Transmigration: A person in a martial arts world, cultivating to ascend to immortality

With Hui'an's mediation, both sides finally calmed down and stopped the stalemate.

To ease the somber atmosphere, a manager from the Suspended Sword Pavilion took over from Yue Qian and directly announced the official start of the Sword Trial Tournament.

Led by the disciples of the Suspended Sword Pavilion, the group left the training ground one after another and headed towards the back mountain.

Jiang Jihai, mingling in the crowd, muttered to himself with a regretful expression:

"What a pity. I thought I would be able to see a battle between grandmasters, but who knew that the old monk would ruin it in the end."

Jiang Yuchuan glanced at him sideways and said, "With your tendency to stir up trouble, aren't you afraid that the righteous people will find out and label you as a heretic?"

Jiang Jihai chuckled, "Please excuse my rudeness, sir. I just couldn't contain myself! It's rare to see so many grandmaster-level experts at once."

Seeing that Jiang Yuchuan remained silent, Jiang Jihai, unable to contain his curiosity, moved closer to Jiang Yuchuan and whispered:

"Sir, you are highly skilled. In your opinion, if they had really fought just now, who would have been stronger?"

"Who would be stronger?" Jiang Yuchuan countered.

Jiang Jihai nodded with a look of curiosity.

"Well—" Jiang Yuchuan smiled slightly, "I don't know either."

"--What?"

Jiang Jihai almost thought he had misheard. "Sir, how could you not know! You clearly don't want to tell me." He then forced a mournful expression onto his face.

"The strength of a grandmaster is not so easy to estimate. Before a real fight breaks out, it's hard to say who is stronger."

Although that's what he said, Jiang Yuchuan knew in his heart that even if Hui'an hadn't intervened, the three of them wouldn't have started fighting.

As for why Jiang Yuchuan was so certain, it was because from the very beginning, he had not sensed any real anger in the three of them.

The three of them were exchanging barbs as if they were acting, deliberately putting on a show for others to see.

This sword-testing tournament is getting more and more interesting.

Led by the disciples of the Suspended Sword Pavilion, the group quickly arrived at the location where the first stage of the competition for slots would begin.

After everyone had arrived, the disciple from the Suspended Sword Pavilion, who was in charge of leading the group, pointed to the three mountain peaks that stood almost vertically before them and introduced them:

"These three mountains in front of us are the most precipitous and steep among the towering peaks. The one hundred sword tokens representing the competition slots are placed on these three peaks."

"Any martial artist who can obtain the sword token before sunset and successfully bring it back to the training ground for registration will be considered to have successfully registered."

Upon hearing the rules, everyone immediately started chattering amongst themselves.

"There's a problem, there's a huge problem with these rules!"

Jiang Jihai couldn't help but smirk.

"Is there a problem with the rules?" Qi Changqing looked at Jiang Jihai with a puzzled expression. "What's the problem?"

Jiang Jihai glanced around and whispered a reminder: "Think carefully about the second half of what that person said: 'Obtain the sword token before sunset and successfully bring it back to the training ground.' The problem lies in the words 'successfully bring it back'!"

"Successfully brought back..."

After a moment of contemplation, Qi Changqing suddenly realized, "You mean that after taking the sword token from the mountain peak, there's a high chance it will be snatched by others on the way back?"

"That's right!"

Jiang Jihai nodded emphatically.

"Is that really the case, sir?"

Qi Changqing turned to Jiang Yuchuan for confirmation.

"indeed so."

Jiang Yuchuan looked at the three towering peaks in front of him. "Furthermore, the rules state that everyone must fight individually when competing for the sword tokens. Therefore, many people will likely choose to form alliances and cooperate. After all, cooperation is much more efficient and secure than going it alone."

As soon as Jiang Yuchuan finished speaking, the martial artists who decided to participate in the competition for spots began to walk out of the crowd one by one to register their names and ages in front of the disciples of the Suspended Sword Pavilion who were already waiting there.

Qi Changqing's expression instantly turned puzzled as he watched the martial artists, whose appearances clearly did not match the required age limit, head towards the registration desk.

"With so many people registering, is the Suspended Sword Pavilion worried that someone might lie about their age to participate?"

"Lying about his age to participate in the competition?"

Jiang Jihai shook his head and smiled, "As one of the four major sects, the Suspended Sword Pavilion certainly wouldn't allow such a loophole to exist. In every Sword Trial Tournament, the identity and background of all those who successfully register are strictly investigated by the Suspended Sword Pavilion. Once it is discovered that someone has lied about their age, in addition to being disqualified from the competition, their martial arts will be publicly abolished. Such cases have occurred before. But after making an example of them, no one dares to do it again."

Qi Changqing nodded knowingly, then looked at the crowd of people registering.

Gradually, he saw many familiar faces, such as Lu Jingchen, Tang Shuwen, Zhang Yaozong, Gu Xingzhi, and Ling Zhan, all among the people who had signed up.

"The rewards for this sword-testing tournament are so generous, why didn't you sign up?"

Jiang Yuchuan looked at Jiang Jihai, who was craning his neck and peering into the crowd of people registering, and asked.

"Are you asking me, sir?"

Jiang Jihai didn't look away, still searching for his target among the crowd of people registering. "My Mr. Strength knows this too. Once I register, wouldn't first place be mine for sure? I don't want to participate in a competition that doesn't offer any challenge."

"What a boastful person."

Qi Changqing glanced at Jiang Jihai with disbelief.

Seeing that Jiang Jihai seemed to have something difficult to say and was unwilling to reveal the real reason, Jiang Yuchuan did not ask any further questions.

After searching in vain, Jiang Jihai couldn't help but feel puzzled.

"A spectacle... Where are the people...?"

"The person you're looking for is standing at the very front of the crowd right now, so of course you can't see them."

Upon hearing Jiang Yuchuan's words, Jiang Jihai was immediately taken aback. "How did you know, sir?" He then added, "How did you know who I was looking for?"

Jiang Yuchuan didn't speak, but simply returned a glance.

Jiang Jihai suddenly remembered where he was and slapped his forehead, saying, "Look at my memory!"

With Jiang Yuchuan's words, Jiang Jihai felt relieved and withdrew his gaze.

The registration period lasted for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before it finally ended.

Although there were only one hundred sword tokens, the number of martial artists who signed up was nearly three times that number!

After registration closed, the competition for the first round of spots officially began.

Nearly three hundred martial artists displayed their unique skills and set off almost simultaneously towards the three mountain peaks marked with tokens.

Looking into the distance, one could vaguely see that the figures rushing ahead, far ahead of the others, were almost all disciples from the four major sects and the Imperial Academy.

Among them, a woman dressed in a moon-white outfit and with her black hair tied up high was the fastest.

Jiang Jihai's gaze involuntarily fixed on the woman, nodding as he revealed an extremely smug and foolish grin.