Chapter 6: The Tournament
Today was the 10th day of the 1st month of 808, also the day where the Ranking Tournament begins.
Yi Xuan left early in the morning to head to the Yushang arena. That is where the start of the tournament was going to be. Once the rules were set up, everyone would then be split into nine other arenas around the outer court.
Yi Xuan arrived with Frey as they walked to some seats. The Yushang arena was packed full. Twenty-five thousand outer disciples were all sitting in these seats awaiting the tournament. Some were excited, some were scared, and some didn't care.
The seats were a mix of many different emotions. This was the 4th time he had come, and it was just as crazy as other years.
Frey was still not talking as much, but she was getting better.
"Elder brother, I didn't know you had a sword."
She pointed to the Wind Gale Saber hanging on Yi Xuan's waist.
"Haha, I've had it for a long time; I just haven't used it in a while."
Frey nodded before going back to watching the stage. At this point, 15 people walked up onto the stage. Yi Xuan recognized them all. They were the 15 outer sect elders who watched over the disciples.
One of them stepped up onto the podium. It was an older man, looking to be in his 50's. He looked ordinary and not someone who would be an elder.
"Silence."
That single sentence changed many people's views of that old man. One word had caused the nearly 25,000 people to go silent.
"Today is a great day as the bi-annual ranking Tournament will begin. There are four rounds, and half of you will be out by the end of the first round."
This made the already silent stadium even more silent. In one round, they were going to eliminate over 12,000 people! Isn't that a little exaggerated?
"Now, every one of you has a number representing where you will go. 1-2500, stay here in the Yushang arena. 2501-5000, you will go to the Vine arena. 5001-7500 you will..."
The old man continued to list all the locations until he reached the end.
"Now, I wish you all the best of luck and to fight in a blaze of glory!"
After hearing this, everyone screamed in excitement.
People soon dispersed to go to their respective arenas. Yi Xuan and Frey also left and went to their arena. Since they had entered together and were some of the last batches in the stadium, they were both respectfully number 20,241 and 20,242.
As they walked, Yi Xuan started talking as usual, while Frey would only listen and respond sometimes.
"Wow, to think you would be reaching the 2nd stage of qi refining so fast! Junior sister, I am impressed!"
"It's not that impressive, you somehow lost all your cultivation, and yet in a year, you are already at the 5th rank of qi forming. I would say that is quite impressive."
"Haha, junior sister, I may be a little fast, but I won't be able to form more than four qi balls. Even if I am fast, what matters, in the end, is talent."
Frey looked at Yi Xuan in shock.
"Is that true?"
"Yes."
After that, Frey didn't talk. She seemed sad about Yi Xuan's talents as he could be a genius, but he wouldn't go further than 1st rank of qi refining.
Of course, Yi Xuan didn't care; if anything, he was happy. At most, another year, he would be able to hit the 1st rank of qi refining, and according to his stats, that's when he will be able to prestige.
<Yi Xuan (Aldrin Schnitt)
Rank: 5th rank of Qi Forming (Mid-stage)
Talent: Mortal
Cultivation Multiplier: x2.0 (+0.5)
Items: None
Prestige: 1
Prestige Points: 0
Progress till next prestige: 56.62/100.00
Skills: None>
Looking at his progress, he nodded to himself. After messing around with the system, he discovered a couple of things. When he said 'Settings,' a couple of things show up that helped with accessibility problems.
One of those things was that the talent, multiplier, and items could all be shown in the stats.
Another thing he found was the wheel. By saying 'Wheel,' a multicolored wheel would pop up. However, there is no writing yet; it is just a blank wheel.
Yi Xuan conjectured that it might have some stuff written down when he gets a spin ticket.
After a while, they finally arrived at their destination. It was a big arena, about only a fifth of the size of the Yushang arena.
Walking in, they had to get their ticket checked before going in. About 2,500 people were all in the seats waiting for instructions. Soon after everyone was seated, one of the 15 elders walked onto the stage.
"Hello, everyone; I am Elder Grand and will be presiding over the first test. This test will test your mental and physical fortitude. The rounds will go on until a certain number of people get out. The first round will last till 2,000 people are left. The second will go till 1,500 people are left. And the final round will go on till 1,000 people are left. Between each round, you will have half an hour's break. You have 15 minutes to prepare and be on stage."
Elder Grand slowly walked off stage, and a swarm of people went on when he walked off.
Some more sensible people stayed in their seats for better concentration. After 10 minutes, Yi Xuan and the other group of more experienced people finally entered the stage.
"15 minutes is up. As I said before, this test tests your mental and physical fortitude. I will unleash pressure from my qi, and you are disqualified if your hands touch the ground. I will start in 3... 2... 1..."
At that moment, it felt as if gravity had increased. A lot of the stronger people didn't feel much of a difference. Yi Xuan, on the other hand, was feeling some pressure.
'This isn't too bad; I forgot that this was the first stage, or else I would have pushed for 6th rank.'
Yi Xuan was crying on the inside because his so-called trump card could do nothing here. He had forgotten about this first trial because it had been so long since he had done it.
'Damn, I became too arrogant because of this system. I forgot that I was still weak. If I lose now, it's not the end of the world, but I would not prefer that.'
Looking over at Frey to his right, she had the same expression she had before, with a slightly worried look on her face as she looked at Yi Xuan. Of course, this did not affect her because she was in the qi refining stage.
'Well, if it starts going bad, I can try that if necessary.'
A few minutes have passed, and over 200 people have fallen already. Yi Xuan could feel the pressure now. It was like having two couches on his back.
'I gotta survive another 3 minutes. By then, everyone would be already out.'
Yi Xuan was now gritting his teeth as he watched the people around him. About half of them barely felt anything, whereas the other half felt a lot of pressure.
When it was starting to become unbearable, the pressure was gone as if it was never there. Yi Xuan, however, still didn't touch the ground as he waited for the announcement to be called.
"The test is now over. You may have a 30-minute break to recuperate."
Elder Grand then walked off the stage. YI Xuan finally gave in and collapsed to the ground. His breathing was ragged, and his legs were shaking.
"Elder brother, are you ok?"
Seeing Frey's worried face, he put on a smile.
"Yep, I am just fine. I need a little breather. Make sure you don't limit yourself to being beside me. I will probably get out in the next round, so don't mind me."
Yi Xuan now lay on the ground like a starfish. After about 5 minutes, he got up and was recovering his stamina. After 30 minutes passed, Elder Grand walked up again.
"Your 30 minutes are up; we will begin soon."
"In 3... 2... 1...
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone