After long months of training, the day of the tournament finally arrived.
Every disciple at the Jade Clouds Sect ranging from those who had achieved Qi Condensation to those who had formed golden cores was slated to compete.
"Isn't the sign-up optional?" Li Chenyuan muttered as they all prepared their bags. As a group, they would soon be flying to Heixi Gorge, the location of the tournament.
"Of course it's optional," Pan Fa chirped. "But who wouldn't sign up if they're able? Ten thousand spirit stones is so much money! Also, you can become known across the Nine Sects if you win! Don't you want to be famous as a cultivator?"
"Hmm," Li Chenyuan grumbled.
"Lei-shijie wants to be a famous cultivator, right?" Pan Fa tugged on Lei Ruolan's sleeve. She was busy lacing up her boots tightly with a deeply concentrated expression.
"Huh? Stop it," She snapped. Seeing Pan Fa's face fall, she sighed a little and stood up, brushing off her arms. "It would be nice, yes. To be well-renowned."
"What about you, Fang-shixiong?" Pan Fa pulled on Fang Hai's arm now. What an annoying, and yet inexplicably adorable kid!
Fang Hai crossed his arms with a serious expression. "Of course, it would be beneficial to be well-renowned. However, what's important is to represent our sect and Shizun well."
Pan Fa pouted. "You're so serious...don't you care about glory at all?"
As the conversation meandered on, Li Chenyuan turned to Qiu Yunru to find him tightening his vambraces.
Li Chenyuan actually shivered a little. That look on Qiu Yunru's face--it was so somber that it was almost terrifying. At the very least, what an unsettling sight on such a nice, warm spring day!
"Gege," He called out, pulling on Qiu Yunru's sleeve the way Pan Fa had been pulling on his own. "What is it?"
Qiu Yunru snapped out of his, suddenly shaking his head and finishing up tying his vambrace. He smiled blankly at Li Chenyuan, shaking his head once again. "It's nothing. I'm just thinking."
Clearly, Qiu Yunru was doing far more than "just thinking". The gravity in his expression was so heavy that if one looked at it, they would feel they were sinking into the ground. What's more, Qiu Yunru's hands were shaking ever so slightly.
He had always struggled with anxiety when it came to things like this. Examinations, tests, competitions--no matter how well-prepared he was, he would find himself sweating and shaking beforehand, on the verge of being sick. It was one of his least favorite feelings.
Now, why did a feeling like this have to follow him into a whole other lifetime? Couldn't some things be left behind? Ah...
Qiu Yunru sucked in a deep breath. The spring air was clear and sweet, and the sun shone warmly on his body. He closed his eyes.
Though he had clear alchemical knowledge rivalling that of disciples of the Fan Yao Sect, no one in this world knew quite how much knowledge he had. That is, he had knowledge of the entire catalogue of Spring Blossoms, Autumn Fruits potions, poisons, and elixirs engrained within.
He had figured that, while his rating had been placed at twenty-seventh favorite for winner, he had, in fact, a much higher change of winning. With his alchemical knowledge, he might even be among the top three.
Thus, he was even more firmly set in the idea of winning this tournament. He was so close--he would just need to perform well, and he may just win the grand prize.
His biggest concern was that disciple from Fan Yao Peak, Tian Niu. The records had marked her as a prodigy and a genius in alchemy, able to invent new concoctions. Depending on what kind of things she was able to invent and how quickly, this might place her far above himself. However, he couldn't know without meeting her. he would simply have to wait and see.
Soon enough, they all rose up together on their swords. It was a five hour flight. He Yongliang led them as they flew between mountains of the Baohu Mountain Range and towards Heixi Gorge.
Heixi Gorge was so-named because of its unnaturally blackened flora and fauna.
It was said that long ago, a giant had stepped foot into the gorge. He had been returning from a battle that shook the heavens, so his foot trailed a river of blood. As he stomped down and formed the gorge, his blood soaked the earth, blackening it and cursing every plant that grew there to grow only in the shade of black.
In terms of practical meaning, these plants had many unique alchemical properties. Regulations had been put in place three hundred years ago to keep merchants and alchemists from over-extracting form the area and causing the rare plants there to go extinct. What's more, because of the shadowy nature of the plants, the area was difficult to see in. People easily got lost, so the area was often patrolled by cultivators who were assigned specifically to save wayward travelers. It was also a notoriously difficult area to practice the sword in, due to the dense undergrowth.
Because of the rare nature of the flora and the difficult terrain, this gorge was a prime location choice for the Nine Sects' Cultivation Tournament. It provided ample challenge in navigation, sword arts, and alchemy, testing all of a disciple's most important skills.