A Mortal’s Journey to Immortality: Wang Yu’s Rebirth as the Reincarnation Dao Ancestor - Chapter 45

Chapter 45 Strength and Luck (Please read on, please vote!)

At the registration desk of the Huangfeng Valley arena area, Han Li successfully registered.

While he appeared relaxed and completely unaware, the three Foundation Establishment cultivators from Huangfeng Valley began racking their brains to make the “optimal choice” for him.

The Ascension Tournament featured seven arenas.

Each one represented a sect.

Each of the seven arenas was tens of meters long and wide, comparable to a football field. Cultivators could play freely within them.

The arena selection process was simple: a best-of-two format.

After registering, the rogue cultivators were ranked at the registration desk, and then two-on-two matches began. The winner advanced to the next round, and the loser was immediately eliminated. Then, two more people would take the stage to compete. This continued until all participants completed the first round of arena battles.

The second round followed the same pattern. This cycle repeated until a dozen or so strong contenders were selected.   At that point, half of them were eliminated. Then, from the remaining dozen or so eliminated contestants, two or three were chosen through a process of natural

selection   .   The top ten were then determined.   Inevitably, casualties occurred during this process. Last time, in the Seven Sects’ arena competition, two unlucky Qi Refining eleventh-level experts died. They were simply unlucky enough to collide and both perished.   In addition, over a dozen Qi Refining tenth-level experts fell on the stage.   The casualties among Qi Refining eighth and ninth-level experts numbered over a hundred.   It was truly a tragic scene.   Han Li’s first round was against a Qi Refining eighth-level cultivator.   ”Good luck.”   Seeing that his opponent was only a Qi Refining eighth-level cultivator, Han Li felt relieved.   His biggest worry was encountering a tough opponent at the Qi Refining tenth or even eleventh level right from the start; that would have put him at a significant disadvantage.   Because a Qi Refining ninth-level expert’s maximum mana is twice his, a tenth-level expert’s is four times, and an eleventh-level expert’s is more than eight times his. The difference in cultivation level was simply too great; even if he wanted to win, it wouldn’t be easy, and he would easily exhaust his trump cards and attract attention.   A mere Qi Refining eighth-level rogue cultivator was truly suitable.   The Foundation Establishment cultivators from Huangfeng Valley, hidden in the shadows, were even more disappointed: “It’s a pity there aren’t any easy targets at the seventh level of Qi Refining for that kid to bully.”   Admittedly, the seventh level of Qi Refining was the minimum standard for taking Foundation Establishment Pills, and also the minimum cultivation threshold for participating in the Ascension Tournament. But rogue cultivators weren’t fools; trying to secure an Ascension spot with only a rudimentary seventh-level cultivation was simply wishful thinking. A seventh-level Qi Refining cultivator going to the arena was pure suicide.   Even those at the eighth or ninth level were just trying their luck. They all hoped for good fortune in the rankings, being placed among the weakest of their level. After all, there had been such lucky cases in the past,   and more than once .   ”Actually, it’s one thing that there aren’t any seventh-level Qi Refining cultivators to give that kid practice, but the key issue is that the number of people who signed up for Huangfeng Valley’s arena selection this time was even, not odd.”   With an odd number, there was the possibility of a bye, which could be arranged. With an even   number, there was no such thing as a bye.   ”Speaking of which, none of those who chose our Yellow Maple Valley arena this year have even cultivated their basic cultivation techniques to the twelfth level. Of those few Qi Refining level twelfth-level prodigies, two chose the Hidden Moon Sect…”   which is the largest and strongest sect in Yue Kingdom.   ”One went to Spirit Beast Mountain… ”   which is the perennial second-ranked sect among the Seven Sects.   ”The remaining two went to the Giant Sword Sect and Tianque Fortress respectively…”   The one who chose the Giant Sword Sect is said to have chosen it because their flying sword techniques are the most mature, exquisite, powerful, and domineering, which is why it was most attractive to the young man at the Qi Refining level twelfth level who wanted to pursue the path of sword cultivation.   The young man who chose Tianque Fortress did so because Ma Rulong, the most promising Core Formation genius in Yue Kingdom in the last hundred years, is located there. This is purely a celebrity effect.   All five promising Qi Refining level twelfth-level talents have been confirmed to have dual spiritual roots! As a result, they were divided up by four sects, with Yellow Maple Valley having nothing to do with it…   ”I don’t know whether to say we’re lucky or unlucky?”   The secret exchange between the three Foundation Establishment managers of Yellow Maple Valley was unknown to others.   On Han Li’s side, the arena competition had already begun.   …   ”My first opponent is only at the eighth level of Qi Refining? It seems my luck is extremely good.”   The rogue cultivator facing Han Li was an eighth-level cultivator who had come up on stage with a glimmer of hope.   This person also didn’t want to face a master at the tenth level or above of Qi Refining right away, and was even prepared to immediately surrender if his opponent was at the tenth or eleventh level.   Of course, if his opponent were at the ninth level of Qi Refining, he was confident he could fight and wouldn’t back down.   But now, after confirming that his opponent was also just a minor cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refining, his confidence was even greater, and he was overjoyed, ecstatic. Immediately afterwards, his eyes were fierce, and his confidence was off the charts.   Without saying a word, he patted his storage bag at his waist and summoned a mid-grade magic weapon shaped like a large cleaver.   This treasure was called the “Mountain-Splitting Blade.” Although it couldn’t actually split a mountain, it could cut through iron like mud, easily slicing through a ten-foot-long solid rock like tofu. The cut would be as smooth as a mirror.   He was confident that with this strike, any cultivator with slightly lower magical power who used protective spells would definitely be cut in two.   ”Fight.”   On the other side,   Han Li also breathed a sigh of relief, and then, he was also eager to try.   In the blink of an eye, two fierce-looking beast puppets appeared on his left and right sides.   With his magical power and divine sense using “object manipulation,” he could at most control two magical artifacts or puppets comparable to magical artifacts to fight flexibly. Any more than that would be too much of a stretch, and he simply couldn’t control them skillfully. And if he couldn’t flexibly unleash the true power of magical artifacts, then even if he were given the most powerful magical artifacts, he would only be a stepping stone for others, like the Golden Light Master.   Therefore,   controlling two beast puppets to fight was the best combat mode.

The burden on his divine sense and magical power wasn’t heavy either.

Furthermore, controlling puppets in battle had the advantage of allowing him to coordinate with protective talismans for both defense and offense.

For example,

when Han Li released two leopard puppets to pounce on the somewhat bewildered challenger, he also took out a mid-level beginner talisman, the “Diamond Talisman,” to protect himself.

A burst of golden light appeared, enveloping the young man and forming a thick, extremely resilient golden bell-shaped light barrier, firmly protecting him. With this protection, unless the opponent used a high-level magic weapon or a powerful high-level spell, it would be impossible to break through his defense.

In addition, he held a spirit stone in each hand to accelerate the recovery of the magical power he had consumed while remotely controlling the two leopard puppets.

Attack, defense, and recovery (endurance)—he had taken care of everything.

This move immediately stunned his opponent:

“What the hell?”

But before he could think further, the two aggressive beast puppets opened their mouths and fired several compressed energy bullets.

The attack abruptly interrupted his hand seals.

“Block it head-on or dodge?”

He hesitated for only half a second before his body made the choice: dodge immediately.

This choice brought him immense relief later.

“Boom boom…”

The energy blasts struck the ground, instantly creating shallow craters, scattering rock fragments everywhere.

This was a rock arena reinforced with magic by the cultivators of Huangfeng Valley. While cultivator attacks could cause damage, they couldn’t destroy it so easily. Judging from the power, each of those energy blasts was more powerful than his ordinary beginner-level fireball spell.

Even though it wasn’t as powerful as a mid-level beginner spell, it was still extremely dangerous.

Each one would be fatal for a rogue cultivator like him, lacking any protective measures.

He had no choice but to dodge.

“Are you kidding me? What kind of puppet is this? I feel like I’m facing an attack from two Qi Refining Stage 9 cultivators at the same time!”

At this moment, he wasn’t facing a Qi Refining Stage 8 cultivator, but two formidable Qi Refining Stage 9 cultivators who could continuously unleash enhanced fireball spells on him.

Now,

forget about regaining his offensive rhythm.

Even defense and dodging were extremely difficult.

He was either rolling around like a lazy donkey or pouncing like an old dog. His movements were comical and pathetic.

“What should I do?”

If he got hit by even one, he’d be finished.

Even if he didn’t die, he’d be crippled.

Outside the arena, discussions rose and fell.

“Puppet technique?”

“The kind of puppet technique from the Thousand Bamboo Sect in the far west, comparable to a high-grade magic weapon?”

“Where did he get such a puppet comparable to a Qi Refining Stage 9 cultivator?”

The Qi Refining Stage cultivators had limited experience and couldn’t discern the leopard puppet’s origins, but some Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators over a hundred years old were quite knowledgeable.

Below the tenth level of Qi Refining, no, even many cultivators at the tenth level of Qi Refining might not be a match for this young man.

Unless…

capture the leader first.

But how easy would it be to get past the two leopard puppets, whose speed was not only not slow but extremely fast, to attack Han Li?

Moreover, there was also a layer of Vajra Talisman protecting him.

“How can we fight like this?”

Many cultivators at the eighth or ninth level of Qi Refining outside the arena just hoped they wouldn’t encounter Han Li in the second or even third round of the arena battles.

Many cultivators at the tenth or even eleventh level of Qi Refining also frowned, feeling troubled.

“Perhaps, let him run out of spirit stones?”

someone suggested.

This was a solution, after all, puppets needed spirit stones to operate.

But how many people present were willing to sacrifice themselves for others?

…

In the first match, Han Li won easily.

In the second match, his opponent was another cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refining, and he won easily as well. In

the third match, his opponent was at the ninth level of Qi Refining, but he only wasted two more spirit stones.

This meant that when he received a bye in the fourth round, not only did no one gossip, but most people actually breathed a sigh of relief.

“So lucky, he actually got a bye?”

Han Li was greatly surprised.

He’d encountered a one in fourteen probability.

(End of Chapter)