Chapter 89 – The Beginning of the Large Competition

After he examined it fully and furthermore, remembered all of it in his heart, he moved his sight to the gathering place of the other disciples which was on top of the rock mountain.

The older disciples who were above thirty years old were all standing away from the Lunar Monument and gathered in groups of two or three. They pointed toward people in the crowd while continuously discussing with each other in whispers.

Most of the disciples who were attending the competition were having a straight face, but there were still some disciples who had the enthusiasm and the excitement of a teenager, carrying a expression which said, “I want to try!”

After Liu Ming scanned through the crowd once, he realized that there were faces that were no stranger to him. For example, Du Hai, Mu Yun Xian, Jia Lan, Lei Zhen, and Shi Chuan were all standing shoulder to shoulder.

Suddenly, Liu Ming felt that there were people around who were also looking at him. He turned his head and looked.

Among the disciples, Sima Tian was looking coldly at Liu Ming. Only when Liu Ming locked gazes with Sima Tian did he moved his sight away without even being flustered.

When Liu Ming saw this, he thought of something.

“Senior Bai, so you are here. Perhaps this time you are planning to try and participate?” A woman’s greeting voice followed by the sound of footsteps came from behind Liu Ming.

Shocked, Liu Ming turned his head, seeing a man and a woman walking together toward Liu Ming. They were Xue Shan and Wan Xiao Qing.

The Xue Shan now had grown in stature since last time. Wan Xiao Qing was also carrying a girl’s embarrassing expression on her face.

Seeing the two people so close in relationship, it was obvious that their relationship now was different from when they first entered the sect.

“So it was Junior Xue and Wan! If I have the chance, I was thinking of trying it out.” Replied Liu Ming with a smile.

“Senior Bai already became a Middle Spirit Apostle over a year ago. Your Fa Li must be even stronger now. There is still hope for you to leave your own name on the monument by the end. After all, the amount of Late Spirit Apostles in our sect has not reached one hundred people.” Wan Xiao Qing spoke while smiling.

Wan Xiao Qing had also become a Middle Spirit Apostle at the last Small Competition, but the time between the Small Competition and now was too short. It was obvious that she could not participate in the battle for placements as a core disciple.

“Humph, only a new disciple, and you want to fight for a placement of a core disciple? You better spend another three or four years cultivating in the sect before speaking.” A young man with a long, light gold ruler on his waist walked over, and spoke coldly to the three.

“Hm, so it is Senior Xi. Senior has already gained a placement as a core disciple from last time, this time senior will definitely once again leave his name on the Lunar Monument.” After hearing what was said, Xue Shan originally became slightly angry, but after properly seeing the face of the young man with arched eyebrows, he could not help but force a smile while talking.

This Senior Xi was one of the elder disciples of the Nine Infants Mountain that appeared in the previous two Small Competitions. He showed great strength, and among the elder disciples, he was only below Shi Chuan — the eldest disciple of Nine Infants — in terms of strength. Toward Xue Shan and other new disciples, he always had an arrogant attitude as if he looking at them from above.

Liu Ming knit his brows and just as he wanted to say something, a cold voice could be heard from the other direction.

“Hmph, who said we, the new disciples, are completely unable to gain a place on the Lunar Monument.”

Xue Shan and Wan Xiao Qing looked across in surprise. It was Xiao Feng, who had been nearby for an unknown time. He had a cold expression, looking at the “Senior Xi”

“Xiao Feng, if it weren’t for Master Gui’s extra attention to you, to the point of generously giving of his training area to you as well as personally give pointers, how can you have become a Late Spirit Apostle so fast?” After seeing Xiao Feng, Senior Xi did not hide the resentment in his voice by the smallest part and spoke viciously.

To him, Xiao Feng, who was a Nine Spiritual Pulse disciple, immediately claimed a large portion of the resources in the Faction after entering the Faction. Therefore, Xiao Feng was naturally more hated than Liu Ming, Xue Shan, and the other people.

“Hmph, no matter what method is used, do you think just any person is able to reach Late Spirit Apostle in three or four years after entering the sect?! I wonder how many years Senior Xi used before he was able to reach this level?” Xiao Feng gave a cold laugh and spoke. It seemed as if he did not want to give any face to the opposition.

“You…”

After hearing this, Senior Xi became extremely angry, but did not know how he should reply to the question asked in such a short time.

“Juniors, why argue at this time!” After a light sigh, another person from nearby entered the group.

Liu Ming looked carefully, and was slightly surprised. It was actually Shi Chuan, the eldest senior of Nine Infants Faction.

What he was surprised about, naturally was not due to the fact that Shi Chuan was there, but rather, under perception of his extremely powerful mental strength, he could feel that Shi Chuan’s aura was completely different from before. It was as if there was an extra, indescribable, cold feeling.

Liu Ming’s eyes flashed, and his gaze landed on around Shi Chuan’s waist. Surprisingly, there was a leather pouch with green and red inscriptions and it felt like the source of the cold feeling.

“Senior