Chapter 38, The Event Ends and Reward Choice

Translator: Raznick

 

“Stone Wall.”

 

On the stage, Zhou Chun mentally issued an order, and instantly, a yellow stone wall rose swiftly from two steps ahead of him.

 

Bang!

 

Hardly had the stone wall begun to rise when a massive crimson fireball crashed onto its surface. When it exploded, it did so with a deafening roar, sending debris flying in all directions.

 

The tremendous explosive force instantly shattered the stone wall into countless fragments, which then disintegrated into glowing particles that vanished into thin air.

 

Even Zhou Chun, who had raised a protective barrier behind, his figure wavered slightly as he was affected by the slight explosion impact.

 

However, his expression softened as a smile began to lift the corners of his mouth.

 

Because this was already the opponent’s last average first-grade talisman.

 

In the previous battle, the opponent had already used up one superior first-grade talisman and three average first-grade talismans.

 

With the Explosive Talisman now expended, the opponent had no more tricks up their sleeve.

 

He had now only used one average first-grade talisman, the Metal Shield.

 

In the next move, Zhou Chun and Rock Turtle joined forces in their attack. Their opponent’s defenses were swiftly broken, forcing them to retreat from the stage and concede defeat.

 

“My He Clan is famous for our skills in talisman making. I can now make most inferior first-grade talismans by myself. If there was no limit on the number of talismans, I would not have lost even if you had the help of a spirit pet!”

 

Outside the stage, He Clan cultivator He Chengfeng, who had been forced to admit defeat by Zhou Chun, glared angrily at him.

 

But since the outcome was already determined, Zhou Chun wouldn’t care what he thought.

 

Now, he said with a graceful smile, “You are right, Fellow Daoist,” he said. “But the rules of the arena are just as such. Please forgive me, Fellow Daoist.”

 

In the spectators’ stand, upon seeing Zhou Chun emerge victorious, Zhou Daoyi also wore a delighted smile.

 

In contrast, the He Clan’s Clan Leader spoke with a hint of sullenness, saying, “Three out of ten, Fellow Daoist Zhou! It seems your Zhou Clan is set to be the biggest winner this time around!”

 

Zhou Daoyi, like Zhou Chun, no longer cared about others muttering sarcastic remarks after having gained an advantage.

 

Immediately, he modestly smiled and said, “You flatter me, Fellow Daoist. It’s just that the young apprentices from our youth group are rather commendable this time.”

 

Only the young group would be better, right?

 

Several Clan Leaders looked at the situation of the elite team, and their mood indeed improved somewhat.

 

Unlike the youth group, the elite group had their age restrictions extended to sixty years old, resulting in most participants from other clans being at the Eleventh Layer of Qi Refining Stage or higher.

 

Only the Zhou Clan was different.

 

Because raising a spirit pet would hindered the progress in cultivation of cultivators from the Zhou Clan, there were quite a few like Zhou Jiapeng, who possessed a Tenth Layer Qi Refining cultivation.

 

And those cultivators from various sects who had cultivated for many years in the late stage of Qi Refining mostly possessed two or more superior first-grade artifacts. Moreover, they were quite skilled in their mastery of mystical arts, and many of them had even cultivated one or two secret arts.

 

However, the Zhou Clan’s cultivators, though aided by a spirit pet, were unable to gain much of an advantage.

 

After that, Zhou Chun came down from the stage, and Zhou Zhengyong, who had been watching the match all along, immediately clapped him on the shoulder and said excitedly, “You’ve done it, Brother. This time, you’ve really brought honor to the Zhou Clan.”

 

Upon hearing his words, Zhou Chun couldn’t help but laugh. “It was just good luck,” Zhou Chun said. “The opponent wasn’t particularly strong. If it had been Brother Yong, he could have won too.”

 

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhengyong rolled his eyes and said, “Please. I know my own worth—I am well aware of it—and unless it’s a fight to the death, otherwise I probably wouldn’t stand a chance against him.”

 

In a life-or-death struggle, he could let his spirit pet, the Redtail Monkey, fight fiercely against the enemy. But on the stage, of course, he couldn’t do that.

 

So Zhou Chun no longer preened; he merely smiled lightly and did not respond again.

 

Seeing this, Zhou Zhengyong suddenly asked in a low voice: “Now that the top ten is in the bag, do you plan to fight for the top three next, Thirteenth Brother?”

 

The five clan martial competition this time offered substantial rewards for the top ten participants, but the best prizes were reserved for the top three.

 

Like Zhou Zhengkang of the Zhou Clan, his goal was to be among the top three, if not first.

 

Now Zhou Chun had already ranked in the top ten, so naturally, Zhou Zhengyong would be curious about this matter.

 

Zhou Chun, upon hearing this, shook his head and said, “No need to compete further. My strength being able to make it into the top ten already has an element of luck; making it into the top three would be impossible.”

 

“Not advancing into the top three positions, whether ending up in fourth place or tenth, does not impact the rewards.”

 

Zhou Chun had no interest in continuing the fight; after all, he wasn’t a battle maniac.

 

Zhou Zhengyong heard these words and couldn’t help but look regretful as he remarked, “Thirteenth Brother, you’re still so cautious and prudent. If it were me, I’d definitely give it a try before giving up.”

 

The seven who had failed, along with the one who had been given a pass, now had to redraw by lot for battle in order to determine the remaining eighty or ninety people.

 

While Zhou Chun and the other six who advanced successfully could now vie for the top three positions.

 

But as Zhou Chun, Zhou Zhengtao, and another Mu Clan cultivator withdrew from the competition, only four remained vying for the top three spots.

 

Among these four, the highest cultivation was at the Eleventh Layer of Qi Refining Stage, while the lowest was the tenth layer.

 

Each of their strengths, when placed within the elite group, would also likely place them among the top twenty.

 

At that moment, after the four had drawn lots, the first to take the stage was Zhou Clan’s Zhou Zhengkang, and his opponent was a cultivator from the Wang Clan named Wang Zhenhong.

 

Both had equal cultivation, at the Tenth Layer of Qi Refining.

 

After greeting each other and introducing their identities on the platform, they stood ready for action. At the referee’s signal, they leapt into combat.

 

Zhou Zhengkang reached down to his side, pulled out the spirit beast pouch, and swung it. Two demon wolves, their fur a bright crimson, sprang forward, mouths aglow with flames, and launched fiery orbs toward their opponent.

 

His two spirit pets, twin demon wolves born as lesser demon beasts—specifically Fire Wolves—have both been raised to superior first-grade. Each one individually possessed strength that surpasses Zhou Zhengyong’s Redtail Monkey.

 

While the two demon wolf spirit pets attacked their opponent, Zhou Zhengkang himself unleashed a crimson flying artifact towards the enemy and protected himself with a pearl that emitted a protective azure glow.

 

As for these two artifacts, they were naturally both of superior-first-grade quality.

 

With such a lineup, even if the opponent had two superior first-grade artifacts in hand, they fell quickly into a disadvantage.

 

“Having a Violet Palace Stage cultivator’s backing is truly advantageous! Not only does one’s own cultivating practice never lacks pills, but spirit pets and artifacts are also provided as cultivation improves.”

 

Beside Zhou Chun, Zhou Zhengyong suddenly looked enviously and let out a soft sigh.

 

As a cultivator from the Zhou Clan, he couldn’t help but feel envious and jealous towards Zhou Zhengkang, who was widely regarded as the most outstanding young cultivator from the Zhou Clan.

 

Yet Zhou Chun, upon hearing these words, remained silent.

 

Zhou Zhengkang’s situation was indeed something that would make them envious.

 

He not only possessed an excellent high-grade spirit root, but his great-grandfather was also the elder brother of the current Grand Elder Zhou Mingde of the Zhou Clan.

 

This made him, from his birth onward, destined for greatness.

 

It was not because of his status that he received numerous resources from the Zhou Clan, which average members of the Zhou Clan could not obtain. Although he certainly did receive some preferential treatment in resources.

 

The main reason was that, owing to his forebears being all cultivators of the Zhou Clan, Zhou Zhengkang had access to far more resources than Zhou Chun, whose ancestors were ordinary cultivators.

 

As for Zhou Mingde, at the Violet Palace Stage, even a tiny bit of what he casually pulled out would be enough to satisfy him nephew for a long time.

 

Zhou Zhengyong may have such emotion because he lacked experience in such situations.

 

However, Zhou Chun had long since become accustomed to the extravagant lives of those born with a silver spoon in their mouths, having experienced such realities in his past life.

 

In simpler terms, it was someone who had been worn down by life’s harsh realities.

 

At this point, he merely sighed slightly and said, “If he were to win first place, it would be beneficial for the Zhou Clan. There are some things we cannot change; all we can do is try to accept them.”

 

Zhou Zhengyong heard him, but it was unclear if he understood as he didn’t reply.

 

On the arena after a battle that wasn’t particularly arduous, Zhou Zhengkang managed to defeat his opponent and win.

 

Four people were in a tight competition for first place, which meant each one must face off against the others individually. Their rankings would be determined by how many victories they accumulated throughout these matches.

 

After several battles, the person who ultimately secured first place was Zhou Zhengkang.

 

His two superior first-grade demon wolf spirit pets were giving him too much of an advantage; when they attacked in unison, the opponent was forced to focus most of their attention on defending against the demon wolves, leaving them unable to respond to subsequent attacks.

 

When the results were announced, the cultivators from the other four clans were glaring daggers at the Zhou Clan cultivators, and the accusations of cheating reached a peak.

 

Meanwhile, in the audience seats, the Clan Leaders of several clans also had rather grim expressions.

 

At this point, they were beginning to regret involving the Zhou Clan in this event.

 

It wasn’t that they were worried about the small reward, but rather, word of their performance in the martial competition spread. This dealt a blow to the reputation and morale of their clans—it was a much greater loss than just the reward.

 

[Next time, I will definitely ban the Zhou Clan’s pets from competing!]

 

Suddenly, several Clan Leaders had this thought flash through their minds.

 

Meanwhile, compared to the young group here, the elite group there finished later.

 

Elite group participants had high cultivation levels and deep spiritual power; it was quite normal for the battle to last over a quarter of an hour.

 

As a result, the time it took them to reach a final conclusion was nearly one-third slower than that of the youth group.

 

Once the results for the elite group were also announced, the other clans’ leaders’ expressions finally improved significantly.

 

In the top ten of the elite group only had two Zhou Clan members, and none made it into the top three.

 

This way, at last, compensated somewhat for the loss of face suffered in the youth group.

 

“Fellows Daoist, since the results have already come out, let us go together and present the awards to those junior cultivators.”

 

In the stands, the host Wang Zhixiong rose to his feet, smiling as he cupped his hands towards Zhou Daoyi and several other Clan Leaders, inviting them to join him on stage for the award presentation.

 

Several Clan Leaders, upon seeing this, also rose one after another, cupping their hands towards him. “Fellow Daoist Wang, please,” they humbly proposed.

 

Then they followed Wang Zhixiong towards the two stages.