Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Sparring Tournament
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This spiritual energy was sharp and rasping, so if you mishandled it even slightly, it could bring the metallic tang of blood rising in your throat. This prickly, aggressive spiritual energy was incredibly difficult to manage.
Yuk-gyeong's spiritual root was,
'Metal Spiritual Root!'
Metal generates water but overcomes wood. The Deputy Elder had lamented that point upon learning of Yuk-gyeong's spiritual root. It was because those talented in pill refining usually possessed wood spiritual roots.
Wood spiritual roots could aid the growth of spiritual herbs, harmonize with them, and enhance their properties.
But a metal spiritual root overcame wood, so it had the effect of withering spiritual herbs and weakening their properties.
Thus, when handling spiritual herbs for pill refining, it was a spiritual root that offered nothing but drawbacks.
However, the Deputy Elder said that the attributes of one's spiritual root and pill refining skill were secondary—what truly mattered was understanding the properties of spiritual herbs and combining them properly. Study was essential, he'd insisted.
For Yuk-gyeong, days of tedious study dragged on, but in the process, he absorbed a great deal of knowledge about spiritual herbs and pill refining.
A few months later, having soaked it up like a sponge, Yuk-gyeong had gathered enough knowledge to introduce himself as a pill refiner.
"That's enough for today. Head back. You're in the Response Qi Realm now, so you ought to enter the sect's sparring tournament, shouldn't you?"
"Yes. I suppose I should."
Yuk-gyeong had grown quite comfortable with the Deputy Elder over that time.
The Deputy Elder was the type to care deeply about saving face and wasn't easy to befriend, but once you got close, he proved to have a warm side.
"Right. If it weren't for that no-magic-tools rule in this tournament, I'd have lent you one of mine. Shame. Hurry and get through the tournament, then come back and help with my pill refining."
To think an old man would say something like that—he was a total pill maniac, obsessed with making them.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The Radiant Moon Sect held regular events.
Among them, this one was aimed at Response Qi Realm cultivators—a small-scale tournament to select the strongest among them. Its purpose was to foster a competitive spirit for self-improvement and identify those gifted in combat.
Yuk-gyeong-style name: Radiant Moon Sect Iron Citadel Peak Peak Lord Cup Response Qi Realm Strongest Tournament.
Of course, that's what Yuk-gyeong called it. In reality, it was just a modest sparring tournament event without any formal title.
Still, his name captured the essence.
Iron Citadel Peak Peak Lord Cup—the sparring tournament hosted by Elder Myo, Peak Lord of Iron Citadel Peak, to crown the strongest Response Qi Realm cultivator.
The prizes were impressive: a heap of spirit stones, a fair share of merit points, and a magic tool.
These were hugely helpful resources for Response Qi Realm cultivators' training, so plenty of them aimed to win.
And a full set of magic tools, no less.
Response Qi Realm cultivators couldn't cast proper spells on their own, so what was there to say about the need for magic tools? Whenever a tournament dangled them as prizes, Response Qi Realm disciples went wild.
Radiant Moon Sect Response Qi Realm outer disciples gathered in the clearing at the base of Iron Citadel Peak, where the sparring tournament was held.
A crowd of Response Qi Realm outer disciples had already assembled there, with a massive sparring platform in the center, carved straight from a boulder.
The rock-hewn platform stood about half a zhang tall. Normally, anyone who wanted to use it could simply climb up.
But with the tournament underway, access was restricted.
Around the platform stretched what passed for spectator seating, buzzing with people who'd come to watch the matches.
Spars between Response Qi Realm cultivators were pretty popular. Folks always said scraps between scrubs were the most entertaining. There were no flashy spell duels like those of Gathering Qi Realm and above, but the matches—fueled by flows of spiritual energy and simple spells—had a raw, gritty appeal.
Betting pools were already opening up among the spectators.
"This batch of Response Qi Realm cultivators is on another level."
"Yeah, we've got sword prodigy Geum Muk, who picked up a blade at age three, and Flame Sorceress Man Sa-young, who could cast spells starting from Response 3rd Star. Tons of top contenders."
"Can't forget the Thunder Spiritual Root guy on the roster. He's a heavy favorite too."
Sure enough, favorites like Geum Muk, Man Sa-young, and Deung Ja-jin had unusually low odds. That many people were betting on their victory.
As the atmosphere around the sparring platform grew feverish,
Someone streaked down from the sky with a whoosh!
The crowd craned their necks to gawk at the flying sword silhouette. Then someone with sharp eyes spotted the figure above and yelled.
"It's Senior Sister A-young!"
"Where, where?"
"Up top! She's riding a flying sword!"
Inner disciple Yu A-young. Thirty-five years old. A genius who'd reached the Gathering Qi Realm in her mid-thirties.
And Yu Yeong-yeong's older sister.
Yeong-yeong had just turned twenty, so a fifteen-year gap? Talk about a late blessing.
Rumor had it their parents hailed from the mountains and were Response Qi Realm cultivators. Normal lifespan for those in the Response Qi Realm ranged from 120 to 150 years, so the age difference wasn't all that inexplicable.
In any case, she was one of the Iron Citadel Peak Lord's named disciples and one of the tournament supervisors.
A-young soared on her flying sword, gazing down at the cheering disciples below.
All of them drawn by her beauty and prowess.
A-young's eyes gazed indifferently down at the mortals below. It wasn't from dislike. She neither liked nor disliked them.
A-young simply didn't pay much mind to other people. Their chatter, their stares, their admiration. She found praise for her beauty and envy of her strength meaningless.
To her, what mattered was cultivation and immortality.
Everything else was fleeting. Gazes, attention—all of it was transient, quick to vanish, never eternal. Only cultivation and immortality were absolute, unchanging, forever.
"Junior Sister A-young! We're supervising the tournament together today, right? Let's make it a good one. Junior Sister A-young... you're as lovely as ever."
The disciple who'd flown up beside A-young on a flying treasure platform was her senior brother, another named disciple under the same elder.
The man had rugged, pockmarked skin like a bear's hide, his face squished like a lumpy potato. Short and dark-skinned, the youth's name was Jang Hyeon-nam.
Hyeon-nam was smitten with A-young; even as he piloted his flying treasure, he kept stealing glances at her.
A-young was aware of his stares but pretended otherwise.
She'd told him to knock it off last time, but since he never listened, what was the point of nagging herself hoarse? She just let it be.
The reason A-young disliked Hyeon-nam had nothing to do with his looks. Appearance was mere shell to her, incapable of stirring her heart.
She disliked him because he hindered her path to cultivation and immortality. Always hovering, bringing her things, chattering away. It made her uncomfortable.
"Senior Brother Jang, you're making me uncomfortable. Please keep your distance."
"R-right."
Hyeon-nam's flying treasure awkwardly shuffled sideways, mirroring its owner's embarrassment.
Having shooed Hyeon-nam away, A-young looked down again.
"Junior Sister A-young, who do you think will take the win this time? Response Qi Realm disciples must look like children to you. You're a Gathering Qi Realm cultivator, after all—their spells probably seem crude. What kind of man catches your eye? Probably not someone too handsome, like Geum junior brother or Deung. Hey, Junior Sister, our clan just got a shipment of Spirit Wood Prime Pills—huge help for newly ascended Gathering Qi Realm cultivators. If you're interested, I could put in a word..."
"Senior Brother Jang, please be quiet. It's about to start."
"Wh-what?"
It was right about time.
For the one who would signal the tournament's start.
...He'd arrived.
Whoosh—!
Someone soared in grandly and landed smack in the center of the sparring platform.
A man with a slightly sallow face, square jaw, prominent nose, and slitted eyes strode boldly across the platform, greeting the crowd. Waves of spiritual energy rippled around him as naturally as breathing. The Response Qi Realm spectators felt a heavy pressure bearing down on their shoulders.
The man flashed a grin and dispersed the waves, lifting the pressure so the Response Qi Realm cultivators could breathe easy again.
The one who could dominate the entire arena just by breathing was Hwang Bo-kyeong, a named disciple of the Iron Citadel Peak Lord and the tournament's chief supervisor.
Hwang Bo-kyeong clapped with a beaming smile and bellowed.
"Silence, everyone! The sparring tournament begins now!"
Waaaaah—!
At last, the curtain rose on the sparring tournament.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "With the elders watching, I hope you'll all follow the rules and focus on mutual growth through these spars!"
Yuk-gyeong let the chief supervisor Hwang senior brother's words flow in one ear and out the other as he jostled amid the roaring crowd in the spectator seats.
After signing up for the tournament, he'd been told to wait in the seats, and now he was suffering in the crush of bodies.
The chatter around him buzzed with tournament talk.
"You sign up for this sparring tournament too?"
"Nah. This one's unusual—only Response 8th Star and above can enter."
"Response 8th Star minimum? Well, Response Realm tournaments have always been a festival for 9th Star disciples who wield spells freely."
"Still, that's harsh. Response Qi Realm cultivators crave magic tools like nothing else. Even if they're not 9th Star, they'd love a shot at competing."
The sparring tournament was a 9th Star extravaganza.
Spell battles among 9th Star disciples.
A dazzling show for mortals, nostalgia for Gathering Qi Realm cultivators, and a bit of frolic for the elders—courtesy of the Response Qi Realm disciples.
Yuk-gyeong lacked confidence.
Confidence in victory.