Published: August 16, 2025
Chapter 135: Shocking News
“First of all, those who sign up for the competition must have a Five Elements basic cultivation method that has reached at least the seventh level realm. This is also the minimum requirement for taking the foundation establishment pill. Secondly, applicants must be under forty years old. Anyone older than that shouldn’t even try to sneak through because the person responsible for registration at the conference will use bone-reading techniques to verify the real age of every registrant.”
“As long as you meet these two conditions, anyone can register. There are no other restrictions! But because of this, the arena matches have become even more fierce!”
“Do you think it’s normal to see so many people here at Tainan Valley right now? Most of them are actually here for the ascension gathering. You have to understand, our Tainan Meeting was originally just a trading fair for young immortal cultivators local to Lanzhou. In previous years, when this meeting was held, there were only a few hundred people at most! But now look around, there are at least a thousand people gathered in the valley, and even more will arrive in the last few days from farther away. That will be the peak of the Tainan Meeting’s trading activity.”
“These people come to our Tainan Valley early partly to exchange needed items and partly to take advantage of the opportunity to observe their upcoming opponents at the ascension gathering, so they can know their enemies as well as themselves!”
Aunt Hu Ping spoke these words with a bitter smile.
Wu Nine Fingers’ expression changed dramatically when he heard this, and he said in shock, “According to Mrs. Hu, those experts with cultivation methods reaching the tenth level realm that I saw in the valley are also here for the ascension gathering? What’s the point then? If those with lower cultivation levels go up, wouldn’t that be suicide?”
“That’s not necessarily true. Who says those at higher levels always win against those at lower levels? If a person with weaker magical power uses some powerful talisman or carries a formidable magical artifact, they can still beat someone with deeper magical power to a pulp.”
Hei Mu, who had been silent since entering the room, suddenly spoke up with this comment, causing everyone present to turn their attention toward him.
“Exactly, brother Hei Mu makes a very good point. For us immortal cultivators, the depth of magical power isn’t the most important factor in a fight. What truly matters is the strength of the spells one masters, how flexibly they are used, and the power of any magical artifacts one carries!” the Green-Patterned Taoist also agreed wholeheartedly.
“What Hei Mu and Taoist Green-Patterned said really hits the nail on the head. Otherwise, there wouldn’t even be a need for this ascension conference. All we’d have to do is line up all the participants, compare whose magical power is stronger, and that would be enough,” Aunt Hu Ping smiled wryly.
After hearing Hei Mu and the others, Wu Nine Fingers did not feel pleased but instead muttered with a troubled look on his face.
“Formidable magical artifacts… high-powered talismans…”
This time, Aunt Hu Ping didn’t respond to Wu Nine Fingers but continued speaking:
“Because there are so many participants in the arena matches, the ascension gathering sets up seven separate arenas simultaneously, each representing one of Yue Country’s seven great immortal sects. Whoever wishes to become a disciple of a certain sect can enter the arena assigned to that sect for the competition. The arena selection uses a knockout format—two people fight, the winner advances to the next round, and the loser is immediately eliminated. Then two new contestants face off. This repeats until no more participants are left for that round, and then the next round begins with the winners.”
“This cycle continues until finally only ten victors remain, who become the new disciples of that immortal sect. They won’t have to endure the same fierce internal competition and will gain the qualification to take the foundation establishment pill. It’s like reaching the top in one step! This is how the arena selection process at the ascension conference works. But don’t think it’s simple just because I explained it this way—the actual scenes on the arena stage are indescribably brutal!”