After the second round, Seven Stars Peak had two wins and six points. Finishing eighth was now all but impossible; the peak was as good as safe.
Next was the third round drawing of lots. This time Seven Stars Peak finally had some good luck, drawing Immortal Beast Peak as their opponent. If they had faced the main peak, it wasn’t certain who would win or lose, because no one knew exactly how strong Lin Shimeng, the Holy Maiden and top disciple of the Sect, truly was.
“Elder Zuo, did you check Yun Man’s cultivation level?”
Seeing that Eighth Elder Zuo Hongcai had returned, Lin Tiancheng quickly inquired.
“Sect Leader, Yun Man hasn’t revealed her full strength, but from what I sensed just now, I believe she’s at late Golden Core. Only a month since she joined the sect! What extraordinary talent.”
Zuo Hongcai sounded impressed.
“As expected, to leave sword marks on the Barrier, at minimum one must have late Golden Core stage cultivation. I really don’t know how Qin Xiao managed to do it.”
Lin Tiancheng was also somewhat puzzled.
During Sect Disciple Recruitment, everyone assumed the recruits were at Qi Refining. Their respective peaks checked the exact layers after they joined, then submitted the results to the sect for its records. Usually, no one checked their cultivation in advance.
Seven Stars Peak had only Qin Xiao, so there had been nothing to tally. He was an ordinary person, unable to cultivate. The sect had grown used to exempting Seven Stars Peak from reporting its disciples’ cultivation.
No one therefore knew Yun Man’s cultivation when she had joined. Even if she had entered at Golden Core, going from the early to the late stage in just one month was still beyond their understanding.
Qin Xiao paid no attention to the third round. He was chatting with Yun Man, curious himself.
“Disciple, tell your master the truth, did you succeed or not?”
Qin Xiao asked, somewhat puzzled.
“Master, I did, but let’s keep it secret for now. I want to catch them off guard.”
Yun Man said playfully.
“Good, good. That’s my disciple, using her head.”
Qin Xiao was very satisfied with Yun Man’s decision.
The third round competition on the field had already begun, but many disciples’ gazes were focused on Seven Stars Peak’s preparation area.
“Senior Brother, if I were to switch to Seven Stars Peak, do you think our Peak Master would beat me to death?”
“Yeah, I also want to go to Seven Stars Peak. I should have chosen Seven Stars Peak during the Sect Disciple Recruitment.”
“I want to go too. Let me be clear: it’s not because Junior Sister Yun Man is there. I just think Seven Stars Peak is the perfect place for me to cultivate. I’d make rapid progress there.”
“Come, come, everyone who wants to go, sign up here. Later I’ll report to the Peak Master and have him break all your legs.”
“Senior Brother, just joking around, just joking, we’re absolutely loyal to our peak.”
“Yeah, yeah, just fooling around.”
Hearing the Senior Brother say this, those disciples quickly tried to smooth things over.
They were far from the only disciples with such thoughts. Many wanted to go, partly for Yun Man and partly because they felt Seven Stars Peak must have something special to offer. Otherwise, why would she have joined it?
While chatting idly, the third round competition had already reached the third group, which was Seven Stars Peak versus Immortal Beast Peak.
“Master, wait and see. Your disciple will win another match for you.”
Hearing the call, Yun Man directly stood up, said this to Qin Xiao, then flew onto the stone platform.
This time Immortal Beast Peak sent out Chu Sheng, the second-ranked disciple of Immortal Beast Peak.
“Do you want to make the first move, or should I?”
Seeing the other person had also come up, Yun Man asked.
“Wait, I didn’t say I wanted to fight.”
Hearing Yun Man say this, Chu Sheng quickly explained.
“My cultivation is about the same as Senior Brother Luo Qi’s. I might not even be able to beat him. If he couldn’t last a single move against you, I’d only make a fool of myself.”
Seeing Yun Man hadn’t directly attacked, Chu Sheng explained.
“If you’re not fighting, then why did you come up?”
Yun Man was somewhat puzzled.
“Well, I’m hardly anyone special. My surname is Chu, my given name Sheng. I’m Immortal Beast Peak’s second senior brother. I came up just to introduce myself. If you ever need my help, come to Immortal Beast Peak. I’ll be happy to oblige.”
Chu Sheng said with a smile.
“I don’t need it. My master is here, so I don’t need help. Concede if you won’t fight, or I’ll attack.”
Yun Man had no interest at all in Chu Sheng’s proposal and directly prepared to attack.
“Wait, I surrender, I surrender. Remember, I’m Chu Sheng, Chu Sheng.”
“Has Senior Brother Chu no shame? Conceding at the top of his voice!”
“Senior Brother, isn’t he the second senior brother of your Immortal Beast Peak? Why are you insulting him too?”
“Junior Brother, you’re mistaken. I don’t know him. This robe was borrowed from another Junior Brother.”
Immortal Beast Peak disciples all lowered their heads without speaking, just secretly cursing Chu Sheng incessantly.
“You damned disciple, you’ve completely embarrassed my Immortal Beast Peak.”
As soon as Chu Sheng stepped down, Fifth Elder Wan Rongyang, Immortal Beast Peak’s Peak Master, marched over to give him a beating.
“Master, wait.”
Seeing he was about to be beaten, Chu Sheng quickly stopped him.
“You damned disciple, what more do you have to explain?”
Wan Rongyang was furious enough to curse. Yet Chu Sheng was his favorite disciple. The boy was infuriating.
“Master, you saw it yourself. Seven Stars Peak isn’t what it used to be. Qin Xiao’s unusual abilities, Yun Man’s rise… They’re bound to become important figures. I may have embarrassed myself a little, but at least I left a decent impression. You know how we disciples from the other peaks used to bully Seven Stars Peak. If they take revenge someday, perhaps they’ll show us mercy because of what I did today. It was all for Immortal Beast Peak, Master! I endured humiliation for the greater good!”
As he spoke, Chu Sheng tried hard to squeeze out a few tears, but none came, no matter how long he tried.
“Get out of my sight. You’re going into confinement when we return. You won’t come out until you reach late Golden Core.”
Wan Rongyang couldn’t bring himself to beat Chu Sheng. Besides, the boy did have a point. They would have to cultivate closer ties with Seven Stars Peak.
Zuo Hongcai then announced Seven Stars Peak’s victory. Three rounds, three wins, nine points.
The next match was the main peak versus Immortal Spring Peak, naturally also a crushing victory.
Final points ranking: First place was the main peak with nine points. Second was Seven Stars Peak, also nine points. Third was Immortal Sword Peak with six points. Fourth was Immortal Cloud Peak with six points. Fifth was Immortal Artifact Peak with three points. Sixth was Immortal Medicine Peak with one point. Seventh was Immortal Spring Peak with one point. Eighth was Immortal Beast Peak with zero points.
Immortal Beast Peak had been unlucky. Their eldest senior brother was in seclusion, leaving their second senior brother as their strongest contestant, only for him to face Yun Man. In their first two matches, they had drawn the main peak and Immortal Sword Peak. They ended with zero points.
Immortal Medicine Peak and Immortal Spring Peak had each earned a point from their draw in the first round. Both lost their next two matches. Without that draw, three peaks would have finished with zero points.
Ties were settled by the rankings from the previous competition. That put Seven Stars Peak second. Immortal Sword Peak had ranked ahead of Immortal Cloud Peak last time, so it took third.
“The Points Round has concluded. Next is the Challenge Round. Each peak has one challenge opportunity, and only one. You can only challenge the peak ranked immediately above you; you cannot skip ranks. Starting from Immortal Beast Peak.”
With the Points Round over, Zuo Hongcai announced the start of the Challenge Round.