Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The Tournament of the Limestone Champion List was held once every year. The rankings on the list reflected the strength of each clan in the city.
Martial artists that were in the top five were scouted by one of the Three Major Alliance of Tianwu Kingdom.
It was normal for the list to be monopolized by the four biggest clans of Limestone City, but once in a while, members of one of the minor clans fought their way onto the list.
The tournament was a stage for lesser members of each clan to show off their skills. If they performed well in the tournament, their status in the clan rose with them.
And those who stood in one of the top 10 spots of the list were the best of the best in Limestone City.
The tournament’s prospects consisted of only a handful of people. The two geniuses from the Qin clan, Qin Tianmu and Qin Shaoyang, both of whom were Spirit Cultivating Fifth Realm martial artists; Ye Changsheng and Ye Ming’s brother, Ye Hou, of the Ye Clan, a Fifth Realm and Third Realm respectively; Mo Wujiang and Mo Feng of the Mo Clan, Fifth Realm and Second Realm respectively.
The only prospect from the Xiao clan was Xiao Yue who was a Spirit Cultivating Second Realm martial artist, but her ability as a Charm Master allowed her to control a beast that had the strength of a Spirit Cultivating Third Realm martial artist.
Yet her strength was not enough to win against the geniuses from other clans.
If Ye Mo wanted to secure at least fifth place, he needed the power equivalent to a Spirit Cultivating Third Realm martial artist at a bare minimum. And now he had to help Xiao Yue achieve a top five ranking, too.
Because only then will they get the chance to join one of the Three Major Alliance.
“Miss Xiao, you’re not joking right now, are you?” Ye Mo forced a smile. With his current power, he had to rely purely on luck to defeat a First Realm martial artist.
Even though Ye Mo had the strength of six stones, which was equivalent to a Third Realm, he still didn’t have the necessary martial art technique, skills, agility, and reaction speed.
“No, I’m not joking. You’re from around here, you should know the situation the Xiao family is facing right now,” Xiao Yue explained. “Every other one of the three big clans has sent out at least two participants while we Xiao clan has only one. Plus, you don’t want to be ignored by others any longer, am I right?”
“What if I fail to help you get into the top five?” Ye Mo asked. He had intended to join the tournament. Ye Qin joined the tournament at the age of 14 and won first place.
As soon as she had heard the hint of Ye Mo agreeing, her eyes lit up. Her smile was too attractive for Ye Mo to avert his gaze.
“You’re not a failure. With enough practice and help from the Xiao Clan, you might have a chance to get into the top five of the list.”
“Fine. Since the beauty asked, there’s no reason for me to decline.” Ye Mo smiled.
“Beauty? You haven’t even seen my face. How are you sure that I’m a beauty? It’s possible that I’m hiding an ugly face under this mask, you know?” Yue Xiao asked.
“Man’s intuition!” Ye Mo replied.
Xiao Yue replied to his comment with a smile and said, “Starting tomorrow, come to the Xiao’s mansion when you have time. Xiao Feng will personally teach you. Be prepared. The next two months won’t be easy.”
After Ye Mo left the Shining Moon Pavillion, he went straight back the Ye’s mansion. Xiao Cao was waiting for Ye Mo in his room. Her hand was holding a set of new clothes. As soon as she saw Ye Mo return, she smiled and said, “Young Master Ye Mo, you’re finally back.”
“Xiao Cao, didn’t I tell you not to leave Ye Mei’s side?” Ye Mo said.
“You don’t have to worry about me, young master. Miss Ye Mei has already warned Ye Ming not to come near me again.” Ye Mei handed Ye Mo the new clothes and continued, “Here. The shirt I made last time was torn by Ye Ming. I’ve made you a new set. Try it on.”
The clothes were made of a high quality purple fabric. It must have cost quite a fortune to make them. Ye Mo’s eyes started to tear up. All of the things that he wore were made by Xiao Cao.
“Thank you, Xiao Cao.”
Ye Mo took off the faded shirt in front of Xiao Cao and changed into the purple clothes. He stood in front of the mirror, admiring his new, charming looks. Ye Mo was handsome to begin with, but with these new clothes, people won’t mistake him for a poor villager ever again.
“You look more stunning already,” Xiao Cao said and blinked.
“It’s all thanks to you, Xiao Cao.” Ye Mo smiled.
“Oh no! I forgot to make a new pair of shoes, too. I’ll go back and make them now and have them sent to you tomorrow.” As soon as she finished her sentence, she turned around and ran out of the room.
Ye Mo looked at the shoes that he was wearing. They really didn’t match the top he was wearing.
“That busy body.” Ye Mo sat down and began to meditate. He focused the three channels of Dragon Energy in his Energy Center. He was ready to break through his mind’s Mortal Gate again.
The three channels to Dragon Energy began to roar in his Energy Center and started to rush towards his mind’s Mortal Gate.
Buzz. When the three channels of Dragon Energy collided, it made a buzzing sound in Ye Mo’s head.
After six hours of meditating, the three channels of energy merged together and rushed towards Ye Mo’s head. Suddenly, Ye Mo felt a surging pain coming from his head. He quickly threw his eyes wide open and grabbed his head.
The pain kept getting worse until he finally couldn’t take it anymore and screamed in pain.
The pain lasted for one whole minute. After that, it began to ease up slowly. Ye Mo laid on his bed head down while breathing heavily. A smile began to form on his face. “I’ve finally opened my mind’s Mortal Gate.”
Ye Mo sat up again and guided his Spiritual Energy to his brain.
When he opened his eyes, he finally realized the importance of opening one’s mind’s Mortal Gate. He was able to see much clearer with a heightened awareness. The mosquito that was flying in front of him even seemed slower than usual.
“So the mind’s Mortal Gate helps boost a person’s reaction speed. Let me try using my Dragon Energy on it.”
He controlled the three channels of Dragon Energy to rush towards the Mortal Gate. Naturally, his Spiritual Energy made way for the Dragon Energy to pass through. With all three channels in use, everything was even clearer than before. The mosquito moved even slower.
After one month of training with the Dragon Energy, Ye Mo finally understood its theory. One channel of Dragon Energy had the attack power equivalent to two stones and possessed two times faster reaction speed than a Spirit Cultivating First Realm martial artist.
The next morning, a dark-haired man wearing purple clothes was seen practicing martial techniques in the bamboo hill behind the Ye’s mansion. The Ye Clan had only taught Ye Mo two martial techniques, the Low-Grade Spiritual Level martial technique, the Spirit Serpent’s Palm, and the Mid-Grade Spiritual Level martial technique, the Wind God’s Kick.
Martial art techniques were divided into four levels: Spiritual Level, Mortal Level, Supreme Level, and Deity Level. Each level was then divided into low-, mid- and high-grade.
Ye Mo was considered lucky as a collateral member to have been able to learn the Mid-Grade Spiritual Level martial technique, the Wind God’s Kick.
Yet, the Wind God’s Kick required the user to have at least broken through both of their legs’ Mortal Gates to maximize its potential. For now, Ye Mo could only focus on training the Spirit Serpent’s Palm.
Ye Mo’s arm moved like a venomous snake through the air, looking for its prey. When it located its prey, his palm moved forward and struck the ironwood tree.
Bang! Half of Ye Mo’s palm drilled itself into the wood.
“Even though the Spirit Serpent’s Palm is a Low-Grade Spiritual Level martial technique, it’s not as bad as the Mid-Grade techniques through balancing both softness and prowess.” Ye Mo withdrew his palm and nodded. He had fully mastered the Spirit Serpent’s Palm. With just the power from his Spiritual Energy, he had dug half of his palm into the tree.
“It’s really something that a mere collateral member could produce such force with the Spiritual Serpent’s Palm.” It was Ye Ming who spoke. Ye Mo knew that Ye Ming must have been up to something.
“Nice shirt. Too bad your shoes are all ruined. Why don’t you change into these new shoes? It’ll make you look better,” Ye Ming said as he took out a new pair of canvas shoes.
