Not long after, the Deacon Hall announced the date for the minor competition. Senior Brother Zhou brought the specific news.
For the Qi Refining minor competition, cultivators above the seventh level could register. The top thirty in this competition would each receive a Foundation Establishment Pill as a reward, along with Spirit Stones and other items. Upon hearing this news, everyone's faces lit up with joy. Rewards for the top thirty meant the sect's alchemy efforts this time must have been extremely successful.
Although the Foundation Establishment Pill wasn't some ancient wonder drug, its materials were still uncommon. Often, pooling the sect's resources only yielded one furnace batch every few years. The success rate of that batch directly influenced the competition's rewards. In times of bad luck, a furnace might only produce a dozen or so finished pills. After deducting the quotas for disciples at the eleventh and twelfth levels of Qi Refining, and reserving a portion for disciples with significant contributions, what remained were the rewards for the minor competition. Calculated this way, basically only the top ten could receive rewards. For this time to offer rewards to the top thirty, their luck was truly excellent.
The minor competition was also a stage duel format. However, it involved drawing lots for one-on-one matches, with the victor advancing until the final first place was determined. This method gave many people a sense of false hope; if they drew a weak opponent, it would be easier to achieve a high ranking. But once they entered the top fifty, luck was basically useless. With roughly four hundred Qi Refining cultivators above the seventh level, it took three rounds of matches to narrow down to the top fifty.
Qi Refining disciples above the seventh level all began their preparations. For a time, prices in the sect's market district soared instantly. Talismans, pills, and spiritual artifacts cost a full two times more than usual. Mo Tiange was grateful she had prepared early; otherwise, at this point, she simply wouldn't have had the money to buy anything—the Spirit Stones on her person had been nearly exhausted during her two years of seclusion.
Her second uncle had prepared many talismans and pills for her this time. Only when she found out did she realize he had sold off part of his assets. For this, Mo Tiange secretly resolved that even if it was just for her second uncle, she must obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill.
Not long after, Senior Brother Zhou brought another piece of news. The Zixia Sect had extended an invitation, hoping the three sects would hold a joint sect minor competition to motivate the disciples.
This wasn't the first time in the history of the three sects; they had indeed held joint minor competitions before. However, it was the first time they were doing so with such a disparity in strength. For this reason, Sect Leader Jin of the Golden Blade Sect was not pleased. Finally, Sect Leader Li of the Zixia Sect proposed that the Zixia Sect would contribute a portion of Foundation Establishment Pills as rewards for the overall ranking. As for the rewards for the internal rankings within each sect, the sects would distribute those themselves. This made Sect Leader Jin feel a bit better. Even if no Golden Blade Sect disciple received a reward, they wouldn't lose anything materially, though their face wouldn't look too good. But if they refused, it would give others even more grounds for gossip, saying the Golden Blade Sect was not only weak in strength but also timid. So, they could only grit their teeth and agree, hoping one or two of their disciples would prove themselves.
Regarding this, Mo Tiange was very puzzled and couldn't understand the Zixia Sect's purpose. Although the Zixia Sect stated they would only contribute ten Foundation Establishment Pills, those ten pills could potentially add one or two Foundation Establishment cultivators to their sect. Was it necessary to make such a contribution just for the sake of appearances?
While the four of them were chatting in the small hall, Jiang Shanghang, who rarely came out, overheard her words and snorted coldly. "Looking good on the surface makes it much easier to recruit disciples with good aptitude in the future. In the long run, the benefits are far greater than one or two Foundation Establishment cultivators."
Everyone fell silent. Although no one liked Jiang Shanghang, this person was, after all, a scion of the Jiang family, and his perspective on matters was vastly different from theirs. What he said made perfect sense. If their reputation grew, in the future, children with Spirit Roots from this region would all go to the Zixia Sect first. Then, those with the best aptitude would be picked by them first. If a few Single Spiritual Root or Exotic Spirit Root talents appeared among them, the strength gap between them and the other two sects would only widen further. This wasn't a gap that one or two Foundation Establishment cultivators could close.
After saying this, Jiang Shanghang returned to his room. Over the past few years, he still paid no attention to the others, focusing solely on cultivation. Now, he only lacked a Foundation Establishment Pill and seemed determined to secure one in this minor competition.
Xu Jingzhi looked at Jiang Shanghang's door and asked the other three in amazement, "Did you see that? Senior Brother Jiang actually spoke to us. Is that real?"
His tone made Mo Tiange couldn't help but laugh. "It's not that Senior Brother Jiang never speaks to us." It was just that his tone wasn't very good, and it didn't happen too often.
Qin Xi, who was drawing talismans at the table, looked up. "Has Junior Brother Xu prepared everything?"
This question hit Xu Jingzhi's sore spot. He said with a bitter face, "No. My eldest brother is also participating in the minor competition. The family is supporting him, so they can only give me a few talismans to make do."
"That's still better than us," Liu Yidao said, having finished his cultivation exercises. "You at least have family support. We are genuine, unattached rogue cultivators by origin. We have nothing but what the sect provides."
Xu Jingzhi jumped up and cried, "Senior Brother Liu, you're still talking about that! How many rewards did you get from the last Mist Valley trial?!"
Liu Yidao scratched his head. "It's been two years, Junior Brother Xu, and you still remember..."
Xu Jingzhi humphed. "Of course I do. I didn't get anything out of it. Otherwise, I might have advanced to the tenth level like Junior Brother Ye. Ah, I really don't want to have to call Junior Brother Ye 'Uncle-Master' soon..."
"It's not that easy," Mo Tiange sighed. "Senior Brother Xu, you know I have Five Spirit Roots. Being able to cultivate to the tenth level of Qi Refining is already my good fortune. Advancing to Foundation Establishment... how many cultivators with Five Spirit Roots can smoothly advance to Foundation Establishment?"
Hearing this, Xu Jingzhi also shook his head with a bitter smile. "Although I have Four Spirit Roots, my cultivation has never been great, which is why I could only enter the sect through the Immortal Platform Meet... Ah, Junior Brother Ye, you being able to cultivate to this level with Five Spirit Roots is more impressive than me."
The two of them sighed in unison, the atmosphere turning somber for a moment. Qin Xi remained focused on drawing his talisman. "Aptitude is important, but it's not the only factor. Some Nascent Soul cultivators aren't Single Spiritual Root or Exotic Spirit Root geniuses at all. About half are Dual Spiritual Roots, or even Three Spirit Roots."
This was something Mo Tiange hadn't heard before. "Why is that?"
Qin Xi flicked his finger, burning the talisman he had drawn incorrectly along with it. He glanced at her. "Single Spiritual Root and Exotic Spirit Root cultivators advance through cultivation realms extremely quickly and easily reach Core Formation. But precisely because of this, their mental fortitude isn't sufficiently tempered; they haven't undergone the trials of inner demons. By the Nascent Soul barrier, aptitude no longer plays much of a role, but the influence of mental state is immense. They can easily cultivate to Core Formation perfection, but often fail at the inner demon trial during Nascent Soul condensation. On the other hand, Dual Spiritual Root and Three Spirit Root cultivators find it difficult just to reach Core Formation. They often undergo many trials, their willpower forged firm. By the time they face the Nascent Soul barrier, they are usually past half their lifespan, and their mental state and experience can withstand the trial. Therefore, although their cultivation is not easy, forming a Nascent Soul is much safer for them."
These words were unheard of by the other three, and they were all astonished. "So, does that mean Dual Spiritual Roots and Three Spirit Roots are actually better? Why don't sects value them more then?"
The corner of Qin Xi's mouth lifted, looking like a smile. He smiled occasionally now, which made him seem more human than when he first arrived. "Although that's the case, how many Single Spiritual Root or Exotic Spirit Root cultivators are there? Dual Spiritual Roots are somewhat fewer, but Three Spirit Roots are everywhere. A sect might have five thousand Qi Refining disciples. Among them, there might only be two or three with Single or Exotic Spirit Roots. There would be four or five hundred with Dual Spiritual Roots. The other four thousand-plus would all have Three Spirit Roots. Barring accidents, those two or three with Single or Exotic Spirit Roots will all advance to Core Formation. But out of those four thousand-plus with Dual or Three Spirit Roots, only about ten might advance to Core Formation. And as for forming a Nascent Soul... the former group has about a fifty percent chance. The latter group... might not have a single one." At this point, even he sighed. "The path to Nascent Soul... is truly far more difficult than imagined. Those with good aptitude, even if their comprehension and effort are lacking, can smoothly advance to Core Formation. Those with poorer aptitude... forget Nascent Soul; just being able to cultivate to Core Formation requires several times the effort."
After he finished speaking, the other three fell into silence. After a long while, Liu Yidao said, "Forget Core Formation or Nascent Soul; Foundation Establishment is already a problem for us."
"Yeah," Xu Jingzhi picked up the thread. "Out of over four hundred Qi Refining disciples, maybe only two or three will advance to Foundation Establishment. Who knows if any of us will be able to move to North Peak next year."