Chapter 655: Choice
Seeing the excited expressions of the crowd, Yuanlong Half-Saint nodded in satisfaction and smiled, "You can start registering now. The registration period will last until the eighth day of the third month."
Yuanlong Half-Saint waved his arm, and from his sleeve, nine pieces of jade flew out, shooting toward nine directions of the Shangqing Palace training ground.
With a loud rumble, the nine pieces of jade landed on the ground and instantly transformed into nine massive jade steles.
On the surface of the jade steles, streaks of azure inscription patterns rose and fell. At the top of each stele, a number was imprinted, ranging from "one" to "nine."
"I want to participate in the Fish-Dragon Second Transformation level sword dao competition."
A cultivator at the Fish-Dragon Second Transformation was the first to rush to the base of the second jade stele. He pressed his palm into a groove on the stele, infused a stream of true qi into it, and shouted loudly, "Zhao Kun."
"Whoosh!"
The jade stele flashed with light, and Zhao Kun's name immediately appeared at the very top.
Although Pang Long was severely injured, he still dashed out quickly, arriving at the base of the second jade stele and leaving his name on it.
He had actually registered for the Fish-Dragon Second Transformation level sword dao competition. Although this scene surprised many, they quickly understood the reason.
Pang Long, having entered the top one hundred of the "Heavenly Ranking," was naturally a top-tier proud son of heaven. With his Fish-Dragon First Transformation cultivation, he could easily defeat cultivators at the Fish-Dragon Third Transformation.
The top ten of the Fish-Dragon Second Transformation level sword dao competition would receive a twelfth-rank True Martial Treasure as a reward, which was naturally more valuable than a single sacred stone and also more challenging.
In truth, Pang Long had also considered participating in the Fish-Dragon Third Transformation level sword dao competition. However, after careful thought, he ultimately dared not take the risk.
Because, as far as he knew, many veteran Saint-Transmitted Disciples currently had their cultivation stuck at the Fish-Dragon Third Transformation. If he encountered them, Pang Long, with his Fish-Dragon First Transformation cultivation, would have no chance of winning at all.
"I'll stick with the Fish-Dragon First Transformation!"
Xun Hualiu made a relatively conservative decision.
Xun Hualiu, at the Heavenly Extreme Realm Great Perfection, was also a martial artist who had entered the "Heavenly Ranking." His talent was naturally first-rate, but only first-rate, not reaching the top tier.
Even on the Fish-Dragon First Transformation arena, his strength could only rank after the five hundredth position, with no chance of entering the top ten. Naturally, he dared not register for the Fish-Dragon Second Transformation level sword dao competition.
Zhang Ruochen rubbed his chin with his fingers and smiled, "I think you could register for the Fish-Dragon Second Transformation level sword dao competition."
"Brother, don't tempt me, alright? Even in the Fish-Dragon First Transformation level sword dao competition, I have no chance of entering the top ten, let alone the Fish-Dragon Second Transformation level sword dao competition."
Xun Hualiu shook his head and insisted on walking toward the first jade stele.
Zhang Ruochen said, "If you trust me, I can help you break through to the Fish-Dragon Second Transformation before the sword dao competition."
Xun Hualiu's entire body trembled, and he immediately stopped in his tracks.
If it were before, Xun Hualiu would never have believed such boastful nonsense.
But now it was different. Xun Hualiu had personally witnessed Lin Yue's cultivation skyrocket within a few short months, reaching a height he could not even imagine.
Xun Hualiu gritted his teeth, his whole body trembling, as if he had made some major decision. He suddenly turned around, grabbed Zhang Ruochen's shoulders, and with a somewhat ferocious expression, said, "If you can help me break through to the Fish-Dragon Second Transformation before the ninth day of the third month, I'll let you have Junior Sister Luo Chan."
Zhang Ruochen hadn't expected Xun Hualiu to be so excited. He was slightly stunned for a moment, then said, "That's not necessary... it's just a small favor. As for that Junior Sister Luo Chan... ahem, I'm not really interested."
"How can you not be interested?"
Xun Hualiu was very puzzled and said, "Junior Sister Luo Chan is the number one beauty of our Demon Suppression Academy's inner sect. Weren't you quite interested in her before? Do you think the price isn't high enough?"
Xun Hualiu pounded his chest with a thumping sound and said resolutely, "Alright! I'll take another step back. From now on, for any woman you set your eyes on, I, Xun Hualiu, swear to the heavens that I will not come within three zhang of her."
Zhang Ruochen rubbed his temples, truly exasperated. How could this guy always talk about beautiful women? Was there nothing else in his head besides beautiful women?
Zhang Ruochen said, "If you really want to break through to the Fish-Dragon Second Transformation before the sword dao competition, then from today onward, you must follow my arrangements..."
Without a second thought, Xun Hualiu agreed immediately, "Fine! From now on, you are my big brother. If you say one, I will never say two."
Zhang Ruochen was a bit speechless and didn't want to say more. "Go register first," he said.
Xun Hualiu went to queue up, preparing to register for the Fish-Dragon Second Transformation level sword dao competition.
Gai Hao crossed his arms over his chest and glanced at Xun Hualiu. "With his talent, registering for the Fish-Dragon Second Transformation level sword dao competition has no chance of winning at all."
"Is that so? I don't think so."
After a moment's thought, Zhang Ruochen added, "How about we make a bet?"
"How do we bet?" Gai Hao asked.
Zhang Ruochen said, "My cultivation has already reached the Fish-Dragon Fourth Transformation, putting me ahead of you. There's no way you can be my opponent. Instead, let's bet on who will be stronger in the sword dao competition: Pang Long or Xun Hualiu?"
As long as they were Half-Saints with higher cultivation, they could almost all see through Zhang Ruochen's true cultivation realm, so there was no need for him to hide it. He might as well just say it.
Hearing Zhang Ruochen's words, Gai Hao first frowned, as he hadn't expected Lin Yue's cultivation to have already reached the Fish-Dragon Fourth Transformation.
Gai Hao snorted coldly, clearly a bit angry. "You're the first person I've met who's even more arrogant than me. Go on, how do we bet?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "If Pang Long wins, I'll lose you a sacred sword. If Xun Hualiu wins, you must agree to do one thing for me."
"To be able to wager a sacred sword, it seems your fortune is indeed considerable. But don't think you're the only one with good luck; others have their own fortunes too."
In Gai Hao's view, Lin Yue's breakthrough to the Fish-Dragon Fourth Transformation within a few short months must have been due to some earth-shattering fortune.
The vast world was full of wonders. In the history of the Liangyi Sect, there had been many who encountered miracles. Some martial artists at the Heavenly Extreme Realm, struck by the heavenly thunder of a sacred tribulation, not only survived but broke through to become Half-Saints overnight.
There was also an ordinary handyman disciple who, after obtaining a fortune, cultivated to sainthood within just three years. He then left the Liangyi Sect to challenge all the saints under heaven and never suffered a single defeat.
Lin Yue's fortune was indeed remarkable and enviable, but it was still within the realm of what people could accept.
Gai Hao's eyes burned like flames, showing no sign of backing down. He raised his voice and said, "I accept your bet. Pang Long and Xun Hualiu are not on the same level at all. You're going to lose!"
Zhang Ruochen, however, looked completely unconcerned and merely nodded slightly.
Zhang Ruochen had a reason for betting with Gai Hao.
Because Gai Hao was a Yang Spirit Saint Body, with an extremely dense yang energy within him. In the future, he might be able to cultivate into a "Supreme Yang Body."
One of the five physiques Xiao Hei had been desperately searching for was the Supreme Yang Body.
Initially, Zhang Ruochen hadn't taken Xiao Hei's words to heart, nor did he believe that finding the five physiques would allow them to control the legendary divine artifact, the Divine Dragon Yin-Yang Chaos Tower.
However, the consistently unreliable Xiao Hei had truly gone all out to nurture Orange Moon Star Envoy and Ao Xinyan, which made Zhang Ruochen take the matter more seriously.
Of course, the Yang Spirit Saint Body was far inferior to the Supreme Yang Body. Zhang Ruochen was only trying to make contact with Gai Hao for now, and having him owe a favor wasn't a bad thing.
Gai Hao added, "You're so arrogant. Which level of sword dao competition do you plan to participate in?"
Zhang Ruochen knew Gai Hao was feeling dissatisfied and said, "What? Do you want to choose the same level of sword dao competition as me?"
"Why not?" Gai Hao said.
Zhang Ruochen smiled, clasped his hands behind his back, and began to observe the nine jade steles one by one.
Among them, the first, second, and third jade steles had the most registrants, with three long lines already formed.
Zhang Ruochen sighed inwardly. The Liangyi Sect truly deserved to be the number one sect in the Eastern Domain. Its foundation was so profound that it had nurtured so many Fish-Dragon Realm cultivators.
The number of top experts in any one of the seventy-two academies was comparable to an entire saintly clan.
At the fourth jade stele, the number of registered cultivators had sharply decreased by half compared to the first three.
The number of cultivators before the fifth jade stele was slightly fewer than those before the fourth.
When Gai Hao saw Lin Yue's gaze fixed on the fifth jade stele, his tense face finally relaxed a little.
Because the Fish-Dragon Fifth Transformation level was already the limit Gai Hao could bear.
Although Gai Hao was a saintly body and could defeat opponents three realms higher, his goal was not to defeat any random Fish-Dragon Fifth Transformation cultivator, but to defeat the strongest among the Fish-Dragon Fifth Transformation cultivators and break into the top ten.
The difficulty of the former and the latter were not the same at all.
For Gai Hao, with his early-stage Fish-Dragon Third Transformation cultivation, participating in the Fish-Dragon Fifth Transformation level sword dao competition was already a huge challenge.
If he couldn't raise his cultivation to the peak of the Fish-Dragon Third Transformation before the sword dao competition, he wouldn't have the slightest chance of entering the top ten.
Suddenly, Gai Hao's expression changed slightly. "What is he doing?"
He saw Zhang Ruochen glance at the base of the fifth jade stele, shake his head, and then walk toward the sixth jade stele, then the seventh, and finally stop at the base of the eighth jade stele.
"If I can win the top ten in the Fish-Dragon Eighth Transformation level sword dao competition, I can obtain a ninth-grade Glazed Treasure Pill (Liuli Baodan)."
Zhang Ruochen was quite interested in the Glazed Treasure Pill because only ancient, massive powers like the Liangyi Sect could refine such a pill, and it was impossible to buy outside.
A Fish-Dragon Eighth Transformation cultivator, after swallowing a Glazed Treasure Pill, could quickly cultivate a Glazed Treasure Body and break through to the Fish-Dragon Ninth Transformation.
Even for the Liangyi Sect, refining a single Glazed Treasure Pill required a massive amount of resources. Therefore, the Liangyi Sect could only reward it to the most talented cultivators; others had no chance of obtaining it.
Thus, Zhang Ruochen walked to the base of the eighth jade stele, extended a hand, pressed it into the groove of the stele, and softly uttered the name "Lin Yue."
"Everyone look! Lin Yue is actually participating in the Fish-Dragon Eighth Transformation level sword dao competition!"
A cry of surprise rang out, spreading across the entire Shangqing Palace training ground.
Everyone present, including the three Half-Saints standing above, was stunned, and all eyes turned toward the direction of the eighth jade stele. (To be continued.)