A hurried meeting was called at the Luo family residence.
"A Golden Core realm cultivator was killed in Dream City!"
"Who did it?"
"Yang Feilong."
"Yang Feilong? Which Yang Feilong?"
"Who else? The high-level cultivator who has a good relationship with our family and helped heal our elders!"
"It was him? Why didn't he come to our house when he was in Dream City!"
"Has his strength reached such a level? I remember at the Yang family's Innate Grand Ceremony, he wasn't even Innate. Now he can kill Golden Core cultivators????"
Luo Xiangning was also present. Hearing her family members discuss her beloved, she propped her chin up, feeling proud of him.
However, she still felt a pang of worry.
With so many powerful cultivators arriving, could her beloved truly break through the encirclement?
He should be able to. Since he agreed, it meant he had confidence.
"Oh, right, Yang Feilong has a Nascent Soul realm existence backing him!" the person who first broke the news said.
"What do you mean?"
"Not long ago, a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator tried to assassinate Yang Feilong, but was killed by a beam of light that flew from who knows where. Many speculate that it was someone backing Yang Feilong, at least a Nascent Soul realm cultivator!"
"At least Nascent Soul realm?"
"Alas, if Xiangning wasn't involved with that Ping Tian, wouldn't it be great if she were with Yang Feilong!"
"Indeed!"
"Let's not overthink it. Because Xiangning once pursued Ping Tian, Yang Feilong wouldn't agree anyway."
"Speaking of which, Yang Feilong is a top-tier prodigy, both in the mortal world and the spirit world! After all, he's only in his early twenties and can kill mid-stage Golden Core cultivators. Such talent and strength are second to none in the spirit world! What a shame! Don't forget, he also possesses extraordinary medical skills!"
"Who can disagree? Among the many outstanding prodigies in the spirit world, none can compare to him!"
"Most importantly, he has a very good relationship with our family! The fact that our family can produce several Innate realm cultivators is all thanks to him!"
"Who can argue with that?"
"..."
Hearing the regretful murmurs of the clan members, Luo Xiangning felt a touch of resentment. If she had known her clan would be so supportive, she would have revealed her relationship with Yang Feilong before the martial arts competition for marriage.
In truth, if Yang Feilong's cultivation talent and medical skills were revealed, the Luo family wouldn't have objected.
However, they had in mind that Luo Xiangning had waited for Yang Ping Tian for so many years. The thought of her being with Yang Feilong was something they hadn't even considered. No, they had considered it, but dared not voice it, fearing rejection and scolding.
"The purpose of our meeting is the martial arts competition for marriage that begins the day after tomorrow. How should we proceed? Although our family is strong now, we only dominate the mortal world. None of the spirit world cultivators who have arrived have backgrounds weaker than ours. Forget backgrounds, there are very few people here whose strength is weaker than our Innate realm cultivators," the Luo family head asked.
"Our people have roughly estimated that there are over 38,000 spirit world cultivators. Of course, this is not the final number, as there is still one more day before the martial arts competition begins!"
"Speaking of which, I already regret it. If things get out of hand in the end! Our Luo family, with our small arms and legs, won't be able to handle it," the Luo family elder sighed.
Upon hearing this,
Everyone else also wore wry smiles, as they had thought of the same thing.
With so many top-tier experts, any one of them was beyond their ability to resist!
Just then, a voice echoed from outside the meeting room: "Patriarch, someone has arrived claiming they can help the Luo family resolve their troubles!"
"En?" The words startled everyone.
Someone claiming to resolve troubles?
"Quick, invite him in!" the Luo family elder said solemnly.
"Yes!" the person outside replied.
Soon, they welcomed the person who claimed to resolve troubles. It was an elder with white hair.
"Senior, you say you can help our Luo family resolve troubles?" Patriarch Luo looked at the white-haired elder. Although the elder exuded no aura, he still treated him with utmost seriousness.
Given the influx of spirit world cultivators recently, many appeared weak but were actually just concealing their strength.
There were many spirit world cultivators adept at concealing their auras, and the ability to conceal one's aura to the point of appearing like an ordinary person was even rarer.
"I am from the Heavenly Mystery Sect in the spirit world. You can call me Tian Ji Zi," the elder said with a smile.
Upon hearing this, the Luo family members gasped.
In the spirit world, there were not many super-first-rate families, but the Heavenly Mystery Sect was considered a transcendent top-tier power. Whether the Heavenly Mystery Sect had Integration realm cultivators was unknown to many in the spirit world, perhaps only the top existences of some super-first-rate families knew.
However, even those super-first-rate families held the Heavenly Mystery Sect in awe.
This alone indicated the formidable nature of the Heavenly Mystery Sect.
Furthermore, the six major rankings issued by the Heavenly Mystery Sect in the spirit world – Heaven, Earth, Profound, Yellow, Human, and the Dragon-Phoenix Rankings – were highly authoritative.
Why were these rankings issued by the Heavenly Mystery Sect and not other powers? This indirectly demonstrated the sect's mystery and extraordinary status!
Although the Luo family was from the mortal world, due to the recent influx of spirit world cultivators into the mortal world, some information had reached the top cultivation families of the mortal world!
The Heavenly Mystery Sect had a good reputation and had never been in conflict with any other power. Having someone from the Heavenly Mystery Sect present was undoubtedly a good thing.
However, the Luo family members were puzzled as to why someone from the Heavenly Mystery Sect would get involved in this matter.
...
While the Luo family was welcoming the member of the Heavenly Mystery Sect, Yang Feilong had returned to his residence.
He was consolidating his strength.
His cultivation had progressed too rapidly in recent times, while his soul cultivation had progressed relatively slowly.
"Mortal Grade Ninth Rank, Transcendent Ninth Rank," Yang Feilong mused inwardly. "Mortal Grade Ninth Rank is equivalent to the ninth level of ancient martial arts and the ninth level of Qi Refining. However, not all Innate realm cultivators can reach Mortal Grade Ninth Rank. Only those with exceptionally strong souls can match their cultivation!"
"My soul was previously far beyond my cultivation."
"But now, my soul cultivation has weakened considerably, perhaps due to a lack of practice!"
Dual cultivation had a significant effect on improving the physical realm, but its effect on the soul realm was limited. Currently, his soul had only reached Transcendent Sixth Rank. According to his master, a Transcendent Sixth Rank soul was equivalent to the perfect Golden Core realm.
Transcendent First to Third Rank corresponds to the Innate or Foundation Establishment realm. Transcendent Fourth to Sixth Rank is equivalent to the Golden Core realm. Transcendent Seventh to Ninth Rank is equivalent to the Nascent Soul realm!
Above Transcendent Ninth Rank is the Nascent Soul realm!
To break through to the Nascent Soul realm, the Nascent Soul must transform into the Nascent Soul, and the soul realm must reach Transcendent Ninth Rank. Without it, breakthrough is impossible.
This was the fundamental reason that trapped many Nascent Soul realm cultivators.
The physical body was easier to cultivate, but the soul was difficult to advance.
Why was it difficult for Nascent Soul realm families to produce Nascent Soul realm cultivators? The fundamental reason was the lack of Nascent Soul cultivation methods. Once a method was found, Nascent Soul realm cultivators would emerge like mushrooms after rain!
This was also why many Nascent Soul realm families had more than one Nascent Soul realm cultivator. Of course, some newly formed Nascent Soul realm families might only have one, but with enough time, that one could cultivate many more.
To break through to the Nascent Soul realm, the soul realm needs to reach the perfect Transcendent Ninth Rank, and the physical body needs to reach the perfect Nascent Soul realm. These two must be integrated through some means to advance to the Nascent Soul realm!
Of course, Yang Feilong had the soul cultivation method given by his master, so his soul cultivation was relatively good. After all, dual cultivation primarily improved the physical body, and the soul was also indirectly improved, as dual cultivation was an sublimation between spirit and flesh!
"In terms of soul, I need to reach Transcendent Seventh Rank as soon as possible!" Yang Feilong thought, preparing to continue cultivating the soul secret technique.
But just then, his phone rang. He glanced at it, it was Luo Xiangning calling.
"She must know I've arrived!" Yang Feilong muttered inwardly and answered the call.
Luo Xiangning first spoke of her longing for Yang Feilong, wishing they could meet immediately. Yang Feilong told her not to rush, as they would meet the day after tomorrow, since she would be appearing then.
After expressing her longing, Luo Xiangning said, "A cultivator from the Heavenly Mystery Sect has come to my home! And they've agreed with my family that he will preside over this martial arts competition for marriage!"
"Someone from the Heavenly Mystery Sect?" Yang Feilong blinked. To be honest, he was very surprised.
The people from the Heavenly Mystery Sect were very mysterious, at least concerning their cultivation methods. They did not contend with others and were said to be able to deduce good and bad fortune. Of course, he didn't know if it was true.
The main reason for the Heavenly Mystery Sect's fame was the six major rankings they created, which attracted countless cultivators from the spirit world.
After all, who didn't crave fame!
"Yes! We also don't know why someone from the Heavenly Mystery Sect would get involved," Luo Xiangning said. "However, with someone from the Heavenly Mystery Sect present, my family members are all very happy, because if any trouble arises, they can suppress it!"
Yang Feilong did not doubt this: "That's true. If the Heavenly Mystery Sect dares to get involved, they must have confidence. I just wonder what their purpose is in doing this? Gathering intelligence?"
Yang Feilong stroked his chin and fell into thought.
It was normal for them to collect intelligence, otherwise, how would the Heavenly Mystery Sect formulate those rankings?
"Right, I'll tell you about the rules for the martial arts competition for marriage the day after tomorrow."
"Rules for the martial arts competition for marriage?" Yang Feilong's eyes flickered slightly.
"En!" Luo Xiangning nodded, and then explained the rules of the martial arts competition for marriage to Yang Feilong.
After listening to Luo Xiangning's explanation, Yang Feilong had a basic understanding of the competition rules.
Those who met the criteria could receive a contestant token. They could challenge others. The winner would obtain all of the opponent's contestant tokens. Those with a single-digit number of contestant tokens could only challenge contestants with fewer than ten tokens. Those with ten or more contestant tokens could not challenge those with more than twenty tokens, and so on, with ten tokens forming a stage.
At the end of the martial arts competition for marriage, the person with the most contestant tokens would be the ultimate victor!
This meant that no matter how strong you were, you couldn't win the beauty in just one battle!
Of course, if you lost even one match, you would have no chance!
Knowing this, Yang Feilong vaguely formed a plan. The most cost-effective way to obtain a contestant token was to challenge someone with 9 tokens. If successful, you would have ten tokens, and only those with ten tokens could challenge you.
Furthermore, a challenged person could refuse a challenge. For example, if you had just finished a fierce battle and wanted to rest, and were challenged while not in peak condition, you might lose even if you were stronger. In this case, you could give the challenger half of your contestant tokens to avoid being challenged. If the number of contestant tokens was odd, for example, three tokens, you would have to give two tokens, which was half plus one. Then, you could not be challenged unless you initiated a challenge yourself. After challenging someone else, you could then be challenged again!
"Quite an interesting martial arts competition for marriage!"
"The proposer can also exploit this rule," Yang Feilong mused inwardly.
Of course, whether one could exploit it or not, to reach the end, one needed immense strength. Without great strength, any scheme was useless. With great strength, coupled with clever planning, one could go to the furthest extent possible!
For this martial arts competition for marriage, the Luo family had prepared and built ten extremely sturdy arenas!
In fact, even with ten arenas, it was relatively easy for Golden Core realm cultivators to destroy them. However, the person from the Heavenly Mystery Sect had reinforced the ten arenas with secret patterns, making them unbreakable even by Nascent Soul realm cultivators!
This was also why the Luo family treated Tian Ji Zi, who came from the Heavenly Mystery Sect, with such importance.
The secret patterns he casually laid down were so strong that even Nascent Soul realm cultivators couldn't break the arenas. This could be considered a technique of the Nascent Soul realm!
It was only natural for the Luo family to treat such a formidable being with utmost seriousness.
After hanging up the phone, Yang Feilong pondered for a moment and then dismissed the thought. Unless late-stage Nascent Soul realm cultivators entered the fray, he had no problem reaching the end. Even if Nascent Soul realm cultivators made a move, he had nothing to fear!
The next day, registration began!
As long as one was under sixty years old and had reached the Innate or Foundation Establishment realm or above, they could register!
This immediately sparked a rush to register.
"These contestant tokens don't seem simple. It's impossible to replicate them!"
"Indeed, these secret patterns look very high-class!"
"The Luo family is just a cultivation family in the mortal world, how do they possess such powerful techniques? It's truly bizarre!"
As everyone wondered, news spread.
"This is not strange. Someone from the Heavenly Mystery Sect has arrived, these are the techniques of the Heavenly Mystery Sect!"
"Techniques of the Heavenly Mystery Sect? Someone from the Heavenly Mystery Sect has actually come to the mortal world?"
"Yes! Who would have thought? And the person who came is an elder of the Heavenly Mystery Sect, Tian Ji Zi!"
"Tian Ji Zi? That's a perfect Nascent Soul realm existence! He's actually helping the Luo family? What's the relationship between the Heavenly Mystery Sect and the Luo family?"
"That's unknown. However, it's probably not related. The Heavenly Mystery Sect is adept at gathering intelligence. It would be strange if someone from the Heavenly Mystery Sect didn't come to such a grand event."
"That's true!"
Upon learning that Tian Ji Zi was safeguarding this martial arts competition for marriage, discussions erupted everywhere.
Yang Feilong naturally obtained a contestant token. The tokens had numbers on them, and no one wanted to take more than one, as doing so would only invite ridicule. For example, if you only had one contestant token when you registered, but then presented two tokens without having fought a single match, it would clearly be unreasonable.
Moreover, when receiving contestant tokens, photos were taken and records were kept, making it impossible to claim tokens fraudulently.
Due to the large number of applicants, the Luo family set up dozens of registration points.
Tens of thousands of contestant tokens bore secret patterns, which were the techniques of the Heavenly Mystery Sect, and these tokens were also prepared by the Heavenly Mystery Sect.
This made the Luo family feel that Tian Ji Zi's appearance was well-prepared. If they hadn't known that the Heavenly Mystery Sect always acted uprightly, they would have worried that Tian Ji Zi had some ulterior motive.
And so, time arrived for the martial arts competition for marriage.
Many people flocked to the Luo family's martial arts arena.
The Luo family was the de facto ruler of Dream City, and their martial arts arena was enormous. The spectator stands could accommodate hundreds of thousands of people without issue.
There were ten arenas on the martial arts arena.
Each arena was one hundred meters in diameter!
This was considered quite large!
This was also because the lowest-level participants were at the Innate or Foundation Establishment realm, and if the arenas were too small, it would be difficult for them to display their skills!