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Chapter 56: The First Elimination

The light boat had arrived at Jiugai Prefecture. Chen Moqing brought Cang Shun to take his leave from the Chu family.

"Uncle Chu, these past days I have been fortunate to receive much care from the Chu family. My actions going forward may bring trouble to the Chu family, so let us part for now. Should we meet again, you need not acknowledge me."

Chu Langtao laughed. "What are you saying! I know your character, young friend. You are no wayward, unprincipled sort. Do whatever you must without hesitation. If anyone bullies you, feel free to invoke the Chu family's name!"

Chen Moqing smiled faintly. Chu Qingya walked to his side, his expression tinged with reluctance. "Brother Liu Yun, must we part now?"

Cang Shun glanced at him and took hold of Chen Moqing's hand.

Chen Moqing's fingers moved slightly, and a jade slip flew out. "These are my insights on talisman path, along with some fifth-grade talismans. They should be of some help to you."

Chu Qingya took the jade slip, swept it with his divine sense, and his eyes widened in shock. Before he could say anything, he heard that clear, pleasant voice:

"The Chu family's kindness, I shall keep in mind. One day I will repay it."

The black robe fluttered in the air as the young cultivator bid farewell to the Chu family, sinking beneath the clouds together with his companion.

The once-in-a-century Nine Thousand Prefectures Contending Current Assembly drew ten thousand talents like stars converging upon Jiugai Prefecture, gathering at the imperial capital of Zhou Kingdom—the foremost cultivation nation of Jiugai Prefecture—to await the Grand Cultivation Tournament that would formally begin in seven days.

In the ancient, flourishing capital of ten thousand years, even the cultivators guarding the city gates were at the Deity Transformation stage. Chen Moqing presented his jade token for the tournament; the Deity Transformation cultivator glanced at him sidelong, then at the little jet-black bird perched atop his head, and without asking his sect or identity, waved him through.

With the little snow-white beast atop his head, Chen Moqing passed calmly through the city gate, and everywhere he looked was scenery he knew well.

Years ago, the first time he left his sect to travel and train, he had passed through this same gate. A youth's journey then, and now—his state of mind was entirely different.

"Do you know who this young master is?! How dare you disrespect me!"

A commotion rose up behind them. At the city gate, a youth decked in gold and silver glared at the Deity Transformation cultivator, raising his voice. "A mere Deity Transformation cultivator, any elder from my family who came here could destroy you!"

The Deity Transformation cultivator stared at him, a cold smile spreading, and spoke slowly: "Who do you think I am?"

The moment the words left his mouth, he struck out with his palm. The youth, caught off guard, flew back dozens of zhang, slamming into a towering ancient tree outside the city, coughing up blood without end—his tendons and bones utterly shattered!

The cultivator raised his hand again, and the jade token at the youth's waist flew into his palm, crumbling to dust.

"From this day forward, your family's descendants shall never again be permitted to enter Jiugai Prefecture." The cultivator sat back down where he was, casually brushing off the hem of his robe. "Scram."

The two attendants who had been standing beside the youth turned deathly pale, not daring to utter a word, and hurried off dragging the unconscious youth away.

The cultivators queued at the gate paid no attention whatsoever. The next person stepped up to the Deity Transformation cultivator and said with a smile, "Uncle Zhou, do you still remember me?"

At the sound of that voice, the cultivator's arrogant expression vanished in an instant, replaced by a warm, ingratiating smile as he rose to greet him: "So it's Young Master Wang!"

The city gate had long since fallen behind them. Chen Moqing strolled through the streets, a slender tail hanging down from atop his head, brushing gently against the side of his face.

Cang Shun's gaze swept indifferently over their surroundings, and he spoke unhurriedly: 【This place truly has simple, honest customs, respecting the old and cherishing the young】

Chen Moqing let out a helpless laugh.

The imperial capital of Zhou Kingdom teemed with people; young talents from great clans and prominent families could be seen everywhere, many accompanied by all manner of demonic pets.

A single jade token represented only one slot in the tournament, but demonic pets did not take up an additional slot and could be brought along into the cultivation tournament. For this reason, some talents, on the eve of the tournament, would have their families specially capture demonic beasts to take as pets, adding to their combat strength.

Amid the crowds, the young cultivator in black robes did not particularly stand out—only the round little black bird atop his head was cute enough to occasionally draw a glance or two.

From time to time, Cang Shun lowered his head to nuzzle against Chen Moqing's black hair. To onlookers, it simply looked like the little bird kept pecking and nuzzling at its owner.

"Truly worthy of being the foremost great sect of the Nine Thousand Prefectures, what an air of a first-rate sect indeed!"

On the wide street, a disciple of a great clan stood with several attendants, spread out in a row blocking off one corner of the long avenue, gazing up at the magnificent illusory sect emblem hovering over the sky above the imperial capital of Zhou Kingdom.

"A pity it's marred by that stain, Chen Moqing, tarnishing the illustrious reputation of Tianshu Sect for nothing."

A brief silence fell over the crowd, then someone laughed. "Well said!"

The moment the name "Chen Moqing" was spoken, it was like a stone rolling into boiling water, stirring up no end of ripples.

"If you ask me, that Chen Moqing truly threw himself away, giving up a perfectly good position as the Immortal Venerable's foremost disciple, insisting instead on consorting with demonic cultivators. Such a fine talent, and yet he chose to become a thief!"

"Wasn't it said he was invaded by demonic energy and that's what drove him into deviation?"

"Same thing! It must be that something was wrong with him to begin with. So many others were in the Demon Abyss War and came out fine, yet he alone was invaded by demonic energy. Some 'foremost talent of the Nine Thousand Prefectures', laughable!"

"Exactly. It just goes to show the man's character was flawed from birth. Low origins, base status. Once he ascended, he still couldn't hold his footing."

"After all these years, you're all still dwelling on him. Is it truly that a righteous, orthodox sect looks down on a demonic-path thief, or is it that you've finally found your chance to grind that name into the dust?"

A clear, resonant female voice cut through and rose above the crowd.

Everyone turned to see a female cultivator in bright yellow robes striding forward, a whip at her waist, two attendants following behind her—both women with a composed, unfathomable bearing of cultivation.

The heated discussion quieted somewhat, save for the clan disciple who had first brought up "Chen Moqing," who shot the yellow-robed cultivator a glance, his expression mocking.

"Chen Moqing is a demonic fiend through and through, debasing himself willingly, everyone has the right to condemn him! Does the fairy intend to whitewash a demonic fiend? Don't forget the blood at Haoran Sect's gates still hasn't been washed clean!"

The yellow-robed cultivator looked him over for a moment, then smiled. "I recognize your family crest, you're from the Hei family of Heiyan City."

The young master of the Hei family lifted his chin, looking rather pleased with himself. "That's right!"

The yellow-robed cultivator clapped her hands and laughed. "Oh my, I heard that back when your Hei family was besieged by demonic beasts and sought help from the outside world, because you'd all behaved so poorly in ordinary times that you'd offended nearly everyone in the entire prefecture, not a single sect was willing to lend a hand."

"So how was the Hei family saved in the end? Oh, that's right, I remember now, it was that Chen Moqing, crossing two prefectures, racing a million li, who came to your aid and resolved your Hei family's life-and-death crisis. Word has it your family's Grand Elder even knelt and kowtowed to him on the spot?"

"Goodness, to think you had to rely on that demonic fiend just to save your own lives, and you've been living on in shame ever since, how have you not died of humiliation by now?"

The Hei family's young master's face flushed alternately blue and white, and he lunged forward at once. "You—"

The attendant beside him hurriedly pulled him back, saying urgently, "Young Master! They seem to be from the Qiushui Sect..."

At those words, the Hei family young master's expression shifted slightly, but after a moment he forced out a cold laugh. "So what if they are! If you've got the ability, we'll settle it properly at the tournament!"

Having thrown out this self-righteous parting shot, he hurried off with his attendants in tow.

Upon hearing that the yellow-robed woman was from the Qiushui Sect, the other cultivators present suddenly seemed very busy and scattered in all directions, not one remained where they stood.

In the blink of an eye, the street stood empty. The yellow-robed woman let out a scoffing laugh and flicked the jade token and colored cord dangling from her fingers. "Boring."

It had been quite a show, lively and eventful. Chen Moqing sat by the window on the second floor of the teahouse, eating an extra couple of pastries.

In passing, he fed one to the demon emperor beside him, who sat coldly glaring down at the street below.

"Sweet."

Cang Shun bit into the pastry with a sulky air, then wrapped himself around Chen Moqing's arm.

【They can't compare to you, so they slander you instead】

"What does it matter," Chen Moqing said with a smile. "I can't even hear them anyway."

"Besides, there was a kind soul speaking up on my behalf."

Cang Shun stepped back, growing angrier the more he thought about it, and tugged at Chen Moqing's sleeve. 【I want to go beat them up!】

Chen Moqing calmly scooped up the puffed-up demon emperor, expertly stroking his head and smoothing his tail, until after a while the bristled fur settled back down.

The little snow-white beast lay in his arms, fur drooping soft and loose, pinning Chen Moqing's hand beneath his paws, and let out a small huff. 【I'll beat them up once we're inside】

Chen Moqing picked up another piece of white jade cake and fed it to this soft little white sugar cake of a creature.

Seven days later, in the eastern border of the Zhou Kingdom, the largest secret realm in Jiugai Prefecture—the Eastern Emperor Secret Realm—opened.

The ten thousand talents of the Nine Thousand Prefectures Grand Cultivation Tournament, each carrying their jade token, entered the secret realm to slaughter one another—being killed within the secret realm did not mean true death, but rather being teleported out by the jade token, thus eliminated from the competition.

The secret realm would remain open until only one hundred people remained, at which point it would close. These hundred talents would be the victors among the ten thousand, advancing to the next round.

A mirror of silver, tall and vast as a mountain range, hung suspended in the sky, its base touching the earth and its top reaching the clouds, its surface rippling with a sea of silvery-white clouds—the entrance to the Eastern Emperor Secret Realm.

The ten thousand talents gathered here, awaiting the realm's opening. Chen Moqing stood at the back of the crowd, stroking the fur of the snow-white beast in his arms, drawing no one's attention at all.

Across the vast sky, a long, resonant dragon's cry rolled down from the heights to the earth, and someone cried out in surprise: "Look! The people from Tianshu Sect have arrived!"

The crowd around Chen Moqing all looked up at once, to see a thousand-zhang sea of clouds above them swept clean away as a magnificent immortal ship broke through the clouds and waves. The ship's hull was carved in the form of a golden dragon, its body etched with brilliant golden patterns encircled by seven stars, casting down a shadow as vast as a mountain, blotting out the sky over the heads of the ten thousand gathered below.

Upon the radiant, gold-gleaming immortal ship stood ninety-nine disciples of Tianshu Sect, longswords slung across their backs, white robes billowing. Before them stood two tall, slender figures—one a young man in white-and-gold immortal robes, refined and elegant, a pair of peach-blossom eyes carrying a warm, gentle smile.

"It's Gongsun Bushi! The second disciple of Immortal Venerable Yu Bai, a Deity Transformation cultivator not yet two hundred years old!" Below, many had already recognized the young sword cultivator at the fore at a single glance.

"He broke through to Deity Transformation? Last I heard he was still at Nascent Soul, what terrifying talent!"

"A two-hundred-year-old Deity Transformation cultivator is indeed astonishing, but Tianshu Sect has more than one monster like that, there's an even greater one standing right beside him!"

"Who's that? I don't recognize him."

"That's the illustrious Xiao Jibai! The Sect Master of Tianshu Sect's own closed-door disciple! A genius with ten sword path spiritual roots! A Deity Transformation cultivator not yet a hundred years old!"

"What?! Broke through to Deity Transformation before even a hundred years old?! Is he even human? Could he be a reincarnated immortal?!"

Wave after wave of astonished cries rose on the wind, drifting up to the immortal ship above.

Riding high on the spring breeze, hooves flying swift—Xiao Jibai felt this described himself perfectly today.

Ten years ago, he had suffered a grievous blow over some small matter, and just as his Dao heart was on the verge of shattering, his master had found him—not only untangling the knot in his heart, but also giving him a supreme-grade immortal elixir that even the sect's own disciples could only dream of and never obtain.

After swallowing that immortal elixir, his cultivation had soared without pause—leaping straight from Golden Core past the great perfection of Nascent Soul, breaking through to Deity Transformation as naturally as reaching out to take something already in hand.

As for Chi Fei? Well, word had it that in Qingluan Prefecture, a Void Refinement demonic cultivator named Wu Hao had appeared that day, one who specialized in hunting young talents. After that day, every cultivator above Nascent Soul in the entire prefecture of Qingluan was slaughtered without exception. A full ten years had passed since, and the name "Chi Fei" had never again surfaced in the cultivation world.

So what if he had a system? In the cultivation world, strength was king—no matter how many tricks you had up your sleeve, a single raised hand from a Void Refinement cultivator would end you in an instant.

As long as one's own strength was sufficient, everything else was illusion, this was the truth his master had taught him.

Thinking about it now, that Chi Fei, relying on his system, had genuinely cultivated some real ability—worthy of a measure of respect. Though by now, the grass on his grave was probably ten zhang tall.

A faint smile touched the corner of Xiao Jibai's mouth as he basked in the cheers of the crowd below the immortal ship and the envious gazes of the junior disciples behind him, while discreetly glancing at the person beside him.

This Gongsun Bushi—he had once followed the second elder on a training expedition into the demon realm, and had actually nearly had his soul crushed by a great demon king. How humiliating.

Later, when things went wrong in the demon realm and over a dozen elders of Jinwu Sect perished, only Elder Gongsun managed to flee back with Gongsun Bushi in tow, never once speaking of what had happened that day—and ten years later, here he was, acting as if nothing had ever occurred.

He'd also heard that over the past two years, his so-called second senior brother's courtyard had come to house several delicate, frail-looking men, every one of them sporting a tear mole at the corner of the eye... how disgusting. If you're going to keep substitutes, at least have better taste.

Xiao Jibai looked away, discreetly shifting a little further to the side.

"Good thing demonic beasts are barred from this tournament," he grumbled to his system. "That bunch of animals are absolute lunatics. Once I've grown strong enough, the first thing I'll do is subjugate the demon realm and catch myself a few great demons to keep as mounts, just for fun."

The system's voice was calm as ever: "Host, would you like to go home?"

Xiao Jibai let out a soft laugh and looked away, not paying much mind to what the system said.

Ever since that time his Dao heart had shattered, he'd come to understand something, sometimes the system wasn't reliable either, unable to help him. It was his master—a cultivator at the peak of Mahayana—whose backing was the real, solid thing.

This was the cultivation world, after all; what mattered was genuine strength. Take now, for instance, he was already at Deity Transformation, and the view from here was nothing like what he'd seen back at Golden Core.

He wondered what the view from Void Refinement would be like—what a pity his own senior brother, who'd died so young, hadn't held that stage for more than a few years.

At the thought, a light flickered in Xiao Jibai's eyes, and a surge of ambition rose in his chest: "I will take his place and become the youngest Void Refinement cultivator in the entire cultivation world!"

"Then you'd better hurry up with your cultivation, there aren't many years left."

"...Could you just say less?"

Standing astride the wind, looking down upon the ten thousand gathered below, Gongsun Bushi glanced at his junior brother beside him, a faint trace of barely perceptible contempt slipping into his gentle smile.

Below the immortal ship, Chen Moqing calmly stroked the demon emperor in his arms and said, "All right, I hear you. Don't get angry, you'll shed your fur."

The little snow-white beast let out an indignant sound, and sure enough, a few stray tufts of fur came off in his palm.

Chen Moqing pulled out a small dried fish and waved it in front of the demon emperor—no use. So he calmly scooped up this puffed-up little ball of fluff, lifted it beside his face, and gently nuzzled his cheek against the fur.

The little snow-white beast fell silent at once.

It pressed obediently against his cheek, round beast-eyes blinking, turning into a soft little ball of fluff.

A pleasant fragrance lingered in his senses. Cang Shun felt the warmth of Chen Moqing's cheek against the other side of his fur, his beast ears twitching slightly upright.

Fine then, I'm not angry anymore.

The demon emperor thought this without a sound.

I'll settle the score with them soon enough.

Fluffing out its fur, the little ball stuck itself firmly to its human.

With the arrival of the Tianshu Sect's immortal ship, the Grand Cultivation Tournament was officially declared open. Disciples of Tianshu Sect entered the Eastern Emperor Secret Realm first, followed by the other talents of Jiugai Prefecture, and only last the talents from outside prefectures.

A vast, sweeping tide of stars poured into the silver mirror's sea of clouds. Outside the Eastern Emperor Secret Realm, countless immortal ships and pavilions rose and fell in ranks, linking together into one massive floating city in the sky—the viewing platforms of the various great sects and clans.

Aboard Tianshu Sect's immortal ship, an elder lifted his teacup and said unhurriedly, "This generation of young talents really is the finest in a thousand years. I wonder who will claim first place?"

"Need you even ask? Naturally it'll be Xiao."

"I'd say Gongsun's not bad either."

"Heh, shall we place a wager, then?"

Amid the elders' easy laughter and conversation, none of them noticed a young cultivator with black hair and black robes, cradling a round little black bird chick, calmly stepping into the silver mirror.

——The next instant, the sea of clouds within the silvery-white mirror surface churned violently, and a figure tumbled out of it, as if flung out like a burst sack, rolling over and over before crashing hard down from the high platform!

"Wait, what was that?"

"Someone's already been struck down?!"

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