength.
Nowadays, major sects and clans consider themselves mainstream and are ashamed to associate with rogue cultivators. They believe that only those with inferior spiritual roots that major sects are unwilling to accept become rogue cultivators. Rogue cultivators have never even learned a proper cultivation method, let alone the art of weapon crafting and talisman drawing. Associating with them will not bring any benefit.
Under the monopoly and dictatorship of aristocratic families and sects, these privileged scions, influenced by their surroundings, usually regard themselves as superior and will not take the initiative to associate with rogue cultivators, much less participate in their gambling.
The old Taoist priest noticed his confusion and explained, "Most disciples of those major sects look down on us independent cultivators. There are occasional exceptions, but they are afraid of being ridiculed by their peers and lowering their status, so they keep it a secret."
The old Taoist priest had been running gambling dens for many years and had seen all sorts of people, so he was used to it.
"However, they are only innocent at this age. Once they get a few more years older, they will become just like those arrogant people."
He was just making a casual remark, but Lin Ming smiled and replied, "Still immature, there's still room for improvement."
The old Taoist chuckled and said, "It's not a serious matter like 'returning to the right path.' It's normal for them to act this way. If they had the strength to join a major sect, who would want to live a life of hardship and uncertainty?"
He looked enviously in the direction where all the major sects were gathered: "Even in the major sects, the truly promising ones are the disciples of immortal cultivation families. Those who later joined the sect or were selected from the mortal world can't compare to the talent inherited from their bloodline."
“It’s not a divine beast, so the Heavenly Dao doesn’t specifically favor any particular bloodline,” Lin Ming said. “It’s just that ordinary people don’t have the resources and cultivation methods to keep up. There’s no difference between people.”
The old Taoist chuckled: "Oh dear, that's why they say youth is a blessing. Young people who haven't experienced setbacks always think everyone is the same, but reality is quite different. The reality is that aristocratic families monopolize all cultivation techniques and rare resources. From a young age, they know how to cultivate for the best results, and when they encounter inner demons, their elders will pass on their experience to resolve them. Meanwhile, we rogue cultivators might spend our entire lives without even getting a glimpse of the cultivation techniques that those aristocratic scions pick and choose and look down upon. The cultivation ceiling for rogue cultivators is extremely low; most die because of inner demons. Those who manage to rise above their circumstances are rare gems, appearing only once every hundred years."
Lin Ming said calmly, "A distorted world will always be set right. Ten thousand years ago, the sects and families in the cultivation world had a stronger sense of hierarchy, but they still managed to create a Heavenly Evolution Dao Ancestor who shattered all the balance and reforged the order."
The old Taoist priest was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter as if he had heard something funny: "There is no other Taoist Ancestor in this world. You and I were born at the wrong time, so accept your fate."
"I don't acknowledge it," Lin Ming said softly.
“If you don’t want to admit it, then don’t. You’re young, you have the right to deny it.” The old Taoist waved his hand. “Come, come, who do you want to bet on this time? I recommend you bet on this Xu Lingyou. He hasn’t lost a single game yet. I think he’s very resilient. He’s also a disciple from the Liuyun Sect. Although he’s only an outer disciple, he has learned proper techniques and his strength is not bad.”
Xu Lingyou's achievements were not obtained through the meager techniques of the outer sect of the Liuyun Sect.
Lin Ming didn't correct him. His fingertips traced the densely packed names on the scroll, stopping at the name of the person who had fought Xu Lingyou.
Chen Suxi.
I didn't expect the mission takers to match up so quickly.
“She’ll do,” he said. “One thousand high-grade spirit stones.”
The old Taoist priest was startled: "Young man, I find you to be a kind face. It's not easy for us rogue cultivators to accumulate some wealth, so don't make a mistake at this time. The girl you chose is a talisman cultivator. Although she is a level higher in cultivation, being a level higher in the Foundation Establishment stage doesn't mean much. In addition, Xu Lingyou himself is quite strong, so she can't beat him in a head-on confrontation."
Lin Ming put down the bag of spirit stones: "I won't change it."
The old Taoist priest sighed as he put away the money bag. After the man left, he shook his head and sighed, "Young people are so stubborn."
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The author says: Ten thousand years old Ah Lian looked at the back of the old Taoist priest who was at most a few hundred years old and said: "Young people are just so stubborn."
Tonight will be 2024! Wishing all my cuties a wonderful new year! Love you all! (〃˙v˙〃)
The year-end design work is too busy, so I've decided to take a day off every Saturday. Updates are usually at 9 PM, but may be later if something comes up. If there are special circumstances preventing updates, I'll write a leave request.
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