Chapter 79 Strange Family Rules: Let's Gather First
Its long, reddish-gold tail feathers, like a shooting star, streaked across the fiery clouds at dusk, becoming a corner of the twilight.
Ji Mingran climbed up the tail feathers, the wind whipped up by the tail feathers whistling and brushing aside the hair that had fallen on his forehead.
This reminded her of her first time coming to Lingxiu; she had arrived at Dingsheng Sect by clinging to a paper kite just like this.
A vast, lush landscape stretched out before her. Looking towards the horizon, she saw the setting sun casting a dazzling glow of gold, red, orange, and purple hues at the edge of the sky.
Ji Mingran, holding onto the tail feathers with one hand, subconsciously stopped climbing and became engrossed in the moment.
It's so beautiful. Even the most ordinary natural phenomena in the normal world are so captivating.
"Don't stand there, come on up." Zhu Shibai, who hadn't seen her for a while, leaned over the edge of the kite and called her back to her senses.
"We're here." Ji Mingran reluctantly recalled the scenery as he continued climbing.
“The Nameless Sect and the Flowing Illusion Valley have also arrived.” She looked up and shouted to Zhu Shibai.
As if to confirm her words, the sound of the gate announcement spread from all directions.
"The 15-minute time limit is up. Now, I will give you an update on the situation on the ground."
"Four people from Dingsheng Sect, four from Shen Family, four from Yushou Sect, four from Baiyang Sect, five from Jingshi Sect, two from Suqi Sect, two from Cangjiu Dao Sect, and one from Tiangang Sect."
"Five people from Hongqi Sect, four from Xiaosu Pavilion, three from Tiangang Sect, and one from the First Sword Sect."
"Five people from the Unnamed Sect were eliminated, and none were eliminated."
"Five people from Liuhuan Valley, zero eliminated."
"Three from Hehuan Valley, zero eliminated."
......
One voice after another reported the situation of the various participating sects within the confrontation checkpoint.
Ji Mingran overheard the matter that had just caught her attention.
All five members of the Nameless Sect have arrived. If she has the chance, she will definitely not miss the opportunity to meet them. If she cannot see Yu Tianxing, she will also grab Ji Xingyang again to ask him what exactly happened.
As for Liu Huangu, he finally arrived, all five of them present.
From the time she left the mutual aid level to the time she entered the combat phase, only fifteen minutes had passed. In such a short time, they also entered, either having discovered the secret to clearing the mutual aid level, or simply giving up on the mutual aid level and accepting the punishment.
Failing to complete the level simply means regressing a few steps; giving up is more efficient.
Qin Danniang was taken away from the mutual assistance level by her and Guan Wangzhen, and was unable to provide any hints. They most likely chose the latter and gave up on the mutual assistance level.
Fortunately, they had already dealt with most of their opponents, so the arrival of another Liuhuan Valley wouldn't be a problem.
The strategy devised by the four members of the Dingsheng Sect was to defeat them one by one, even from the bottom of the pot.
The four went their separate ways, spreading out to concentrate their firepower on the pursuers. As soon as one of them dealt with the pursuers, he would immediately turn back to support the others.
Zhu Shibai's arrival indicates that he has escaped his predicament and dealt with his pursuers.
"Things went fairly smoothly for me." As she approached the kite, Zhu Shibai reached out his hand to her, glancing at where she had been standing, and a smile played on his lips: "Looks like you did too."
"Not bad, just didn't manage to eliminate anyone." Ji Mingran put his arm around Zhu Shibai's arm and used the momentum to jump onto the back of the kite, only to find that there were other people on the kite.
The five young disciples of the Zhu family huddled in opposite corners at the tail of the kite, shivering. Ji Mingran stared at them, while the round-headed, honest young disciple swallowed hard, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.
Ji Mingran: "Oh, you guys are here too?"
"I found them on my way to find you, so I brought them along. You've already used them to light up the way a few times, so I won't go into details." Zhu Shibai walked naturally to the head of the kite, and the young disciples of the Zhu family waved to Ji Mingran in a flurry.
Zhu Shibai continued Ji Mingran's words: "It's alright. According to the report, Qingluo has already eliminated the Shen family. Eliminating other participating disciples would be pointless. Let's look for those who haven't met the conditions to pass this stage."
According to the introduction to the level, you can win by eliminating the entire participating team.
However, they have not yet been sent out of the checkpoint, indicating that they are still lacking some conditions for passing the checkpoint.
"Let's meet up first, then figure it out." Ji Mingran skillfully found a seat, looked at it from left to right, and touched it: "I feel like I've seen this kite before."
Zhu Shibai sat on the head of the kite, controlling its direction: "Yes, it's the one I lent to Wang Zhen before. Time is tight, so we have to use what we have to hold out. Compared to before, we've added mechanisms that can use water and fire magic, but we still need them to arrive before we can launch an attack."
"Impressive, Zhu Shibai." Ji Mingran genuinely praised him. In such a short time, he first defeated his pursuer and then made a complete transformation. He was incredibly fast.
A smile shone from his eyes as Zhu Shibai firmly gripped the rudder controlling the kite's flight, his voice light and cheerful: "Time is indeed very tight, and there are still some things that haven't been done yet, so we'll just have to improve them as we go."
Upon hearing this, the Zhu family disciples, who had been hesitant to speak, turned even paler than before, their eyes widening in disbelief at what they were so terrified of.
Ji Mingran asked in confusion, "What happened to you? Were you badly beaten just now? It seems like you're getting more and more injured, and your wounds are hurting. Is this ribbon useful?"
Their limbs and necks were bound with even tighter blue ribbons, and their faces were covered with more scars and scratches.
They've most likely just come out of a fierce battle.
The round-faced junior disciple, who was usually the first to speak, still looked alarmed. However, the junior disciple with bangs next to him calmed down and said softly, "The competition is fierce, and injuries are inevitable. Our clansmen have given us many spiritual artifacts, and this ribbon is one of them. It can speed up the healing of wounds."
"We were being chased by the Xiang Gu Sect and were seriously injured, but luckily we met our big brother."
Anyone with eyes can see that they are indeed seriously injured.
One or two were eighty or ninety years old, covered in wounds; three had broken bones; one had bloodstains on his ribbon around his neck; and one had a large bump on his head.
Each one was incredibly tragic.
As she spoke, the junior disciple with bangs carefully raised her hand and rolled up the blue bandage in the opposite direction. When she reached the last layer, she paused, took a deep breath, and then quickly removed the bandage that was stuck to her skin. The skin that had been pulled up by the bandage was black and emitted wisps of black smoke.
The junior disciple with bangs turned even paler, hissed, and took off the darkened blue ribbon, replacing it with a new one.
The other little radishes started helping each other, tearing off each other's straps and replacing them with new ones.
Gasps rose and fell, and their bodies were covered in deep, gaping wounds that revealed bone. Ji Mingran recognized that many of them were new wounds layered on top of old ones.
Logically speaking, there are many healers in the spiritual cultivation world, and even more miraculous medicines for treating injuries. In addition to curing the disease, the wounds will also heal completely without leaving any trace. A large family like the Zhu family would certainly not lack such medicines.
But how could these young disciples have so many wounds, so many that even medicine cannot heal their skin?
Ji Mingran's gaze swept over the children in front of her, and she felt a pang of pity seeing them tortured like this.
The apocalypse is cruel, and the children who survived endured even more torment.
Ji Mingran also went through the same trials and tribulations to get where he is today.
But just because she had a miserable past doesn't mean she thinks this is normal.
It's one thing to be forced by the post-apocalyptic environment, but the spiritual cultivation environment is clearly quite good. Yet, these young disciples of the Zhu family, who are only so young, are required to participate in such a fiercely competitive event.
That's quite strange.
She asked, "This competition has no age limit and only considers cultivation level? Or rather, does your Zhu family have no other Foundation Establishment disciples?"
She didn't believe that, given the Zhu family's resources, only these few junior disciples were capable of maintaining appearances.
While it's possible they possess exceptional strength, the way they were beaten so badly suggests otherwise.
The round-headed young disciple, perhaps having recovered from his shock due to the pain, proudly declared, "We are the youngest disciples among our fellow cultivators, which means we are the most talented and therefore qualified to participate in the competition."
Another junior disciple was also excited: "The Spiritual Cultivation Competition is both a challenge and an opportunity. If we have the opportunity to break through our own limitations, we might be able to break through our cultivation levels and advance successfully, just like you, big sister."
The remaining children chorused, their eyes sparkling as they looked in the direction of Zhu Shibai's retreating figure: "Our goal is to one day become a cultivator with talent like our big brother."
"Big brother achieved Foundation Establishment at the age of nine and reached the peak of Foundation Establishment at the age of ten on his own. We still need to work hard to catch up."
Everyone has their own ambitions, and Ji Mingran agreed. His gaze followed the injured young disciples of the Zhu family to Zhu Shibai, but he unexpectedly caught this moment.
Upon hearing the words of his juniors, Zhu Shibai's hand, which was controlling the kite, paused almost imperceptibly before quickly returning to normal, as if nothing had happened.
Most of the young disciples of the Zhu family were focused on treating their wounds and did not notice anything amiss.
This wasn't the first time Ji Mingran had seen Zhu Shibai operate the magical artifact he had made. Operating the artifact was as natural and simple to him as breathing, and he never stopped.
So, it seems he couldn't quite accept the youthful enthusiasm of the Zhu family's disciples.
She seemed a little down.
Ji Mingran decided to change the subject: "From what you just said, this kite has more attack mechanisms but we still have to wait for them to arrive before we can use it. Does that mean we need to assemble it again?"
"No, no, no, stop talking." The young disciples of the Zhu family, their faces pale, tried to stop them, their eyes darting around cautiously, as if afraid of being discovered.
"Shh, shh, shh." They then winked and made faces.
how?
The young disciple of the Zhu family with bangs lowered his voice to a whisper: "Don't you know? Our every move could be captured by the projection stone and seen by the observers."
"So what if I see it?" Ji Mingran knew that the projection stone would randomly capture the aura of the participating disciples and project the competition scene; otherwise, why would there be a need to set up an observation platform?
Her first reaction was confusion, and then she realized what was happening.
Zhu Shibai had not wanted anyone to discover that he was also a weapon repairman.
But now, his process of refining and upgrading the kite may have been witnessed.
Even if they didn't see it, the young disciples of the Zhu family who participated in the competition must have noticed something.
However, given Zhu Shibai's personality, if he truly didn't want to reveal it to the outside world, he certainly wouldn't risk modifying the magical artifact during the competition, nor would he allow the young disciples of the Zhu family to participate.
To be on the safe side, Ji Mingran stood up and walked to Zhu Shibai's side, intending to confirm in a low voice.
Before he could even speak, Zhu Shibai had already replied, "Knowing is one thing, accepting is another."
"Huh?" Ji Mingran was completely confused.
What kind of strange world is the Zhu family? They can accept their own children being beaten to a pulp, with new and old injuries piling up, but they cannot accept their own disciples practicing other Taoist arts.
Confused by the intricate relationships between sects and aristocratic families in the spiritual cultivation world, Ji Mingran wondered, "Your aristocratic families are all so strange, no, I should say, why are you all so strange?"
“You don’t need to understand boring things. Let me tell you something interesting,” Zhu Shibai’s lips curled into a smile again, and he pointed to two small dots on the ground in the distance: “They’re over there.”
Ji Mingran squinted at him, and then a smile appeared on his face.
On the desert sand, a person dressed in bright red clothes stands out, with bright red hair on their head. They swing their arms wildly and jump up and down, their movements equally eye-catching.
In a little over fifteen minutes, everyone was there.
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