Chapter Thirty-Two: The Eve of the Grand Sect Competition

Yu Lang could only offer an awkward laugh. “I didn’t expect you to be so good at pretending to sleep, Tiger.”

Li Dahuo looked aggrieved. “I wasn’t pretending! You just make way too much noise when you leave.”

Trailing behind Li Dahuo were Dai Yang, bleary-eyed with sleep, and Xue Wenyang, wearing a faint, ambiguous smile.

Dai Yang scoffed, “If you hadn’t thought of the trick with the wheels on your shoes in the third round, you’d have been eliminated for sure. Your lightfoot skill is really lacking.”

Yu Lang had no choice but to accept his pitiful standing in lightfoot skills.

The young woman’s gaze swept over the four newly admitted students of the Moon-Washing Academy, finally settling firmly on Li Dahuo. “I’ve come looking for you—don’t you owe me an explanation?”

Resigned to his fate, Li Dahuo fished out a jade pendant of vivid green from his pocket. “Here, didn’t you always like this pendant? It’s yours.”

Her face lit up with delight. “You’re so thoughtful! Last time I just mentioned it in passing, and you went out and bought it for me. It must’ve been expensive, right?”

“Expensive? Use that pretty but useless little head of yours and think—would anyone ever sell an Earth-grade treasure that can nourish the Qi Sea? I traded my Wind-Fan for this! Now go on, get out of here—I’m afraid if I think about it much longer, I’ll regret it and ask for it back…”

Before Li Dahuo could finish, the young woman snatched the jade pendant, leapt into the Jade Belt River, and swam away—truly a woman who came and went like the wind.

Dai Yang could hardly contain his envy. “An Earth-grade treasure, just given away like that. Tiger, you’re bold.”

In this world, treasures are ranked by rarity: Heaven-grade, Earth-grade, and Mystic-grade. Heaven-grade is the most precious, followed by Earth, with Mystic being the lowest. Even a Mystic-grade treasure would be enough to spark a bloody struggle among countless noble families and sects—for example, the Limitless Relic and Dragon-Tiger Golden Elixir that Yu Lang took during his recent illness were both Mystic-grade spiritual medicines. Yu Lang gently stroked the cold blade of the short knife in his hand, wondering what grade of treasure the blade left to him by his family’s proud ancestor might be.

Li Dahuo sighed. “A fateful entanglement.”

Xue Wenyang’s attention, however, was elsewhere. “With a girl of such skill, who did you send her to steal from that she actually failed?”

Yu Lang had been wondering the same thing. He’d witnessed firsthand the woman’s terrifying footwork that bordered on teleportation—if she put her mind to thievery, she’d be on the level of a ‘Saint of Thieves.’ How could she possibly have been caught?

“Just thinking of that person makes my chest tighten. It was our fellow student—Nan Jiyun, one of the favorites to win this round of the contest.”

Xue Wenyang’s expression grew grim. “So it was him. No wonder. He’s twenty-nine this year, his cultivation at the peak of the Ocean-Wandering Realm. Although he’s a hair behind Wu Songru, he’s already a renowned master in the Tang Empire, and his true strength may well surpass that empty vessel Wu Songru.”

Yu Lang silently agreed. Wu Songru may have achieved enlightenment overnight and broken through to the Void Realm, but such rapid progress often meant shaky foundations and limited potential. His abilities had surged too quickly to match his cultivation, leaving openings to be exploited. By contrast, Nan Jiyun, who had long since entered a higher realm and built a solid reputation, was a far more daunting opponent.

Li Dahuo had sent the young woman to steal Nan Jiyun’s Juque Sword, hoping to probe his strength. The result was clear: not only was Nan Jiyun’s cultivation profound, but his agility techniques were also exceptional.

The Juque Sword was said to have been forged in the Spring and Autumn Period by the master swordsmith Ou Yezi. For a thousand years, every owner of this sword had been a top-tier master. Among swordsmen, there was a tradition of ‘nourishing’ one’s blade, and the Juque Sword, having been refined by countless swordmasters, was undoubtedly a Heaven-grade treasure.

Peak Ocean-Wandering Realm cultivation, combined with the power of the Heaven-grade Juque Sword—“Even if the seven of us joined forces, we wouldn’t stand a chance against Nan Jiyun!”

Disheartened by their discussion, the group retired together to sleep.

———————————————————————————————————————————————

Unlike previous rounds, the format of the final round was never fixed—it was always determined personally by the headmaster of the Moon-Washing Academy.

No matter how well you prepared, it was hard to gain the upper hand. In a way, this ensured fairness.

On the eve of the competition, all new students were gathered in the small training field to hear the presiding instructor announce the rules.

The contest would take place in a mountain two hundred li outside Yangzhou, an area owned by the academy and relatively safe, not some wilderness. The two hundred students would be sent into the deep mountains in groups, all wearing academy-issued training uniforms. Sewn onto the chest of each uniform, by a special method, was a metal emblem called a “Source.” The students’ task was to seize as many “Sources” from others as possible. After half a month, when the mountain was reopened, the student holding the greatest number of Sources would be declared the winner.

The academy made it clear: any student who killed a fellow student during the competition would be expelled and handed over to the authorities for severe punishment. Likewise, anyone who failed to help a peer in mortal danger would be treated as a murderer. The academy valued spotless backgrounds and upright character; it was nearly impossible for a true villain to have advanced this far, and severe injuries or fatalities during such trials were extremely rare. There was also an option to withdraw: simply fire a signal arrow, and a senior student would immediately escort the withdrawing student out of the mountains.

Yu Lang carefully reviewed the rules and found himself admiring the headmaster. This kind of contest—much like the survival games of his previous life—would not only select for exceptional strength, but also sharp wit and wilderness survival skills. The academy’s supply crates would last only five days, but the mountain would remain sealed for fifteen. After that, food would have to be won from others or gathered from the wild.

Apart from the academy-issued supply crate and their customary weapons, students were allowed to fill only one wooden box with personal items—no additional tools. When this rule was announced, the messenger brother shot a pointed look at Yu Lang, and the other students burst out laughing, remembering Yu Lang’s bizarre wheel-shoes.

Yu Lang murmured, “That rule seems to be directed at me.”

Dai Yang gave him a sympathetic look. “I think this round is aimed at you in general. Your lightness skill is poor, and with all the dry leaves in the mountains, you’ll be easy to track.”

“That doesn’t worry me much. After all, there are few with the kind of lightfoot and keen hearing you have. In our year, how many could match your skill?” Yu Lang deflected with a cheerful grin.

Dai Yang clearly enjoyed the compliment, nodding. “You’re not bad yourself—always full of tricks. Who knows, maybe you’ll be the one to take first place.”

But the thing Yu Lang dreaded most happened—Yang Yuhuan gracefully approached, her eyes brimming with spring warmth as she walked toward him.

No, please, I’m under enough pressure this round—I really don’t have the energy to look after a girl too…