To become a true disciple, one must participate in this year’s Sect Competition.
Although Chen Mobai had observed it last year, he still felt it was better to ask someone with experience.
“Junior brother, you’re finally going to leave the mountain.”
In the pavilion on top of Xiaoyang Ridge, Qi Rui and Xi Jinghuo laughed heartily when they heard what Chen Mobai said.
“With your cultivation, your departure from the mountain will surely cause a sensation.”
Xi Jinghuo took a sip of spiritual wine and spoke with confidence in Chen Mobai.
“Although my realm is good, my combat experience and techniques are far inferior to yours. In this Sect Competition, it would be good if I could make it into the top hundred.”
“Junior brother, you’re too modest.”
Qi Rui’s words made Chen Mobai only able to smile bitterly.
For some reason, both of them had great confidence in him, believing that as long as he was willing to participate, even if he couldn’t become a true disciple, the top hundred would be within his grasp.
But Chen Mobai estimated that with his combat skills, it would be quite good if he could make it into the top hundred.
Last year, a total of 1,600 Qi Refining disciples participated in the Sect Competition. He had observed the entire process and made notes on some noteworthy individuals.
Among them, there were 176 at the ninth level of Qi Refining.
Of the twenty-four true disciples from the previous session, eight ascetics had received Foundation Establishment pills and did not participate again.
They were wholeheartedly in seclusion, honing their spirit, preparing to seize the opportunity for transformation, ready to take the Foundation Establishment pill at any time.
Among the remaining sixteen true disciples, E Yun, Zhou Wangshen, and the three true disciples of the Red River had all successfully established their foundations. They had all been arranged by the sect to take their own teams to Dream Swamp to open up a market.
Six people failed to establish their foundations and wanted to compete for the position of true disciple again, in exchange for a second Foundation Establishment pill. Among them was Liu Guilong from the Spirit Plant Department.
Unfortunately, without the support of the Spirit Plant Department, and with his injuries not yet healed, he was defeated by a rising star when he entered the top hundred.
In addition to Liu Guilong, three others were also knocked out of the position of true disciple.
There were also seven people, including Yuan Chiyi and Ding Ying, who had received Foundation Establishment pills, but because they were still practicing the Two-Phase Technique and had not yet perfected it, they had no intention of giving up their positions as true disciples.
Even so, in last year’s Sect Competition, the twenty-four true disciples of the Shenmu Sect had undergone a major reshuffle.
Fourteen new true disciples had risen to prominence in the Shenmu Sect.
Chen Mobai’s acquaintance, Yuan Chiyi, had advanced further, ranking third among the true disciples, taking over the position previously held by E Yun.
“I hope my luck in drawing lots this year will be as good as last year.”
Qi Rui drank his wine and hoped.
Last year, he had not encountered any strong opponents all the way up and had made it to the top forty-eight. Unfortunately, in the final battle for the twenty-four true disciple positions, he was defeated by the current sixth true disciple.
Next, Chen Mobai asked about some things to pay attention to during the Sect Competition, and Qi Rui and Xi Jinghuo informed him one by one.
But all the details ultimately came down to strength.
As long as one was strong enough, the position of true disciple would not escape.
The next day, Chen Mobai made another trip to Shenmu City, first bringing two jars of newly brewed Jade Bud Spiritual Wine to visit Sun Gaochang, the inspector.
“Okay, I understand. Go find Lu Jun.”
Upon learning that Chen Mobai wanted to participate in the Sect Competition and had the idea of competing for the position of true disciple, Sun Gaochang nodded slightly, accepted the two jars of wine, and let him leave after saying just one sentence.
A somewhat puzzled Chen Mobai left and found Lu Jun, who shook his head slightly after hearing the news.
“Junior brother Chen, this is Inspector Sun not having high hopes for you.”
“Oh, why?”
“If I’m not mistaken, you should have broken through to the ninth level of Qi Refining, otherwise you wouldn’t be thinking about competing for the position of true disciple.”
“Brother, your insight is sharp.”
Chen Mobai did not deny this.
“Then you should also know that there is a huge gap between the ninth level of Qi Refining and the true disciples. Brother Li Li, who practices the Grain Rain Sword Technique, plus a second-order flying sword supported by our Spirit Plant Department, barely made it into the top twenty-four.”
Lu Jun’s words made Chen Mobai understand why Li Li suddenly had a second-order Spring Rain Sword last year. It turned out that it was supported by the Spirit Plant Department for their own face.
“Our Spirit Plant Department disciples participating in the Sect Competition can usually get a magic weapon from the logistics department. Those like Brother Li Li who are to be guaranteed to become true disciples will be given second-order magic weapons.”
“But this requires the approval of the three Foundation Establishment cultivators. If I go to say hello, at most I can borrow a top-grade first-order magic weapon.”
“But don’t be discouraged, junior brother. This year, go and feel the atmosphere of the Sect Competition. When your ranking improves in a few years and you have the hope of entering the true disciples, Inspector Sun will definitely say hello and prepare a suitable second-order magic weapon for you.”
As Sun Gaochang’s confidant, Lu Jun’s going to the Spirit Plant Department’s logistics department to say hello was already giving face to Chen Mobai’s two jars of wine.
In response, Chen Mobai chose a top-grade first-order Qingmu Sword.
The path of the Longevity Sutra is extremely broad, it can be cultivated towards magic or swordsmanship.
Since Chen Mobai had decided to cover up the Pure Yang Scroll with the Red Flame Sword Technique, it was time to practice sword control when his realm could not be improved.
Before leaving, Chen Mobai also gave Lu Jun a jar of Jade Bud Spiritual Wine as a thank-you gift, and the latter did not refuse.
He also asked if the Foundation Establishment pills had started to be refined.
It was still the same as before, asking them to keep the auxiliary spiritual herbs for refining a batch of Foundation Establishment pills unharvested.This meant that he hadn’t started refining yet, but he already had this intention.
It would probably be within the next year or two.
Participating in the sect’s grand competition for the first time, Chen Mobai was reminded of his own experience participating in the entrance examination in Danxia City.
However, compared to his calm and confident demeanor back then, he was a bit nervous this time.
Fortunately, the person arranging the competition brackets in the Shenmu Sect didn’t do it randomly. The first few rounds still separated those at the ninth level of Qi Refining.
Chen Mobai’s opponents in the first two rounds were all cannon fodder below the sixth level of Qi Refining. Even if his combat skills were poor, he could still easily defeat his enemies with the sheer gap in spiritual power.
The opponents in the third and fourth rounds were in the late stage of Qi Refining.
However, under the support of Chen Mobai’s ninth level of Qi Refining and the first-grade superior flying sword from the Lingzhi Department, none of them could withstand a single move from him.
In these four rounds, Chen Mobai finally experienced the exhilaration of suppressing others with his realm, as Qingping Shangren had said.
It wasn’t until the fifth round that he finally met a worthy opponent, a ninth-level Qi Refiner from the Talisman Department.
However, it seemed that the opponent hadn’t received any magical resources from the Talisman Department. Chen Mobai, relying on his Qingmu Sword and his superior understanding equivalent to a second-grade Talisman Master in the Tianhe Realm, saw through the flaws in the opponent’s talisman array and managed to defeat him with difficulty.
After this round, Chen Mobai advanced to the top forty-eight.