[The art of weapons is relative to the individual who chooses to use it. It is believed that weapons can never be mastered, and that even if you spend a thousand years with your sword, on the one thousand and first year, you would still find new ways to swing it. But never the less it's better to be a master of one weapons than a user of many, not everyone has the mental fortitude and skill to master the foundations and use of multiple weapons, without a doubt people who embark on this path are fools without a single shred of sense. It is better to be a master than a jack of all trades, because jack of all trades never master anything.]
ONE MONTH LATER
Alex pulled at the neckline of his uniform completely annoyed by the material the uniform was made from. Laozi looked apologetically at his young master, knowing without a doubt that he was victim of a prank from some of the servants in charge of the disciples laundry. Obviously none of them would have taken the initiative to do such a thing, they were put up to it by someone else. But even then Alex looked really good, the robes might by coarse and rough, but he still looked incredibly smart and handsome.
The sect half year competition was quite important, especially for the disciples themselves seeing as they would be able to earn not just contribution points from practicing, but also pills and possible a chance to be taken in as a personal disciple of an elder.
For the leadership of the sect, this was a chance for them to unearth new gems and cultivate those gems into supreme talents. And now more than ever seeing as the triennial inter-sect competition was just a year away, and they needed to train their best disciples to represent them at the competition.
At the very least that's what's known, but the sect competition also had a deeper meaning than most. Extremely talented disciples would be sent to the sovereign kingdom of Australia, where the joint academy of martial and magical prowess was located. The name of the academy is not really known, but talents from both the empire of Albion and the empire of heaven all head there every year to become part of squads that would face the ever growing threats of Qi demons, and the nefarious activities of the brotherhood.
It was an opportunity to learn from the bests, and discover if you have talents for other different forms of cultivation, like mages and knights. Laozi however doubted Alex would ever get a chance to experience all this, the halo over his head was just to bright, everyone had their eyes on him, and enemies more than allies.
The sect might be divided into two factions, and the sect head a different person entirely, but the world has recognized Zhang Sanfeng as the top warrior and the person with the most influence. There was no Wudang without the Zhang family, and no Zhang family without Wudang. So many would love to stoke a blow and remove the so called heir at the first chance they get.
It's why Laozi was worried that Alex's grandfather would not allow his only grandson to roam the world and grow stronger and mingle with others. It was hard to say what his stance was going to be like a year from now, so all Laozi could do was hope the halo around his young master was bright enough to protect him and give him a strength not common to most.
The sect competition today was being held at the massive Arena, however multiple platforms have been raised to accommodate the challenges between every Qi realm within the mortal gate. The arena alone was built to accommodate competitions between heaven gate cultivators, this particular group of people had enough power to blow up the moon from a thousand meters underneath the sea surface. They were just that powerful, so the ridiculously large arena was built for that reason.
However due to it's largeness, it serves as more than enough space for the competition about to happen. However even though this was a competition divided amongst the mortal gate realms, there was no one in the body refining realm here, and even the weakest open meridian realm was already in the ninth stage just like Alex and was preparing to step into the open Dantian realm. The real competition was between cultivators within the open Dantian realm, the true essence and true element realm. There was no platform for body refining realm martial artist, and the open meridian realm cultivators had to fight in a battle royal to quickly decide the outcome of their own battle.
After that the competition would start in earnest as the other cultivators in the higher realms would pick numbers that pit them against random opponents. Sometimes if an open meridian realm cultivator is strong enough, he would be allowed to fight those of a higher realm, though he or she obviously won't reach to high of rank if not being at the outright bottom.
Alex moved forwards saying goodbye to Laozi as he went to stand amongst the other open Meridian realm cultivators, many of which were only just about 12 and 13 years old, making him the oldest here. Of course such a scene would have been a cause for mockery, but considering Alex has only been cultivating for the better part of four months and has crossed two realms and almost at the third, he was leagues above this people who have been cultivating ever since they were eight, some even younger.
But never the less it didn't mean Alex wasn't conscious about the fact that he was the oldest within the particular group. But thankfully Alex didn't have to dwell on that as a massive holographic image suddenly appeared, hung over the heads of everyone in the Arena.
"That's Second Elder Jian!" Alex heard someone say from behind him, he was about to ask who this Second Elder Jian was, but the hologram started speaking.
"Welcome everyone to the second half year tournament between the mortal gate disciples of our illustrious Wudang sect. This time there would be a few changes implemented as we expect more from our disciples for the events that are to come. Cultivators at the open meridian realm can fight as per usual, however from the open Dantian realm upwards, the use of weapons and killing techniques are allowed. Although killing is still forbidden, and whoever breaks that rule would be punished if not out rightly executed on the spot!
The goal is to help all of you push yourself to the limit and unearth your full potential. And as such the rewards have also improved. The top ten fighters in each realm, even the open meridian realm would be allowed to spend a day in dragon blood Qi lake, and after that they would be allowed entrance into the sects repository and allowed to choose new techniques. Also a prize of 200 contribution points would be given to the top ten in the opener meridian realm, 400 for the top ten in the open Dantian realm, 800 for the true essence realm, and 1600 contribution points for the true element realm.
And finally you would be allowed into the hidden dimension; The Forest Of Ancient Beginnings to train for four months, and to discover the treasures of this world for yourself. However for their safety if the top ten in the open meridian realm can't cross over to the open Dantian realm before the day the gate to the hidden dimension opens, they will have to stay back. Now without further wasting of your time, let the competition begin.