Chapter 1621: Great Omen of Catastrophe

Could it be that because of Chu Chuyan and Zu An's relationship, she's extending her affection to him?

But that makes no sense. Given her usual disposition, it would be a miracle if she didn't try to break up Chu Chuyan and Zu An's marriage; how could she possibly protect the groom?

For a moment, everyone in the arena was buzzing with speculation. The leaders of the various sects remained relatively calm, while the younger generation became agitated. After all, Chu Chuyan and Zu An's matter had caused a huge stir just two days ago. Now that Master Yan had expressed herself this way, could it be that she approved of their relationship?

"Agh, what makes that pretty boy so worthy?!"

Rage points from many disciples +233 +233 +233...

In the crowd, Qiu Honglei said to Yun Jianyue, feeling wronged, "Master, it seems our previous plan didn't work." And judging by Yan Xuehen's demeanor, she seemed quite pleased with A'Zu as her disciple's husband. If Zu An and Chu Chuyan were truly brought back together as a couple, everything she had done before would have truly backfired.

Yun Jianyue was also somewhat suspicious. "What's gotten into that Ice Maiden?" she wondered. "This doesn't match her personality at all." She had been rivals with Yan Xuehen for so many years and probably understood her better than anyone else in the world. No matter how she looked at it, Yan Xuehen should not be speaking out in strong support of Zu An right now. Could it be that after they went through hardship together in the demon territory last time, she truly came to regard Zu An as a friend?

At this moment, Wang Wuxie cleared his throat. "Sir Zu is naturally qualified to be a judge. This matter has already been decided and needs no further discussion. Everyone should focus on the upcoming competition." He thought to himself that since Yan Xuehen was protecting Zu An, he naturally had to show her some respect. "Huh, wait," he mused, "could the reason she's protecting Zu An be to show *me* respect?" After all, it was his suggestion to invite Zu An as a judge this time. As soon as he thought of this, even though he was usually resolute, his mind swayed slightly.

Zhi Yin and Lou Wucheng opened their mouths, but in the end, dared not say anything more. With two influential figures like Wang Wuxie and Yan Xuehen strongly backing him, for them to continue making disparaging remarks would be truly ungracious.

Throughout the whole process, Zu An didn't even lift a finger, yet he earned a considerable amount of rage points. He felt delighted inside, thinking, "As expected, Sister Yan still cares about me; she can't bear to see me bullied."

At this point, Wang Wuxie sat down, and Feng Wuchang, the Peak Master of Guanshan Peak from Zhengyang Sect, stepped forward to explain the specific rules of the Grand Competition.

Since the Daoist sects comprised nine different factions, they were divided into nine groups. Members within each group would compete in pairs. After a round-robin, points would be calculated: winners would get 3 points, draws would get 1 point, and losers would get 0 points. Finally, only the first-place finisher in each group would automatically secure a spot in the Daoist Secret Realm. Thus, the rules were extremely stringent. No one dared to lose a single match easily, as it would likely mean failing to qualify. Of course, for the sake of fairness, the chief disciples of each sect were assigned to different groups to prevent them from meeting too early, which might otherwise result in weaker contestants from other groups becoming group champions.

In addition, the eight best second-place finishers from the groups would draw lots for a knockout round to determine 4 spots. Combined with the first-place finishers from each group, a total of 13 people would be qualified to enter the Daoist Secret Realm. To some extent, the competition among these eight second-place finishers was even more brutal, as this was their last chance.

Speaking of which, these conditions were already exceptionally relaxed for this session. Previously, besides the nine first-place finishers, the other second-place finishers could only compete for one additional spot, making a total of ten people qualified to enter the Daoist Secret Realm. Therefore, every session saw contestants with broken limbs, and even some who were permanently crippled. The intensity, to some extent, even surpassed the competition for first place. However, this session, the major sects felt that it was too cruel for nine second-place finishers to contend for only one spot in previous years. To encourage outstanding disciples from various sects, they expanded the number of spots to four.

Hearing these familiar rules, Zu An felt a moment of disorientation. Competing to qualify and calculating points under various scenarios were basically fundamental skills for every football fan in his previous life. There isn't much time left for China's national football team... Fortunately, in this world, he no longer had to worry about doing calculations for China's national football team.

At this moment, Guanshan Peak Master Feng Wuchang took out a transparent crystal and loudly announced, "To promote healthy competition among the disciples of the Nine Daoist Sects, we will now proceed to test cultivation levels according to the list, and then begin grouping."

In every Daoist Grand Competition, the final number of spots was just over ten. The vast majority were destined to be mere participants, and no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't defeat the legendary chief disciples. As a result, many who knew they had no chance became complacent, showing little willingness to participate in the Daoist Grand Competition. Even if they did participate, they often held back their true strength, merely going through the motions.

This completely went against the original intention of the elders of the Nine Sects to urge their disciples to cultivate. So, during one session, someone came up with a method: a cultivation level test before the competition. Although cultivation level doesn't always completely represent true combat power, the two are positively correlated in most cases. With such a vague "ranking" list, disciples from various sects eagerly stepped up their game. Even if they couldn't compare to those favored by heaven, couldn't they at least compare themselves to average disciples with similar backgrounds? Some people tested with high cultivation, while others, even if their cultivation was temporarily low, were very young and surpassed the cultivation of others at the same age. No matter which, it was something to be proud of. Although many stories and novels often talk about disregarding fame and fortune, isn't living in this world all about these things? Who doesn't want to show off a bit in their circle? Moreover, if they shone brightly in the test, even if they couldn't qualify in the end, they would easily gain importance from their sect, and resources would be tilted towards them in the future. Although they couldn't compare to the chief disciples now, who knew if they would always be inferior? "Don't look down on a young man just because he's poor!"

Seeing the eager expressions of the disciples, the sect masters from various sects nodded in satisfaction. Only by fully mobilizing the enthusiasm of these disciples could the entire sect truly be vibrant. Of course, there was another reason for this move: to try to ensure balance in each group during later grouping. This would avoid inadvertently concentrating too many strong competitors in one group, which would cause the chief contestant of that group to expend too much energy and be disadvantageous for them to contend for the top three spots against other chief disciples after qualifying. As for the possibility of a chief disciple failing to qualify, they hadn't even considered it. To be able to become a chief disciple of a sect, one must surely be outstanding among their peers; it would be impossible for them not to qualify.

"Zhengyang Sect, Zhang Xi!" At this moment, Feng Wuchang began calling names according to the list. As the host, it was natural for them to present first. They couldn't be too weak and lose the sect's prestige, nor could they immediately send out their ace, Wu Xiaofan. Thus, Zhang Xi from Guanshan Peak became the best candidate.

Zhang Xi tidied his clothes and walked calmly onto the stage. Because he had been greeting people at the mountain gate earlier, most people recognized him. Soon, the test results were out: Eighth-grade! A small commotion stirred across the entire plaza. Zhengyang Sect indeed had profound heritage; even a gate-keeping disciple had reached the eighth grade. One should know that more than half of those in the plaza were far from reaching this level.

Zhang Zijiang also looked solemn and whispered to Zu An, "This person's strength is enough to serve as a city lord in the imperial court. I didn't expect the strength of disciples from the jianghu sects to have developed to this extent in recent years. After returning, I must report this to the imperial court. If this continues, it will truly not be beneficial for the imperial court."

"Damn it," Zu An thought, "a young disciple's cultivation is almost catching up to mine! How can this be tolerated?!"

Zu An said in a deep voice, "Don't worry. These sects have limited resources and can only focus on a small elite. Their talent pool and reserves are far inferior to the imperial court's." Only then did Zhang Zijiang's mindset become somewhat balanced.

Zhang Xi faintly heard the discussions around him and couldn't help but puff out his chest even more. He thought this would attract the favor of many junior sisters, but his heart always belonged to Fairy Chu and Fairy Pei. Suddenly remembering the rumors he had heard about Chu Chuyan in recent days, his expression darkened slightly. "Never mind," he thought. "It seems Fairy Pei is my true love for this lifetime."

Next, other disciples successively came onto the stage, and their cultivation levels were significantly lower. Most were at the sixth or seventh grade. Seeing this scene, Zu An couldn't help but sigh. Back at Brightmoon Academy, a sixth-grade cultivator was already considered a recognized genius, yet here, a sixth-grade was merely among the lowest tier of the general populace. But thinking about it, he understood. Any random person from the experimental classes of prestigious provincial high schools in his previous life was basically the top student in their city or county school. Even the lowest-ranked student from Tsinghua or Peking University was most likely the top scorer in some city.

"Azure Palace, Pei Mianman," Feng Wuchang continued, calling the next disciples to the stage for testing. Hearing this name, Zu An suddenly looked up. At the same time, sounds of gulping could be heard throughout the arena. Not to mention the young disciples, even the sect masters and elders from various factions couldn't help but cast a few extra glances towards the stage. Master Jianhuang of Wuyou Temple even forgot to recite "My apologies, my apologies," and involuntarily raised his head to look at the stage. What came out of his mouth instead was, "An omen of great evil, an omen of great evil!"