Ming Yue left with her two pet companions. As she walked through the Contribution Hall, she could sense eyes on her, trying to gauge her strength. However, she kept her strength in check and they could not find out much about her. This only made them curious as her wager was strange.
A thousand points for her to reach the top ten.
It was a small amount for the lofty goal she made.
When she left, some of those making wagers after her decided to put a few points to her name. At the same time, they tried to gather some information about her. She did not realize any of this nor did she think that such a thing would happen.
However, Ming Yue underestimated the gravity of the wager that she made. The top ten spots were bound to be filled with Inheritors and well-known ones at that. Thus for an unknown disciple like her to aim fo that meant one of two things. She was either overconfident or she had the strength to do it.
Ming Yue no longer thought about the tournament and instead spent the rest of the day exploring the city.
"Do you want this? How about these? I wonder what that smell is."
The noses of this trio led them through the city from stall to stall. She bought a number of different snacks to share with her two beasts: fried dough covered in sugar, dried meat that tasted of smoke and spice, a milky drink containing some glutinous balls, and much more. As the sun set, they returned to the Institution where the two beasts slept soundly, satisfied with the the day's experience.
Ming Yue sat beside them, resting her hands on their snoring bodies. She stood up and took out her sword, unsheathing it and shining it in front of the moonlight. She took out a few other things, some supplies from the Dark Water Kingdom to maintain her sword.
She spent an hour or two polishing and sharpening it. Though her skill was not a good as a master blacksmith, it was enough to get the job done. Holding the sword up, she felt satisifed with her work and began the second part of the maintenance.
At the Dark Water Kingdom, Mei Zhen had made her own alterations to Drifint Sky which required another layer of care.
"Let's see. I have to "soak" it in my Quintessence Energy?"
Ming Yue was not all too clear as to what the Master of the Forge of 81 Fires wanted but she tried her best.
She began to circle and gather the energy around her as if she was cultivating. Then, she directed it towards Drifting Sky, where it filled every part of the sword from the blade to the handle. It was saturated in her energy and seemed to absorb some of it.
This, Ming Yue noticed and found very intriguing.
"I wonder what exactly Mei Zhen did to this", she thought.
She knew that it was much easier to use and execeute her techniques but it seemed that this was not all that had been done.
"There's no use thinking about it now, I'll find out in due time."
Ming Yue could figure it out another time but for now, she did as instructed and continued the sword maintenance. It was quiet and calming as she thought back to the past several days. When recalling today's events, she found that Elder Xiang's words were helpful. The amount of stress that had been built up from fighting was mentally exhausting.
Maintaining a calm and healthy mind was extremely important as it could have detrimental effects to one's cultivation. Without a clear mind, it would be very easy for one to deviate from their cultivation. Furthermore, it could lead to bottlenecks that could never be broken.
Ming Yue's mental fortitude was not weak but even she was drained from fighting numerous opponents who were as strong, if not stronger than her.
Though she spent the day unwinding, she felt fullt rested and focused. There was confidence growing within her that she would reach the top ten in this tournament.
However, she did not think about the format it would be in.
The sun rolled out and a new day started, this time the air was slightly different. For those that were eliminated, they filled the seats with the city locals. Those coming from a noble or otherwise famous background sat with their families.
The remaining six hundred were all awaiting at the floor of the coliseum.
Soon enough, the Grand Elder appeared. The stone arena rumbled and shook as it formed a massive pillar that he stood on. Looking down, he gazed at the many faces below with a rather cheeky grin on his face.
"Welcome to the Heavenly Gate Tournament, I'm sure all of you are wondering what sort of changes have been made. Which is why, I am here to inform everyone."
As he spoke, the arena began to shift and change, transforming into a massive mountain of stone. But it was not just that, trees and grass began to grow at the base of the mountain and even all throughout the field of the coliseum. Suddenly, it became a lush forest where a mountain stood at the center.
"Rather than having three more rounds of more duels and what not, I believed that this would be much more interesting. In other words, this will be the final round."
Upon those words everyone's thoughts began to rush and blur.
This would be the final round but with an arena like this, there was nothing that could have prepared them for this.
"Now as you can see, we've made a few changes to the arena and that leads us to our rules. First of which is that, rather than three rounds, everyone will have three chances instead. Three chances to climb the mountain and reach the peak, that is if you don't get eliminated first. All six hundred of you will have to fight to reach the top but there is one other factor you should consider. I will also be a part of this so do make your preparations, you will all be sent to different areas after a single hour."
The pillar the Grand Elder stood on turned to dust as it returned to arena, leaving him to return to the tower.
As for everyone else, this piece of news was too shocking for them but they had to muster their courage. For those that had been eliminated and watched in the sidelines, a few felt relieved that they did not have to participate in this. Something like this was bound to do more than give stress and anxiety.
To be in a setting like this where everyone was your enemy would strain their nerves. They would have to be alert at all times for there could be an attack form anywhere, especially in a thick forest. If that wasn't enough, the mountain was more or less open and climbing it would only put a target on your back.
There were many factors to consider and many risks to account for.
Ming Yue stood back and calmed herself. She was surprised by this and needed time to digest all of this. A forest like this was good for her as it gave cover. However, against six hundred others including the Grand Elder, it was going to be very difficult.
As she had made her preparations last night, she began to think and strategize about this situation. There were a number of options but also unknown dangers within this mountain and forest. The fact that she had three chances to climb was reassuring but it also showed how easy it would be to die, either from battle or something else.
"Three chances...I must make the most of it."