While the "Newcomer Ranking" competition was in full swing, Gu Junshi did not rest in bed due to her discomfort.
This "malady" had begun on her twenty-eighth day here. She had meticulously examined her body but found no issues. However, this "malady" caused her to experience peculiar ailments, akin to those of mortals, though they never lasted long before she recovered.
As she was not a professional in internal examinations, she planned to seek out Chenghong after the "Newcomer Ranking" concluded. Although he specialized in Buddhist cultivation, he was also a top-tier alchemist with profound skills in refining pills. Furthermore, she had seen him successfully treat many rare and difficult illnesses in the cultivation world.
She had important matters to attend to. Summoning the Treasure Seeking Rat to her shoulder, she transformed into a wisp of black mist and vanished from the room.
Her little pampered husband had intended to gift her the Treasure Seeking Rat upon his return, but Gu Junshi had not accepted it. Thus, he had kept it in the pet pouch of his storage ring. This time, needing the Treasure Seeking Rat's assistance for a task, she had requested it be temporarily loaned to her for companionship.
Her little pampered husband was unaware of her clandestine plans. Assuming she was merely lonely from being alone, he had left the Treasure Seeking Rat with her without question. The moment her little pampered husband and his companions departed, she seized the Treasure Seeking Rat and infiltrated the Void Gate's Scripture Repository.
Naturally, the Scripture Repository was protected by powerful defensive formations, requiring a token for entry and exit. However, deciphering these was not difficult for Gu Junshi. After all, she had lived through so many lives, and each rebirth was equivalent to accumulating another lifetime of experience.
With the "Newcomer Ranking" drawing all attention, her actions here were more convenient.
She had questions to resolve, and the Void Gate's Scripture Repository housed countless scrolls. According to external rumors, it contained hundreds of categories of cultivation techniques and secret manuals, as well as many treasured ancient texts. She hoped to find content that could answer her queries.
She brought the Treasure Seeking Rat because she intended to leverage its innate talent to increase her luck value. She had once entered its body with her divine soul, allowing her to communicate with it mentally whenever she wished. Perhaps, with its ability, she could sense what she sought. Otherwise, sifting through thousands of books would be too time-consuming, and she had little time to waste.
She instructed the Treasure Seeking Rat to search for books based on its intuition, while she searched for relevant clues on the third floor. Ascending floor by floor, she found the repository organized by disciplines such as Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, Literature, History, and Philosophy. She first chose to peruse the History section, aiming to uncover the origin of that sinister, crimson-eyed entity.
As she was examining the records, the opening remarks for the "Newcomer Ranking" atop the Nine Peaks had concluded. The Void Gate Sect Master, with his robes billowing in the wind, unleashed a beam of cyan light and soared into the air with majestic momentum. He conjured an extraordinary high-grade spiritual artifact, the Earth Thorn Dragon Saber, and swung it towards the peak of one of the Nine Peaks—
A gust of wind swept forth, roaring across the sky like a vast torrent. The escaping saber energy transformed into streaks of cyan cracks. From a distance, the blade appeared as a thin line, leveling and collapsing the mountain peak. Following a phenomenon of tremors and shaking, the flattened mountain peak, like a chessboard, was neatly carved into numerous square arenas.
Splitting the heavens and earth.
This was the impact created by the Void Gate Sect Master's single strike.
Extremely powerful.
Extremely dominant.
It left observers stunned, struggling to recover for a long time.
The Void Gate Sect Master retracted his stance, also transforming the Earth Thorn Dragon Saber into a stream of light and recalling it into his body. His voice boomed, "The 'Newcomer Ranking' officially begins. Take the stage!"
At this moment, the square arenas on the peaks began to glow. As if transmitted through the air, light was cast from the sky onto individual disciples, and these chosen disciples were instantly teleported to the arenas on the peaks.
This "Newcomer Ranking" seemed similar to previous ones, yet there were some changes.
For instance, although competitions had followed this format before, this time, the defending matches disallowed clustered hunting. Instead, participants were dispersed from the outset.
They were now the initial defenders.
The remaining participants were the challengers.
Among the four selected disciples from the Great Evolution Sect, only Danyan was a defender. The other three were challengers.
Elder Jiuli, seeing Danyan ascend the stage, felt a mixture of nervousness and excitement at the changes in this "Newcomer Ranking." "Go, I shall await your triumphant return!"
Liu Jiang Fusheng, Gui Ying, and Fang Rui each transformed into streams of light and darted onto the stage.
Indeed, things were different. Challengers no longer had the right to choose which arena to enter. Want to pick on a "soft target"? You could, but it depended on your luck. If every random challenge led you to a "soft target," then that could be considered a form of strength.
In the first arena, Liu Jiang Fusheng faced a tall, thin young man, approximately two meters in height. His face, like a donkey's, was elongated. Despite his strange appearance, he was a Golden Core mid-stage cultivator.
He assessed Liu Jiang Fusheng, unable to discern the latter's cultivation. This indicated that Liu Jiang Fusheng's cultivation was either higher or equal to his own. But what did that matter?
Their fists and palms collided. He arrogantly declared, "You're unlucky to have chosen my arena."
When Gui Ying landed on the stage, he saw a beautiful woman in white robes facing him. She possessed a serene and gentle demeanor. Seeing Gui Ying, she smiled kindly, "Blind, and with a severed arm? You truly have a strong will despite your disabilities."
Gui Ying had no interest in responding to her words. His eyes, clouded with a gloomy aura, were fixed on her with unwavering accuracy.
Fang Rui, on the other hand, had excellent luck. Her opponent was also a woman in grey robes, and her cultivation was only at the Foundation Establishment stage.
The grey-robed woman was short and frail. She looked timidly at Fang Rui, who was radiant and graceful, "Please, please guide me, senior sister."
If Fang Rui had good luck, then Danyan's luck was exceptionally poor, as his first opponent was a challenger within the top ten.
Xianxi Cave—Tan Yuechi.
Tan Yuechi was at the peak of the Golden Core stage, matching Danyan's current cultivation.
However, unlike Danyan, Tan Yuechi was a disciple of Xianxi Cave for twenty-eight days. Upon being selected for the "Newcomer Ranking," he had secured the eighth position on the Newcomer Ranking during the preliminary trials.
This indicated that in the Void Gate's comprehensive data assessment, his combat strength, even with equivalent cultivation, was vastly different compared to someone from a small sect like Danyan.
Tan Yuechi wore a black mask covering half his face and a sharp, cold black combat suit. He stood there silently, like a shadow, his breathing and heartbeat barely audible. If he wished to conceal himself, he seemed to merge with the air.
"I didn't expect to encounter the seventh-ranked opponent in the first arena," Danyan sighed with a smile.