Shen He descended into the stadium sadly, as if carrying a tremendous weight on his back, his feet almost dragging.
Upon reaching the entry point, he displayed his token, passed through a quick bone-age scan, and was allowed to enter and compete.
Entering the arena slowly, his eyes scanned from side to side.
The arena had a simple gray floor, perfectly smooth. The stands rose several meters before it was possible to see the faces of the millions of people in the audience.
Aotian had built it with the idea of an ancient coliseum in mind, only several times larger and more adapted to the competitions that would be held there.
Seeing the crowd gathered to watch competitors like him, Shen He drew a deep breath to steady himself. He chose a pill cauldron at random, sat cross-legged behind it, and waited for the competition to begin.
As he waited, several people passed around him, choosing a cauldron for themselves. The ones that most caught his attention were a certain group of youths and even children who entered together, wearing beautiful and delicate gray or white robes, led by a young man in white robes with gold accents.
'Disciples of the Infinite Dao Sect. And the one leading them must be a Core Disciple, just like the winner of the previous round,' Shen He analyzed calmly, without staring for too long.
He heard some of them talking as they passed by.
"The brother Qing Hao will easily win this competition, considering senior brother Lan and senior brother Cang won't take part in this ranking because of their ages."
"Even more so considering he became a Core Disciple. His skills must have improved countless times under his master's guidance."
One of the disciples said, and the others beside him agreed.
"Yes. Although it's a pity he didn't become a disciple of the pavilion leader. His talent is even greater than senior brother Lan Jun and senior brother Cang Song, and not having the leader as his master doesn't maximize his potential."
Another lamented quietly, but was quickly reprimanded by his companions.
"Don't say that out loud. Pavilion Leader Dan Hong has already said several times that Elder Liang's skill is in no way inferior to his own. And brother Qing Hao likes his master very much. If you keep saying his master's abilities are inferior, brother Qing might really get angry."
They spoke in low voices, and due to the noise of the audience, even a cultivator would have trouble hearing them unless they were very close or focused.
Shen He wanted to hear more, but those people had already gone to their spots, and he couldn't listen any further.
While he thought, the time came, and this competition seemed to have far fewer participants.
Shen He judged that many had probably given up after seeing the abnormal skill of the Infinite Dao Sect in the previous competition.
With the start of the match, a set of medicinal materials suddenly appeared beside his cauldron. They were good Refiner-Tier materials, and there was a large assortment.
According to the arena host, they could select materials from that set to craft whatever pill they wanted.
The materials could not be taken away or wasted without necessity.
There were arrays and elders monitoring such behavior.
Sound-isolation formations also appeared at that moment, blocking external disturbances such as the loud voices of the audience, providing an ideal space for performing alchemy.
Taking a deep breath, Shen He clenched his teeth and resolved to do his best, since he was already there—even if he would likely lose.
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Back in Aotian's VIP box, they calmly watched the beginning of the match, when the door was knocked from outside and suddenly opened.
"Hello!"
A cheerful greeting sounded as a man with a fox-like smile entered the room, closing the door behind him with a slight flick of his fingers.
Lie Zheng of the Punishment Pavilion, leaning with one shoulder against the back wall and his arms crossed, rolled his eyes as he saw who had arrived.
The visitor, seemingly sensing his gaze, turned toward him and raised an eyebrow.
"Ohh! Lie Zheng, so you're here. Good, good—that saves me the trouble of looking for you."
"You know, I was reviewing your Punishment Pavilion's work and noticed you barely do anything. I'm considering cutting operational costs. What do you think? It's all for the greater good of the sect. You wouldn't be greedy enough to object, right?" Bao Hui said with an amiable smile.
But the more he spoke, the darker Lie Zheng's face became, until suddenly a malicious smile appeared on his lips.
"Of course I agree. It'll be great when security drops and some thieves set their eyes on the money the Treasure Pavilion saved. Maybe I'll lend a hand, since during that time I should be greedy for money after the budget cuts. Should be interesting to watch," he said darkly, glaring at Bao Hui with narrowed eyes.
The petty elder's face paled.
"Ahem!" Bao Hui immediately coughed urgently into his fist. "Brother Lie, of course I was joking. We're good brothers, how could we harm each other?" he said with righteousness and seriousness, giving a confident pat on his chest.
Lie Zheng rolled his eyes again and then closed them, apparently not wanting to see that person anymore, preferring to pretend he didn't exist.
Bao Hui scratched his head, smiling, and then turned to the old Liu Taixuan, who was watching him with narrowed eyes, instinctively not having a good impression of the fox-faced man.
"AHH! A ghost!" Bao Hui widened his eyes and let out a small scream. "Y-You… you're not one of the souls of those whose belongings I improperly seized, coming to collect, are you?" he asked in fear, taking a step back, suspicious.
The old Liu's face darkened at being called a ghost.
Rihai quickly hid the smile that rose uncontrollably. She found Elder Bao Hui extremely funny, and she knew his disciple, Xiao Ling, so she knew many amusing stories she had told about him and his eccentricity.
"Who is this?" Old Liu asked darkly, especially after noticing his great-granddaughter's amused expression.
His great-granddaughter quickly suppressed her laughter and explained, still smiling slightly.
"This is Elder Bao Hui, the leader of the Treasure Pavilion of our Infinite Dao Sect," Rihai explained simply.
"Oh! If the ghostly sir is asking that, it means he doesn't know me, which means he didn't come to take revenge on me for anything I may have taken improperly. That's a relief."
The stingy elder patted his chest in relief and then smiled at the increasingly gloomy Liu Taixuan.
A calculating look then flashed in his eyes, and he smiled humbly at the old man.
"Well, I've never done this before… but I've taken a liking to you, Ghostly Sir. So I'm giving you a unique opportunity," he said sincerely. "A hundred sticks of incense in exchange for the location of all the treasures you had in life. Take it or leave it!"
Bao Hui offered firmly and kindly, blinking with a gentle and honest look, as if he were almost doing charity.
A vein began to bulge on Liu Taixuan's forehead, and he really wanted to hit that man.
"Pff!!" Rihai couldn't hold back and laughed at her great-grandfather's reaction, which made him immediately stare at her, but she quickly covered her mouth with her fist and cleared her throat. "Ahem! Elder Bao, this is my great-grandfather, not a ghost," she explained quickly.
"Ohhh! I get it." Bao Hui struck the bottom of his fist into his palm and nodded, shrugging, and then walked forward.
But as he approached, his gaze accidentally fell on a golden necklace with a green gem resting on the couch beside the old man.
"Huh?! An artifact above Mahayana-Tier. That's rare in this world." Old Bao rubbed his chin with interest.
His words immediately caught everyone's attention in the room.
"What do you mean by that?" Liu Taixuan looked at him in shock.
The necklace had always been a mystery to him, but he believed it to be a Mahayana-Tier artifact that he didn't know how to use.
But now that person suddenly claimed it was above that, awakening both his interest and uneasiness, making him remember his great-granddaughter's words again about the sect not being simple.
"Well…" Bao Hui shrugged. "It's literally what I said. Although, for certain reasons, my memories above the Mahayana realm are sealed, I can still easily recognize whether a necklace is or isn't of the Mahayana realm, and this one is above it," he explained simply.
But his words frightened both the old man and Rihai. The former was somewhat incredulous, and the latter had a face of 'I knew it'.
Aotian actually wasn't lying when he controlled Bao Hui to say this.
With the knowledge he gained from Lei Yun via Feedback, it was truly easy for him to see that the necklace was extremely unusual, far beyond the Mahayana realm.
As for him indirectly claiming that the elders were actually powerful cultivators who had attained immortality, Aotian had already noticed that people like Rihai, Lei Yun, and other disciples had let their theories lean in that direction.
Thus, he decided to adopt this story, which would be perfect for explaining both the sect's knowledge and heritage, as well as the elders' strange and almost supernatural cultivation progress. He only added the part about their memories being sealed.
And finally, the plan to bring Bao Hui there at that moment involved the expectation that perhaps, if he could fool Old Liu Taixuan using the necklace to gain his trust, the old man would become more open about the problems involving the end of the world.
That was why Bao Hui had arrived at that moment, right after Shen He left the necklace behind. It was all to deceive the old ghost.
And faced with old Liu's incredulity, Old Bao smiled maliciously.
"It seems you don't know much about your own item. So how about this? Let me analyze that necklace and tell you its Tier and its functions, and then you pay me the full value of the necklace in other items? It's a good deal, isn't it?" The elder rubbed his hands, his eyes narrowing as he gave an innocent foxlike look.
Liu Taixuan snapped out of it and snorted mockingly upon hearing that.
"Heh… Weren't you spouting nonsense saying your memory was sealed? How are you going to analyze something you say is beyond Mahayana-Tier if you claim your memories above that realm are sealed? And how would I pay? If this necklace were truly what you claim, I think even all the treasures in the world wouldn't be enough." The old Liu raised a brow provocatively.
"Well, it's simple. If I analyze something long enough, I can break a bit of the seal on my memory, just enough to examine this. As for payment, just invest everything you currently have and will have in the future, and then you'll pay." Bao Hui smiled innocently, though he looked more like the devil.
"Bah!" Liu Taixuan scoffed and nodded with amusement. "Go on then, try. Impress me," he provoked, not believing any of it.
"Alright, then I will." Bao Hui smiled confidently and took a step forward, stretching his hand to grab the necklace.
But a hand immediately seized his wrist, stopping him.
"Do not touch it," Liu Taixuan said darkly, dropping the joking tone.
Bao Hui raised a brow and shrugged.
"Wow, what a bad mood. Fine, I won't touch your precious necklace." He rolled his eyes and withdrew his hand, making Old Liu's guard lower slightly.
His gaze then focused on the necklace seriously.
Without Liu Taixuan knowing, Bao Hui was using the Treasure Identification ability he possessed as an inner elder of the Treasure Pavilion.
But since the artifact's realm was far higher than his current realm, it would take some time before a result appeared.
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Author's note:
Guys, I hope you are all doing well and in good health.
Tomorrow is New Year's Day, and there won't be a chapter, so besides letting you know that, I came to wish everyone a Happy New Year in advance.
May this year be one of joy, discoveries, achievements, and love for all of you.
I hope none of you lose heart, and that you can enjoy a good and happy New Year's celebration, with plenty of food and fun.
Don't get depressed or down. Sometimes we can feel discouraged and hopeless, or simply push discouraging thoughts aside and pretend they don't exist, while they consume us without us even noticing. I know this because I went through a long phase like that.
It's that moment when we give up without even fighting. When we throw away and discard our dreams without even trying, feeling an invisible pressure from the world and everyone around us, as if we were being left behind while everyone else moves forward.
But you're wrong. It's not like that. And if you feel this way, I know you probably won't believe what I'm saying, because when I was in that situation, I wouldn't have believed it either. But it will get better.
When we are surrounded by defeat, all we see is defeat.
But when we achieve a valuable victory, even a small one, it lifts our hearts and strengthens our spirit. Just don't give up, because as long as you don't, that victory will one day be great.
So this is a message for the present you, but also for my past self.
I hope your future selves can look at your past selves, just like I do, and no longer think that they were left behind by everyone, or remember and endlessly dwell on regrets and "what ifs" in our lives.
Sometimes, the harder the struggle, the more valuable it is. So don't lose heart before conquering victory and tasting its sweet flavor, even if you lose 100 times to achieve it.
If you lose 99 times and give up, you will always remember only the 99 losses with regret. But if you persist and win, even if it's on the 1000th fight, you won't cry anymore over the 999 lost battles. You will smile with a happy heart for the growth they brought you.
This message, I believe, will probably reach everyone, even if to a lesser degree for some.
We humans always feel there's something to improve, or we compare ourselves to others, which ends up discouraging us. So you're not the only one who feels down, or feels flawed, or feels like you're not meeting others' expectations, or even your own.
I'm like that too.
So don't give up. A new year is about to begin. Regain your motivation, set a goal, or pursue one. Don't put it off, and don't give up before you even start.
That's it. 2025 is leaving, taking with it many memories, both good and bad. But they are what define who we are. Be strong and tough, because I know you can be.
May 2026 be a year of victory, happiness, and love for all of us.
Happy New Year!
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P.S. If you're going to spend New Year's alone for some reason, you can try joining the book's Discord. There's a voice chat there. There may be some people who will also be spending it alone. You can get together and play something, maybe, or just talk.
You can plan it in the Discord chat to set something up, if you want. Try not to spend it alone.
Discord invite, anyone can join. Feel free to join: https://discord.gg/9NgeUkWDyy