Chapter 591: Big Competition Rewards

He had come to Myriad Kingdoms City specifically for this grand competition. Although the final prize, a single mid-grade spirit stone, no longer held much appeal for him, winning the championship would garner the attention of the Master Teacher Pavilion, making it significantly easier to find Cultivation Beyond Mortality 4-dan cultivation techniques.

Furthermore, with his current cultivation and strength, the Myriad Kingdoms Alliance had clearly become a limitation; he needed to enter a higher kingdom or power. Getting into the top ten would grant him admission to Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy, which was an excellent opportunity.

Therefore, he was quite looking forward to this competition.

"Master Teacher Zhang, this is a list of popular candidates for the grand competition that I've gathered over the past few days. Please take a look..." Hall Master Kang handed him a book.

Hall Master Kang hadn't been idle during the last half-month either. He had people inquire from various sources to compile this list, ensuring their contestants could prepare beforehand, following the adage: "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you can fight a hundred battles without defeat."

"Thank you!" Knowing the other party must have put in a lot of effort, Zhang Xuan nodded and casually opened the book.

"Number one in potential: Luo Xuan, direct disciple of Sect Leader Luo Huang of the Flowing Cloud Sect. He is a peak 4-star master teacher with a cultivation level at the pinnacle of Cultivation Beyond Mortality 4-dan. His auxiliary professions include: 4-star Physician and 4-star Array Master..."

"This fellow is ranked first in potential?" Zhang Xuan found it strange.

Others might not know this person, but he had met him before. Half a month ago, he had applied to "Master Teacher Yang" to exchange 150 mid-grade spirit stones for Sect Leader Luo Huang's life.

Moreover, according to Sun Qiang, this guy had once been sat on by a Demonic Beast of Disaster, nearly dying on the spot.

Could such a dimwit really be ranked first in potential?

"Ahem!" Seeing Zhang Xuan's strange look and knowing what he was thinking, Hall Master Kang coughed. "Actually, Luo Xuan isn't as bad as you imagine. His true strength is formidable. Even if I were to compete against him, it's hard to say if I could win..."

After a moment's thought, Zhang Xuan nodded as well.

That's right. The Demonic Beast of Disaster possessed a dragon bloodline, so it was normal for him not to be able to defeat it; that didn't mean he was weak! As for that day, as "Master Teacher Yang," his aura alone suppressed even half-step 5-star master teachers from speaking nonsense, so a peak 4-star would naturally seem unremarkable.

In truth, he was still very powerful.

At the very least, Zhang Xuan was not a match for his Cultivation Beyond Mortality 4-dan peak strength.

"Of course, this ranking of potential is just a sort of projection. The top ten listed are all quite similar in strength, and no one can truly confirm who will ultimately take first place!" Hall Master Kang continued.

Zhang Xuan continued to scan down the list.

As Hall Master Kang had said, the top ten in potential were almost all exclusively 4-star master teachers and pinnacle experts of the Pure Turbidity realm.

With similar strength and master teacher levels, it was indeed hard to say who would win and claim the top spot.

He quickly finished flipping through the book.

A total of fifty-six contestants were sent from the twenty factions, with the lowest ranked being early-stage 4-star master teachers — Zhang Xuan's own level.

Thinking back to the last selection competition, where only Young Master Ruo Huan was a 4-star, it was no wonder Myriad Kingdoms City never placed highly. Its foundation was simply too weak.

Only by achieving good rankings in the grand competition could they earn respect and acquire better resources. With resources, they could cultivate more and stronger master teachers; conversely, the same held true.

In this cycle, the strong grew stronger, and the weak grew weaker.

It could be said that if the Myriad Kingdoms Alliance failed to achieve good rankings in several consecutive competitions, its entire power would weaken, eventually being absorbed by other factions and vanishing into the river of history.

For this reason, every grand competition was crucial, and no one dared to take it lightly.

"Song Chao?"

Flipping to the twentieth-something name, he saw a familiar name: Song Chao.

He hadn't expected this fellow, who was always tricked whenever they met, to be ranked quite high on the potential list.

After a quick read-through, he had a rough understanding of the forces participating in this grand competition.

"Master Teacher Zhang, your understanding of master teachers and auxiliary professions is unmatched. It's just your cultivation that's a bit lacking. With a bit of luck, getting into the top ten... shouldn't be a problem!" Hall Master Kang offered a comforting remark.

While Master Teacher Zhang's performance at the Myriad Kingdoms City Master Teacher Pavilion had been extraordinary, among so many geniuses, he wasn't quite as outstanding. Leaving aside other factors, his sheer strength was his biggest weakness.

It was like the staves of a wooden barrel: all of them needed to be long to hold a lot of water; if one was short, the length of the others wouldn't matter. The Master Teacher Grand Competition tested overall ability, requiring excellence in all areas. A significant flaw would become a target for others, making it almost impossible to advance to a higher rank.

"What will be tested in this grand competition? Has it been decided yet?" Knowing Hall Master Kang's concerns, Zhang Xuan asked.

"It must have been decided long ago, but... I don't know what exactly will be tested. Master Teacher Hong Qian personally designed it, and I've heard it's extremely fair, making any favoritism or cheating impossible!" Hall Master Kang thought for a moment before replying.

As a participating faction, he was not privy to the specific assessment content. Otherwise, if the information leaked, and factions could organize their contestants to adapt beforehand, the competition would no longer be fair.

Master Teacher Hong Qian was a master teacher from the Master Teacher Pavilion of Hongfeng Empire, not one of the 28 participating factions in the grand competition. Furthermore, he had reached the 5-star level, so everyone felt at ease with him presiding over it.

Hongfeng Empire was a subordinate empire of the Illusion Feather Empire, significantly more powerful than factions like Flowing Cloud Sect, White Sun Sect, or the Myriad Kingdoms Alliance.

It was considered one of the higher-ranked among the unranked empires.

"Although we don't know the exact assessment criteria, news about the rewards has been released!" Hall Master Kang's eyes gleamed.

"Rewards? Weren't they just a mid-grade spirit stone and a chance to study at Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy?" Zhang Xuan looked at him, confused.

This reward had been mentioned before, so there was nothing surprising about it.

"That was indeed what was said before, but this time, the rewards have suddenly increased, and the amount is so substantial that even I find it hard to contain my excitement just thinking about it!" Hall Master Kang said excitedly.

Last night, the leaders of the various factions suddenly received a message from Master Teacher Hong Qian, announcing an increase in the grand competition's rewards. Upon seeing the details of the prizes, even as a peak expert and Hall Master of a faction, he couldn't help but gasp, filled with disbelief.

While the rewards in previous grand competitions had been generous enough, compared to this time... they seemed like child's play, practically nothing!

"Oh? What kind of rewards?" Zhang Xuan looked over with interest.

"The first-place prize is a high-grade spirit stone!" Hall Master Kang said.

"A high-grade spirit stone?"

Didn't they say it was a mid-grade spirit stone before? How did it change to high-grade?

"A single high-grade spirit stone is equivalent to ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones, and they are priceless, rarely appearing on the market! Their value is immeasurable!" Fearing Zhang Xuan didn't know, Hall Master Kang explained.

"Ten thousand mid-grade ones?" Zhang Xuan's breathing quickened.

He had worked so hard, almost feigning death or vomiting from pretending, just to extort around 600 mid-grade spirit stones from the Flowing Cloud Sect and fourteen other sects. To get first place and receive one high-grade, equivalent to ten thousand... this was simply too exaggerated!

"Yes! And not only that, but there's also the opportunity to study at Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy and cultivate for three days in the Pure Transformation Pond..." Hall Master Kang continued.

"Pure Transformation Pond? What's that?" Zhang Xuan looked over.

"It's the most precious treasure of the Illusion Feather Empire's royal family, and the very foundation of their nation!" Hall Master Kang began, his face full of envy. "You should understand, having cultivated to the Pure Turbidity realm, that 'turbid' refers to the physical body and 'pure' to the soul. The Pure Transformation Pond is precisely a place to nourish the soul. Cultivating there allows the soul to undergo a metamorphosis, increasing the chances of breaking through to the Spirit Unification realm severalfold!"

"If I had the chance to cultivate there for three days, my chances of successfully reaching the Spirit Unification realm would exceed fifty percent! Unfortunately... the Pure Transformation Pond is the most valuable asset of the Illusion Feather Empire, with limited access. Even the Master Teacher Grand Competition, held once every ten years, only offers a few spots!"

Hearing that it was a place for cultivating the soul, Zhang Xuan nodded, secretly astonished.

For it to increase Hall Master Kang's chances of breaking through to Spirit Unification to over fifty percent, this Pure Transformation Pond... was truly heaven-defying.

A high-grade spirit stone, the opportunity to study at Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy, three days in the Pure Transformation Pond...

Each of these alone could drive countless people mad; having all three together was incredible!

"What about second place?"

These were the rewards for first place, but what about second?

"Second place is significantly less: three hundred mid-grade spirit stones, study at Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy, and two days in the Pure Transformation Pond!" Hall Master Kang stated.

Although it was only a difference of one rank, the rewards were reduced by more than half. Not only was there one less day in the Pure Transformation Pond, but the difference in spirit stones alone was massive.

One high-grade spirit stone and three hundred mid-grade ones represented a difference of over thirty times.

"Third place receives one hundred mid-grade spirit stones and one day in the Pure Transformation Pond! As for fourth to tenth place, they won't have the opportunity to enter the Pure Transformation Pond, and they only receive 10 spirit stones each. Fortunately, anyone in the top ten still gets a chance to study at Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy." Hall Master Kang summarized the rewards for the top ten.

"It seems... I must get first place!" Zhang Xuan clenched his fist.

He had previously thought that just aiming for a top ten finish would suffice, with the exact rank not mattering. Now, however... he had to secure first place.

Setting aside everything else, just one high-grade spirit stone was far too tempting.

With it, he likely wouldn't need to worry about spirit stones even when cultivating to the peak of Cultivation Beyond Mortality.

"Indeed, you must strive for first place, but alas... getting first place isn't that easy!" Hearing his words, Hall Master Kang gave a wry smile.

Everyone wanted first place, and with the increased rewards, countless cultivators were fiercely vying for it. It wouldn't be easy to obtain.

While Master Teacher Yang's reputation was indeed formidable and inspiring awe, this particular news had only circulated among the sect leaders and patriarchs of the fourteen factions. The young talents participating in the grand competition were unaware.

Therefore, when it came to the actual competition, no one would show mercy just because he was Master Teacher Yang's student.

Other aspects of the competition might not be an issue, but when it came to... a cultivation match, the disparity was simply too great.

Although Hall Master Kang held high hopes for Master Teacher Zhang, he didn't expect him to win the championship.

"We've arrived!"

Hearing Hall Master Kang's sigh, Zhang Xuan was about to speak when Young Master Ruo Huan's voice rang out. Looking up, he saw that the three of them had arrived at the square in front of the Alliance Leader's Mansion. At that moment, it was packed with people, a surging tide of humanity.

The Master Teacher Grand Competition, having weathered countless storms, was finally... about to begin!