Chapter 86: So Many People

After the preliminary round ended, it wasn't long before the results ranked by points appeared on the water screen.

Unsurprisingly, the top nine all had three wins, among whom two were at the Foundation Establishment Early-stage; it was unclear if they were truly powerful or just lucky enough not to be matched against formidable opponents.

Ruan Xing looked at a few familiar names—Xie Huai, Xu Xi, Xiong Dacheng, and herself—all with two wins and one loss. Because those with higher cultivation were ranked first, her ranking was slightly higher than Xie Huai's, at thirty-fourth.

The bottom dozen or so all had three losses. Ruan Xing's prediction was also correct: from fifty-first to sixty-ninth, everyone had one win and two losses. Although their points were the same, following the principle of cultivation level, the last nine were unfortunately eliminated.

Logically, there should have been those who could voluntarily withdraw if their injuries from the preliminary round were too severe to affect the secondary round, but no one applied for this.

Since they had already made it to the secondary round, they had to give it a try, didn't they?

Subsequently, everyone welcomed a short three-day rest period.

During these three days, those with injuries recovered properly, and those who entered the secondary round prepared well.

Ruan Xing was not injured, so she spent a day and a half going to the town nearest to the Xuanbing Sect, sold the Foundation Establishment Pill in her possession, and obtained eight hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones.

Exchanging five hundred Contribution Points for a Foundation Establishment Pill was a benefit the Xuanbing Sect gave to Outer Sect Disciples, allowing each disciple to exchange for up to three Foundation Establishment Pills at this price before Foundation Establishment. However, it was not easy for Outer Sect Disciples to accumulate Contribution Points; basically, by the time they had worked hard enough to earn enough Contribution Points to exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill and cultivation techniques, it was time for them to undergo Foundation Establishment. No one would deliberately get stuck at Qi Refining Perfection just to take advantage of this, because establishing the foundation earlier meant they could earn more.

Outside the sect, the price of a Foundation Establishment Pill usually fluctuated around seven or eight hundred, and sometimes, due to certain objective factors, it could rise to one thousand Spirit Stones each.

In this way, the Spirit Stones she had returned to over one thousand.

Ruan Xing directly topped up five hundred Spirit Stones in the Simulator to use when simulating the Secret Realm in a few days.

The three days passed in a flash, and the secondary round was about to begin soon.

The several arenas on the plaza were all removed, replaced by a large, square platform.

It was said that the list for the secondary round was decided by drawing lots. Ruan Xing was still wondering how Xu Sixi could manipulate the results if it were a draw. Once she saw the method of drawing lots, she didn't find it strange anymore.

Everyone pressed their handprints on the water screen; it lit up as they pressed, and the spot that lit up was the number the individual had drawn.

No... you call this drawing lots? Haven't your backend programs already been coded? Who presses where is already fixed.

Why go through this process just for the sake of appearances?

Ruan Xing couldn't help but complain in her heart.

But she still followed the crowd to line up and press her handprint. After seeing her number, and since the competition wouldn't officially start until tomorrow, she was about to head back when she was suddenly called out.

"Junior Sister Ruan."

She turned back to look and saw it was Wu Xing. She was a bit surprised and a bit curious, "Why did you come over?"

Because some cultivators who originally held positions within the sect had stepped down from their duties to participate in the competition, the Treasure Pavilion and the External Affairs Hall had been short-handed these past few days. Lu Jin and Wu Xing had to be on duty every day and couldn't get away to watch the competition.

Wu Xing smiled and said, "Haven't you noticed that there are a lot of people today?"

Ruan Xing looked around; there were indeed quite a few, at least half as many again as during the preliminary round. However, she didn't know many people to begin with, and everyone was wearing moon-white disciple robes, so she couldn't tell who was who.

"It is a bit more. Where did these people come from?" Ruan Xing had just finished asking when she suddenly remembered the information she had obtained during the simulation a few days ago, and hurriedly asked, "Are those the Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Central Province?"

"That's right. The disciples sent from the Central Province to participate in the Jin Tai Secret Realm always come early whenever the Jin Tai Secret Realm opens, and they watch the secondary round while they're at it." Wu Xing looked over in that direction. "There are one hundred of them in total. The External Affairs Hall is responsible for receiving them, so only one person was left in the hall, and everyone else came over."

After Wu Xing's reminder, when Ruan Xing looked at the people on the plaza again, she felt a difference.

Although they were wearing the same clothes, some cultivators had arrogant expressions, as if they looked down on a rural place like Nanzhou.

She sized them up roughly; they were all Foundation Establishment Mid-stage and Late-stage disciples. Although their cultivation was not low, their temperament was truly not broad-minded enough, so she couldn't help but ask, "Are these the elite disciples of the Central Province?"

"Yes. I heard there are a thousand Inner Sect Disciples in the Central Province. If they can stand out from so many people, how could they not be elite disciples?" Wu Xing sighed.

Ruan Xing clicked her tongue upon hearing this, "So many people? That's truly not easy."

It was fortunate that her starting point wasn't in the Central Province. It was already hard enough to fight ninety-plus people to take the top thirty; wouldn't it be even harder to take the top one hundred out of one thousand?

"Today is just to bring them over to take a look. Later, we'll go to Elder Peak to arrange their accommodations. As for you, do your best in tomorrow's competition; don't let our fellow disciples from the Central Province laugh at us." Wu Xing winked at her teasingly, made a fist to gesture for her to do her best, and said, "I'm off."

The two said goodbye to each other. Wu Xing went back to receive the fellow disciples from the Central Province, while Ruan Xing walked back while thinking.

Most of the cultivators from the Central Province were at the Foundation Establishment Late-stage, with a small portion at the Mid-stage; there wasn't a single one at the Early-stage.

Adding these thirty from Nanzhou, that made one hundred and thirty people in total. Did Xie Huai have such great ability? Could he block a hundred in the Secret Realm, single-handedly hacking down one hundred and twenty-eight cultivators of the same cultivation level? She was thinking about this when she was suddenly stopped by someone.

"This Junior Sister, may I ask how to get to the dining hall?" It was a baby-faced youth who looked at most sixteen or seventeen, with a sunny smile on his face.

"The dining hall?" Ruan Xing looked at him, "Do you still need to eat at the Foundation Establishment Late-stage?"

He was a bit embarrassed, "A personal hobby."

"You must be a fellow disciple from the Central Province. There is no dining hall in the Inner Sect," Ruan Xing said. Seeing the visible disappointment on his face, she continued, "However, there is one in the Outer Sect. Do you want to go? I'll say the ugly things first: it's not very tasty."

The youth's eyes lit up instantly, "I want to go. Many thanks, Junior Sister. My name is Fu Qinghong."

"I'm Ruan Xing," Ruan Xing replied casually. She stepped onto her Flying Sword, looked left and right, and let him follow her, "Isn't there the External Affairs Hall to receive you? What will you do if they can't find you after you run off like this?"

"It's fine. I told my Senior Sister that I wanted to sneak off to find the dining hall," Fu Qinghong laughed. "My master never let me eat since I was young. When I hadn't yet guided Qi, I was hungry and dizzy every day. I just thought about being able to have a full meal once. Over time, I developed this habit, and I haven't changed it to this day."

Ruan Xing was surprised, "Ah? You weren't allowed to eat before guiding Qi? Then how did you grow up?"

According to the normal progress of a cultivator, one could only guide Qi at thirteen; before thirteen, they lived normally just like mortals.

Fu Qinghong explained, "Master did it for my own good, saying that eating mortal food would leave impurities in the body. But I couldn't eat Spirit Food every day before I guided Qi, so I could only eat a little Spirit Rice Porridge occasionally, drink more water, and eat Bigu Pills when I was truly too hungry."

Hearing this, Ruan Xing paused and stopped her Flying Sword, "Then if I take you to the dining hall, wouldn't that affect your cultivation?"

"It's fine," Fu Qinghong chuckled. "After I reached Qi Refining and could go down the mountain, I would sneak out to eat outside the sect from time to time. At most, Master would punish me if he found out. Please, Junior Sister, take me there. I'll go back immediately after eating. I definitely won't let anyone discover me, and I definitely won't let anyone know it was you who brought me. I swear."

Ruan Xing thought for a moment and continued to fly with him toward the direction of the outer peaks. Originally, her agreeing to help Fu Qinghong wasn't a sudden burst of kindness, but rather wanting to take the opportunity to understand the situation in the Central Province. It was just a pity that after chatting for a long time on the way, Ruan Xing only figured out Fu Qinghong's personal situation and knew nothing else.

He was an orphan. Because of his extraordinary aptitude, he was picked up by his master and brought back to the mountain when he was young and raised by his senior sister. His master was very strict with him, so he hadn't even stepped out of the courtyard gate before he was twelve. He entered the Dao at twelve, reached Foundation Establishment at fourteen, and only then dared to sneak down the mountain, but he didn't dare to go too far. This trip to Nanzhou was his first time traveling far from home.

Likewise, because he was a Personal Disciple, he wasn't very familiar with other Inner Sect Disciples, and he couldn't say much about the situation in the Inner Sect either.

Ruan Xing could only sigh, but since she had started the good deed, she accompanied him until he finished the meal.

In the Outer Sect dining hall, there were only a few Qi Refining early-stage brats. Those with slightly higher cultivation all brought food boxes back to eat, so no one recognized her, and the brats wouldn't randomly use their Divine Sense to check others' cultivation.

Today's meal was plum blossom pork ribs, stir-fried winter bamboo shoots, and a pear.

Fu Qinghong looked quite pleasantly surprised and ate with great relish.

Ruan Xing saw the dishes and then looked at the frozen red fingers of the other little disciples in the dining hall, only then realizing that it was already winter.

Usually, with the Mountain Protection Array, neither rain nor snow could enter, and she didn't fear cold or heat at the Foundation Establishment stage, so she felt almost nothing and hadn't realized that winter had arrived and the New Year was approaching.

It was true; counting carefully, it had been almost five months since she left the mortal world and stepped into Cultivation.

In Cultivation, time holds no meaning; for the Cultivators here, the New Year is merely an ordinary day among many.

She wondered how Ruan Tao was doing; would she stay with the Red Head Gang to spend the New Year with the Hu San brothers, or return home to keep watch with her mother?

Ruan Xing lowered her eyes, lost in thought for a moment, while Fu Qinghong finished his meal and then carefully placed the pear into his Storage Bag.

Seeing Ruan Xing look at him, he gave a bashful smile, "I can't come out often, so I'll take this back to eat when I'm feeling particularly miserable."

Ruan Xing handed him the pear from her own meal, "Take this one too; I can eat them often here."

A flash of surprise crossed Fu Qinghong's eyes, "Alright, thank you, Junior Sister. If you ever need my help with anything in the future, just say the word."

What a fool.

Ruan Xing thought.

Usually, at a time like this, one would either offer verbal thanks or directly give a few Spirit Stones as a token of gratitude; who would promise a favor for a single meal?

Ruan Xing didn't take it to heart, quickly finished the remaining pork ribs on her plate, stood up, and said, "I've been out for quite a while, I should head back."

"Yes, thank you for the reminder, Junior Sister. Let's go."

Ruan Xing pointed out the direction to Elder Peak, Fu Qinghong left after offering profuse thanks, and she returned to her dwelling to rest.

She needed to conserve her energy for the second round of the trials the next day.

She knew from the previous day's drawing that her match was in the second half, so she didn't arrive very early today; by the time she reached the plaza, two matches had already taken place.

The Cultivators from Central Province and Nanzhou were clearly divided into two camps, staying on opposite sides of the platform and ignoring each other.

From afar, Ruan Xing saw Fu Qinghong; he winked at her secretly, then focused entirely on the match on the platform, as if he didn't know her at all.

Standing beside him was a tall female Cultivator, and the two looked quite close; that was likely his Senior Sister.

Ruan Xing casually pulled over a fellow sect member and asked, "We are all from the same Sect, why is the division so severe? What happened this morning?"

"It's nothing much, just that during the last two matches, a Foundation Establishment Late Stage senior brother was competing against a Foundation Establishment Early-stage fellow disciple. The fight dragged on a bit too long, and someone over there mocked them, saying that people like that wouldn't even pass the preliminary trials in Central Province, and that letting such people into the Secret Realm would only hold them back. They even insulted the person on the stage, so what does that make us, who were eliminated in the preliminary trials? We're even worse, right? So they started arguing, but the Elders stopped the conflict before it could really begin."

The disciple replied, still looking at the opposite side with lingering resentment.

"I see." Ruan Xing lowered her head, pondering whether this would have any impact on the trials or entering the Secret Realm.

The next match began, and after the referee's announcement, Xie Huai took the stage.

After two fake matches and one bye, his reputation as a genius of the Outer Sect was almost entirely ruined; as soon as he stepped onto the stage, he was met with a chorus of boos, and Xie Huai's expression nearly cracked.

He glared viciously at Ruan Xing in the crowd.

Although he didn't care what status or treatment this disguise had in the Xuanbing Sect, as he would be leaving once the Jin Tai Secret Realm ended, Ruan Xing causing him trouble still made him very unhappy.

It was just that such trivial matters were not worth them tearing off their masks just yet.

Ruan Xing feigned innocence and smiled at him, which successfully made Xie Huai even angrier; he turned his head away and stopped looking at her.

Xie Huai's opponent was a mediocre Foundation Establishment Early-stage cultivator, so ordinary that Ruan Xing had almost no impression of the person; once Xie Huai brought out three Array Flags and used his footwork to lure the opponent into the Array Disk, the opponent surrendered within the time it takes to burn a stick of incense.

How was this a fight? Xie Huai hadn't encountered a single obstacle while setting up the array; Ruan Xing suspected this match was also a fake.

Did he pay people to throw matches? If he did, shouldn't Xie Huai also give her a reward for her conceding? Ruan Xing rubbed her chin in thought.

"I concede," Xie Huai said with a polite bow before stepping off the platform; his name jumped up on the water screen, indicating he had advanced to the next round.

The fifth match began quickly, and Xu Xi took the stage.

How brazen, to rig the matches so that the three of them were scheduled so close together.

After winning the match without any suspense, the Cultivators from Central Province began to leave in trickles.

"How boring, it's all just fluff."

"Exactly, no wonder the Nanzhou Sect has several mountain peaks connected together but not a single landscape lake; turns out all the water is right here."

After a burst of mocking laughter, only a dozen or so people remained in the Central Province camp to watch.

Elder Xu, sitting in mid-air, must have heard those snide remarks, but he remained expressionless and silent.

Thanks to book friend 20190927135209710 for the monthly ticket~ (End of chapter)