Chapter 492: Contending for Fame, Forsaking Fame

"It seems my entering the dream might not be due to some True Person influencing me in secret, but rather caused by this surge of Qi that suddenly appeared within the Dream-Dream Order."

Li Fei looked at the thick fog surrounding him, a guess forming in his heart.

"When did this surge of Qi appear? My first time entering the dream was on Great Luo Peak, so did it appear at that time?"

"Is the person who said 'the box is empty' the disciple of the Great Luo Sect whose body I am possessing? And who is that little Daoist priest with the cultivation of a True Person?"

Li Fei had too many doubts in his heart.

Unfortunately, the known clues were still too few, and he could not figure out the truth.

"Perhaps the truth lies within that main hall."

Li Fei once again utilized the Nightmare Sect's technique to clear the thick fog before his eyes.

The next second, he arrived at that main hall once again.

"This Senior Brother, here is this year's elixir."

That little Daoist priest walked out from behind the screen again, holding a wooden box as he approached.

"This year's elixir, Great Luo Sect..."

Li Fei suddenly remembered something.

It was rumored that the longevity elixir the Great Luo Sect was originally supposed to tribute to the palace this year for His Majesty the Emperor to consume had been accidentally lost.

Could it be this box of elixir right before his eyes?

Li Fei calmly took the wooden box from the little Daoist priest's hands and turned to walk out of the main hall.

He couldn't open the wooden box in front of the little Daoist priest, but couldn't he open it after walking out?

However, just as Li Fei stepped one foot out of the main hall's gate, his mind stirred, and his vision blurred.

He discovered he had appeared inside the main hall once again.

"This Senior Brother, here is this year's elixir."

The young little Daoist priest walked out from behind the screen holding the wooden box.

"Reset?"

Li Fei was startled.

He practiced the Nightmare Sect's techniques and had a certain understanding of various types of dreams.

The vast majority of dreams are usually limited to a specific area; once one leaves this area, the dream is interrupted.

Either one exits the dream directly, or the dream resets.

"It seems this dream of mine can only be confined to this main hall."

Li Fei took the wooden box from the little Daoist priest's hands again.

Then he turned and walked toward the outside of the main hall; just as he was about to step out of the main hall's gate, he opened the wooden box in his hands with lightning speed:

Inside the wooden box, twelve pale-gold, patterned elixirs were arranged neatly in three rows.

"Presumptuous!"

The little Daoist priest's voice, filled with majesty, exploded in Li Fei's heart once again.

The next second, Li Fei opened his eyes on his bed.

He had been killed in the dream again and was directly ejected from it.

Rubbing his brow, Li Fei withdrew his spiritual sense from the Dream-Dream Order.

Activating the dream voluntarily this time had consumed quite a bit of his spiritual sense.

There was a competition tomorrow, so he did not intend to enter the dream to explore again tonight.

"Is what's inside this wooden box the longevity elixir for the Emperor?"

"Then why was it said that the box was empty?"

"Could it be that it doesn't refer to the same box?"

Li Fei still had many puzzles in his heart.

In the end, he couldn't be bothered to think anymore; after washing up, he lay down to sleep, preparing to welcome tomorrow's final.

September 24th, 9:00 AM.

The Tianqu University arena was packed.

Today, Cang Province Inspector Zhu Yue had arrived at the scene once again.

If anyone were observant, they would notice that on the main viewing platform, Zhu Yue was not sitting in the central seat of honor, but had left the position empty.

This meant that someone with a status even more noble than his was coming!

"His Highness the Crown Prince arrives—"

After everyone had gathered, a sharp voice rang throughout the entire arena.

Whoosh!

The entire arena was in an uproar.

On the main viewing platform, Inspector Zhu Yue stood up first, and the other officials followed suit one after another.

Tianqu University President, Grandmaster Qi Zhou stood up.

Shangqing Sect True Person Xuanchen stood up.

Great Luo Sect True Person Qingxia, and one martial arts master after another all stood up.

With no True Monarch or Martial Saint present, a Crown Prince was the person with the highest status in the entire venue!

The tens of thousands of spectators at the scene also stood up, looking toward the entrance with excitement and curiosity.

A man wearing a noble bright-yellow python robe walked into the arena surrounded by a crowd.

It was precisely His Highness the Crown Prince, who had been ordered to "inspect the seven southwestern provinces"!

This Crown Prince had previously gone to the Great Luo Sect and decided on the venue for this Martial Arts Exchange Tournament.

Afterward, he went to "inspect the seven southwestern provinces," and only on the final day of the tournament did he arrive in Cang Province, specifically rushing over to attend today's final.

"Greetings to Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

On the main viewing platform, Inspector Zhu Yue shouted loudly.

"Greetings to Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

The tens of thousands of people in the arena shouted in unison.

"Haha, everyone need not stand on ceremony; please sit, everyone sit."

The Crown Prince smiled and waved to the surroundings, signaling for everyone to sit down.

At this time, Zhu Yue had already led a group of officials down the main viewing platform to personally welcome the Crown Prince.

The two sides met in the center of the arena, and after an exchange of salutes, Zhu Yue took a microphone from his subordinate and handed it to the Crown Prince:

"Please, Your Highness, say a few words."

The Crown Prince took the microphone and said quite casually:

"I have come here today specifically to watch the competition. I look forward to seeing brilliant duels and hope the participating contestants can display their true level.

By the way, I previously added a wager to this final: the person who wins the championship will be able to choose any one secret manual from the Imperial Library.

Today, I have decided to add another heavy wager!"

Hearing this, everyone present became curious; even a Grandmaster like Qi Zhou became interested.

There were numerous peerless secret manuals in the Imperial Library, and choosing any one of them could be called priceless!

Under such circumstances, what other heavy wager could the Crown Prince add?

"I was ordered to inspect the seven southwestern provinces, and Cang Province is the final stop. Soon, I will return to Lanling City to report back to the Emperor. Whoever can win the championship in this tournament, I will take him with me to Lanling City and recommend him to the Emperor!"

The Crown Prince's voice spread throughout the entire arena via the speakers.

Whoosh—

The entire arena was in an uproar.

Some were shocked, some envious, and some puzzled.

But more were fervent!

To be personally recommended by His Highness the Crown Prince, and recommended to His Majesty the Emperor—what a tremendous honor was this?

If one were lucky, it might truly be possible to ascend to the heavens in a single step and rise rapidly in the world!

After finishing his "heavy wager," the Crown Prince and a group of big figures walked up to the main viewing platform and sat down, waiting for the competition to begin.

"The first match: Shangqing Sect's Gan Jingcheng versus Great Luo Sect's Ning Tang Chuan!"

The staff member announced through the microphone.

Today's first battle was the fight for third and fourth place.

Shangqing Sect VS Great Luo Sect!

This was a duel with extreme topicality; many newspapers last night had reported related news:

The Shangqing Sect had suddenly jumped out to contend for the right to speak with the Great Luo Sect, wanting to become the new representative of the Daoist school.

And today was a direct dialogue between the two; the win or loss would directly affect the outside world's perception of them.

Gan Jingcheng, whose beard was now gone, walked into the arena.

He no longer had his usual ease and grace, replaced instead by a grave expression.

Yesterday he had been severely injured by Li Fei; after a night of treatment, his injuries had not fully healed, and he now had at most about sixty percent of his combat power from his prime.

And although Ning Tang Chuan's consumption yesterday was also great, he hadn't been injured much, and his state today was at least ninety percent of his peak!

So even though Gan Jingcheng's realm was higher than Ning Tang Chuan's, he did not have much confidence that he could win.

Ning Tang Chuan walked into the arena with a calm expression.

Compared to Gan Jingcheng's gravity, his state of mind was much calmer.

The moment he stepped into the arena, there was no thought in his mind of the Shangqing Sect, the Daluo Sect, or any struggle for supremacy between Daoist schools.

To him, there was only victory or defeat, only the opponent before his eyes!

"Begin!"

As the referee announced the start, Ning Tang Chuan, just as he had yesterday, began to recreate his world of thunder and lightning.

He was different from his junior brother, Ning Xing.

When Ning Xing had set up the "Big Dipper Wind and Thunder Array," he had been completely unable to cover the entire arena, forced to wait for Li Fei to enter the array of his own accord.

But Ning Tang Chuan's four core-level extraordinary abilities worked in tandem, allowing him to truly transform the entire arena into his own world of thunder and lightning!

Therefore, he had to "seize the geographical advantage" from the very start.

Gan Jingcheng was equally aware of this, decisively unleashing the Daoist energy technique 【Leaning Clouds in the Sky】, transforming into a mass of ethereal clouds and mist, and actively entering Ning Tang Chuan's world of thunder and lightning to engage him in close-quarters combat.

Bolts of lightning struck the clouds and mist, yet failed to harm Gan Jingcheng in the slightest.

Ning Tang Chuan suddenly dodged to one side, evading a sudden flash of sword light.

The cloud and mist were clearly still dozens of meters away, yet Gan Jingcheng had somehow arrived silently at Ning Tang Chuan's side.

The next second, he was once again enveloped by a mass of clouds and mist, dodging the lightning that roared in from all directions.

Ning Tang Chuan calmly thrust his sword; in an instant, a raging fire spread across the plains, a sea of flames generated from thin air, enveloping a large area including that mass of clouds and mist.

Immediately after, the clouds and mist "melted," and specks of black ash floated in the air, as if the entire world had turned to cinders.

Gan Jingcheng's figure was revealed.

Daoist energy technique—【Ash of Tribulation】!

This technique was rooted in the thunder of fire, and the thunder of fire was specialized in breaking all kinds of energy.

A single move of 【Ash of Tribulation】 shattered Gan Jingcheng's 【Leaning Clouds in the Sky】, forcing him to use other Daoist energy techniques to contend with it.

Gan Jingcheng possessed the "Heavenly Heart" and could unleash Daoist energy techniques with ease.

And Ning Tang Chuan, situated within his "world of thunder and lightning," was like a fish in water when unleashing various thunder-attribute Daoist energy techniques.

At this moment, it was a contest of their cultivation bases and their ability to perform under pressure.

On the arena, electric light flickered, and silver snakes danced wildly.

Clouds and mist swirled, and sword Qi crisscrossed.

There was the roar of thunder, and the heaven-shaking cry of a dragon!

The two peerless prodigies from the Daoist schools had indeed contributed a truly magnificent match; both sides vied with their cultivation, sword techniques, extraordinary abilities, and Daoist energy—they vied with everything a martial artist could possibly vie with!

Burdened by his injuries, Gan Jingcheng ultimately fell into a disadvantage.

For someone like Ning Tang Chuan, as long as he caught even the slightest opportunity, he could transform that opportunity into an advantage, then expand that advantage bit by bit, finally turning it into a winning move!

Therefore, after the two had exchanged two hundred moves, Ning Tang Chuan was completely in the upper hand.

During a close-quarters clash, Gan Jingcheng risked everything, attempting to trade injury for a chance at life, but Ning Tang Chuan used his energy to aggravate Gan Jingcheng's internal injuries, then used thunder to control his movements, finally stopping his longsword at Gan Jingcheng's throat.

Pfft—

Gan Jingcheng spat out a mouthful of blood, his face full of bitterness.

"Daluo Sect's Ning Tang Chuan, wins!"

The referee at the side of the arena loudly announced the final result.

This battle for reputation between the Shangqing Sect and the Daluo Sect ultimately ended with the Daluo Sect's victory.

"The next match is also the final of this Martial Arts Exchange Tournament—"

"Wuan University's Li Fei versus Mount Pudu Temple's Ming Qi!!!"

The staff member introduced with a passionate voice.

Boom—

The atmosphere of the entire arena was ignited in an instant.

They had finally waited for the final, who would be the champion of this year?

Who would be the strongest peerless prodigy of the current age?

Was it Li Fei, who had created history, or Ming Qi, who had displayed near-overwhelming strength from beginning to end?

Amidst the mountain-shaking and sea-roaring cheers, Li Fei stood up from his seat with a calm expression.

"Good luck!"

A group of martial arts university students, including Li Sister Tianyu, all cheered him on.

Li Fei nodded with a smile, picked up the heavy package beside him, and walked down the stands.

On the other side, Ming Qi, who had specially worn an old monk's robe today, also walked down the stands and arrived at the edge of the arena.

When he saw Li Fei open the package in his hand and take out a bottle of elixirs, intending to consume them, he suddenly spoke:

"Benefactor Li, wait a moment."

"Hmm?"

Li Fei stopped his movements and looked at the other party with a confused expression.

He wouldn't be trying to stop me from taking the elixir, would he?

Just as he was thinking this, Ming Qi spoke:

"Benefactor Li, there is no need to consume the elixir."

Then, without waiting for Li Fei to speak, he turned to face the main viewing stand and said in a loud voice:

"Everyone."

His voice, propelled by his energy, resounded throughout the entire arena.

Soon, the entire arena fell silent, and everyone looked toward this contemporary Buddha-son.

"I am truly sorry."

Ming Qi first bowed to the main viewing stand, then turned and bowed to the stands in the other directions.

Finally, he straightened up and said in a calm voice:

"This poor monk, I forfeit today."

Third update delivered, requesting monthly tickets.

(End of chapter)