ETR | Chapter 67

With just over a month left until the Blue Sea Competition, Xiao Wan had been preparing for a long time.

He and Yun Rong had been grinding at the Tianyin mine for over a year. But now that they had almost exhausted the mine, and with money and resources saved up, he was considering other ways to train.

There were too many talented people on the Spirit Realm Continent. Even though Xiao Wan knew his own background was special, he hadn’t fully grown yet.

As of now, he couldn’t confidently say he was the best among his peers—especially since he hadn’t really competed against them.

The mine at Tianyin attracted only a few people from the Upper Realm, and even fewer like Yun Rong, who were drawn by treasure hunting.

By participating in the competition, at least he could figure out what level he was really at.

He and Yun Rong could enter two types of competitions: the under-sixteen singles and doubles.

The plan was good, but there was a small problem. The Blue Sea Competition didn’t offer private registration channels. All participants had to be pre-screened by their respective sects or clans before entering the competition.

“He and Yun Rong have decided to go through the Chamber of Commerce,” Xiao Xueman merely informed Qin Lou. “Xiao Wan is almost fifteen now. The decisions he makes, I have no reason to interfere with, and neither do you.”

Over the years, Xiao Wan and Yun Rong had done countless deals with the Chamber of Commerce. The headquarters there already knew about them.

Regardless of talent or background, maintaining a good cooperative relationship with Xiao Wan and Yun Rong was beneficial. Their identity cards had already been exceptionally upgraded to the highest level.

The Chamber of Commerce naturally had the qualification to send teams to the Blue Sea Competition.

However, the Chamber’s focus wasn’t on spiritual power strength, as they were primarily business-oriented. The teams they sent were mostly for friendly matches and rarely made it past the second round.

This time, with Xiao Wan and Yun Rong, things might be different.

The Lin Ziyun Cat clan didn’t mind either. They were naturally low-key, with only a few cats in total, and didn’t care about bringing glory to the clan.

The qualification from the Chamber of Commerce was something Xiao Wan and Yun Rong earned themselves, and they had no objections.

Qin Lou was hearing this news for the first time.

The current state between him and Xiao Xueman was known to many in the First Heaven, and the existence of Xiao Wan was no secret.

“Let him be,” Qin Lou thought for a moment and didn’t see any issue with Xiao Wan not going out under the name of Wangtian Immortal Gate.

“I also have no right to interfere with Xiao Wan’s decisions.”

A competition is a competition. The reason the Blue Sea Competition has been held for so long is because of its fairness.

Once inside, whether from a small family or a large sect, regardless of background, only spiritual power is compared.

No matter which line Xiao Wan takes, it won’t affect the final result.

Xiao Xueman knew about this. After returning to the Tenth Heaven, he didn’t stay long before packing up and heading to the First Heaven again.

It wasn’t that he was following his son. The Blue Sea Competition was an interesting event, worth watching.

Xiao Xueman also wanted to see how the younger generation of the Upper Realm had developed in recent years.

Moreover, almost all of Xiao Xueman’s friends had their own teams to manage, so he naturally wanted to join in the fun.

Especially with Shen Guan—their interactions over the years had been few and far between, and now at least they could chat a bit more.

The preliminary round of the Blue Sea Competition was held at the arena, a fixed venue on Yu Zhengrong’s territory.

For convenience, Xiao Xueman stayed in a guest room arranged by Yu Zhengrong.

Yun Rong was just under the age limit of sixteen. Over the past year, he had become quite familiar with Xiao Xueman and stayed in the same suite with them.

In their presence, he would naturally transform into his most comfortable form.

The Lin Ziyun Cat’s form was very small, about the size of a palm, and didn’t change much even after reaching adulthood.

Soft and seemingly boneless, this form was probably convenient for them to dig for treasures.

He lay on the table by the window, his ears twitching, playing with a shiny, transparent little ball he had just dug out from the mine.

Xiao Wan sat on the other side, looking out the window.

With the preliminaries approaching, some teams were also arranged to stay in guest rooms.

The arena wasn’t hosting for the first time, and there were enough rooms. However, the room Yu Zhengrong gave Xiao Xueman was the best, with a window in the small hall that perfectly overlooked the main road leading to the guest room entrance, allowing them to see each team as they arrived.

The Blue Sea Competition was open to participants under a hundred years old, and different age groups wouldn’t compete against each other for fairness.

Many of these people weren’t in the same category as Xiao Wan and Yun Rong.

However, the under-sixteen group was the youngest, and it was easy to distinguish these young people, who mostly still had a bit of youthful innocence.

For many families in the Upper Realm, especially second-tier families without the fame of large sects, Xiao Wan wasn’t as familiar as Yun Rong, so he listened to the little cat on the table explain each one to him.

“Those staying in guest rooms aren’t from big sects.

For example, Wangtian Immortal Gate and some good seedlings from the demon clan have long had fixed residences and setups near the major arenas.

I even visited the demon clan’s setup, which is well-equipped with a small training ground to help them quickly recover to their best state,” Yun Rong explained while batting the little ball with his paw.

“Many of these small sects come from the Third Heaven, and some might be from the Fourth, Fifth, or Sixth Heaven. There are also some small clans within the demon clan that aren’t strong.

They have fewer spots, so you see, unlike big sects that can send teams, they mostly have only one or two official participants.”

So, although each team seemed to have three or four people, in reality, one was a leader, a senior from the sect ensuring safety, and one or two were servants. Some even brought people who couldn't get a spot but came along to gain experience.

The Blue Sea Competition's reputation as the future continent's top touchstone wasn't for nothing. Many notable figures were present, and just showing up was beneficial.

Yun Rong was merely stating facts and didn’t look down on people from small families. He even added to Xiao Wan,

“Being from a small sect doesn’t mean their talent and strength are necessarily bad. In previous Blue Sea Competitions, there were quite a few upsets from small sects.

Take the current Mercenary Guild President, Feng Yiyan, for example.

He was born into a small sect in the Fifth Heaven. His first time at the Blue Sea, he unexpectedly won the under-sixteen championship.

As he grew, he continued to compete in other groups, winning every time. His eight consecutive championships are extremely rare in history.”

The Blue Sea Competition divides groups by age, from under sixteen to under a hundred, with each group spanning twelve years. So, the Blue Sea is held every twelve years.

Logically, a person could start competing in the first group at sixteen and then participate in the next group in each subsequent competition until they’re a hundred.

An eight-time champion means that in the eight competitions they could participate in, or during their most crucial growth phase, this person was always first.

It’s indeed an extraordinary honor.

Hearing this, Xiao Wan glanced at his father and asked, “Did Daddy participate too?”

Xiao Xueman shook his head.

He and Qin Lou never participated. At that time, they were leading the sect to the First Heaven, already serving as sect masters, making participation inappropriate.

Moreover, the journey from the Sixteenth Heaven to the First Heaven wasn’t easy, and both Qin Lou and Xiao Xueman were over the age limit.

“Yu Zhengrong and Yin Ying were younger and managed to squeeze into the last group, taking first and second in the singles competition that year,” Xiao Xueman recalled.

Yun Rong looked up at him, eyes wide.

“Uncle Xiao is too modest,” he said. “It’s not that he didn’t participate in the competition; it’s because Uncle Xiao was directly a judge!”

After getting familiar, he got used to not formally calling Xiao Your Excellency Xueman and switched to calling him Uncle.

Indeed, Xiao Xueman served as a judge for several competitions. He had a purpose in doing so: to establish connections with the arena and to recruit a few people from the winning groups into the sect. Because of this, his relationship with the arena was quite good back then.

Xiao Xueman rubbed Yun Rong’s little cat head and casually caught the crystal ball that had slipped from his paw, placing it back into his soft little paw.

“This time, Yu Zhengrong also mentioned finding me to be a judge,” Xiao Xueman said. “I’m still considering it, but I might go.”

Although he said he was considering it, given Xiao Xueman’s personality, not directly refusing meant he was likely to go. However, for fairness and to avoid suspicion, even if he agreed, Xiao Xueman certainly wouldn’t judge the group Xiao Wan and Yun Rong were in.

From Yu Zhengrong’s perspective, having Xiao Xueman as a judge this time would naturally put him at ease.

In recent competitions, the chief judges were him and Feng Yiyan, and the events were somewhat bland. This time, it was clear they wanted to make it big.

With both Qin Lou and Xiao Xueman appearing, these young participants hadn’t truly experienced the power of the continent’s top figures. If the two of them really appeared as judges, it would be fitting for this 200th edition.

With Xiao Xueman confirmed, Qin Lou was naturally a sure thing too.

That night, Xiao Xueman left the guest room to attend the first judges’ meeting.

The Blue Sea Competition had eight groups for singles, plus doubles, five-person team battles, and fifteen-person group battles. This time, the alchemy and artifact refining competitions were included as well.

With so many events, there were three to four hundred judges, including both demon clan and spirit cultivators, all well-known figures from the Upper Realm.

The meeting room had two seats at the front, seemingly specially arranged, followed by rows of seats arranged in a fan shape.

When Xiao Xueman arrived, most of the seats were already filled, and Qin Lou was there too, naturally seated in one of the two front seats, with no objections from anyone.

However, there was some curiosity about who the other seat was reserved for, with many whispering among themselves.

“Who is it?”

“Feng Yiyan…?”

“He can’t make it, right? That’s Qin Lou.”

“Could it be the Alchemist Association President, Zong Manluo? With the combined events, they should give her some face.”

“Then where does the Artifact Refiner Association stand? The organizers wouldn’t play favorites like that, would they? Besides, that’s Qin! Lou! Who can sit on equal footing with him?”

Soon, the people they mentioned arrived. Feng Yiyan and Zong Manluo didn’t sit next to Qin Lou but naturally took seats in the first row of the long rows. The special seat wasn’t for them.

Yu Zhengrong hadn’t fully disclosed Xiao Xueman’s role as a judge yet, as the competition hadn’t started. A few people who received the news weren’t talking much now.

So, when Xiao Xueman pushed the door open, many eyes focused on him.

Especially when, at the moment he opened the door, Qin Lou, who had been sitting at the front with his eyes closed, reacted strongly, standing up immediately and walking over to greet him.

His smile was so bright, even the corners of his eyes and brows seemed lively—a stark contrast to his previous demeanor.