Free Web NovelChapter 521: Chapter 30: Qingyun Soaring Upward_2
"Thank you!"
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One month later, the advancement tournament for the top thirty talents of this session’s Flying Crane Dao Discussion commenced.
At this stage, it was no longer a two-by-two elimination.
To avoid the unlucky draw of facing the strongest, this advancement tournament was divided into only two groups, with a round-robin points system within each group.
Ultimately, the top five from each group would advance, determining the top ten of this session.
Before the semifinals, one might still have the fortune of facing weaker opponents to advance, but in the advancement tournament, such chances were virtually nonexistent.
Every Immortal Seedling in each group needed to engage in magical combat with at least three opponents within the group for victory.
At such times, the atmosphere reached a peak, second only to the finals held in another Immortal City six months later.
In no time, Feihong Immortal City was a sea of people, with bets exceeding millions of Spirit Stones for each match at various betting tables.
Li Ji’an’s odds went from one to one hundred before the semifinals to one to twenty after showcasing his Second Tier Body Cultivation, but now they rose to one to thirty.
Clearly, the audience was not optimistic about his prospects in the advancement tournament.
As for Yao Rui, who barely advanced in the first three semifinal matches, her odds were at one to two hundred, essentially deemed as having no chance in the advancement tournament.
Currently, among the top thirty Immortal Seedlings, ninety percent were from the top ten Commerce Associations of the Business Alliance, with only Li Ji’an, Wang Hu, Yao Rui, and two others from subsequent associations.
There was an objective gap in their Spirit Roots, talents, Cultivation Techniques, and Spiritual Talents.
On the first day of the advancement tournament, Li Ji’an watched two Magical Combat matches simultaneously, both between Immortal Seedlings from the top ten Commerce Associations of the Business Alliance.
Their spectacular displays were awe-inspiring.
In one of the matches, an Immortal Seedling from the Nine Tripods Commerce Association, who was previously in the same group as Li Ji’an before the semifinals, shone brilliantly.
His magical power was substantial and solid, befitting someone regarded by the Business Alliance as worthy of the top ten.
Li Ji’an thought to himself that without using a Divine Soul Secret Technique, he would have no chance at all against him.
However, on just the third day, this Immortal Seedling was unexpectedly defeated by another Immortal Seedling from the Five Blessings Commerce Association.
The Immortal Seedling from the Five Blessings Commerce Association possessed a Fire Element Magical Power that seemed innately perfect in both offense and defense, leaving no flaws.
With the explanation from the audience, Li Ji’an realized that this person was born with a Southern Netherworld Fire Spirit Body, innately more compatible with the Fire Spirit Mechanism than the Fire Celestial Spirit Root, making cultivation twice as effective with half the effort.
Moreover, the Fire Element Magical Power refined from the start was incredibly pure and solid, incomparable to the purity Li Ji’an achieved through arduous refining before Core Formation.
This was also the first time Li Ji’an witnessed the power of a Spirit Body firsthand.
He deduced with slight disappointment that not even by taking the opponent off guard with a Soul Shocking Needle and attacking them physically in close quarters could he break through the self-sustaining protection of the Southern Netherworld Fire.
To breach the Southern Netherworld Fire, only magical power of greater depth and essence would do.
Of course, a Tier Three Attack Spirit Talisman could also suffice.
Subsequently, when it came to Yao Rui’s first advancement match, it was unfortunate that her magical power was substantially hindered by her cultivation technique, rendering her Earth Level Lower Grade magical power somewhat inadequate.
Even though the Eighth Grade Flame Long Saber Magical Treasure was a good match for her, and despite her utmost efforts, it was still difficult to avert defeat.
She lost her first match.
On the following day, during Li Ji’an’s first match, although his Earth Level Upper Grade Cultivation Technique had a gap compared to the Celestial Level techniques often used by these Commerce Associations, he could hold his ground thanks to the years of refinement by Little Fire Spirit and the enduring nature of his Wood Magic Power.
With his already exhibited Second Tier Body Refining Physique, he barely managed to win his first match.
Half a month later, the first round of the advancement tournament concluded.
Out of the thirty prodigies’ first match results, besides Li Ji’an as a winner, all others were Immortal Seedlings from the top ten Commerce Associations of the Business Alliance.
Yao Rui, Wang Hu, and a few other Immortal Seedlings from the latter Commerce Associations all suffered defeats.
On the day of Li Ji’an’s first victory, Wu Yishan approached him once again, bringing a new Spirit Contract that had raised the Core Formation Spirit Treasure rank to the top forty.
Li Ji’an declined, citing sentimental ties to his homeland.
Afterward, whether Wu Yishan completely gave up or not, the news of Li Ji’an completing a Spirit Contract with the Jinhua Commerce Association leaked out.
That evening, representatives from the other seventeen Commerce Associations came to recruit him.
The offered investment Spirit Contracts varied in terms.
Overall, however, the top few giants of the Business Alliance offered higher bids.
Among them, the Nine Tripods Commerce Association and the Fierce Tiger Commerce Association were the most prominent.
The Fierce Tiger Commerce Association had previously made an offer primarily focused on Gugu, but this time it included investments in Li Ji’an, with the Core Formation Spiritual Talent matching what the Jinhua Commerce Association offered.
The Nine Tripods Commerce Association was notably generous, promising Core Formation Spirit Treasures ranked in the top thirty, but with the condition of lifelong service to the association instead of post-Core Formation service.
Additionally, there was Master Yuxiao from the Si Shui Commerce Association.
In a secret meeting, he directly mentioned the matter of that "sir," hoping to move him with emotion.
Li Ji’an refused all of them.
It was unclear which Commerce Association violated the code of conduct, causing a stir by leaking this matter.
It was said that although Li Ji’an’s strength was remarkable, his innate Spirit Root was ultimately limited, and his performance in the Dao Discussion relied on Second Tier Body Refining. He should be grateful for obtaining Superior Spirit Contract terms from each Commerce Association.
Meanwhile, Li Ji’an’s odds dropped again from one to thirty to one to ten.
A few days later, Li Ji’an’s second battle arrived.
This time, Li Ji’an was matched against the group leader before the semifinals, the Immortal Seedling from the Nine Tripods Commerce Association initially rated in the top ten by the Business Alliance.
His second battle ended in a defeat against the Southern Netherworld Fire Spirit Body Immortal Seedling. This was his third battle; if he won, he would advance with two wins and one loss. If he lost, he would need another match.
Unfortunately, this time, Li Ji’an caught him off guard with a Soul Shocking Needle, disrupting his Divine Soul, then bound him with the Vine Silk Hand, and finally used his Second Tier Physique to break his Body-Protecting Dharma Shield for a decisive victory.
Before this battle, after confirming the opponent, the single-match betting odds were nearly one-sided.
In such single-match betting, the odds cap was one to ten, and naturally, Li Ji’an hit the ceiling.
Clearly, no one expected him to defeat the prodigy from the Nine Tripods Commerce Association.
He decisively bet on himself with a hundred thousand Spirit Stones.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to bet more, but this single-match event had a single person limit of a hundred thousand bets. Otherwise, he would have fully utilized the twenty-five thousand Spirit Stones in his Storage Pouch.
The result was a major upset.
By leveraging his own strength, Li Ji’an gained a temporary sense of financial freedom.
Of course, this is compared to the Core Formation True Man level in the Celestial Cyan Domain.
In the Ten Thousand Merchants Domain, a million Spirit Stones isn’t much.
The value of a million Spirit Stones is equivalent to three of the top one hundred Core Formation Spirit Treasures, and generally, Core Formation Spirit Treasures aren’t traded with Spirit Stones; they’re mostly bartered with High-Tier Spiritual Talent.
However, Li Ji’an currently had no need for other Core Formation Spirit Treasures; this million Spirit Stones were enough for him to refine his Puppetry Skills to Tier Three.
Additionally, it gave him the confidence to bid on several High-Tier Talisman Materials at the upcoming auction tour.
After this battle, Li Ji’an’s mastery of some Divine Soul Secret Technique became known to everyone.
For a while, the discussion about him surpassed even the prodigy with the Southern Netherworld Fire Spirit Body.
The combination of Dharma Cultivation and Body Cultivation had already amazed everyone.
Now, with the appearance of a Divine Soul Secret Technique, many wondered if he was also a Soul Cultivator.
However, possessing merely a single Divine Soul Secret Technique wasn’t enough to conclusively claim he specialized in Divine Soul cultivation.
After all, a strong Divine Soul could arise from specialized cultivation techniques, but also from the nourishment of a Soul Pill or inherently powerful Divine Souls.
On that day, several Commerce Associations rushed over again.
They all offered improved Spirit Contract terms once more.
The Nine Tripods Commerce Association directly promised a Core Formation Spirit Treasure ranked in the top twenty, but the condition remained the same: they wanted Li Ji’an to guard the Commerce Association for life.
They clearly didn’t have high hopes for Li Ji’an’s future cultivation realm, but they valued his combat prowess.
They even baited with an Ancient Soul Cultivation Visualization Image.
This time, what surprised Li Ji’an the most was the Five Blessings Commerce Association.
They promised to provide a Core Formation Spirit Treasure ranked in the top ten without any demands, but they hoped he would disclose his mentorship.
During the conversation, they also subtly probed for information about "Huang Jie" and Guo Wanzhi.
This reminded Li Ji’an of the changing attitude of Master Meng from the Five Blessings Commerce Association toward him six years ago on the Spiritual Ship to the Ten Thousand Merchants Domain.
He showed particular interest in the so-called "master" Li Ji’an mentioned.
Moreover, upon arriving at the Ten Thousand Merchants Domain, he was once offered a significant reward to assume the identity of "Huang Jie."
