The Prison Warden's roar was grating, but ng Yu decided to forgive him.
Beyond the impact of hard practice, opportunity, and talent, enduring all sorts of distractions, the most fundantal reason ng Yu had obtained Sword Intent was his unwavering focus on martial training in a special space. So, it was very normal that one surprise could delight, while two could drive one mad.
He truly wished for several more bouts of Sword Intent.
Stepping outside and reaching a secluded spot, he silently recited a spell, and then announced, "Settle."
To settle the favour he owed Old Liefire.
Killing Old Liefire was driven by the sa reason as not repaying a debt.
Old Liefire thought that after the tournant, ng Yu would surely be transferred to another prison. Since that was the case, defaulting on salary paynts would simply result in a bad debt.
ng Yu, too, felt that it was ti to settle a score.
Over the past several months, he had been very good to Old Liefire, running errands and even referring to him as 'Master', investing a lot of emotion. But if he were transferred to another prison, this account would turn into a dead debt.
So, it was ti to collect the debt.
Thus, Old Liefire died.
In his Divine Sense, the Nine-Petal White Lotus turned black and then condensed at the top. Unfortunately, instead of forming a grey or black Lotus Seed, it rely exploded with a bang and was over.
"Failure."
ng Yu felt disheartened, but he could understand.
After all, how could Old Liefire possibly be soone he cherished? Even saying that the system was lenient, at least the Nine-Petal White Lotus had blackened and then fused. But... not even the entire prison would feel any emotional connection to Old Liefire.
An affection worth fifty cents.
It seed he needed to delve deeper into prison life, make more friends.
Or perhaps, he should step outside the prison to find true friends who could touch his heart?
To et him, fall in love with her, discard it?
...
Old Liefire's death beca silent and unnoticed. The Prison Warden personally took over the follow-up, determining it an accident.
Several days later, the Flying Boat to retrieve ng Yu arrived.
They were to escort ng Yu to a Teleportation point, and after several teleports, bring ng Yu to the scene of the grand tournant, a separate realm known as the Martial Arts Miniature World.
"If you hadn't been locked up, you'd be a hot commodity by now."
The staff escorting ng Yu were amiable, telling him quite a bit of news.
After the competition entered the top ten thousand, the nas of the participants were publicized. Additionally, various big shots from different circles also started following these individuals.
With a chance of nearly one in ten thousand, aside from a few lucky ones, these people were all exceptionally outstanding. Many among them would be the future Foundation Establishnt, Golden Core, and even Nascent Soul cultivators.
Normally, these individuals would receive extensive dia attention and corporate sponsorship; they might beco local celebrities or even receive nurous deals.
ng Yu's na had also appeared before everyone, and so live broadcasts had taken notice of him, planning to use him as a draw. However, the clause stating that he was not allowed to transfer prisons nor apply for parole within five years put off many people, believing this young man's future was not very promising.
In Immortal Sect cultivation, if you fall behind even by a step, every subsequent step will be difficult. He was in prison, where even the daily labor consud imnse energy, let alone five years!
However, his White Crane Swordsmanship was truly powerful!
```
...
Six days later, when ng Yu arrived at the competition venue.
The Immortal Sect had sent all 12,000 examinees into the arena, which was as vast as a city (in the elimination round, there are always so extrely unlucky folks, geniuses eting geniuses, so there were also resurrection matches coupled with points, granting 2,000 more chances).
These 12,000 students represented the pride of the Immortal Sect for the year. Officially speaking, having everyone co here instead of competing at ho was an act of care from the Immortal Sect. Gathering everyone together was a way to foster relationships and shield them from unnecessary distractions, to truly showcase themselves.
Of course, for the large number of Immortal Sect people, it was simply a matter of three words: start the betting! Finally, they could start betting!
It is often said that the more fair and undisturbed by external factors the competition is, the more likely it becos the object of betting, and what else could serve as a better vessel for such a nationally beneficial betting event than the annual Immortal Sect entrance exam?
There's no helping it, it's better to guide than to block. To indulge in gambling, people from the Immortal Sect even dare to engage with illegal outside betting pools. Given the myriad gambling activities that keep erging and are impossible to completely suppress, it might as well be an official lottery, guiding the masses to use their wealth in a reasonable way.
Of course, Moon God and Mirror Twelve were staunchly opposed at first, but later, after seeing the benefits brought by successive operations, she acquiesced. After all, the astronomical expense of spiritual energy and spirit stones for each massive simulation was undeniable, and with the dwindling spirit stone resources of the Immortal Sect, she found herself short of them and had to concede that spirit stones were indeed delightful.
First up was the equipnt registration for the individual competition.
"This is your equipnt?"
The staff mber looked at what ng Yu had brought with a disbelieving stare.
Since the matter involved the lottery, variables had to be controlled. You had to disclose to the public every contestant's equipnt, weapons, alchemical elixirs, and protective armor and have them registered and locked down. No storage devices were permitted, nothing exceeding a certain quantity was allowed, and once the competition officially began, no changes could be made.
Without such asures, how could the fairness—ah no, the integrity of the competition—be ensured?
What if a contestant brought hundreds of puppets to the match, or like ng Yu, only had two Red Maple Wooden Swords and suddenly switched to Green-Purple Twin Swords at the venue? That wouldn't do, fairness and integrity had to be maintained.
"Yes, that's it," ng Yu confird.
His equipnt was terribly simple: an ordinary set of fire-resistant, tear-resistant prison garb, two Red Leaf Wooden Swords (one as a spare to prevent destruction), and nothing else on his body, not even any other weapons, protective armor, or protection charms.
Even his shoes were just ordinary shoes.
There was no helping it; this was the cost of advertisent.
This was the oppression of a black-hearted advertiser over party B.
This was all for the sake of putting on airs.
"Are you sure? After today, your weapons will be limited to these two?" the staff mber asked again, because the competition would take place in the virtual world. Once the contestants are scanned, even if you secure sponsorship the next day, you cannot use it until the end of the competition in one go.
"Yes, martial skills don't need to be registered, right?"
"No need. That involves personal foundation and privacy. As long as you're not using forbidden cultivation techniques, that's fine. Also, storage devices aren't allowed. ng Yu, good luck."
The staff mber scanned ng Yu's equipnt and surrounding scene once more, clicking her tongue in wondernt.
She was sure that ng Yu would surely make it onto today's Spirit Web rankings.
The most impoverished contestant in history.
In six thousand years, there had never been such a destitute battle.
Even if one's family were poor, making it to the top ten thousand would imdiately attract various sponsorships, one after another.
Poor young man, she even imagined ng Yu being bullied and tornted in the prison, forced to use only these two exceedingly ordinary swords.
Prison, such a terrifying place!
```
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