Invincible Soul Emperor

Chapter 285: Chapter 285: The Promotion Match Begins!

Upon hearing Feng Xingpo’s words, Lie Buqun of the Shenhuo Sect burst into laughter. ”Brother Feng, you may not know this,” he said, ”but if it weren’t for an environment like the Northern Desolate Country, the Qingyun Sect wouldn’t even qualify as a one-star sect. They’ve only gotten this far by hiding out in the middle of nowhere.”

Feng Xingpo sneered and continued his mockery. ”You lot from the Qingyun Sect, it seems you’ve come prepared to finish last. Still, I suppose you’re lucky. You get to witness our Cangqiong Sect and the Shenhuo Sect ascend to the rank of two-star sects. It will make your trip worthwhile!”

Faced with their taunts, Li Qingfeng snorted coldly. ”You think you’re worthy of becoming a two-star sect? You failed even with your despicable methods last time. What makes you think you’ll succeed now?”

Li Qingfeng’s words seemed to strike a nerve with the Shenhuo Sect, and Lie Buqun retorted sharply, ”Li Qingfeng, are you questioning the fairness of the Sect Promotion Tournament? Let me tell you, you had better pray you don’t run into me. Otherwise, I’ll make sure you are utterly humiliated in front of everyone!”

Hei Ze shot Lie Buqun a disdainful look. ”Let me make one thing clear: the Qingyun Sect is determined to win this tournament. So don’t waste your breath. We’ll let our strength do the talking when the matches begin!”

After Hei Ze spoke, Li Qingfeng ignored the pair. Realizing the exchange was pointless, the members of the Cangqiong Sect and Shenhuo Sect returned to their own areas.

Although Ye Qingchen didn’t understand the conflict between the Qingyun Sect and these other sects, he knew one thing. To secure a spot to enter the Demon Region, he had to defeat anyone who stood in his way, no matter who it was!

Venerable Hei Ze then began to explain the rules of the tournament to Ye Qingchen. Aside from Ye Qingchen, all the other experts from the Qingyun Sect had experienced the tournament before and knew the rules well.

Ye Qingchen listened intently as the Venerable explained, ”The Sect Promotion Tournament is divided into two parts: an individual competition and a team competition. For the individual competition, each sect will send three representatives. For our Qingyun Sect, that will be Sect Leader Li Qingfeng, you, and me.”

Ye Qingchen nodded. ”And the team competition?”

The Venerable continued, ”For the team competition, each sect fields a team of five. Our Qingyun Sect’s team will consist of the five of us: the Sect Leader, you, me, Elder Wuji, and Pavilion Master Zhang Dingqiang. In the end, the final rankings will be determined by the combined points from both competitions. The top ten sects will be promoted to two-star sects.”

Ye Qingchen nodded again, his gaze involuntarily shifting toward Pavilion Master Zhang. The Pavilion Master was a Sixth-Grade Pill King and also a third-stage Martial Spirit Realm expert. However, he had devoted most of his energy to Alchemy, so his combat experience was somewhat lacking.

After finishing his explanation, Hei Ze cast a meaningful glance at Pavilion Master Zhang. If there had been any other choice, Hei Ze would have preferred not to have an Alchemist participate in this kind of competition. But within the Qingyun Sect, aside from Elder Wuji, Pavilion Master Zhang was already considered their strongest combatant.

Everyone waited in the venue for nearly four more hours. Finally, at noon, a gong sounded, and the bustling venue fell silent. A group of Wuji Immortal Palace disciples, led by Xiao Xiao, then made their way to the judges’ stand on the high platform.

Ye Qingchen looked closely. These Wuji Immortal Palace disciples were all very young, and apart from Xiao Xiao, the rest were all at the Martial King Realm.

Truly befitting a nine-star sect. So many young Martial Kings... In the secular world, any one of them would have enough power to found their own sect. Yet in the Wuji Immortal Palace, they are merely disciples.

The people in the venue began to whisper among themselves, with most of the discussion revolving around the identity of the little girl in the lead. Although the little girl’s aura was clearly weaker than that of the Martial King Realm disciples behind her, she was much younger. Moreover, judging by the affectionate and respectful way the disciples treated her, it was obvious she held an exceptional position within the Wuji Immortal Palace.

At this moment, Ling Xiaoyu stood up and cleared his throat, causing the venue to once again fall silent.

”This Sect Promotion Tournament will be hosted by our Wuji Immortal Palace,” Ling Xiaoyu announced. ”The rules are the same as in previous years, divided into a team competition and an individual competition. The tournament will use an elimination format. For each round a sect advances, it will receive one point. The ten sects with the highest final scores will qualify for promotion to two-star sects!

”The team competition is first. It officially begins tomorrow at Chen Hour and will be divided into two afternoon sessions. A total of one thousand sects are participating in this tournament, which means the competition will last for four days! Now, I invite the sect leaders to come forward and draw lots to determine the matchups!”

After Ling Xiaoyu finished speaking, the sect leaders went up to the stage one by one to draw their lots. Although these leaders were dignified figures in their own sects, they were all extremely respectful when facing the disciples of the Wuji Immortal Palace.

Meanwhile, Ye Qingchen noticed that when certain sect leaders took the stage, they elicited gasps of surprise from the crowd.

”Heavens, it’s someone from the Ziyun Sect! I heard they could have been promoted to a two-star sect long ago but never participated for various reasons. I never expected to see them here.”

”That’s right! I also saw people from the Yuhua Sect and the Liuyun Sect earlier. I hope our sect leader doesn’t draw a match against them; otherwise, our chances in this tournament are slim!”

As these exclamations reached his ears, Ye Qingchen followed the crowd’s gaze. In the eyes of almost everyone present, these highly acclaimed sects had already secured their promotions. In stark contrast, when Li Qingfeng went on stage, the reaction was lukewarm. Many people didn’t even know the Qingyun Sect existed.

Ye Qingchen couldn’t help but shake his head. These cheers practically represent a sect’s power and status in the eyes of others. And right now, the Qingyun Sect is nothing more than the softest persimmon, ripe for the picking. Even when the leaders of the Shenhuo Sect and the Cangqiong Sect took the stage, the cheers for them were far more enthusiastic than those for Li Qingfeng.

The drawing of lots continued for nearly two hours. Afterward, a Wuji Immortal Palace disciple posted the tournament bracket high up in the venue, arranged according to the lots drawn. Then, the disciples of the Wuji Immortal Palace departed under Xiao Xiao’s lead. Just before leaving, Xiao Xiao gave Ye Qingchen a meaningful glance.

Ye Qingchen nodded back, signaling her not to worry, before turning his gaze to the tournament bracket. The next day, the Qingyun Sect was scheduled to face a sect called the Changhong Sect. Upon his return, Li Qingfeng gathered Ye Qingchen, Venerable Hei Ze, and the others to discuss their strategy for the upcoming battle.