Chapter 192: The Next Version’s Major Event
Fan Guzhou smiled faintly and shook his head. "I’m asking on their behalf. Some of our people want to go."
’Are you kidding me? A chance to go to Liu Xian City, and for a sect tournament no less.’
’This is straight out of a novel. We absolutely have to get in on this!’
’Even if it’s just to watch the spectacle, plenty of people would want to go.’
Su Huanli pursed her lips and said, "I wouldn’t recommend you go."
Fan Guzhou asked, "Why is that? Senior Sister, if there’s an issue with the qualifications, we can just drop it."
"That’s not it." Su Huanli shook her head. After a moment of hesitation, she said, "The disciples of the Sea View Sect don’t hold back. I don’t want you to go just to have your spirits crushed."
She was putting it mildly.
After all, these were disciples from Song Jiulai’s sect. Most sects wouldn’t care what they thought.
But Su Huanli knew Song Jiulai placed great importance on the Longevity Sect’s disciples, so she had always been lenient with them.
However, this competition was a bad idea. At least, the Feique Sect had no intention of participating.
She hadn’t expected the Longevity Sect to take the initiative and ask about it.
Fan Guzhou instantly grasped her meaning. "You mean you’re worried the Sea View Sect’s disciples will be too ruthless and deal a heavy blow to our morale?"
Su Huanli didn’t answer directly, but her expression confirmed it. "You’ve all been in the Longevity Sect. Even though you’ve mastered a powerful Qi Refinement Realm technique like Palm Thunder... the Sea View Sect’s participants are handpicked by their elders. To save face, they’ll send their absolute strongest from the Qi Refinement Realm. Their cultivation and Magic Treasures are on a level you simply can’t contend with."
"We were once young and hot-blooded, too, always thinking we could be the gifted disciples who steamroll the Major Sects." Su Huanli gave a self-mocking smile. "But you lose eight times out of ten. And the two times you do manage to win, you’re immediately recruited by the Sea View Sect. And who wouldn’t want to join them? It’s called a competition, but in reality, it’s just a whetstone for their own disciples. When you lose, however, your cultivation and your resolve take a massive hit, which is detrimental to your training. That’s why we rarely send anyone anymore."
Fan Guzhou had never experienced it himself, but he’d read enough novels and watched enough dramas to get it. He had a sudden realization. "Oh, so it’s just a way to make the Sea View Sect’s disciples look good."
Su Huanli sighed. "But people still go. After all, if you actually win, joining the Sea View Sect is a meteoric rise."
It’s just that they lose far more often.
Su Huanli looked at Fan Guzhou. "You’ve all stayed in the Longevity Sect and haven’t seen the outside world. I’m afraid you won’t be able to handle it. If you’re really determined to go... give me the names. I’ll arrange for someone to take you there when the time comes."
Fan Guzhou looked at the worried expression on Su Huanli’s young, innocent face and couldn’t help but feel an urge to laugh.
’In real life, he was a guy in his twenties. He’d seen his share of life’s hardships, and besides, this was just a game.’
’It was kind of funny being looked at like this by a little girl.’
’But Su Huanli meant well.’
Fan Guzhou clasped his hands in a gesture of respect. "Thank you for your kind intentions, Senior Sister. I’ll go back and ask who wants to participate. I understand your concerns, but it’s alright. Our disciples have never been outside, so it would be good for them to see the world. You can rest assured, we won’t try to bite off more than we can chew. If we can’t win, we’ll surrender. There’s no shame in losing to a Sea View Sect disciple, is there?"
’A few players had managed to sneak into Liu Xian City before, but that meant they had to be secretive. They couldn’t just openly wander around. The thought was very tempting to Fan Guzhou, too.’
Su Huanli said resignedly, "Alright, go and ask them. But you’ll have to compete against other sects first just to qualify. The competition is fierce, so it’s best to pick those with a real chance."
Fan Guzhou nodded, then asked with a hopeful look, "How many people can go at a time?"
Su Huanli understood his unspoken question and shook her head. "Only those who are competing can go. No one else."
’Damned class discrimination,’ Fan Guzhou thought.
’It’s like they’re afraid outsiders will breathe in a little of Liu Xian City’s Spiritual Energy and steal a fortune from them.’
After bidding a grateful farewell to Su Huanli, he left the Feique Sect.
The moment he was gone, he posted a message in the Sect channel.
[Fan Guzhou: There’s a great opportunity to go to Liu Xian City and compete against Sea View Sect disciples. The prize is an Earth Grade Magic Treasure. But you have to be confident. You’ll have to fight disciples from other sects first, so know your own damn limits before you register with the System. Give the final list to Senior Sister Su Huanli, and she’ll take the participants there.]
System: "You’re pretty good at making more work for me, aren’t you?"
Fan Guzhou feigned innocence. "Doesn’t something like this need the Sect Master’s approval?"
System: "Why didn’t you tell the Sect Master when you were out opening a shop and getting rich? If you want to go, then go! The Longevity Sect is a sect of freedom. As long as you don’t tarnish the Longevity Sect’s name, you could go streaking in Liu Xian City for all I care. Of course, if you *do* go streaking, don’t you dare mention our name, or you’ll be expelled from the Sect."
Fan Guzhou: "..."
’Looks like the game gives us a lot of freedom. The Sect Master doesn’t even get involved in stuff like this. As long as we don’t go against the main storyline, we can probably do whatever we want.’
Fan Guzhou’s message sent waves through the chat.
[An Xiu: For real?]
[Honghuang: All the top players are off doing hidden quests. In that case, I want to join the competition.]
[Han Tian: I want to sign up too!]
Han Tian’s eyes lit up at the mention of a competition. He immediately turned to Ma Shaojie beside him. "Ma, want to take a trip to Liu Xian City?"
Just as Ma Shaojie was getting excited, Fan Guzhou’s next message appeared.
[Fan Guzhou: Just to be clear, only those who register for the competition can go. No spectators.]
Ma Shaojie saw the message and looked a little disappointed. "It’s fine. If you want to go, you should. This is a great opportunity with a huge reward—an Earth Grade Magic Treasure! Not many of our Sect Disciples have any decent Magic Treasures yet, right?"
Han Tian thought, ’It shouldn’t be long now.’
Xue Yao was a natural at Artifact Refining. After successfully crafting a few Mortal Items, they’d already started looking into making Xuan Grade ones.
’But there’s no way they’ll be ready in time for this.’
Just as Han Tian was about to say something, a private message from Fan Guzhou popped up.
Fan Guzhou: [Lord Han, want to team up and sponsor someone? If one of our guys goes, we could pool our money to buy them a powerful Magic Treasure. I see An Xiu and Honghuang both want in. With Zhou Nvzi and the others gone, those two are our strongest combatants, having just reached Late-stage Qi Refining. We should give them a chance to fight for it.]
Han Tian: [Did you forget I used to be a top player, too?]
’Who even remembered that Han Tian was once a big-shot reviewer known for his flashy, over-the-top style?’
Fan Guzhou: [...Isn’t this about talent? There’s a preliminary competition against other sects before you even get to fight the Sea View Sect. If you can win that, we can sponsor you with the Magic Treasure. We’re backing whoever is strongest.]
’That was true,’ Han Tian thought.
’He wasn’t confident he could take on a disciple from a Major Sect at his current level.’
’But his stream needed new content...’
Han Tian decided to sign up anyway.
It wasn’t just Han Tian. A bunch of new players also wanted to join in on the action, but Fan Guzhou rejected them outright without even needing to ask Su Huanli.
’They weren’t even at the Qi Refining Middle Stage. Were they kidding?!’
While he was still dealing with all this, a thunderous voice suddenly boomed across all the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect’s territories on the Yunzhou Continent that very afternoon.
"In three months, a disciple selection tournament will be held in Ten Thousand Immortals City! Disciples from all vassal sects of the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect in the Qi Refinement, Foundation Establishment, and Golden Core Stages may participate. The victors shall be granted entry into our Ten Thousand Immortals Sect!"
In the wake of the thunderous announcement, the players were left stunned and utterly floored.
"Holy crap, the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect is recruiting?"
"Awesome! Three months from now... this is obviously a major event."
One player, unable to contain their excitement, asked the System, "Is this a major patch event?"
The System was silent for three seconds, then replied with absolute certainty: "Yes. This is the new event for the next major content update!"