A wide combat platform rose in the center of the main field, surrounded by a dense crowd of young disciples. The gray robes of the outer disciples dominated the scene.

  Fang Li walked calmly through the crowd, without haste or any need to push his way through by force. His eyes swept over the surroundings with open curiosity.

  "Mmm… without a doubt this is a great event," he thought. "You can even see disciples from the inner sect observing."

  Indeed, in slightly elevated areas, several youths with more arrogant expressions watched the platform with an air of superiority.

  He turned his gaze toward the highest end of the venue and distinguished a small group of elders seated in reserved seats, each with an inscrutable expression.

  "Ah… and the old men of the sect are here too."

  As he advanced toward the area designated for the participants, he noticed several glances quickly shifting toward him. The murmurs were not subtle. Some pointed at him discreetly; others whispered without caring too much about hiding it.

  Fang Li kept his face relaxed. If they were talking about him, all the better; that meant he was very handsome.

  He arrived at the area where the combat positions were being organized. The participants waited and, around them, conversations of disciples who had nothing better to do could be heard.

  "They say this year there are several strong ones.""Senior Brother Zhou is one of the favorites.""No, no… I heard there's a genius who was already chosen by an elder of the inner sect, but he still wants to participate."

  The last comment caught Fang Li's attention, and he sharpened his hearing.

  "Already chosen? And he still competes?""He wants to prove something, I suppose."

  Fang Li showed a faint smile.

  Looks like he wants to farm prestige, that fellow. He certainly has a good mentality.

  Making everyone see your strength even before officially entering the inner sect was not a bad strategy. It gave you early authority and a solid reputation.

  But…

  Unfortunately for him, I, Fang Li, am here.

  He found a free place near the edge of the area assigned to the participants and sat down calmly, crossing one leg over the other while observing the movement on the main platform. There was still time before the first matches were announced.

  He had not been settled for even a minute when a voice sounded at his side.

  "You're Fang Li, right? That clown who humiliated my younger brother yesterday."

  He had no choice but to open his eyes in surprise and then let out a resigned sigh.

  "Again…" he muttered. "Can't you at least wait one day?"

  He turned his head calmly.

  The young man standing beside him seemed to be his same age, but the similarity ended there. If yesterday's muscular one was big, this one was directly disproportionate: broad shoulders, thick neck, arms stretching the fabric of his robe as if they were about to tear it apart.

  For a moment, Fang Li sincerely wondered what the hell they fed those people.

  The boy looked at him with clear hostility, without pretense or half measures. His fists were already clenched before he began speaking again.

  Fang Li examined him from head to toe with a critical expression, as if evaluating a product in the market.

  Definitely, this is the muscular one's dad.

  The enormous young man seemed about to continue his threat when a gong resounded on the main platform. The sound spread throughout the venue and the conversations gradually stopped.

  A clear voice announced that shortly the papers with the combat numbers would be distributed. Each participant had to draw one at random to determine the order and the pairings.

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  The plus-sized muscular one snorted with evident annoyance.

  "Pray to the heavens that you don't have to fight me," he said as he stepped away. "Otherwise, not even your mother will recognize you."

  Fang Li watched him walk away without standing up and thought that was new. He had received insults before, but that one had a certain creative effort.

  "Big Brother Fang! I finally found you!"

  Ping appeared from some point in the crowd with renewed energy and planted himself in front of him as if he had been searching for hours.

  "I thought I would arrive late," he said with a wide smile.

  Fang looked at him calmly.

  "Did you get lost or were you spying?"

  "Observing the strategic environment," Ping replied with total seriousness.

  Several people nearby looked at them strangely. Some murmured things about a strange rumor regarding questionable behavior between those two.

  Ping leaned slightly toward Fang and spoke in a low voice, although the concern was evident in his tone.

  "Brother Fang, that mass of muscles you were talking to is He Linyue, the older brother of yesterday's muscular one… and I think it would be a good idea to avoid fighting him."

  Fang Li raised an eyebrow.

  "And why do you say that? He is certainly a mass of muscle, but no matter how inflated he is; that does not equal strength. Little Ping, you lack wisdom."

  Ping opened his mouth to nod, but stopped halfway through the gesture.

  "It's not because of that, Brother Fang…" he corrected carefully, "but because He Linyue has already entered the first level of the Spiritual Realm."

  Fang blinked in surprise; that truly was unexpected.

  An outer disciple in the Spiritual Realm was not something common at all. Most of those who reached that level were already in the inner sect or under the direct tutelage of some elder.

  As if responding to Fang's expression, Ping continued quickly.

  "In fact, all the favorites of this competition are already in the Spiritual Realm. It will be difficult, Brother Fang… but I, Ping, trust in you. After all, you are very hard."

  The final shout, said with sincere enthusiasm, was not precisely discreet.

  Several nearby disciples turned their heads. Some frowned, others exchanged strange looks. The murmurs grew again.

  A second gong resounded, louder than the previous one. A clear voice called all the participants to gather on the central platform.

  Fang Li stood up calmly and looked at Ping.

  "Enjoy the show."

  "Yes, Big Brother Fang!"

  He advanced along with the rest of the competitors and climbed onto the wide stone surface. From there, the crowd seemed even denser. The outer disciples completely surrounded the platform, while in the slightly elevated areas the inner disciples and the elders observed attentively.

  Fang Li swept the group with his gaze.

  One, two, three…

  Thirty-five in total.

  He slightly raised an eyebrow. That meant one would not fight.

  While reflecting on the odd number, an elder appeared at the center of the platform. His presence was not imposing in appearance, but the silence that spread upon seeing him was immediate.

  "Now," he said in a firm voice, "each of you will come forward to draw your combat number."

  In front of him, a wooden container held the rolled papers.

  "As this year there is a last-minute addition, we have added that one will receive a random bye."

  Murmurs were heard.

  "Silence. Luck is also part of strength. Now come one by one."

  One by one, the participants advanced. Some returned looking at their number with relief; others frowned as if they already imagined their defeat.

  When his turn came, Fang Li advanced calmly, took a paper, and unrolled it.

  His number matched that of an unknown outer disciple who, upon realizing it, visibly paled. The boy looked at him, then lowered his head as if he had already accepted his fate.

  Fang Li only gave him a gentle smile.

  At the end of the line, when almost everyone had taken their number, a young man advanced toward the container. He seemed a year younger than Fang, but the sensation he emitted was different.

  He held a sword in his left hand, not out of necessity, but as a natural extension of himself. His posture was straight, his movements precise, and his face was pleasant to the eye.

  Without a doubt he was handsome, Fang Li evaluated calmly, although, of course… not as much as this humble servant.

  When the young man took his number, the crowd kept a deeper silence than before. Some even straightened their backs.

  That must be the supposed genius they were talking about.

  When it seemed that no one remained, Fang noticed movement at the end of the line. The last to advance was a female disciple.

  She wore her hair tied in two ponytails that swayed with the soft wind crossing the platform. Her uniform was impeccable, her posture straight, and her gaze fixed forward, without hesitation. She did not seem nervous.

  She was, objectively, very beautiful.

  The young woman approached the container and extended her hand calmly. However, when she withdrew what she had taken, it was not a rolled paper like the others, but a small paper of another color, marked with a simple symbol.

  A murmur spread.

  "The automatic bye corresponds to…" the elder looked at the girl "…Disciple Shen Yuehan."

  The reaction was almost nonexistent.

  The girl with the ponytails slightly inclined her head, without showing arrogance or false modesty. She simply accepted the result and stepped aside.

  Fang Li smiled with irony, so besides being beautiful, she has good luck.

  He put the thought aside. His match was number four. Perfect, there was enough time to rest and play a little with the system.

  Just as he planned to sit down, a translucent window appeared before his sight.

  [ New mission detected:

  Teach all your opponents in the competition a lesson and show them how dominant you can be.

  Reward: 10,000 Beating Points

  Special reward depending on accumulated respect

  +1 automatic technique upgrade ticket of your choice ]

  Fang Li was surprised at first, but then a wide and not at all discreet smile appeared on his face.

  "I suppose I won't be able to hold back then, eh…" he murmured in an almost resigned tone. "What a pity… I wanted to go easy on these guys."

  A few meters away, two disciples exchanged uncomfortable glances upon hearing the comment.