The righteous path punishes Heaven

Chapter 22 Sect Grand Competition 1

Knowing he had been exposed to Lin Yue, Zhang Yunling had no choice but to use the disciples who admired his alchemy skills as cover while he quickly fled back to his private cave on the Sixth Peak.

Lin Yue, whose cultivation was higher than Zhang Yunling's, quickly caught up, shouting, "Stop! You are not Xu Tianli at all. Who are you? What is your purpose in infiltrating my Qiankun Dao using his identity?"

Zhang Yunling was already in a panic. He could only hurry up and activate his Divine Speed ​​Steps, his legs leaving afterimages as he swung them. Only when he was near the sixth peak did he break free from the restrictions of the anti-air formation and take off, heading straight for the cave.

Seeing that Zhang Yunling was about to escape to the mountain cave, Lin Yue didn't care about anything else. He figured he had some status in the sect, and if something really happened, an elder could take his place. At worst, he would just get a minor punishment.

At this critical moment, it was imperative to ascertain the identity of this person. Lin Yue gritted his teeth, changed the hand seals, and used magic to summon three fireballs the size of human heads out of thin air, which slammed fiercely towards Zhang Yunling.

"Wow, they're already going to kill? These inner disciples are really something else, so decisive and ruthless. It seems I have a lot to learn!" Zhang Yunling, having fully mastered the first level of the Divine Ghost Step technique, skillfully dodged the three fireballs one by one, and had already stepped halfway onto the stone platform in front of the cave.

"Lin Yue, you dare to kill me? Aren't you afraid the alchemy room will come after you?" Zhang Yunling turned around and shouted, confident in his status as a third-grade alchemist, showing no fear whatsoever.

Lin Yue sneered, his hand spells shifting again: "Fool, you really are impersonating Xu Tianli. You don't even know who I am. Today I'm going to kill you!"

Several more fire attacks swept in, forcing Zhang Yunling to retreat back into his cave and shut the door tightly. "If you've got the guts, try and break down this gate!"

Lin Yue chased them all the way to the cave entrance, but seeing the situation, he had no other choice. He couldn't let things escalate too much, or it would be a case of more harm than good.

"Hmph, I'll let you off this time! Although I'm not a pill refiner, I know someone far stronger than you. We'll meet again at the sect competition in a few days!"

As Zhang Yunling sensed Lin Yue's aura fading further away, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. However, he was worried about the even more intense attacks Lin Yue might launch later. It seemed that trying to conceal his identity and gain a foothold in the Qiankun Dao was an unwise choice.

The sect competition will begin in a few days. Although I don't know what the rewards are, it would be good to go and take a look. I need to improve my alchemy skills even more.

In the past few days, Zhang Yunling has stopped going to the trading house to sell goods and instead focused on improving his alchemy skills and comprehension in preparation for the upcoming sect competition.

He wasn't afraid of the powerful alchemist Lin Yue mentioned; he'd just consider him a stepping stone on his path to improving his strength, hehe.

Eight days later, the inner sect of Qiankun Dao.

This is where the inner sect is fundamentally different from the outer sect, and where the true foundation of the Qiankun Dao lies. Disciples who enter the outer sect need to reach the early stage of the Golden Core realm or the fourth rank of the Alchemist realm before they can enter and become inner sect disciples.

The cultivation resources and sect assistance that inner disciples enjoy are unimaginable to outer disciples. It can be said that the outer sect is just a transit station for selecting the merits of new disciples, and only those disciples who stand out and meet the requirements can officially become members of Qiankun Dao.

At this time, because the number of alchemists in the sect is not as large as it used to be, the sect competition includes alchemists from both the inner and outer sects. The most outstanding third-grade alchemists from the outer sect are qualified to participate in this sect competition.

"Master Tianli, this way please." An outer disciple, who was also a third-grade alchemist, was enthusiastically welcoming Zhang Yunling into the competition registration area, where hundreds of alchemists had already registered.

Before them was a competition venue transformed from a giant martial arts arena used by the inner sect, surrounded by spectator seats for non-alchemy masters and eliminated participants.

After a period of preparation, the first round of the competition was about to begin. More than a thousand contestants stood on the stage together, and then an old man appeared out of thin air. He spoke loudly, and every word he uttered was in accordance with his cultivation level, so that thousands of people in the arena could hear him clearly.

"In this sect competition, the top ten will all receive rewards, and the top two will be provided by the sect to the last two disciples who advance: extremely precious natural treasures: Dao Fortune Lotus Seeds, which can be used to refine pills that can enhance one's fortune!"

"The Lotus Seed of Dao Fortune? That's an extremely precious treasure! I've heard it contains the invisible power of the Great Dao, which can enhance a cultivator's luck in the world—it's truly mysterious!"

Many disciples on the field were already whispering among themselves, and Zhang Yunling could hear them clearly. Sure enough, this sect competition was quite substantial. It seemed that some of the participating fifth-grade alchemists were here for the Dao Yun Lotus Seed.

"Alright, for the first round of the competition, I will give each of you a withered root. This root was picked from a rare high-grade medicinal herb called the Dragon Vein Tree. After being separated from its mother plant, the root will wither immediately, but it can absorb the spiritual power of the alchemist about the spiritual herb, nourish itself and thus rejuvenate."

Now, each of you must recall all your knowledge of herbs and plants and your expertise in alchemy, and transmit it all to this withered tree root using your divine sense. You have one hour. The three hundred people with the worst performance will be eliminated. Begin now!

As soon as he finished speaking, the old man gave everyone a withered tree root out of thin air. Just as he said, when people used their divine sense to transmit their knowledge of alchemy into the tree root, its withered appearance would lessen, as if it were rejuvenating.

The disciples all began to practice, their minds racing as they tried to recall all their knowledge of alchemy.

Gradually, the dead wood roots in everyone's hands underwent noticeable changes. Some turned from blackish-gray to dark brown, while others grew other roots from their original roots, constantly emitting a faint glow, which was quite strange.

Lin Yue was in a relatively forward position on the stage. At this moment, he was trying hard to find Zhang Yunling's position, while thinking to himself, "Damn it, I'll see if your so-called master title will be exposed in this sect competition!"

Like the other disciples, Zhang Yunling was trying his best to recall all the knowledge he had acquired, including various rare herbs, natural treasures, and pills of different qualities. All the knowledge that Granny Wang had taught him and that he had later mastered and comprehended was recalled by Zhang Yunling, and he used his divine sense to inject it into the withered root in his hand.

The tree roots possessed a spirit. After sensing the powerful divine sense emanating from Zhang Yunling, which contained profound knowledge of alchemy, they instantly and rapidly regained their vitality, even regrowing.

Instantly, the dead tree root, which was originally no bigger than the palm of a hand, had grown into a brand new tree branch, half a meter long and covered with green leaves, in Zhang Yunling's hands in half an hour.

"Great, this should get me a good ranking!" Zhang Yunling wiped the sweat from his brow, which was soaked from overworking his brain, and silently prayed that he wouldn't be eliminated.

At that moment, not far from him, an inner female disciple looked in his direction, and the coldness in her eyes made Zhang Yunling shiver instantly.

"This person... could he be the powerful alchemist that Lin Yue found..." The female disciple slightly raised her proud head, and the nearly one-meter-long tree root covered with flowers and plants in her hand was extremely conspicuous.

Looking at her tree roots and then at his own, a sense of crisis instantly overwhelmed him. He had thought that the knowledge he possessed was enough for the next few decades, but he hadn't realized that he was still short-sighted. This female disciple was far superior to him.

"Xu Tianli, is this all you've got?" Suddenly, the female disciple's mocking voice rang out. Zhang Yunling's heart clenched. Damn it, how dare this woman look down on him like that! And that damned Lin Yue, I'll definitely get my revenge someday!