The Hefty Rewards of First Place
Even after claiming the first-place prize, a strange emptiness lingered in one corner of Baek Cheong's heart. As she stepped down from the stone platform, her gaze kept drifting toward the Baek family seats. She had wanted to show her older brother the sight of her taking first place more than anyone else. But his seat remained empty the entire time. The inner sect disciples were all busy with their assigned duties during the Magic Tournament, so he was probably helping somewhere with the sect's affairs.
'I was going to brag a little...'
Baek Cheong swallowed her disappointment and clicked her tongue. In any case, the tournament was still far from over. After the Qi Condensation bracket came the Foundation Establishment bracket matches. Deciding to wait for her brother, she walked over to her uncle.
"Oh, my dear niece. Come, sit here."
Baek Muyeong gestured to the seat beside him with a pleased expression. Thanks to his niece's impressive display on the stone platform, the merchant group had filled its coffers nicely, and the smile never left his face.
Baek Cheong demurely adjusted her robes and took her seat next to him.
"Thanks to you, my dear niece, this uncle of yours is feeling quite proud today."
Baek Muyeong spoke in a warm, teasing tone and gently stroked her hair. Baek Cheong gave him an embarrassed smile before turning her attention back to the stone platform.
The Foundation Establishment bracket matches had just begun. However, the Foundation Establishment cultivators stepping onto the platform were in a completely different league from the Qi Condensation ones. Because the Cloud Sea Secret Realm was intended for late-stage juniors, Foundation Establishment had an age limit of forty. It was the same principle as the twenty-year limit for Qi Condensation.
As a result, not a single late-stage cultivator could be seen in the Foundation Establishment bracket. The highest realm present was merely at the peak of the mid-stage—6-star. Even so, as Baek Cheong watched the platform, she couldn't help but blink in surprise.
The power unleashed by even the same first-rank spell was on a completely different level when cast by a Foundation Establishment cultivator compared to Qi Condensation. Just looking at the two fighters currently clashing on the platform proved it.
One cultivator gave a light flick of his hand, and several small flags spun into the air, swirling around him. A blue spiritual energy shimmered on each flag, and layers of swirling wind vortices formed around the fighter.
His opponent was not to be outdone. He chanted an incantation and formed complex hand seals with both hands. Soon, a bright red firebird spread its wings and soared above his head.
Whoosh!
With one flap of its wings, the firebird sent sparks raining down onto the platform like a fiery downpour. The wind vortices swallowed the sparks and transformed them into a raging pillar of flame. The two Foundation Establishment cultivators' spells collided head-on, turning the center of the platform into a chaotic tangle of fire and wind.
It was on a completely different scale from the Qi Condensation matches, where the fighters had barely managed to exchange spells. Brilliant and intricate techniques exploded from all directions, and everyone was now seriously deploying their Dharma Treasures.
It was clear that while both were considered juniors, the qualitative gap between Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment was vast.
As she quietly observed the matches, a random thought suddenly crossed Baek Cheong's mind.
'At Foundation Establishment level, would it be okay to use the flying sword?'
In the Qi Condensation bracket, she had kept the First Star Sword sheathed until the very end. If she had swung a blade carrying the sword intent of the Meteorite Wave, even Qi Condensation cultivators could have lost their lives. But for Foundation Establishment cultivators who wrapped themselves in Dharma Treasures and layered thick defensive spells, the situation would be different. Against such sturdy opponents, she could probably swing her flying sword without much worry.
After thinking that far, she tilted her head slightly.
'But when would I ever fight a Foundation Establishment cultivator anyway?'
No matter how she thought about it, she couldn't picture herself crossing swords with one. After all, she had only entered the Qi Condensation bracket of the Magic Tournament. Baek Cheong quietly shelved the pointless thought and shifted her gaze back to the platform.
'Eh, whatever. I'll just enjoy the show.'
Since there were far too many eyes watching, she couldn't even browse the gallery. Instead, she leisurely took in the Foundation Establishment matches. The dazzling display of spells and Dharma Treasures flying back and forth made for quite an entertaining spectacle.
Before long, the final match of the Foundation Establishment bracket concluded, and its first-place winner was decided. Unlike the Qi Condensation first place, which had gone to the outsider Baek Cheong, the Foundation Establishment first place went to a Biun Sect disciple.
It was a young cultivator wearing a robe embroidered with intricate cloud patterns. His mastery of the Biun Sect's secret techniques was impressive. Soon after, the first-place winners from both the Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment brackets stepped onto the center of the stone platform side by side.
Baek Cheong demurely adjusted her robes and walked toward the middle of the platform. However, instead of the outer sect elder who had been overseeing the matches, an old cultivator seated at the head position slowly made his way onto the platform. He was an inner sect elder wearing a robe adorned with numerous Biun Sect cloud emblems.
The moment the elder appeared, every cultivator filling Ja-undae fell silent at once and offered respectful greetings. A weight and dignity far beyond that of the outer sect elder quietly pressed down on the entire assembly.
Baek Cheong glanced at the elder from the corner of her eye.
'He's different from Elder Pung Jinhae of the inner sect.'
The inner sect elder looked down at the two first-place winners and spoke in a calm, gentle voice.
"For two young juniors to display such skill at your age brings this sect nothing but joy."
With a light flick of his sleeve, two jade plaques floated gracefully before each of the winners.
"First, I shall bestow five hundred contribution points upon each of you juniors."
Baek Cheong bowed her head politely and accepted the floating jade plaque.
"Furthermore, I grant you the qualification to have one Dharma artifact or Dharma treasure refined by a fourth-rank artificer of our sect."
As the words continued, Baek Cheong's eyes gradually widened.
"Finally, I permit you to bring one additional item of your choice out of the Cloud Sea Secret Realm."
With each reward announced, Baek Cheong screamed with joy inside. On the surface she maintained a polite, modest posture, but inwardly her mouth was stretched ear to ear.
'Is this for real? Freebies like this?'
Five hundred contribution points alone were an enormous amount. According to Jinwi, even one hundred points required an inner sect disciple to devote themselves fully to missions for two whole months. Five hundred points would take a full year of dedicated, high-quality missions to accumulate.
The opportunity to have a Dharma artifact or treasure refined by a fourth-rank artificer was even harder to put a price on. A fourth-rank artificer wouldn't easily lend a hand even if you piled up mountains of contribution points. She knew firsthand how precious the scarlet bracelet her older brother had given her was, since it had been crafted by one.
And the final reward—an extra item from the Cloud Sea Secret Realm—was an incredible bonus. Simply reaching the finals already allowed one extra item, but first place granted yet another on top of that.
A quiet murmur spread through the spectators in the viewing seats.
The cultivators couldn't hide their admiration for the Biun Sect's magnanimity. The atmosphere was one of renewed realization at just how grandly a major sect could bestow favors when it set its mind to it.
However, even though the Cloud Sea Secret Realm was listed as a reward, one couldn't enter it whenever they pleased. The realm had its own set opening times, so it seemed they would have to wait a few more days until the proper date.
"There will be a few days until the Cloud Sea Secret Realm opens, so use that time to prepare yourselves well."
After giving these calm instructions, the inner sect elder stepped down from the platform.
In truth, Baek Cheong didn't know much about what the Cloud Sea Secret Realm was like. She had only picked up bits and pieces—that it was a sect-owned secret realm filled with opportunities. So when people talked about its opening time or bringing out an extra item, she could only tilt her head in confusion.
'I have no idea what kind of place it is, so I can't even picture it.'
Still, Baek Cheong didn't think much of it. She would experience it herself when the time came.
'Well, I'll find out once I go in.'
With the awarding of the prizes, the Magic Tournament finally came to a close. Baek Cheong offered a polite bow and stepped down from the platform.
Now, only one event remained in the New Spring Exchange.
The auction that was said to mark the grand finale of the exchange every year. Rare and precious treasures of unknown origin would appear on the auction block during the final stretch of the New Spring Exchange. Baek Cheong had been eagerly anticipating this from the very beginning.
'An auction, huh... This is something I absolutely can't miss.'
She had already secured a generous first-place reward, and the secret realm she would soon enter was supposedly packed with opportunities. With the grand finale auction still to come, the corners of her mouth naturally curled upward.
'At this rate, I might just sweep the entire New Spring Exchange clean.'