The tavern waiter soon served four glasses of exquisite liquor, each a different color and emitting a strange halo of light.
The liquor swirled slowly in the glasses, seeming to hold the brilliance of the stars. A rich and peculiar energetic aura began to permeate the air.
This was a top-shelf brew, concocted through a complex process using extremely rare plants or minerals from the depths of the cosmos, all of which contained special Spiritual Energy properties. Each glass was worth a fortune.
"Come on! To celebrate Qin Beast... oh, I mean, Qin Feng achieving Perfection with his killing style. Cheers!"
Nissan was the first to raise his glass of crimson liquor, which seemed to burn like a flame, and he laughed heartily.
"Cheers."
Dragon Jade and Ning Jing also raised their glasses.
Qin Feng picked up the glass of deep blue liquor before him, which resembled a profound, starry sky, and gently clinked it against the other three.
Following their lead, he brought the glass to his lips and took a small sip.
An icy, pungent liquid slid down his throat. Immediately after, a surge of vast and chaotic Spiritual Energy detonated within his Spiritual World. It felt as though countless, disorderly stars were flashing and colliding inside his mind, bringing on a strange, dizzying sensation akin to being tipsy.
Qin Feng’s brow furrowed slightly. He immediately mobilized his rock-solid spiritual Will and forcibly suppressed the chaotic Energy Fluctuation.
"This stuff... it has a pretty strong effect on one’s Mental Power."
He set down his glass and commented, "It’s best to drink it sparingly."
To Qin Feng, who valued rationality and self-control more than life itself, anything that affected his mental state was no different from poison.
"Haha, I knew you wouldn’t be used to this."
Seeing this, Nissan downed the liquor in his glass in one gulp. He let out a satisfied sigh and grinned. "Don’t worry, we normally don’t touch this stuff. We only ordered a round today because we’re welcoming you and the atmosphere felt right. Besides, even though it affects your mind, drinking it occasionally can also stimulate your Sea of Spirit. You can think of it as a unique form of training."
Ning Jing, who had been silent all this time, offered a rare comment in agreement. "Yes, the atmosphere is good."
"Alright, enough about that."
Dragon Jade, the most level-headed of the group, steered the conversation back on track. He looked at Qin Feng gently and asked, "Qin Feng, you’ve already registered for the Starry Sky Cup, haven’t you?"
"Yes, I just registered."
Qin Feng nodded.
"That’s good."
A faint smile touched Dragon Jade’s lips. "We all registered, too."
"..."
Nissan’s expression also grew serious. He set down his glass and said in a solemn tone, "This is nothing like our university’s internal rookie tournament. This is the largest Martial Dao event held in ’This Star Zone’! And the host is—the Ultramarines Chapter!"
’Officially hosted by the Ultramarines Chapter?’
The thought stirred something in Qin Feng.
"That’s right."
Dragon Jade picked up the thread, explaining in detail for Qin Feng’s benefit. "So, its prestige and authority are beyond question.
Every year, students from hundreds of millions of galaxies and countless Starry Sky Martial Arts Universities participate.
The competition is fiercer than you can possibly imagine."
"What’s more, it’s held very frequently.
Basically, as soon as one tournament ends and the final rankings are decided, the qualifying rounds for the next one begin almost immediately."
This Star Zone contained hundreds of millions of galaxies. Each galaxy had its top 100 Martial Arts Universities, as well as its single strongest one. The number of Martial Artists above the sixth level in each university was simply incalculable.
A simple calculation was enough to show just how prestigious a competition the Starry Sky Cup truly was.
Qin Feng listened quietly, committing each piece of key information to memory.
He didn’t ask about how brutal the competition was, because that was a given.
He only cared about the most crucial question.
"And the rewards?"
Qin Feng asked directly.
"The rewards?"
Dragon Jade paused, slightly taken aback by the question.
He had never actually studied the list of rewards in detail.
With his killing style at the ’Lesser Achievement’ stage, while considered quite good within Canaan, he was well aware that on the grand stage of the entire Star Zone, he would most likely just be an also-ran.
Just making it into the main tournament, witnessing the prowess of the various prodigies, and gaining some combat experience would be enough to consider his goal achieved.
But Qin Feng was different.
Dragon Jade looked at the calm-faced junior before him, his thoughts racing.
’Perfection in his killing style, his life force at the First Great Limit, and that absurdly powerful physical foundation... This time, Qin Feng really has a chance to fight for a very high ranking.’
’A spot in the top hundred thousand should be a safe bet.’
At this thought, Dragon Jade organized the scattered pieces of information he had heard from his mentor and some of the upperclassmen.
"The rewards are straightforward and very generous," Dragon Jade said slowly. "The most basic, of course, is a massive amount of Imperial Contribution Points. But for the truly top-tier geniuses, that has limited appeal. There are only two core rewards for the Starry Sky Cup."
He held up one finger.
"First, the ranking. As Senior Qin Yonglin said, a high enough rank is your ticket to the ’Cosmic Genius Battle’ in the future."
Then, he held up a second finger, his expression becoming incredibly solemn.
"Second is the opportunity to comprehend the ’Extreme Enlightenment Stele’."
"The Extreme Enlightenment Stele?!"
The moment he heard that name, Qin Feng’s heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason.
The name seemed to possess a strange, magical power, sending a ripple across his Sea of Spirit, which was normally as placid as an ancient well.
"Yes, the Extreme Enlightenment Stele."
Dragon Jade nodded, a mixture of yearning and confusion on his face. "However, I’m not sure what exactly the ’Extreme Enlightenment Stele’ is, or what its function is.
It seems to be one of the highest secrets within the Ultramarines Chapter. All related information is strictly classified and forbidden from being shared privately.
You can’t find a single word about it on the private forums."
Nissan added from the side, "Exactly! That thing is incredibly mysterious. Only the mentors leading the teams know the specifics.
We students who are competing will only get to see any information about it when the official rulebook is released before the tournament begins."
Ning Jing also set down his glass and mused, "However, even though the specifics are unknown, if we speculate based on the name, the word ’Enlightenment’ most likely has a direct relationship with a Martial Artist’s comprehension, Mental Power, and the cultivation and breakthroughs of their killing style."
"Correct."
Dragon Jade agreed. "It should be some kind of strategic-level treasure that can help us comprehend the very essence of the Martial Dao."
Qin Feng nodded slowly, deeply engraving the name "Extreme Enlightenment Stele" into his mind.
A powerful intuition told him that this stele would be of critical importance to his future on the path of the Martial Dao.