Chapter 27: The Sixth Institute's Martial Assembly

  At dawn, when the first golden light rises from the east, the entire Tai Xuan Mountain is shrouded in a layer of misty light. The countless birds singing between the mountains welcome the new day with joy, and their pleasant songs seem to be praising all the beauty in the world.

  Early in the morning, everyone in Yi Garden woke up early, all refreshed and gathered solemnly in Xuan Yu's cave. For this competition, everyone understood that it was a crucial matter. So they were all very serious, not daring to be careless at all.

  Xuanyu Zhenren's gaze swept over the four disciples from the door, finally stopping on Lu Yun and Lin Yunfeng. Xuanyu Zhenren said in a low voice: "Last night, after the unanimous decision of the six institutes' leaders, this morning at Chen time, all participating sects and their disciples must gather in front of Tianxuan Cave. At three o'clock in the afternoon, the opening ceremony of the Six Institutes Martial Arts Conference will be held, and all the leaders will appear on the main stage. The six institute leaders will jointly announce the rules of the competition, and then officially start the competition at the end of Chen time. The opponents for all participants have already been determined."

  Lin Yunfeng hastily asked, "Master, who is the opponent that I and Lu Yun will be facing today? What's their situation like? Are there any obvious characteristics?" Lin Yunfeng looked at Xuan Yu with concern. Beside him, Lu Yun simply gazed calmly at everyone, his smiling face revealing nothing of what he was thinking.

  Xuan Yu Zhen Ren said in a low voice, "This time, from the situation of the six institutes' participating disciples, they are all outstanding disciples with profound cultivation. According to analysis, this year's Six Institutes' Martial Arts Competition will probably be the most grand since its beginning. The number of outstanding disciples this time is likely to exceed the total of the previous two or even three years. Therefore, who can say what results our Yi Garden will ultimately achieve? As far as I know, this time Tianjian Institute's Jian Wucheng has a cultivation that is almost on par with the greatest master of Tianjian Institute 500 years ago, Tianjian Ke. It is said that he is only 26 years old and has already cultivated to the middle level of 'Indestructibility'. His profound cultivation is not inferior to that of the six institutes' masters, which is simply a legend in the Cultivation World. Adding to that, there are also Puti Institute's Benyi, Daoyuan's Wuyong, Ruguan's Bitian, and Fenghuang Book Institute's Cangyue. This time, if our Yi Garden wants to gain a foothold among many powerful opponents, you four must work hard." He looked at the four of them after finishing speaking.

  Xuan Yu Zhen Ren paused for a moment, then continued: "As for this time, Yun Feng and Lu Yun's opponents, one is a disciple of the Tianjian Institute, and the other is a disciple of the Ruyuan. Yun Feng's opponent this time is Mu Hua, the most outstanding disciple of the Tianfeng Cave of the Tianjian Institute. From what I heard from the Haoyun Gentleman in the Ruyuan, this time the Tianjian Institute sent out six of its most outstanding disciples, one from each cave. Among them, Jian Wucheng of the Tianxuan Cave ranked first, Zhan Yu of the Tiansheng Cave second, and Leng Jia Hao of the Tianpeng Cave third. As for Lu Yun, his opponent is Li Ming of the Ruyuan, a relatively weak disciple in the Ruyuan. So Lu Yun's luck is not bad, this round should be very easy. But Yun Feng's round will be somewhat difficult. Remember to be careful at that time. Alright, now let's go, what happens next we'll know when we get there." Everyone who heard his words had a solemn expression. Lu Yun, however, flashed a strange light in his eyes, and in his heart he had an urge to meet Jian Wucheng.

  Out of the cave, Xuan Yu Zhenren led the six to Tianxuandong. After a while, they arrived. Lu Yun carefully looked around and found it very lively. Many sword institute disciples were shuttling back and forth on the spacious grounds, serving tea and water, busy with mundane tasks. Looking around, Lu Yun discovered that the positions of the six institutes were extremely clear-cut. The entire square was divided into six parts, each occupying one part, all filled with tables and stools for rest.

  Due to the large number of people here, and since Lu Yun and his four companions were here for the first time, apart from the six disciples from Ru Garden who recognized them, none of the other disciples from various institutes knew each other. The group arrived at the designated location in Yi Garden, where Xuan Yu True Person spoke up: "Later on, I'll be going up to sit on the main stage, you all just rest here and wait for the competition to start, and when it does, I'll come down myself. As for those people from other institutes that you don't recognize, you can ask Zi Yang Shixiong, he'll tell you." Having said this, he turned around and left.

  Lin Yunfeng and the others left, and immediately said anxiously: "Unexpectedly, there are so many people here! Looking at them, they all seem to be in high spirits. It seems that none of them will be easy to deal with. With so many people participating this time, it's bound to be extremely exciting. It's really worth the trip!"

  Li Hongfei looked around at the people and asked in a low voice, "Master Uncle, who are these six seniors from the Six Institutes? Can you introduce them to us so we won't be unfamiliar with them later?"

  Ziyang Zhenren looked around and said in a low voice, "You all pay attention, at the entrance of the Tianxuan Cave, everyone on that side is from the Tiangong Institute. In the middle, the old man in his sixties with a dignified face and wearing a magnificent robe is Li Changchun, the head of the Tiangong Institute, the most famous person in the Xiu Zhen world. The person to his left is someone you all know, Liu Xinghun, the second highest ranking master of the Tiangong Institute. The person to his right is Jun Bu, the master of Jian Wucheng and the first seat of the Tianxuan Cave, ranked third. Among the eight disciples standing behind the three of them, the one wearing white clothes is Jian Wucheng." As soon as he spoke, Lu Yun, Lin Yunfeng, Zhang Aoxue, and Li Hongfei all looked at Jian Wucheng.

  From a distance, he was a talented and handsome young man. His white clothes complemented his slender yet robust body, exuding an air of confidence and vigor. His eyes were slightly raised, giving off an aura of arrogance. As Lu Yun gazed at him, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes - what a powerful cultivation! At first glance, Lu Yun understood that she had finally met a worthy opponent. Jian Wucheng's cultivation was incredibly deep, leaving Lu Yun astonished. Although she knew she wasn't necessarily weaker than him, she realized that her own cultivation was the result of countless fortuitous encounters. Could it be that Jian Wucheng had similar experiences?

  At this moment, Lu Yun inadvertently neglected a very important thing. That is the most important point in the Xiuzhen world: art lies in refinement rather than breadth. For cultivators, it's difficult to cultivate one technique to perfection even if they devote their entire life to it, let alone cultivating several different techniques at the same time? Therefore, in the Xiuzhen world, cultivating multiple techniques of different natures is a major taboo. Lu Yun was precisely this kind of person who broke this taboo; he cultivated multiple techniques simultaneously. He hadn't thought that Jian Wucheng's natural talent was exceptional, and his focus on a single technique made his progress much faster than Lu Yun's simultaneous cultivation of multiple techniques.

  Ziyang Zhenren glanced at the four Yi Yuan disciples, then pointed to a place on the left side of the Tianjian Academy: "Over there, you should be able to guess even if I don't say it. They are the masters of the Bodhi College. The big monk sitting in the middle, with a string of Buddhist beads around his neck, is Fa Guo Dashi, the abbot of the Bodhi College. Sitting next to him are his junior brothers, Fa Jie Dashi and Ben Xing Dashi. Behind them, the young monk in his thirties is Ben Yi, the most outstanding disciple of this generation of the Bodhi College. Next to Ben Yi is another well-known figure from the Bodhi College, ranked second, Jie Chan." Lu Yun and the others' gazes followed Ziyang Zhenren's explanation, slowly moving along.

  Next, Ziyang True Person introduced the four people to the head of Dao Garden, Qiuxuan True Person and Qingyi True Person, as well as the most outstanding disciples, Wuwang and Yunhua. Later, when it came to the Confucian Garden's Haoyun Gentleman and Bitian, the four of them already knew about it, so there was no need to say more. Finally, when Ziyang True Person shifted his gaze to Fenghuang Academy, the eyes of the four people all fell on a single figure.

  Pale purple skirt, paired with a moving figure, delicate and strong. A beautiful face that cannot be described, with a few strands of calm and elegant spirit, cold as the orchid, gentle as the fairy, all shining with dazzling charm, deeply attracting everyone. No need for Zi Yang Zhen Ren to explain, at this moment, Lu Yun Ao Xue and others understood that this is the most outstanding person in Feng Huang Academy, a rare talent that has not been seen for hundreds of years - Cang Yue.

  Cang Yue was gazing calmly into the distance, her left hand holding a beautifully crafted long sword. She looked like a celestial fairy descending upon the mortal world. Her gentle smile and calm confidence were so captivating, so beautiful. Ao Xue looked at her, and his eyes revealed an unusual radiance. Lu Yun glanced at Ao Xue, and only now did he realize that there was actually another woman in this world who could rival Ao Xue's beauty.

  At this time, Lin Yunfeng let out a strange cry, instantly attracting the attention of everyone present. He said with a strange tone: "It's really unexpected that Feng Huang Academy has such a beautiful woman, she is truly on par with our proud Snow Shizhi! If they stood together, it would be like having two unparalleled beauties in the cultivation world! Haha, that would definitely gather all eyes on them. I truly hope for such a day."

  Lu Yun patted him on the head and scolded, "You're just talking nonsense, do you think we're in a beauty pageant? She's one of the most outstanding disciples of Feng Huang Academy, be careful not to anger her or you'll be in trouble. Don't come looking for me for help when that happens, I won't be able to save you." Lin Yunfeng heard this and glanced at Ao Xue before making a face at Lu Yun.

  Ziyang Zhenren spoke, "That person is Cangyue, she is a disciple of Feng Huang Shu Yuan's leader, Yu Wushuang. The beautiful woman in her thirties over there is also the leader of Feng Huang Shu Yuan. Behind her, next to Cangyue, that beautiful woman is also very famous, she is Xu Jie, ranked second among the disciples of Feng Huang Shu Yuan. She and Cangyue are both high-level cultivators who directly advanced to the rematch, you must be careful later." Lu Yun shifted his gaze to Yu Wushuang, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes. Lu Yun thought that Yu Wushuang was incredibly beautiful, with an air of maturity that was especially alluring, truly worthy of her name, Yu Wushuang, unparalleled under the heavens. It seemed that when she was young, she must have been the toast of the entire cultivation world.

  After a brief introduction to the other five institutes, time was almost up. Ziyang True Person ordered Lu Yun and the others to stand at attention, while he himself sat down with Jingyue Master, their eyes fixed on the podium.

  At this time, the entire square slowly quieted down. The leaders of the six institutes all walked onto the main stage and sat down in order. Li Changchun was seated next to Master Fa Guo from Bodhi Institute in the middle. To Li Changchun's left were Qiuyuan's Seventh Xuanzhen and Fenghuang Book Institute's Yu Wushuang, while to Master Fa Guo's right were Ruyuans' Haoyun Gentleman and Yiyuans' Xuanyu Zhenren.

  After a glance around, the six heads of the institutes exchanged a look, and Li Changchun stood up. He said: "Today is a grand day for our cultivation world. Here, we have gathered all six institutes, each with their most outstanding talents, to showcase the achievements of our six institutes over the past decade. Now, I would like to represent the Tianjian Institute in welcoming everyone's arrival. I wish that everyone can perform at their best and bring out their true selves. Let us make more contributions for the people and for the world, slay demons and monsters, and jointly protect our homeland. Secondly, on behalf of the common wishes of the six institutes, I hope that during the competition, everyone will strive to follow the principles of 'point-to-point' and peaceful friendship, competing in a fair and honest manner."

  For this competition, as with previous ones, six locations will be held simultaneously. Today's competition is divided into two sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Tomorrow, it will also be divided into two sessions. Finally, after determining the top six, the battle for the ranking of the top six will take place here. This time, to encourage everyone's motivation, whoever gets first place will receive a special prize for this conference - the Qiankun Bag.

  As soon as this was said, a burst of exclamations of surprise came from all around. Almost everyone was shocked into stillness. Even the five seated elders' faces changed color slightly. Clearly they had not expected that this time, the Heavenly Sword Institute would actually take out such a precious treasure to use as a reward. In the past, although the Heavenly Sword Institute had also taken out many rare and precious treasures, none of them were as valuable as the Qiankun Bag this time.

  Looking at the shocked expressions of the people below, Li Changchun smiled calmly and glanced slightly at Jian Wucheng of this institute before sitting down lightly. As soon as he sat down, Master Fa Guo of Bodhi Institute stood up. Looking at everyone, Master Fa Guo said: "This time, taking advantage of the Six Institutes' debate on martial arts, I will also say a few things. These are all about major events in the Cultivation World. Firstly, several months ago, the Mortal Realm suddenly appeared with demonic and ghostly creatures from the Demon Domain and Ghost Domain, harming people everywhere and slaughtering innocent lives. Later, although many powerful cultivators of the Cultivation World blocked them, it improved a bit, but that hidden danger has not been completely eliminated. As the six major sects of the Cultivation World, we have an obligation to send people to eliminate those evil demons and monsters that harm people."

  The second thing is that not long ago, a disciple of our sect inadvertently discovered the third-ranked Tianlong Spiritual Vein among the nine major spiritual veins in the world. However, strangely, when they found the Tianlong Spiritual Vein, the entire vein had already been depleted of its spiritual energy, leaving only some evil demonic energy wildly growing. As a result, our sect paid the price of three masters' lives to temporarily seal the exit of that demonic domain.

  Thirdly, legend has it that there is a weapon of pure evil and poison between heaven and earth. This weapon is called the Tian Xie Mo Hun Dao, and legend has it that it has drunk the blood of 100,000 lives, making it one of the three most evil and cruel weapons in the world. Recently, news has been circulating from unknown sources that this purely evil and poisonous weapon has appeared in the human world. For this reason, I hope everyone will be vigilant and beware, just in case. If anyone discovers anything, please report back immediately so we can work together to deal with such an evil thing. That's all for now, time is almost up, so I won't say any more." He finished speaking and sat down, glancing at the others.

  They looked up at the sky, and the six masters stood up simultaneously, announcing to everyone: "The Six Institutes' Martial Arts Conference is now beginning. One incense stick later, the competition will officially start. All participants, hurry to the competition venue for the trial. The competition scene will be judged by high-ranking officials from the six institutes, with at least two or more high-ranking officials judging each match." As soon as they finished speaking, the six masters withdrew from the main stage and returned to their own territories.

  Xuan Yu Zhen Ren returned to the crowd, looked at the four door-to-door, and said in a low voice: "This afternoon is Yun Feng and Mu Hua's match. The location is on the square outside the Tianfeng Cave. Let's prepare now and go slowly." After finishing, he took six people away from the Tianxuan Cave.

  On the road, Lu Yun asked: "Master Shibo, why did everyone get so excited when Li Qianbei, the head of Jianyuan, announced that the prize would be the Qiankun bag on that day? Is there something special about the Qiankun bag? Otherwise, why was everyone so shocked?" This question was actually what the other three people wanted to ask.

  Xuan Yu Zhen Ren glanced at the four of them and said in a low voice, "The Qian Kun Bag is self-explanatory. It can hold all things in the universe. Everything can be put inside, very convenient. But its most amazing feature is not that. Its most amazing feature lies in the fact that if you understand the technique, you can use it to subdue all enemies. All enemies will be trapped inside the Qian Kun Bag. That's a very mysterious artifact, and no one has known its whereabouts for ages. Who would have thought it was actually in the hands of Tian Jian Yuan?"

  Yun Feng said: "That's so cool, if we get first place in Yi Garden, then that thing will be ours! Hehe, it's really great, I'll just work a bit harder, maybe that thing can be mine? Hehe." After finishing speaking, he stood there smiling foolishly, making everyone else unable to help but laugh lightly.

  Lu Yun laughed and said, "You, are you missing a few screws in your brain? You let him go so easily, then everyone else would be freeloaders. Don't you think about it, is the Swordless of the Heavenly Sword Institute easy to deal with? Maybe they're just pretending to be generous. In the end, that Swordless got first place, and the thing still belongs to the Heavenly Sword Institute, you can't even see it."

  Xuan Yu Zhen Ren said in a low voice, "Lu Yun's words make sense. This time, the Tianjian Institute brought out such precious treasures for two reasons. Firstly, it can increase everyone's interest and show off the strength of the Tianjian Institute. Secondly, they already know the outcome and are certain that Jian Wucheng will take first place, so they're pretending to be generous, letting everyone look at the Tianjian Institute in a new light. Their intentions are obvious."

  Ziyang Zhenren said discontentedly, "Brother, your words are too long and have damaged the prestige of Tiānjiàn Academy. Is it possible that among the five academies' disciples this time, there isn't one who can compare to Swordless Dust? Even if our Yìyuán is not as good as theirs, but Bodhi College's Benyi, Dao Garden's Wúwàng, and Phoenix Scripture Academy's Cāng Yuè, these three people are probably not easy to deal with. The final outcome, who will die in whose hands, is still uncertain."

  Xuan Yu Zhen Ren sighed lightly and said, "I've seen the three people you mentioned, their cultivation is indeed very deep. But if compared to Jian Wu Chen, I'm afraid they won't be too optimistic. Alright, let's not talk about this anymore, the result will be clear in a few days. We don't aim for first place now, as long as one of them can enter the top six, it would be enough." Everyone heard his words and fell silent, at this moment everyone had a heavy feeling in their hearts.

  Lu Yun gazed at the horizon, his mind weighing his options. Should he continue to hide his true strength or reveal his skills and have a showdown with Jian Wucheng? On the horizon, a white cloud slowly drifted away, Lu Yun gently withdrew his gaze, his face expressionless. No one could guess what decision he had made in that moment.

  From the Tianxuan Cave to the Tianfeng Cave, the distance is not far, just a few miles. This distance, for cultivators, is like just a few steps away. Arriving at the Tianfeng Cave, there were already many disciples of the Sword Institute gathered here. It seemed they all came to cheer on their fellow sect members. As Xuan Yu Zhenren and his group walked in, almost every young disciple's gaze was fixed on Zhang Ao Xue, their admiring eyes revealing no doubt.

  Far away, Liu Xingyun warmly welcomed him. As soon as they met, Liu Xingyun smiled and said: "Xuanyu brother is really punctual, not wasting any time at all. I didn't expect that just the day before yesterday we met, today the disciples of our two academies will compete against each other, it's really fast."

  Xuan Yu Zhen Ren smiled calmly and said, "Liu Dao You is talking nonsense. This time, no matter who we encounter, it's an unavoidable event. This time it's the two of us, next time it might be old friends meeting again, all the same. Let's just take a step back and look at it clearly. The time is almost up, should we let them prepare for each other?"

  Liu Xinghun smiled and said, "Brother Xuanyu is right, no one can avoid it. Time is running out, both sides prepare for a while, let's begin." After finishing speaking, he led a line of people to walk towards the martial arts arena.

  After the seven Xuan Yu Zhen Ren sat down, Xuan Yu Zhen Ren looked at Lin Yun Feng and said: "Be careful this time, the enemy is not simple. Now you go to the field first to get familiar with the terrain, let Lu Yun accompany him together, let him prepare more. Remember, no matter what the result is, do your best, go."

  "Rest assured, as our Yi Garden's first battle, I won't let everyone down. I will definitely win, watch me." At this moment, Lin Yunfeng put away his usual mischievousness and looked at everyone with a serious expression, his face stern. Lu Yun simply patted his shoulder lightly, her eyes full of trust and encouragement.

  Zhang Aoxue nodded slightly, without saying a word. Li Hongfei said in a low voice: "Be careful, do your best, and there's hope." A concerned gaze finally appeared in those cold eyes at this moment.

  Lin Yunfeng nodded heavily, looked at everyone, pulled Lu Yun's hand and walked towards the martial arts arena. Looking at his back, Xuan Yu, Zi Yang, Jing Yue, and the other two people all showed a hint of concern and encouragement in their eyes.