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“Ning Cheng, if you have enough cultivation resources, would you still head to the Man Lun Starry Skies’ Tryouts?” Ruan Mingshu spoke after drinking most of the pot of wine. Her face had a reddish hue to it, and her eyes sparkled with moisture, which enhanced her beauty even more.
At this time, she stared at Ning Cheng with scorching intensity, and even forgot to address him as ‘Senior Apprentice Brother Ning’; even her tone contained a unique charm.
Ning Cheng took a sip of wine but did not look at Ruan Mingshu’s face. Currently, he felt somewhat fascinated with Ruan Mingshu’s room. This room was an epitome of a maiden’s vision and even filled with pink colours.
“Not necessarily, participating in the tryouts is also a test of your own experience. I heard that the Man Lun Starry Skies has many geniuses, and only by going against these geniuses would one progress.” Ning Cheng put down the wine pot. Although this wine was just an imitation, it still instilled a strong sense of parting.
“Ning Cheng, say if I had a lot of cultivation resources, would you like to run away with me?” Ruan Mingshu’s voice felt as if it came from the somewhere below the ground, and felt somewhat unreal.
Ning Cheng looked at Ruan Mingshu in surprise, “Junior Apprentice Sister Mingshu, if I’m not mistaken, you would not even look at people like me, right? Then why would you choose me to run away with you?”
Ning Cheng found that people who usually drank ‘None to depend on’ had some similarities with each other. Initially, it was Jing Wuming, and now it was Ruan Mingshu.
Ruan Mingshu behaved as if she did not hear Ning Cheng. Although she looked at Ning Cheng with a desolate look in her eyes, Ning Cheng felt sure that her eyes were not looking at his face or him for the matter.
It was a long time later that she muttered, “Often apart, abandon heart; gazing into the distant stars, none to depend on… The first half of this poem is definitely wrong; often apart, abandoned heart…..”
Ning Cheng only then came to understand that when Ruan Mingshu spoke about eloping with him, it did not really mean that she wanted to flee with him, and indicated that she had a person whom she loved. She tried to run away to meet that man. Sadly, the reality was not something that she could control. Her father wanted her to look for the Perpetual Moon Lake. It looked like even if Ning Cheng agreed to her demands, Ruan Mingshu would not actually run away with him.
Ning Cheng shook his head and slowly stood up and left Ruan Mingshu alone in her room. Ruan Mingshu did not even feel him go and still muttered to herself.
It was after a while that she finally sobered up. Looking at the empty seat in front of her, she gave out a sigh and muttered to herself, “If you had agreed with me, we could have made it good by eloping. You are a good man, but I’m not…..”
……
The Revolving Jade City had more than one arena; however, the most famous one currently was the Celestial Forest Arena. More specifically, it was its 19th Battle Ring, championed by Wanderer from the starry skies. This starry skies’ Wanderer did not have a Celestial Wheel; however, he remained undefeated since the moment he debuted.
Because of this, even individual Celestial Gatherer Cultivators made their way to the 19th Battle Ring to issue challenges, something rare. Generally, Celestial Gatherer Cultivator held a lot of pride in themselves and would rarely go to challenge Celestial Novice and Celestial Shatterer Cultivators in their Battle Rings. Especially since these kinds of challenges not only needed the lower-level Champions’ consent but also required those with high-level cultivations to pay Celestial Coins to issue those challenges.
If one won, it would not matter much; however, if they lost, their pride would take a huge hit. Besides, regardless of who came to the arena, everyone wanted to improve. As such, who would willingly challenge someone with lower cultivation? Something akin to a thankless job.
However, what made the 19th Battle Ring stand out the most was that every Celestial Gatherer Cultivator that came to challenge ended up defeated.
Moreover, the person presiding over as the champion of the 19th Battle Ring possessed a formidable intent, which benefitted the cultivators spectating a lot.
At this moment, the Celestial Forest Arena’s 19th Battle Ring had gained enough fame to cover almost half the Revolving Jade City. Every day, the tickets for the 19th Battle Ring sold clean, not just the Challenge Tickets but also the Spectating Tickets. Even so, more and more cultivators wanted to head to the 19th Battle Ring to spectate.
Many people even started to queue to buy Spectating Tickets to the 19th Battle Ring in advance. Similarly, even those who wanted to buy the Challenge Tickets to the 19th Battle Ring had to line up to purchase tickets in advance lest they could never get a chance. All these challenging cultivators had a number assigned to them from which the Champion would openly select someone at random; as such, only those selected could come out and fight.
Even the other three battle rings of the Celestial Forest Arena, which also had undefeated champions, had lost popularity because of the new champion of the 19th Battle Ring.
Ning Cheng felt quite satisfied with the recent proceedings while gaining a lot from the arena. Not only had he seen a variety of Spiritual Techniques and skills, he even experienced many types of fighting styles.
Fighting in this kind of place had allowed him to proliferate. Moreover, because of the Mysterious Yellow Formless’ power, he could even operate the cultivation method while fighting. This kind of fights allowed both his cultivation and strength to advance ten thousand miles every day.
Most of the opponents who came to challenge him were Celestial Shatterer or Celestial Novice Cultivators. He also fought a few Celestial Gatherer Cultivators. However, those cultivators’ strength could not even match up to Gongxi Kui or Kirk, or even Ni Feng; as such, Ning Cheng did not feel too much pressure. The cultivators of the starry skies, even within the same realm, could have a vast disparity in strengths. However, Ning Cheng still actively avoided picking strong Celestial Gatherer Cultivators. Even with a Starry Skies’ Sea of Consciousness, he did not want to take any unexpected risks.
The Celestial Forest Arena also had on several occasions tried to find him to sign a contract; however, he ceremoniously rejected them all. He could only stay in this battle ring for a month at max and would definitely leave this place after this month. How could he enter into a contract with the Celestial Forest Arena?
However, he did accept the Immortal Gave given to him by the arena. Sometimes, after the fights, he would choose to stay in this place and cultivate.
Apart from this reason, there was another reason why Ning Cheng felt slightly embarrassed to head back, the Grade 4 Celestial River Array Disc that he had previously borrowed from Ruan Mingshu. A Grade 4 Celestial River Array Disc was not something that one could obtain easily, and Ning Cheng felt at a loss as to explain things to Ruan Mingshu. As such, he hoped to drag things one day at a time.
This was the eleventh day since Ning Cheng had taken over the 19th Battle Ring. At this moment, an attendant from the Celestial Forest Arena arrived at his place, intending on catching him before he went to the battle ring.
At this time, Ning Cheng’s cultivation had also started to stabilise at the middle of Celestial Novice Realm. If Ning Cheng cultivated at the same pace as before, he affirmed that it would not be impossible to achieve such progress this fast. However, for Ning Cheng, cultivation improvement remained secondary; the main thing for him was that his strength had improved a lot compared to before.
The person who came to meet Ning Cheng was one of the stewards of the Celestial Forest Arena, who went by the name, Zeng Chuxiong.
“Dao Friend Wanderer, you don’t have to head to the battle ring today.” Zeng Chuxiong on seeing Ning Cheng immediately asked Ning Cheng to not head to the battle ring.
This made Ning Cheng feel very weird. Heading to the arena definitely made a lot of money for these fellows. So why was this fellow trying to stop him?
“Why? Steward Zeng?”
Zeng Chuxiong spoke to Ning Cheng with a face full of smiles, “The Gale Arena’s premier champion came to our Celestial Forest Arena to issue a challenge. It is going to be an exciting match that would stir the entire Revolving Jade City. You can take a break for two days and then participate in this match. Your name definitely would rise up within the Revolving Jade City after this match. Even resounding throughout the Orchid Borough Celestial River.”
Ning Cheng spoke out calmly, “I most likely would end up dead in this match. If that were to happen, my name would also turn to ashes in the wind.”
Trying to make him fight strong Celestial Gatherer Cultivators, he would not agree even under brain damage. Ordinary Celestial Gatherer Cultivators were not as good as Celestial Shatterer Cultivators; as such, he could still act tough. However, how could they expect him to face off against strong Celestial Gatherer Cultivators? Was it not akin to seeking death?
Zeng Chuxiong showed an awkward smile, “Dao Friend Wanderer, with your skill, you would never lose to that Suo Qiaoye, who is just a madman with a simple mind. Moreover, as long as you win this match, you would even earn an unimaginable sum of Blue Coins.”
Ning Cheng sneered in his heart; how could a simple-minded person become a champion? He and the Celestial Forest Arena did not have any contract between them; moreover, the reason he came here was to find a variety of people to fight. However, using his life to exchange for money, and even helping others count the money was not something he felt willing enough to do.
“Steward Zeng, the number of experts in the Celestial Forest Arena are akin to clouds in the sky. Moreover, the champions from the 1st, 3rd and 15th Battle Rings are even stronger than I am and are real Celestial Gatherer Powerhouses. Moreover, they even have a contract with the Celestial Forest Arena; why not let these strong fellows compete in the match? Rather, why do you want me, someone with just a little fame to his name, to take the stage?”
Although Ning Cheng spoke in a bland tone, he believed that Zeng Chuxiong could definitely hear the underlying intent.
The three battle rings that he mentioned had a single champion each. Moreover, they were the three most dominant champions of the Celestial Forest Arena. As for the contract, it was to remind Zeng Chuxiong that Ning Cheng was a free person; compared to those three, he could just choose to walk away from this place.
“Your popularity and cultivation made you the best candidate to represent our Celestial Forest Arena. Besides, are you unwilling to compete? This time, the prize money is 500 billion Blue Coins, which is equivalent to 5 billion Green Coins. With 5 billion Green Coins in your pocket, you could buy countless good things within the Man Lun Starry Skies.” Zeng Chuxiong spoke cautiously.
He also felt somewhat helpless in his heart. If the Celestial Forest Arena had any Celestial Novice Cultivator on contract who could fight against that Suo Qiaoye, why would he willingly come to this Ning Cheng and try to worship him as his grandfather?
Ning Cheng remained unmoved; although 5 billion Green Coins indeed was a lot of money, it only concerned ordinary Celestial Scryer Cultivators. For him, 5 billion Green Coins was not even enough to purchase a real Celestial River Battleship.
“If you are willing to take the stage, I will help you with one request; as long as it is within our capability, my Celestial Forest Arena will definitely help you with it.” Another voice arrived.
Zeng Chuxiong quickly turned around and gave a respectful bow towards the person who came in, “Arena Master.”
The person referred to as the Celestial Forest Arena’s Arena Master, Ning Cheng had also heard a lot about him. As such, he quickly put up his fists and spoke, “Wanderer greets the Arena Master.”
The newly arrived fellow gave the nod and asked, “What do you think of my proposal?”
Ning Cheng hesitated for a moment before speaking out slowly, “No matter what the conditions are, I only have a Celestial Novice Cultivation. I will not fight against a Celestial Gatherer Champion. I hope that the Arena Master can understand my concerns.”
The Arena Master froze for a moment before he burst out into laughter and could only speak after a while, “Who told you that the other party is a Celestial Gatherer Cultivator? That fellow is just the same as you, a true Celestial Novice Cultivator. If Gale Arena wanted to use their Celestial Gatherer Cultivators to issue a challenge to my Celestial Forest Arena’s Celestial Novice Champion, they would immediately lose by default, without even the chance to enter the battle ring.”
“Celestial Novice Cultivation? A Celestial Novice Cultivator could still take the spot of the Premier Champion?” Ning Cheng asked a question, thinking it was some kind of a trick.
The Arena Master immediately understood Ning Cheng’s utter ignorance towards the Premier Champion, and explained patiently, “The lower the Arena Champion’s cultivation, the more famous they are. At the same time, the Arena would also rake in more money. If they used a champion with top-tier cultivation, it would not make much sense; on the contrary, it would only harm their reputation. As such, the Arena’s select their Premier Champion through a comprehensive assessment of both strength and cultivation. A lower one’s cultivation but possessing a higher strength, the higher would your visibility and ranking be.”
“You can also understand why your 19th Battle Ring became so popular. That is because you could jump levels to take on challenges. This is something that everyone desires to see. The reason that the Gale Arena could overshadow my Celestial Forest Arena for so long is due to a Celestial Novice Powerhouse, Suo Qiaoye. However, in recent times, you ended up making a name for yourself at my Celestial Forest Arena, shaving away at the popularity of the Gale Arena. This is why those people came to challenge us.”
