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It was similar to Offpeak disciples. Hidden underneath every smile was raw brutality, so that each disciple was like a needle concealed in silk.

That was especially true with the Seventh Peak. Seventh Peak disciples all seemed innately skilled at maintaining deceptive exteriors. They didn’t care about false dignity; they focused completely on profit and self-interest. Xu Qing had long come to a deep sense of how true that was.

By now, he was fully assimilated into life in the capital city. Furthermore, as his cultivation base improved, he had no choice but to rely on ruthless methods to stay alive, to avoid danger, and to earn a reputation. Of course, his caution and vigilance had not suffered in the slightest.

Xu Qing knew that the low-level Seventh Peak disciples were easier to deal with. They were less subtle. But the higher-level disciples, such as those in the ninth level of Qi Condensation, or the tenth, were profound schemers. They were good at putting on false faces and were also very patient, like vipers hiding in the shadows. If they targeted you, you would probably die before even realizing who your enemy was. And it didn’t stop there. People who climbed to the top and became Foundation Establishment cultivators excelled even further in that regard.

For example, Third Highness....

As Xu Qing walked the streets of the capital city, his expression was calm, but inside, he was fully on guard. He still hadn’t reverted to his true appearance. He had spent the better part of the day in the city sticking to crowded places where he could listen in on the latest gossip. His main goal was to see if the situation with Third Highness and the Merfolk had calmed down.

He was patient in his efforts. When evening came, he didn’t revert to his true form. Upon entering the city earlier, he hadn’t registered with his identity medallion, but rather, had used an anonymous jade slip.

In Seven Blood Eyes, anonymous jade slips were an industry of their own. They were a good choice for criminals or other people who wanted to get into the city without revealing who they truly were.

Of course, they were extremely expensive. But the advantages were just too incredible for those who needed them. The sect generally turned a blind eye to the matter. There would be occasional crackdowns, but for the most part, as long as someone didn’t break the law or do anything too outrageous, nothing would happen to those who used them.

Xu Qing had killed a lot of criminals on the bounty list, and as a result possessed many such jade slips. Therefore, when he came back into the city, he found an inn and used one of them to book lodging.

Three days passed by in a flash.

During that time, Xu Qing gathered information using all sorts of methods, even spending some spirit coins. After all of that, he didn’t get any clues about the Merfolk situation. It seemed that there hadn’t been any repercussions at all. Nor had Third Highness followed up on the matter.

Actually, the biggest topic of interest among most disciples was the Seven Blood Eyes’ Grand Competition. Xu Qing heard a lot about that subject as he gathered intelligence. In fact, he heard more about that than anything else. The more he heard about it, the more interested he became.

The Grand Competition was hosted every thirty years, and was usually held in an outside location. It was known for being a very brutal and bloody event. For example, the previous tournament, thirty years ago, had been held in Merfolk territory, and had resulted in the Merfolk being crushed. Only afterward did they become allies with the humans.

The host location had already been decided. It was an island in the Westcoral Archipelago inhabited by the Northspirit species. They were a brutal and bloodthirsty lot who made their living via piracy. They were backed by other large nonhuman groups, who provided them resources that they used to carry out their activities on the Forbidden Sea. They were a big threat to trading vessels, including those from Seven Blood Eyes, many of which had been plundered by them recently.

That had attracted the wrath of the sect, who wanted the piracy stopped. As it happened, it coincided perfectly with the timing of the latest Grand Tournament, and therefore, the tournament was to be held on Northspirit Island.

A lot of people were very interested in the latest developments, and that was especially true among disciples of the Seventh Peak. Because of that, prices on cultivation resources in the Port District had increased by twenty percent.

The sect had also released the rules and regulations regarding attendance. The Seventh Peak had a total of thirteen divisions. Each division could send no more than four hundred people to the tournament, for a final total of 4,000.

It wasn’t going to be an easy task for each division to pick four hundred people to send, and the problem wasn’t a lack of disciples to draw on. Even the smallest divisions had close to a thousand disciples, and the larger ones had thousands.

Of course, the harder it was to get into the tournament, the more people wanted to join.

After all, there were incredible rewards up for grabs. Anyone who killed a Northspirit cultivator would earn 10,000 merit points, and that was just the base reward. The higher the cultivation base of the enemy, the greater the reward. The rewards would be automatically distributed to the identity medallions. The amount of wealth that could be acquired was enough to provoke deep envy among any disciple who was struggling to acquire cultivation resources.

But what was causing the most widespread excitement was that whoever took first place in the tournament...

Would become a conclave disciple!

To virtually all Seventh Peak disciples, the conclave disciples in their pale violet daoist robes, were like the children of gods. As the Captain had explained early on, a hundred Offpeak disciples could die, and nobody would care. But if a single conclave disciple died, it was a huge deal. Given that, it was no surprise the disciples were going crazy with the idea of taking first place.

That said, Xu Qing didn’t care much about becoming a conclave disciple. Back when he first joined Seven Blood Eyes, the conclave disciple position had seemed enticing. But now that he was in the great circle of Qi Condensation, he was much more interested in breaking through to Foundation Establishment.

Furthermore, he had the feeling the tournament situation was more complicated than it seemed. He suspected that hosting the event on Northspirit Island was just a front. If he was right, the real battle was going to be with the Merfolk.

With that thought in mind, Xu Qing spent a few more days gathering information and observing things.

After determining with absolute certainty that there were no ramifications because of the Merfolk or Third Highness, Xu Qing finally resumed using his real form. However, for a few days, he laid low and stayed vigilant. He didn’t want to leave Seven Blood Eyes unless it was absolutely necessary. He wasn’t far from Foundation Establishment, and really wanted to start earning that monthly five thousand spirit stone income.

It was with full vigilance that he slowly resumed his normal routine. A few days later, he got a message from the Captain.

The second reward for the Night Dove operation had finally come in, and Xu Qing was being promoted to deputy captain of Celestial Bureau, Unit Six. His salary was going up. Instead of 3,000 merit points per month, he would get 6,000.

The Captain took a bite of an apple, smiled, and said, “You owe me, Xu Qing. If I hadn’t pushed hard for this, you would never have been promoted.”

Then he eyed Xu Qing up and down, obviously assessing his cultivation base fluctuations. After, he simply smiled and took another bite from the apple.

“Thank you, Captain,” Xu Qing replied, smiling. Ever since arriving at Seven Blood Eyes, he had been practicing his different facial expressions. By now, smiling came a lot more naturally.

“Therefore,” the Captain said, “don’t forget that you owe me 1,000 spirit stones.”

Xu Qing’s smile faltered. “It’s 100. And I already paid you back.”

“Huh? You paid me back?” The Captain facepalmed and sighed. “Aiya, my memory is so bad. Ohhhh, I remember now. You did pay me 100. Fine, so you only owe me 900 now.”

Xu Qing’s face looked very unusual, and out of instinct, he had dropped his hand to the sack at his side. He blinked a few times.

“Say, Xu Qing, are you attending the Grand Competition?”

Xu Qing didn’t respond.

“Can you keep a secret?” the Captain continued. “Given how familiar I am with the sect, I can tell you... that the Grand Competition isn’t about the Northspirits!” Looking excited, he hopped up onto the desk, squatted, then took out two tangerines. Tossing one to Xu Qing, he peeled the other and continued, “I think the tournament is about a much bigger, much richer nonhuman species. The Northspirit thing is just a smokescreen. And guess what? I checked the tournament applications in some of the other divisions, and all the shameful characters have signed up!

“Every single one of those shady bastards has long since saved up enough spirit stones to purchase Foundation Establishment Pills. But they haven’t broken through, and are even keeping their cultivation bases suppressed for that purpose. They’re like dogs: they can smell a good opportunity a mile away. Think about it, Xu Qing. Why would they delay Foundation Establishment for months? It’s because they think they’re going to have an opportunity to seize some amazing cultivation resources during this competition!

“Remember, a lot of people got rich during the Grand Competition thirty years ago. Very rich! I heard that shrew Second Highness rose to prominence back then. And she got so rich that some of the elders got jealous. She even won eight Foundation Establishment Pills!!

“In addition, there are a lot of people in the sect whose cultivation bases have reached the breakthrough point, but they just don’t have enough spirit stones. You can imagine how enticing the Grand Competition is to people like that. Given the opportunities to get rich at this thing, are you going?” The Captain looked at Xu Qing with a smile on his face.

Like usual, Xu Qing didn’t say anything. He had already come to the same conclusions as the Captain, and already had his own ideas about the true reason for the tournament.

“Well,” the Captain continued, “you really ought to go. You could get rich! And you could also lock in your chance to reach Foundation Establishment. Oh, by the way, we have a new member of Unit Six. I’ll call him over for you to check out.” The captain pulled out his identity medallion and sent a voice message. Before long, soft footfalls could be heard outside the office door.

Then the door opened, revealing a young man standing there. He had messy hair, a dirty face, and though he wore a gray daoist robe, it bulged because of the black, dog skin jerkin he wore underneath it. What was most unusual about him were his eyes. They contained a harshness and brutality that made him seem less like a person and more like a wild dog. There was a murderous aura around him that made it seem like he made a practice of devouring his enemies. When he opened the door and saw the Captain and Xu Qing, he grinned, which made it obvious... he had no tongue.

“Meet the Mute,” the Captain said.

As Xu Qing’s gaze fell on him, the Mute’s smile faded, and his eyes went wide. He looked at Xu Qing sitting there in the chair, and his expression changed, as if he were suddenly looking at something absolutely terrifying. Then he started trembling physically.

This sudden change made the office seem... like it was filled with death!