Chapter 75: Outer Sect Tournament Begins!
I lay still on my bed, not daring to move, because today was the day. The day on which I was assaulted by a nerve-wracking pain that left me breathless.
I was feeling confident today, as my strength had increased, so I might be able to handle the pain to some extent. Ever since I had inherited the Dao of Silence, I had been suffering from this problem.
I turned my head toward the window and saw that the sun was about to reach its all-time high. I prepared myself, knowing that those strange whispers—akin to thunder in my ears and brain—were about to begin. Over the months, I had at least been able to track the exact time, week, and day of the month when it would arrive.
Soon, time ticked by. There was complete silence in the courtyard, as if even the insects in my house knew that something was about to happen.
Aaaaaa...
I roared like an injured beast. It felt like someone was tearing apart my very soul. Even after reaching the Fourth Level in Qi Condensation, increasing my capacity almost fourfold, and growing muscles inside my skin that nearly passed me off as a body cultivator, I was still unable to handle this pain.
Although I was screaming while clutching my head, turning to my left side, and curling up on my bed like a snail, I was trying to decipher what this voice was trying to say—or, to be more precise, what it was trying to tell me.
[◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾]
It was strange. Although I did not know what this whisper—akin to thunder—was, I instinctively knew it was a voice. A voice guiding me toward some path.
[◾◾Next Stage.]
10 minutes later...
My eyes shot open as the pain vanished like it had never been there, but my bedsheet was covered in wrinkles, and I was sweating and panting as if I had just returned from intense training.
Next Stage.
I was sure I had heard those words. But what was the benefit if I couldn't understand anything beyond "Next Stage"?
Did this mean that the Dao of Silence's Next Stage was about to begin?
I had a feeling that the whisper might be related to the Dao of Silence I was practicing. It had only appeared after the day I inherited the Dao of Silence from the Great Dao. I wondered—had others also inherited Daos that suited them? But then I shook my head. If something like that had really happened, the news would have spread like wildfire, and the sect master and head elder would have bombarded me with inquiries about what Dao I had obtained. Since months had passed in silence, it was possible that I was the only one—
No. I could not allow myself to become arrogant, thinking I was the only lucky person to receive the blessings of the Great Dao.
But... I could be one of the few people who had received the greatest gift when the Great Dao blessed this region.
[Host! Are you alright? What happened?] The system suddenly asked, sounding concerned about my well-being.
'Um... Sir, did you hear or see what just happened?'
[Yes, I heard and saw you screaming and writhing in pain. After about 10 minutes, you were back to normal.]
'Did you really not hear anything just now? Other than me screaming? Like someone whispering something inside my brain or close to my ear?'
[No, Host. I did not.]
[But Host, when will you start investing in the two protagonists and the antagonist you encountered previously? It seems you were close to them, so it should be easy for you to give them things and quickly increase your strength.]
'I'm not really close with them to give them gifts. And if I did, they might get offended. Both of them are proud women who wish to earn their own rewards, not live off the charity of others.'
I paused, wondering whether I should say the last part out loud. But I pursed my lips and swallowed my thoughts.
I was on guard against this system. It had been forcing me to invest in people of fortune since the day I received it. But something didn't sit right. In the beginning, it had threatened me, saying that I had to invest in people of fortune within a month, or it would have to find a new host. But its warning had fallen on deaf ears. Like, why are you threatening me after choosing me yourself without even asking for my opinion?
If it wished to leave my body, I would be the happiest one.
And the most suspicious part? When the system realized I wasn't feeling threatened, it changed its approach, claiming it could not leave me even if it wanted to because it had exhausted its energy after removing itself from Jiang Ren.
Then, once again, it tried a different method—temptation. It said, Unless you invest in people of fortune, how would you know the joy of increasing strength within hours when others take years or centuries to reach? Trying to lure me in.
Well, I wouldn't really mind increasing my strength through this method, but the biggest what if? was that the rewards were generated and given to me by the system. That meant my strength wasn't earned innately. And if one day I wished to go against the system, it would likely threaten me, saying something like:
[Host, if you do not comply within a month, I will be left with no choice but to leave your body... and take away all the gifts I have given you, leaving you crippled.]
I might be overthinking things, but there was no harm in being cautious against something that could abandon its master without a second thought. It felt more like a parasite feeding on its host.
I took a quick bath to cleanse the sweat from my body. Afterward, I sat down on the chairs I had ordered a few weeks back.
It had been days since I last left my residence, and the same applied to everyone else. The outer sect disciples were busy preparing for the tournament to be held at the end of the year, in winter.
I don't know where it started, but a rumor had spread that the top 50 performers in this tournament would receive entrance tokens to a secret realm. I had asked the head elder about it, and I believed Long Bai must have thought I'd be tempted to participate if I knew the rumor was true. So, he told me everything he knew—information far more advanced than what the outer sect disciples had gathered.
The head elder listed a bunch of opportunities that were said to still exist within the secret realm, waiting for a chosen one to claim them. I had also asked why the elders themselves couldn't enter and seek these opportunities to grow stronger. After all, we of the younger generation still needed time to mature, and having a strong backing was never a bad option.
The head elder explained that the secret realm had a restriction: only those below the Gold Core Realm were allowed to enter. Anyone above the Foundation Building Stage who dared to barge into the secret realm would have their soul shattered, preventing them from ever entering reincarnation again.
I had nodded in understanding. This was a brilliant move by whoever created the secret realm. It also showcased just how much control that person had over a realm that had existed for nearly a millennium—and how weak the so-called mortal gods (Gold Core Realm cultivators) truly were. 😏