Martial Conquest of the Nine Desolates
Chapter 143 - 141 The Grand Tournament Begins

Chapter 143: Chapter 141 The Grand Tournament Begins

In the palace, the Fourth Elder walked over to Xiao Ye with a brocade box and opened it.

Boom!

Immediately, a blazing light emerged, illuminating the entire palace, and an exotic fragrance spread out.

"This object is known as the Heavenly Origin Fruit, a rare sight every century. It can help an Innate Martial Artist break through a minor realm directly without any side effects," the Fourth Elder said with a smile.

Xiao Ye’s eyes widened in surprise.

Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures that could directly enhance one’s Cultivation were already rare, not to mention those without side effects.

"Master!" Xiao Ye gazed at the Fourth Elder, his eyes red with emotion.

It must have taken a great deal of effort for the Fourth Elder to find such a precious treasure.

"Brat, don’t just get emotional. Hurry up and consume the Heavenly Origin Fruit. Advancing into the top three among the Direct Disciples is the best way to repay me!" the Fourth Elder chided with a smile.

Xiao Ye nodded, took the brocade box, and felt its substantial weight, which contained the Fourth Elder’s expectations.

"Master, rest assured, I will not let you down!" Xiao Ye vowed silently before taking out the Heavenly Origin Fruit.

The Heavenly Origin Fruit was the size of half a fist, completely white, emitting a strong fruity fragrance. Holding it in his hand, Xiao Ye could feel the terrifying energy it contained.

Crunch!

Without any hesitation, Xiao Ye ate it in two bites.

Boom!

In an instant, energy like a mountain torrent burst forth inside Xiao Ye’s body, and then wrapped around the Primordial Crystal in Xiao Ye’s Dantian.

Xiao Ye’s Primordial Crystal grew rapidly before the naked eye, emitting surges of powerful True Qi waves.

"Innate Realm Early Eighth Level, is it?" The Fourth Elder slightly frowned upon sensing Xiao Ye’s Cultivation. With such Cultivation paired with the power of his Physical Body, it would be somewhat difficult to make it into the top three of the competition.

"Sigh, that’s all I can help you with, kid. What’s next will depend on your own Creation," the Fourth Elder sighed and left the palace, leaving Xiao Ye alone to break through.

A day later, a mighty aura surged to the heavens, causing the palace to tremble.

"Mid Eighth Level of Innate Realm!" Xiao Ye’s eyes snapped open, and his gaze became sharper.

"If the Silent Annihilation Hand can break through to the Perfection Level, just based on Cultivation alone I would be able to battle against anyone in the Ninth Layer of Innate Realm!" Xiao Ye said with a face full of excitement.

The Fifth Grade Combat Technique at the Perfection Level was extremely powerful. It was estimated that many among the Direct Disciples possessed Fifth Grade Combat Techniques, but very few could cultivate them to Perfection.

Now, he had even less to worry about. Even if he didn’t reveal the strength of his Physical Body, he could still rank in a good position among Direct Disciples.

The race for first place was almost certain!

"There are more than ten days left. I’ll see if I can cultivate the Silent Annihilation Hand to Perfection!" Xiao Ye excitedly left the palace.

Beside a waterfall in the Chongyang Mountain Range, a series of deafening explosions echoed. From afar, one could see a hand embodying the essence of annihilation appear in the sky, overshadowing the sun, fearsome and boundless, blowing a huge rock to smithereens.

Xiao Ye slightly furrowed his brows, incessantly simulating the technique of the Silent Annihilation Hand in his mind, then practicing it over and over.

This area was nearly reduced to ruins by Xiao Ye’s bombardment.

"I still can’t break through to the Perfect Realm. It feels like something is missing," Xiao Ye thought to himself.

He could hardly resist taking out the Bodhi Leaf several times. With the miraculous effects of the Bodhi Leaf, he could instantly bring the Silent Annihilation Hand to Perfection.

"A mere Fifth Grade Combat Technique. If I can’t cultivate it to Perfection, how could I possibly aspire to reach the pinnacle of Martial Arts!" Xiao Ye’s face showed resilience as he continued to practice.

As the days passed by, the grand competition of Direct Disciples drew ever closer, and the atmosphere among the Registered Disciples, Outer Disciples, and Direct Disciples grew increasingly heated, with nearly everyone discussing the big event.

Every day, the skies over the Chongyang Mountain Range would be torn apart by terrifying auras, stirring up countless gusts of wind. These were the signs of returning Direct Disciples in their Cultivation practices.

Atop a peak in the Chongyang Mountain Range.

A mighty young man sat cross-legged on a huge rock, his long hair casually draped down, his exposed muscles exuding a fierce aura.

Tap!

At that moment, a beautiful woman in a black robe arrived, stepping on air, the mist around her swirling as if she were a divine being.

"Master!"

Almost simultaneously, the young man opened his eyes, filled with a daunting light, and looked toward the newcomer.

Indeed, the woman in the black robe was one of the Chongyang Sect’s four Black Robed Elders, the Third Elder!

"Mhm, Wentian, you are indeed the strongest Direct Disciple of mine. You have broken through to the Mid Stage of Innate Realm Ninth Layer, and aiming for the top fifty in the Black Dragon Country’s Hidden Dragon List would be effortless for you," the Third Elder said contentedly as she landed on the peak, smiling at the youth.

"Master, you didn’t come just to compliment me, did you?" The youth displayed a touch of pride on his face.

Yet, the Third Elder wasn’t annoyed in the slightest and spoke, "You must know about Yiyi, right?"

The youth nodded, his eyes flaring with ardor: "Of course, I know of my junior sister. I didn’t expect that in the years I was out gaining experience, Master would have taken in such a beautiful junior sister."

"Your junior sister comes from a small mountain village and has a significant relationship with someone from that village. That person has now also become a Direct Disciple."

"I’m worried that person might disrupt Yiyi’s Cultivation, so I hope you can prevent him from entering the top three during the competition of Direct Disciples," the Third Elder said indifferently.

"A country bumpkin dares to follow us to the Chongyang Sect?" The youth expressed disdain, "Master, rest assured, I’ll cripple his Cultivation."

The Third Elder shook her head and said, "That won’t be necessary because that person is Xiao Ye."

"Xiao Ye!" The youth’s eyes flashed coldly upon hearing this, instantly understanding the Third Elder’s intention.

As long as Xiao Ye does not rank among the top three in the Direct Disciples’ Competition, he will lose the protection of the sect and will undoubtedly die.

...

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

Dong Dong Dong!

On this day, the ancient bell’s tolling reverberated throughout the entire Chongyang Mountain Range.

Immediately, everyone knew that the Direct Disciples’ Competition had begun! This competition, among those of the Chongyang Sect Disciples’, was declared the grandest in scale.

All disciples of the Chongyang Sect, even the Registered Disciples, flocked towards the interior of the Chongyang Mountain Range.

Half a month ago, the Vice Sect Leader personally took action to clear a very spacious plaza, designated as the battlefield for this Direct Disciples’ Competition.

"The competition has begun, but my Silent Annihilation Hand is still not perfected," Xiao Ye opened his eyes and smiled wryly after hearing the bell.

"I have a feeling that this competition is out of the ordinary, something big might happen, I should keep the Flame Saber with me," Xiao Ye, shouldering the Flame Saber, descended from the mountain where he resided.

The closer the Direct Disciples’ Competition approached, the stronger the ominous premonition in his heart, as if an unseen black hand had already covered him entirely.

This was a martial artist’s intuition. Although Xiao Ye was somewhat skeptical, he chose to trust it, thinking that it was always good to be more prepared.

"Junior brother, let’s go together," Bing Ya floated over just as he descended from the mountain peak.

"Sure," Xiao Ye smiled.

If Bing Ya did not torment him, he was actually very willing to be with her.

Of course, with his current strength, it should be him tormenting Bing Ya instead.

"Sister’s cultivation should have reached the Mid Stage of the Innate Realm’s Ninth Layer by now, still not as strong as mine. After the Direct Disciples’ Competition is over, I’ll reverse-torment sister once," Xiao Ye chuckled.

He had not forgotten the high-spirited ambition he once declared.

"What nefarious scheme are you cooking up now?" Hearing Xiao Ye’s sudden snicker, Bing Ya at his side gave him a glance.

Xiao Ye quickly put away his smile, becoming expressionless.

When they arrived at the competition plaza, they found it already buzzing with noise. Many disciples were discussing animatedly, and numerous Silver Robed Elders and Golden Robed Elders were there to maintain order.

Almost all disciples had arrived; it was a dense crowd, a grand sight that stretched as far as the eye could see.

"So the sect has so many disciples," Xiao Ye thought to himself.

"It’s Xiao Ye!" When Xiao Ye and Bing Ya entered the scene, they instantly attracted many gazes.

It has to be said that the current Xiao Ye was too famous, and even if he wanted to keep a low profile, it was impossible.

"Third, do your best!"

"Ye Zi, you must make it into the top three!"

Among the Outer Disciples, Xiao Ye saw Yu Fang, Shao Yan, and the others.

"Don’t worry!" Xiao Ye smiled at them, then he and Bing Ya made their way through the crowd to the center of the plaza.

At this moment, dozens of figures already stood there, clearly divided into three groups—obviously they were the Direct Disciples of the other three Black Robed Elders.

"Zhao Qian!" Xiao Ye immediately spotted Zhao Qian, wearing a white robe and carrying a longsword.

Shua!

Zhao Qian, who had been closing his eyes in meditation, felt Xiao Ye’s gaze. He opened his eyes slightly, and a sharp light shot forth, looking back.

"Hmph!"

Xiao Ye snorted coldly, and their gazes interlocked in mid-air, with faint electric sparks entangling between them.

Seeing the competition had not yet started, and these two were already facing off, the surrounding disciples became excited.

"Junior brother, don’t take him lightly. Zhao Qian has been in closed-door cultivation for the past year, and now no one knows his cultivation level, but I think it must be terrifying," Bing Ya whispered a reminder.

Xiao Ye nodded, shifting his gaze, and a cold chuckle arose in his heart.

"No matter how strong your cultivation, you are not my opponent!" Xiao Ye held this confidence.

"There’s another opponent you must be cautious of," Bing Ya’s gaze suddenly settled in a certain direction.

Following her gaze, Xiao Ye saw a robust young man exuding a fierce aura.

"He is Wentian, the Direct Disciple of the Third Elder. He has always been training outside, and his cultivation has reached the Mid Stage of the Innate Realm’s Ninth Layer, making him a hot favorite to win this competition," Bing Ya said.

She then pointed out several powerful Direct Disciples, but Xiao Ye remained calm.

With his current Physical Body Power, he could easily sweep the opponents Bing Ya pointed out, although it was also possible that they were concealing their strength.

Da!

Just then, the four Black Robed Elders arrived stepping on air, descending above the plaza, all turning their heads in one direction and showing respectful expressions.

"The Vice Sect Leader has arrived!" Seeing this scene, Xiao Ye’s heart skipped a beat.

The only one who could make the four major Black Robed Elders treat him so respectfully was the Vice Sect Leader who had already reached the Mystic Martial Realm.

Xiao Ye’s gaze surged with intense eagerness, looking in that direction. Aside from the Old Madman, this was the first time he had seen a Mystic Martial Realm expert.

(Very grateful to Yisheng Zhiaini, Chenyu, and Xiao Ma for the rewards, sorry the third update is a bit late!)