Chapter 488: Chapter 487: Anyone Who Doesn’t Break Through on the Spot is a Major Subject for Observation_1

Those who made it to the finals at the Qi Refinement stage were just a thought away from the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Among them were those who could have progressed to the Foundation Establishment stage a month ago but didn’t, holding on till now to break through on the spot.

The first two contestants were Chen Chenxi and Su Youdao.

Chen Chenxi thought he had victory in his grasp after breaking through to the Foundation Establishment phase, but it seems his opponent had the same idea.

“These two youngsters have some interesting thoughts, but it’s uncertain who will win.”

The sect elders, watching and whispering quietly, couldn’t confidently predict who will triumph in the end.

Both competitors were similar in Cultivation Level and foundation, making the outcome of their fight a toss-up to the finish.

“It is certainly my Lockheart Sect disciple who will win.” Chen Chenxi’s Sect leader from the Lockheart Sect stood up in his backing.

“Is that so? Are you looking down on my Broken Void Sect?” The leader of the Broken Void Sect narrowed his eyes, his tone heavy with implication. Su Youdao was from his sect.

The Lockheart Sect leader offered a warm smile: “I’m just stating the facts, how could that be considered disrespect?”

“How about we make a bet then?”

“What kind of bet?”

“A wager on which sect gets to claim Great Yu’s cultivators.”

“Good, let’s bet. Who’s afraid!” Both individuals were closely matched in strength, and their sect’s strength were also comparable. They have long seen each other as rivals. If they declined the wager now, they would have to endure ridicule from each other in the future.

The fights within the Qi Refinement category were more intense than expected. According to incomplete estimates, 96% of Geniuses who had reached consummation stage in Qi Refinement broke through on the spot, raising the average combat power of the Qi Refinement group.

The final victor was a core disciple from the Control Qi Sect.

“Note down all those who did not breakthrough during the Qi Refinement match, they are now our key observation targets,” Jiang Qun instructed his subordinates, suspecting them to be ancient cultivators restarting their cultivation.

“Yes.” Jiang Qun received a transmitting response but saw no one. It was the Luoshui Guards hidden in the dark.

The Luoshui Guards received professional training and were proficient in hiding magic, skilled in cultivation, making it extremely difficult to detect their existence.

Jiang Qun was caught by the River Spirit when he had come to the Seek Dao Sect with the Luoshui Guards the previous day.

Jiang Qun nodded with satisfaction, not expecting to yield results so soon.

“Speaking of which, I wanted to pay a visit to the elders yesterday, but couldn’t find them. It’s a pity. I wonder where the elders were located yesterday?” Jiang Qun had arrived at the Seek Dao Sect before the ceremony’s commencement.

After the conclusion of the ceremony, he wished to pay a visit to the leaders of the Immortal Sects. However, after making rounds, he only found Luo Hongxia, but she was busy chatting with Sixth Elder. As they were communicating through Spiritual Sense, Jiang Qun thought they were flirting, thus refrained from interrupting.

Fairy Eternity naturally included herself in the category of the “elders” and said: “I received the news at the last minute that Great Yu’s cultivator was sneakily trying to infiltrate our Seek Dao Sect and disrupt the ceremony.”

Qiu Jin’an naturally followed Fairy Eternity’s lead and said: “After receiving the message from Sect Master Lu, we devised a plan to hide in the treasure box and lure Great Yu’s cultivator into our trap.”

Jiang Qun was confused. He wondered why the Luoshui Guards didn’t receive this information, and why they needed to hide in a treasure box?

Yang Ding, who was nearby, explained: “Young nephew, you don’t know that this treasure box is the priceless artifact from Laurel Fairy Palace. It has a mind-boggling ability. High-level cultivators can easily be drawn into the box.”

“Such a miraculous thing?” Jiang Qun was astonished. He had never heard of such a treasure before. The Five Great Immortal Sects were indeed unfathomable.

“Then why wasn’t I drawn in?”

“Your cultivation stage is too low.”

Jiang Qun: “…”

“Then where is Great Yu’s cultivator?”

“In the treasure box.” Luo Hongxia patted the treasure box with a resentful face. With the added value of the treasure box, her status has raised. On her journey, everyone kept reminding her to take good care of the box, not to drop it or knock it, and even if any danger arises, she must shout for help, and they would come to her aid immediately.

Her importance rose with the box’s prestige.

“You’ve caught everyone?”

Jiang Qun felt embarrassed. He was feeling proud of identifying a few cultivators who were suspected to be ancient cultivators starting their cultivation anew. However, to his surprise, the Seek Dao Sect had almost eradicated all the infiltrators from Great Yu.

Fairy Eternity calmly nodded: “Almost, except for one Imperial Teacher, who is a Semi-Immortal level practitioner. There’s no telling where he’s hiding. But Miss Yun has offered to handle this matter.”

At first, when Jiang Qun heard that the Great Yu’s Imperial Teacher was a Semi-Immortal, he felt anxious, but when he heard that Yun Zhi was handling the matter, his heart settled.

Wait a minute, why did Sect Master Lu just refer to Yun Zhi as what?

Jiang Qun’s heart trembled. No wonder his father asked him to build a good relationship with Sect Master Lu. Sect Master Lu and Yun Zhi had a much closer relationship than he had anticipated!

Master Jiesha’s hand, which was holding the Buddha beads, paused. He glanced over at Fairy Eternity and the others, feeling glad that he had practiced Silent Zen.

It’s better to be a monk who doesn’t lie.

Many geniuses chose to break through on the spot in the early and middle phases of the Foundation Establishment category as well, though they were significantly fewer than the Qi Refinement group.

Not all geniuses could reach the consummation stage at the early and mid-phases of Foundation Establishment.

The two winners were from sects that Lu Yang was not familiar with. Even Fairy Eternity had not heard of their sects’ names before.

One was from a second-grade sect, and the other was from a third-grade sect.

The Five Great Immortal Sects did not send any participants for the first three group matches. At present, the lowest cultivation level among the disciples in the Immortal Sects was the late stage of Foundation Establishment. If they were forced to select participants for the first three group matches, they would have to send their food supplies instead.

“Have you noted down the names of those few people just now?” Jiang Qun transmitted a magical note to the Luoshui Guard behind him. But he still couldn’t see the Luoshui Guard’s figure.

“They’ve all been noted.”

“Investigate their backgrounds when we return.”

Qiu Jin’an stepped aside slightly and kindly said to the Luoshui Guard hiding behind Jiang Qun: “Why don’t you reveal yourself, fellow daoist? After all, everyone can see you’re hiding here.”Upd@te by novg0.co

“Also, everyone can hear your Spiritual Sense communication. Why don’t you two just converse outright?”

Qiu Jin’an and others could hear and see Jiang Qun and the Luoshui Guard’s conversation clearly. They asked, what was the point of them whispering and acting so mysterious?

The Luoshui Guard reluctantly showed himself.

To identify suspicious cultivators, the primary method is to assess their battle experience. Based on rich combat experience, there is a high probability that they are ancient cultivators restarting cultivation, a slight chance that they are Great Powers in disguise, and the least probability of possession.

This time, the rewards were exceptionally generous, increasing the likelihood of attracting Great Powers in disguise.

The first and third type of cases all belong to the category of key observation targets.

Great Xia did not consider ancient cultivators as enemies. Ancient cultivators who disband their cultivation and start anew do not violate the law. They would merely be considered illegal residents and could be penalized by being fined or being registered officially.

The main problem is that a majority of ancient cultivators do not comply with the rules of Great Xia. As these ancient cultivators carried their murderous and lawless ways from the ancient times into Great Xia, the authorities had to impose sanctions on these unruly ancient beings.

If ancient cultivators adhered to the rules after resurrecting, Great Xia wouldn’t bother them.

In fact, Lu Yang was highly suspicious due to his rich combat experience and his ability to defeat an established Transcendence Tribulation Stage cultivator like Master Jiesha, which was against the norm.

But considering the fact that he was Yun Zhi’s junior brother and Yun Zhi had similar experiences, no one suspected Lu Yang of doing anything fishy.