Firefly Journey

The Seven Peaks Martial Arts Tournament arrived as scheduled, and the opening ceremony began. On Flying Peak, the younger generation of disciples filed in, creating a lively atmosphere, all hoping to achieve good results.

Such a grand event attracted the attention of the delegations from the Fire Cloud Sect, the Extreme Cold Ice Valley, and the Vajra Gate. They sat together with the leaders and elders of the Star Moon Alliance in the clouds, overlooking this magnificent scene.

The Star Moon Alliance recruits new members every year, and there are countless disciples who meet the competition criteria. Even with a packed schedule, it still takes a week from start to finish.

The first six days of sparring were meaningless to the direct disciples of the Seven Lineages, because only the last person selected through the preliminary rounds was qualified to stand on the same stage as the seven direct disciples.

The disciples of the Seven Lineages have been disciples for at least twenty or thirty years, and this is the first time someone like Lin Yuanran has risen to prominence so quickly. No wonder He Suoqiu is so jealous; anyone would feel resentful in this situation.

Imagine you are a long-time employee in a company. Although you may not have any special talents, you have always worked diligently and are hoping that one day, the boss will recognize your hard work and promote you to a higher position.

But one day, the company hired a college graduate from a prestigious university. He was very talented, and the position you had been eyeing was taken by him. Nobody was happy about that.

These direct disciples were placed in a special area, equivalent to the "spectator seats" for players who were not yet playing.

Of course, the fierce battles among ordinary disciples are nothing more than ants fighting in the eyes of the direct disciples, and have little reference value. After all, even the strongest among the ordinary disciples could not possibly be a match for them.

They were able to remain patient and observe, mainly to entertain the guests. Indeed, the young disciples from the other three sects were also here.

Speaking of those people, Lin Yuanran knew three of them; they were the three who had been utterly defeated by Chi Liuzi at Songhua Mountain that day.

Tang Shenglian of the Fire Cloud Sect, Xiong Chu of the Vajra Gate, Mu Jiaoluan of the Extreme Cold Ice Valley, and some other disciples.

Lin Yuanran was the last to arrive. He had come up with a new idea last night and was researching pill formulas, which is why he was a little late.

Some people were very displeased with his late arrival. They believed that his level of attainment was low, and he had only recently entered the path of alchemy. He was not worthy of becoming a direct disciple of the lineage and sitting on equal footing with them.

Yunlai Peak's personal disciple, Cao Ping, was looking at Lin Yuanran with hostility. Lin Yuanran understood why Cao Ping was so hostile towards him.

Cao Ping, as the eldest son of the person in charge of the sect's punishments at Yunlai Peak, is a decent gentleman, but he has a very close friend.

Indeed, it is He Suoqiu, the senior disciple of the Zhulai Peak lineage.

In his eyes, what right did this white-haired brat have to steal his friend's spot? How could he possibly give him a friendly look?

In addition, Wei Duanyang, the personal disciple of Qingxiao Daoist of Helai Peak, is also a person who hates evil and looks down on Lin Yuanran.

In his eyes, Lin Yuanran was probably the "evil" one.

The competition has already begun, and Lin Yuanran's lateness has given them room to perform.

"As expected of Junior Brother Ario, who is the personal disciple of Martial Uncle Qingfeng, he has quite the airs. Knowing that he doesn't have to be selected step by step from the bottom, he's really not in a hurry," Cao Ping said coldly.

Seeing Cao Ping speak up, Wei Duanyang also decided to lend a hand: "Senior Brother Cao, you can't say that. Everyone in the sect knows that there is a junior brother on Zhulai Peak who is a master of alchemy. Even though his cultivation level is still at the Qi Refining stage, it doesn't affect his status!"

Lin Yuanran bowed to the two men and said, "Senior brothers, I feel it is necessary for me to make an explanation."

Cao and Wei were extremely disdainful. What, you want to talk back?

Lin Yuanran clasped his hands in a fist and said quite seriously, "Actually, I am not in the Qi Refining stage."

Ao Yue's eyes sharpened immediately. Was she finally going to lay her cards on the table and stop pretending?

She knew all too well how terrifying her junior sister's strength was; someone who could become her Daoist partner could hardly be an ordinary person.

Besides, this guy punched me when he took the entrance exam, and it took a year for the wound to heal. He's definitely a troublesome guy!

Lin Yuanran declared loudly, "I am now a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator!"

Not only Cao Wei and his companion, but also the other direct disciples and the disciples from the neighboring sect who were observing the ceremony were stunned for a moment, and then almost burst out laughing.

The most unexpected thing was Ao Yue's reaction. She thought Lin Yuanran would reveal his true abilities and shock everyone, but he actually emphasized that he was a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Judging from his confident tone, he was very strong in the Foundation Establishment stage.

Please, many of the immortal birds we raise on the mountain have already reached the Core Formation stage!

Cao Ping suppressed a laugh: "It seems that Uncle Qingfeng has given you a lot of guidance. In just one year, you've gone directly from the Qi Refining stage to the Foundation Establishment stage. That's remarkable, truly remarkable!"

Cao Ping clapped and cheered.

"Thank you for the compliment, Senior Brother!" Lin Yuanran smiled憨厚ly, as if he really appreciated it.

Cao Ping smirked. Is this guy an idiot? He can't even tell when he's being insulted.

Unlike Cao Ping, who could still hold back, Wei Duanyang burst into laughter and blatantly mocked, "I hope Junior Brother doesn't have to face me in six days, otherwise, all the healing pills that your Zhulai Peak lineage has refined over the years will probably be for nothing."

Lin Yuanran didn't care about his words at all. He looked at Wei Duanyang from head to toe with his shrewd eyes and finally shook his head.

Wei Duanyang felt uncomfortable being stared at and asked, "What do you want?!"

Lin Yuanran sighed and said, "Really? I'm so scared."

"Oh? So you're scared now?"

Lin Yuanran shook his head again, then turned his head and cast his gaze at the handsome man in white beside him.

"Hi, Senior Brother Yan!"

Yan Jinglei was watching the ordinary disciples' competition with great focus. He believed that no matter how weak the two sides were, some of their methods were still worthwhile. If they could adapt these methods to their own use, it would be of great benefit to their cultivation.

Tang Shenglian, who was sitting next to him, nudged him and said, "Senior Brother Yan, your family is calling you."

Yan Jinglei then came to his senses and looked at Lin Yuanran, whose name he had heard before, and asked in confusion, "Are you Ario?"

"Indeed, it is I. Hello, senior brother."

Yan Jinglei doubted his ears. He had heard of him, but he had never met him. Why was this junior brother speaking as if they were old friends?

"You too..."

Lin Yuanran's smile remained unchanged. He pointed at Yan Jinglei with his right hand and looked at Wei Duanyang, saying, "I'm different from you. I like dealing with strong people. If I had to choose, I would definitely choose Senior Brother Yan as my opponent."

"Even if you lose a fight with Senior Brother Yan, you'll still gain some insights. As for you, you should just go somewhere cool and stay there!"

Upon hearing this, Wei Duanyang's face turned ashen.

"You brat!"