I Can Upgrade My Talent Infinitely

Chapter 341 - 277: Time Flies (2)

The first candidate was decided.

As for the second, Bai Qinying wasn’t concerned. She planned to let her master, Feng Tianrui, handle the arrangement.

It was now August.

The Four-Sect Tournament was typically held in January.

The disciples from the Celestial Cloud Sect participating in the Four-Sect Tournament hadn’t been finalized yet. The list of twenty-five participants would only be locked in ten days before the tournament began.

"How are the disciples participating in this year’s Four-Sect Tournament looking?" Fang Yun asked.

When it came to the combat disciples, the Battle Peak was undoubtedly the most knowledgeable.

"Overall, they’re decent. There are seven disciples at the peak of the Tenth Layer of Qi Refining."

The Four-Sect Tournament had an age limit of thirty for its disciples. This time, the number of disciples at the peak of the Tenth Layer of Qi Refining was undoubtedly higher than back in his day.

"Are there any formidable ones in the Qi Refining Tenth Layer or Ninth Layer?" Fang Yun continued to ask.

Being strong at the peak of the Tenth Layer of Qi Refining was one thing, but being strong while still at the Tenth or Ninth Layer was truly impressive, especially at the Ninth Layer.

Bai Qinying thought about the performance of some of the current disciples and quickly gave Fang Yun his answer.

"There’s one in the Qi Refining Tenth Layer, but he’s a far cry from you back then. He’s not as good as I was, either."

Bai Qinying remembered it clearly. When Fang Yun had participated in the Four-Sect Tournament, he hadn’t been at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining for long. Yet, at that Realm, he had shattered the tournament’s all-time record.

From his chat with Bai Qinying, Fang Yun learned that while the overall strength of the current Inner Sect Disciples was decent, there were very few who were exceptionally outstanding.

The truly formidable Inner Sect Disciples began to show their prowess as early as the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining.

An Inner Sect Disciple like that could defeat an average Cultivator at the Peak of Qi Refining.

「Time flew by, and soon, the end of the year approached.」

On the Battle Peak, a medium-sized Spirit Ship was already docked.

The twenty-five disciples on the list would take this Spirit Ship to the Four-Sect Tournament.

As a disciple, Fang Yun often arrived just in the nick of time. But now, as an Elder, he came a little early, arriving around the same time as Bai Qinying.

"Look, who’s that?"

"Isn’t that Elder Fang?"

"It is Elder Fang! I remember clearly, Elder Fang is an Elder of the Artifact Casting Peak. Logically, the chaperoning Elders for the tournament should be from the Battle Peak."

Fang Yun’s appearance attracted the attention of many disciples.

Many of the current disciples had never actually seen Fang Yun before; most had only heard of him.

Much of what they knew about Fang Yun came from what they heard from their senior brothers and sisters, who then told their junior brothers and sisters, passing the stories down.

"Who cares if he’s from the Battle Peak or the Artifact Casting Peak? As I see it, any suitable Elder can chaperone the Four-Sect Tournament, and Elder Fang is a very suitable choice."

"Exactly. It’s thanks to Elder Fang leading the team that I get to see him in person."

"They say Elder Fang is incredibly busy and you can never see him normally. This really is a rare opportunity."

Most disciples didn’t care which peak the chaperoning Elder was from.

In their eyes, the more famous the Elder leading them, the better.

Fang Yun’s fame among the disciples stemmed from his Alchemy and Artifact Refining talents, especially his Alchemy Talent.

The vast majority of Inner Sect Disciples knew very well that because of Elder Fang’s incredible Alchemy Talent, once they reached the true Peak of Qi Refining, they could directly exchange for a Lower Grade Foundation Establishment Pill, as long as the sect had them in stock and they had enough Spirit Stones and Contribution Points.

Ordinary Inner Sect Disciples in the past never had such a privilege.

"But for some reason, it still feels strange to have Elder Fang leading the team." While most disciples saw no issue, a few voiced their true thoughts.

"Junior Brother, don’t tell me you’re questioning Elder Fang’s strength?"

"Is Elder Fang supposed to be that strong?"

"I’m not sure about after he became an Elder, but Elder Fang was incredibly formidable during his Qi Refining days. He took first place on the Inner Sect Ranking with just a Ninth-Layer Cultivation. Not only that, but in the Four-Sect Tournament before last, Elder Fang not only won first place but also broke the tournament’s record."

"Junior Brother, you should really learn more about Elder Fang when you get back. You know about the Four-Sect Tournament but you don’t even know that our very own Elder Fang holds the all-time high score."

"As for what happened after Elder Fang reached Foundation Establishment, I..."

A Ninth-Layer Inner Sect Disciple started speaking, growing excited. He was about to share some information he knew, but then he seemed to remember something and immediately shut his mouth.

"Senior Brother Ji, just say what you were going to say!"

"Everyone knows your grand-uncle is a Sect Elder, Senior Brother Ji. You must know something."

"Go on, get out of here. What could I possibly know? After Elder Fang reached Foundation Establishment, his focus has been entirely on Alchemy and Artifact Refining. Otherwise, how could he have achieved so much?"

With Fang Yun’s appearance, the disciples’ chatter grew more and more lively.

Many of their conversations centered on him.

Among the disciples heading to the Four-Sect Tournament, their discussions also turned to Fang Yun.

This was especially true for the few disciples at the peak of the Tenth Layer of Qi Refining. Those among them without powerful backgrounds still had a chance to exchange for a Lower Grade Foundation Establishment Pill through their own hard work.

They might not have known many details about Fang Yun, but they knew that all the Foundation Establishment Pills in the sect were now being refined by him.

"Junior Brother, in the hearts of the Battle Peak disciples, your fame far surpasses ours," Bai Qinying sent to Fang Yun via voice transmission. "It leaves a sour taste in my mouth, as a Battle Peak Elder."

"Senior Sister, you were the one who invited me to chaperone the Four-Sect Tournament."

’It’s perfectly normal for my fame to be greater.’

Fang Yun knew this just by looking at his influence within the sect. This influence didn’t just come from the upper echelons, but also from the Inner and Outer Sect Disciples.

His influence was currently at 75%.

At his current Realm and his position as an Elder, it was quite normal for it to be stuck here until he broke through to the Late-stage Foundation Establishment Realm.

For the current Fang Yun, 75% influence was already unexpectedly high.

He remembered his initial goal: to reach 70% influence in the sect by the time his Cultivation reached the Peak of Foundation Establishment.

He had completed that goal long ago.

After the two exchanged a few more sentences via voice transmission, Bai Qinying saw that the appointed hour had arrived. Her expression turned serious as she announced:

"Disciples participating in the Four-Sect Tournament, board the Spirit Ship!"

"Yes, Elder!"

The twenty-five disciples responded in unison and boarded the Spirit Ship one after another.

"Senior brothers and sisters, good luck!"

"Senior Brother Wu, bring back first place!"

"Yeah, bring back first place! Don’t embarrass Elder Fang."

Hearing the shouts of his junior brothers and sisters, Wu Wei felt a twitch of annoyance.

’They’re talking about me, about me, so why did they have to bring Elder Fang into it?’

He was the current number one on the Inner Sect Ranking and the Celestial Cloud Sect’s best hope for winning first place in this year’s Four-Sect Tournament.

The value of first place varied from one tournament to the next.

He had heard that the other Three Sects didn’t have any particularly powerful figures this time, so there was a good chance of taking first place.

The twenty-five disciples and three Elders boarded the Spirit Ship.

Under Bai Qinying’s control, the Spirit Ship flew away from the Battle Peak, heading toward the Black Ghost Cave Earth Realm.

Fang Yun had been to the Celestial Demon Sect Earth Realm many times.

If flying over the Black Ghost Cave Earth Realm during the last two Four-Sect Tournaments didn’t count, then he had never truly entered it before.

After the Demons in the Celestial Demon Sect Earth Realm quieted down, the Ghost Cultivators from the Black Ghost Cave gradually became more active.

Of course, their activity was a far cry from that of the Celestial Demon Sect’s Demons.

Battles between the Cultivators from their side and the Foundation Establishment Ghost Cultivators from the Black Ghost Cave Earth Realm happened only a few times a decade, and not at all during the great war with the Celestial Demon Sect.

As they passed through the Black Ghost Cave Earth Realm, Fang Yun’s thoughts turned to the issue of the Black Ghost Cave.

The Black Ghost Cave was a Ghost Cultivator influence, not a Demon influence. Its existence offered a slight advantage to their Celestial Cloud Sect.

Especially when the Celestial Cloud Sect was relatively weak, if the Celestial Demon Sect and the Demon Spirit Sect wanted to join forces to destroy them, they would also have to take the Black Ghost Cave into account.

They couldn’t afford to expend too much power destroying the Celestial Cloud Sect.

These were some of the benefits. In comparison, however, the disadvantages were far greater.