97 Chapter 97
This Sword Sect Competition has become a huge hit online thanks to the popularity of the first match. It has now developed from an event that only a few people are interested in to a sword competition watched by the whole nation. Ning Shu heard that some demon cultivators are setting up underground gambling games to bet on the winners and losers of the contestants. It can be said to be the "World Cup" of the cultivation world.
However, those messy things are absolutely not allowed to appear on the spiritual network. Ning Shu does not intend to make money by such crooked means. She now has a more important task - to attract more high-quality talents for the Hehuan Sect.
This is a huge amount of traffic. It would be a huge loss for the Double-Inhabited Wutong Tree not to absorb a lot of it. So Ning Shu began to take this opportunity to extend olive branches and put a lot of effort into lobbying those popular disciples who received widespread attention to sign contracts with the Hehuan Sect.
Hehuan Zong Entertainment Company: Dear ones, rest assured, we are only signing employment contracts. You will of course still be sword cultivation disciples from now on! [Huangdou Smile]
Hehuanzong Entertainment Company: Dear, after signing the contract, we will promote your account, and then your fans will increase faster!
Hehuanzong Entertainment Company: After signing the contract, you can access the Internet anytime and anywhere, dear. You don’t have to go to Lingwang Cafe anymore!
Hehuan Zong Entertainment Company: Look at your master's junior brother who has gained both fame and fortune! What are you still worried about? Action is better than thought, dear! [Rose][Rose][Rose]
With Ning Shu listing a series of preferential conditions and Xuan Mo's call, it was basically difficult for any sword cultivator to resist such sugar-coated bullets. So after a lot of coaxing and deception, the sword cultivators who signed contracts with the Hehuan Sect were able to form a football team quickly.
"How is it? Has the seedling grown?" In the backyard of Ling Internet Cafe, Ning Shu couldn't wait to ask as soon as he entered the door.
These days, the main tree in the sect is growing vigorously every day thanks to the hit TV series "The Temptation of Cultivating Immortality", and Ning Shu's attention is mainly focused on this new seedling.
Dong Ling replied attentively as she led her men towards the collection room, "Young Sect Master, the competition has been going on like wildfire these days, and this seedling has been absorbing nutrients and growing quite a bit. It's now a sapling, and I estimate it won't be long before it takes root!"
As he spoke, the door of the collection room was opened. There was nothing all around except for a golden sapling in the middle, which shone brightly and illuminated the entire room. Unlike the thousand-year-old giant tree in the Hehuan Sect that blocked out the sun, the trunk of this sapling was only as thick as a human arm and about one meter tall. Its size looked similar to the green trees planted on the roadside.
Ning Shu placed his palm close to the tree trunk, closed his eyes and felt it carefully, then looked at the sapling with anticipation:
"You're right. This tree just needs a chance to take root. By then, its signal range will be able to cover almost the entire Quefeng City. This means we have one more city to capture."
Moreover, the excess nutrients absorbed by the branch trees can be passed on to the main tree, which is another step closer to Ning Shu's dream of an Internet world.
"Young Sect Master, if I remember correctly, are the finals about to begin? Are there any disciples connected to the sacred tree among the shortlisted contestants?" Dong Ling also began to plan: "If that contestant can win the championship, the love he attracts will definitely allow the sacred tree to take root!"
"Alas, actually I wanted to go all in and sign all those disciples, but unfortunately most of those who made it to the finals were direct disciples, and they weren't so easy to talk to..." Ning Shu said as he counted on his fingers the sword cultivators who had successfully signed contracts:
"Most of them failed in the semifinals. Although Lu Qianfeng made it to the finals after a breakthrough on the battlefield with his increased combat power, in a competition where the average number of people was at the Jindan stage, as a disciple who had just reached the late Foundation Establishment stage, he was already at his limit. We couldn't expect him to do any better...
Well... the rest... ah, then there is only one person left, our company's veteran actor, Hyun Mo."
"It's the master, then everything should be fine." Dong Ling heaved a sigh of relief. "Didn't he win the championship last time? It should be easy to win it again, right?"
"Hmm... hard to say..." Ning Shu frowned worriedly. "During the last competition, it seems that several disciples in the late Jindan stage were in the secret realm and couldn't make it back in time. This time, Xuan Mo will definitely face them head-on."
"Ah? Late Jindan stage?" Dong Ling stuck out her tongue when she heard it: "Master, you're only in the early Jindan stage, right..."
The higher the realm, the greater the gap between different levels of cultivation. Compared with the gap between the early and late stages of the Golden Core and the gap between the middle and late stages of the Foundation Establishment, it is simply an insurmountable chasm.
Although sword cultivators often fight monsters above their level, the opponent is also a sword cultivator, so Xuan Mo is bound to have a tough battle.
Perhaps because he felt that this task was too arduous, Ning Shu shook his head and put the thought behind him: "Forget it, it doesn't matter if we don't win. I can think of other ways when the time comes. I can take my time to shoot a variety show or a movie!"
She walked forward, reaching out and gently stroking the golden trunk in her hand: "Although it's a pity that I can't witness its growth with my own eyes now, the last thing we cultivators lack is time!"
On the other side, on Yunyin Peak, Xuan Mo was also practicing his sword skills hard for the upcoming finals.
In fact, he has never slacked off in his swordsmanship training over the years. Setting aside several hours every day to practice swordsmanship seems to have become a habit ingrained in his bones. However, his swordsmanship training time has obviously increased recently, and he would stand under the tree for a whole day and night.
"Master, isn't this too much pressure on Junior Brother?" In Taoist Wufeng's room, the Sect Master sat by the window, watching Xuan Mo swinging his sword endlessly under the tree with a worried look in his eyes. "Will he develop inner demons if this continues?"
"Inner demon?" Taoist Wufeng sneered and waved his hand in Xuan Mo's direction, his expression still somewhat speechless: "You'll know when you get closer."
What's wrong? Why does Master have this expression? Doesn't he love his junior fellow disciple the most?
The clan leader stood up and walked towards the tree, not knowing why. Before he got close, he heard some... strange songs.
"The young monk went down the mountain to beg for food, and the old monk gave him some instructions.
The woman at the foot of the mountain is a tiger, if you meet her, you must avoid her~"
Although the lyrics of that song were bold, the melody was very cheerful. On the light screen, the young master of the Hehuan Sect was jumping and singing, while the junior brother was holding the hilt of the sword with full energy, swinging the sword again and again to the melody of the lyrics and the beat of the drums.
The song was on repeat, and Xuan Mo had swung his sword dozens or even hundreds of times without realizing it, but he didn't look tired at all. On the contrary, he swung with more and more strength.
metropolitan:……
What is this doing? I really don't understand!
At this time, Taoist Wufeng slowly approached from behind, his tone filled with helplessness and disdain: "How is it? Does he look like he's about to be possessed by an inner demon?"
This mental state looks like he's going to heaven.
The Sect Master finally came to his senses: "Junior Brother, what happened?"
He didn’t act like this during the last sect competition, right?
Taoist Wufeng flew into a rage the moment this question was brought up: "Humph! It's all because of that female cultivator from the Hehuan Sect! He's been like this ever since he knew she was coming to watch his competition. When practicing his sword moves, he even deliberately studied some more attractive postures and angles. He's simply blinded by greed!"
metropolitan:……
Thinking about what his junior brother had done to the young master of the Hehuan Sect before, he didn't know what to say. After all, the Qingfeng Sword Sect was still cooperating with him to make money. He couldn't suddenly turn against him and forbid his junior brother to meet him, right?
"Haha, at least, at least Junior Brother is training very hard!" He could only laugh dryly: "It shows that the Hehuan Sect doesn't necessarily make people's Taoism unstable. I don't think there is any need to worry too much about Junior Brother's situation."
"You're not even saying that!" Taoist Wufeng curled his lips in disdain. His impression of the Hehuan Sect had subtly changed quite a bit over the past few days, so facing this disciple, he didn't do anything drastic. He simply shouted at Xuan Mo, who was practicing swordplay under a tree, "I'm tired of this song! Change it!"
"Yes, sir!" Xuan Mo was in high spirits. He agreed happily and immediately opened the spiritual network and clicked a few times. The song and dance on the screen soon changed.
"When will the bright moon appear? I raise my cup to ask the blue sky~"
Ning Shu, dressed in white, danced on the stage facing the moon with an ethereal air, while Xuan Mo continued to dance vigorously to the singing.
metropolitan:……
"Junior brother... you are really loyal... haha..."
Taoist Wufeng rolled his eyes in disgust.
While the contestants over there are training hard for the finals, the audience here is not idle either. They also have a very difficult task - grabbing tickets.
Before, during the preliminary round of the Sword Sect Competition, tickets for the audience seats could be easily purchased, but things were different after Lu Qianfeng's match. More and more cultivators turned their attention to the competition, and gradually, waving flags and cheering through the screen could no longer satisfy them. More and more people were eager to go to the stadium in person to watch such an intense and tense battle.
Want to witness the thrilling duels between sword cultivators? Want to cheer for your favorite contestant? Then hurry up and get your tickets! This is the ultimate romance that only true cultivators can experience!
Preliminary rounds, rematches, semifinals... the ticket prices have been rising all the way, and now it is finally the finals. Every cultivator who is full of yearning for sword cultivation is sitting in front of the light screen waiting with high energy.
"How is it? What time is it?" In Qingyun Sect, the eldest senior brother stared at the screen in front of him with a slightly nervous look, without blinking.
The second brother squatted beside the clock, and the screen in front of him also opened a page for pre-ordering tickets: "It's almost midnight, less than half a quarter of an hour!"
The third sister squatted on the side, her fingertips sweating with the same nervousness. She clasped her hands together, closed her eyes and prayed devoutly:
"Daozu, please bless us to get the tickets! We have saved money for a long time to get enough money for the tickets and travel expenses. Please don't let us return empty-handed..."
They were all loyal fans of the Sword Sect Competition, their obsession even surpassing that of the melodramatic TV series. Now, they had saved money by doing odd jobs for more than half a month just to watch a final, and they didn't even buy magazines, living like ascetics every day.
"Wouldn't it be better if we went to the City That Never Sleeps to rob it?" The eldest brother nervously began to think about it. "After all, this magic weapon was originally designed for use there. Maybe the internet speed there is faster!"
"Impossible! It's definitely faster here!" Second Brother firmly denied: "I've done a test. The same video loads several breaths faster here than in the Nightless City! It's just a pity that the internet speed is still not as fast as the disciples of the Hehuan Sect..."
When this question was brought up, the Third Senior Sister couldn't help but ask, "By the way, didn't Junior Sister say she wanted to join the Hehuan Sect? When is she going? We can also follow her and borrow her help!"
Mainly want to see faster internet speed.
Now, the reputation of the Hehuan Sect has reversed in the surrounding areas of the City That Never Sleeps and the even farther Bishui City. People no longer have the initial rejection of the Hehuan Sect when they mention it.
Of course, this does not include some old fogies who don't know how to surf the Internet.
"Ah, who knows? I heard he's still arguing with Master and his wife. I don't know when Master will give in."
"Actually, I think it's almost time. The night before last, when I was practicing, I secretly ran into Master watching 'The Temptation of Immortality'. He was so happy to see Ruxue get her revenge that he slapped his thigh!"
"Alas, I really don't know what Master is still holding on to..."
Just as they were chatting away, the second brother suddenly stood up and shouted, "It's midnight! Hurry and grab your tickets!"
So the three of them immediately stopped talking, and each of them stretched out their fingers and frantically tapped the appointment button on the screen. If the screen were a physical object, they would definitely have rubbed sparks out of it.
However--
We're sorry, but the tickets are sold out.
"Damn it! Damn it!" The eldest brother was so angry that he knelt on the ground and pounded his fists. "There wasn't even a split second between the two of them, right? Who got the ticket? Who was it!!!"
"Ah, wuwuwu! Junior Sister, please join the Hehuan Sect! I can't stand this kind of waiting!"
"Ahhhhhh! Those bastards who got the tickets! I will never forgive you!!!"
There are three more heartbroken people in this world.
【Author’s words】
*It is the familiar song "Women are Tigers"
Xuan Mo (practicing swordplay): Imagine (waving, waving) I'm cheering for Shu Shu (waving, waving), and I never feel tired when I'm waving! (waving, waving)
But I've never been able to grab tickets or merchandise. How did those who did manage to do it? [Laughing and crying]
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