Free Web NovelChapter 519: Chapter 29: Advancing to the Semifinals
Leaving the Business Alliance’s station, Li Ji’an went straight to the Upper City District of Feihong Immortal City.
However, barely two steps out, a Communication Talisman in his Storage Pouch started vibrating.
With his Divine Sense reaching in, Li Ji’an chuckled to himself.
It was Yao Rui telling him she finally saw the secret weapon of the Jinhua Commerce Association.
Yet her words were filled with disdain and indignation.
She described Liu Qingyun as fat as a pig, arrogant as can be.
She even said that if she were to draw him in the same group, she would make sure he suffers a crushing defeat.
The reason for her confidence is that in the past six months, she had been fortunate to receive an Eighth Grade Fire Element Treasure temporarily bestowed by the Si Shui Commerce Association, giving her a substantial boost in confidence.
She then asked if he had arrived at Feihong Immortal City.
Ignoring Yao Rui’s message, Li Ji’an, along with Wu Yehua who caught up to him, proceeded straight to the Upper City District.
Feihong Immortal City is bustling with trade, where even the rare Exotic Treasures from Celestial Cyan Domain can be found.
Moreover, the entire Upper City District is a Spirit Resource trading area corresponding to Core Formation True Man of Tier Three.
There, Li Ji’an saw exquisite Foundation Establishment Pills, priced at thirty-eight thousand Spirit Stones.
He also encountered Divine Soul Elixirs of considerable quality.
Tier Three Spirit Talismans were also openly displayed for sale in spirit talisman shops, though their prices were not affordable for ordinary people.
Unfortunately, this place mostly offers finished products, with few Spiritual Materials available.
After all, Feihong Immortal City does not lack Skill Masters, and the profit on finished products is naturally higher than that on Spiritual Materials.
The Business Alliance is more adept at collecting Spiritual Materials from everywhere and then crafting them into finished products for sale.
Of course, these are merely early-period Tier Three Spirit Resources, and Spirit Resources above the middle stage of Tier Three remain rare.
The path of Cultivation is full of hurdles, with Foundation Establishment being one, Core Formation another, and reaching middle-stage Core Formation an even greater hurdle. Even if one is lucky enough to achieve Core Formation through the narrowest of means, most are merely Fake Pills or lower-tier True Pills; those who can advance to the middle-stage of Core Formation are few and far between.
"We’ll see if there are any high-tier Talisman Materials at the Business Alliance auction in six months." Returning to the Business Alliance’s station empty-handed, Li Ji’an remained stoic.
For now, all he needs to do is wait for the opportunity to use Feihong Immortal City’s top-tier Core Formation Dao Field, fully committing to solidifying his Pill.
In the eastern region of the Great Marsh Cultivation Realm, only by becoming a True Pill Master can one find genuine assurance.
Only then can one have the confidence to roam freely.
Before that, there’s only the Flying Crane Dao Discussion’s Spirit Contract to complete.
Nothing else matters.
And for the upcoming Flying Crane Dao Discussion, Li Ji’an needs only to enter the semi-finals to fulfill the Spirit Contract, facing little pressure.
Ten days later, the Immortal Seedlings from various Commerce Associations draw lots to form groups.
Li Ji’an drew into Group Seven.
Among the other seventeen Immortal Seedlings in Group Seven, the Jinhua Commerce Association had three representatives.
The elimination rules were simple: each of the eighteen in a group would draw an opponent, the loser would be eliminated, and the winner would proceed to the second round.
Li Ji’an’s initial match was against another Immortal Seedling from the Jinhua Commerce Association, a direct lineage heir and someone Li Ji’an had previously defeated in sparring.
Three days later, the current Flying Crane Dao Discussion officially commenced.
It took place at ten Magic Battle Arenas within Feihong Immortal City.
The ten Magic Battle Arenas stood apart from each other yet did not interfere with one another, each surrounded by a sea of people.
Those who could step onto these platforms were elite contenders of the same tier within the Ten Thousand Merchants Domain, whose Cultivation Techniques and Magic Techniques were aspirational for the countless observers below.
Precisely because of this, every iteration of the Flying Crane Dao Discussion saw many loose cultivators spend the Spirit Stones they usually couldn’t bear to spend on spectator seats.
Just to observe the Magical Combat of the present-day prodigies, hoping to glean some superior Magic Techniques and combat experience from them.
Li Ji’an’s first battle was on the fifth day, roaming around the ten Magic Battle Arenas during the previous four days.
Through his accumulation in the Three Lives Cultivation Realm, his library of Magic Techniques was plentiful, though superior techniques were scarce, with only "Illusory Leaf Killers" and "Vine Silk Hand" worthy of being called Celestial Level techniques.
Taking this opportunity, he meticulously observed the combat of the prodigies from various Commerce Associations on stage.
However, during the preliminary stage, there were disparities at the level of Magical Power, and the need to fully exert superior techniques in evenly matched battles had not been reached yet, so over the four days, he saw only one person use a superior technique.
Notably, on the fourth day, on the arena of Group Two, Li Ji’an saw Yao Rui’s figure.
Her fiery red hair was bathed in flames, and she employed every True Inheritor move of the Biyun Sect, narrowly defeating a prodigy from Qixi Commerce Association who also had an Earth Spirit Root.
This greatly excited the onlookers from the Si Shui Commerce Association.
Qixi Commerce Association is ranked in the top five among the Eighteen Merchants Association, and the talent they select is not simple in strength.
For Yao Rui to emerge victorious exceeded the expectations of Si Shui Commerce Association.
That night, Li Ji’an received a message from Yao Rui, who exaggerated the account of her Magical Combat tenfold.
She concluded with a bold remark: "Even we from the Celestial Cyan Domain are not trash."
On the fifth day, it was Li Ji’an’s turn to take the stage.
Facing the Immortal Seedlings from the same commerce association, neither side held back. From the perspective of the commerce association, this was about competing for market share, but from the standpoint of each Immortal Seedling, it was about vying for rewards.
Li Ji’an won easily.
Until the ninth day, when the last qualifying match ended, each group had nine people remaining for the second-round elimination.
Those who performed most impressively in the preliminaries automatically advanced to the semifinals, and these spots were generally awarded to the ten contemporary prodigies identified during the initial grouping.
The other eight faced two rounds of elimination.
At this point, among the seven groups’ nine remaining individuals, Jinhua Commerce Association only had Li Ji’an remaining, with the other three already eliminated.
The following four days of second-round elimination were noticeably more intense than the previous nine-day first-round.
On the third day, Li Ji’an faced his opponent, an Immortal Seedling with a Celestial Spirit Root from Fierce Tiger Commerce Association, who put considerable pressure on him. He barely managed to win by relying on the "Vine Silk Hand" to bind the opponent, successfully advancing to the third round.
In the third round, only four people remained. As before, a draw determined the matchup.
This round was also considered the decisive battle of the semifinals. Winning meant advancing to the semifinals and becoming one of the thirty prodigies below the Core Formation Stage in the Ten Thousand Merchants Domain.
Reaching this stage already proved one to be outstanding among peers.
As for the trailing commerce associations like Jinhua Commerce Association, the competition was more about securing a spot in the semifinals, which defined their market share division.
Regarding the discussion of securing spots in the top fifteen or top ten, they had no aspirations.
"Qingyun, well done!" Wu Yishan was pleasantly surprised when Li Ji’an won the second round.
Three days ago, upon seeing Li Ji’an’s drawn opponent was the Immortal Seedling with a Celestial Spirit Root from Fierce Tiger Commerce Association, Wu Yishan almost lost all hope.
Because the strength of that Immortal Seedling from Fierce Tiger Commerce Association was widely known; he was considered to be among the top three in Fierce Tiger Commerce Association this year, with a chance to secure a spot in the top fifteen qualifying matches.
Jinhua Commerce Association’s expectations for Li Ji’an had only ever been for him to reach the semifinals.
Their levels in Jinhua Commerce Association’s eyes were not comparable.
Not only did Wu Yishan think this way, but the most direct indication was the odds in the Flying Crane Dao Discussion, supported by the business alliance. In this magical combat, Li Ji’an’s odds were fifty to one, while the prodigy’s odds from Fierce Tiger Commerce Association were one to one.
However, the result exceeded everyone’s expectations.
On that day, in his Dao discussion, ninety-nine percent of people lost their Spirit Stones.
"This time, our Jinhua Commerce Association has three people advancing to the third round, while Si Shui Commerce Association has only two. If this can be maintained until the third round ends, our Jinhua Commerce Association will take nearly thirty percent of Si Shui Commerce Association’s market share for the next ten years." The high-level officials of Jinhua Commerce Association were all excited.
Wang Hu, Wu Chengzhi, and Li Ji’an were praised by all, but regarding the decisive battle of the next semifinal round, no one else had certainty.
After all, those who advanced to the second round might not necessarily be truly strong, but those who advanced to the third round were definitely not weak.
Li Ji’an felt relaxed regardless, even if the top contender of the seven groups’ Nine Tripods Commerce Association Immortal Seedling faced him. He was confident he could defeat them.
Although external forces beyond Magical Artifacts, even Spirit Pets, couldn’t be used in Flying Crane Dao Discussion, his Body Cultivation and Soul Cultivation were still considered his strength and were not restricted.
In the Ten Thousand Merchants Domain, there was no distinction between good and evil for Soul Cultivation or Magic Techniques; only whether they violated rules mattered, which allowed him to openly use Divine Soul Secret Techniques.
Moreover, in these two rounds of elimination, he had already seen several people use Body Cultivation unexpectedly, but most of their Body Cultivation had only reached Tier One progress before they stopped refining.
A strong Spirit Root doesn’t mean a strong physique, and with better development potential in Dharma Cultivation, they typically wouldn’t expend significant energy on Body Cultivation.
As for the two individuals from Si Shui Trading Company advancing to the third round, one was the prodigy they discovered possessing a Celestial Spirit Root, and the other was Yao Rui.
In the second round, Yao Rui won with great difficulty, and in the situation where her magical power was not much different, her Magical Divine Abilities were clearly inferior to her opponent’s.
After ten days of rest for the Dao discussion conference, the decisive battle of the third round that downstream commerce associations like Jinhua Commerce Association regarded most important finally arrived.
At this critical moment, Li Ji’an caught his opponent off guard with Second Tier Body Cultivation, causing his opponent to suffer a shameful defeat.
For a time, Second Tier Body Cultivation became a major focal point of attention in this Flying Crane Dao Discussion.
His prominence even matched the ten contemporary prodigies.
Simultaneously, he was hailed by various bookmakers as the biggest dark horse of this discussion.
Jinhua Commerce Association celebrated Li Ji’an vigorously, publicly rewarding him with one hundred thousand Spirit Stones.
And the Spirit Contract automatically concluded, leaving no restrictive relationship between both parties.
However, just the day after celebrating Li Ji’an, Wu Chengzhi was defeated in the third round, missing out on the semifinals.
Ultimately, Li Ji’an and Wang Hu successfully advanced.
During the third round, Yao Rui fully utilized her strategies, including a Magical Treasure temporarily gifted by Si Shui Commerce Association, using every means available, with the magical combat lasting three days.
However, the superiority of magical techniques was evident, with her opponent using Celestial Level techniques, whose power was thirty percent higher under the same magical power than Yao Rui’s Earth Level techniques.
Nevertheless, the higher the grade of the technique, the more magical power it required to perform.
After several failures, Yao Rui no longer attempted to win through magical techniques, turning instead to brute force to break through all techniques.
Coincidentally, Si Shui Commerce Association had temporarily gifted an Eighth Grade Magical Treasure, a Flame Long Saber.
Holding the long saber defensively while attacking, she risked injury and managed to nearly deplete her opponent’s magical power, ultimately achieving a narrow victory.
This battle was also regarded as a shocking spectacle in this Flying Crane Dao Discussion.
Ultimately, only Yao Rui from Si Shui Commerce Association advanced to the semifinals.
Purely looking at the number of people advancing to the semifinals, this Flying Crane Dao Discussion saw Jinhua Commerce Association winning over all.
Five days later, the semifinals list of the Dao discussion tournament was released, and the thirty individuals, including Li Ji’an and Yao Rui, were officially awarded the title of prodigy by the business alliance.
