Chapter 1897 - Set Off
One hundred students assembled inside the now-vacant courtyard. Xiang Rulong, Shi Wa, and the others who had followed Liu Wuxie from the beginning naturally became the focus of everyone's attention. The newly selected students crowded around them, offering eager greetings one after another.
Shi Wa drew more attention than anyone else. Word had already spread that he was Liu Wuxie's personal disciple. Of all the students gathered in the courtyard, he alone had received personal instruction from Liu Wuxie.
"Do you think Mentor Liu will teach us himself?"
Nervousness showed on the faces of the other High Immortal Realm students. Most possessed only average talent and belonged to the junior classes, so their status naturally fell far below that of the True Immortal Realm students.
"I'll be more than satisfied if Mentor Liu gives me even a little guidance."
Animated chatter filled the courtyard. "Honestly, I'll be happy just to meet him." Without a mentor overseeing them, the students appeared relaxed.
A sudden dry cough cut through the noise and snapped every student to attention.
"Mentor Liu is here."
The instant Liu Wuxie entered the courtyard, all one hundred students leaped to their feet. Within moments, they had formed orderly rows, their expressions filled with respect.
"For the next few days, every one of you will endure hellish training. I'll give you five breaths to reconsider your decision. Anyone who stays must follow every arrangement I make without question," Liu Wuxie said.
He respected their freedom to choose, so he gave them one final chance to withdraw. Anyone who remained, however, would surrender that freedom for the duration of the training and follow his every command without question.
"We're staying!" all one hundred students shouted in unison. Xiang Rulong, Shi Wa, Diao Jiuzhi, and the others who had followed Liu Wuxie from the beginning raised their voices louder than anyone else.
Their mentors had already informed them that the training would prepare them for the coming competition against the Celestial Moon Dao Hall. It was a rare opportunity to distinguish themselves, and not a single student intended to let it slip away.
Five breaths vanished almost instantly, but no one stepped out of formation. Their unwavering resolve immediately satisfied Liu Wuxie.
"Xiang Rulong, step forward," Liu Wuxie called, and Xiang Rulong promptly emerged from the ranks.
"Post this roster, then let every group select its own leader," Liu Wuxie continued, handing the list to him.
Xiang Rulong respectfully accepted the roster, then summoned Zhang Dashan and Shi Wa to assist him. They soon posted the list, dividing the one hundred students into eight groups of martial path, alchemy, blacksmithing, talisman, spiritual array, magic art, poison art, and soul art.
These eight events appeared in the competition between the two Dao Halls every year. Each group contained a different number of students. Martial path, spiritual array, and talisman received the largest groups because those events also featured team competitions.
Alchemy and blacksmithing each received only five or six students. Poison art and magic art had merely two participants each, while the soul art group contained three.
"The roster is up, Mentor," Xiang Rulong reported after finishing the task.
"Go to your groups listed there and select your leaders as quickly as you can," Liu Wuxie instructed.
The students scattered at once and reorganized themselves into eight distinct groups. Xiang Rulong joined the martial path group; Shi Wa entered talismans; Xiao Qian stood with alchemy; Zhang Hua and Liang Han gathered with spiritual arrays; and Zhang Dashan and Diao Jiuzhi moved into blacksmithing.
The poison art, magic art, and soul art groups looked noticeably sparse as their few members gathered off to one side.
"I nominate Brother Xiang to lead us," someone called. The entire martial path group immediately agreed, unanimously electing Xiang Rulong as its leader.
The spiritual array group selected Zhang Hua because he was slightly older than Liang Han. Despite Xiao Qian's protests, the alchemy group firmly insisted that he become its leader. Zhang Dashan took command of the blacksmithing group, while Shi Wa naturally assumed leadership of the talisman group. After defeating Bai Jingye, Shi Wa had already surpassed the skill of most ordinary mentors.
With only two students in poison art, Qi Wen became that group's leader. Ning Zhou took charge of soul art, while the magic art group selected Du Zuo.
"These are the manuals for your training. Group leaders, come forward and distribute them. Each manual contains detailed instructions covering everything its owner requires for cultivation," Liu Wuxie said, producing one hundred manuals and arranging them into eight stacks.
When the eight group leaders came forward to collect them, they discovered that every manual bore the name of a specific student.
Liu Wuxie had created a unique cultivation plan for each student according to their talent and cultivation level. With so little time available, he couldn't personally instruct all one hundred students. The cultivation chambers within the Azure Flame Dao Hall were also too small, severely limiting their time-acceleration capabilities, and only three days remained before the competition.
Completely transforming every student within that narrow span of time would have been pure fantasy. Liu Wuxie could therefore rely only on the Heavenly Dao Book to tailor an individual cultivation plan for each person. The Heavenly Derivation Codex had proven indispensable throughout this process.
"Your individual cultivation plans are written inside these manuals, and the training grounds are already prepared. For the next three days, you will follow every instruction exactly as written, without the slightest deviation," Liu Wuxie said. Invisible pressure rolled across the courtyard, changing every student's expression. Beneath its weight, they felt as though a bottomless abyss had opened directly beneath their feet.
Liu Wuxie then departed the courtyard to deal with other matters. The students weren't the only participants, since the mentors would also compete in several events.
The Azure Flame Dao Hall therefore needed eight mentors to represent it, and both Liu Wuxie and Ye Linghan would unquestionably stand among them.
......
At the same time, the Celestial Moon Dao Hall was making its own intensive preparations for the approaching competition.
"Hall Master, disaster has struck! Tian Zijin and He Lianyi are both dead," a middle-aged man reported inside the main hall. His name was Sun Xuan. Had Liu Wuxie been present, he would have recognized the man as a former talisman mentor from the Azure Flame Dao Hall.
Sun Xuan had later defected to the Shadow Divination Dao Hall before changing his allegiance yet again and joining the Celestial Moon Dao Hall. He shared a close relationship with He Lianyi and had masterminded the effort to persuade him to betray the Azure Flame Dao Hall.
"Did Gongye Zhang uncover He Lianyi's betrayal?" the hall master of the Celestial Moon Dao Hall asked, turning his gaze toward Sun Xuan. He appeared roughly the same age as Gongye Zhang, but carried a considerably more imposing presence.
"I don't know precisely what happened. No useful information has surfaced yet," Sun Xuan replied. He had already dispatched people to investigate and attempted to contact several former colleagues, but every one of them had severed ties with him.
"Hall Master, why should it matter if the Azure Flame Dao Hall exposed He Lianyi's betrayal? We don't need an insider to crush them during this competition."
Several other figures occupied seats throughout the main hall, each holding a higher position than Sun Xuan. The Celestial Moon Dao Hall had offered little welcome to the mentors who had defected from the Azure Flame Dao Hall, leaving them with considerably lower status than their original mentors.
"We still cannot let our guard down. The Eastern Emperor Pavilion recently informed us that Liu Wuxie has returned," an elder seated beside the hall master warned.
"Is Liu Wuxie truly as monstrous as everyone claims?" another elder asked with a frown as he settled into his chair.
Their investigation identified Liu Wuxie as nothing more than a True Immortal, so they saw little reason to fear him. They remained completely unaware that his cultivation had already advanced to the third-level Spirit Immortal Realm.
"Liu Wuxie is extraordinarily cunning, and his talent for scheming is even more dangerous. Underestimating him would be a serious mistake," Sun Xuan replied. Liu Wuxie had never personally troubled him, but Sun Xuan knew everything he had accomplished, including the fate of his close friend Nangong Shan.
"What a fucking joke! A pack of useless fools like you is actually terrified of a mere True Immortal? Once the competition starts, I'll see for myself whether this Liu Wuxie truly has three heads and six arms," several mentors mocked. They believed Sun Xuan's exaggerations only weakened morale, so they openly ridiculed him as a useless fool.
Sun Xuan clenched his fists until his knuckles tightened and ground his teeth in silence. Since joining the Celestial Moon Dao Hall, he had received nothing resembling the treatment he once enjoyed at the Azure Flame Dao Hall. Exclusion and ridicule followed him constantly. By now, regret over leaving the Azure Flame Dao Hall had taken deep root in his mind.
"Hall Master, it's rumored that Liu Wuxie is the reincarnation of a prodigy. Caution would serve us better than arrogance," the elder beside the hall master advised. He was considerably more prudent than others.
The message from the Eastern Emperor Pavilion had specifically warned the Celestial Moon Dao Hall to remain vigilant against Liu Wuxie.
"We'll continue with the original plan and ensure Liu Wuxie leaves the arena dead. We'll begin with the deathmatches," the hall master ordered after a brief period of contemplation.
"Hmph! He'd better pray he doesn't fall into my hands. If he does, I'll make him beg for death," sneered the mentor who had mocked Sun Xuan earlier. He longed for the competition to begin immediately so that he could crush Liu Wuxie before the gathered crowd.
......
Several days passed, and the hundred students grew increasingly confused as they trained according to the manuals Liu Wuxie had prepared.
"Could Mentor Liu have made a mistake? We're representing the Azure Flame Dao Hall in poison art, so why hasn't he taught us the Great Poison Immortal Art?" the student beside Qi Wen complained. He couldn't understand why Liu Wuxie had spent the past few days forcing them to identify different poisons and practice avoiding poisonous needles.
"Stop questioning the plan and follow Mentor Liu's instructions. We don't have much time left, so quit complaining and keep training," Qi Wen replied before immersing himself in cultivation once more.
Only unconventional methods could secure victory for the Azure Flame Dao Hall. Liu Wuxie had no other path available.
......
Elsewhere, more than ten mentors stood before Liu Wuxie. They were the representatives selected to compete on behalf of the Azure Flame Dao Hall.
"Concentrate on holding your ground during your matches. Don't chase reckless victories. If the situation demands it, we can surrender several rounds as long as doing so secures our ultimate victory," Liu Wuxie explained, calmly presenting his strategy to the assembled mentors.
Every mentor before Liu Wuxie was older than him, yet they now had to obey his instructions without question. The contrast made the scene somewhat comical.
"We'll follow your plan to the letter, Mentor Liu," Yi Zhong declared, striking his chest in assurance. Being selected for the competition seemed to have restored his second youth, making him appear several decades younger.
As the competition drew nearer, construction of the venue approached completion. Numerous cultivators from Eastern Emperor City had already arrived to claim favorable viewing positions.
The surrounding sects also dispatched experts to observe the competition. Ye Guhai arrived one day early and made a special journey to the Azure Flame Dao Hall to visit Ye Linghan and Liu Wuxie. He reassured them to remain calm and let fate decide the outcome.
Even if the Azure Flame Dao Hall lost, the City Lord Mansion's backing would keep Ye Linghan and Liu Wuxie safe from Celestial Moon Dao Hall. His assurance gave Liu Wuxie another powerful source of confidence.
Three relentless days and nights of training transformed all one hundred students remarkably. Each now radiated an aura distinctly different from before.
Throughout that period, Liu Wuxie personally guided every student, enabling them to reap tremendous benefits.
At dawn on the fourth day, the Azure Flame Dao Hall was livelier than usual. The hundred students who had spent the previous days in seclusion finally appeared before everyone, immediately attracting envious stares from those who had not been selected.
"The Hall Master has already left, Wuxie. You'll lead the team to the designated venue," Zuo Yang said, lowering his voice as he approached Liu Wuxie.
Liu Wuxie now oversaw every affair within the Azure Flame Dao Hall. Even Zuo Yang had to cooperate with his arrangements to the fullest extent possible.
"We leave now," Liu Wuxie declared.