Chapter 27: The Newcomer's Tournament (Part 1)

  Tian Shi Dao Zun let out a soft sigh and said, "Fortunately, I only have one disciple like you; otherwise, before the Heavenly Tribulation even arrives, I would have been driven to death." As he spoke, his large sleeve fluttered lightly, and a burst of pale green light emerged, causing a small, delicate box made of jade to appear in front of Hai Long. Tian Shi Dao Zun continued, "I knew you were greedy; I had already prepared these for you long ago. They are all defensive treasures, and the instructions on how to use them are written on the jade slip inside the box. You can figure it out yourself later. Ah, back when we first met at the Heavenly Peak, I was too impulsive... consider this a compensation for that. However, I didn't expect your cultivation to progress so quickly. Now you should be able to make use of them. Alright, put it away for now; I have more important matters to discuss with you."

  A faint, pure energy was emanating from the cyan jade box. Just by looking at the box, Hailong knew that the Tian Shi had given him something good. The Qian Kun ring transformed into a cyan glow under the urging of his spiritual power, and with a wave of his hand, he stored the cyan jade box inside. Smiling, he said: "Thank you for your treasure, I've long forgotten about past matters. If there's anything, Master, please just give the order."

  Tian Shi Dao Zun glanced at Dao Ming Zhen Ren beside him and said, "No wonder you said this kid changes his face faster than flipping a book. It seems it's true after all. Alas, my poor treasures!" He turned to Hai Long, "The few magical artifacts I gave you have the function of hidden traces, which will be very helpful for your future travels. The little monk also told you earlier that the situation on the Divine State Continent is very complicated now. Most of our disciples in the Lian Yun Sect who have surpassed the peak realm have already gone out to gain experience with several Dao Zuns. The three evil sects are rising rapidly and now they seem to be suppressing us, the righteous path."

  "Hai Long slightly furrowed his brow and said: 'Master, these things were all mentioned by Little Monk earlier. You don't need to beat around the bush, just get straight to the point.'"

  "Now, I don't have time to care about your impoliteness, Haigui. To encourage our disciples to cultivate diligently, the Seven Sects decided 300 years ago that every 100 years, we would hold a Newcomer Competition Conference. At that time, all those who are part of the Seven Orthodox Sects and have cultivated for less than 1,000 years can participate. This is both an opportunity to prove oneself and a chance to bring glory to one's sect. In the past 300 years, we have held this competition twice. I'm ashamed to say that our sect has always managed its disciples with a laissez-faire attitude, allowing them to cultivate on their own. We haven't intentionally nurtured any elite disciples. Unfortunately, in the two previous competitions, not even one of our disciples made it into the top three. Now, as the largest and most orthodox sect, if we still can't win any honors at this third grand gathering, we, the Daoist priests, will truly lose face. Therefore, I want you to participate in this competition and at least get a ranking in the top three. Do it for our Lianyun Sect and for the glory of my Tian Shi lineage!"

  Hai Long furrowed his brow and said, "I'm not going. Master, with so many disciples from the seven sects participating in the competition, even if I do participate, I probably won't get a good ranking anyway. I don't want to go."

  "You agreed to this earlier, didn't you? Now that you've obtained my artifact, do you think you can back out? I've already given you the benefits, and whether or not you go is no longer up to you. Besides, if I wasn't confident in your ability to get a good ranking, do you think I'd let you go and embarrass yourself? Among the disciples who have been cultivating for less than a thousand years, I've never heard of anyone reaching the level of 'Tui Tai'. You should know that among us cultivators, the stages before 'Deng Feng' are relatively easy to reach. Even ordinary disciples can enter the initial stage of 'Deng Feng' after five hundred years of bitter cultivation. However, after passing the 'Deng Feng' stage, cultivation becomes much more difficult. Only those with high innate talent will progress faster. Even so, the three stages of 'Wu Shuang', 'Fu Dan', and 'Dao Long' often require nearly a thousand years of bitter cultivation to reach. With your current level of cultivation, combined with the attacking power you showed earlier, there are very few people among the cultivators under a thousand years old in the Righteous Path who can be your match. If you return as the champion, you will be a meritorious figure in my Lian Yun Sect, and all disciples will respect you. Don't you know that our Lian Yun Sect has been rising in power in the Righteous Path over the past few hundred years, and we have many new disciples? Don't you want to become their idol? In the cultivation world, as long as you have real strength, wherever you go, people will respect you. And the Seven Sects' New Disciple Competition is a great opportunity for you to show off your skills."

  Everyone has a vain heart. After hearing Tian Shi Dao Zun's words, Hai Long couldn't help but feel slightly moved and muttered: "I'll consider it."

  "Now time is pressing, there's no time for you to think about it. The Seven Sects' Newcomer Competition will be held in a month at the Xianzhao Mountain where the Wuzhao Xianzong is located. You must set off as soon as possible to make it on time. When the sect master went out of the mountain, he handed over the selection of disciples to me, and I had a hard time selecting five disciples. Coincidentally, today your power fluctuation when you came out of seclusion was detected by me, so this time you will lead the team. Also, this competition has its benefits. To encourage the orthodox sects' disciples, the top three winners will be rewarded. The second and third place will receive an extreme-quality treasure, while the first place winner will receive a sacred artifact. You should know what a sacred artifact is."

  Upon hearing that there was a divine artifact to be obtained, the Sea Dragon's heart suddenly skipped a beat. With determination, he said: "Alright, Master, I promise you, I will definitely bring honor to our Lianyun Sect." As he spoke, he also put on an air of grand righteousness.

  Hong Zhi whispered in a low voice on one side: "I think, wanting to get that immortal device is the real thing."

  Hailong glared at him and smiled apologetically to Chongtianshi Dazun, "Master, do you have any other instructions? Oh, right, my cultivation realm has improved now. However, the sect's Dao techniques haven't been taught yet. Master, can you teach your disciple?"

  Tian Shi Dao Zun glared at him with a bad temper, saying: "You little brat! I really don't know what to say. However, even if you're going for the sacred artifact, you must come back as the champion. Also, don't forget what I told you to report during the trial. Dao Ming, the task of guiding Hai Long in the way of the Tao is now yours. He has a deep foundation of power now, so learning the Tao should be easy for him. In three days, I will have the other five disciples gather at Mo Yun Ping, and then the six of you will set off together to Xian Zhao Mountain." After finishing speaking, his feet rose up in clouds of fog, and he floated away under a blue-green light.

  After respectfully seeing off Tian Shi Dao Zun, Daoming Zhenren turned to Hai Long Dao and said: "Younger brother, congratulations. I have followed Master for many years, but he has never given me any treasures either."

  Suddenly, a strange light flashed in the eyes of the Sea Dragon, and from the mouth of Tian Shi Dao Zun, he already knew that his cultivation had surpassed that of Dao Ming Zhen Ren. A sense of superiority rose up, and he chuckled: "Dao Ming Fatty, I remember we seemed to have made a bet back then. Who won this bet in the end?"

  Dào Míng's face changed slightly, and he muttered: "Younger brother, you've been in seclusion all this time, no one knows when you entered the state of Dēng Fēng. I think we can just forget about that bet."

  Hai Long leaned in close to Dao Ming's side, one hand grasping his plump shoulder, and said: "Alright, since you put it that way, Big Brother, then let's just forget about it."

  Dao Ming was taken aback, he didn't think that Hai Long would be so easy to talk to. He thought to himself, could it be that the eight hundred years of cultivation had changed his nature? Dao Ming was wrong, as the saying goes "the landscape can change easily, but one's nature is hard to shift". The reason why Hai Long hadn't inquired deeply about the bet was because he didn't have any evidence to prove that he could reach the peak within a hundred years. Secondly, he would soon be learning Daoist techniques from Dao Ming. In Hai Long's mind, for those who were useful, one had to be polite. Dao Ming smiled and said: "Younger brother, time is pressing, let us begin learning Daoist techniques as soon as possible."

  "Hai Long nodded and said: 'Alright, I'll go with you to your Moyun Cave Mansion. The spiritual energy there is abundant, it should be very suitable for learning Taoist magic.'"

  Dào Míng's whole body shook, and he smiled apologetically: "My place is too small, so I won't go. I think it's better to stay here." The immortal products he planted were almost ripe, but he was afraid of the sea dragon!

  Hai Long pretended to be in a difficult situation, saying: "But it's been a long time since I went to my senior brother's place, and I really want to go see him! Now I still miss the spiritual medicine that my senior brother had back then."

  Dàomíng was startled and hastily said: "You'd better not miss it. There's nothing good in my place."

  Hailong let out a soft sigh and said, "I'm about to go make our sect proud, Big Brother! Shouldn't you give your little brother some defensive medicine? Otherwise, what if I get hurt?"

  Daming scolded in his heart, with your current cultivation participating in the competition will also get injured? But for fear of Hailong ascending to Moyun Peak, he had no choice but to force a smile and say: "Alright, alright, when you set off, I'll definitely give you some."

  Hong Zhi and Xiao Jiling were secretly laughing on the side, Hong Zhi thought to himself that his big brother was getting more and more formidable. Not only had his cultivation improved, but he also seemed to be getting greedier. As soon as they left their seclusion, he demanded treasures and medicinal pills. It seemed that following him wasn't a mistake after all! At least with him around, Hong Zhi wouldn't suffer any losses.

  Hai Long's expression suddenly dimmed, and he said in a low voice to Dao Ming: "Brother, how are my masters doing now? Are they...are they okay?" As soon as he thought of his former masters who had truly cared for him, Hai Long lost all interest in joking around. A faint, hazy look appeared in his eyes.

  Dao Ming Zhen Ren sighed, "In your heart, I will never be able to surpass the status of those few masters. Eight hundred years have passed, and their realm has long since reached the peak. Now, except for Ling Yu Zi who remains in Mo Yun Ping, oh, now he should be called Dao Yu Zi. He stays in Mo Yun Ping to guide the 4th and 5th generation disciples in their cultivation, while the others have already followed several ancestors out of the mountain to gain experience. Dao Yu Zi and the others knew that after you entered seclusion, they still kept your original residence for you. Let's go, we'll pass on the Taoist teachings there as well."

  Three days later.

  Wave after wave of cloud and mist continued to impact Moyunping, warm sunlight was faintly visible, and the green grass on Moyunping was like a carpet. Various spiritual fruits were born on it. The fence built by Hailong that year still continued their original mission. Originally empty Moyunping, now has three rows of houses, four or five generations of disciples, adding up to more than thirty people. Now, the seventy-two peaks of Lianyun Mountain Range, including the outer twelve peaks, all have disciples living in them. The number of people on Moyun Peak is still relatively small, and some mountains already have more than two hundred disciples. The current Lianyun Sect has entered its heyday, with a total of over three thousand people from various generations of disciples. From any angle, it is absolutely the largest sect of Xiu Zhen in the Divine State.

  Looking around at the beautiful scenery, Hailong stood with his hands behind his back, his heart filled with a sense of calm. Three days ago when he returned here, he and Daoyuzi had hugged each other and cried bitterly. Daoyuzi had changed a lot, not only had her cultivation become stronger, but her temperament had also undergone a drastic change. When she found out that Hailong had reached the state of detachment, instead of feeling even a hint of jealousy, she was filled with joy. Among Hailong's many masters in the past, Lingtongzi and Lingyuzi were the ones who treated him the best. In Hailong's heart, he had long regarded them as his fathers.

  "Master Uncle, what are you doing?" A voice with a hint of childishness rang out. Hailong didn't need to turn around, he knew it was his fifth junior brother, Tan Yun, who had come up the mountain not long ago. Among the many low-ranking disciples on Moyun Peak, he liked Tan Yun the most, except for being a few years younger than himself, the fifteen-year-old boy was just like himself when he first came to the mountain. Both were orphans, both had ordinary talents, but they had clever minds.

  Turning around, Hailong smiled and said: "Xiaoyun, come here." Tanyun's appearance was very ordinary. Although his background was the same as Hailong's, compared to how he used to be, he looked much more rustic. At least, he was very polite to his elders. Taking a few steps forward, Tanyun stood in front of Hailong with his head lowered. Hailong stared at him blankly, until this moment, he still thought he was eighteen years old.

  For a while, under the scorching gaze of Hailong, Tangyun felt somewhat unaccustomed and called out in a low voice: "Master Shu Zu, you, what's wrong?"

  Hailong came back to his senses, and sighed lightly: "Nothing, looking at you reminds me of my past self. Soon, Master Shu will be leaving for a while, you should follow the masters and cultivate well, do you know? You are still in the initial stage. Maybe we have fate, let me give you something." A flash of light, and a cyan star ring appeared on Tanyun's neck. Originally, Hailong wanted to give him the Blood Eight Trigrams that had been forced out of his body, but he was afraid that the ominous aura contained in the Blood Eight Trigrams would affect Tanyun's cultivation, so he only gave him this defensive treasure.

  Tang Yun looked at the treasure on his neck with surprise and delight, excitedly saying: "Thank you, Master Shu Zu, this is too beautiful. Is it a magical treasure?"

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