The venue for the Sky Profound Sect's decennial Grand Competition was a massive white jade plaza at the foot of the main peak, Sky Profound Peak.
Normally, this place was solemn and was only used for major sect ceremonies. But today, it was bustling with people, colorful flags were fluttering, and it was extraordinarily lively. In the center of the plaza stood ten huge arenas built of giant stone, inscribed with defensive runes. The surroundings were already packed with tens of thousands of inner and outer sect disciples, deacons, and even some rarely seen elders who had come to watch.
In the sky, from time to time, true disciples or core disciples from various peaks would fly past on magnificent swords or peculiar mounts, drawing waves of envious gasps from the disciples below. The air was filled with a unique atmosphere mixed with anticipation, tension, and excitement. The entire Sky Profound Sect was immersed in this grand celebration.
The arrival of Lin Fan and Yue Qingqian did not cause even the slightest ripple in this noisy ocean.
Lin Fan used his self-created "Passerby A Mind Art," reducing his presence to a minimum. He slightly hunched his shoulders and back, his gaze a bit timid, perfectly blending into the crowd. He looked just like an outer sect handyman disciple who was a little overwhelmed by seeing such a grand scene for the first time.
Yue Qingqian, on the other hand, remembered her senior brother's teachings well. She wore the most common inner sect disciple uniform, restrained her entire aura, and followed quietly behind Lin Fan. Although her outstanding appearance attracted some gazes, in a place filled with geniuses and beauties like today, she did not stand out too much.
They easily found the exclusive registration area for the Ninth Peak. It was located in the most remote corner of the plaza, and the deacon in charge of registration was almost asleep. When he saw the words "Ninth Peak," he just lazily raised his eyelids, casually tossed a jade token engraved with a number to Yue Qingqian, and waved them away, without a single extra word throughout the entire process.
"See that, Junior Sister?" Lin Fan took the opportunity to conduct an on-site lesson. "This is the benefit of being low-key. No one pays attention, no one bothers you. This is the most ideal environment for survival."
Yue Qingqian nodded in deep agreement.
They did not go to the bustling spectator areas. Instead, following the "optimal viewing (escape) route" that Lin Fan had planned in advance, they came to a spot near the edge of the plaza with an average view but closest to an exit. The flow of people here was sparse, so if any unforeseen incident occurred (like some masters starting a fight in the sky), they could evacuate the scene at the first opportunity.
As a melodious bell toll resounded through the sky, a Nascent Soul stage grand elder with white hair and an immortal-like demeanor appeared on the high platform in the center of the plaza. He gave a few simple, inspiring words, announced the rules of the competition, and then, amidst deafening cheers, declared the official start of this Sect Grand Competition!
The first round of the preliminaries used the most traditional lottery draw method.
A huge golden sphere of light slowly emerged in the sky above the plaza, with the jade token numbers of all participating disciples swirling rapidly inside. Every few breaths, two jade tokens would fly out from the sphere, shooting towards the ten arenas respectively. The disciples who were chosen would then have to go on stage for a duel.
Lin Fan and Yue Qingqian's gazes were both fixed on the giant sphere of light, their hearts more nervous than anyone else's.
All their previous plans, all their special training, were built on one crucial premise—that Yue Qingqian had to, in the first round, precisely draw their preset "perfect opponent," Qian Dali!
"Senior Brother, this... this is all up to luck. What if I don't draw him?" Yue Qingqian's palms began to sweat. There were nearly a thousand new disciples participating. The probability of being precisely matched with a specific person in the first round was imaginable.
"Don't worry." Lin Fan's expression, however, was unusually calm, his eyes flashing with the confidence of having everything under control. "A normal draw is indeed based on luck. But, when your spiritual sense is powerful enough to influence the rules themselves, luck is just a parameter that can be rewritten."
As he spoke, a chaotic light, deeper than the stars, flashed in the depths of his seemingly ordinary eyes.
An invisible, formless, terrifying divine sense that transcended the laws of this world silently spread out from his body. It did not alert anyone, nor did it even attract the slightest attention from the Heavenly Dao. Like an invisible fish, it easily merged into the giant golden sphere of light.
Within the torrent of countless jade tokens, constructed by the sect's magical treasure and seemingly rolling at random, Lin Fan's divine sense precisely found the one representing Yue Qingqian and the one representing Qian Dali.
Then, he just gently, with that trace of chaotic divine sense, established an imperceptible karmic link called "fate" between these two jade tokens.
After doing all this, he withdrew his divine sense. The entire process was as smooth as flowing water, without a single trace of effort.
"Alright," he nodded to Yue Qingqian beside him and said in a calm, matter-of-fact tone, "It's done. You're up next round."
Yue Qingqian was still a bit dazed, not understanding what her senior brother meant by "it's done."
Just then, the golden sphere in the sky once again shone brightly!
Weng—!
Two jade tokens, as if drawn by some mysterious force, stood out from the countless tumbling numbers, carved two graceful arcs in the air, and shot straight towards the seventh arena, which was closest to them!
One of the jade tokens landed steadily in Yue Qingqian's hand.
And the other flew to a simple, sturdy young man not far away who looked like a small mountain. The young man scratched his head, glanced at the jade token, then at his opponent, a simple and honest smile on his face.
He was the disciple of Giant Rock Peak, Qian Dali!
The surrounding disciples showed no great interest in this matchup.
"Huh? The seventh arena is that new junior sister from the Ninth Peak? I heard her name is Yue Qingqian, she's quite pretty."
"Her opponent is Qian Dali from Giant Rock Peak. He's a tough one, peak seventh level of Qi Refining, with a body of trained muscles and astonishing defense."
"Then there's no suspense. A junior sister who just joined three months ago against a tough guy who has cultivated for many years. She probably won't last ten moves. It's a pity for such a pretty junior sister to be eliminated in the first round."
Listening to the discussions around them, the corner of Lin Fan's mouth curved into a perfect, imperceptible smile of a well-executed plan.
The right time, the right place, the right people.
The script, the actors, the stage, and even the audience's reaction—everything was proceeding exactly according to the script he had written in advance, without the slightest deviation.
He looked at Yue Qingqian beside him and gave her an encouraging glance.
"Junior Sister, it's your turn to go on stage. Remember what we rehearsed. Go, go and perform your most magnificent failure."
Yue Qingqian took a deep breath and nodded firmly. She gripped the iron sword in her hand, her eyes showing no nervousness, but filled with the sense of mission and honor of an "artist."
She took a step forward, and under the countless curious or sympathetic gazes, she walked step by step, firmly, towards the seventh arena that was about to witness her "glorious defeat."