Chapter 365: Meeting Long Juxue Again
By the time Jiang Chen had thoroughly digested the rules, he’d also formed a basic plan of attack.
“I must seek to obtain all of the hundred foundation points. I can also appropriately issue some challenges. The most steady way of going about things is to apply for the regular missions. A first level mission results in ten points, and they can be run everyday. As for the special missions, although they award a lot of points and have no risk of losing points, they only come around at most once a month. They’re something I can only hope to run into.”
“I’ve only just started; I must seek to do things steadily, and not blunder about with brute force.”
Jiang Chen set down a plan for himself. He was starting from scratch with no foundation, so taking things slowly but surely was the way forward.
“Having completed two cycles already, the candidates in the sky quadrant must’ve ama.s.sed quite a few points already. My starting point is already far behind these fellows. It’s good thing that only half a year has pa.s.sed out of the three years. I still have two and a half years to catch up. Of course, the caveat being that I’m not eliminated in that time. If I lack sufficient points and rank in the bottom ten after three months, then I’ll be sent back to the earth quadrant with dust on my face.”
Jiang Chen would never let this happen.
“I wonder how many points those premier candidates have received now?” Jiang Chen had yet to partic.i.p.ate in the trials of the sky quadrant, and so couldn’t come up with an accurate estimate.
“Although I temporarily can’t calculate it, those at the top will likely have more than 1,000 points.”
After all, six months, 180 days. Even if one completed one mission a day, that would result in 1,800 points.
That didn’t even include the 200 foundation points each month.
Of course, it wasn’t like points would only increase. Once a candidate failed a mission, their points would be docked and they would be forbidden from applying for missions for the next five days. This would also affect their points as well.
Jiang Chen could see that the rules of the sky quadrant were focused on cultivating the candidates, allowing them to fully develop in these three years.
Therefore, there were less clashes between the candidates when compared to the other quadrants. This was to avoid the premier geniuses exchanging blows too early and thus leading to the early loss of genius talent.
When premier geniuses crossed hands, the interchange may very well be fatal.
Therefore, there were a lot fewer trials that involved combat.
Of course, this wasn’t to say that there were none at all. Successfully challenging other candidates would result in 20 points. This was a popular way to earn points for those confident in their fighting ability.
There was also the need for the occasional match in order to confirm how the candidates were developing.
These kinds of challenges usually wouldn’t be to the death, but they were just as ferocious as those in the other quadrants.
Jiang Chen knew that this was the intention of the four sects.
After all, in the end they would select the strongest 64 for the final selection. Then, the candidates would have ample opportunity to display their techniques and determine who was truly the most superior.
The final rounds three years later was the true stage for the geniuses to display their talents. The three years in the interim were a period of time for them to cultivate, improve, and ascend higher.
All sorts of superior conditions were available in the sky quadrant.
In addition, all of the sect geniuses were gathered here. Everyone was existing within a nervous, compet.i.tive bubble. They were each other’s best motivation. After all, it was hard for one not to improve when they felt the stress of compet.i.tion.
Rates of improvement were fast with opponents and motivation.
After familiarizing himself with the rules, Jiang Chen’s first plan of attack was to gain all one hundred foundation points.
These foundation points would form the capital he needed to expand into other areas.
In addition, he was a newbie at the moment, and could only play around in the newcomer area. Even when he earned 100 points, he wouldn’t be able to apply immediately for the fifth level missions.
“Forget it. I should walk around and take a look at things since I’ve just arrived in the sky quadrant. I should observe the compet.i.tion.” Jiang Chen hadn’t bothered to scout out his compet.i.tion in the earth and mystic quadrants.
Thanks to his advantages in those quadrants, he was able to obtain an overwhelming victory without having to understand his opponents.
However, the sky quadrant was different. He was dealing with the elites amongst the elites here!
Here, none of his opponents could be underestimated. The most critical thing was that these opponents had already completed two cycles, and their knowledge of the environment and rules would be infinitely stronger than any newcomer.
The sky quadrant was also similar to other quadrants, with a lot of off limit areas.
If a candidate barged into the taboo areas, they would be attacked by all sorts of restrictions and formations.
Apart from the residences, the main square was the only other place which candidates could access. The foundation missions, mission announcement areas, and the rings for matches could all be found here.
As for the residences, apart from the walkways, other candidates’ residences were all private property. Jiang Chen wouldn’t be able to enter without the owner’s permission.
He walked around for a bit but noticed that no one was doing the same.
“It looks like I was too naive. Time is money. No one would spend valuable time walking around outside when they could be cultivating.”
Jiang Chen shook his head at himself. Thinking carefully about things, he had no friends in the sky quadrant at all. If he had to speak of any old acquaintances, then it was likely just down to the usual suspects.
There was Long Juxue, Chu Xinghan, and Luo Huang from the Purple Sun Sect, who’d attacked Eastern Gouyu and Tian Shao on the outskirts of the Skylaurel Kingdom that day. Of course, there were also Iron Dazhi and Zhou Yi of the Precious Tree Sect.
They were all his rivals.
When Jiang Chen’s thoughts wandered their way, he couldn’t help but smile ruefully. He had yet to start up in the sky quadrant, but already had five strong enemies.
He became bored after walking around for a while and returned to his residence.
When he felt that all the other candidates were cultivating behind closed doors, he also felt a sense of pressure on him.
“I may be the only fourth level spirit realm in the sky quadrant?” Jiang Chen laughed self deprecatingly as a sense of urgency grew in his heart.
Jiang Chen had broken through to the fourth level during the initial selection. He’d spent half a year in the mystic and earth quadrants, and had worked quite hard during this time as well, but his focus had been on training the “Nine Transformations of Demons and G.o.ds”. That had occupied a lot of his time.
However, his spirit ocean had continuously absorbed spirit power and he’d spent much time everyday solidifying his cultivation. He’d also had the practical experience from the matches in the two quadrants and his daily spars with Liu Wencai.
Real knowledge came from actual battle experience, and Jiang Chen’s level of cultivation had been rising steadily as well.
Although he had yet to break through to the fifth level spirit realm, only a thin veil separated him from that step. He would be able to break through at any time.
“With such a superior environment in the sky quadrant, perhaps I can try to breakthrough. Perhaps I’ll receive some inspiration one day during these three months and enter the fifth level.”
More accurately speaking, the fifth level was the middle of the earth spirit realm.
To go from fourth level to fifth level actually required a period of acc.u.mulation.
However, even though there was but a line between the two levels, the difference was still great.
There were very few fifth level spirit realm candidates in the earth quadrant, the majority were fourth level.
But in the sky quadrant, apart from himself, Jiang Chen could find no other fourth level spirit realm.
“Breaking through to the fifth level spirit realm will happen when conditions are ripe. I lack that final step right now, that juncture for breakthrough. Perhaps it’s a moment of enlightenment, or perhaps a match. Or perhaps that inspiration will come when I turn around carelessly one day.”
Jiang Chen’s comprehension of cultivation was quite profound. He knew that this kind of opportunity was something only hoped for and couldn’t be counted on. There was no need to forcefully make it happen. The more he tried, the further away his goal might travel.
The more he kept a calm mindset, the stronger his strength of heart was, the more likely he’d be able to break through when the time arrived.
This was how Jiang Chen spent his first day and night in a new environment. The next day, he presented himself at the main square before the time to a.s.semble had arrived.
The square wasn’t particularly crowded even after a hundred candidates had gathered here. They even appeared rather few in this enormous quadrant.
Even though their numbers were few, Jiang Chen had been able to sense the fervent atmosphere in the sky quadrant as soon as he’d set foot inside. The enormous compet.i.tive spirit burned white-hot in the square.
Jiang Chen particularly stood out with his mask and unique uniform.
Every candidate knew who he was when they saw his outfit.
The dual champion of the mystic and earth quadrants. He’d swept the matches with several Purple Sun Sect geniuses with his power alone, and had pulled Master Shuiyue off her pedestal in the end as well.
A genius that had bewitched the earth quadrant was nothing in the eyes of the sky quadrant candidates.
However, a genius that even an examiner had needed to cheat in order to suppress, was rather shocking.
Master Shuiyue was exceedingly proud, but she’d even gone to the lengths of employing despicable methods. What did this mean? This meant that Master Shuiyue was wary of this candidate.
Jiang Chen could feel all sorts of complicated gazes sweep all over him.
However, he ignored all of these looks.
Suddenly, he felt a cold gaze pierce at him from the left.
He suddenly had the feeling of having a dangerous animal fix its sights on him.
“Long Juxue?” Jiang Chen’s heart pounded for a second. Although he didn’t turn his head to look, that gaze was familiar and something he’d never forget.
Long Juxue had left with this sort of gaze that day at the Second Crossing.
“No, why would this woman stare at me with such hatred? Logically speaking, as a secular cultivator, I wouldn’t attract her interest even though I’ve made it into the sky quadrant. Why is it that she looks at me alone with such hatred? Can it be… she already knows my true ident.i.ty?”
Jiang Chen looked back with neither a humbling nor an arrogant gaze when his thoughts reached here!