Wang Xue was floating right above the 4 Spirit Lakes; he was in deep thought, contemplating whether he should enter the competition or not. He was lucky enough to get the second prize by chance when he killed the thief, but his mind wasn't at ease when thinking of the grand prize he could receive.

He couldn't care less for the 1000 spirit pills or the 2 spirit weapons; what he wanted most was the Jade Lotus.

"The Jade Lotus is a unique High-Human herb that can strengthen foundations; this is especially effective for those at the Jade Palace realm."

Wang Xue didn't have a palace to think about, but the Golden Pagoda skill strictly said that foundation was essential and the function of his Golden Pagoda and a Jade Palace was not all that far apart, so he wanted to see whether it would have an effect.

He opened his eyes on his physical body to find that it was already deep in the night, and Wu Hui, who he was going to asks, was already asleep in her futon. Wang Xue didn't bother to wake her up and just took the ice steel sword inside the storage bracelet.

"I don't have any weapons to use tomorrow, and Fenrir is still not suitable for fighting in his current state. Sigh*, that guy should be done when I reach Spirit Condensation realm."

Wang Xue grumbled; a material weapon is essential for those who do not possess weapon-type Martial Spirit. Using the Sword-Type Spirit Weapon was out of the question, so his best choice was to refine the ice steel sword.

He laid down the ice steel sword on his bed and started silently enveloping the ice steel sword with his spiritual energy, and began the refinement.

"Refinement needs for a person to wield the element of fire, I don't cultivate any fire type technique, but thankfully this sword is not a spirit weapon." Heaving a sigh of relief Wang Xue proceeded with the refinement.

Ice Steel is a rare type of steel found only in places where the temperature is low enough, the Ice Steel also makes for great weapons with their durability almost reaching the peak of a High Human rank treasure. The Ice Steel is valuable to young cultivators no matter where it was sold.

Wang Xue enveloped the sword with his spiritual energy; the sword was already full of rust, but after 2 hours of Wang Xue's hard work, the rust finally began to get off and what came out from underneath that rust was a beautiful black blade.

The black sword was half a meter in length; the way it looks now was too different from before, that if he took it back to that man and claimed that it was the same sword, he would just be met with a snort and be ignored.

It took Wang Xue a total of 3 hours before he could thoroughly polish off the blade, but when he saw his reflection on its surface, Wang Xue didn't care for much.

"Cultivation takes time and effort." he reminded himself of such a simple fact.

Taking out the 9 throwing knives from his storage bracelet then kept the sword.

He didn't complain even a little bit; refining ordinary weapons with spiritual energy also helped him a little, so he thought of this as a practice, so Wang Xue didn't mind. All 9 throwing knives were finally complexly refined by sunrise.

Keeping all the throwing knives to his storage bracelet, Wang Xue stood up from the bed; he didn't have time to wait for Wu Hui to wake up because he didn't know any time limit when entering the competition.

Wang Xue gathered enough information yesterday that the competition will be taking the application at the square, where the trade fair was just held the day before. The sky was still dark, but it was already packed with people.

Wang Xue wasn't able to measure the area of the square because his eyes were only on the merchandise being sold. The square was about 500 meters big, but it was still filled to the brim even with such a space.

The people of Cloud City were all excited about the yearly Jade Province competition, the biggest event held in their city. It was a similar sight every year.

The square would be packed with hopeful and enamored youths wanting to see excitement. But more than them, the ordinary people wanted to witness the fights.

Boom! BamBam! Boom!

Boom! BamBam! Boom!

The rhythmic beating of the drum sounded out when the sun finally rose, illuminating the City. The beat of the drums was the announcement that the day had begun; the battle drums were located at the four corners of the city, making it impossible for anyone not to hear.

Wang Xue saw new things that he didn't see yesterday when he looked around the trade fair.

The Square had been transformed into an arena. In the middle of the square was a set of stairs leading up to a platform.

All around the city square were three banners hanging on different buildings and establishments.

There were even stands for spectators.

On the Square's main entrance were these very prominent banners.

From the left, it was Boulder Sect, Heavenly Sword Sect, and the Nine Flower Valley. Wang Xue didn't know what the banners were for, but he could remember those three names in the flag from his memory.

The Boulder Sect, Heavenly Sword Sect, and the Nine Flower Valley were the 3 great sects of the Jade Province; they represented the various powers in the whole Jade Province. They were the peak existence there, and this Jade Province competition was something the 3 sects collaborated to create to scout geniuses from the 12 states of Jade Province.

Finding one of the people who looked to be an organizer, Wang Xue asked how to register to enter the competition. It didn't take him a while when he talked with the man, but he made sure to question everything he needed to know.

"Are you someone from the boonies, young man? The Jade Province Competition remained the same as it had always been. It starts with the Trials of the Heaven, and to those who pass the trial can join the Competition against their peers." The receptionist answered while processing his entry.

'The Competition obviously meant fighting. As for the Trial of Heavens... I have a feeling it has something to do with a flight of stairs.'

Boom! BamBam! Boom!

The sounds of the war drum reverberated once again around the city square announcing the coming of the 3 great sects, inciting the people's excitement in the city square, especially the young people who came to compete for pride and honor.

Wang Xue turned to look at one of the entrances to the square a few meters away from him; 3 groups of young people, all wearing their respective uniforms, approached the platform.

The first group from the left wore white clothes, and all of them carried a sword on their backs and waists.

The second group of people was all-female; they all wore varying skirts that accentuated their curves and beauty. Most of the men in the square were looking at this group.

Lastly, the third group wore yellow clothes; most of them possessed big and burly physiques.

The 3 great sects walked shoulder to shoulder with one person leading their own groups. The group of people wearing all white was the Heavenly Sword Sect; all of the disciples of this particular Sect carried a distinct air in them like they were as sharp as a sword. Led by a young man with a sword in hand, they carried themselves with dignity.

The second group wearing varying colors were the ladies from the Nine Flower Valley. The women of the Nine Flower Valley were all sexy and seductive. The Nine Flower Valley accepts only female disciples; it was regarded as a haven for women who wished to cultivate. They were being led by a woman wearing red tights; she had an elegant look on her face, but deep in her eyes, there was ferociousness.

The third group of young people who wore yellow clothes was naturally from the Boulder Sect. Their bodies were their pride; they were both intimidating like a battle axed and a shield at the same time. Their group was led by a big man whose eyes were a little sunken, but his muscles were clearly bulging from all over his body.

The war drums sounded out from all four directions; each beat was loud but would gradually fade. It shook everyone in the square. The audience in the stands heard the war drums beating and felt their blood boiling from excitement.

'I see now. They say this is an open competition, but this is more like a glorified Dick Measuring Contest for the Sects with all that hostility. But because there's a female-centric Sect, does this make this farse a pissing contest? I wonder.'

"The disciples of the big 3 are here; it seems like it will be a fun year once again!" one of the ordinary people in the Stands said, smiling.

The disciples all paraded themselves with pride around the audience to see; some of them even had their eyes pointed at the sky, showing their arrogance. Many of them were enjoying the envy and the respect that they were given.

Every disciple from the 3 great sects was at the Jade Palace Realm; judging by their looks, their weakest was the level 2 Jade Palace Realm. Level 1 and below didn't have the right to participate in there, or so they believed.

The level 2 Jade Palace Realm disciples up in the tournament platforms were the best of the best; ordinary people at level 2 of the Jade Palace realm won't be able to hold against them; they wouldn't dare to come here; they'll just disgrace themselves.

Wang Xue had a smile plastered on his face as he watched the people of the bog sects parading themselves like clowns. But, he was honestly impressed by the Heavenly Sword Sect showing indifference to the attention they were receiving was something worthy of respect.

"Look over there, Zi Shuang from the Boulder sect is here! He's already a level 2 of the Jade Palace realm at the age of 17!"

One of the disciples of the Boulder Sect attracted much attention; his muscular body was even bigger than the others from the Boulder Sect.

"Hey, that's Wu Feng of the Heavenly Sword Sect! Carrying his sword behind him, I heard he cleared out a bandit den alone; seems like he's the only one that can match with Zi Shuang!"

Someone from the crowd pointed at the young man at the end of the Heavenly Sword Sects line, wearing a white robe. That young man was like a sword, and he was emitting a shard aura even while as he just stood there, he was able to intimidate many people in the crowd and the other competitors.

"Yu Da-Xia is also over there in the Nine Flower Valley; she's the best of the younger generation disciple from her Sect! Her abilities are no less compared to Wu Feng and Zi Shuang."

"This year will be hard to predict. So many geniuses have emerged all of a sudden, and all of them are already at the level 2 of the Jade Palace realm."

"That's true, but do you think there will be people other than the people from the 3 great sects who will win the competition this time?"

"I don't think so, there are so many geniuses here, and they think they can win? If I were them, I'd just go and train some more so I won't lose face in front of so many people."

The discussions of everyone revolved around one thing, and that things were who would be the winner this year. But even with their conversation going around like this, no one believed that someone from out of the 3 great sects will even enter the final 8 that will decide the rankings.

Wang Xue counted all the people that had just entered, 150 from the Heavenly Sword Sect, 200 from the Boulder Sect, and 170 from the Nine Flower Valley. He had many competitions, as for the people who wished to enter from outside the 3 Great Sects, there were only 4 standing at one side.

There were over 500 participants in the square, but only 20 of them could advance to the next round… the rate of elimination was high.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The beating of the war drums got more rapid than before until it became nothingness. With the drum not making any sound, everybody in the square held their breaths as they waited.

Wang Xue didn't know what was happening, so he just continued watching; then the wind started picking up and started gathering in the center of the tournament platform, creating a miniature tornado.

As this happened, many people gasped. Then, a voice rang in the square.

"The Jade Province Competition is now officially started."

3 silhouettes stepped out of the tornado.

Wang Xue saw the three and sneered, 'Great more Pricks.'