Chapter 16

Boom… Thud… Crack…

Cloud Hidden Sect is located above the clouds and mist of Nine Clouds Peak; apart from the frequent snowfall at the summit of Lotus Flower Peak and the miasma in the valleys of Secluded Valley Peak, the weather is mostly clear and cloudless most of the time, and today is no exception.

One after another, splendid attack spells struck the sunk‑gold wood used as a target, and a few cultivators even attacked the wooden dummy directly with weapons at close range. The sunk‑gold wood, serving as the target, truthfully responded to each attack, emitting light of varying intensity.

"The disciple Qingge of the Heaven Sword Chamber wins." A burly man with disheveled hair and a full beard, carrying a sword on his back, loudly announced the result.

The disciple named Qingge was tall and slender, with a faint smile on his face that made people feel fond of him at first sight. He raised a black‑handled narrow‑mouthed treasure sword to celebrate his victory.

The watching disciples burst into enthusiastic applause.

Originally this match was merely intended to display each other's spell techniques, but since everyone cultivated different methods and had varying lengths of training, purely comparing spell damage was essentially meaningless. However, "in literature there is no first place, in martial arts there is no second," so in the end everyone still chose this simple and direct way of competing.

All together, about five hundred disciples from the two sides were divided into ten groups, lined up in a row.

Everyone served as a referee; if a disagreement arose because two people's attack strengths were similar, they could simply have another bout. And this disciple Qingge of the Heaven Sword Chamber was the victor of the first group.

The remaining nine groups' matches were also in full swing.

Over the past month, Wei Yuning had basically stayed in the medicinal herb garden, knowing very few outer‑chamber disciples; even inside the Pill Chamber he hardly knew anyone, let alone disciples of the Sword, Saber, and Spirit Beast Chambers. Those three chambers' disciples are unlike the non‑combat chambers such as the Pill, Artifact, External Affairs, and Internal Affairs chambers—they have no trivial daily chores, spending their time either cultivating or going out for training, and they constitute the strongest fighting force of the Cloud Hidden Sect, so it is only natural that their disciples would come out on top.

Since the first group's match took place right at the edge of the spectator stands, most of the miscellaneous labor disciples crowded there to watch; of course, they all stood far back in the periphery, with no one so oblivious as to squeeze into the interior.

Wei Yuning and Man Niu naturally also squeezed into the small group of miscellaneous laborers. As for that fellow Qingge, Wei Yuning still had a slight familiarity with him—a guy who was popular with women; in the morning, not to mention ordinary female cultivators of the Qingluan Sect, even the Three Phoenixes of Qingluan had spoken to him voluntarily. As for that disheveled, sword‑carrying big man, he was somewhat unfamiliar to Wei Yuning, who recalled not having seen him that morning.

"Who is that barbarian?" Wei Yuning pointed at the sword‑carrying big man and asked Man Niu.

"Silence, brat, that's Uncle Qinghe of the Overbearing Saber Chamber, a direct disciple who has half‑stepped into the Opening Light stage; if he knew you said that, he'd surely not let you off!" Man Niu hadn't spoken yet when a stern‑looking tall miscellaneous laborer turned and shouted at Wei Yuning. But when he got a clear look at Wei Yuning's appearance, his expression instantly turned a little embarrassed: "Sorry, you… you are which chamber's uncle? I don't think I've seen you before!"

"My name is Wei Yuning; I'm a miscellaneous laborer in the medicinal herb garden, but I just reached Foundation Establishment this noon!" Wei Yuning said with a smile.

The few miscellaneous laborers nearby, hearing this, all showed envy, almost simultaneously stepped back a few steps, encircled Wei Yuning, and respectfully clasped their fists, saying, "Congratulations, Uncle!"

The significance of Foundation Establishment for a cultivator is immense; only after taking this step does one truly count as a genuine cultivator. With a base lifespan of 120 years, most Foundation Establishment disciples can advance to the Opening Light stage, which grants a lifespan of 200 years; in the years of cultivation ahead, whether as fellow sect members or as friends, they are people worth befriending.

Wei Yuning felt refreshed and invigorated, smiling as he said, "Don't be polite, junior brothers and sisters; I hereby wish you all early Foundation Establishment and joint cultivation of the Great Dao."

"Thank you for the kind words, Uncle." The miscellaneous laborers all thanked in unison.

"Sorry, Uncle, I am Chang Fei of the Overbearing Saber Chamber; just now I spoke without thinking, but nephew, I am also speaking sincerely—Uncle Qinghe is a frank and upright person; if one were to say such things to his face, it would be improper." Chang Fei said.

"It's nothing, it's nothing; I was wrong, thank you for the reminder, junior brother. I'm someone who always speaks without restraint—I might one day cause trouble." Wei Yuning's words were sincere, but seeing Chang Fei's expression, he took it as Wei Yuning being modest.

Man Niu remained silent beside them, but he nodded deeply in agreement.

Afterward, several people formed a small circle centered on Wei Yuning and continued to watch the Foundation Establishment disciples' talent display. Seeing Qingge shine brightly before the female cultivators of the Qingluan Sect, the other disciples felt a bit dissatisfied.

A cultivator under 1.6 meters tall stepped forward and said to Uncle Qinghe: "Uncle Qinghe, cultivator combat

Ever‑changing, merely attacking is nothing but brute courage; formations, illusion arts, poison use, spirit beasts, and so on can all defeat the enemy—I propose that we also test these categories."

"Yes, yes, yes, we should compare all of them; I rely on spirit beasts in battle, and at Foundation Establishment we can't yet fuse with a spirit beast for combat—how could I possibly match the brothers of the Heaven Sword and Overbearing Saber Chambers in a fight?" said a burly man wearing a cloak.

"Not bad, I have the 'Seven‑Step Pill' in hand—killing people and beasts is as easy as taking something from a pocket; do I really need to use it on a wooden lump?" another handsome fellow with a cold expression also stepped forward.

The crowd was buzzing, quite a prelude to trouble.

"Well… although I prefer killing enemies with a saber, what you say isn't wrong either; I…" Uncle Qinghe scratched his head, looking embarrassed.

"Nephew Qinghe, let's end the match here! You're a direct disciple, yet you don't cultivate properly—what are you doing here joining the fun? Did you come here? Is this your place? Get lost back where you belong!" Just then a stern voice rang out—it was the returning steward Hongzhi, who arrived together with Immortal Yunyan, fluttering down side by side.

"Yes, yes, Uncle, I'm leaving right away!" The Qinghe who had just been the center of attention instantly became as obedient as a kitten and quickly vanished from everyone's sight.

"Junior Brother Chang Fei, isn't Uncle Qinghe here to participate in the marriage alliance convention?" Wei Yuning asked.

"Haha, certainly not—Uncle Qinghe loves a lively scene and enjoys fighting; he just sneaked over to play! Besides, how could a direct disciple possibly be involved in a marriage alliance?" Seeing Qinghe embarrassed, Chang Fei's stern face also couldn't help breaking into a smile.

"But isn't that person over there also a direct disciple?" Wei Yuning pointed at the distant man wearing a pale yellow robe with raised eyebrows and asked softly.

"Heh," Chang Fei snorted, shaking his head in disdain, "He's nothing but a medicine bottle—even his Foundation Establishment relied on using a spirit crystal to forge his fleshly body; all that can be said is that he was born with good parents."

"He is, after all, a direct disciple—aren't you afraid of him? And besides, is flesh‑based Foundation Establishment really that bad?" Wei Yuning really wanted to say, "I too am a flesh‑based Foundation Establishment cultivator; if you don't respect him, you don't respect me."