Chapter 330: The Sect’s Preparations

Fu Young seriously began explaining everything he had learned. "I heard from Gou Guangming that although the competition has been moved forward, the venue remains the same as in previous years. It will still be held at Heaven Origin Mountain, the sacred land of the Heaven Origin Realm. The rules for this year’s competition are as follows..."

As Fu Young continued his explanation, Xiao Shou learned that although the Heaven Origin Grand Competition had begun earlier than it originally should have, its location remained Heaven Origin Mountain.

Independent cultivators, members of great clans, and disciples from every sect throughout the Heaven Origin Realm were all eligible to participate.

The competition would be presided over by the Great Elders of the Nine Great Sects.

This year’s event would be divided into four cultivation divisions: Foundation Building, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Spirit Transformation.

For each cultivation division, every sect and family clan, regardless of its size or influence, was allotted only three participant slots.

In other words, each faction could select only three cultivators from each of the four cultivation realms: Foundation Building, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Spirit Transformation, for a total of twelve participants.

The League of Independent Cultivatorswas subject to the same limitation.

However, to accommodate independent cultivators who had not joined the alliance, as well as cultivators from other factions who failed to obtain one of their allotted slots, the organizers established an additional qualification event.

Outside each of the four competition divisions, three challenge arenas were prepared.

Any cultivator without an official slot, whether they were a sect disciple, an independent cultivator, or a member of a cultivation clan, could challenge these arenas.

Anyone who successfully defended an arena for ten consecutive matches would immediately earn a place in the main competition.

Each arena offered only ten qualification spots.

Once all ten spots had been claimed, the arena competition for that arena would end.

This qualification event was not particularly important for the Eternal Prosperity Sect.

The sect was already listed among the participating sects and had its full allocation of twelve participant slots.

Moreover, the sect had very few disciples, so there would likely be little competition for those positions.

What truly mattered was the ranking tournament itself.

The Heaven Origin Grand Competition had always served as the official ranking event for sects and cultivation clans.

A sect’s standing was determined entirely by its performance during the competition.

That was why every major power regarded the event so seriously.

Furthermore, this year’s competition was not merely about rankings.

It would also determine the allocation of spiritual veins.

Xiao Shou did not care much about the spiritual veins in the Sunfall Domain.

The spiritual energy within the Snow Cave Mountain was hardly inferior to those spiritual veins.

What truly concerned him was the ranking tournament itself.

The Eternal Prosperity Sect’s final ranking would determine its future status.

After all, before returning to his original world, he wanted to build a powerful force capable of protecting his beloved disciple.

Because of that, the information he paid the closest attention to concerned the ranking tournament.

Unfortunately, this year’s competition differed somewhat from previous ones.

The rules for the official matches would not be announced until all participant slots had been finalized.

The current announcement only listed the date of the competition, the names of the participating factions, and the schedule and procedures for the arena qualification tournament.

After listening to everything, Xiao Shou thought quietly for a moment. "So the Heaven Origin Grand Competition will begin on February 2nd next year at Heaven Origin Mountain?"

"Yes. That’s correct." Fu Young kept his eyes fixed on his master. No matter how long he looked, it never seemed enough.

Xiao Shou who is completely focused on his own though, failed to notice his disciple’s unwavering gaze.

After considering the matter carefully, he said, "It is now early October, so we still have three and a half months to prepare. In that case, Young’er, after this, announce that the sect’s internal competition will be postponed. Every disciple in the sect, whether from the inner or outer court, will enter the Time Pavilion for three months of cultivation. The only exceptions are children like An Ho who are still too young to cultivate. Once everyone comes out, we will hold the internal competition and select the top three cultivators from each cultivation realm to represent the Eternal Prosperity Sect."

"Time Pavilion?" Fu Young asked curiously after he heard that name twice already.

This time, Xiao Shou did not mention refining them. Instead, he said, "I just created two Time Pavilions. One is suitable for cultivators from the Qi Refining stage to the Golden Core stage, while the other can be used by cultivators from the Qi Refining stage all the way to the Spirit Transformation stage. The flow of time inside is vastly different from the outside world, so they should be able to increase everyone’s cultivation rapidly without causing unstable foundations or other hidden problems."

"Master, didn’t you originally plan to decide who could use them based on the results of the internal competition?" Fu Young asked in confusion. "Why have you suddenly changed your mind?"

Since Xiao Shou had previously mentioned that he intended to create this type of treasure, Fu Young was not surprised by the appearance of the Time Pavilions.

What puzzled him was why his master had suddenly changed his decision.

Seeing the confusion on his beloved disciple’s face, Xiao Shou explained,

"This Heaven Origin Grand Competition will be the Eternal Prosperity Sect’s first appearance before the entire Heaven Origin Realm, so it is extremely important. First of all, as the Sect Master, I cannot remain merely a Nascent Soul cultivator. So after resting for a while, I plan to enter Yao Heng’s space within the next couple of days to cultivate. I won’t have the time to oversee the sect’s internal competition, so it can only be postponed until after I come out of seclusion. That’s the first reason."