"Number 25, step onto the stage!" Feng Tian''s voice rang out, snapping Lu Yi out of his drowsiness. Finally, it was his turn!


    Standing below the stage for so long had nearly put him to sleep. He hoped for a stronger opponent—at least it would give him a chance to complete a task and earn some rewards.


    Lu Yi soared onto the stage, and the crowd of disciples below erupted in a stir. They were finally getting to see Lu Yi in action.


    Soon, another young man stepped onto the stage.


    Lu Yi was momentarily stunned when he saw who it was. He smiled and said, "So it''s you, Senior Brother Li Qi. What a coincidence!"


    The young man was none other than the onlooker who had been chased off the platform by Wang Xinqi at White Sun Peak earlier. Back then, he had simply been an unlucky bystander caught in the crossfire, leaving Lu Yi with a lasting impression of him.


    Li Qi''s expression twisted painfully as if he were wearing a mask of despair. He looked at Lu Yi, his lips twitching, unable to even muster a proper smile. Through gritted teeth, he said, "Junior Brother Lu Yi, what a coincidence indeed..."


    He was utterly hopeless. Why was he so unlucky? This was just the first round, yet he had already encountered the monster known as Lu Yi!


    With his own strength, he had been practically guaranteed a spot in the top thousand. Now, Li Qi felt like crying.


    Feng Tian glanced at Lu Yi and Li Qi before calmly announcing, "Begin the match."


    Lu Yi smiled faintly. "Senior Brother Li Qi, please proceed."


    He thought Li Qi was rather pitiable. Although he couldn’t complete a task, he decided to spar with Li Qi a little to help him gain some confidence.


    Li Qi''s mouth twitched violently. With a face full of grief, he declared, "I forfeit!"


    "???"


    Lu Yi froze. He watched as Li Qi turned and jumped off the stage, disappearing into the crowd.


    Lu Yi: "..."


    Did Senior Brother Li Qi just suffer a mental breakdown? Lu Yi sighed. Luck was indeed important on the path of cultivation. It seemed Li Qi’s luck was rather poor.


    After stepping down from the stage, Lu Yi noticed Feng Tian’s slightly disappointed expression. Feng Tian had been eager to see Lu Yi’s abilities, but he hadn’t expected Li Qi to surrender so quickly. With no other option, Feng Tian called out, "Number 26, step onto the stage."


    <hr>


    The selection process moved quickly. Since the preliminaries started early, the entire day was dedicated to them. Matches among Qi Refining cultivators didn’t take long, and with each round passing swiftly, several cycles were completed.


    Lu Yi began to wonder if his luck was simply too good. On the 101st stage where he was assigned, the strongest opponent was only Li Qi, who was at the eighth level of Qi Refining. There wasn’t a single ninth-level cultivator.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Every time Lu Yi stepped onto the stage, his opponents would surrender immediately. Lu Yi was exasperated.


    He had spent an entire day standing around, without even drawing his sword!


    By the end, he felt completely numb. What a waste of time—he just wanted to go home and cultivate.


    Unfortunately, as a participant, he couldn’t skip out.


    <hr>


    As the sun gradually set behind the mountains, the sky turned orange-red, and the preliminaries finally came to an end.


    Naturally, Lu Yi secured first place on the 101st stage. The next step was to compete with the other stage winners to vie for the top ten positions.


    This would be the ranking competition.


    After the preliminaries ended, Du Gu Fang stepped onto the central stage and announced, "Today''s matches are concluded. The ranking competition will begin tomorrow. I hope everyone maintains their condition and performs at their best tomorrow."


    As he spoke, Du Gu Fang glanced in Lu Yi''s direction. He felt a bit regretful—he had wanted to witness Lu Yi’s strength, but all his opponents had surrendered.


    Following Du Gu Fang’s announcement, the disciples began to disperse. After a full day of matches, most of them were exhausted.


    Even with the referees overseeing the fights, injuries were inevitable. Many needed time to heal to avoid long-term damage.


    Lu Yi looked up at the sky and noticed that Lu Gaoyang and Wang Siqi hadn’t come down yet. To avoid being dragged home by Lu Gaoyang in front of everyone, he quickly used his movement technique and vanished into the crowd. He wanted to get home on his own.


    <hr>


    Up in the sky, Lu Gaoyang and Wang Siqi were all smiles, accompanied by Li Mang and other officials from the Affairs Hall.


    At this moment, they were all congratulating Lu Gaoyang and Wang Siqi.


    "Congratulations, Brother Lu. Lu Yi made it into the rankings without drawing his sword—a true display of dominance."


    "Yes, Brother Lu, care to share how strong Lu Yi really is?"


    "I bet he can make it to the top hundred!"


    "Top hundred? Don’t underestimate him! I say he’ll be in the top ten!"


    "No matter what, Brother Lu, you’ve got an amazing son. Don’t forget us when you’re successful in the future."


    "Of course, of course…" Lu Gaoyang was grinning so much that his eyes had nearly disappeared.


    Wang Siqi was also chatting with the female officials, her face beaming with pride.


    "Everyone, I need to take my son home first, so I’ll excuse myself... Hmm? Where’s Lu Yi?" Lu Gaoyang looked down and realized that Lu Yi was nowhere to be seen.


    Wang Siqi also looked down and was equally puzzled.


    "Where’s my son? My big, grown son? How did he disappear so quickly?"


    <hr>


    Back at Bai Ling Peak, Lu Yi returned to his room to rest.


    With his cultivation level, standing all day wasn’t physically tiring, but it was mentally exhausting. He hadn’t done anything all day besides stand around.


    Was this a competition or just a punishment for loitering?


    Lu Yi sighed, hoping the competition would end soon so he could claim his rewards.


    He had been eyeing that task in his task panel for a long time.


    Not long after, Wang Siqi’s voice came from outside. "Yi’er? Are you home?"


    Lu Yi was startled, then stepped out to see Lu Gaoyang and Wang Siqi standing outside. He asked in confusion, "I’m here."


    Lu Gaoyang and Wang Siqi breathed a sigh of relief. Lu Gaoyang scowled, "You brat! We were waiting to take you home, and you just left us behind."


    Lu Yi’s mouth twitched. Did they expect him to be carried back? Didn’t he have any dignity?


    He coughed awkwardly and said, "I saw you two chatting in the sky, so I decided to come back on my own."


    Hearing this, Lu Gaoyang and Wang Siqi let it slide.


    Wang Siqi smiled warmly and said, "That’s my boy! You’re amazing—winning without a fight. The officials had high praise for you today."


    Lu Yi: "???"


    Standing around earned him praise? Were these people crazy?


    Lu Gaoyang laughed and added, "Exactly! My brothers all said I raised a tiger cub."


    Lu Yi stared blankly at Lu Gaoyang. "..."


    Well, as long as they were happy.


    After some laughter and dinner, Lu Yi was sent back to his room to cultivate. His parents wanted him to stay in top form.


    In his room, Lu Yi continued his daily cultivation. As spiritual energy circulated through him, he felt his energy growing stronger. He sensed that he wasn’t far from reaching the eighth level of Qi Refining.


    Ever since his White Cloud Qi Absorption Technique had reached level 8, his cultivation speed had doubled compared to level 7. Combined with the Perfect Condensing Qi Pill, his progress was astonishing.