The outer sect competition arena was set up within the territory of Haihai Sect’s outer sect, somewhat distant from the inner sect’s arena. The spectators were mostly outer sect disciples and elder masters from various sects. At this moment, the entire venue was silent, and even the projections showing the battle commentary had gone still.
On the arena, disciples from the twelve sects were all among the top six elites.
What’s going on with Qing Shui Sect?
And who is this new female disciple?
Ranked 10,125th?
“Senior apprentice sister!”
Zhao Keran’s face lit up with joy.
“I knew you wouldn’t be late.”
She was eager to rush forward and greet Lin Shuang, but managed to restrain herself.
“Senior apprentice sister, shall we go up?”
Lin Shuang gently patted her forehead with a warm smile and nodded, “Yes.”
She stuffed the novel she was holding into her storage pouch and stepped onto the arena first.
Behind her, disciples Zhao Keran, Zhou Xuanwu, Chen Sixin, and others followed.
What’s the big deal about being top three among outer sects?
What’s special about being an outer sect elite?
Before Lin Shuang, the master of the 3,000 layers of Zhen Chuan, they wouldn’t dare to claim superiority.
Sorry, at Qing Shui Sect, the decision is made by the disciple ranked 10,000th!
[What’s going on?]
“…Brother Zhao, since Haihai Sect is closest to Qing Shui Sect, have you heard of this Lin Shuang?”
Kong Miaoke from Baihua Sect, who was commentating the battle, hurriedly asked.
Zhao Ming’s expression was complex, “…10,000th… place…”
“She’s actually ranked this low?”
Is it her?
The girl who saved Xiao Qi that day, the one he was infatuated with.
[10,000th place, hahaha! Haihai Sect must be stunned.]
[You’re kidding, right?!]
[Is this some kind of strategy like Tian Ji’s horse racing?]
“Everyone, please calm down. Let me first check the ‘How to Get Rid of a Thousand Years of Singleness’ elite single disciples list produced by our Baihua Sect.”
Kong Miaoke immediately pulled out a scroll.
She infused spiritual energy into the front page—Lin Shuang’s name appeared.
[Little Ke, are you just taking this chance to promote Baihua Sect’s specialty products?]
[This is hilarious. 6,000 spirit stones, it’s worth it.]
The projections were filled with heated discussions.
But soon, Kong Miaoke’s expression turned to disbelief.
Volume One of ‘How to Get Rid of a Thousand Years of Singleness’: Analysis of Elite Single Disciples from the Twelve Sects’ Outer Sects
—Lin Shuang, not found.
—Apologies, as of the writing of this book, Lin Shuang from Qing Shui Sect was ranked beyond the 10,000th place.
—Disciples ranked beyond 10,000th are not included in this book’s statistics.
—The author does not intend to discriminate based on strength, but due to limited pages and the author’s energy, it’s impossible to cover all disciples from the twelve sects totaling hundreds of thousands.
[…]
[She’s always been beyond the 10,000th place??]
[Did Qing Shui Sect’s disciple badge go wrong?!]
On the competition arena, apart from Xiao Qi, elite disciples from other sects all showed puzzled expressions.
They all stared at Lin Shuang’s disciple badge.
The elder master and the judging elder from Haihai Sect, who were presiding over the competition, did the same.
Lin Shuang couldn’t help but follow their gaze to her waist.
Looking at it, she also showed surprise, “Hmm, I remember my last ranking was 8,999th.”
Then she immediately showed an expression of sudden realization.
She had missed the secret realm training for the outer sect elite disciple selection while in Zhen Chuan. Other disciples had risen in rank and gained outer sect contributions.
While she had been in Zhen Chuan all along.
Zhen Chuan was an inner sect area, so any training there wouldn’t count toward the outer sect disciple badge.
Her ranking had thus dropped back to 10,000th.
The mystery was solved.
Lin Shuang calmly nodded.
[?]
[Has she regressed?]
[Is Qing Shui Sect looking down on us?]
“Junior apprentice sister Lin, you’ve really come,” Xiao Qi was happy, standing at the forefront of Haihai Sect, “Let’s have a competition later for a stick of incense time.”
Lin Shuang responded with the same smile.
But before she could speak, a long cry of a immortal crane was heard.
An elder master from Haihai Sect had already lit the incense.
“The outer sect competition begins!”
“The first round is a multi-person battle on the arena.”
“Each sect has six people, occupying twelve positions on the arena.”
“Whoever completes their assigned tasks first will be the first to win.”
As the elder master spoke.
The huge arena was immediately divided into twelve sections. Each section had tasks like watering spirit fields, cleaning bells and tripods, and brewing spirit tea.
Lin Shuang was slightly taken aback.
Zhao Keran opened her mouth.
[The outer sect competition is still so… practical.]
[Don’t aim too high or seek to compete. The key to outer sect chores is to work hard.]
“Junior apprentice brother Xiao, do you want to mop the floor, water the fields, or trim the spirit flowers and weeds?”
Xiao Qi at Haihai Sect’s position immediately looked unhappy.
He had wanted to have a competition with Lin Shuang for a stick of incense time.
What kind of competition is this!
He looked at the dusty furniture in front of him with a grim expression.
But when he looked at Lin Shuang’s side, he was even more surprised.
On Qing Shui Sect’s side, Lin Shuang and the five others were almost overwhelmed by the continuously growing wild spirit grasses.
The dirty bells and tripods, tea cups piled up in dust.
They could hardly show their heads.
It was much worse than the situation on Haihai Sect’s side.
[Ten years ago in the outer sect competition, Qing Shui Sect ranked third from the bottom, together with Yunyang Sect as the lowest.]
[The bottom-ranked sects always have a very unfavorable start in these decennial competitions.]
[It’s true. With inferior spirit roots, you get assigned more dirty and tiring chores!]
“That’s right. This is the unwritten rule of the outer sects beyond Donghuaxia, or rather, the harsh rule of human cultivation.”
Kong Miaoke, who was responsible for the commentary, smiled sweetly but revealed a hint of helplessness and cruelty.
“One step behind, and you’re always behind.”
“To catch up, you have to work harder than others.”
“Isn’t this the case for every outer sect?”
Zhao Ming from Haihai Sect also sighed, “Ten years ago, our Haihai Sect’s outer sect ranking wasn’t high either, only seventh, not even entering the second round.”
“The top three were Baihua Sect, the Buddhist sect, and Mingzhong Sect.”
Soon, the battle projections focused on the disciples of these three sects.
They could be seen needing to irrigate spirit fields and clean dirty objects, but these tasks were only half of what other sects received.
Kong Miaoke shook her head, “It seems this year will still be a competition among our three sects for first place.”
“As everyone knows, Baihua Sect has many skilled hands, the Buddhist sect has many silent workers, and Mingzhong Sect has many arrays favorable for chores.”
“In terms of inner sect cultivation, maybe Haihai Sect can rival us, but in terms of chores, no other sects can compare with us!”
“Quickly look, our Baihua Sect’s outer sect disciples have already displayed the technique of ‘passing through a garden of ten thousand flowers without a single petal sticking to their robes,’ swiftly moving around watering the spirit fields.”
“The Buddhist sect isn’t bad either, working hard with their heads down…”
The Baihua Sect senior apprentice sister expressed sympathy in front of the projection.
“Qing Shui Sect, Haihai Sect, we’ll let you go—see you ten years later!”
“You’ll stop at this round.”
As she spoke, the projection screen showed twelve mountains where the spectators could rest.
The best viewing spots with the most seats were occupied by Baihua Sect and the Buddhist sect.
Qing Shui Sect’s viewing stand had four or five disciples squeezed into one seat, with many others having to watch by flying on their swords in the air.
The disciples could only take turns sitting down.
This was the treatment for being at the bottom of the outer sects!
Even the spectator stands were the smallest and most dilapidated, with the worst viewing angles.
Several Qing Shui Sect disciples frowned while holding their projection stones.
They looked up at the arena but could barely see Zhao Keran’s back.
The view wasn’t even as clear as the projection stones.
[We’re actually here in person, yet we still have to pay to buy a projection… Qing Shui Sect’s viewing position is really too bad.]
“Haihai Sect has never been on good terms with Qing Shui Sect, and with Qing Shui Sect’s outer sect performing poorly for decades, this terrible position is quite understandable.”
“Baihua Sect’s seats are really spacious and have snacks.”
The Qing Shui Sect spectators were all helpless.
Xu Rui, the managing senior apprentice brother, also tightly pursed his lips.
The four transmission hall masters from Qing Shui Sect’s outer sect didn’t receive any special treatment either.
Only Li Daowei was barely acting as an observer on the arena.
Sigh.
From his generation onward, the new disciples of Qing Shui Sect’s outer sect had been getting worse year by year.
Entering the Danqi Sect ensured no shortage of spirit stones.
Baihua Sect produced scrolls, various ranking lists, and embroidered robes, attracting many cultivators’ attention.
The Buddhist sect also had an endless supply of incense.
While Haihai Sect and Qing Shui Sect focused on Daoist heart cultivation and natural practice, compared to those sects that stood out with their unique personalities and diverse ways of making money, they were just average.
Their former glory from a century ago gradually faded, and in recent years, fewer and fewer talented disciples came to seek cultivation.
In addition, Qing Shui Sect and Haihai Sect were neighbors, both located near Chengwang Mansion and several villages in Dahuang Mountain.
For years, they had been in constant conflict and internal depletion over talented disciples and spirit springs.
Their outer sects were no longer as strong as before.
The inner sects were also gradually affected, lacking top disciples. Combined with decades of battling evil cultivators and the continuous loss of disciples…
Xu Rui’s gaze was heavy as he flew up on his sword, looking at the red-rope and green-sleeved figures on the farthest corner of the arena.
“Quickly look, Baihua Sect has already completed a third.”
“Buddhist sect is a bit behind. When it comes to watering flowers and weeding, who can rival our Baihua Sect!”
Kong Miaoke smiled.
But the next moment, her body froze.
A breeze blew across the arena, in the spring blossoms, it was as if countless raindrops silently passed through the crimson spirit flowers.
The rain threads were like long strings, straight and unbroken, clear and not murky.
They cut through the tangled branches and leaves, flowing into the dry soil.
They washed the dusty furnaces and tripods.
As the water accumulated, it overflowed from the tripods, flowing into the open beaks of immortal cranes.
Thousands of rain threads continued without end.
Like after a rain wash, the spring sunlight slanted down.
The spirit fields were moistened to the roots, perfectly irrigated.
All the spirit flowers and weeds were gone, petals glistening with water.
The furnaces and tripods were spotless, shining brightly.
The immortal cranes were radiant, bathing and preening.
So beautiful.
No, so fast.
So much work done at once!
How did Baihua Sect do this so quickly—no, why are the disciples of Baihua Sect’s clothes all wet?
“Oh dear!”
While Kong Miaoke was stunned, a clear and regretful voice rang out from a remote corner of the arena.
“Oops, I just broke through my cultivation, I forgot this isn’t the hundred acres of wheat fields in Li Village anymore.”
“I went overboard with my power!”
“Wait, elder master of Haihai Sect, I finished all the tasks on the twelve platforms. Is that okay?”
[???]
[!!!]
[???]
In the projection, Kong Miaoke from Baihua Sect, who had just been so confident, could only show a look of shock and surprise.
[Baihua Sect projection, quickly switch to the voice source!]
[Within three heartbeats, I want to see who’s speaking!]
Soon, the scene was filled with the tense voice of Zhao Ming, the senior apprentice brother from Haihai Sect.
“Wait a moment, everyone watching, something has happened.”
“We Haihai Sect and the elders from various sects need to have an urgent discussion.”
“If Qing Shui Sect is first… what about the other sects?”
“The other sects haven’t even completed the first round!”
The first round’s top six winners would advance to the next round.
[???]
[?]
[…!?]
[??? First to twelfth platforms, all done by Qing Shui Sect?]
“What? Speak louder, Qing Shui Sect is first, and the other sects have no rankings???”
Pattering sounds—
The projection transmitted several sounds of storage pouches and objects dropping.
These were the sounds made by the disciples present at the viewing mountain.
The spirit melon seeds in their hands had all fallen.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage