Chapter 30: Bring It On!
Three days later. Dawn.
Bai Xiaochun's eyes opened at sunrise. He took a deep breath, and a serious expression could be seen on his face. This was his first time taking part in a competition like this.
His fight early on with Xu Baocai actually didn't really count as much of a battle. However, now that he was going to participate in Fragrant Cloud Peak's Outer Sect competition, he would be truly fighting against his fellow sect members.
He slowly rose to his feet, organized his bag of holding, and then somberly walked out of his residence. Moments later though, he came running back and started rummaging around under his bed until he found the leather coats he still had from back in his days at the Ovens. After donning several layers, he then placed his jade pendant somewhere he could access it easily.
Were it not for the fact that it would have led to too many questions, he would have put his turtle-wok on his back.
"Ah, why didn't I think of this earlier!" he thought regretfully. "I can't believe I forgot about that big black wok of mine." However, he was running out of time, and had no choice but to grit his teeth, turn, and leave. Taking a glance in the direction of the distant sun, his eyes filled with determination. Puffing his chest out, he began to climb toward the top of the mountain.
At the moment, he was wearing far too many layers of leather clothing. Even though he didn't have the big black wok on, he still looked somewhat like a sticky rice dumpling.... He was bundled up so tightly that after walking for only a little bit, he was already starting to sweat.
However, even if he sweat more profusely, he wouldn't shed even one item of clothing. The competition was too important, and he couldn't stop thinking about how brutal it would be. As he walked along the path, he suddenly realized that it was quite a foggy morning on the mountain, and he actually had no idea where exactly he was.
"Did I take a wrong turn...?" he thought, and instantly looked around for someone to ask directions from. At the same time, his heart began to thump from the fear of possibly being late.
**
At the top of Fragrant Cloud Peak was a fighting arena, which was where the competition was to take place. Quite a few people were already gathered there to watch the proceedings, and were chatting in hushed tones.
There were even some disciples in the audience who were in the fifth level of Qi Condensation, although most of them stood there with arms folded across their chests as they looked at their Junior Brothers and Sisters who would be participating in the competition. Of course, there were also people there to cheer on their friends.
This Outer Sect competition wasn't very formal, but it was a place where the participants could stand out from the crowd. There were about twenty people who had come to join the competition, all of whom were sitting in the area cross-legged in meditation, preparing in earnest for the fighting to begin.
No one in the competition was in the third level of Qi Condensation. Although the rules allowed for that, most of the people who actually joined the competition were in the fifth level of Qi Condensation, although there were five or six who were in the fourth level.
There was one young woman among the group who stood out from everyone else. She was tall and beautiful, and her Outer Sect disciple uniform could not conceal her curvaceous form. Anyone who laid eyes on her wouldn't be able to stop from slipping into a bit of a reverie.
Her skin was white like snow, and she had eyebrows that curved as gracefully as willow leaves. She really was spectacularly beautiful. As for the Daoist trousers she wore, although they were loose, they stretched tightly around her rear end in a way that made it virtually impossible for any man to look away.
There were quite a few Outer Sect disciples clustered around her, obviously her admirers.
Although she couldn't quite compare to Zhou Xinqi, she was still one of the most famous of the Outer Sect disciples, Du Lingfei. [1. Du Lingfei's name in Chinese is 杜凌菲 dù líng fēi. Du is a common surname. Ling means "to rise up." Fei means "luxurious"]
"Elder Sister Du's cultivation base is in the great circle of the fifth level of Qi Condensation, so she'll definitely take first place in this competition. There's not even any suspense in the matter."
"You can't underestimate Elder Brother Chen Zi'ang, though. I heard that he had a cultivation base breakthrough last month. He might not be in the great circle of the fifth level of Qi Condensation, but he's close." Standing not too far away from Du Lingfei was an arrogant-looking young man, the same Chen Zi'ang who had been shocked by Bai Xiaochun's bamboo outside the Missions Office that day.
Even as everyone was discussing the matter, Chen Zi'ang looked over at Du Lingfei with a strange gleam in his eyes. Although he wasn't too confident in being able to take first place, he was pretty certain he could take second. Besides, he might also be able to take advantage of the situation to get to know Du Lingfei a bit better.
It was at about this point that two beams of light whistled through the air from off in the distance. It was none other than Li Qinghou, followed by an emaciated old man. The old man had swarthy skin, but his eyes shone brightly, and he seemed like a very strict person.
The surrounding Outer Sect disciples were completely shocked to find that Li Qinghou would be in attendance at the competition, and quickly clasped hands in greeting.
"Greeting, Peak Lord. Greetings, Elder Sun." Everyone was flabbergasted that the peak lord would personally come to an event like this. Small competitions like this were almost always presided over by Elder Sun.
Du Lingfei and Chen Zi'ang were also shocked, and had very serious expressions on their faces as they bowed in greeting to Li Qinghou.
Li Qinghou looked around benevolently, nodding. As he scanned the crowd of disciples, however, he frowned when he realized that Bai Xiaochun wasn't there.
When the surrounding Outer Sect disciple saw Li Qinghou frowning, their hearts began to thump. Du Lingfei instantly began to get nervous, unsure of why the peak lord might be displeased.
"Shall we begin, Peak Lord?" asked Elder Sun, who stood next to Li Qinghou.
Li Qinghou was just about to reply when, all of a sudden, a sweat-soaked spheroid shape could be seen speeding toward them from off in the distance.
"I got lost!" cried Bai Xiaochun as he ran along. "It was too foggy...." Not only was Bai Xiaochun very nervous, he also felt that the whole situation was very unfair. After all, he wasn't very familiar with all the mountain paths, and considering how foggy it had been, he had simply gotten lost while thinking.
As soon as the words left his mouth, all of the Outer Sect disciple involuntarily looked over. There were quite a few of them who were familiar with Bai Xiaochun, and when they heard the words he called out, they began to snicker. As for those who didn't know him, they frowned, and gleams of derision could be seen in their eyes.
As far as they were concerned, the only reason he could have for getting lost on the way to the competition was that he rarely ventured up to the top of the mountain, and didn't care much about the competitions that the sect held. Most likely, he was only used to strolling around for pleasure.
Du Lingfei looked at him, and remembered him as one of the people who had been chasing after Zhou Xinqi recently. Supposedly, he had worked hard to catch the great chicken bandit. Du Lingfei immediately turned away in disdain, not willing to even look at him.
Chen Zi'ang looked at Bai Xiaochun in complete shock, and couldn't help but glance over at Li Qinghou. He hadn't forgotten what Bai Xiaochun had said at the Missions Office about Li Qinghou being his uncle. That would explain why Li Qinghou had been frowning right now, and after analyzing the matter, he realized that when fighting Bai Xiaochun, he would have to be careful not to beat him too badly.
Li Qinghou snorted coldly, glaring at Bai Xiaochun for a moment before nodding at Elder Sun.
Elder Sun looked thoughtfully at Bai Xiaochun for a moment, then laughed and waved his sleeve. "Very well. All disciples who wish to participate in the Outer Sect fighting competition, please step into the arena."
Seeing Li Qinghou's glare caused Bai Xiaochun to feel more than ever that the situation was completely unfair. However, he didn't dare to give voice to his sentiments. As soon as the words left Elder Sun's mouth, Bai Xiaochun was the first disciple to leap up onto the platform, chest puffed out proudly, looking as though mountains of daggers and seas of flames couldn't impinge on his honor.
Soon, all the contestants were in the arena. Including Bai Xiaochun, there were twenty in total.
The rules for competitions like this one were fairly lax. Elder Sun looked at the contestants for a moment, then pulled out a small cloth sack, within which were a collection of marbles with numbers on them. One by one, the competitors filed over to take a marble, which would indicate the order in which they fought.
Bai Xiaochun didn't manage to get first in line. He got stuck in the middle, and when he pulled out his marble, it had the number 11 written on it.
"Very well," Elder Sun said coolly. "Now, everyone step back so that the first match can begin. Fighters number one and two, prepare to begin!" Bai Xiaochun and the others quickly left the fighting arena, whereas the disciples with the number one and two marbles remained. As the two stared each other down, brilliant light began to shine in their eyes.
Soon they began to fight, and the booming sounds of battle rang out. Meanwhile, Bai Xiaochun's mind was racing. He kept telling himself that, considering there were twenty people in this competition, all he had to do was win twice to make it into the top 5. He was also wondering who it was that got the number twelve marble, but no one was willing to reveal to everyone else which numbers they had, making it virtually impossible for him to determine who he would be fighting.
Even as his spirits began to fall, the first match ended, and the second began. Du Lingfei was one of the fighters in this match, and she immediately performed an incantation gesture, causing a banner to fly out, which then turned into a stream of mist that enveloped her opponent. After struggling a bit, the disciple couldn't escape, and conceded, filled with admiration for Du Lingfei.
The third and fourth matches went by quickly enough, and when it came time for the fifth match, Chen Zi'ang secured a quick and efficient victory over a disciple in the fourth level of Qi Condensation.
"Fighters number eleven and twelve, step forward and let the match begin," Elder Sun called out. Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath and walked forward, a very serious expression on his face. After setting foot into the arena, he found that his opponent was a tall, gaunt young man with a cold smile on his face.
His cultivation base was extraordinary, in the fifth level of Qi Condensation. His eyes flashed like lightning, and overall, he seemed like the type of person who was not to be trifled with.
"Well, Junior Brother," the gaunt young man said, his voice cold, "you have the bad luck to have run into me in the first round. It's not too late to concede. If you don't, you'll have to take responsibility for yourself if you get injured."
However, in the instant that the words left the young man's mouth, Bai Xiaochun suddenly let out a powerful roar.
The roar was so intense that everything shook, and quite a few audience members were shocked. The gaunt young man was also taken aback, and even backed up a bit without even thinking about it, staring at Bai Xiaochun with wide eyes.
After roaring, Bai Xiaochun slapped his jade pendant, causing a green glow to surround him. That didn't leave him feeling safe, though, so he pulled out a big stack of paper talismans, which he rapidly stuck all over himself. Each time he did, they would emit a powerful glow, until he was covered with no less than ten individual shields. Their combined power transformed into a protective wall nearly a meter-and-a-half thick. From a distance, the sight was completely shocking.
Because of all the protective shields, Bai Xiaochun's subsequent shout was actually a bit muffled.
"Alright, bring it on!"
The gaunt young man was still staring blankly at Bai Xiaochun, and it wasn't just him. The other Outer Sect disciples, including the other contestants, were all gaping in shock. In all the times they had observed competitions like this, they had never seen anyone use protective shields to such an extent.
Li Qinghou's face twitched, but from the look in his eyes, it was clear he could do nothing about the situation.
Chen Zi'ang took a deep breath as he grew even more certain that Bai Xiaochun and Li Qinghou were actually relatives. However, Du Lingfei simply gave a cold harrumph, and her derision increased.
Everyone watched with wide eyes as the gaunt young man down in the arena let out his own roar, then performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing a wooden sword to fly directly toward Bai Xiaochun.
Chapter 31: Humiliated!
The gaunt young man's wooden sword pulsed with a strange energy, streaking through the air in a prismatic beam, directly toward Bai Xiaochun. However, before it could even get close, a pinging sound rang out from the exterior of Bai Xiaochun's thick meter-and-a-half shield as the wooden sword bounced off of it.
As soon as Bai Xiaochun's protective shields flickered, his eyes glittered, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Clearing his throat, he actually just sat down cross-legged.
The audience exchanged confused glances. They weren't really sure what to say in response to Bai Xiaochun and his extreme level of defense. They had seen people who focused on defense before, but... had never seen anyone who shielded himself this much.
As for his opponent, the young man's face first flushed, then went pale. Gritting his teeth, he roared, sending his flying sword shooting toward the glowing shields, ratcheting up in power even as it shot through the air.
A pinging sound rang out as the flying sword flew in again and again, but each time, it was sent spinning away. Finally, the pale-faced young man's spiritual energy was more than half depleted, and a look of despair appeared on his face.
He had been fighting in duels for years, but this was the first time he had encountered an opponent who hid like a turtle in a shell. However, he wasn't willing to give in yet. He had joined the competition with the express purpose of taking 3rd place. Staring at Bai Xiaochun with bloodshot eyes, he furiously roared, "Get out from behind that shield!"
Bai Xiaochun wasn't scared at all by this young man, so he didn't have any reservations about staying behind the shield and shouting, "If you're good enough, why don't you come on inside!"
Strange expressions appeared on the faces of everyone in the audience as they looked at Bai Xiaochun, not sure whether to laugh or cry. The gaunt young man was so angry that blue veins popped out on his forehead as he clenched his jaw. Finally, he bit his tongue and spit out a mouthful of blood. When it landed on his wooden sword, the entire thing turned the color of blood.
Discussion immediately broke out in the audience.
"Blood Spirit Magic!"
"For him to use that magical technique shows that he really has been driven to madness!"
The blood-colored wooden sword moved even faster than before, and emitted double the pressure. Blood-colored light spread out in all directions as it shot toward Bai Xiaochun.
A boom rang out as the wooden sword pierced a full three inches into the shield. Rumbling could be heard as it tried to pierce further, but failed. In fact, because too much force was being exerted, cracks began to spread out over the sword.
A moment later, a pop could be heard as the entire wooden sword... shattered into pieces, which slowly floated down to the ground.
The gaunt young man's eyes went wide, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. His spiritual energy was vastly depleted, his magical item destroyed, and he was so furious he simply passed out.
As Li Qinghou watched the scene playing out, his face grew increasingly unsightly. Chuckling wryly, Elder Sun stepped forward, signalled for people to come carry the gaunt young man away, and then declared Bai Xiaochun the winner.
"Ah, he let me win!" Bai Xiaochun said as the shield light around him faded away. Looking very solemn, he puffed his chest out and clasped his hands behind his back, looking every bit like a Chosen. As for the gaunt young man, as he was being carried off, he apparently heard Bai Xiaochun's words, regained consciousness, coughed up another mouthful of blood, and then passed out again.
Clearing his throat, Bai Xiaochun turned to Elder Sun and clasped hands. Then he flicked his sleeve and walked out of the arena.
The Outer Sect disciples who had come to watch the competition took everything in fairly well. At most, they had strange looks on their faces. As for the contestants, they were looking at Bai Xiaochun with very unsightly expressions.
That was especially true of the people who had already won their respective matches. When they compared the gaunt young man's current condition with Bai Xiaochun, they couldn't help but feel the need to be on guard.
The competition continued, and soon the rest of the matches were completed. Of the original twenty participants, half had been eliminated to produce the current top 10.
That included Du Lingfei, Chen Zi'ang, and Bai Xiaochun, who stood there, chin stuck up, looking around at his fellow top 10 competitors. Inwardly, he was saying, "All I have to do is win one more match and then I'll have succeeded!"
Seeing hope right there in front of him, he felt quite excited.
Elder Sun looked over the ten contestants, his gaze lingering on Bai Xiaochun for a moment before saying, "The top 5 will now be selected. Would the ten of you please step forward to select your marbles."
This time, Bai Xiaochun scrambled to be first in line, and pulled out a marble with the number two written on it. Afterward, he immediately turned to study his fellow competitors.
It didn't take long for everyone to draw a marble, after which Elder Sun announced that the first two fighters were to begin their match. Bai Xiaochun was joined by a burly, muscular man who, upon seeing who he was fighting, began to laugh loudly.
"Other people might fear your defenses, but I don't care at all about them. I'm also adept with defense, so let's just wait and see which of us two can hold out for longer!" Laughing, the man slapped his bag of holding to produce a small buckler. After imbuing it with some spiritual energy, the buckler grew larger and began to emit a yellow glow which completely surrounded the man.
The man wasn't done yet, though. Roaring, his flesh and muscles expanded, and he even grew a few inches taller. The entire scene was quite shocking.
"I can't believe it's Body Forging Magic!"
"That buckler looks familiar. Don't tell me it's a Dawnlight Buckler! That things costs 9,000 merit points!" Everyone was shocked, and as for Bai Xiaochun, his brow was furrowed.
When Elder Sun saw what was happening, he nodded his head slightly, eyes shining with a look of praise. Turning to Li Qinghou, he said, "This kid is Li Shan, fifth level of Qi Condensation. He'll be a difficult opponent, as he was born with godly power, plus cultivates the Body Forging Magic. Not only is he incredibly strong, he also excels in defense."
Li Qinghou nodded slightly, then looked over at Bai Xiaochun.
Bai Xiaochun was studying the burly man's transformed body, and the shield he had. He recognized the shield from his visit to the Treasure Pavilion, and although he wasn't sure exactly how many merit points it cost, his frown deepened.
Everyone watching the competition seemed very interested to find out what was going to happen, especially the other disciples in the competition, who were clearly pleased to gloat in the misfortune of others.
"That fair-skinned disciple sure got unlucky."
"Well, he got super lucky before, that's all. Now that he's facing a powerful opponent like this, he'll naturally get beaten back into place."
As the audience discussed the developments, the burly man smiled viciously and then began to stride rapidly toward Bai Xiaochun.
"There's nothing you can do. I beat the last disciple I fought without even drawing a weapon. My fist is the most powerful magical technique I have!"
The man sped up, causing a wind to blast out. As he closed in, Bai Xiaochun's eyes glittered and he suddenly waved his finger, causing his little wooden sword to fly out from his bag of holding.
Without the slightest pause, it shot out in front of Bai Xiaochun toward the burly man.
As it slashed toward him, sword qi built up for dozens of meters around the sword, causing rumbling sounds to echo out.
The burly man's face fell, and his scalp was tingling so hard it felt like it might explode. His eyes widened as an intense sensation of crisis washed through him. Without the slightest hesitation, he fell into retreat. Roaring, he waved both hands, sending his buckler out to block the sword.
A boom rang out as the wooden sword and the little buckler slammed into each other. However, the buckler didn't do anything to even slow down the wooden sword. It was blasted apart, and the wooden sword continued on toward the burly man.
The man's face was filled with shock; even if he were capable of dodging faster, it would do no good. The flying sword was on him in the blink of an eye, causing an icy wind to buffet his face.
"I concede!" he shouted without hesitation, his voice rising by a few octaves as he fell to the ground.
A buzzing sound could be heard as the wooden sword stopped just in front of the man's forehead, then turned and flew back into Bai Xiaochun's bag of holding.
Bai Xiaochun blinked, also somewhat shocked by the wooden sword. Before, he had only practiced with it, and had no idea it was so powerful. And that was before he even began to utilize Lightness-in-Heaviness.
After looking up in thought for a moment, he stuck his chin up, clasped his hands behind his back, and looked coolly at the burly man.
The man's face was pale white, and yet he still didn't seem to want to back down. Crawling to his feet, he glared at Bai Xiaochun and said, "Using the power of magical items doesn't count as winning! I don't accept this as being a defeat!"
With that, the man turned and stalked out of the arena.
Elder Sun looked over at Bai Xiaochun, also astonished by the power of the wooden sword. However, he didn't say anything other to announce that Bai Xiaochun was the victor.
"Hahaha," Bai Xiaochun laughed to himself. "In the next battle I'll just instantly concede. I became a cultivator to live forever, right? All this killing and fighting is too barbaric. That's not how Bai Xiaochun does things." Bai Xiaochun left the arena, feeling wonderful at having complied with Li Qinghou's requirement to get into the top 5.
Li Qinghou's eyes had also come to rest on Bai Xiaochun. Although everyone else had been focused on how incredible the flying sword was, Li Qinghou hadn't been paying attention to that at all. He had been watching the skill and ease with which Bai Xiaochun controlled the flying sword.
Seeing that Bai Xiaochun had won another match, the crowd began to sigh emotionally.
"Ah, this guy must be rich, that's why he has such an incredible wooden sword. Hmph. If he had any other weapon he definitely couldn't have won!"
"Magical devices have nothing to do with your cultivation. First he used those amulets, then that sword. What a waste! He's definitely going to go broke eventually."
The grumblings didn't last for long though. The next battle soon got underway. Du Lingfei was fighting an opponent with an extraordinary cultivation base. It was a fierce fight, but Du Lingfei didn't use her banner. Instead, she utilized a flying sword. They fought back and forth in dazzling fashion until suddenly, Du Lingfei's flying sword shot forward with incredible speed to appear directly in front of her opponent.
Such speed vastly surpassed that which ordinary disciples could control, sending the audience into an uproar when people realized what they were seeing.
"I can't believe it's Lightness-in-Heaviness!!"
"Du Lingfei has actually reached enlightenment of that stage...."
"It's Lightness-in-Heaviness!" Deep within Elder Sun's eyes, the glitter of approval could be seen as he looked at Du Lingfei.
Li Qinghou also nodded.
Chen Zi'ang was shocked, and most everyone else who had made it into the top 10 had similar reactions. As for her opponent, he chuckled bitterly and clasped hands to concede.
Du Lingfei stood there in the arena, looking around proudly. Clasping hands toward Li Qinghou and Elder Sun, she left the arena.
The crowd was still in an uproar.
However, Bai Xiaochun was left standing there, blinking.
"That level of speed counts as Lightness-in-Heaviness?" he thought, astonished.
As Du Lingfei proudly left the arena, slight drops of sweat could be seen running down her face. Despite being in the great circle of the fifth level of Qi Condensation, fighting two successive battles was quite a drain on her spiritual energy. That was especially true of the battle just now, in which her opponent had possessed unusual battle prowess. In the end, she had been forced to unleash her magic of Lightness-in-Heaviness, which was an even bigger drain on her spiritual energy. That was how she had secured victory.
Her goal was 1st place, and she knew that subsequent opponents would only be more powerful. Because this particular sect competition wasn't very strictly organized, she wouldn't have much time to rest before the next fight. Therefore, she immediately pulled out a medicinal pill, which she consumed, then closed her eyes and began to take advantage of the time to recover.
The top 5 now consisted of Bai Xiaochun and Du Lingfei, as well as Chen Zi'ang. In the end, there were two other young men, both of whom had profound cultivation bases in the fifth level of Qi Condensation.
Currently, everyone was in the process of rotating their cultivation bases, taking advantage of every opportunity to replenish some spiritual energy.
Only Bai Xiaochun didn't seem to have spent any spiritual energy at all. In fact, he even stood off to the side yawning. When everyone else who had been eliminated from the competition saw that, it left them with the urge to beat him.
Now that he had fulfilled Li Qinghou's demand to get into the top 5, he didn't care at all about the rest of the competition.
Trying to suppress his boredom, he looked over at the other four top 5 competitors, especially Du Lingfei, musing that if the speed she had just unleashed counted as Lightness-in-Heaviness, then he was surely far, far beyond that.
"It's too bad she has such an extremely murderous aura. Why would a good girl like that be so into fighting and killing? Don't tell me that all girls who practice Immortal cultivation are weirdos like this? Zhou Xinqi is super proud, and Hou Xiaomei is way too moody." Bai Xiaochun shook his head. He was just about to look away from Du Lingfei when she seemed to sense that he was looking at her. Her eyes suddenly snapped open to stare at him coldly.
As far as Du Lingfei was concerned, Bai Xiaochun wasn't even worth thinking about. After watching his first two battles, she was of the opinion that he had pulled off lucky wins, which caused the derision in her heart to grow stronger.
"Well well, you dare to stare at me, do you?!" Bai Xiaochun immediately ceased any motion of looking away. Instead, his eyes went wide as he glared right back at Du Lingfei. Staring contests didn't have anything to do with fighting and bloodshed, so from a young age, he had met few people who could overcome him.
Du Lingfei frowned. As for the admirers who clustered behind her, they were very irritated, and cast ferocious glares in his direction.
However, seeing so many eyes staring at him, and considering that quite a few of them were extremely fierce, Bai Xiaochun cleared his throat. He only had two eyes, so how could he possibly match up? "Well, they have numbers on their side, and besides, true men don't fight with girls."
With a harrumph, he looked away.
About that time, Elder Sun's voice rang out across the arena.
"Very good, all of you. This competition has gone very well so far. And now, we will continue to narrow down the competitors. Would the five of you please step forward and select a marble. One of those marbles is a free pass into the top 3." Smiling, Elder Sun produced the bag again.
This time, Chen Zi'ang was first. After pulling out the marble, he frowned; his marble had the number four written on it.
Du Lingfei was next, who got the number two marble. The other two Outer Sect disciple got numbers one and three respectively.
Bai Xiaochun didn't even need to draw a marble; the remaining marble was the free pass.
Bai Xiaochun's eyes lit up, and he chuckled. He took his place outside of the fighting arena, arms folded, feeling completely relaxed as he prepared to watch Du Lingfei and all the others. He hadn't even planned to continue on the with the competition, but now he didn't have to do anything and he was already in the top 3.
"Luck is a big part of strength!" he thought, feeling quite pleased with himself.
That very luck caused quite a few audience members to stare at him with even stranger expressions on their faces. Most of them really couldn't bear to accept the situation, especially the other disciples who had been eliminated, whose hearts were filled with jealousy and envy.
"This guy is totally shameless. Alright, fine, he used a magical item to get into the top five, but then he actually got a free pass into the top three!"
"How despicable. In fact, there's never been someone as despicable as this to ever show up in the competitions."
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
0 Power
stone 
Paragraph comment