264: Chapter 264 Extra Rewards

"Are you really content with only taking third place?" Zhang Daoquan asked with a smile.

"And what if I'm not? Everyone wants to pursue the best, but they don't realize that what suits you best is truly the best. Currently, Xiyue Prefecture can only take third place."

"What suits you best is the best. Well said, very well said."

Zhang Daoquan agreed wholeheartedly. Everyone understood this principle, but few could truly put it into practice. When faced with the best thing versus the thing most suitable for them, most people would choose the best.

"Senior, why are you here? I've already prepared the wine. Would you like to have a few drinks together?" Xiao Yuchen invited him proactively.

"Of course. I came here specifically to beg for some of your wine. Ever since I drank your wine, I've felt that other wines are simply impossible to swallow."

Hearing the exchange, everyone finally realized that Xiao Yuchen had known the Second Elder of the Heavenly Court for a long time. It was truly mind-boggling.

Understanding that the two had things to discuss, Sect Master Hua Yuxi and the others all left, leaving the place to Xiao Yuchen and Zhang Daoquan.

Xiao Yuchen took two cases of liquor and a few side dishes from the System Space. Without saying a word, they both downed three cups in a row.

"Little Brother is truly a Dragon among men. I remember when I first met you, you were only at the Soul Transformation Stage. In just three months, you've reached the Dongxu Stage Great Perfection. This cultivation speed is somewhat Heaven-Defying," Zhang Daoquan praised.

"When I first met you, Senior, I knew you were very strong, but I didn't expect that you had already reached the Tribulation Transcendence Stage, and are even the Second Elder of the Heavenly Court," Xiao Yuchen replied with a smile.

"I'm just an old monster who has lived a bit longer. Compared to Little Brother, I'm not worth mentioning. With Little Brother's talent, joining the Heavenly Court is only a matter of time."

"Senior, what are the requirements to join the Heavenly Court?"

Xiao Yuchen hadn't thought about joining the Heavenly Court, but he was extremely curious about the organization.

"First, one must reach the Tribulation Transcendence Stage. Second, one needs a recommendation from someone within the Heavenly Court. The purpose of the Heavenly Court is to concentrate strength to resist the Demon Race. If spies from the Demon Race were to infiltrate the organization, the harm to the organization would be fatal," Zhang Daoquan answered.

"Is the Demon Race really that powerful?"

"Yes. The Demon Race Cultivates Devilish Qi, and their speed of increasing their cultivation base is faster than the Human Race, so their overall strength is much stronger than the Human Race.

However, after the Demon Race arrives in the Cultivation World, they lose the replenishment of Devilish Qi, so they cannot stay in the Cultivation World for long. They must fight quickly. Once they fall into a protracted war with the Human Race, they will fall into a disadvantage."

"Since Spiritual Qi is useless to them, what is their purpose in invading the Cultivation World?" Xiao Yuchen asked, puzzled.

"Naturally, it is to plunder cultivation resources. The flesh and blood and Nascent Soul of the Human Race are great supplements for the Demon Race. Additionally, the Human Race's Medicinal Pill, weapons, and Heaven And Earth Treasure are also useful to them."

"Oh, so that's how it is."

Hearing this, Xiao Yuchen finally understood. The Demon Race must also have a Cultivation Technique similar to the God-Devouring Art; they could also increase their cultivation by devouring flesh, blood, and Nascent Souls.

"Yes. Considering that the Demon Race's cultivation speed is faster than ours, the Heavenly Court thought of using a grand formation to change the concentration of Spiritual Qi in the five prefectures. The Spiritual Qi distribution ratio of the five prefectures is the result of our careful consideration.

Facts have proven that this method is effective. The strength of the Central Divine Continent has improved a lot compared to before, and the gap between the five prefectures has widened.

The Cultivators of the Central Divine Continent have become the main force resisting the Demon Race. If the structure is changed at this time, it will have a great impact on the Central Divine Continent. And Xiyue Prefecture is too weak; even if they were allowed to develop for ten years, they wouldn't be able to form combat power.

Therefore, your performance on the stage today really frightened those old guys. Elder Mo Wen even paused the competition because of you."

"Rest assured, our goal is only third place. But we must get some compensation. As long as the Central Divine Continent can offer some benefits, we can take the initiative to concede," Xiao Yuchen stated his conditions.

"You little guy are really cunning. But it's good to let the Four Great Sects of the Central Divine Continent and Dongba Prefecture bleed a little. It's just that this matter cannot be done openly; we still have to give them some Face."

"That is natural. I will have everyone act convincingly."

Zhang Daoquan felt embarrassed to drink Xiao Yuchen's wine for free, so he agreed to go and talk to the Four Great Sects of the Central Divine Continent and Dongba Prefecture and tell them Xiao Yuchen's conditions.

Although the Four Great Sects of the two prefectures were furious, there was nothing they could do. They had seen Xiao Yuchen's formidable strength. If the other party exerted their full strength to compete, the first place would definitely belong to him.

Although this competition was a points-based tournament and taking first place didn't guarantee the highest total points, besides Xiao Yuchen, Xiyue Prefecture still had three experts at the Void Refinement Late-stage. They didn't dare to take the risk, so they all agreed to pay one billion Low-Grade Spirit Stones each to buy a victory for their own Sect's Disciples.

That evening, Zhang Daoquan handed the eight billion Low-Grade Spirit Stones to Xiao Yuchen.

Although the Dongxu Stage experts were mainly Disciples of the Qingyun Sword Sect, Xiao Yuchen distributed them equally, giving each Sect two billion Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

With this huge sum of Spirit Stones, the mood of the Four Great Sects improved a lot. That night, Sect Master Hua Yuxi and the other three Sect Masters gave instructions to their respective Disciples regarding the competition.

During the competition, whenever they encountered Disciples from the Central Divine Continent and Dongba Prefecture, they were to throw the match, but it had to be done realistically, without revealing any flaws.

Of course, there were also experts from the two prefectures; if they couldn't beat them, they would directly concede. If the strength was similar, they would find an Opportunity to concede.

If they were much stronger than the opponent, for example, a Dongxu Stage Disciple encountering an opponent at the Body Integration Stage, then winning the match was acceptable. After all, it would look too fake for a Dongxu Stage Disciple to lose to a Body Integration Stage Disciple, as long as the final result was the Central Divine Continent in first place and Dongba Prefecture in second place.

The next morning, the competition officially began. Elder Mo Wen prepared a box containing fifty red balls and fifty white balls. The red and white balls were marked with numbers from 1 to 50. People who drew the same number would be each other's opponents.

In this way, the people from the five prefectures were completely separated. It was possible for Core Disciples from the same prefecture to encounter each other if they were unlucky.

The first round of drawing began. Xiao Yuchen drew the number 30 white ball, and his opponent was a Core Disciple from Beixuan Prefecture, with strength at the Body Integration Stage Great Perfection.

Besides this, Li Yiran and the others had good luck, and there were no situations where Core Disciples from the same prefecture met. Only Dongfang Qingcheng drew a Disciple from Fire Cloud Valley, but the opponent's strength was not strong, and being eliminated would not affect the overall situation.

In this way, once the first round ended, these people could all enter the Xuantian Secret Realm to search for Opportunities.

"Alright, the drawing has ended, and everyone's opponents have been decided. Please, the two number 1s, come on stage to compete."

Following Elder Mo Wen's words, the two number 1 Disciples stepped onto the high platform. Both of them were at the Unity Stage Late Stage, which could be considered evenly matched.

To kill time, Xiao Yuchen took out peanuts, sunflower seeds, and drinks to eat with everyone.

Because the drawing was random, generally speaking, the strength of the two was not equal, and the winner could be decided quickly. For example, when Xiao Yuchen went on stage, that Disciple from Beixuan Prefecture didn't even make a move and directly conceded.