Chapter 1893 - Competition
The Ten-Mile Slope outside Eastern Emperor City bustled with activity as the Azure Flame Dao Hall prepared the venue for this year's competition. The previous contest was held in Moonveil City, near the Celestial Moon Dao Hall.
Both dao halls had spent many years establishing deep foundations throughout the surrounding ten-thousand-mile region. Countless confrontations had hardened their rivalry, which had grown especially bitter in recent years as they fought to recruit prodigies. The Celestial Moon Dao Hall had even begun pushing its influence into Eastern Emperor City, hoping to compete for its most promising students.
Neither dao hall had ever held a decisive advantage, but this year changed everything. The rise of the Shadow Divination Dao Hall had drawn away nearly half of the Azure Flame Dao Hall's mentors, sending both its mentor and student populations into a steep decline.
Many students who had transferred to the Shadow Divination Dao Hall had since withdrawn from it. By altering their fates, the Spirit Divination Immortal Art had left them unacknowledged by heaven and earth. The Heavenly Dao would consequently shackle their futures and severely restrict how far they could advance.
Regret consumed them. They bitterly cursed themselves for believing those lies and deserting the Azure Flame Dao Hall. Many mentors were also plagued by the same crushing remorse.
After the Shadow Divination Dao Hall's collapse, a large number of its former mentors had entered the Celestial Moon Dao Hall, placing them squarely against their former colleagues at the Azure Flame Dao Hall.
A deepening desolation had settled over the Azure Flame Dao Hall, where only a fraction of its previous student population remained. As attendance dwindled, numerous classes were forced to combine.
Even Southern Lake no longer possessed its former prosperity. Of its original thousand students, barely three hundred remained. Half had withdrawn to join the Shadow Divination Dao Hall, while another group had transferred to other classes based on their aptitudes.
Inside the main hall, Ye Linghan sat beside Yi Zhong and several other mentors, looking worried.
"The annual competition between our two Dao Halls is almost here. The Azure Flame Dao Hall has taken a devastating blow this year, and we've lost too many talented mentors. The Shadow Divination Dao Hall also lured away our most promising prodigies. At this point, I can't see how we can avoid defeat," Yi Zhong said, sighing heavily.
In previous years, neither Dao Hall had managed to dominate the other for long, and victory had continually passed between them.
"Why have you been so quiet, Mentor Ye? Southern Lake may be the only part of the Azure Flame Dao Hall that still has a chance of competing. Everyone is depending on us," the mentor responsible for teaching talisman art said, turning his attention toward Ye Linghan.
The alchemy division had fallen into dire straits. Wei Wenbin had disappeared, Wen Qi was dead, and none of the remaining mentors possessed enough ability to represent the Dao Hall.
The talisman division faced an equally bleak situation, with Che Yangrong and Bai Jingye dead and the few surviving mentors either gone or guilty of betrayal.
Blacksmithing had suffered much the same fate, as Shen Cao had vanished, while Nangong Shan had died.
Zhongsun Wen's departure had dragged the spiritual array division into decline.
As for the martial path, Jiang Hongran had left alongside several other mentors who had followed him to the Shadow Divination Dao Hall.
Every departed mentor had once stood as part of the Azure Flame Dao Hall's foundation.
"We still have time. Let's wait a while longer," Ye Linghan said, passing her gaze over everyone in the room. She was waiting for someone, and no one present needed to ask who.
Southern Lake still retained several promising prodigies. Xiang Rulong represented the martial path; Zhang Hua and Liang Han specialized in spiritual arrays; Zhang Dazhan, Diao Jiuzhi, and Ren Fanfan pursued blacksmithing; Shi Wa and Zhuang Fang concentrated on talisman art; and Xiao Qian specialized in alchemy.
Since the Shadow Divination Dao Hall's appearance, only ten of the seventeen students who had originally followed Liu Wuxie still remained. Worse still, the competition between the two dao halls included group battles. The spiritual array contest, for instance, required each dao hall to field ten students simultaneously.
With only Zhang Hua and Liang Han available, Southern Lake lacked enough students to carry the entire spiritual array division.
Yi Zhong and the other mentors had faithfully continued using the curriculum designed by Liu Wuxie, producing fairly promising results. However, their students were still far from the standard expected of genuine top-tier talents.
The Celestial Moon Dao Hall, by contrast, approached this year's competition with tremendous momentum. It was rumored that several extraordinarily gifted students had risen among its ranks.
"Mentor Liu has been gone far too long. Why hasn't he come back yet? This whole mess would be a lot easier to handle if he were here," Jie Ruonan, the mentor responsible for teaching blacksmithing, said. He was only slightly younger than Yi Zhong.
Several months earlier, during the class assessment, they had witnessed Liu Wuxie conjure one miracle after another.
Ye Linghan alone knew where Liu Wuxie had gone. Yi Zhong and the others had questioned her repeatedly, but each time, she brushed them off with a different excuse.
"Go back and get some rest for now. The moment Mentor Liu returns, I'll let all of you know," Ye Linghan said, rising from her seat.
The five mentors could only sigh before rising and returning to their respective residences.
......
Dusk had settled over Moonveil City by the time Liu Wuxie returned. Conversations about the Ancient Origin Spatial Realm flooded every street and alley. Seven to eight thousand cultivators had entered the secret realm, yet not one had emerged, and every trace of them had vanished.
The revelation threw Moonveil City into immediate turmoil. Most of those missing cultivators had served as pillars of various cities.
Liu Wuxie chose to leave that same night again. After spending several thousand immortal stones, he entered the teleportation array and traveled directly to Eastern Emperor City. Midnight was already approaching when he stepped out of the array at his destination.
Eastern Emperor City had endured equally devastating losses. Every expert dispatched into the Ancient Origin Spatial Realm by the Shen and Zhu Clans had perished, striking a grievous blow to their clans' foundations.
The Eastern Emperor Pavilion had suffered tremendous casualties of its own. Even the Yin-Yang Elders had died beneath the destructive force of the Divine Penta Elemental Bolts.
Rather than returning immediately to the Azure Flame Dao Hall, Liu Wuxie first visited the Xiang Manor. For some inexplicable reason, the Heavenly Dao Book had grown restless the instant he entered Eastern Emperor City, warning him that an intense danger was bearing down upon him.
Xiang Zicheng had already retired for the night, so Liu Wuxie's unexpected late-night arrival surprised him greatly. Their conversation lasted roughly an hour before Liu Wuxie finally departed.
Night had deepened considerably by the time Liu Wuxie reached the Azure Flame Dao Hall. He alerted no one and quietly slipped back into his courtyard.
Ye Linghan didn't discover his return until daybreak, when she arrived to tidy the courtyard.
"When did you come back?" Settling beside Liu Wuxie's bed, Ye Linghan asked in a reproaching tone. His failure to inform her of his return had clearly displeased her.
"About midnight," Liu Wuxie replied as he climbed out of bed and started dressing. Ye Linghan quickly moved forward to help him.
During their time in Fourfold City, Ye Linghan had already grown accustomed to tending to his daily needs.
"Something's weighing on you. What happened while I was gone?" Liu Wuxie asked, noticing the dark circles beneath her eyes. She had clearly spent much of his absence worrying about him.
"It's nothing. You only just got back, so take another couple of days to rest," Ye Linghan said. When she realized that Liu Wuxie had advanced to the third-level Spirit Immortal Realm, her face brightened in delight. She refused to spoil the moment by burdening him with unpleasant news.
Since Ye Linghan had no intention of explaining further, Liu Wuxie chose not to press her. He took a seat in the courtyard while she poured him a cup of tea.
"Mentor Liu, the Hall Master has asked to see you," Zuo Yang announced from outside the courtyard.
Gongye Zhang had evidently already learned of Liu Wuxie's return.
A frown immediately creased Liu Wuxie's brow. He had sensed something unusual in the Azure Flame Dao Hall's atmosphere when he had returned. That unease puzzled him, since the destruction of the Shadow Divination Dao Hall should have ended the crisis threatening this place.
"Lead the way," Liu Wuxie said, rising after a moment of consideration.
As an elder of the Heavenly Divination Gate, Gongye Zhang shared certain ties with Liu Wuxie following their cooperation in destroying the Shadow Divination Gate.
Zuo Yang led Liu Wuxie to the same main hall he had visited before. Gongye Zhang waited there alone, and Liu Wuxie cupped his fists in greeting as soon as he entered.
"Please, Mentor Liu, have a seat," Gongye Zhang said, personally rising to welcome him.
Gongye Zhang had always regarded Liu Wuxie as an equal. Not once had he assumed the lofty manner expected of a hall master in Liu Wuxie's presence.
"You're far too courteous, Hall Master," Liu Wuxie replied.
"Elder Meng has already told me everything you did when the Shadow Divination Gate was destroyed. On behalf of the Heavenly Divination Gate, I want to thank you for everything you contributed," Gongye Zhang said with gratitude. He knew that without Liu Wuxie's intervention, the Heavenly Divination Gate itself might have faced grave danger.
"You didn't call me here simply to thank me, did you, Hall Master?" Liu Wuxie asked, cutting directly to the heart of the matter. He had never cared for idle pleasantries or indirect conversation.
Strictly speaking, Liu Wuxie and the Heavenly Divination Gate had only ever been partners. Neither party owed the other a debt.
Elder Meng had concealed Liu Wuxie's destiny, and Liu Wuxie had obtained the Heavenly Derivation Codex in exchange. Both parties reaped tremendous benefits from the arrangement, making it mutually advantageous.
"The annual competition between the Azure Flame Dao Hall and the Celestial Moon Dao Hall is about to begin. You already know what kind of condition we're in this year..." Gongye Zhang said, smiling bitterly.
Gongye Zhang didn't need to finish. Liu Wuxie understood perfectly. Since his arrival, calamity after calamity had struck the Azure Flame Dao Hall. Numerous mentors had died, and vast numbers of students had departed. Liu Wuxie might not have personally caused many of those mentors' deaths, but no one could deny his connection to the events surrounding them.
"The Celestial Moon Dao Hall?" Liu Wuxie asked. He genuinely knew nothing about the competition between the two Dao Halls, though he was aware that Shen Can had served as a first-grade mentor at the Celestial Moon Dao Hall.
"The Celestial Moon Dao Hall and the Azure Flame Dao Hall have been bitter rivals for years, and we've fought more times than anyone can count. This year's devastating losses have left the Azure Flame Dao Hall vulnerable. They'll seize the opportunity to destroy us and claim every resource within a ten-thousand-mile radius for themselves," Gongye Zhang explained, recounting the long and hostile history between the two dao halls.
Most of what Gongye Zhang revealed came as news to Liu Wuxie. At the same time, he finally understood the worry shadowing Ye Linghan's face. She had taught at the Azure Flame Dao Hall for more than a year and formed many friendships during that time. Naturally, she couldn't calmly watch the Dao Hall fall to ruin.
Liu Wuxie furrowed his brow in thought. He had never felt deeply attached to the Azure Flame Dao Hall, having viewed it from the beginning as only a temporary place to stay before continuing on his path. Even so, the Azure Flame Dao Hall had helped him at a critical moment, and he couldn't simply stand by and watch it be destroyed.
"You want me to step in and help the Azure Flame Dao Hall?" Liu Wuxie asked, having already seen through Gongye Zhang's purpose.
"I'm afraid no one but you can save the Azure Flame Dao Hall now," Gongye Zhang replied.
His words contained no exaggeration. The Azure Flame Dao Hall had suffered catastrophic losses, sharply reducing the overall quality of its mentors and students. Defeating the Celestial Moon Dao Hall was no longer the greatest concern. Whether they could survive the competition without suffering even more damage had become the real question.
Liu Wuxie sank into deep contemplation. He had originally intended to leave after returning because Eastern Emperor City had become far too small for him. Its strongest cultivator had only reached the Divine Immortal Realm.
"The competition also offers rewards, and they may present a valuable opportunity for you," Gongye Zhang added when he noticed Liu Wuxie's hesitation.
He knew that Liu Wuxie required an enormous quantity of resources to advance his cultivation. The coming competition might provide an excellent chance to acquire them.
The mention of treasures immediately lit a spark in Liu Wuxie's eyes. During the previous class assessment, he had won a considerable collection of treasures, and those rewards had enabled him to advance his cultivation by four consecutive levels.
Participating in the competition between the two Dao Halls could offer him another chance to obtain valuable resources. He might even use them to propel his cultivation into the higher levels of the Spirit Immortal Realm.
Once that happened, even opponents at the lower levels of the Origin Immortal Realm would no longer give him reason to fear.
Liu Wuxie was no saint, and he had no interest in involving himself in an affair that offered him no benefits. Nevertheless, his expression betrayed none of his thoughts. He still knew nothing about the rules governing the competition and needed to understand them thoroughly before deciding whether to accept Gongye Zhang's request.