"Number 25, get on stage!" Feng Tian's voice echoed, jolting the drowsy Lu Yi awake. Finally, it was his turn!
Standing below the platform, he was so bored he could die. He hoped for a stronger opponent, at least he could take on a task and earn some rewards.
Lu Yi leapt into the air and landed on the platform. The disciples below erupted in excitement; they finally got to see Lu Yi take the stage.
Lu Yi stepped onto the platform, and soon, another young man joined him.
Seeing this young man, Lu Yi was momentarily stunned and then laughed, "So it's you, Senior Brother Li Qi. What a coincidence!"
This young man was the same one who had been forcibly removed by Wang Xinqi from the platform at White Sun Peak. He'd been completely unlucky back then, and Lu Yi had a bit of an impression of him.
Li Qi's expression was twisted, wearing a mask of pain. He looked at Lu Yi, his mouth twitching, unable to muster a smile, almost through gritted teeth, he said, "Junior Brother Lu Yi, what a coincidence indeed..."
He was truly desperate. Why was he so unlucky?! It was only the first round, and he had already encountered this monster, Lu Yi?!
With his strength, he should have easily made it into the top 1,000!
Li Qi felt like crying.
Feng Tian glanced at Lu Yi and Li Qi, then calmly said, "Let the match begin."
Lu Yi smiled, "Senior Brother Li Qi, please."
He felt pity for Li Qi. Although he couldn't accept a task, he decided to spar with Li Qi for a while, so as not to crush his confidence too much.
Li Qi's mouth twitched violently, then he looked full of despair, "I surrender!"
"???
Lu Yi was momentarily stunned, then saw Li Qi turn and jump off the platform, disappearing into the crowd.
Lu Yi: "..."
Did Senior Brother Li Qi's mentality break? Lu Yi sighed. In the path of cultivation, luck was very important. It seemed that Senior Brother Li Qi was just unlucky.
Lu Yi stepped off the platform. Feng Tian, who had wanted to see Lu Yi's strength, was disappointed. He didn't expect Li Qi to surrender without a fight. With a touch of helplessness, he called out, "Number 26, get on stage."
The selection rounds passed quickly. As the preliminaries began early, the entire day was dedicated to them. Matches between Qi cultivators didn't take long, and several rounds passed quickly.
Lu Yi didn't know if he was just too lucky, but at the 101st platform, the strongest opponent was only Li Qi at the Eighth Layer. There wasn't even a Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer cultivator.
Every time Lu Yi took the stage, his opponents surrendered immediately, leaving him feeling very frustrated.
He spent the whole day standing under the platform, without ever drawing his sword!
By the end, he was numb. It was such a waste of time; he really wanted to go home and train.
Unfortunately, as a competitor, he couldn't leave.
...
The sun gradually set, finally sinking behind the mountains. As the sky turned orange, the preliminaries finally ended.
Lu Yi naturally took first place at the 101st platform. Next, he would compete against other platform champions for the top ten spots.
This would be the ranking matches.
As the preliminaries ended, Dugu Fang stepped onto the central platform and announced, "The competitions for today are over. The ranking matches will begin tomorrow. I hope you all maintain your condition and perform at your best tomorrow."
As he spoke, Dugu Fang glanced in Lu Yi's direction, feeling a bit regretful. He had wanted to see Lu Yi's strength but didn't expect his opponents to surrender every time.
After Dugu Fang announced the end, many disciples left. The whole day of battles had been a burden for most of them.
Even with stewards acting as referees, injuries were inevitable during the matches. They needed to go back and heal to avoid any lasting damage.
Lu Yi looked up at the sky and realized that Lu Gaoyang and Wang Siqi hadn't come down yet. To avoid being publicly carried home by Lu Gaoyang, he quickly used his movement technique and disappeared into the crowd; he wanted to run back home himself.
In the sky, Lu Gaoyang and Wang Siqi were all smiles, accompanied by Steward Li Mang and others from the Affairs Hall.
At this moment, everyone was congratulating Lu Gaoyang and Wang Siqi.
"Congratulations, Brother Lu. Lu Yi didn't draw his sword and still made it to the ranking matches without a fight. Truly impressive."
"Indeed, Brother Lu, tell us, just how strong is Lu Yi?"
"I think he can make it into the top 100 for sure!"
"Top 100? You're underestimating Lu Yi! I say he can make it into the top ten!"
"Regardless, Brother Lu, you have a good son. Remember your brothers when you make it big."
"Of course, of course..." Lu Gaoyang's eyes were squinted with happiness, almost disappearing from sight.
Next to him, Wang Siqi chatted happily with the female stewards, her face beaming with joy.
"Everyone, I need to take my son home, so I'll excuse myself... Hm?! Where's Lu Yi?" Lu Gaoyang looked down to find Lu Yi but realized he had disappeared.
Wang Siqi also looked down, confused.
Where was her son? Her big son? How could he disappear so quickly?
...
After returning to White Spirit Peak, Lu Yi went back to his room to rest.
Though he wasn't physically tired from standing all day, he was mentally exhausted from doing nothing but standing.
This wasn't a competition; it was more like a punishment for standing.
Lu Yi sighed inwardly, hoping the competition would end soon so he could claim his rewards.
The competition task had been on his task panel for a long time, and he had always kept it in mind.
Not long after, Wang Siqi's voice came from outside, "Yi'er? Yi'er, are you home?"
Lu Yi was taken aback, then stepped out to see Lu Gaoyang and Wang Siqi standing outside, looking puzzled, "I'm home."
Lu Gaoyang and Wang Siqi sighed with relief. Lu Gaoyang, with a face full of dark lines, said, "You brat, we were waiting to take you home, and you just left on your own."
Lu Yi's mouth twitched. Was he supposed to be carried back? Did he not care about his own dignity?
He cleared his throat and said, "I saw you two chatting in the sky, so I came back on my own."
Lu Gaoyang and Wang Siqi, hearing this, didn't mind.
Wang Siqi, grinning, said, "That's my boy. Truly impressive, not fighting but still winning. Today, the stewards praised you highly."
Lu Yi: "???"
Standing all day, and they still praised him? They must be insane.
Lu Gaoyang, laughing, agreed, "That's right. Even my buddies agreed, like father, like son."
Lu Yi gave Lu Gaoyang a blank stare: "..."
As long as he's happy.
The three of them chatted and laughed over dinner before sending Lu Yi back to his room to train. Both hoped Lu Yi could maintain his state.
Returning to his room, Lu Yi began his daily cultivation tasks. As the spiritual energy flowed, Lu Yi's qi grew stronger. He felt that reaching the Eighth Layer of Qi Cultivation was not far off.
With the White Cloud Qi Refining Art at level 8, his cultivation speed had more than doubled compared to level 7. Combined with the Perfect-Grade Qi Condensation Elixir, Lu Yi's training speed was astonishing.