Chapter 37 - Chapter 37: Chapter 37: On and Off the Stage

Chapter 37: Chapter 37: On and Off the Stage

“Taoist Friend Mu, thank you for your kindness.”

Upon the martial arts platform, Zhou Chun looked at the opponent across from him, whose protective barrier he had broken, now with a sword pointed at his heart, and, wearing a smile, he gave a cupped-hand salute before withdrawing his magic artifact.

This was his second match in the battle of spells, his opponent being a Cultivator from the Mu Family of Biyun Mountain at the eighth level of the Qi Refinement Realm, who did not possess a first-rank quality magic artifact.

Therefore, his victory was relatively easy and not as intense as the first match.

After winning this match, once the second round of battles was over, there would only be thirteen contestants left out of the fifty in the youth division.

Hence, all Zhou Chun needed to do was win one more match to advance directly into the top ten.

However, after stepping down from the platform, watching the remaining contestants, Zhou Chun still dared not let down his guard.

Because the Cultivators now qualified to compete for the top ten places either had late-stage Qi Refinement cultivation levels with first-rank quality magic artifacts, or, like him, had mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivation levels and owned first-rank quality magic artifacts.

All were tough opponents.

When the second round of matches had ended, the Zhou Family, including Zhou Chun himself, only had four people remaining on field.

The other three were Zhou Zhengkang, Zhou Zhengtao, and Zhou Zhengyong.

This result came as a surprise to many Zhou Family Cultivators.

In contrast, the Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi in the spectator stand seemed to have anticipated this and was not surprised at all.

Taking into account that Zhou Chun did not use his first-rank quality magic artifact during the family selection competition, he knew what Zhou Chun was planning.

As for Zhou Zhengyong, after his Spirit Pet, the Red-Tailed Monkey, advanced to become a first-rank quality Demon Beast, his strength was no less than that of a typical late-stage Qi Refinement Cultivator.

Plus, having good luck, he didn’t face any overly strong opponents, so winning two matches in a row was normal.

Zhou Zhengkang and Zhou Zhengtao, both with late-stage Qi Refinement cultivation levels and possessing first-rank quality magic artifacts, could fully rely on their strength to eliminate their opponents.

Soon, the third round of lot drawing began.

This time, Zhou Chun drew the number two Yin sign, and his opponent would be the bearer of the number two Yang sign.

“Bad luck, it would have been better to get number three!”

He looked at the wooden sign in his hand and couldn’t help feeling regretful.

Since there were only fifteen people competing for the top ten spots, the person who drew number three Yin sign could wait until the fourteen in front had fought over the first seven spots, and then compete with the seven who were eliminated for the remaining three spots.

This way, because the opponent would have fought one more match, their condition certainly wouldn’t be as good as one who had rested and accumulated energy, plus one could understand the opponent’s methods more clearly after the first seven fights.

However, since the lot had already been drawn, talking about it now was pointless. The only option was to calmly wait for his turn to compete.

To Zhou Chun’s surprise, the first match for the Zhou Family’s four Cultivators ended up being an internal battle.

The two who drew number one Jia signs turned out to be from the Zhou Family, Zhou Zhengkang and Zhou Zhengyong!

“Ah, I never expected to be in the same group as you, Seventh Brother. It seems my journey ends here!”

On the platform, Zhou Zhengyong looked at Zhou Zhengkang across from him with a face full of gloom and began to sigh.

He certainly had no chance against Zhou Zhengkang, who was at the tenth level of the Qi Refinement Realm, so to avoid wasting Zhou Zhengkang’s mana, he had to admit defeat and step down from the platform voluntarily.

After stepping down, Zhou Zhengyong directly walked to Zhou Chun’s side and cheered him on, “Thirteenth Brother, it’s up to you now. You must make it into the top ten.”

Seeing the gloomy expression still on his face, Zhou Chun couldn’t help but comfort him, “Brother Yong needn’t feel disheartened. By conceding for the greater good this time, once you return to the family, the Clan Leader will most likely compensate you.”

To Zhou Chun’s surprise, Zhou Zhengyong replied with a sigh, “Ah, I’m not really concerned about that. It’s just that I had told Miss Yujiao I would definitely make it into the top ten, now how am I to face her!”

Miss Yujiao?

Zhou Chun was taken aback for a moment, then after recalling the conversations from the previous day with several female Cultivators, the image of a big-eyed woman in a goose-yellow dress quickly emerged in his mind.

She was probably from the Sun Family of Golden Maple Ridge, her name was Sun Yujiao, correct?

He really didn’t see it coming – Zhou Zhengyong had made his move rather quickly.

Zhou Zhengyong couldn’t help but laugh and comfort him, “Brother Yong, don’t worry. I think Miss Yujiao is also a sensible and understanding person. Your concession to your clan brother for the greater good this time might even make her admire you more, and besides, doesn’t this give you another reason to get closer to her!”

“Really?”

Zhou Zhengyong was slightly taken aback, then half-worried and half-hopeful, he murmured to himself, “Then I truly hope it’s as you say, Thirteenth Brother!”

Seeing his anxious state, Zhou Chun actually understood quite well.

Because as far as he knew, this was probably Zhou Zhengyong’s first love, although it seemed to be unrequited for now.

Shortly after, the eighth in the hierarchy of the Zhou Family’s “Zheng” generation, Zhou Zhengtao, also took to the stage.

After a tough battle, Zhou Zhengtao also successfully defeated his opponent and advanced to the top ten.

In this way, even if Zhou Chun were to lose, the Zhou Family would have two representatives in the top ten of the youth group, and hence wouldn’t finish last among the five major cultivation families.

Therefore, Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi, who was in the spectator’s area, also showed a smile and completely relaxed.

After waiting for nearly two hours, when the six previous magic combat matches had ended, it was finally Zhou Chun’s turn to go on stage.

“Clan of He Family from Qingzhu Mountain, He Chengfeng.”

“Zhou Family from Jiufeng Ridge, Zhou Zhengchun.”

On the platform, Zhou Chun and his opponent reported their names to each other, and then they both looked at one another with solemn eyes, waiting for the judge to announce the start of the match.

Meanwhile, in the audience seating area, as the last match of the top seven in the youth group began, Clan Leader of Wang Family, Wang Zhixiong, suddenly narrowed his eyes and turned to Zhou Daoyi and Clan Leader of He Family, saying, “Taoist Friend Zhou, Taoist Friend He, who do you think will win this match?”

Hearing his question, Zhou Daoyi immediately raised his eyelids, glanced at him, and then said indifferently, “It’s normal for anyone to win or lose. Does Taoist Friend Wang have some insights?”

“Insights would be an overstatement, but Wang thinks that the winner will likely be that young Taoist Friend from the Zhou Family.”

Wang Zhixiong’s eyes shifted as he softly expressed his viewpoint.

As soon as he said this, Clan Leader of He Family immediately appeared somewhat displeased and asked, “On what grounds does Taoist Friend Wang make such a claim? My Jiacheng clearly has a higher cultivation level and possesses a top-tier first-order magic artifact; how could you be so sure that he will lose to that young Taoist Friend from the Zhou Family?”

Seeing this, Wang Zhixiong couldn’t help but gesture with his hand and said, “Taoist Friend He, don’t be upset. I was merely stating my opinion.”

After finishing, he continued, “The reason why Wang thinks this way is of course because of the young Taoist Friend from the Zhou Family’s Spirit Pet, a Rock Earth Turtle with the same cultivation level as him. Besides, in this kind of platform battle, the influence on the outcome this confers is much greater than a mere one level difference in Cultivation.”

Hearing this, Clan Leader of He Family was momentarily at a loss for words.

Clan Leader of Sun Family, who was watching the excitement, chimed in, “Taoist Friend Wang makes sense. Such a platform competition does give those who tame spirit pets a significant advantage.”

He then looked at Zhou Daoyi, half-joking and half-serious, and said, “It seems that next time, to prevent the Zhou Family’s friends from monopolizing the advantage, we might need to change the rules of the cultivation combat competition!”

Zhou Daoyi, upon hearing this, immediately had a serious expression and gestured with his hand, saying, “Taoist Friend Sun, I must disagree with you. Why would the cultivators of our Zhou Family generally fall behind you in cultivation level? Isn’t it because we invest a large amount of resources into nurturing spirit pets? If you prevent our Zhou Family cultivators from bringing their spirit pets to battle, wouldn’t that unfairly tie their hands?”

After finishing, he looked around at the clan leaders and added, “Moreover, taming spirit pets isn’t an exclusive skill of the Zhou Family. If the other friends here think carrying spirit pets gives an unfair advantage, then they too can have their descendants tame spirit pets for combat, right?”

These words left Wang Zhixiong and the others exchanging looks, unsure of how to respond.

Theoretically, what Zhou Daoyi said made sense.

But in practice, there were significant difficulties.

Not to mention how they would manage to equip every family member with a spirit pet.

Even if they actually managed it, like Zhou Daoyi said, for spirit pets to quickly develop combat effectiveness and to keep up with their master’s cultivation level, they would require a huge amount of resources.

And not every cultivator is willing to spend spirit coins on spirit pets.

After a moment of silence, Wang Zhixiong chuckled and said, “Taoist Friend Zhou sure knows how to calculate his moves!”

He looked at Zhou Daoyi with a smile, saying in a joking tone, “If every family does indeed have their young members tame spirit pets, I’m afraid by then the Zhou Family’s elixirs for pet growth will sell out, won’t they?”

Zhou Daoyi, hearing this, also chuckled and replied, “Ha ha ha, you flatter me, Taoist Friend Wang. If that were to happen, the Wang Family would still profit, after all, since the materials for alchemy still need to be supplied by your family, don’t they?”

Amidst this light-hearted exchange, the group tacitly moved on from the earlier topic of limiting the participation of spirit pets in combat.

On the platform, Zhou Chun was engaged in a crucial moment of battle with his opponent.