The Qingfeng City Tournament was a grand tournament held every three years in the neighboring city. All young cultivators under the age of twenty were permitted to join. Extravagant treasures were awarded to those with the strength to take them and the courage to step over other so-called 'geniuses'.
With this announcement, the eyes of the juniors livened up and they sat up straighter in anticipation. Lin Yi noticed this reaction and gave a rare smile as he contemplated his next words.
"This year's Qingfeng City Tournament will be even more extravagant as there will be a Hall Master from the Jade Mountain Sect in attendance. If a person were to catch his eyes, then they might be able to become a disciple of the Jade Mountain Sect!" announced Elder Yi, "Our clan alone has been allotted two slots for the competition this year."
All the youths of the Lin Family felt a rush of blood as they imagined themselves being chosen to represent the clan and fight for glory on a grand stage. This is what they dreamed for ever since they became cultivators: a chance to prove themselves. Even greater than that was the chance to join the Jade Mountain Sect. The Jade Mountain Sect was the largest sect in the Qinglong Empire!
Elder Yi slowly intoned his next words, "The two representatives of the Lin Family shall be… Lin Qin and Lin Xue! If there is anything you require feel free to speak up and the clan will do its best to meet your wishes."
With great anticipation comes great disappointment. All but two faces showed expressions of disappointment as if a bucket of water was thrown onto them. One of the two faces was a handsome young man that appeared to be no older than eighteen. This person was none other than Lin Qin who was the adopted son of Elder Yi and the person who beat Lin Tian.
He gave off a refined atmosphere that would draw in no small number of people. He gracefully stood up and politely bowed to the elders and said, "Lin Qin thanks the elders for this opportunity. I will be sure to bring home glory to the clan so that its name resounds for a thousand li."
The hearts of youths were quick to change. The other dispirited youths quickly regained their vigor as they basked in Lin Qin's grand promise. They quickly showed their support for Lin Qin as they gave out words of support.
However, there was one youth that didn't join in the fun, Lin Xue. She also gracefully stood up and gave a polite bow to the elders, "Lin Xue greets the elders."
Elder Yi waved for her to dispense with the formalities. "Yes, yes. Is there something you need little Xue?" inquired Elder Yi.
"This little one has nothing that she requires but would like to inquire on a certain matter with Elder Yi." Politely asked Lin Xue.
"Is it on your cultivation? Afterward, I will be glad to personally guide both you and Lin Qin on your cultivation and clear up any doubts that you may have." Grandly promised Elder Yi.
The other juniors got excited when they heard this. This was personal guidance by a Xiantian expert! Even if you had a mountain of gold you may not be able to hire a Xiantian stage expert to guide you in your cultivation.
"No, this little one just wants clarification on the punishment given to a Lin Family clansman that intentionally harms another member." Asked Lin Xue.
The entire atmosphere of the hall tensed up. Lin Qin, upon hearing the question showed a shocked expression on his face. Elder Yi upon noticing the look on his son's face could faintly understand the gist of the situation.
"Little Xue, can it be that you're having a problem with one of your fellow peers? A good horse does not eat the grass behind it. Let past matters sort themselves out." Kindly mentioned Elder Yi with a bitter smile on his face.
"The punishment?" Pressed Lin Xue.
Elder Yi's face hardened as the smile fell from his lips. "The Lin Family promotes unity, so intentionally harming a fellow clansman is a serious offense. In a light case, confinement, for a heavy case, crippling or expulsion is not uncommon."
"In that case, Lin Xue would like to ask the elders to confine Lin Qin for the harming of Lin Tian." Asked Lin Xue confidently.
Various expressions flashed across the elders' faces such as surprise, disgust, and anger. This gave an even bigger shock to everyone in the hall over the Qingfeng City Tournament or even the Jade Mountain Sect announcement. Wasn't Lin Tian the reject of the Lin Family? He wasn't even comparable to their servants let alone Lin Qin. The old man at the head of the table finally stirred and opened his eyes after hearing Lin Tian's name.
"I've also heard about this matter and verified the authenticity of this claim." Chimed the kindly looking lady that defended the Xia Family before. Despite the difference in age, it was possible to see certain similarities between her and Lin Xue.
"Elder Rou, do you also wish to call for Qin'er to be confined? Remember Qin'er is the second most promising junior of the Lin Family after Lin Xue," said Elder Yi through clenched teeth.
"No, you misunderstood. It's not me calling for little Qin's confinement, but the Lin Family's laws." Spoke Elder Rou. She then turned towards Lin Xue and gave her a small smile and wink.
Elder Yi seeing the discussion go unfavorably towards him decided to change his approach. "Now, Xue'er. Why don't we all take a step back? Spilled water cannot be taken back, and neither can words. Let's focus on turning big problems into small ones and small ones into nothing. I believe that this problem can easily be solved by sending over a jar of Body Healing Ointment to little Tian." Mediated Elder Yi with a fake smile.
Suddenly the hall doors were thrown open as a Lin Family guard rushed in. "Clan Master, urgent news! A beast tide was spotted on Green Snake Mountain!"
On the mountain, Lin Tian was lifting a stone that weighed roughly fifty jins above his head. Sweat was pouring down his body as the various cuts he received the day before reopened as blood trickled out.
"Just a bit more." Said Lin Tian through clenched teeth. It was only after he squeezed the last bit of energy from his arms that he threw down the rock and sat down to rest. All the muscles in his body throbbed in pain as he laid down. Training his body could only get him so far, but he refused to even slack off for a single day. If he wasn't even willing to help himself then how could he expect others to help him?
He only allowed himself to rest for a few breaths of time before getting up and gathering his sack of supplies. The sun was already passed its zenith and if he was going to reach his quota for herbs then he would have to start moving now. All the herb pickers that went to the mountain were expected to bring back either five common herbs or one rare herb. If you couldn't even do so, then don't expect to eat.
Luckily, Lin Tian was able to spend his morning training instead of looking for herbs since several weeks ago he stumbled upon a small cave full of common herbs. After a short hike, Lin Tian came up to a wall of thorn bushes and vines. When he found the cave, he decided to hide the entrance so that others couldn't find it. He took out a pair of thick gloves from his sack and worked to pull the bushes and vines away. When the last layer of vines was removed, a small opening to a cave was revealed.
The cave itself only went back a couple of meters and was at chest height. Lin Tian had to stoop over to fit inside the cave. Inside there were small groups of green mushrooms that faintly glowed. These eerie mushrooms were a common herb called Ghost Mushrooms.
"five…ten…twenty-three. So just under five days left." Counted Lin Tian. Even the greatest of fortunes cannot withstand the passing of time, not to mention a small cave of herbs. After five days he would not be able to focus on training like he used to and would need to put more effort into finding herbs.
Lin Tian took out a small trowel to skillfully pull up five Ghost Mushrooms to meet his quota for the day. He then retreated from the cave and took the time to hide the entrance once again. With his duty fulfilled, he decided to head back to the Lin Family residence to turn in his herbs.
When he was roughly halfway back down the mountain Lin Tian stopped as he felt the ground tremble beneath him. It only took a brief moment for him to guess what was going on before he started running with all his might. Beast tide!
After only a few breaths of time, he started to hear the roaring of Vicious Beasts as they trampled through the forest. Lin Tian only took a moment to look behind to better understand the scale of the tide. He was able to make out what looked like several dozen giant white wolves running towards him. They stood as tall as a person on all fours and had giant ivory teeth that glistened with saliva. Their blood red eyes showed no mercy as they crashed through trees.
"Shit! Rank one Vicious Beast, the Silver Maned Wolf." thought Lin Tian after seeing their appearance. A rank one Vicious Beast was equivalent to a Houtian stage cultivator.
What could possibly cause such a large group of wolves to act like this? The wolves were only one-hundred meters away from Lin Tian. Even though the wolves had to crash through the trees, they were still steadily closing the distance between them.
Lin Tian was still tired from his earlier training and could feel himself slowing down as his body ran out of energy. At this rate, he could only delay the time that he would become food for the wolves. Lin Tian tried to quickly think of anything that he could do in this situation. That's when he realized that the wolves all seemed to be coming from the forbidden region of the mountain. It was almost as if the wolves were running away from something.
With almost no hesitation Lin Tian decided to head towards the forbidden region of the mountain to escape the tide. If his gamble paid off, he would live, if not, he would die. Whatever the wolves were running away from was something to think about later.
Lin Tian sharply turned west towards the forbidden region of the mountain and madly dashed away. Sure enough, there were no wolves heading in that direction. However, all but the east winds were willing. One wolf at the end of the pack turned its sights on Lin Tian. It gave an apprehensive look in that direction before ultimately deciding to chase after him.
Fuck! To him who was not even a cultivator, one wolf was just as deadly as the entire pack. He continued to head deeper and deeper into the forbidden region. His vision was starting to black out as his limbs turned sluggish. Just as he was about to give up and accept his fate he saw a small crack in the ground that was several meters wide ahead of him. It looked big enough for a person to squeeze through, but not a giant wolf.
With no care for how deep or shallow it was, Lin Tian decided to give himself one last chance at survival and dived into the crack. He tumbled down several meters before roughly falling on his back. After approaching within a dozen meters of the crack, the wolf gave out a high-pitched yip before desperately running away. It had a terrified look in its eyes as it tried to put as much distance as possible between itself and that crack in the ground.
Lin Tian laid on the ground dazed for a few moments before a voice that seemed to be coming from everywhere, yet also nowhere sounded out.
"Welcome trial-goer to the final disciple selection grounds of Heavenly Immortal Alldao."
