Chapter 31: The False Foundation Establishment of Qi-Training Ninth Layer

"This arena's been toned down, right? Back at Longxiang Qingtianzong, the trash-talk on the fighting stages was way harsher than this." Chi Jiuyu rested her chin on one hand.

"Alright, here you go." Xu Xing handed the phone back.

She took it and hurriedly opened the chat app: "Uncle-Master, did you explain things to my Master for me?"

"I did."

"Mm? Where's the chat history?"

The chat screen was still stuck on the message her Master had sent after she had pulled her little trick.

"Your Master told me to delete the chat history. She said she'd deal with you when you got back."

To think she's afraid of her own disciple seeing it—what on earth did they talk about?

Wait—

"Uncle-Master, didn't you explain things to my Master for me?!"

"Yes, that's right."

"Then why is she still going to deal with me?!"

"What did you call me?" Xu Xing suddenly asked.

"Uncle-Master."

"Then what is your Master to me?"

"She's your Ye Shijie…"

Xu Xing looked at her with the gaze one gives a foolish child.

"So why on earth would you think Ye Shijie would listen to me, her Junior Brother?"

"……"

That makes so much sense, I can't even argue back.

Chi Jiuyu fell silent, but for some reason she felt her Uncle-Master was actually just stringing her along.

Xu Xing smiled and turned his gaze back to the fighting stage.

After Zhang Yunlu had displayed a Perfect-grade sword art in her bout against Fang Lin, no one dared challenge her anymore.

Unless something unexpected happened, she should be the champion of this Combat Trial.

This was undoubtedly a surprise to many.

After all, before this Combat Trial, Zhang Yunlu's performance, while not bad, still had some gap from the top tier.

Just when most people thought this Combat Trial would hold no more surprises…

Another figure appeared in everyone's sight. That person was treading a flying sword, his true essence Heavy and Dense, its quality far above Qi-Training spiritual power.

Sword-flying, Foundation Establishment! There's actually a Foundation Establishment cultivator among this batch of students!

"It's Xiao Fan!"

"Xiao Fan? You mean the Xiao Fan whose brother joined Longxiang Qingtianzong before the college entrance exam? But hasn't he only been at Qi-Training Ninth Layer for a short while?"

"His brother must've given him some treasures."

Xiao Fan's expression didn't change at this idle chatter; instead, he looked toward Zhang Yunlu.

The hand Zhang Yunlu used to grip her sword tightened slightly.

A Foundation Establishment opponent—she had no confidence at all, but that didn't mean she would concede outright.

The next moment, Xiao Fan dove down on his sword. Zhang Yunlu stood ready, not daring to be careless in the slightest.

But… Xiao Fan didn't stop in front of her. He flew right past and landed on the second-largest fighting stage.

Whoosh! This scene instantly threw the spectator stands into an uproar, chatter rising on all sides, deafeningly noisy.

You're a fully established Foundation Building cultivator, and you dare not fight a Qi-Training cultivator?

Yet Xiao Fan turned a deaf ear, sat cross-legged on the stage, and began regulating his breathing.

In some corner of the spectator stands, a middle-aged couple watched Xiao Fan on the stage with nervous tension.

………

"False Foundation Establishment."

On the judges' panel, the principal saw through Xiao Fan's true state.

This Xiao Fan had clearly taken a Breakthrough-Obstructing Spirit Liquid to forcibly reach a False Foundation Establishment. That would also explain why he didn't go challenge Zhang Yunlu.

A False Foundation Establishment versus a Qi-Training Ninth Layer sword cultivator who had mastered a Perfect-grade sword art—the outcome really was hard to say. "He was at Qi-Training Ninth Layer before, right? Why would he use this method to reach Foundation Establishment?" Yu Ming was somewhat puzzled.

False Foundation Establishment was a method only chosen by cultivators with no hope of orthodox Foundation Establishment, but Xiao Fan, at Qi-Training Ninth Layer, clearly didn't fall into that category. This kind of self-sabotage of one's future…

"Not long ago, a batch of Longxiang Qingtianzong cultivators withdrew from the Starry Sky Battlefield. Some of them were gravely wounded; Xiao Fan's brother was among them and remains in a coma to this day." The mayor's secretary explained.

Whether to go to the Starry Sky Battlefield was entirely up to the cultivator's own will; it wasn't compulsory, so the risks had to be borne by oneself.

Clearly, Xiao Fan had taken the Breakthrough-Obstructing Spirit Liquid to reach Foundation Establishment in order to win the rewards of this Combat Trial and scrape together enough for medical fees.

"What a pity…" Yu Ming sighed.

Regarding such matters, he couldn't really say anything.

With his path cut off, that youngster must be feeling terrible inside too.

………

False Foundation Establishment? It really was inconceivable.

Xu Xing looked at Xiao Fan on the stage, his gaze seeming to pierce through his body and see that wondrous yet fragile illusory Dao Foundation within his dantian.

That blond kid from before was too weak—he had taken the Breakthrough-Obstructing Spirit Liquid at only Qi-Training Seventh Layer.

But Xiao Fan was different. He was at Qi-Training Ninth Layer.

A Qi-Training Ninth Layer cultivator taking the Breakthrough-Obstructing Spirit Liquid to build a Dao Foundation would suffer some loss, but a trace of the wondrous phenomenon of a Creation Dao Foundation still remained.

Qi-Training Seventh Layer was inherently incomplete, but with the aid of that trace of wondrous phenomenon, it could still allow one to build a Dao Foundation. How could that not count as a different kind of 'seizing the creation of Heaven and Earth'?

"What a pity."

Although Xiao Fan still retained a trace of the Creation Dao Foundation's aura, incomplete was incomplete—he could no longer advance. His fragile Dao Foundation simply could not bear the Weight of the Golden Core.

Even scrapping his cultivation to start over would be extremely difficult. That Dao Foundation, though fragile, was of an extremely high grade; destroying it would be equivalent to detonating an entire Creation Dao Foundation inside his body.

Even with a Dao Merging cultivator's protection, the odds of surviving were overwhelmingly in favor of ending up a cripple, with only a sliver of a chance of emerging unscathed.

Still, Ling Yin Fang's research did have something to it—perhaps they really might produce results in the end.

This young fellow could also be observed more closely from now on.

Beside Xu Xing, Chi Jiuyu was currently on the Spirit Net arguing with people.

It all started with a post.

【Help! I've already reached Foundation Establishment—what direction should I choose as my main cultivation path?】

It even came with an attached special-admission notice from the Orthodox Alliance University.

As a warm-hearted cultivator, Chi Jiuyu gave what he considered the most correct answer.

Future Sect Master of the Xiang Jianzong: "Of course it's Sword Cultivation! Sword cultivators are both cool and strong—isn't cultivation all about sword-riding and longevity? /smirk"

There were replies beneath it, but the first two were actually alt accounts opened by Chi Jiuyu himself.

Next Sect Master of the Xiang Jianzong: "Yeah yeah, I also think Sword Cultivation is the best."

Destiny Sect Master of the Xiang Jianzong: "Sword cultivators are invincible within their own rank. Don't agree? Come fight."

Little Zhao Who Silently Refines Spells: "You three upstairs—why don't you guys fight it out first /pick nose."

Little Zhao Who Silently Refines Spells: "If you're choosing, of course you pick us Spell cultivators—comprehend heaven and earth, grasp the universe, divine abilities to suppress the world, ten thousand transformations across the heavens, endless might gathered into one self, the great Dao of the cosmos entirely within your control."

Future Sect Master of the Xiang Jianzong: "All that bragging, and you're still a glass cannon who dies to one sword /pick nose."

Little Zhao Who Silently Refines Spells: "Heh, are you guys any different from those muscle-headed brutes?"

Evergreen (Taking Alchemy Commissions): "No, Sword cultivators are still a bit cooler than Body cultivators."

Can Someone Please Tear Down That Stupid Sect Arena (Seeking Dragon Elephant Pills): "……"

Damn, getting hit by stray bullets even while lying down—when will us Body cultivators ever be able to stand up.

Future Sect Master of the Xiang Jianzong: "A glass cannon who can roll little pills is sitting here giving evaluations now."

Clear Moon Talisman Shop (Wholesale Inquiries via DM): "Dying of laughter—you dare say that to your Alchemy Cauldron Elder?"

Future Sect Master of the Xiang Jianzong: "A glass cannon tossing little paper scraps—haven't you starved to death yet?"

……

Chi Jiuyu single-handedly argued against every cultivator profession, switching between three accounts back and forth, and through sheer hand speed somehow never fell behind.

Mixed in were also Spell cultivators' contempt for Body cultivators, and all cultivators' contempt for the Hehuan Sect's Heavenly Dao cultivators.

In the end, the original poster was scared into deleting the post, and only then did Chi Jiuyu reluctantly put away his phone.

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