Chapter 157: Gossip In the Canteen (Part 2)

Chapter 157: Chapter 157: Gossip In the Canteen (Part 2)

Of course, there was no way he could tell Shi Qing that. He could only put on an innocent expression and offer a rather vague response. "Well, I’m not entirely sure about the details. There really was a fire, though. As for how the barrier broke, I didn’t really see what happened."

"Hmm..." Shi Qing nodded, seemingly accepting his answer. Then, as though remembering something else, he lowered his voice slightly and leaned closer. "By the way, I also heard that Chu Ran and her group accidentally got separated from everyone and ended up outside the barrier. Apparently, it took them the entire night to find their way back!"

"Oh? Really? What happened to them?" Sui Sui asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Well, from what I heard, they were in pretty bad shape by the time the elders found them. Almost everyone in their group suffered serious injuries. Some even lost an arm or a leg!" Shi Qing clicked his tongue, shaking his head at the thought. "Chu Ran supposedly had it the worst. Her meridians were damaged, and she suffered a severe backlash. Tsk, tsk. Who knows how long it’ll take her to recover? Though, with her family’s resources, I suppose she won’t have to worry too much about treatment."

Hearing this, Sui Sui couldn’t help thinking that perhaps Heaven really was fair after all. It might have been rather unfair when it came to Yizhou, but at least it seemed to treat ordinary people like him equally.

After all, Chu Ran and her companions had just tried to gang up on him and kill him earlier that very day. Yet, before even a full day had passed, they had ended up suffering such terrible consequences themselves.

Well, that’s karma for you.

The four continued chatting as they ate. Most of the conversation was carried by Sui Sui and Shi Qing, who seemed to have no shortage of things to talk about. Yuan Wen and Yizhou, on the other hand, remained relatively quiet, occasionally offering a comment or two but otherwise content to listen.

As their conversation continued, the topic gradually shifted to something else.

"By the way, Sui-ge, have you heard? The sect’s annual competition is coming up in two months. Almost everyone has started preparing for it already. Are you planning to participate?" Shi Qing asked, looking at him expectantly.

"The sect’s annual competition?" Sui Sui repeated, briefly recalling that such an event was indeed held by Wenjian Sect every few years.

It was one of the sect’s major events, organized specifically for disciples below the Golden Core realm. Participants were divided into three separate divisions according to their cultivation levels: Qi Refining, Foundation Building, and Golden Core. Each division would compete against cultivators of the same realm, ensuring that everyone had a fair opportunity to demonstrate their abilities.

The challenges varied from year to year, and the sect would usually announce the specific arrangements closer to the event. Depending on the year’s format, disciples might be tested on their combat abilities, adaptability, teamwork, or even their ability to handle unexpected situations. This made the competition difficult to prepare for, since simply having a higher cultivation level or stronger techniques didn’t necessarily guarantee victory.

As Sui Sui recalled, this particular competition had actually been mentioned in the novel, although only during the protagonist’s first life. In his second life, Yizhou hadn’t participated at all, having spent that period cultivating outside the sect and practicing dark arts instead.

If Sui Sui remembered correctly, the competition in the first life would take place inside a small secret realm that Wenjian Sect had recently discovered. The disciples would be assigned different objectives, with each participant required to collect specific items according to a randomly assigned task. It was essentially a trial of both ability and adaptability.

But of course, this wasn’t the infamous Yinlong Secret Realm where all those terrible events would eventually take place. That particular secret realm wouldn’t appear until five years later. The one used for this competition was much safer, and as far as Sui Sui could remember, there weren’t any particularly noteworthy incidents. The only thing worth mentioning was Yizhou drawing an especially difficult task and leaving everyone amazed with how effortlessly he completed it.

Naturally, the rewards were another major attraction. Aside from cultivation resources, rare medicinal ingredients, and other valuable materials, the top-ranking disciples would also receive special recognition from the sect. For probationary disciples in particular, the competition presented an especially valuable opportunity. Any probationary disciple who managed to secure a place among the top ten in the Qi Refining division would be eligible for promotion to inner disciple status even if they have not formally become foundation building yet, granting them access to better cultivation resources and privileges within the sect.

Thinking back, Sui Sui remembered that he had initially planned to use this very competition as a shortcut into the inner disciple ranks. After all, becoming an inner disciple meant gaining access to considerably more resources, which would naturally make his cultivation and alchemy progress much easier.

However, things have changed since then.

Ever since he had finally learned how to cultivate, Sui Sui had realized that advancing to Foundation Building was only a matter of time. He no longer felt the same urgency to rely on the competition to improve his standing within the sect. Besides, participating would require time and effort that he could otherwise spend refining pills and studying alchemy.

Thinking about it now, he wasn’t particularly interested in joining.

At least, not for the sake of becoming an inner disciple.

"Oh, by the way, have you heard? This year, the top ten disciples in each division will receive more than just cultivation materials. I heard they’re also giving out spirit stones as rewards. That’s quite generous, isn’t it?" Shi Qing said.

The moment Sui Sui heard the words spirit stones, his interest was immediately piqued. He leaned forward slightly, his attention now fully on Shi Qing.

"Oh? How many are they giving out?"

"I’m not entirely sure, but I heard that everyone who makes it into the top ten will receive at least a thousand low-grade spirit stones. As for the first-place winner, the reward is ten thousand!"

Sui Sui’s eyes immediately lit up.

Ten thousand spirit stones?!

Wasn’t that equivalent to a million spirit coins? That was an enormous sum!

A moment ago, he hadn’t been particularly interested in participating, but now things were different. With such generous rewards on the line, how could he possibly sit this competition out?

I Must Join!!