Traversing countless worlds from the primordial era

Chapter 11 Ascension Tournament Arena Battle (Please recommend and add to your favorites!)

Han Li led Lei Ming back to the small building where he had arranged to meet his friends. The other rogue cultivators were all out, leaving only a young monk named Ku Sang. Han Li introduced Lei Ming to the young monk, who returned a kind smile.

"Brother Lei, if you don't have anywhere to stay, then stay here for now. I need to cultivate in seclusion for the next few days. If you have other matters to attend to, you may leave on your own," Han Li instructed before beginning his seclusion.

Lei Ming could understand Han Li's feelings. Like him, Han Li did not have a complete inheritance. Now that he had obtained the complete "Eternal Spring Skill", he would definitely seize the time to cultivate it.

Fortunately, the young monk Master Kusang was there, and Lei Ming seized the opportunity to ask him about the cultivation world. The young monk was very kind and answered all his questions.

Han Li has been in seclusion for three days, and Lei Ming has also become acquainted with these rogue cultivators, at least to the point of being superficial friends.

"The Ascension Ceremony is in two days. Does anyone want to participate?" asked Wu Jiuzhi, a rogue cultivator.

The oldest and strongest Daoist with blue patterns smiled bitterly: "Although the Ascension Assembly is nominally set up for rogue cultivators to join the immortal sects, how can we rogue cultivators compete with the disciples of those immortal cultivation families? Although I don't want to say anything discouraging, with our current strength, we are still far from being able to make a difference in the Ascension Assembly."

After Master Qingwen said this, everyone fell silent.

"Alright, everyone, don't be discouraged. We're all still young. If we don't succeed this time, there's always next time," Daoist Qingwen quickly encouraged everyone. "By the way, where's the newly joined Fellow Daoist Lei?"

"Master Kusang, do you know where Fellow Daoist Lei went?" Wu Jiuzhi asked.

The young monk thought for a moment, then his expression suddenly changed: "Fellow Daoist Lei asked me about the Ascension Ceremony a couple of days ago. Could it be that he's already registered?"

The Ascension Ceremony took place in the final days of the Southern Tai Conference, and the registration requirements were quite high. Cultivators were required to have mastered the seventh level of the Five Elements Basic Technique and be under forty years old. Lei Ming didn't actually meet the latter requirement, as he was already over a hundred years old. However, Lei Ming still held onto a sliver of hope. After all, he was a member of the Primordial Human Race, different from the humans of this world, and cultivators might not be able to accurately determine his age.

The registration point for the Ascension Ceremony was located in a pavilion, which was originally set up for independent cultivators, so there were no other requirements for registration. Lei Ming arrived early in the morning and lined up, approaching the registration point step by step.

A cold-faced young man was registering the rogue cultivators. When it was Lei Ming's turn, the man didn't even look up.

"call."

"Thunder".

"age."

"Around twenty or thirty."

The young man looked up and glared at him: "Don't you even know your own age?" He pointed to the spirit-testing stone next to him: "Enter your magic power here."

Lei Ming did as instructed, and the spirit-testing stone soon began to glow.

"Seventh level of Qi Refining," the young man said in a low voice, his tone filled with undisguised contempt. Based on past experience, although those at the seventh level of Qi Refining could participate in the Ascension Tournament, they had absolutely no chance of winning. Each Ascension Tournament had hundreds or even thousands of cultivators participating, but the seven major immortal sects only recruited seventy people, and only those cultivators at the tenth level of Qi Refining or above had a chance of entering an immortal sect.

"Stand here and don't use your magic!" the young man said, taking out a jade tablet. A beam of light flew out from the tablet and landed on Lei Ming's body. This was to test his bone age.

Determining bone age is also very simple. As long as the cultivator does not conceal it, the stronger the light reflected by the spell, the older the bone age.

"Bone age thirty." The young man judged based on the light, then made a record and gave Lei Ming a palm-sized jade tablet.

"This is your ring pass; drip a drop of blood here."

After Lei Ming finished registering and walked out of the registration point, he breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that he had managed to pass this time by sheer luck.

Back in the attic, everyone was discussing something. They were all surprised to see Lei Ming return.

"This is the jade token for the arena competition. Fellow Daoist Lei, did you really register for the Ascension Ceremony?" Daoist Qingwen exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the jade token on Lei Ming's waist.

All eyes turned to them.

Lei Ming smiled and said, "I just signed up. Fellow Daoists, please remember to cheer me on when the time comes!"

The crowd looked at Lei Ming with mixed feelings; some admired him, some sympathized with him, and some even mocked him.

"Fellow Daoist Lei's courage and resourcefulness are truly admirable," Daoist Qingwen remarked.

"I'm afraid they're just going to their deaths," said the rogue cultivator Hu Pinggu calmly.

Lei Ming wasn't angry when he heard this. He only had nodding acquaintances with these people, and there was no need for him to be angry because of them.

"No matter what, since you've signed up, you should prepare well," Wu Jiuzhi said quickly. "Fellow Daoist Lei, you should stay here and meditate for the next two days to get yourself in good shape. We'll all cheer you on then."

Lei Ming nodded and returned to his room.

"Although my wife's words are unpleasant, they are true. Fellow Daoist Lei is only at the seventh level of Qi Refining. If someone with such a level goes to fight in the arena, they will either be injured or killed." The bearded man broke the silence in the room.

"Since it was Fellow Daoist Lei's own choice, let's not say anything more," said Daoist Qingwen.

"I hope he survives," Hu Pinggu said dismissively.

Although he had successfully registered, Lei Ming didn't have much to prepare. He had nothing of value, not even a cultivation technique. He stayed in the attic for two days, and when the Ascension Conference began, Lei Ming went to the arena with a demon-binding net around his waist and a saw in one hand.

Before Lei Ming left, Han Li had not yet emerged from seclusion.

The other independent cultivators followed Lei Ming to the arena.

"This is it." Lei Ming glanced at the number on his identity jade token.

There were three arenas for the Ascension Ceremony. Lei Ming counted, and each arena had four or five hundred people in front of it, divided into small groups of two or three. The group closest to the arena had powerful auras and looked very confident; they were the cultivators specially trained by the immortal cultivation families. Behind them were experts among the rogue cultivators, with many at the ninth or tenth level of Qi Refining.

The rules for the arena battles are already contained in the jade tablet. According to the rules set by the seven major sects, the arena battles of the Ascension Tournament are entirely an elimination tournament. More than a thousand cultivators will compete to determine the final seventy people within a single day. These individuals will be qualified to enter the seven major sects and receive a Foundation Establishment Pill.

The organizers of the arena battles were powerful figures from the seven major sects. Lei Ming saw that each of the three arenas had a powerful cultivator presiding over it.

"They're Foundation Establishment stage seniors!" Wu Jiuzhi exclaimed enviously. "I wonder when I'll be able to reach Foundation Establishment!"

Lei Ming understood. He observed those Foundation Establishment cultivators and found that their auras were indeed very strong, but only comparable to the demonic beasts of the primordial world.

The arena battles began quickly. Ten formations rose up on each of the three arenas, and the cultivators participating in the arena battles fought within the formations. For each arena, ten groups of fighters were randomly selected each time to determine the winner.

The first batch of battles were drawn, and sixty people went up to the arena.

Lei Ming wasn't chosen, so he observed the other battles from below. The formation on the arena only blocked the aftershocks of the fights, but it didn't hinder everyone's viewing.

The thirty battles on the arena were decided in just a few breaths. Lei Ming saw that the difference in strength between the two contestants was too great; one was at the seventh level of Qi Refining, while the other was at least at the tenth level. The latter injured the former with just one spell, and the former voluntarily conceded defeat.

When Hu Pinggu and the others saw this, they looked at Lei Ming with mockery, as if he were the loser. These people didn't have the courage to participate in the Ascension Conference, but Lei Ming, a mere Qi Refining Stage 7 cultivator, had participated, which made them very uncomfortable.

Lei Ming ignored this and watched quietly. The fighting styles of cultivators were indeed diverse. Some fought with their bare hands, most used magic, and a few, being wealthy, used talismans. Lei Ming even saw someone using a magical weapon, which was also a sword, making him somewhat envious.

Not long after, Lei Ming's identity jade token lit up, displaying a number. He stepped onto the arena and entered a formation, where another cultivator followed. Lei Ming sized up his opponent, a young man in his early twenties with fair skin and a refined appearance. However, his eyes held a sinister glint, giving him a fierce aura.

(End of this chapter)