The Wind Rises Beyond the Seas – The Challenge (Part 1)

Chapter 374: The Wind Rises Beyond the Seas – The Challenge (Part 1)

Han Li examined the guards for a moment. Though they possessed no fluctuations of spiritual power, each was agile and robust, indicating they had trained in some crude martial arts.

What intrigued him most, however, was the cylinder. The fact that these guards, who had no spiritual power of their own, could use it to identify cultivators was a truly fascinating mechanism.

Han Li couldn’t help but study the cylinder a few more times.

This did not escape Wang Changqing’s notice, and he smiled as he offered an explanation.

“That is a Spirit Disc. It allows mortals like us to recognize Immortal Masters.”

“Spirit Disc?” Han Li was taken aback by the term, but he quickly recalled that a palm-sized jade disc was indeed embedded at one end of the cylinder. He gave a slight nod and said nothing more.

Under Han Li’s silent observation, the beast-drawn cart proceeded along a street paved with white stones, heading towards the city center.

The streets were crowded with pedestrians moving to and fro, and the further they went, the livelier it became.

Most of the people wore white. Even when other colors appeared, they were muted shades of pale yellow or light green. Not a single person was dressed in bright, vivid colors.

There was also a clear social hierarchy visible among them. One or two figures in more expensive clothing would often walk ahead, followed by three or four attendants in slightly worn garments, clearly servants.

Eventually, the sheer number of people and carts forced their vehicle to slow down considerably just to continue moving.

After navigating the crowded streets with some difficulty, the cart finally arrived at a massive square at the city’s center.

The square stretched dozens of acres and was a sea of people. As far as Han Li could see, there were only dark, bobbing heads.

Crowds from every direction continued to pour into the square.

The square’s perimeter was lined with numerous shops, all packed with people. Between the shops were temporary stalls, equally swarmed. In the very center, even more people were engaged in animated conversation, creating a bustling and lively spectacle.

Han Li’s eyes widened slightly. He made a rough estimate. Given the density of the crowd, the square must have been holding tens of thousands of people all at once.

It was impossible for the cart to go any further.

Shopkeeper Gu disembarked first, leading Han Li and the others on foot towards a palace-like building at the edge of the square.

The palace was about ten zhang tall, clearly towering over the other structures.

A row of guards stood before its massive doors, holding gleaming spears, preventing anyone from approaching without authorization.

“Today is the once-every-three-months market day on Starfall Island. So the population of Eaststone City is several times larger than usual. Basically, people from over a dozen eastern towns come here to trade for rare goods that can’t be bought on a normal day,” Shopkeeper Gu explained, turning his head to speak to Han Li as they walked.

Han Li gave a faint smile and followed him to the palace’s entrance.

Shopkeeper Gu stepped forward and exchanged a few words with the guard at the door. The guard waved his hand, signaling they could enter.

Shopkeeper Gu quickly beckoned Han Li and Wang Changqing, and they all went inside.

Once through the door, the air was noticeably cooler and quieter. In the corridor beyond, several dozen people of apparent status were huddled in small groups, whispering to each other. When they saw Shopkeeper Gu’s arrival, they all looked over with hostility.

At that moment, the purple wooden door at the other end of the corridor opened, and a young man in white, around twenty years old, stepped out. He was clean-cut, with a gentle and scholarly appearance.

“You must be Mr. Gu? Everyone else has arrived. Only the Gu family is left. However, only the cultivators who will participate in the challenge may enter. Mr. Gu, please wait here for the results.” The young man gave Han Li a friendly glance before addressing Shopkeeper Gu with perfect courtesy.

A brief sweep of his divine sense revealed the young man's cultivation to be at the fourth or fifth layer of Qi Condensation—roughly on par with Han Li himself.

Resigned, Shopkeeper Gu shot a hopeful look at Han Li before stepping aside with an acknowledgment.

With an impassive expression, Han Li followed the young man through the wooden door, which was immediately closed behind them.

“My surname is Wen. Fellow Daoist may call me Wen Qiang. But I must say, you look quite unfamiliar. Are you a cultivator new to Starfall Island?” the young man asked, turning back with a smile as he led Han Li inside.

“My name is Han Li. I arrived on Starfall Island only last month,” Han Li replied. After this period of practice, he finally had no trouble speaking the local language.

“Remarkable! To dare to travel abroad at your current level of cultivation, Fellow Daoist is truly bold! I’m not so adventurous. I was born on this island and have never left Starfall Island for a single day,” the young man said, a hint of envy in his voice.

Han Li let out a soft chuckle but didn’t respond.

He followed the young man straight ahead until they arrived at a circular hall. Inside, over thirty cultivators of varying temperaments were lounging about—some sitting, some standing.

“It looks like everyone is here. Let’s begin the drawing of lots immediately. It will be a single-elimination bout. You may injure but not kill your opponent. Doing so will result in disqualification,” an old man with an otherworldly, immortal-like aura sitting opposite the crowd announced succinctly.

He was the only Foundation Establishment cultivator in the entire room full of Qi Condensation practitioners, clearly the official in charge of the proceedings.

Once inside the hall, the young man named Wen quickly walked over and stood respectfully behind the old man.

Without acknowledging him, the old man produced a green jade tube containing over twenty bamboo lots.

“Alright, those who wish to challenge, come and draw a lot. Those with matching numbers will fight each other first. The victor will then be qualified to challenge the representative of the original merchant.”

At these words, most of the thirty challengers fixed their gazes on the jade tube.

A layer of green light suddenly emerged from the tube, enveloping the lots within. The spiritual sense of anyone else was automatically repelled by the green light. Some were even affected by the backlash, their bodies involuntarily swaying.

The cultivators who hadn't attempted to probe the tube with their spiritual sense wore looks of smug satisfaction.

These were precisely the cultivators who were about to be challenged. They naturally wanted Han Li and the other challengers to suffer as much as possible.

Given the power of his own divine sense, Han Li could have easily broken through the green light, but he had no intention of drawing such unnecessary attention to himself.

So, with nothing else to do, Han Li and the other challengers went up one by one to draw their lots.

After drawing his lot, Han Li turned it over for a quick look. It was marked with a strange silver symbol.

He frowned slightly. He had forgotten this. He didn’t recognize the local script!

But his face remained expressionless as he put the lot away, acting as if nothing was amiss.

“Number one,” the old man called out coldly.

Immediately, two cultivators holding matching lots stepped forward.

“Go to the platform over there to compete. A formation has been set up there to prevent your spells from causing any damage. The winner is the one who seizes the other’s lot and hands it to me. I don’t care what methods or means you use. Just don’t kill your opponent,” the old man stated bluntly.

“Yes, Senior,” the two men saluted him, then walked towards the open-air platform barely visible at the back of the hall.

A flash of white light on the platform, and the two men vanished.

A short while later, their tired figures reappeared on the platform. One man cheerfully handed two lots to the old man, while the other, crestfallen, walked straight out of the hall.

“Number two,” the old man called out coldly.

...

Because the combat methods of Qi Condensation cultivators were relatively simple, the matches were decided very quickly.

One pair in particular went in and came out almost immediately, with both the winner and the loser laughing cheerfully. The sight struck Han Li as a little peculiar.

“Number seven.”

A cultivator immediately stepped forward at the old man’s call, but another person was slow to appear.

“Number seven,” the old man repeated, his face darkening.

It was only then that Han Li emerged, a look of sudden realization on his face, quickly apologizing.

“Senior! My sincere apologies. I was reading the number wrong and thought I was number nine!”

The old man didn’t bother listening to Han Li’s excuse. He irritably waved his hand, and Han Li, catching the hint, hurriedly walked towards the platform with his opponent.

After a flash of white light, Han Li and the other man appeared in a hazy, white world. Apart from a space several dozen feet wide in the center, everything else was surrounded by white mist.

“Your cultivation level is fully two layers lower than mine. I don’t think we need to fight. Just concede, Fellow Daoist. It would save me from having to accidentally heavily injure you,” the middle-aged cultivator opposite him said, his face full of confidence.

Han Li looked at this “expert” at the seventh layer of Qi Condensation. Seeing that, like himself, the man hadn’t even activated a protective barrier, Han Li couldn’t help but chuckle softly.