Chapter 292 - 42: Immortal Ascension Ceremony

Chapter 292: Chapter 42: Immortal Ascension Ceremony

In the Cultivation Realm, strength reigns supreme.

A Loose Cultivator at the Sea Condensation Realm is worthy of basic respect no matter where they go.

"You’re too kind. It was just a fluke," Chen Ye replied nonchalantly.

"You are too humble, fellow Daoist." The disciple quickly pushed a roster in front of Chen Ye and offered him a brush. "Please write your name here. In three days, the first round of selections will take place at the West City Martial Arts Arena. You may enter with this token."

As he spoke, he respectfully presented a wooden plaque engraved with a sword pattern.

Chen Ye took the wooden plaque, scrawled the name Du Dao on the roster, and then turned to leave.

He could feel the gazes of the other Loose Cultivators in line, a mixture of envy, jealousy, and awe.

A Loose Cultivator under thirty at the Sea Condensation Realm would be the center of attention anywhere.

Chen Ye’s brow furrowed slightly. This was a bit more attention than the low profile he’d intended, but it was also within his expectations.

After all, strength was something that couldn’t always be hidden.

’But this is fine too. Revealing a little Talent will make it easier to get a spot in the final rounds.’

For the next two days, Chen Ye didn’t wander around town again. Instead, he stayed quietly in his inn room.

He didn’t practice his Cultivation, because his Cultivation had already reached a bottleneck. No matter how much Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi he absorbed, he couldn’t advance a single step. On the contrary, his unsettled state of mind could easily lead to his True Essence becoming chaotic.

He simply sat in meditation, replaying and analyzing his Saber Technique in his mind over and over.

From the initial "Needle’s Point," to the various Sword Techniques he comprehended through countless life-and-death battles, and finally to his understanding of "tribulation" after becoming the Hundred Tribulations Blade Master.

The three years he spent in the Southern Wilderness Mountain Range, fighting the powerful Demon Beasts arranged by Yuan Lan, had been particularly crucial, elevating his use of the Tribulation Eye to a whole new level.

Now, when Chen Ye struck with his saber, he no longer pursued mere cutting and killing. Instead, he sought to detonate the inherent "tribulation" within his target, causing a chain reaction of collapse that defied conventional logic.

This was his greatest trump card, the reason he dared to challenge Jian Wuchen.

Besides analyzing his Saber Technique, Chen Ye was also contemplating his strategy for the selection three days later.

’The first round should be some kind of massive brawl, meant to weed out the majority of those just trying to fill the numbers.’

’What I need to do is pass easily without revealing my full strength.’

’I have to show the level of skill expected of a genius, but not be so shockingly impressive that I attract unnecessary trouble.’

’It’s a fine line to walk.’

Time trickled away amidst these silent contemplations.

「The morning of the third day.」

Chen Ye got up, re-wrapped his Jingzhe Saber in its ragged cloth, slung it over his back, and pushed the door open to leave.

The West City Martial Arts Arena in Qingzhou Prefecture was vast, large enough to hold tens of thousands of people training at once.

Several thousand Loose Cultivators who had passed the initial screening were divided into dozens of zones according to the number on the wooden plaques they had received. In the center of each zone, a huge circular arena had been marked out.

Chen Ye was assigned to Arena Number Seventeen.

When he arrived, nearly a hundred people were already standing in the arena, each one warily sizing up everyone else.

Chen Ye still had that half-dead look about him. He found a spot at the very edge of the arena and stood with his head down, as if completely indifferent to his surroundings.

Soon, a middle-aged man wearing the attire of a Celestial Sword Manor Elder arrived, riding the wind. He hovered in the air above the Martial Arts Arena.

His aura was profound and his gaze was like lightning. He swept his eyes over the dense crowd below, and the entire boisterous Martial Arts Arena instantly fell silent.

"I am Zhao Xin, an Outer Sect Elder of Celestial Sword Manor. Today, I will be presiding over the first round of selections."

Zhao Xin’s voice wasn’t loud, yet it carried clearly to everyone’s ears.

"The rules are simple." He held up a single finger. "One hundred people per arena. Fight each other. The last ten people standing will pass."

"The time limit is one incense stick."

"During the selection, life and death will not be considered! If you’re afraid of dying, you can get the hell out now!"

Zhao Xin’s words were cold and cruel, causing the faces of many to turn pale.

Life and death will not be considered!

Those six words instantly transformed this selection from a competition into a bloody slaughter.

But not many people withdrew.

After all, fortune is found in danger. If you want to ascend to the heavens in a single step, how could you not expect to pay a price?

"Good. Since no one is withdrawing, let it begin!"

Following Zhao Xin’s command, a disciple behind him immediately lit a giant incense stick as thick as a person’s arm.

DONG!

A deep, resonant bell toll echoed throughout the entire arena.

The selection had begun!

In the instant the bell tolled, the entire Martial Arts Arena devolved into a chaotic battlefield.

Shouts of killing, the clash of weapons, and piercing screams rose and fell in waves.

Arena Number Seventeen, where Chen Ye stood, was no exception.

Everyone attacked the people nearest to them as if they had gone mad.

The weak subconsciously banded together for protection, while the strong began clearing the field without mercy.

Chen Ye remained at the edge of the arena. It wasn’t that no one wanted to attack him, but his position was too remote, and his sickly appearance made him an uninteresting target.

In most people’s eyes, someone like him was bound to be eliminated anyway, so there was no need to waste too much effort on him.

Chen Ye was happy to be left alone. He half-closed his eyes and quietly activated his Tribulation Eye.

In his vision, the entire arena transformed into a complex network woven from countless lines of Energy and causal Tribulation Lines.

Everyone’s movements, the flow of their True Essence, and their intent to attack were all presented before his eyes in the most direct way imaginable.

He could see with perfect clarity who the real experts were, who was just bluffing, and who was trying to reap the rewards without any effort.

"AH!"

With a scream, a burly man not far from Chen Ye was cut down, and blood splattered all over Chen Ye.

The victorious Swordsman licked his lips, his blood-red eyes turning to Chen Ye. He grinned viciously. "Heh, kid. Just your bad luck!"

With that, he raised his blood-dripping Steel Saber and swung at Chen Ye’s neck.

In his eyes, dealing with a frail-looking guy like Chen Ye was just a matter of convenience.

Chen Ye didn’t even lift his eyelids. He simply shifted his body slightly to the side, taking a half-step.

The powerful, heavy strike missed him by a hair’s breadth, whistling past the tip of his nose.

At the same time, the Jingzhe Saber on his back thrust upward from an extremely awkward angle.

THUMP!

A dull thud.

The pommel of the saber struck the Swordsman’s chin with pinpoint accuracy.

The Swordsman didn’t even have time to cry out before his eyes rolled back and he passed out on the spot.

The whole process was as fast as lightning and completely silent.

A few people fighting fiercely nearby didn’t even notice what had happened.

Chen Ye retracted his saber and stepped back to his original position, as if nothing had happened at all.

But it wasn’t long before someone else with no foresight came looking for trouble.

This time it was two people, one tall and one short, wielding short clubs. Their coordination was seamless; they were clearly Loose Cultivators who often worked together.

Seeing Chen Ye was alone, they decided to team up and eliminate him first.

One on the left and one on the right, they simultaneously attacked Chen Ye’s upper and lower body.

Chen Ye still didn’t dodge.

He merely took a single step forward at the exact moment the two were about to close in.

This step seemed simple but was sublimely executed, landing him right in the blind spot of their attacks.

Then Chen Ye extended his hands and gently brushed them against the two men’s wrists.

The two men only felt their wrists go numb as a strange vibrational force traveled up their arms and through their entire bodies, causing them to instantly lose control. Their short clubs clattered to the ground.

Immediately after, Chen Ye’s shoulder bumped against their chests, sending them flying backward. They landed on the ground and struggled for a few moments, but couldn’t get back up.

As time went on, the number of people in the arena dwindled.

More than half of the incense stick’s time had passed.

Fewer than twenty people were still standing, and every one of them was injured and panting for breath.

Except for Chen Ye.

He was still standing in the corner, his clothes spotless, as if he had been a mere spectator from beginning to end.