Volume Two: Travels in the Qi Kingdom Chapter 124: The Qualifying Tournament

Qi Kingdom truly deserves its place among the Seven Ancient Kingdoms; the martial arena was built with immense grandeur and elegance. The crowd gathered to watch was equally awe-inspiring. This arena, capable of holding hundreds of thousands, was now packed to the brim.

Following Qi Xuan closely, Zhang Heng arrived at the assembly of contestants.

Each young prodigy stood brimming with youthful vigor, their brows radiating extraordinary heroic spirit, all cracking their knuckles, eager to showcase their prowess. Roughly estimated, there were about fifteen thousand of them.

Among them, over a thousand had already attained the Nascent Core stage—a truly remarkable number.

It was worth noting that Zhang Heng’s grandfather, Zhang Lie, the top martial artist of Liunan City, had only reached the first tier of the Nascent Core stage, and was already over eighty years old. Yet these competitors were all under thirty.

Though Qi Kingdom ranked lower among the Seven Ancient Kingdoms, it still boasted such a multitude of youthful geniuses. This stirred within Zhang Heng a yearning for even mightier nations and more powerful sects.

The world’s stage was vast and magnificent, and Zhang Heng was determined to climb it step by step until he reached its summit.

At this moment, the Emperor of Qi Kingdom, Qi Huaimin, was delivering a fervent speech from above.

Standing on the second floor, Emperor Qi Huaimin was an imposing figure, towering eight feet tall, clad in a long robe embroidered with a qilin pattern. His sharp features bore a commanding presence, every movement radiating an extraordinary and majestic aura befitting a sovereign. Though his cultivation level was only at the Heavenly Origin first tier, his demeanor exuded the aura of one who ruled over the realm—an aura only seen in those who habitually occupy the highest seats of power.

He was currently explaining the rules of the Imperial City Grand Contest to the tens of thousands gathered below. Not a single voice interrupted; his presence alone was enough to silence the vast crowd.

Beside the emperor, Zhang Heng unexpectedly spotted someone: Wu Hong, a newly promoted Fifth-Tier Alchemist. Wu Hong had initially shown little interest in the Imperial City Grand Contest, but his presence here was undoubtedly due to Zhang Heng’s participation.

At the forefront of the contestants, a dozen or so true prodigies stood like stars surrounded by admirers, their powerful auras and lofty temperaments unmistakable.

Among them were the geniuses Mu Wanqing and Huang Yan from Lingyu Palace; the prodigies Chen Hao and Wang Ying from the Hehuan Sect; the young sect leader Chi Ying of the Yinshen Sect; Wu Ba, the young master of Tianyu Manor; and the lone cultivator Qin Ming. All of these were advanced Nascent Core cultivators in their twenties, undisputed peerless talents and representatives of all young cultivators within Qi Kingdom.

Wait, when did Qi Xuan slip to the front?

Focusing carefully, Zhang Heng noticed that among that group of geniuses stood two figures at the very center: the cold and aloof Mu Wanqing, and the dignified Eighteenth Prince of Qi Kingdom, Qi Xuan.

Mu Wanqing and Qi Xuan were the top-tier young talents of this generation. Both had reached the ninth tier of the Nascent Core stage. Qi Xuan was only twenty-four years old, while Mu Wanqing was even more extraordinary—just twenty years of age and already at the ninth tier. They might even set a record as the youngest cultivators in Qi Kingdom to advance to the Reversion Void realm.

Most people believed the championship of this Imperial City Grand Contest would be decided between these two.

Qi Xuan, who had just been standing at the back with Zhang Heng, had unexpectedly moved to the front—and worse, he hadn’t brought Zhang Heng along.

“Enjoy your moment of glory now. Later on, I’ll trample over each of you one by one. Let’s see how you’ll keep pretending then.”

Finally, amid the eager anticipation, the Emperor of Qi Kingdom gave the command, and the Imperial City Grand Contest officially began.

The young prodigy cultivators cracked their knuckles, ready to fight, while the audience quietly cheered them on.

At this moment, Wu Hong flew to the center of the arena. His usual playful demeanor was replaced by a serious and commanding presence, making him look quite formidable.

“People of Qi Kingdom and talented sect disciples, the preliminary round of this Imperial City Grand Contest is about to begin. I am Wu Hong, the official judge for this contest.”

His words were met with thunderous applause.

“Wu Hong? Isn’t he the legendary Fifth-Tier Alchemist? How did he end up here?” murmured the crowd in surprise.

Wu Hong belonged to the Alchemy Pavilion and, as a Fifth-Tier Alchemist, he need not even show face to the emperor.

Yet none of this mattered now—they were simply thrilled to see him.

They had heard rumors of a Fifth-Tier Alchemist appearing in the Imperial City and had longed to catch a glimpse of his presence. But after waiting for days at the Alchemy Pavilion, they had seen nothing.

Unexpectedly, this legendary Fifth-Tier Alchemist appeared at the opening ceremony of the Imperial City Grand Contest—and as the contest’s official judge, no less.

As the noise gradually died down, Wu Hong continued.

“The preliminary round consists of three stages. I now announce the rules for the first round.”

“Wait a moment. The Emperor Qi will use the Qingdong Realm to project all contestants into the world within the Qingdong Realm. Inside, countless spiritual beasts roam. Slaying these beasts grants corresponding points. If you die inside the Bronze Mirror, your physical body outside remains unharmed, but you will immediately lose your eligibility to continue in the contest. Your points will be awarded to the cultivator who killed you. Inside, you may form teams, betray others, and use any means necessary.”

“The first round of preliminaries lasts six hours. When time is up, the top one thousand by points will advance to the next round. The rest, regardless of whether they died inside the Bronze Mirror or not, will be eliminated.”

“Now, if you have any questions, you may raise them.”

Wu Hong’s words sparked immediate debate across the arena.

Approximately fifteen thousand contestants had entered, and nearly nine-tenths would be eliminated in just this first round.

But this was understandable. With so many participants, some method of elimination was necessary—otherwise, the contest would drag on endlessly.

The allowance of any means to survive was undoubtedly unfair. Some strong cultivators might be ganged up on and lose their qualification, while others weaker in strength might survive by allying with the right people.

Yet no one voiced objections. They understood that in cultivation, fate was as crucial as power. If bad luck meant being betrayed and killed, thus losing the contest, it could only be attributed to destiny—no one else to blame.

If someone was fortunate enough to be carried through, it only proved their extraordinary luck.

The weaker participants secretly worried about their chances, while the true prodigies were eager to showcase their talents from the very first round.

“Very well! Since there are no objections, I hereby announce the official start of the first round of the Imperial City Grand Contest preliminaries. All participants, sit down where you are and do not resist. The Qingdong Realm will project your consciousness, spiritual energy level, weapons, and all secret techniques into the mirrored world of Qingdong Realm.”

Projection? Isn’t that high technology?

Zhang Heng gave it little thought and, like the others, sank cross-legged to the ground.

At that moment, Emperor Qi Huaimin soared into the air, suddenly producing a small mirror in his hand. After chanting a spell, the mirror rapidly expanded until it stood five or six feet tall, planted upright in the center of the arena, radiating an ancient and solemn aura.

Then, the Qingdong Realm emitted endless azure light, instantly enveloping all the participants.