Translator: AnubisTL
Li Qing resided in his cave abode within Lingyun Market. The originally frigid air instantly turned scorching hot.
All because of the radiant golden tail feather in his hand!
"Incredible! As expected of a demon bird with the golden crow bloodline. Even a juvenile golden fire crow's tail feather possesses such pure yang energy," Li Qing exclaimed in awe. Just a slight infusion of spiritual energy to activate the feather's yang essence had caused this dramatic shift in temperature.
He dared not imagine the power of a secret treasure refined using such a feather as a spiritual material.
"I once read in the sect's ancient texts about a legendary artifact: the seven-colored fan. By collecting tail feathers from various spirit birds with powerful bloodlines, one could refine this fan, its power so immense it defies description."
As he spoke, Li Qing's eyes narrowed, lost in contemplation of this mythical treasure. The very conditions required for its refinement were heaven-defying, and if successfully forged, its power would indeed be terrifying.
"Such thoughts are premature. The immediate priority is to enhance my cultivation."
With these words, Li Qing settled into the rare tranquility of his current cultivation session, savoring the opportunity for focused practice.
The Ascension Conference was still some time away. Until then, the sect disciples stationed at Lingyun Market would handle all preparations meticulously.
Li Qing was more than happy to play the role of a hands-off manager. After becoming the refining elder, he hadn't had such a peaceful period for focused cultivation in ages.
Time slipped by swiftly, and before he knew it, the day of the Ascension Conference had arrived.
Li Qing, still deep in cultivation, emerged from his cave abode precisely on time.
By now, the atmosphere at Lingyun Market had reached a fever pitch, with cultivators from all corners of the realm swarming the area.
Even cultivators from beyond the Mu Kingdom had traveled great distances to attend Lingyun Sect's Ascension Conference.
After all, this was a chance to ascend to the heavens in a single step. Becoming a disciple of a cultivation sect was far more comfortable than struggling as a rogue cultivator.
"What a clamorous scene," Li Qing murmured, gazing at the bustling crowd from the summit of the Ascension Conference Martial Stage.
Beside him sat Shen Ningbing, who had also just emerged from seclusion. It was clear she disliked such gatherings; she remained silent throughout.
All eyes in the arena converged on Li Qing and Shen Ningbing. As elders of the Lingyun Sect, they were naturally the center of attention.
Fortunately, Shen Ningbing had experienced the Ascension Conference before. Though she disliked such occasions, she managed to maintain a semblance of composure.
Thus, the responsibility of delivering a few appropriate remarks to assert their presence fell squarely on Li Qing's shoulders.
"Heh, thank you, fellow cultivators, for attending the Lingyun Sect's Ascension Conference!" Li Qing clasped his hands in a respectful gesture toward the crowd, then continued with a light chuckle, "Having once been a rogue cultivator myself, I understand the hardships of that life all too well."
"Now that the Ascension Conference has begun, I urge you to consider this might be your only chance in this lifetime!"
"We cultivators seek the immortal dao precisely to defy fate. Opportunity lies before you—seize it by any means necessary!"
With a flourish of his sleeves, Li Qing unleashed a surge of spiritual energy, activating the formation and Restriction beneath the Martial Stage to prevent the battle's aftershocks from reaching the spectators.
Buzz!
As spiritual light surged around the Ascension Conference Martial Stage, both the rogue cultivators who had come to observe and the cultivators preparing to compete were instantly swept up in excitement.
The atmosphere reached the boiling point in an instant, with waves of cheers erupting and powerful auras surging forth.
"It's all thanks to you, Senior Brother Li," Shen Ningbing said, her voice clear and cold. "I could never deliver such a stirring speech."
Stirring speech?! Li Qing thought to himself, mentally scoffing at her choice of words. Why does she make it sound like a bad thing?
Maintaining a composed expression, he replied, "It's just my duty. A few inspiring words are nothing special."
Li Qing subtly corrected Shen Ningbing's phrasing!
"..."
TL/N: Her word choice "煽动人心" implied his speech was incitement rather than inspiration, which led to Li Qing's subtle correction as "鼓动人心的话语".
Shen Ningbing's expression faltered slightly before she picked up a booklet and handed it to Li Qing.
"This is the roster of all participants registered for the Ascension Conference. Please review it, Senior Brother Li."
Taking the roster, Li Qing examined it carefully. Noticing the number of participants, he frowned and asked, "Nearly three hundred people? Junior Sister Shen, do you remember how many participated in the Ascension Conference five years ago?"
"Two hundred and thirty-three."
After confirming that the number of participants wasn't significantly different from previous years, the meticulous Li Qing nodded and continued reviewing the entire roster.
"Compared to the last Ascension Conference, while the number of participants has increased, the overall quality seems rather uneven."
Indeed, as he scanned the list, Li Qing found few rogue cultivators with exceptional Spirit Root aptitude who warranted his attention.
He only spotted two cultivators with dual spirit roots, and not a single one with a Heavenly Spirit Root or variant spirit root.
However, he quickly reminded himself that both Heavenly Spirit Roots and variant spirit roots were considered exceptionally rare in the cultivation world, occurring only once every hundred years. They certainly wouldn't be as common as cabbages.
Their absence was, in fact, the more normal scenario.
Under the guidance of Lingyun Sect disciples, the Ascension Conference officially commenced, with figures ascending the martial stage one after another.
"Hahahaha! Lu Fan will definitely compete for one of the ten immortal seed slots at this Ascension Conference!"
Suddenly, a burly man with a wild appearance leaped onto the stage. Clad in a fur coat, his chest bared to reveal coarse hair, he looked like a savage straight out of the primeval forests.
"Hmph, what's with the arrogance? You drew me as your opponent!" A handsome man in a green robe soared onto the stage. Compared to Lu Fan, he looked more like an elegant scholar.
Li Qing watched the battle with keen interest. After both contestants had taken their positions on the arena, he carefully observed them.
Lu Fan was a rogue cultivator at the eighth layer of the qi refining realm. While his cultivation level wasn't particularly outstanding in the Ascension Conference, what truly caught Li Qing's attention was the man's remarkably potent Vital Energy fluctuations.
"He's a body refinement cultivator after all."
Li Qing immediately recognized Lu Fan's cultivation foundation. Having tempered his physical body to such an extreme, the man's physique rivaled that of a late first-tier Demon beast!
"Come to think of it, this might be the first body refinement cultivator I've encountered besides myself!" Li Qing mused inwardly.
The battle also drew considerable attention from the crowd, primarily because the handsome scholar was a scion of a remote cultivation clan. His exceptional Spirit Root aptitude—a dual spirit root—made him a rare talent.
The Lingyun Sect's Ascension Conference had no seeded participants; advancement relied entirely on the luck of the draw. To ascend to immortality, one had to defeat every opponent along the way.
Consequently, even qualified cultivators with poor luck in the draw might face formidable opponents early on and be eliminated prematurely.
Conversely, some weaker cultivators might get lucky with their draws, facing only weaker opponents and squeezing into the top fifty.
This brings us to the rules of the Lingyun Sect's Ascension Conference.
Regardless of how many participants register, only fifty will ultimately be admitted into the Lingyun Sect.
Among these fifty, only the top ten will receive foundation establishment pills.
In other words, the Lingyun Sect doesn't care about the strength of the remaining forty disciples who join the sect.
The sect's sole concern lies with the ten immortal seeds who earn foundation establishment pills!
While luck might carry someone into the top fifty, it can never sustain them all the way to the top ten. Every foundation establishment pill is earned through genuine merit!
"Lu Fan's opponent is Tang Zhan, a Heavenly Prodigy from the Tang Clan in the northern Mu Kingdom. However, the Tang Clan has little connection to the Lingyun Sect, so they couldn't directly recommend their disciples."
"This battle is quite interesting."
Li Qing watched the fierce clash on the martial stage with keen interest. Lu Fan fought with reckless abandon, even daring to block Tang Zhan's magic artifacts with his bare hands, as if he intended to tear them apart with his bare hands.
This savage approach initially threw Tang Zhan off balance. He retreated while fighting, a struggle evident in his eyes.
"Tang Zhan seems to be holding back a trump card, but he's hesitant to use it too early. If he keeps hesitating, he's in serious trouble," Shen Ningbing remarked, offering her opinion which was rare.
Li Qing nodded in agreement. "Hesitation leads to defeat. This Heavenly Prodigy from the Tang Clan clearly lacks combat experience."
Just then, Lu Fan roared furiously:
"ROAR!"
The beast-like roar reverberated through the arena as his body suddenly swelled, his muscles bulging like armored bulwarks.
The roar carried an overwhelming force. Tang Zhan, who had been wavering, momentarily lost his composure, his heart pounding with terror at the sight.
Boom!
Lu Fan unleashed a devastating punch that shattered the defensive magic artifact protecting Tang Zhan.
Li Qing's eyebrows twitched. A mid-grade magic tool, shattered so easily?
He recalled his own qi refining realm days, when even his meticulously honed physical body couldn't have withstood such an attack.
"Interesting. This must be some kind of body refinement secret technique, sacrificing something to gain immense physical power," Li Qing murmured.
"Such techniques are rare. Could Lu Fan have inherited the legacy of a body refinement cultivator?"
As Li Qing pondered aloud, Lu Fan's second punch followed immediately.
Boom!
The Tang Clan's Heavenly Prodigy didn't even have time to react. He had barely regained his senses when a devastatingly powerful fist slammed into him.
Bang!
Without any suspense, Tang Zhan was sent flying off the arena. His body didn't immediately shatter, a testament to Lu Fan's restraint in holding back the full force of his punch.
The Lingyun Sect disciple overseeing the arena prepared to announce Lu Fan's advancement to the next round.
But in the next instant, a furious voice erupted from below the arena:
"You vile cur! How dare you strike with such viciousness? Allowing someone like you to join the Lingyun Sect would only bring disaster!"
"I'll eliminate this menace today!"
A middle-aged man in brocade robes, radiating a violent aura, charged toward Lu Fan from below the arena. The other qi refining realm rogue cultivators scattered in terror.
This was a foundation establishment realm cultivator!
Hiss!
"That's Tang Lushan!"
"The Tang Clan Patriarch, Tang Lushan! What's he doing here?!"
"It's over for Lu Fan. He's in grave danger now."
On the arena, Lu Fan, who had just defeated his opponent, felt the effects of his secret technique fading. His body was returning to its normal size, and his face had paled considerably.
He glared at the Tang Clan Patriarch, who was unleashing a massive palm strike toward him, his eyes burning with resentment.
However, Li Qing, watching from above the arena, had no intention of standing idly by.
"Hmph!"
A burst of earthy-yellow spiritual light erupted with incredible speed, carrying a dense surge of earth attribute spiritual energy. It descended like a massive mountain, crushing everything beneath it!
Mountain Spear! Immovable as a Mountain!
"Tang Clan Patriarch, causing such a commotion here... you seem to have little regard for the Lingyun Sect."
(End of the Chapter)
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