A full month passed in what felt like a blur.
Cattaleya continued her domination in every tournant she entered. Her fa grew like wildfire. Entire taverns now had contests where custors tried to flick tankards across the room. Most of them ended with broken mugs and broken noses.
Yet while she drew the eye of the public, ng Bai quietly began building a reputation of his own.
His rise was subtle but undeniable.
Unlike Cattaleya's tournants which drew raucous crowds and loud cheers, ng Bai's competitions were held in quieter arenas filled with sharp eyed elders, representatives from sects, clan retainers carrying jade scrolls, and kingdom officials wearing simple but refined robes.
These were the tournants where the future of young cultivators was silently inspected and evaluated.
Normal civilians did not care to watch cultivators below the Immortal Realm. But the powers of the realm cared very much. After all, the immortal realm relied heavily on talent.
Most immortal powers grew not through expansion but through inheritance. Strong juniors ant strong futures.
So while Cattaleya beca the talk of taverns, ng Bai beca the talk of recruitnt halls.
Daoist Chu had joked that Cattaleya had attracted the gamblers, while ng Bai had attracted the scholars and talent scouts.
Every ti ng Bai stepped into a ring, a dozen recorders scribbled furiously. They wrote down his stance, his breathing, the way his muscles shifted, the flow of his Qi, his control of his spear, and even his facial expressions.
Lin Mu often sat in the stands with Little Shrubby and the twins tucked in his sleeves. He watched the recruiters as much as he watched ng Bai. Their reactions were sotis more entertaining than the match itself.
One ti after ng Bai unleashed the fourth strike of the Nine Strikes Mountain Piercing Spear Technique, the entire row of talent scouts gasped at once and nearly toppled forward.
Another ti when ng Bai broke through an opponent's defensive formation by simply finding the weakest flaw with instinct alone, a sect elder stood up and declared he would battle any other sect elder who tried to contest ng Bai's recruitnt.
Daoist Chu had recorded that mont and laughed for three hours.
But for ng Bai, the month was a whirlwind of challenge, growth, and confidence.
He had fought through over twenty matches while traveling with Lin Mu's group through the different cities where Cattaleya competed. Each tournant had its own style, its own rules, and its own competition pool.
ng Bai had fought cultivators from noble clans, small sects, reclusive tribes, wandering geniuses, and even so disguised immortals who wanted to test the younger generation.
He passed through all of them.
Preliminaries were easy, quarterfinals were a bit more intense and semifinals required his full focus.
And then the finals arrived.
The final match of the month. The most important one. The match that had gathered three tis the usual number of spectators simply because of the na of his opponent.
Dongxu Ning.
She stepped into the arena with calm grace. Her presence commanded the crowd in a way very different from Cattaleya's. Cattaleya inspired cheers. Dongxu Ning inspired silence.
She was the prodigy of the Dongxu Clan, a clan that had existed far longer than the Pelican Kingdom itself. She was fad for reaching the Dao Treading realm before the age of three hundred. She was rumored to have a body refined through the mystical Dongxu Jade Bone Art.
And she had been sitting at the Peak of the Dao Treading realm for almost twenty years, polishing and refining her understanding of the Dao until it was flawless.
So believed she would enter the immortal realm in less than a century. Others believed she would enter in thirty years. Rumors even said her clan had reserved a ceremonial chamber for her ascension already.
It was no surprise she had been seeded directly into the later rounds. She had crushed her preliminary matches with ease and grace.
And now she faced ng Bai.
The crowd was tense. Even the beasts in Lin Mu's sleeves were silent.
ng Bai walked into the arena with his spear on his back. He looked relaxed on the surface, yet the slight stiffness in his shoulders revealed how much pressure weighed on him. Dongxu Ning, on the other hand, moved with the tranquility of a perfectly still lake.
When the announcer began reading out her titles, half the crowd whispered in
reverence.
When he began reading ng Bai's accomplishnts, the crowd listened with curiosity.
No one expected the match to be simple.
Lin Mu watched closely, his expression unreadable. Beside him, Daoist Chu folded his arms and muttered sothing about ng Bai having to prove all his
training worth it.
Cattaleya sat forward with shining eyes. Unlike the others, she loved watching strong fights. She whispered to Lin Mu that this would be exciting.
Dongxu Ning and ng Bai bowed to each other in the center of the ring.
"You are younger than I expected," she said softly. Her voice carried a calm
tone, like a breeze passing through bamboo.
ng Bai returned the bow respectfully. "You are stronger than anyone I have
faced so far. I hope to learn from this battle."
Several elders nodded in approval at his attitude.
The referee raised his hand. The tension rose. The wind felt heavy.
"Both contestants ready?"
ng Bai nodded.
Dongxu Ning nodded.
"The match begins!"
A gong sounded across the arena.
ng Bai's stance shifted imdiately. His foot slid half an inch backward. Hist
Qi condensed around his spear. His breathing beca deep.
Dongxu Ning took a single step forward. Just one.
Yet that one step felt like an entire mountain shifting. A faint pale luster covered her skin. Her Spirit qi rippled like a changing wave.
The crowd leaned forward.
Lin Mu narrowed his eyes.
Daoist Chu inhaled sharply. ng Bai's grip tightened.
The first exchange was about to happen.
Dongxu Ning's eyes sharpened and she said gently, "Let see your spear."
ng Bai responded without hesitation. He struck first.
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