Chapter 119
Even after seizing the position of Top Ranker, a corner of Baek-Cheong’s heart felt somewhat empty.
Even as she stepped down from the Stone Platform, her gaze kept drifting toward the Clan’s seating area.
It was because she had wanted to show her Eldest Brother before anyone else her achievement of becoming the Top Ranker.
However, her Eldest Brother’s Seat remained empty.
Since it was said that the True Disciples each had their own duties while the Martial Arts Competition was being held, he was likely helping out with the Sect’s affairs somewhere.
“I was going to brag a little.”
Baek-Cheong swallowed her disappointment and smacked her lips.
In any case, the Martial Arts Competition was still far from over.
Following the Qi Condensation Group, the Foundation Establishment Group’s matches still remained.
To wait for her Eldest Brother, she directed her steps toward her uncle’s side.
“Oh, our dear Niece. Come sit here.”
Baek Mu-Yeong gestured to the Seat next to him with a pleased expression.
Because his Niece had shown off her skills on the Stone Platform, he had secured a hefty profit for the Merchant Guild, and the smile wouldn’t leave his lips.
Baek-Cheong modestly gathered her robes and took a Seat beside her uncle.
“Thanks to our Niece, your uncle is feeling very proud today.”
Baek Mu-Yeong joked playfully and gently patted his Niece’s head.
Baek-Cheong smiled awkwardly at her uncle’s touch and turned her head toward the Stone Platform.
The Foundation Establishment Group’s matches had just begun on the Stone Platform.
However, the Foundation Establishment Cultivators who ascended the Stone Platform were in a completely different league from the Qi Condensation Group.
Because the Cloud Sea Secret Realm was a Secret Realm for Young Prodigies, there was an age limit of forty for Foundation Establishment Cultivators.
It was the same as the age limit for Qi Condensation Cultivators of twenty.
As a result, not a single cultivator who had reached the late stage could be seen in the Foundation Establishment Group.
The highest cultivation realm among them was merely the 6th star, the very end of the middle stage.
Even so, Baek-Cheong blinked unconsciously as she looked down at the Stone Platform.
Even with the same 1st-Tier Magic Art, the power erupting from the fingertips of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator far exceeds that of a Qi Condensation Cultivator.
Just looking right now at the two cultivators clashing on the Stone Platform proves it.
As one cultivator lightly flicked his hand, several small flags spun and rose into the air.
Blue spiritual energy gathered around each flag, and layers of wind vortexes wrapped around the cultivator.
Not to be outdone, the opposing cultivator chanted an Incantation and formed complex Hand Seals with both hands.
Soon after, a bright red firebird spread its wings and soared above the cultivator’s head.
Fwoosh!
As the firebird flapped its wings once, sparks rained down upon the Stone Platform.
The wind vortexes sucked in the sparks, which transformed into a fierce pillar of fire.
The magic arts of the Foundation Establishment Cultivators collided head-on, and the center of the Stone Platform became a chaotic tangle of flames and wind.
It was on a completely different level from the matches just moments ago, where Qi Condensation Cultivators had barely managed to exchange magic arts.
Flashy and complex magic arts erupted from all directions, and everyone was utilizing Dharma Treasures in earnest.
Certainly, grouping them together as Young Prodigies felt wrong when the qualitative difference from Qi Condensation Cultivators was so vast.
As she quietly watched the match, a random thought suddenly crossed Baek-Cheong’s mind.
‘If it’s around the Foundation Establishment stage, would it be okay to bring out my Flying Sword?’
In the Qi Condensation Group, she had kept the Ilseong Sword sheathed until the very end.
If she had swung the Ilseong Sword imbued with the Sword Intent of the Falling Star Style, a mere Qi Condensation Cultivator’s life could have been in danger.
However, it was a different story for a Foundation Establishment Cultivator who wrapped their body in Dharma Treasures and deployed thick protective magic arts.
Against such sturdy opponents, it seemed there would be no major issues even if she swung her Flying Sword without hesitation.
With that thought, she tilted her head slightly.
“But why would I ever need to fight a Foundation Establishment Cultivator?”
No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t picture a scenario where she would cross swords with a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
In the first place, she had only stepped into the Qi Condensation Group of the Martial Arts Competition.
Baek-Cheong quietly set aside her useless thoughts and shifted her gaze back to the Stone Platform.
‘Ah well, let’s just watch.’
Since there were so many eyes watching that she couldn’t even browse the forum, she leisurely took in the Foundation Establishment Group’s matches instead.
The clashes of the Foundation Establishment Group, where flashy magic arts and Dharma Treasures flew about chaotically, were quite entertaining to watch.
* * *
Before long, the final match of the Foundation Establishment Group also ended, and their Top Ranker was decided.
Unlike the Qi Condensation Group, where the position of Top Ranker went to the External Guest Baek-Cheong, for the Foundation Establishment Group, it went to a Disciple of the Biun Sect.
He was a young cultivator wearing a robe intricately embroidered with a Cloud Pattern, and his skill in mastering the Secret Art of the Biun Sect was formidable.
Eventually, the Top Rankers of the Qi Condensation Group and the Foundation Establishment Group stepped onto the Stone Platform side by side.
Baek-Cheong modestly gathered her robes and walked to the center of the Stone Platform.
Then, instead of the Outer Sect Elder who had been presiding over the matches all along, an Old Cultivator who had been seated in the Seat of Honor slowly stepped onto the Stone Platform.
It was an Inner Sect Elder wearing a robe embroidered with multiple Cloud Patterns of the Biun Sect.
As the Old Cultivator revealed himself, the cultivators filling Jaundae simultaneously fell silent and respectfully paid their courtesies.
A weight of a completely different caliber from the Outer Sect Elder who had presided over the matches quietly pressed down upon the Audience.
Baek-Cheong stole a glance at the Old Cultivator out of the corner of her eye.
‘He’s different from Inner Sect Elder Pung Jin-Hae.’
Soon, the Inner Sect Elder looked down at the two Top Rankers and spoke calmly.
“For two Junior Disciples to show such skill at a young age is an endless joy for Our Sect as well.”
As the Inner Sect Elder lightly flicked his sleeve, a jade token floated up in front of each of the two Top Rankers.
“First, I shall bestow five hundred contribution points upon you Junior Disciples.”
Baek-Cheong modestly bowed her head and accepted the floating jade token.
“Furthermore, I shall grant you the qualification to have one Dharma artifact or Dharma Treasure refined by a 4th-Tier Alchemist of Our Sect.”
As his words continued, Baek-Cheong’s eyes grew slightly wider.
“Lastly, I shall permit you to bring out one additional desired item from the Cloud Sea Secret Realm.”
Every time a reward was announced, Baek-Cheong cheered internally.
Outwardly, she was modestly bowing her head, but inwardly, she was grinning from ear to ear.
“What kind of windfall is this?”
The value of five hundred contribution points alone was immense.
Borrowing Jin-Wi’s words, even one hundred contribution points were an amount an Inner Sect Disciple could only gather by dedicating oneself to missions for two whole months.
Let alone five hundred points, which meant one would have to put in a full year of solid effort on lucrative missions just to touch that amount.
On top of that, the opportunity to have a Dharma artifact or Dharma Treasure refined by a 4th-Tier Alchemist was difficult to even put a price on.
An Artificer of around the 4th-Tier wouldn’t readily lend a hand even if one piled up a mountain of contribution points.
Since the vermilion bracelet her Eldest Brother had gifted her was also said to be the work of a 4th-Tier Alchemist, she already knew full well how precious it was.
Lastly, being able to bring out one more item from the Cloud Sea Secret Realm was also a tremendous reward.
Just by advancing to the main matches, one could secure one desired item, but for the Top Ranker, that person was essentially adding one more on top of that.
A quiet Murmur spread among the cultivators in the Spectator Stands.
“To bestow all those rewards upon the Top Ranker…”
“As expected, the Biun Sect’s generosity is on another level.”
“An opportunity to borrow the hands of a 4th-Tier Alchemist… They’re just giving away something that can’t even be bought with contribution points.”
The cultivators couldn’t hide their Admiration for the Biun Sect’s magnanimity.
It was an atmosphere where everyone realized anew the scale of a Great Sect’s generosity when it set its mind to it.
However, just because the Cloud Sea Secret Realm was given as a reward didn’t mean one could step into it at any time.
The Secret Realm had a specific time when it opened, so it seemed they had to wait a few more days for that day to arrive.
“There will be a few days of leeway until the Cloud Sea Secret Realm opens, so make sure to prepare yourselves in the meantime.”
The Inner Sect Elder calmly instructed them and stepped down from the Stone Platform.
In truth, Baek-Cheong didn’t know exactly what kind of place the Cloud Sea Secret Realm was.
She had only picked up through hearsay that it was a Secret Realm of the Sect filled with fortuitous encounters.
Because of that, she was simply bewildered by the talk of when it opened and of bringing out one more item.
‘Since I don’t know what kind of place it is, I can’t really get a feel for it.’
However, Baek-Cheong didn’t think much of it.
In any case, when the time came, she would go in and experience it for herself.
‘Well, I’ll find out when I go.’
With the rewards received, the Martial Arts Competition came to an end.
She respectfully bowed her head to show her courtesy and stepped down from the Stone Platform.
Now, there was only one thing left in the New Spring Exchange Gathering.
It was the auction that was said to mark the finale of the exchange gathering every year.
It was said that at the end of the New Spring Exchange Gathering, rare artifacts of unknown origins would be put up on the Auction Platform.
Baek-Cheong’s ears had already perked up at such stories from the start.
This time for sure, she intended to properly snag a fortuitous encounter.
‘An auction… I definitely can’t miss this.’
She had secured a hefty reward as the Top Ranker, and the Secret Realm she would soon enter was bound to be full of fortuitous encounters.
On top of that, with the auction remaining as the finale, the corners of her mouth naturally curled up.
“If I do this right, I might be able to sweep the New Spring Exchange Gathering clean.”