Chapter 128: Silly Girl
Master Seventh’s words officially ended the Seventh Peak’s Grand Competition in the Merfolk Isles. This time, the Merfolk didn’t have the opportunity or right to become allies. Well over half of the Merfolk were dead, and their top experts had been suppressed and enslaved. All of the wealth on the four islands had been plundered. Of course, it was to be expected that a species such as the Merfolk would have other wealth and treasure hidden away. That said, those were things that the Offpeak Qi Condensation disciples couldn’t deal with. Although the spell formation had suppressed everything on the islands, there were still many private chambers and reserve items that Qi Condensation cultivators couldn’t detect.
One could only imagine the windfall the Seventh Peak Foundation Establishment cultivators were about to experience.
“Seven Blood Eyes has won a major victory,” the Captain said, still perched on Zhang San’s back. “We killed many birds with one stone!”
He threw his head back and laughed, though that seemed to aggravate his injuries. He quickly took out a new apple and took a bite, and the look of pain disappeared. Apparently, eating apples helped him stop thinking about the pain.
“How many birds?” Zhang San asked.
It was the same question Xu Qing had been thinking about.
“Making the Merfolk Isles the location of the Seventh Peak’s Grand Competition was just the tip of the iceberg. First, the Offpeak disciples got their share of plunder. Next, the Foundation Establishment will get their share. And finally the Gold Cores will carry out the third round of looting. After that, the old man will come in for the fourth and final round. Everything the Merfolk have been saving up over the years will be taken away. That’s the first bird down.
“After that are all the secret agendas. For instance, the Merfolk were just bait to draw out the Seazombies. Once their teleportation portal was open, our patriarch, who had just experienced a breakthrough and was ravenous, got to fill himself up. That was the second bird.
“Everything that happened will provide an overt warning to all other nonhumans, showing them how powerful Seven Blood Eyes is. That was the third bird. Amazing!
“And then we come to the fourth bird. The Merfolk Isles are halfway between Seven Blood Eyes and the Seazombies. It’s the perfect staging ground for war. And war is coming. Soon.”
Xu Qing had been missing a few key pieces of information, so the Captain’s analysis was very enlightening. However, there was still something he didn’t understand. “Why was the patriarch hungry after his breakthrough?”
“You don’t want to know,” the Captain said, giving him a meaningful glance.
Around then, Master Seventh looked contentedly downward and waved his hand. His dreadnaught roared to heaven, and then spat out a flow of violet light. It spread out, becoming a sea of light that covered all four islands and started a teleportation.
When the rumbling sounds echoed out, Xu Qing finally started to relax. A moment later, he and all the other disciples vanished as they were teleported back to the Seven Blood Eyes headquarters.
After they were gone, the Foundation Establishment cultivators looked down with glittering eyes.
Master Seventh glanced at them and smiled.
“Go!” he said.
Instantly, a hundred beams of light shot down to the four islands. If these Foundation Establishment cultivators didn’t get their chance at some profit, they would not have been happy. The Grand Competition was limited to Qi Condensation cultivators, and thus, they hadn’t been very interested in the proceedings. But now was their chance to get some loot.
***
In midair above the central altar in the Seven Blood Eyes capital city, a violet sea of light appeared, creating a huge circle. Within the circle appeared all the Seventh Peak disciples, who floated down to the ground.
It was only now that Xu Qing realized that there weren’t even 2,000 people present. As for those who were present, they all pulsed with murderous auras.
4,000 went, and barely half came back.
It really hammered home the point that the Seven Blood Eyes’ Grand Competition was a brutal event. After landing, he looked around and wasn’t able to spot Zhang San and the Captain.
Though the returning disciples all had murderous auras, they also looked excited. Everyone had obviously profited significantly.
Xu Qing spotted Huang Yan in the crowd. He had ended up going to a different island than Xu Qing. Right now, he stood there with his eyebrows dancing in delight. He had seven or eight bags of holding on his belt, and looked very high and mighty. Noticing Xu Qing, he hurried over.
“How’d you do? Did you make out well? I certainly did.”
Xu Qing nodded. However, he was still wracked with pain, and felt incredibly weak and tired.
Huang Yan was about to continue talking when another figure emerged from the violet sea of light. The instant the person appeared, his cultivation base fluctuations weighed down on the entire area, causing all the disciples to go silent and look up.
That included Xu Qing. Above, he saw Zhao Zhongheng’s grandfather, the Seventh Peak’s Third Elder.
“There are still matters to attend to on the Merfolk Isles,” Third Elder said. “The peaklord needs to wait there for the patriarch to return. Therefore, since the Grand Competition is over, I will announce the results.
“Your kill count was recorded in your identity medallion. Don’t worry, the medallions don’t keep track of the items you looted. They’re not capable of doing that. Whatever you took is yours. Historically, the Grand Competitions have always been like that. The sect won’t pry into your business. And now, the time has come to announce the winner. Ding Xiaohai, step forward!”
Ding Xiaohai rose up into the air using a flight talisman, his daoist robe in tatters, his body covered in wounds.
“Ding Xiaohai, you have taken first place in the Grand Competition. As such, you are promoted to conclave disciple. You may now wear a pale violet robe, and have the right to live on the mountain peak. However, mansion grottos are expensive, and you have to buy one with your own money.”
Looking excited, Ding Xiaohai clasped hands and bowed deeply. “Many thanks to the sect!”
Third Elder looked down at Ding Xiaohai with a look of approval on his face.
Ding Xiaohai had long been considered the top figure among Offpeak disciples, and had always won acclaim.
Third Elder appreciated the fact that this disciple had gone all out for the glory of the sect. But his appreciation was limited to that, and he had no intention of showing him favors. Besides, Ding Xiaohai had thanked the sect, not the elder. From the perspective of the sect, a disciple like Ding Xiaohai was great, as he had fought hard and killed many enemies to take first place. But from Third Elder’s perspective, he believed Ding Xiaohai to be stubborn and obstinate. He cared too much about prestige, and had sacrificed possible profit simply to win the competition. People like that usually didn’t survive long in the chaotic world they lived in. And it was a waste to bestow favors on someone who wouldn’t live long. In troubled times, it was generally better to keep a low profile and not attract attention.
People who stuck out usually ended up paying dearly for that. Because of that, Third Elder actually admired a young fellow named Xu Qing, who had advanced to a very high level with hardly any fanfare.
As Ding Xiaohai offered his excited thanks, the surrounding disciples all congratulated him.
“Congratulations, Elder Brother Ding!”
“Congratulations, Elder Brother Ding!!”
Xu Qing stood in the crowd, with Huang Yan next to him cheering. A moment later, Huang Yan turned to him and quietly said, “Elder Brother Ding is great. All he cares about is killing. He’s not like you and me, who care about profit. If everyone in Seven Blood Eyes was like Elder Brother Ding, that would be great.”
Xu Qing looked at Ding Xiaohai hovering in midair, and he remained calm at heart.
Everyone had their own way of living. Some people cared about profit. Some people cared about reputation. Neither were wrong. Although Ding Xiaohai was already on the verge of a cultivation base breakthrough, whereupon he would get an ordinary violet robe, perhaps it had just been his dream to become a conclave disciple. Xu Qing didn’t feel the need to judge him either way.
All he knew was that he didn’t care about those things. The only thing about Seven Blood Eyes that he cared about was the potential profit. He needed to reach Foundation Establishment, both to ensure that he could stay alive, and also to get a share of the sect’s monthly profits.
Besides that, he didn’t like sticking out in the crowd, unless it came with astonishing benefits. Otherwise, he preferred to stay hidden in the shadows where it was safe.
After bestowing rewards upon Ding Xiaohai, Third Elder went back into the violet sea of light. Then the disciples on the altar went their separate ways.
Xu Qing was exhausted. However, he didn’t dare to stay in Seven Blood Eyes for very long. He had profited far, far too well during the competition. If anyone got any hint of what he had taken, all of Seven Blood Eyes would be shaken to the core. After all... even the great sects on the Revered Ancient mainland coveted life lamps.
Therefore, the first thing he did was go to the shops in the Port District and sell all of the random things he’d acquired. He bought some new talisman treasures, then went to a spell formation shop and used the vast amount of merit points he’d earned in the competition to buy five sets of defensive spell formations.
These spell formations were astonishingly effective. Even one of them would protect a disciple from a Foundation Establishment cultivator for an extended time period, as long as they weren’t in the profound radiance state.
And as long as you had enough spirit stones, and the proper cultivation base power, you could keep the formation going for a long time. With five of them operating simultaneously, they would be even more effective. Buying those five formations drained Xu Qing’s merit points by about ninety percent. But it was worth it. Next he went to a medicine shop to buy all sorts of medicinal pills and poisonous plants.
At that point, he felt mostly prepared, with the exception of his dharmaboat.
I’ll go see how long it will take to get my dharmaboat repaired. If it’s less than a day, I’ll wait. But if it’s longer than that... I can’t afford to stick around.
He wanted to get into Foundation Establishment as quickly as possible. Considering he had a life lamp, every additional day he waited was another day of anxiety and danger.
It was obvious that he couldn’t attempt the breakthrough in the sect. He wasn’t sure if using the life lamp during the breakthrough would emit fluctuations that others could detect. But he wasn’t willing to risk it. Back on Joine Island, he had seen what could happen if things went bad during a Foundation Establishment breakthrough. Although it was unlikely something like that would happen in Seven Blood Eyes, it wasn’t impossible. Xu Qing wanted to be prepared for anything.
Given he could use the Spirit Breath Lamp, he felt that he could attempt the breakthrough outside of the sect. Therefore, he didn’t dally at all on the way to the Transportation Division to find Zhang San. It was already dark by that point.
***
Back at Plankspring Way, the old innkeeper sat on the floor, tenderly treating some wounds on the anaconda lying in front of him.
“I can’t believe you secretly bought a shapeshifting pill without telling me. You can’t just go around consuming those things. You’re not ready for shapeshifting yet. Besides, the effects only last for a few days. And if you consume too many, you could cripple your cultivation base. Understand?”
The old innkeeper obviously cared dearly for the anaconda. After applying the medicine and wiping away the excess, he continued to scold her. “You silly little snake. I’m even more stunned that you used the shapeshifting pill to join the Seventh Peak’s Grand Competition. Do you know how dangerous that competition is?”
The anaconda actually seemed very happy as she looked at the innkeeper and said, “Coo. Coooo. Cooooooo.”
“I’m not lying. That Xu scoundrel really was looking at your gall bladder. Wait a second.” The innkeeper glared. “You didn’t go to the Grand Competition hoping to run into him, did you?”
“Coo. Coooo!” the snake said.
The innkeeper looked at the snake and sighed. Then he reached out and stroked her head. Sounding like an old dad talking to his daughter, he said, “You silly girl. If he said that snake gall bladders are bitter, doesn’t that mean that he’s eaten them before? And probably not just one....”
The snake looked stunned, and then her eyes turned red like she might start crying.