Chapter 24: The Grand Tournament?

Bai Jingyan returned to his quarters, secured the doors and windows, and placed the small bell given to him by the young girl onto the table. It was exquisite and delicate, its surface etched with ancient runes that radiated a faint, spiritual pulse. He recalled the girl’s words: "Give it a shake when you are in danger; perhaps it might help you."

"This bell... it seems far from ordinary." Bai Jingyan murmured, his fingertips brushing the surface. A wave of warm spiritual energy flowed from the bell, resonating with the chaotic energy within his own body.

He closed his eyes and began to channel his spiritual power into the bell. As the energy flowed, the runes on its surface gradually illuminated, casting a soft glow. The pulse within the bell grew stronger, as if something were awakening.

"This bell... it can actually absorb my spiritual power?" Bai Jingyan was startled, but soon realized the energy was not vanishing; rather, it was being reflected back into his body in a peculiar manner. Under the cleansing flow of this energy, his meridians grew more resilient, and his dantian became increasingly full.

"Could it be... that this bell can help me break through?" A spark of joy flashed in Bai Jingyan’s eyes. He immediately sat cross-legged and threw himself into practicing the Chaos God-Demon Art.

As the spiritual power continued to pour in, the bell’s light grew more intense, bathing the entire room in a soft radiance. Bai Jingyan felt the resonance between the energy in the bell and his own chaotic aura, which seemed to guide him into a profound, mystical state.

In his sea of consciousness, a vast starry sky emerged. Countless stars twinkled, each representing a spiritual aperture within him. The bell’s energy acted as a bridge, connecting his apertures to the stars and forming a perfect cycle of power.

"This is... spiritual aperture resonance?" Bai Jingyan was stunned. He knew that this resonance was the key to a cultivator’s breakthrough; only when the apertures resonated with the power of heaven and earth could one shatter their limits and ascend to a higher realm.

He hesitated no longer, pushing the Chaos God-Demon Art to its limit. The bell’s energy surged, eventually erupting into a brilliant pillar of light that shot toward the heavens.

Inside the pillar, Bai Jingyan’s figure flickered. His aura climbed steadily, the spiritual power within him rushing like a torrent through his meridians and dantian. Suddenly, a clear, crisp chime echoed through his sea of consciousness, as if shattering some invisible shackle.

"Boom!"

A dull thud resonated within his body, his aura exploded, and a faint golden light enveloped him. At that moment, he broke through his bottleneck, leaping directly from the late stage of a Level 6 Martial Apprentice to a Level 7!

"I've broken through!" Bai Jingyan opened his eyes, a glint of joy within them. He felt his spiritual power was several times stronger than before, and his internal apertures were far more stable.

He looked down at the bell on the table and saw that its glow had dimmed, the runes returning to a state of calm. Yet, the spiritual pulse remained, as if waiting for the next awakening.

"This bell... it truly is extraordinary," he whispered.

...

Today was the annual grand tournament of the outer sect.

Before the hour of the Rabbit had even fully arrived, the outer sect plaza was already crowded with disciples, standing in small groups, their faces filled with excitement. For them, this was a rare and precious opportunity. Success meant promotion to the inner sect; failure meant waiting another year.

"First round, draw for your matches!" Following Elder Sun Fuyou’s command, nine rays of spiritual light descended from the sky. Bai Jingyan caught the jade token that fell into his palm—the black jade plaque was clearly engraved with the name "Li Tianxing."

Bai Jingyan acted as if he hadn't heard, his fingertips tracing the bronze bell in his sleeve. During his breakthrough last night, he had clearly seen golden seal characters surface on the inner wall of the bell: "Nine Heavens Lightning-Summoning Art." At this moment, the chaotic energy lying dormant in his dantian was flowing slowly in rhythm with the bell’s faint tremor.

"Talk about narrow paths," Li Tianxing sneered as he leaped onto the stage, his spirit sword humming as it left its sheath. "Within three moves, I will have you crawling off this stage on your knees..."

Before the words were finished, Bai Jingyan flicked his sleeve and threw the bell. The bronze object expanded instantly in the wind, transforming into a massive bell over a zhang tall that trapped Li Tianxing beneath it. The audience erupted in uproar; even Liu Wuhen on the high platform leaned forward—the cracks on the surface of that bell were identical to the inscriptions on the "Chaos Tower" in the Forbidden Grounds of the Star Feather Sect!

"Clang—"

Bai Jingyan struck the wall of the bell with his fingers, and nine purple lightning patterns spread from its base. Trapped inside, Li Tianxing let out a shrill scream, his protective aura shattering inch by inch under the lightning. When the bronze bell shrank back to its original size, only a charred sword hilt and a collapsed Li Tianxing remained on the stage.

"Bai Jingyan, winner!" the deacon elder’s voice trembled.

In the viewing gallery, Nanmen Chuyao gripped a secret order from the Demon God Palace hidden in her sleeve. The blood-red words on the parchment were still fresh: "Chaos Tower disturbance, investigate the bronze bell at once." Watching the back of the boy who tucked the bell away, she suddenly noticed that the blue cord binding his hair had changed—it was now a dark gold, the signature gilded silk reserved exclusively for the imperial family of the Primordial Empire.

After seven days of grueling battles, Bai Jingyan had defeated twenty-eight opponents in a row. In the final match against a candidate for the inner sect, he deliberately exposed a weakness, allowing the opponent’s sword to pierce his left shoulder. The moment his blood soaked his clothes, the long-dormant chaotic energy finally broke its chains.

"Boom!"

The Jinghong Sword unsheathed itself, its chime drawing down thunder from the Nine Heavens. In the stands, the teacup in Wu Yaoqing’s hand exploded—what surged around the boy was not mere spiritual power, but the "Primordial Source Qi of All Heavens" recorded on the Chaos Stele! Liu Wuhen rose abruptly, the communication jade in his sleeve glowing with a blinding red light; from the direction of the Forbidden Grounds came a heaven-shaking roar.

When the dust settled, Bai Jingyan knelt on one knee, the Jinghong Sword plunged deep into the stage. Before him, the stage, forged from black iron, had been split into a hundred-zhang gorge, and his opponent had long since been blasted out of bounds.

"Bai Jingyan, promoted to the inner sect!" Amidst Sun Fuyou’s announcement, the thunderclouds in the sky coalesced into a blood-red vortex. No one noticed that in the corner of the gallery, the green-robed girl... On the Star Feather Sect’s training grounds, nine bronze stages stood majestically, the sunlight filtering through the clouds to cast a pale golden halo upon the ancient, rune-carved flagstones. The annual outer sect tournament had arrived as scheduled, with thousands of disciples in moon-white training gear lined up, their sleeves flapping in the morning breeze. On the high platform, seven elders sat on sandalwood chairs, Wu Yaoqing stroking his long beard as he looked toward the third stage—there stood a boy with a straight back, his black-cuffed martial robes washed until they were faded; it was Bai Jingyan.

He stood tall in the plaza, his gaze fixed on the sky, his left hand behind his back, his right hand leveled, holding a square, solid stone.