When he joined this tournament, he had done so with the assumption that the battles would be the hardest part. Oh how wrong he had been.

  "Senior Brother," the older boy said, bowing so low his forehead nearly brushed the ground. "Please honour this lowly Chi Keng by accepting his humble gift."

  Li Yuan studied the boy for a breath before letting his gaze drop to the jade box held out in both hands.

  This was the twenty-third disciple who has come to offer him a gift since he climbed down from that platform after defeating Gu Lan.

  Ever since Gu Lan had fallen to him, the air around him had changed. Disciples who hadn't spared him a single glance that morning now stood in a neat, orderly line in the distance, waiting for their turn to offer him a gift.

  The seats around him, that were once filled with proud disciples, were now empty. The ones who had been sitting there earlier had quietly relocated the moment he returned from the arena. Out of either respect or fear. He wasn't sure which.

  He lifted the lid of the jade box.

  Inside lay a pill the size of his thumb, faintly translucent. Veins of rainbow light shimmered across its surface like oil on water. The fragrance alone was dense enough to stir the Qi in his meridians.

  He didn't recognise the pill, but he could tell that it was a Mid-grade pill. Worth hundreds of spirit stones, at least.

  Chi Keng held his breath, eyes hopeful.

  Li Yuan himself followed an unspoken rule of not consuming any alchemical pills, as they tended to leave hidden impurities in the body that led to a weak foundation and caused trouble for future breakthroughs. But even if he didn't use the pill himself, he could certainly send it back to his family.

  So, he closed the lid gently and gave Chi Keng a nod. "I will remember your name," he said, meaning those words. And Chi Keng's face lit up as though he had been the one who just received a valuable gift instead.

  Who knows. Maybe he had.

  With Li Yuan's potential and how much he might rise in the future, even having a brief acquaintance with him might prove to be worth far more than a mid-grade pill. And he wasn't being arrogant when he said that. Only realistic.

  Chi Keng bowed again, almost trembling with relief, then backed away.

  Li Yuan placed the jade box onto the growing pile at his side. Then, he glanced at the line and some movement drew his attention.

  A cluster of girls several steps away were arguing in hushed, tense whispers. Tugging each other's sleeves and bumping their shoulders to get ahead. Eventually, one of them hissed something sharp enough and the others stiffened before they backed off.

  The victor walked toward him, her chin lifted proudly, a calculating look in her eyes as she studied him.

  Once she reached him, she clasped her hands and bowed. "Disciple Han Mei greets Senior Brother Li."

  He returned the gesture, his bow noticeably not as deep as the one she'd given him. "Sister Mei." He said, sensing her cultivation to be at Eighth Stage of Qi Condensation.

  "Senior brother, you might not know me so let me introduce myself. I'm the Third daughter of the Second Elder of the Han Family." She said without prompt. "You might've heard of the Han family. We rule the Golden River, Cloudgrass, and Morningstar Prefectures."

  His eyes widened slightly at her words. He had been wondering where he'd heard the surname Han. To think she was the member of a 7th Grade family.

  He nodded once.

  "My father is Han Zhong. He's a mid-stage Golden Core realm cultivator," she then added casually, as if discussing the weather.

  Of course he was. You won't be able to become the 2nd elder of a 7th grade family without having that level of cultivation at least.

  She then offered him a long wooden case. He didn't even need to open to tell that it was an extremely valuable gift as he could feel a powerful aura emanating from within.

  Regardless, he opened the box. And within it lay a sword that hummed faintly with restrained power. The metal was not something he could recognise but the craftsmanship was exquisite.

  Just from a single glance, he could tell that the sword was worth tens of thousands of spirit stones at least. All the other gifts he'd received thus far combined together couldn't match this gift in value.

  "My father bestowed this upon me. To be of use once I reach Foundation Establishment." Han Mei said. "I offer it to you Senior Brother, as a small token to celebrate our first meeting."

  He noticed the disciples in the distance stiffen up at the extravagant gift. Probably fearing that after this, their own gifts would look paltry in comparison. They needn't have fear such a thing as he had no intention of accepting such a valuable gift.

  He closed the lid of the wooden box and placed it back on Han Mei's hands. "Forgive me sister Han Mei but the gift is just too valuable for me to accept." he said calmly.

  It was an unspoken rule but accepting a gift that valuable would definitely make him owe her a silent favour. So, despite the fact that his own sword was not in such a great condition after his fight with Gu Lan, he refused the gift.

  Han Mei's eyes flickered at his refusal. To his relief, she didn't look offended, just reassessing. As if she was recalculating his value in her mind.

  "Very well. In that case, I'll get directly to the point. I wish to take the second stage of the exam with you, Senior brother." she said.

  Ah. There it was. The favour she wanted from him in exchange for that gift. Had he accepted it, he would now have no choice but to accept her as his tag along.

  It was quite a clever move. Because if she succeeded in tagging along with him, then unless the second exam required the disciples to fight whoever they're paired up with, her chances of passing the second exam would rise dramatically.

  He sighed inwardly, even as he maintained the perfect poker face in front of her. He hated political games like these.

  He studied Han Mei's face carefully. "Do you know what the second stage is, Sister Mei?" he asked.

  "Obviously." She said, a faint smile curving up on her lips. "Though, if you want to know in advance, then you must accept me as your companion for the duration of that exam."

  His smile twitched. Of course there would be a price. Why had he thought that he would get such valuable information out of her for free.

  "In that case, I'll wait for the elders to reveal the details of the second part of the Tournament once the duels come to an end." He said, sliding his gaze up to the floating platforms where the disciples were still fighting one another.

  Han Mei's gaze sharpened at his words. And for a moment, it looked like she simply considered walking away.

  Then she clenched her fists and spoke up in a low voice so that no one else would hear her. "Very well, senior brother. If you're unwilling to accept the sword, then consider this information my gift instead. The second stage will take place at the outer edge of the Forbidden Forest. It's a week-long hunt. And only the top twenty who've hunted the greatest number of spirit beasts will progress to the third and final stage of the tournament."

  He nodded, finally understanding why she was willing to take this gamble. After all, he already had a reputation as a great hunter in the Outer Sect. Someone who hunted Late and Peak-stage Spirit Beasts regularly. If she joins him, and he throws even a few of those spirit beasts at her, then she'd definitely win one of those twenty spots.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Han Mei watched him closely for any reaction continued, then continued. "All personal items will be confiscated for the duration of this exam. And the disciples will only be allowed to enter the forest with their swords and the robes upon their back."

  He absorbed her words with a light frown. Having assumed that he'd be able to sleep inside his Ancient Spatial ring at night, and come out in the morning to resume the hunt. Just like how he'd done in the Outer Belt of the Forbidden forest.

  It seems like that is no longer a possibility.

  He would've also feared handing his Ancient Spatial Ring over to others, if not for the fact that it appears as an ordinary spatial ring with 5 cubic meter worth of space to others who weren't bonded with it.

  "I can see why you want to work together with me." He said. After all, hunting spirit beasts was already quite dangerous for Outer Sect Disciples. And now they would have to do it without any defensive or offensive artefacts, and do so while spending seven entire days and nights in a dangerous forest.

  Having him with her would not only let her get ahead in the exam, but also serve a way for her to protect her own life.

  "And?" she prompted.

  He shook his head. "I do not know you well enough to trust my back to you."

  Han Mei's jaw tightened at his refusal.

  "That can change," she said.

  He raised an eyebrow at those words "How?" He asked.

  There was a moment of silence, as the older girl hesitated. But then she gathered her courage, firmed up her will, and spoke up. "I am willing to sign a betrothal contract with you, senior brother." She said, her cheeks slightly tinged red.

  Behind her, the line went dead quiet.

  "I'll be the primary wife, of course," she clarified immediately after. "But I will not stop you if you want to take other wives or concubines."

  He raised an eyebrow, slightly impressed by her decisiveness if nothing else. Then, he gave her offer some serious thought.

  On one hand, she was from a Seventh Grade family, and the daughter of a Golden Core Cultivator. Her own cultivation was not that bad either. Matching the original Li Yuan's speed of cultivation.

  But… there were just as many negatives regarding this situation.

  After all, while she was a member of the Han family, she was not the daughter of the patriarch. Just the daughter of an elder. So marrying her wouldn't really bring him the support of an entire 7th Grade family. Only one Golden Core cultivator.

  Not to mention, he did not know anything about her father, or her family. For all he knew, her father might be a ruthless bastard who would gladly sell his daughters away for the slightest of gains. Or, he could be someone at the end of his life. Or, he could have dozens of kids, in which case, marrying her wouldn't even bring the support of a single Golden Core cultivator.

  Then, there was the fact the her Han family was quite a fair distance away from the Red Leaf Prefecture. Almost on the other side of the Forbidden Forest. So, in times of crisis, even if her father wanted to help, it'll take him a long time to arrive at Red Leaf Prefecture to help his family.

  Not to mention, he knew nothing about the relationship between 7th grade families. For all he knew, the 7th family that rules over the Red Leaf Prefecture, the Shen family, might be rivals or even bitter enemies of the Han family. In that case, wasn't marrying a member of the Han family be simply courting death.

  There was also the fact that while this marriage made it seem like he was marrying upward, the truth of the matter was that with his cheat abilities, reaching Nascent Soul Cultivation would not be difficult for him. At which point, even a 7th Grade family would be forced to treat him with great respect. And he very much doubted that he would stop at Nascent Soul realm of cultivation.

  Not to mention his own hesitation at marrying someone who had low talent and would grow old and die in the future while he remained young.

  Yes, he could probably find treasures for her that'll improve her talent. But he also has to look after his own parents whose talents were also quite low. So if possible, he would rather want to be with someone who already had high talent.

  All in all… the offer was just not very beneficial to him. So after giving it some thought, he shook his head.

  "Marriage is a big decision," he said evenly. "And not one that I'll make in such haste."

  A flicker of irritation crossed Han Mei's face at his words and her lips pressed thin. For a moment, it looked like she was about to say something. Perhaps insult him. But in the end, she simply bowed, turned and left.

  Except, the moment her back faced him… her halo shifted colours. Going from white to black in an instant.

  His pupils constricted at the suddenly change and he focused on the halo before the vision seized him.

  ——

  It was night in an area that seemed like the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Han Mei was running desperately, blood soaking her sleeves as she looked back occasionally in fear.

  After running for a long while, she finally came to a stop, looking completely exhausted. She leaned against a tree, and slid down. Looking back, she noticed no movement and let out a sigh of relief.

  Except, right at that moment, a large shadow jumped down from the canopy, and its claws sliced her into pieces before she could even react.

  ——

  The vision shattered and he realised that she hadn't lied to him about the second part of the exam being at the outer edge of the forbidden forest. But that spirit beast… the aura it emitted and the ease with which it killed her…

  That was definitely a 2nd Grade Spirit Beast.

  Troublesome.

  Well… at least Han Mei had been truthful with him about the second exam. For that alone, and any favour she might owe him, he would definitely try to save her.

  He turned his gaze toward the arena. Matches were still ongoing, and in the distance, he could see a dim glow rising from the horizon as the night slowly changed to dawn.

  Then—

  "Senior Brother!" Another outer sect disciple stepped forward, clutching a lacquered box.

  Li Yuan suppressed a sigh.

  He arranged his expression into something polite and nodded to the disciple.

  "Please," the disciple said eagerly. "Accept this small token—"

  When he looked back at the line, he noticed that instead of growing shorter, it had somehow grown even longer.

  He shivered.

  'When would the 2nd part of the tournament start?' He wondered. Because he would take fighting spirit beasts over unsolicited human interaction any day of the week.

  —————

  "If Senior Brother ever seeks a Dual Cultivation partner…" Her hot breath brushed the his ear. "…please consider me."

  Her hand slid down boldly, fingers pressing against his member through the fabric of his robes.

  He flinched at the contact. More from surprise than anything else. Then, to his further surprise and arousal, she wrapped his member through the fabric and gave it a deep strokes.

  He jerked in his seat, his mind going blank at the unexpected pleasure, and at her boldness. But before he could do or say anything, she had already backed off, her heavy breasts bouncing in a deliberate and tantalising motion, her cultivator robe just loose enough to give him a view of her deep cleavage.

  Then, with one last salacious wink, she turned and left. Her round hips swayed from side to side hypnotically before she blended into the crowd.

  He shook his head and looked down at the wooden box she had left in his hands. He opened it, and let out a disbelieving chuckle. For inside it lay a pair of Delicate silk undergarments, a faint fragrance of her perfume lingering from them.

  'That woman.' He chuckled to him. 'Truly a social climber if I've ever seen one.'

  There was no way he was going to get close with someone like her. Who knows how many other senior brothers she had given a similar proposal.

  It didn't mean he didn't respect her hustle. Sleeping your way to power was definitely a working strategy for women. And certainly safer than risking your own life to gather cultivation resources. He just had no interest in getting together with such a woman himself, even if his lower brain would like to say otherwise.

  At least her halo had only been light grey and not the pitch black it had been with so many other disciples who had taken part in this tournament.

  Light grey only meant slight misfortune. Meaning an injury, or even the fact that she might lose the 2nd part of the Tournament. But otherwise, she would not die, or suffer any serious harm. So he didn't need to worry about her at least.

  Many other disciples did not have her luck and were fated to die in the next part of the tournament.

  Quite a few of them would die to Spirit Beasts. But even more would die to the blades of their fellow disciples.

  'The second part of the tournament is going to be a clusterfuck.' He thought with some annoyance. Feeling obliged to save the lives of the disciples who had given him all these gifts. Not to mention his own morality would not let him rest if he didn't save their lives despite knowing of their imminent death.

  In fact, so many of them were going to die from getting backstabbed that he was starting to wonder if he shouldn't simply gather them together to form a group of his own.

  But no. He had little to no leadership capabilities. And even if his strength helped in getting a group like this together, there was no way he would be able to hold it together for an entire week.

  He sighed and looked to the side where another disciple was already stepping forward. This disciple had a dark grey halo and looking at it gave him a vision of the disciple losing an arm in the upcoming tournament.

  That made him luckier than many other participants.

  The disciple came over and he forced a smile, accepted the gift, and exchanged a few polite words before the disciple dismissed himself.

  He sighed, feeling just a bit more exhausted. Gods, what he wouldn't give to be back in his own house. Alone. With no other disciple around to bother him.

  Of course, it was not all bad. Many of the gifts he had received were worth hundreds if not thousands of spirit stones. And altogether, he judged that he had somehow made enough profit from this single setting to buy a low quality Foundation Establishment pill.

  The best part was that one of the herbs he had received as a gift, was one of the four main herbs required in the making of the Foundation Establishment pill.

  He already had the other three herbs. And adding this, he now had all four main herbs required for a Foundation Establishment Pill. If he could just plant this herb in his garden successfully, and find some way to grow these herbs at an accelerated pace, then that would solve much of the problems faced by his family.

  He leaned back slightly in his seat and glanced back at the arena where the final match of the 3rd round was currently underway.

  He exhaled slowly. 'At least this part is ending.'

  His mind was already quite fatigued from all those social interactions. Smiling. Nodding. Politicking. Memorising names and what not…

  Fighting Gu Lan had been far less stressful for him.

  "Senior Brother—" Another disciple approached with a hopeful smile.

  Li Yuan raised a hand gently.

  "Forgive me," he said, voice calm but firmer now. He was too tired to deal with this bullshit any longer. "I need to meditate. I wish to be in perfect condition for the next part of the tournament."

  The smile he offered the disciple was quite a forced one but it was the only kind of smile he could offer at this point. He hoped it wasn't too ugly.

  The disciple hesitated. His gaze flicked to the long line behind him, where he had waited for over an hour to reach the front. Then, to Li Yuan. Disappointment flickered across his face but in the end, he didn't push his luck.

  He bowed deeply. "Of course. Senior Brother's preparation is paramount."

  With that, he withdrew, and Li Yuan let out a sigh of relief.

  The line dissolved gradually after all and Li Yuan exhaled before he crossed his legs and settled into a meditative posture.

  The noise of the stadium dimmed as he closed his eyes.

  He took out several spirit stones and crushed them within his palm. The brittle crystal fractured with soft snaps, and dissolved into fine dust as pure Qi surged outward.

  He drew that Qi into his body smoothly.

  The battle with Gu Lan had not drained him severely—but it had still lowered his Qi Reserves by a bit. Better to refill now while he still had the time.

  His meridians pulsed steadily as he absorbed the energy, his Qi reserves refilling bit by bit. Then—

  A sharp cheer erupted.

  He opened his eyes and saw that on the arena platform, the final duel had ended.

  The male disciple stood breathing heavily, his sword coated in red. At his feet lay the headless corpse of the female disciple.

  He sighed at the fate of the girl who hadn't been much older than him. The girl had continued attacking long after defeat was obvious. Refusing to surrender time and time again, until the other disciple had no choice but to slay her.

  Li Yuan watched the body being dragged away, and wondered why the girl hadn't just surrendered. Desperation? Maybe she was in debt, or under some kind of family pressure. Maybe a sick relative.

  Or maybe… she simply refused to live a mediocre life.

  Whatever her reason, it died with her.

  He exhaled slowly looking up at the dark sky. 'This world is cruel.' He thought with a faint melancholy, reminded of his own cold blooded murder of Xu Chen.

  He wondered how things would've changed, if instead of killing Xu Chen, he had helped and befriended the boy instead. Maybe they could've shared the Stele?

  He let out another deep sigh. No point in thinking about 'what ifs'.

  Following the victory of the disciple a loud gong rang. It's sound rolled across the stadium like a thunder, and silenced all the disciple in an instant.

  The pin drop silence after hours of listening to their cheers was a bit jarring. But he supposed that was the point.

  In the distance, he could see the horizon brighten as the sun crested over the mountains, washing the arena in pale morning light. Making the scene look peaceful, if not for all the blood that coated the floating platforms.

  He gazed at the beautiful sunrise, and wondered if the elders had somehow timed the entire thing.

  'No. More than likely, it's just a lucky coincidence' He thought.

  Then, a ripple of pressure swept over the entire stadium.

  He looked up and saw an old man descending from the sky. An elder of the Nine Peak sect.

  And he knew this was an elder, not because of his robes, or the powerful pressure he was radiating. But because the man was flying. And unlike the referees who flew atop Flying swords, this old man was flying without any assistance.

  Which was a feat that only Golden Core cultivators could accomplish. And all Golden Core cultivators within the sect were given the title of an elder.

  The old man surveyed the remaining participants with mild interest. Then, he spoke up.

  "The first stage has concluded," he announced, his voice was soft, yet he was heard by all in the stadium. "The remaining participants… follow."

  Li Yuan rose to his feet with the others and followed the elder, though he noticed that some of the participants were either too injured to continue and remained seated.

  Behind him, servants were already clearing the arena of blood.