Chapter 105: The Seven Major Sects
"This child is as unforthcoming as ever," Mo Ya thought, touched by Bai Feng's intentions. He couldn't help but smile wryly and change the subject, turning to look out over the vast, unfamiliar forest. "Let's go."
Bai Feng was startled, his thoughts pulling away from his own cultivation. "Where to?"
"We've already explored this Soul Beast Forest, and there's no target the Master is looking for," Mo Ya said. He turned around, his back to Bai Feng, and pursed his lips. "And didn't you say you wanted to acquire a Spirit Ring?"
"This Soul Beast Forest happens to have quite a few Spirit Beasts suitable for our age and current level."
Bai Feng's heart warmed, and he also pursed his lips, a joyful smile appearing on his face. The two figures, one black and one white, flickered from the mountaintop and disappeared into the dense jungle below.
On another note, while the various Sects were actively preparing for the Sect Competition, Qin Xuan's life returned to a rare, profound peace.
He dared not slack off in his cultivation during the day. He practiced daily from dawn, cultivating, recovering Spirit Power, cultivating again, and recovering stamina, in a continuous, grueling cycle.
He sat in the quiet, cavernous cultivation room of his suite in the Elder Palace. The ambient energy here was purer, denser, than anywhere else in Spirit City. He circulated the Ghost Valley Breathing Technique, drawing the power of the world into his newly reforged meridians.
In his leisure time at night, he didn't forget to pull Jingni and Ling Yuan to "study foreign languages," a task that often left them all exhausted but brought them closer.
Life was full of joy.
Thus, days passed, and finally, on the eve of the Sect Competition, after nearly two months of this intensive, focused regimen, his Spirit Power, which had been at Level 75, broke through the bottleneck. He had reached Level 76.
At this time, only Qin Xuan, Nong Yu, and A Yan remained at home in the massive suite.
Jingni, as the new Second Priest, and Ling Yuan, as an Elder, had both been summoned to the Supreme Pontiff Palace for a final coordination meeting regarding the competition.
After tidying up the room a bit from his cultivation breakthrough, Qin Xuan took a shower, the hot water washing away the grime and sweat. He changed into a fresh set of comfortable, fiery-red robes.
Walking out of the master bedroom, Qin Xuan saw Nong Yu sitting on the thick carpet in the living room, patiently teaching A Yan to speak.
Perhaps because she had been an orphan since childhood, Nong Yu's maternal instincts were overflowing, and she was especially fond of A Yan, treating her as if she were her own.
Seeing Qin Xuan come out, she quickly got up and bowed gracefully, her movements fluid and respectful. "Master Qin Xuan."
A Yan, on the other hand, stretched out her two short, chubby arms and called out, not very skillfully, "Daddy, hug!"
"Good girl." Qin Xuan smiled slightly, stepping forward to lift A Yan into his arms. He gave her a 'smack' on her fair, smooth little cheek, making her giggle.
He then chuckled, "Nong Yu, let's go out for a walk. Tomorrow is the Sect Competition. Spirit City must be very lively today."
"Okay." Nong Yu nodded, her eyes lighting up with a flicker of curiosity.
Spirit City is not very large, in terms of population.
Excluding the hotels, the barracks for the Guardian Knights, the Spirit Hall Academy dormitories, the ordinary staff dormitories, and the three most revered central buildings—the Priest Hall, Supreme Pontiff Palace, and Elder Palace—the city's residential area was relatively small.
Calculated for a family of four, the maximum capacity is no more than 100,000 people.
However, those who reside here are, without exception, Spirit Masters. To own a house in Spirit City, unless you are exceptionally talented and heavily cultivated by Spirit Hall from a young age, you need at least Spirit Emperor cultivation or above.
And because Spirit Masters mostly hold themselves in high regard, one more arrogant than the last, single people are common. No one likes to live in the same house with others, so basically, one person occupies one building, or a few good friends share a courtyard.
Correspondingly, the roads in Spirit City are very wide, at least 100 meters across at a glance. The ground is paved with ancient, dusty bluestone, square and neat. Upon closer inspection, shallow, protective patterns can be seen carved on them, glowing faintly with dormant power.
The two walked side by side on the main road, Qin Xuan holding A Yan, marveling at the ancient, towering architecture.
"A Titled Douluo can live for several centuries, experiencing several lifetimes of ordinary people," Nong Yu couldn't help but exclaim, feeling the ancient, oppressive aura emanating from the buildings. "This ancient city has existed since the establishment of Spirit Hall, standing for 10,000 years without decay. It's truly miraculous."
Qin Xuan, holding A Yan, said, "Titled Douluo is just the beginning. You should look further ahead; only then can you comprehend a higher realm."
This sentence was spoken by Qin Xuan unintentionally, but it made him wonder. Where did the Angel God, who built this Spirit City, go?
Why did she never appear until Qian Renxue's God Position shattered in the original work? Why did she allow that shameless Sea God to tamper with Qian Renxue's God Position inheritance?
Could it be that, as speculated by the fanfiction artists in his previous life, she had fallen?
There were many people coming and going on the wide street.
Their cultivation levels were not low; besides the Spirit City staff on patrol, the streets were full of visitors.
As the saying goes: Spirit Emperors are as common as dogs, and Spirit Saints are everywhere.
Even Spirit Douluo could occasionally be encountered, their powerful auras parting the crowds. Only Titled Douluo were rare.
However, even a Titled Douluo dared not cause trouble in Spirit Hall's holy city.
Because Spirit City is the face of Spirit Hall, causing trouble here is no different from declaring war on Spirit Hall itself.
Just then, a loud commotion, a roar of competing auras, suddenly came from the main intersection ahead.
"Is this the strength of the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh ranked of the Seven Great Sects in the world? How impressive."
"Black Tiger Sect, Wind Sword Sect, Elephant Armored Sect, Sacred Dragon Sect... Every Sect Master is a powerful Spirit Douluo-level expert. They are too strong."
"Strange, why aren't the Clear Sky Sect, Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, and Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School daring to challenge them?"
"Nonsense. Those three Sects all have Titled Douluo experts overseeing them. The Upper Three Sects are truly worthy of their name. Only a fool would go up there to humiliate themselves."
Qin Xuan felt a little curious and said to Nong Yu, "Let's go and see." He really wanted to witness these future Seven Great Sects from the original work.
There were many people gathered at the intersection. Qin Xuan, holding A Yan and holding Nong Yu's hand to guide her through the crowd, led the way.
The two passed through the crowd and saw seven massive stone pillars standing in the center of the intersection plaza.
They were arranged in two rows, spaced more than 10 meters apart.
The first four pillars were 1 zhang high (about 3.3 meters) and 5 meters wide.
On top of each stone pillar stood an old man, each one exuding the powerful pressure of a Spirit Douluo.
One held a sword in his right hand, his robes fluttering as he was surrounded by a light blue hurricane of sword qi.
The other three had their Spirits attached. A Diamond Mammoth, a Dark Demonic Tiger, and a White Armored Earth Dragon roared behind them, as if celebrating their victory, forming a harsh sound wave in the air before returning to calm.
Without exception, all four had eight Spirit Rings: two yellow, two purple, and four black.
And their identities were precisely the old Sect Masters of the Wind Sword Sect, Elephant Armored Sect, Black Tiger Sect, and Sacred Dragon Sect—the Lower Four Sects from the original work. Each was over 80 years old, destined never to advance to Titled Douluo due to their limited talent.
The three stone pillars behind them were also 5 meters wide but much taller, a full 1.5 zhang (about 5 meters) high.
Old men were also seated on them, but unlike the boisterous four, no one summoned their Spirit, nor did anyone display their Spirit Rings.
Each sat cross-legged on the stone pillar with arms crossed, their expressions solemn and majestic, full of pride and tranquility, as if facing a thousand armies, they remained indifferent.
Although none of them revealed their aura, among the dozens of large and small Sects present, not a single one dared to challenge them.
Because all three of them were, without exception, Titled Douluo-level experts.
"Didn't they say the Sect Competition doesn't start until tomorrow?" Nong Yu asked in surprise, her voice a whisper as she took in the raw display of power.
Qin Xuan smiled slightly. "These are just appetizers. The so-called Sect Competition aims to select and rank the seven strongest Sects in the world. But there are so many Sects participating, dozens of them. The higher the level of the Spirit Master, the harder it is to determine a winner."
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