Immortality begins with meditation puppets

On February 22nd, the highly anticipated Heroes' Gathering, after more than half a month of fierce competition, finally reached the final stage of the Top 100 Tournament.

As of today, the points rankings are as follows:
0001: Yuan Shizong: 12890
0002: Dongwang Sect: 9886
0003: Immortal Qin Wu Kingdom: 7286
0004: Penglai Immortal Kingdom: 7174
0005: The Kingdom of Ten Thousand Monsters: 7058
0006: The Immortal Kingdom of Desire: 6886
0007: Lingbao Sect: 5726
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0010: Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom: 5689.

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The photo screen in the auditorium continuously displays the points of the various factions.

The monks gathered there were discussing it animatedly.

"As expected of the ancestral court of all heavenly Dao lineages and the source of all laws, the Primordial Sect lives up to its name. They are far ahead of their competitors. They have participated in almost every project and entered the top 100 in all of them, which is why they have so many points!"

"The Penglai Immortal Kingdom is shameless! They sent a bunch of gods to help them climb the ranks. Who can withstand that!"

"Hey, I can't control what you say about Penglai, but what's wrong with sending gods to boost the rankings? Our Xing Sha Divine Kingdom only has Gao Tian Shen who's got some skills. If he doesn't come, our Xing Sha Divine Kingdom will be reduced to a fourth-rate power!"

"If you have anyone to blame in your Xing Sha Divine Kingdom, you should blame Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom. Those Jia Tianxia and Duan Ji Puppet Shop were originally from Wanghai Immortal City, which is your Xing Sha Divine Kingdom. How come they are now representing Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom in the competition, and all the points have been counted for Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom!"

"There's nothing we can do about it. It's just that our High God and True Man Su are such good friends. Our Xing Sha Divine Kingdom's goal is only to maintain our position in the top three and strive for second place. We'd be satisfied with just being a second-tier power. As long as our High God works hard, he can achieve that all by himself. But True Man Su wants to lead the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom to become a first-tier power. So, he needs forces like Jia Tianxia to help him climb the ranks!"

"He only wants to be a top-tier power? I saw Master Su release all his puppets to boost his score, and I thought he was aiming for a super-top-tier power!"

"You really dare to dream. There are only five top-tier forces: the Ancient Dragon Clan, the Witch Clan, and the Demon Clan. These three clans shed their blood and sacrificed their lives for Tianyuan back then, destroying their families and wiping out their lives. Regardless of their points, as long as we human cultivators still want them to fight alongside us through this calamity, they must be given three spots in the top-tier forces category. This is predetermined. As for the remaining two spots, the Yuanshi Sect, the Taishang Sect, the Lingbao Sect, and the Dongwang Sect... These are all ancient forces with a history spanning countless millennia. Can the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom compete with them in terms of resources and for these spots?"

"Everyone has to have dreams, right? Oh well, if I don't have a chance with the top-tier forces, being a first-tier force isn't bad either!"

"You Kaiyuan people, you're not satisfied with being a first-tier power? You should be grateful that Kaiyuan even has these twelve spots. There are still many to compete for!"

The cultivators present, though seemingly just onlookers, were all aware that this gathering of heroes concerned the interests of each and every one of them.

If their own faction reaches the top-tier level, they will naturally benefit from it, possessing the best blessed land and receiving the greatest fortune. Even when fighting against evil spirits, they will not be the first wave of cannon fodder. However, if their own faction is not up to par and falls to the third or even fourth tier, they will be embarrassed to announce their name when they go out in the future, enjoying blessings that others no longer care about and suffering beatings that others have never suffered.

Each cultivator has a clear understanding of their own power.

For example, some Golden Core Immortal Kingdoms have only one Golden Core cultivator in their entire country, who is respectfully addressed as "Ancestor" in his own kingdom. However, when he comes to this conference, he is just an ordinary Golden Core cultivator who only signed up for an unpopular project and luckily made it into the top 100. That's his end, and he is definitely a fourth-tier power.

As for forces like the Fire Phoenix Immortal Kingdom and the Punishment God Kingdom, although they have some strength, their foundation is still shallow. At best, they can only be second-tier, let alone first-tier. The cultivators of these forces are currently only paying attention to the Top 100 Tournament to cheer on their own sect leaders and Heavenly God Bosses, hoping they can show their style and skill in the competition. They don't have a strong desire to win or lose.

The most tense and excited are those whose upper and lower limits fluctuate greatly.

Among them, the four forces of Dongwang Sect, Penglai Immortal Kingdom, Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom, and Taoyuan Sect are the most worrying.

The Eastern King Sect is located in the Kunlun Realm, the first realm of all heavens (excluding the Tianyuan Realm), just like the Primordial Sect. Compared to other forces in this realm, which are either subordinate sects of the Primordial Sect or have submitted to it, the Eastern King Sect has always competed with the Primordial Sect. Although it has been at a disadvantage in recent years, it is still qualified to compete with the Primordial Sect, which in itself demonstrates the strength of the sect.

This sect was founded by an ancient Daoist couple. It was already very prominent in ancient times, and its power was only slightly weaker than the Yuanshi, Lingbao, and Taishang sects. During the great calamity of ancient times, compared to the Yuanshi, Lingbao, and Taishang sects, which left their powerful members to guard Tianyuan and only sent some disciples to the heavens to preserve the flame of their sects, the Dongwang sect, apart from its two founders who dispersed their Daos to Tianyuan along with the founders of other sects, had no other powerful members left in Tianyuan to participate in the battle. They all fled to the heavens. Thus, among the various Daoist lineages of ancient times, this sect's strength was the most intact. There is still a seventh-level Refining Void Daoist Master in the sect, so it has the confidence to compete with the Yuanshi sect, which was injured in the great calamity of ancient times.

What troubles this sect is that, despite their best efforts, their reputation in the Kunlun Realm, the myriad realms, and now the Tianyuan Realm, is still inferior to that of the Yuanshi Sect, which is simply unbearable for them.

In recent years, many of the riots in various parts of the Tianyuan Realm were instigated by this sect, who wanted an opportunity to prove themselves, just like the current Heroes' Gathering.

Therefore, they were the most active in preparing for this heroes' gathering and spared no effort in investing the most resources.

A true man should not remain subservient to others for long!
They're determined to get the top-tier power, the Eastern King Sect!

Therefore, with great determination and ample talent reserves, their disciples launched attacks from all directions in the previous preliminary selection. Apart from the projects that have been created locally in Tianyuan in recent years, they have disciples who have entered the final top 100 in almost all the other projects that have been established since ancient times. As a result, their performance has made cultivators from all over Tianyuan very optimistic about this sect's attempt to become a top-tier power.

Like the Eastern King Sect, the Penglai Immortal Kingdom also aspires to become a top-tier power.

In terms of strength and foundation, this immortal kingdom should have stayed obediently among the top-tier powers. In fact, some people believe that they might not even be able to uphold the bottom line of a top-tier power.

But the tournament rules restricted sixth-level Void Refinement contestants from participating, and their Penglai Immortal Kingdom had just successfully built the Human Heavenly Court in the last hundred years, cultivating a team of gods who were invincible in the world when no sixth-level cultivators appeared.

The gods were rapidly gaining points in the preliminary rounds, constantly raising the expectations of the cultivators in this immortal kingdom.

If these gods all unleash their full power during the Top 100 competition, is it possible for them to become a top-tier power?

Of course, there are also those who dislike Penglai and wholeheartedly hope that all the gods in Penglai will make a huge mistake. It would be better if they not only failed to break into the top tier but also lost their very core.

As for Penglai's sudden rise, although it was unexpected, it was not surprising. After all, it was Penglai's ability to create a group of gods, and it was expected that they would use gods to increase their score.

The situation of the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom in the struggle for points has shocked even its own people.

Before the start of the competition.

Despite the flourishing state of the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom and the booming development of its various industries, which constantly challenges the preconceived notions of outside cultivators about this immortal kingdom, some believe that although it has only been established for a little over a hundred years and its foundation is shallow to the point of being nonexistent, it has at least inherited the old foundation of Wanghai Immortal City. Furthermore, Su Qing's puppets are unparalleled, and his armor is renowned throughout the heavens. While pursuing a broad and general path like the Yuanshi Sect or the Dongwang Sect might not be feasible, a high-quality approach, focusing on breakthroughs in a few high-weighted areas, might offer a chance to reach the second tier. After all, even if all else fails, they still have Su Qing's guaranteed points in the puppetry category!
There are only 108 second-tier forces, which means that as long as this goal is achieved, Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom will be one of the top 100 forces in the heavens. This is already quite remarkable. There are thousands of forces in the heavens, and there are dragons everywhere in Tianyuan. Among these countless forces, Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom started the latest and developed the latest. To be regarded as having the potential to become a second-tier force is already a sign that others think highly of them.

As the preliminary rounds progressed, they discovered that what they thought was an overestimation was actually an underestimation.

Yes, the cultivators of Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom have a strong sense of collective honor, and everyone is working hard.

For example, Delong made a breakthrough in the armor project, Debao excelled in the divine servant project, Yingjueshen consistently scored points in the high-weight divine spirit project, and even the Second Elder of the Far West, Xiao Lang, who had been stagnant in his path for many years, blossomed again, managing to break into the top 100 in both the combat and sword projects, so that he could proudly proclaim that he had lived up to Su Qing's support for the Elder Hall over the years.

These people are excellent, but that's all they are.

Before the competition, among the forces of similar level to Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom, apart from Xingsha Divine Kingdom, which had exhausted its resources to help its younger brother and only had Gao Erqiang to compete for points, which of the other forces did not have several outstanding disciples?

These are basic points; everyone has them.

What truly made the Kingdom of Punishment and Killing stand out and gave people the idea that this immortal kingdom might be able to maintain its position as number two and even strive for number one was the efforts of their ruler, Su Qing.

He himself is quite outrageous. In addition to the puppet project that everyone is optimistic about, he signed up for dozens of other projects, including puppetry, swordsmanship, divine path, enlightenment, and combat. Each project is a popular project with high weight, and all of them made it into the top 100. He alone earned more than 2,000 points for the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom.

This is quite surprising. You see, the reason why popular projects have high weight is because they are difficult. Human strength is finite, and cultivators should avoid being half-hearted in their cultivation. It is best to focus on one direction and work hard. As long as one has made some achievements in any popular project, one can at least reach the level of a god of death. Duan Yang's achievement means that he could either create a celestial kingdom and become a king, or he could build a foundation and become richer than a country.

As for Su Qing, he has only been cultivating for a little over a hundred years. He has enough to study puppetry alone, yet he still has the energy to make breakthroughs in other areas. Unlike Xiao Lang, who barely made it into the top 100 and then lost his momentum, it is obvious to everyone that Su Qing's performance in the preliminary rounds of puppetry, demon exorcism, and combat shows that he even has the strength to enter the top ten in these areas. The difference between the top 100 and the top ten is quite significant.

Su Qing works herself to the bone, which people don't understand, but they respect.

But his puppets fought just as hard as him, which made everyone envious and jealous.

For the past two weeks, I've heard people talking about Su Qing's puppet almost every day.

The day before yesterday, that patricide Fengxian was ruthless and unstoppable in the cavalry event, displaying the prowess of a warrior capable of taking on a thousand men.

Yesterday, the Tyrant Heavenly Roc God toyed with Cloud Dragon in the aerial combat event, scaring Cloud Dragon, a participant from the Cloud Dragon Realm, so much that he urinated in mid-air, losing all face.

Today, Xiong Er once again started with a single spirit stone in the business simulation game, earning millions of spirit stones. Not only did he rise directly to the top 100 in the business world, but after the competition, many forces in the heavens with poor financial conditions and bad management also voluntarily paid large sums of consulting fees to him to seek his business advice.

Tomorrow, Tiger Egg will shine again in the swordsmanship event, showing no mercy to a Nascent Soul True Monarch of the Peach Blossom Sect, shaving his head bald and making a name for himself by stepping on the Nascent Soul True Monarch. A high-ranking cultivator from the Spirit Treasure Sect even declared that Tiger Egg's talent was worthy of being included in the sect's true lineage!

Well, if Penglai bullies people with its gods, then Su Qing bullies people with his puppets.

The key point is that no one can find fault with him. He said that he would not use any puppets that have already participated in other projects in the puppet project. In this conference, these puppets are all independent individuals, and there is no reason not to let them participate and get points.

This statement silenced the opposing forces, but they began to covet the puppet project.

If Su Qing sends out all his powerful puppets to compete, will he still be able to maintain his status as the leader of Tianyuan Puppetry when he has no powerful puppets available in the puppetry category?
Regardless, before the top 100 competition even began, Su Qing, with his puppets, truly opened the eyes of all forces in the myriad realms and Tianyuan. The casinos outside the competition even raised the odds for Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom to advance to the top tier from 120:1 to 18:1 because of his performance, clearly showing great optimism for this immortal kingdom.

Human joys and sorrows are not shared, especially when people are competitors.

The fact that forces like Penglai and Kaiyuan are in a very good position to gain ground means that other forces have become their stepping stones.

Among them, the Peach Blossom Sect suffered the most tragic fate.

This sect is the third most powerful force in the First Realm of the Heavens, second only to the Primordial Sect and the Eastern King Sect, and is a well-known force among the powers of the heavens.

With a long history of sects, outstanding disciples have emerged one after another. In addition, the Kunlun Realm is rich in resources, so the development of various arts is not constrained by resources, which is why various arts have flourished since ancient times.

Given this strength, it was initially expected that everyone would consider it a top seed.

But when the preliminary rounds began, everyone discovered that this sect had fallen into the same old habit of arrogance as it had in the heavens.

While other sects and forces sent their strongest lineups within the rules, this sect's lineup only had one person, True Monarch Songshan, who was worthy of being called up to the challenge.

However, the True Lord of Mount Song had extremely bad luck with the divination.

He drew strong opponents in several popular events, resulting in very few points. Although he made some breakthroughs in less popular events, given the weighting of these events, unless he could achieve a top-ten or top-three finish in all of them, it would be impossible for him to send Peach Blossom Sect into the ranks of top-tier forces.

But how could that be possible!
"Anything is possible! Today, I, the True Lord of Songshan, will defy fate and change the destiny of my Peach Blossom Sect!"

The True Lord of Songshan, who had arrived at the meeting place from the Abode of Bliss, confidently responded to the doubts raised by the cultivators regarding his sect and himself! (End of Chapter)