Chapter 29: The First Battle of the Competition

The lights of the Pill Hall seemed to burn eternally for Chen Chuan.

For the next five days, he was like a tireless Alchemy machine, fully immersing himself in the refinement of Grade Three Medicinal Pills.

Various Pill Formulas that required cautious handling from ordinary Grade Three Alchemists seemed to lose all difficulty in his hands.

Every time he opened the furnace, the fragrance of pills would inevitably overflow, and an inner glow would radiate; without exception, every pill produced was of the highest quality.

It took only two days for the Elder of the Mission Pavilion to go from initial shock to eventual numbness.

Every time Chen Chuan came to hand in a mission, the Elder would look at this young man as if he were a monster, then mechanically record the results and distribute contribution points.

The basic reward for a Grade Three Medicinal Pill mission was fifty contribution points, but every time Chen Chuan submitted top-grade pills, he earned an extra twenty.

A single mission resulted in seventy contribution points.

Chen Chuan’s calculations were frighteningly precise.

Setting aside the necessary time for meditation and recovery, he was capable of completing eight refinement missions a day.

This meant he earned five hundred and sixty contribution points every day.

Four days passed in the blink of an eye.

When Chen Chuan checked his Token again, the contribution points inside had reached two thousand two hundred and forty.

This was a massive fortune that would make the vast majority of Outer Sect Disciples’ hearts race with envy.

However, Chen Chuan’s goals went far beyond this.

On the fifth day, he returned to the Mission Pavilion and, without the slightest hesitation, immediately spent two thousand contribution points.

He exchanged them for a set of medicinal ingredients to refine the Grade Three Barrier Breaking Pill.

The Barrier Breaking Pill, as the name suggested, was a Spirit Pill that helped Cultivators break through barriers and obstacles.

Its most precious quality was its ability to significantly increase the success rate for Furnace Realm Cultivators to break through to the Mountain Sea Realm.

For a Cultivator stuck at the Peak of the Ninth Level of the Furnace Realm, a top-grade Barrier Breaking Pill was worth a fortune and enough to cause a frantic struggle.

Having obtained the ingredients, Chen Chuan went straight back to the Pill Hall, opened the furnace, and lit the fire.

An hour later, the Pill Furnace vibrated slightly, and the lid opened.

Three pills the size of longans, their surfaces swirling with faint cloud patterns, floated quietly.

The dense pill Qi almost manifested into physical form, causing the Spiritual Qi within the Pill Hall to fluctuate slightly.

Top-grade again!

Chen Chuan skillfully placed the pills into a jade bottle, a hint of satisfaction appearing on his face.

Without resting, he once again arrived at the bustling Cultivation Square.

"Selling top-grade Barrier Breaking Pills, only three available, three million gold tickets each."

His clear voice rang out again, but it was like pouring a ladle of cold water into a pot of boiling oil; the entire square instantly erupted.

"B-Barrier Breaking Pills? And they’re top-grade?"

"My god! He’s even selling these? He’s crazy, absolutely insane!"

"This is a Divine Pill that can increase the chances of ascending to the Mountain Sea Realm! Wouldn’t it be better to keep them for his own future use?"

All the Disciples found it hard to believe.

The significance of a Barrier Breaking Pill was far beyond that of a Spirit Gathering Pill.

For Cultivators with ambitions for the Inner Sect or even higher Realms, this was the stepping stone to a stronger path!

Who would be willing to take out such an important resource just to exchange it for gold tickets?

Chen Chuan, this anomaly, had once again refreshed their understanding.

Although they were shocked, no one doubted the authenticity of the pills.

Chen Chuan’s image as an Alchemy prodigy who loved money as much as his life was already deeply ingrained in people’s hearts.

He took out the jade bottle to briefly display them, and that unique pill charm and medicinal fragrance caused all doubts to vanish like smoke.

The astronomical price of three million gold tickets per pill instantly filtered out most of the Outer Sect Disciples.

For Disciples from ordinary families, this figure was no different from an astronomical sum.

The scene fell into a brief standstill.

But soon, several Disciples who usually didn’t stand out but possessed steady Auras and extraordinary clothing stepped forward from the crowd almost simultaneously.

"I want one!"

"Junior Brother Chen, save one for me!"

"Three million, I’ll take it!"

A brief bidding process took place in a silent and tense atmosphere.

Ultimately, the three top-grade Barrier Breaking Pills were purchased by three Disciples with clearly deep backgrounds at the base price of three million each.

When the three Disciples received the pills, they could hardly hide the excitement on their faces.

The way they looked at Chen Chuan was full of complexity, containing both gratitude and a kind of pity as if they were looking at a spendthrift.

Chen Chuan didn’t care at all.

Carrying the newly acquired huge sum of money, he felt his heartbeat become much steadier and more powerful.

Without a moment’s delay, he immediately returned to his small courtyard.

He began to consume gold tickets to increase his cultivation.

In one breath, he consumed 2.4 million gold tickets, and his cultivation rose to the Ninth Level of the Ming Quan Realm.

A majestic wave of spiritual power emerged once again, and the phantom of the spiritual spring within his Dantian rapidly expanded, flowing incessantly and emitting a faint roar.

Chen Chuan’s Aura climbed steadily, directly reaching the Peak of the Ming Quan Realm.

But that wasn’t enough!

He consumed another 3 million gold tickets, and his cultivation rose to the First Level of the Furnace Realm.

Boom!

As if some kind of shackle within his body had been broken, in the center of his Dantian, the flowing spiritual spring suddenly contracted and condensed, transforming into a simple, illusory furnace.

The furnace rotated slightly, devouring the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and converting it into even more pure and majestic spiritual power, which then fed back into his entire body.

Furnace Realm!

Achieved in an instant!

A powerful sense of strength filled his body; Chen Chuan could clearly feel that his current self was far stronger than when he was in the Ming Quan Realm.

He didn’t stop.

"System, consume eight hundred thousand gold tickets to increase my Bloodline concentration!"

[Ding! Consumed 800,000 gold tickets, the host’s Bloodline concentration has increased to 90%!]

A burning sensation originating from his life’s Origin flowed through his entire body; his blood seemed to be boiling and purifying.

He could feel that his perception of the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was more acute, and his Physical Body had also been strengthened.

At this moment, he had 3.2 million gold tickets left.

According to the System prompt, each level increase in the Furnace Realm required four hundred thousand gold tickets.

These 3.2 million were enough for him to instantly soar to the Ninth Level of the Furnace Realm.

But with a thought, Chen Chuan chose not to increase it immediately.

While a sudden surge in cultivation was certainly satisfying, keeping a portion of the funds as a strategic reserve might be more useful at a critical moment.

If he suddenly exposed his cultivation at the Peak of the Ninth Level of the Furnace Realm, it would definitely scare people half to death.

So he still needed to take it slow.

Tomorrow was the day of the Outer Sect competition; Chen Chuan would rest well today.

...

Soon, the Outer Sect competition finally arrived amidst the anticipation of all the Disciples.

In the early morning, the martial arts arena was already packed with people.

Ten tall Duel Platforms were arranged in a circle, looking magnificent.

The one hundred and sixty Outer Sect Disciples participating in the competition gathered below the platforms, the atmosphere solemn yet enthusiastic.

Even more Disciples surrounded the perimeter of the Duel Platforms, waiting expectantly, their discussions surging like a tide.

"I heard that several Senior Brothers have reached the Ninth Level of the Ming Quan Realm this time; the struggle for the top ten will definitely be intense."

"Senior Brother Xiao Tianci is said to have already stepped halfway into the Mountain Sea Realm; there’s probably no suspense about the champion."

"Hey, look, that Alchemy fanatic Chen Chuan is here too."

"Haha, he actually dares to come? Being good at Alchemy doesn’t mean he’s good at fighting."

"I heard he broke through to the Ming Quan Realm a few days ago; he probably has a bit of confidence now."

"The First Level of the Ming Quan Realm? In this kind of competition, that’s just bottom-tier; I think he’ll struggle even in the first round."

"Exactly, he probably earned some money from selling pills and is so full of himself that he’s come here to get beaten up."

In the crowd, Chen Ping listened to the blatant discussions around him, his brow furrowed, feeling aggrieved and indignant for his older brother.

But looking at Chen Chuan’s calm and even somewhat lazy profile, his heart felt strangely at ease again.

Big Brother probably wouldn’t do something he wasn’t sure about.

Soon, the Elder in charge of presiding announced the start of the drawing of lots.

The one hundred and sixty Disciples stepped forward one by one to draw their numbers from a sealed jade tube.

Chen Chuan casually pulled out a jade slip, which had a striking number "1" written on it.

He raised an eyebrow slightly. He was the first to go on?

Well, that saved him the wait.

Once all the Disciples had finished drawing lots and the Elder loudly announced for the Disciples who drew numbers one through ten to take the stage, Chen Chuan calmly walked toward the number one Duel Platform.

His appearance immediately attracted the eyes of most people.

"Look! Chen Chuan is going up first."

"Platform number one! He drew number one."

"Hahaha, this is going to be good. Let’s see how many moves he can last."

At the same time, from the other side, a tall and sturdy Disciple with a bit of a sneer on his face also leaped onto the number one Duel Platform.

In his hand, he held a jade slip also marked with the number "1."

When he saw clearly that his opponent was actually Chen Chuan, who had been gaining a lot of attention lately but was considered lacking in strength, he was stunned for a moment.

Immediately after, his face showed unabashed excitement and wild joy.

"Junior Brother Chen Chuan?" The burly Disciple grinned and cupped his fists, but his eyes were full of aggression.

"How lucky. It seems I, Zhang Mang, will be able to advance easily today."

"I hope Junior Brother will show some mercy, hahaha!"

His laughter carried blatant mockery and spread all around the number one Duel Platform.

Everyone cast looks of pity, playfulness, or curiosity toward the still expressionless Chen Chuan.

This first battle seemed to have no suspense?

Chen Chuan looked up at the self-satisfied Zhang Mang opposite him, the corner of his mouth twitching almost imperceptibly.

Who exactly was the lucky one? The answer would likely be revealed very soon.

Meanwhile, from another vantage point, Feng Zhixian saw that Chen Chuan’s opponent was Zhang Mang.

She knew that Zhang Mang possessed a cultivation of the First Level of the Furnace Realm, so dealing with Chen Chuan would be effortless.

Feng Zhixian felt very uncomfortable because she wouldn’t be the one to teach this bastard Chen Chuan a lesson.

She was already certain that Chen Chuan would be easily blasted off the Duel Platform by Zhang Mang.