Ch. 614 - Grand Heaven Selection Tournament

He walked out of his courtyard and saw that the usually quiet sect had suddenly become lively.

Many young disciples were gathering and heading north, passing right by Xu Zimo’s courtyard.

“What’s going on out there?” Xu Zimo asked the Long brothers.

“They’re preparing for the Nine Heavens Grand Gathering,” Long Yidao explained.

“There are so many disciples across the nine mountains, but not everyone gets to participate in the event. So before the Nine Heavens Gathering officially begins, each of the nine peaks holds a small-scale tournament to select who gets to go.”

“I see,” Xu Zimo nodded, then asked, “Why didn’t I hear about this earlier?”

Long Yidao hesitated but didn’t answer right away.

“Just say it,” Xu Zimo frowned.

“Because, young master, everyone assumes you can’t cultivate, so it was taken for granted that you wouldn’t participate. No one thought to notify you,” Long Erdao added.

“Interesting,” Xu Zimo smiled. “Let’s go take a look.”

…

The selection tournament for the Nine Heavens Grand Gathering was held in Wind-Thunder Valley.

Wind-Thunder Valley was a well-known place on Grand Heaven Mountain.

Legend says that the Nine Heavens Sage once sat in meditation there and ascended to the Godly Monarch realm, drawing down a heavenly tribulation of thunder.

The place was blasted into a valley and almost destroyed.

Since then, the valley had been filled with winds and thunder that hadn’t faded even after thousands of years.

Xu Zimo and his two followers arrived to find the valley packed with disciples.

Most were inner disciples or top-tier core disciples.

Only these top disciples would be chosen to participate in the Nine Heavens Gathering.

Outer disciples had cultivation levels too low to even qualify.

Many were simply here to watch the matches.

Wind-Thunder Valley had entrances on all four sides. Xu Zimo followed the crowd through one of them.

The entrance was a wide stone path paved with blue stones, flanked by steep cliffs.

The cliffs were jagged, with uneven textures that glowed faintly blue. At night, one could see lightning flickering inside them.

Walking down the path, the space soon opened up ahead.

A massive arena came into view.

It occupied nearly the entire open space and was built from fused bluestone and mountain crystal.

This material was extremely durable, even a cultivator at the Fusion Heaven realm would struggle to break it.

The arena was divided into four sections, four separate dueling stages.

When Xu Zimo arrived, he saw his former self’s father, Lin Beisheng, sitting at the head platform with three elders.

They overlooked the tournament, and below them stood the participating inner and core disciples.

…

Once everyone had gathered, Lin Beisheng stood up and slowly walked to the front of the arena.

Looking over the crowd, his voice, enhanced with spiritual power, echoed throughout Wind-Thunder Valley.

He said loudly, “The once-a-decade Nine Heavens Grand Gathering is about to be held. I believe everyone here knows why we’ve gathered, to select those who will represent Grand Heaven Mountain. The rules are the same as in previous years, but I’ll repeat them again. Core disciples and inner disciples with celestial-level strength can participate. In the end, only four will be chosen to represent our peak against the other eight. We have four dueling stages here. Each person has one chance to challenge. Win and stay, lose and leave. You can’t challenge the same person repeatedly. It’s a rotation-style battle. The last four standing on each stage will be our representatives.”

He paused briefly, then continued, “Now listen carefully, this part is for all of you. When the final four are left standing, everyone present, including outer and inner disciples, will have a chance to challenge them. If you believe you’re stronger, you may step up. But the battles will be life or death. Each of the final four can be challenged up to three times. If they lose, the challenger takes their spot. If they win three times, they’re locked in and no longer need to accept challenges.”

After his speech, all the disciples shouted in unison, “We understand!”

Lin Beisheng nodded with satisfaction. “Then I officially declare the Grand Heaven Mountain Tournament for the Nine Heavens Grand Gathering… begins!”

…

As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd erupted with chatter.

“Is no one going to try first?” a young man with a spear looked at the hesitant crowd.

He chuckled and said, “Since no one wants to go, I’ll be the first.”

He released a strong aura and stepped onto the first stage.

“That’s Chang Ruofeng,” someone in the crowd recognized him right away.

“He’s the grandson of one of our elders. I heard he already became a core disciple, definitely not someone to underestimate.”

“Who would dare fight him? These four spots are going to be fought over like crazy.”

As everyone talked, another voice spoke up.

“I’ll take the second stage.”

Lin Feng, dressed in a white robe, walked calmly onto the second stage.

“It’s the Imperial Son! Looks like there’s no suspense on that stage.”

“Not necessarily. Some core disciples are known to hide their strength. A dark horse could still show up.”

“Chang Ruofeng, I challenge you!”

“Imperial Son, no offense, I’ll be your opponent.”

Two more figures flew onto the stages and challenged the ones already there.

“I, Hou Zhen, will guard the third stage.”

“I’ll try the fourth. My name is Xue Qingming.”

…

In the blink of an eye, all four stages were occupied.

With the referee elders giving the signal, battles broke out.

Fights between core disciples weren’t over quickly, they usually began with probing moves and ended with narrow defeats.

The crowd was excited, cheering loudly. The tournament reached a fever pitch.

Some were winning, others losing.

Fighters came and went from the other stages, but only the second stage remained unchanged, Lin Feng stood calmly on it the whole time.

Few dared challenge him, and those who did were knocked off within one or two moves.

Just then, a surprised voice rose from the crowd.

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