Painting of the Nine Immortals
chapter-667

The Competition of the Four Paths is an important event for the Shang Qing Sect that happens once every decade.

Therefore, every time it is the time for the competition, the Shang Qing Sect's cultivators begin to get busy.

Setting up the battling stages, cleaning up the list of the competitors, or designing the tests – while all of these tasks sound very small, they go on continuously behind the stage.

After all, the Competition of the Four Paths was a tradition that's been going on for thousands of years. No matter how troublesome, they were experienced enough to not let any accidents happen.

As for the cultivators who were getting ready to participate in the competition, they were even busier.

The Shang Qing Sect's descendants cultivated tirelessly to improve their techniques, cultivation, and battling experiences. The descendants of the Paths of Arrays, Crafts, and Alchemy, did not even feel pitiful for wasting their materials as they again and again crafted their best product.

Under such an intense environment, the atmosphere of the Shang Qing Sect had gotten more and more tense.

Countless people raised their necks in anticipation of the Competition and in meeting the different Heaven's Favorites with their respective dazzling skills.

However, most people were certain that the winner of this year's competition will be those famously known Heaven's Favorites.

Leng Feng from cultivation, Ta Ba Feng from arrays, Hong Luo Zhuang from alchemy, and Xiang Ru Gu from crafts.

During the time Ling Xian was in isolation, these four's names became wildly known as the top talents of the Shang Qing Sect and the strongest descendants of the four paths.

Their capabilities made them deserving of this title.

Whether it was Feng Leng, who was known for his cultivation, or the three from the side paths, they were all insanely strong and to put it bluntly, nobody in the younger generation could be considered their opponent.

Therefore, everyone was certain that these four would win the competition of their respective paths!

However, before this result that everyone had agreed on, a very unharmonious voice chimed in. That voice was one who questioned whether or not Master Xian Ling would also be participating in this year's competition.

Sadly, the moment this guess was spoken out loud, the person was drowned by people's spit.

What a joke!

The Competition of the Four Paths was specifically designed for the younger generation. Master Xian was a multi-talent with extremely profound knowledge. At the very least, he had been alive for a century. Why would he be able to participate in such a competition?

Other than the few who knew what was going on, everyone else indicated that the speculation as impossible.

Because in their hearts, whether it was the Path of Array or the Path of Crafts, Ling Xian's level of knowledge was far too terrifying and he was at least a few hundred years old.

Therefore, everyone naturally saw him as a grandmaster. The kind who's been alive for at least a few hundred years. They never would've guessed that he was young.

There was a saying that the truth was always told by the minority. Ling Xian just turned out to be a young, one who was younger than most of the people who were participating in this competition.

What could they do? He was far too insane and he could not be measured by normal logic.

Just as everyone looked up to him with their heads held high, the competition finally opened its curtains under everyone's high expectant stares.

At the same time, Ling Xian, who was inside the stone room, opened his eyes.

Just then, a quick flash of white appeared in his eyes before disappearing without a trace.

Then, he lifted himself off the tatami. The spiritual energy that belonged to the peak of the foundational level rose with him and clashed against the stone walls around him.

It was obvious that he had used merely three days to reach the peak of the foundational level from the beginning stage of the foundational level.

One has to admit that this entire thing was unbelievable. If this news got passed around, everyone would be in extreme shock. But for it to have happened to him, it didn't sound so strange anymore.

"Not bad. My cultivation is of the peak of the foundational level. It is enough to go up against the genius named Leng Feng."

Ling Xian revealed a satisfied smile as his eyes shone with hope. "I sure hope those rare geniuses have some real form of abilities. Or else I will not be interested in them."

Luckily there was nobody else inside the stone room. Or else they wouldn't be thinking good things after hearing what he had said.

Those who are participating, are not even thinking about winning the entire competition. They were all going with the hope of winning second or third. This was because they all knew that there was far too big of a gap between them and those geniuses. Yet there he was, not only was he going for first place, he was also hoping that the geniuses are truly powerful. This alone would make everyone speechless.

But from this, it became obvious how aggressively confident he was!

"Alright, let's go. Since I am a pupil of the Path of Crafts, I will have to win on this path first." Ling Xian grinned and headed towards the crafts palace.

The way he was walking wasn't like he was on his way to an intense competition. It was as if he was going to take something that was rightfully his.

He strolled on like that and by the time he reached the arena, the competition had started.

On top of the wide field, countless silhouettes sat with their legs crossed. Before them were their individual cauldrons. All of them had a serious expression as they focused on controlling the ingredients inside the cauldron.

Without a doubt, these people were making crafts.

Around them were a thin layer of barrier that separated them from the outside voices and energy, just in case anyone tries to sabotage them. Outside the barriers were seven elders wearing long robes. They were the judges of this competition.

Other than these people, there were many people who were there for the show. Looking over, one could see that the field was completely black. At the very least, there were thousands of people and most of them were people who couldn't participate in the test.

This was all there was.

Based on how simple this whole thing was, nobody would believe that this was the utmost important event for the Shang Qing Sect. But this was one of the things that made this competition so different.

Compared to most other competitions, this competition was not limited by borders, rules, or repetitive reminders.

If you are a pupil who joined the Sect in the past 10 years, then you may enter the competition. You don't even need to sign up, it didn't matter which Path you belonged to, it didn't matter how early or late you arrived.

As for the actual rules, that was even easier.

Other than cultivation, which required one on one battling, the other three Paths were extremely easy to test. As long as you head on stage within the regulated time and craft something, you are set.

Doing so saves energy and manpower, and the result was also easy to see.

This was also why Ling Xian was not at all in a rush and was so certain he could win all four winning titles.

Because after he finishes one test, he will go to the next, until he gets all four titles!

"So it has begun."

Looking at the silhouettes inside the barrier, Ling Xian did not reveal any trace of being worried and instead, held a faint smile, "Thankfully, the competition doesn't care what time you show up. Or else my right to enter the competition would've be nulled."

Then, he stepped forward and entered the barrier.

This step of his turned into a focal point.

After all, all the spectators weren't moving and he was the only one who was walking into the barrier. Naturally, he grabbed everyone's attention.

Just then, a young man frowned and said something with much uncertainty.

"Xian Ling?"

Such simple words landed in everyone's ears like a giant rock falling into a calm body of water. It created giant waves that lifted into the sky!

The name Xian Ling had already echoed throughout the Shang Qing Sect and everyone knew of it.

Therefore, when that young man spoke, the entire arena turned into chaos.

Then, all sentences of denial began to come up one after another. Nobody believed that this simple looking man would be the legendary Master Xian.

"What, Master Xian Ling? Impossible."

"Yeah, this person looks 18. How could he be the multi-talented Master Xian Ling?"

"Definitely not possible! That is definitely an internal joke!"

Everyone chimed in to discuss. In their hearts, Xian Ling was a grey haired old man. There was no way he would be this young.

"Everyone, you have been mistaken."

The young man smiled. He was of the same grade as Ling Xian and saw him during their first class. "The Xian Ling before us is not that multi-talented master. He is the last rank of my class."

"Hahaha, I told you it would be impossible. They merely share a name."

"There are so many people inside the Shang Qing Sect. It is not that strange to have some people with the same name. I share the same name as many others."

"Exactly. Master Xian is a multi-talented grandmaster, how could he be the last of his class? Look at the way he is walking. Hahaha, this is laughable."

Everyone never even questioned before believing that young man's claim.

For one, Ling Xian was far too young. Though those who have lived for centuries don't look that different from others on the outside, the way elders behave and the temperament they exude were incomparable.

For two, someone ranked the last of his class really shouldn't be compared to a multi-talented grandmaster. Just like the moon and fireflies, the difference between them is far too large.

Therefore, everyone was treating Ling Xian like he was merely someone who shared a grandmaster's name, they also all stepped out to mock him.

The "honor" of being the last of his class was something that deserved their mocking.

Listening to everyone's discussions about him, Ling Xian's expression didn't change much. Against mockery, his solution had always been the same. He will combat these people with facts!

Therefore, he never stopped walking as he headed forward.

At this, everyone's laughter erupted even louder and their words turned more ruthless.

However, no matter how hard those people laughed, Ling Xian's expression remained calm. As he approached the barrier, he saw someone familiar.

Dong Fang Yu.

She was responsible for being one of the judges in today's competition. In other words, she was here to determine if a participant passes or fails.

"Xian Ling, I cannot believe you would be here to enter this competition." Dong Fang Yu said softly. The way she looked at Ling Xian was very complicated.

Ling Xian beamed and said with respect, "You don't think the tail of the class can participate in the competition?"

"That's not what I meant."

Dong Fang Yu frowned. She wanted to say something but stopped, "Oh well, you qualify to enter. So go on."

"Thank you, Professor Dong Fang."

Ling Xian's lips curled up and he swept around his sleeve. A giant hole appeared in the barrier. Then, he walked on in casually.

This made Dong Fang Yu's expression change drastically. The seven elders in the air were also shocked at this.

To know that the barrier was an array with a very high realm. Without a special activation method, even a grandmaster cannot break through it.

Yet Ling Xian merely lifted his sleeve to open up the barrier. Why wouldn't they be surprised at this?