Lu Yi picked up the stone plate floating in front of him and glanced at it: 9-5.
Wang Wulian looked a little nervous as he turned to Lu Yi: "Junior Brother Lu Yi, which stage are you?"
Lu Yi smiled: "Stage 9."
Wang Wulian grinned and immediately started laughing: "I'm on stage 10. If I'm lucky enough, maybe I can make it into the top ten?"
Lu Yi: "..."
Elder Wang was rather optimistic.
Lu Yi didn't want to discourage him, so he smiled and nodded: "I think with Elder Wang's strength, it will definitely not be a problem."
Wang Wulian chuckled with laughter.
Stage 9 and stage 10 were right next to each other. The two of them went together to the edge of the stages.
At this moment, Lu Yi felt an intense gaze. He turned his head and saw Mo Lingxi staring coldly at him.
Lu Yi was stunned. He hadn't expected Mo Lingxi to be at this stage as well. The look in Mo Lingxi's eyes seemed to want to cut him down with a knife.
Others also noticed Mo Lingxi's attitude and showed expressions of amusement, as if they were about to watch a drama unfold.
The outer sect disciples who had reached this level naturally had strong abilities and were somewhat familiar with Mo Lingxi, known as the gatekeeper to the top ten.
Now, faced with a rising star like Lu Yi, wouldn't these two fight until their brains were beat out?
They were happily ready to watch the show.
At this moment, a gentle voice rang out: "Junior Brother Lu Yi, I didn't expect to see you here."
Lu Yi turned his head and saw a young man with an ordinary face but determined eyes walking towards him with a smile.
Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer.
"Is that Elder Jiang Fan?"
"Didn't expect Elder Jiang Fan to be at this stage as well? This is the end for me. There's no way I'll make it into the top ten."
"Brother... don't just drink, eat some dishes too?"
"Even a single peanut would keep you from getting this drunk."
"Who do you think is stronger, Junior Brother Lu Yi or Elder Jiang Fan?"
"I think Elder Jiang Fan is more promising. He's a genius; he should be able to compete for the first place, right?"
"I also think Elder Jiang Fan has a better chance. If Junior Brother Lu Yi had the same cultivation base as Elder Jiang Fan, I'd think he's stronger. But Junior Brother Lu Yi is at a disadvantage in terms of cultivation."
Many people nodded in agreement.
Lu Yi smiled and nodded: "Elder Jiang Fan."
Jiang Fan smiled and asked: "Are you on stage 9 or stage 10?"
Lu Yi smiled: "Stage 9."
Jiang Fan chuckled: "What a pity. I'm on stage 10. I was hoping to face you early on. I heard you broke through to the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer."
Lu Yi froze for a moment, then smiled: "When it comes to the top ten ranking battles, this junior will seek guidance from the elder."
Jiang Fan paused, then looked deeply at Lu Yi: "Junior Brother Lu Yi, you are very confident. I will look forward to it."
Saying this, Jiang Fan smiled at Lu Yi and turned to leave.
Lu Yi watched Jiang Fan's departing figure, feeling a bit strange. His current perceptive abilities were quite strong. Jiang Fan's strength was not weak, giving Lu Yi a faint sense of danger.
It must be known that Lu Yi now mastered lv8 arts, making him much stronger than the average Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer. Does that mean this Elder Jiang Fan was also much stronger than typical Qi Cultivation Tenth Layers?
Indeed, someone with a "Fan" in their name was not simple.
Lu Yi internally joked and self-reflected: "I need to defeat Elder Jiang Fan."
[Task]
Defeat Jiang Fan (Progress: 0/1)
Reward: 1 drop of Centennial Spiritual Dew
Accept: Yes/No
"?????"
Seeing the reward, Lu Yi's expression froze.
Goodness, Centennial Spiritual Dew?! It's a rare reward? This elixir is more precious than regular elixirs or spirit stones. It has an extremely easy absorption rate, no side effects, and can also nourish the body. It even increases spiritual energy affinity, which directly enhances cultivation talent!
Although Lu Yi's cultivation speed was quite fast, it was mainly due to his high-level techniques and the continuous daily intake of Perfect-Grade Qi Condensation Elixirs. In fact, his innate cultivation talent was only moderately above average. With Centennial Spiritual Dew, his talent would improve significantly, further accelerating his cultivation speed!
Even though Centennial Spiritual Dew was far less effective than thousand-year or ten-thousand-year variants, it was still extremely valuable.
The most important thing was that this was a sparring reward. Repeatable!
Hmm... It seemed he needed to be a bit nicer to Elder Jiang Fan and spar with him often. Three to five times a day would suffice. That would be three to five drops of Centennial Spiritual Dew daily, significantly boosting his cultivation talent rapidly.
Suddenly, Elder Jiang Fan's ordinary face appeared very handsome to Lu Yi.
While Lu Yi was indulging in his thoughts, he felt Mo Lingxi's cold gaze again. He snapped out of his reverie and silently vowed: "I will defeat Elder Mo Lingxi."
[Task]
Defeat Mo Lingxi (Progress: 0/1)
Reward: Top-grade Qi Condensation Elixir * 20 / Perfect-Grade Qi Condensation Elixir * 2
"Tsk..." Lu Yi felt disappointed. Elder Mo Lingxi was pretty pathetic.
"What's the matter, Junior Brother Lu Yi?" Wang Wulian had been stunned upon hearing Jiang Fan was on his stage. Hearing Lu Yi's smacking lips, he came back to his senses and looked at Lu Yi.
Lu Yi smiled at Wang Wulian: "Nothing much. Elder Wang, it seems you will be eliminated by Elder Jiang Fan too."
Wang Wulian's expression stiffened: "…Junior Brother Lu Yi, can you please be quiet? I need some peace."
"Hahaha!"
As the two were conversing, Dugu Fang announced: "The competition begins now."
Once Dugu Fang finished speaking, the stewards on the stages started calling numbers.
"Number 1, step onto the stage!"
......
The disciples who made it to the ranking matches were much stronger than those in yesterday's preliminaries. The lowest cultivation base was Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer, which was a result of luck for those who didn't meet stronger opponents.
Disciples below Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer wouldn't make it, even with good fortune, as it would be impossible for a stage to lack any Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer cultivators.
So, even luck required a certain level of strength to back it up.
The competitions on the stages were exciting, with many disciples having at least one art in the Great Success Realm.
Lu Yi watched intently, unlike yesterday when he almost fell asleep out of sheer boredom. It had been torturous.
The matches progressed sequentially, and soon, it was number five's turn.
Lu Yi was number five. He soared into the air and lightly landed on the stage.
Opposite him was a delicate, black-haired girl.
Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer.
Seeing Lu Yi, the girl smiled shyly with a slight blush: "Hello Junior Brother Lu Yi, I'm Senior Sister Gu Mingxi."
Lu Yi smiled lightly: "Hello, Senior Sister Gu."
"Junior Brother's swordsmanship talent is truly impressive. I greatly admire you." Smiling, Gu Mingxi spoke rather than beginning the match.
Lu Yi was slightly taken aback. Weren't they here to compete? Why the chit-chat?
Lu Yi's mouth twitched: "Senior Sister, you're flattering me."
Silently, he vowed: "Defeat Senior Sister Gu Mingxi."
[Task]
Defeat Gu Mingxi (Progress: 0/1)
Reward: Top-grade Qi Condensation Elixir * 10 / Perfect-Grade Qi Condensation Elixir * 1
Hmm... This Senior Sister seemed a bit weak.
But Lu Yi didn't mind. Even a small prize was still a prize.
Gu Mingxi, cheeks slightly flushed, didn't make a move and said: "Junior Brother Lu Yi... if you have time, could you spar with Senior Sister more often?"
Lu Yi: "?????"
Something seemed off about this Senior Sister Gu.