Chapter 153: All at the Nascent Soul Stage

In a certain mysterious Mystic Realm, several Fusion Stage and Soul Formation Cultivators sat together, conspiring over important matters.
“According to reliable information, the Great Zhou is going to hold a Tournament open to all Nine Provinces. They say it’s to showcase how cultivators and Spiritual Treasures can work together,” the leading Fusion Stage cultivator said slowly.
“Hmph, it’s just a ploy to win over public opinion,” another Fusion Stage Patriarch snorted coldly, clearly looking down on Great Zhou.
But his words struck a chord with the others, who all nodded in agreement—it seemed their grudge against Great Zhou had been building for a long time.
These people came from all corners of the Nine Provinces, and the only thing that brought them together was a shared goal: to ruin Great Zhou’s reputation.
They had always looked down on low-stage cultivators, bullying them at will. Their disciples followed the same practice. Sometimes, when they went too far and someone died, it was nothing unusual. The families of the dead could only cry in silence. After all, no dynasty would turn against Fusion Stage or Soul Formation Stage cultivators over such a thing.
But their disciples were used to acting arrogantly, and behaved the same way even in Great Zhou.
One time, they killed a mortal and didn’t think much of it. To them, it was just a mortal at the third level of Qi Refining—hardly worth mentioning.
What they didn’t expect was that the foolish mortal’s family actually dared to report them to the authorities.
What a joke—behind them stood Soul Formation cultivators and even Fusion Stage Patriarchs. How could Great Zhou dare to convict them?
But Great Zhou actually did. Not only did they convict, they handed down the death penalty.
The patriarchs behind these disciples all stepped forward to plead for mercy, but Great Zhou didn’t listen and had all the murderers executed.
That truly enraged the patriarchs. It wasn’t just about losing their disciples—it was about Great Zhou refusing to show them face.
And they were all about saving face.
However, they knew they couldn’t win in a head-on confrontation with Great Zhou. So they decided to retaliate from the shadows.
This upcoming Tournament was the perfect opportunity.
“This is a heaven-sent chance. We can’t miss it.”
“Exactly, such an auspicious day—it’s only right that a few people die, make Great Zhou lose face. Otherwise, how can we show our faces in the Nine Provinces?”
“I heard many powers will be attending this Tournament. Great Zhou must think they’ll shine. But let’s see how they react when someone dies in front of everyone.”
“Just thinking about it makes me want to laugh.”
“If we’re going to kill someone, we might as well kill high-ranking cultivators.”
“The Tournament is divided into Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, and Nascent Soul categories. Let’s target the Nascent Soul group—whoever performs the best, we kill them!”
“Sounds perfect.”

……

“Look! Isn’t that Wang Meng from the Mad Blade Sect? I heard his Berserk Shark Dragon Roar Blade Technique is practically unbeatable among Nascent Soul cultivators.” Wang Meng stood eight feet tall, with a strong build, and carried a heavy iron blade on his back. The blade gave off a faint hum, as if excited.
“It really is him! Isn’t he from the Martial Dynasty? That’s tens of thousands of miles from Great Zhou. How’d he get here?”
“Did you forget? The Martial Dynasty and Great Zhou both have Spatial Gates. Distance isn’t an issue.”
“Ah right, forgot about that new thing.”
The Spatial Gate had only been open for a few days. Most people in the Nine Provinces weren’t familiar with it yet.
“And that guy—Ma Junjun of the Abyss Sect. Twenty years ago, his Heaven-Swallowing Technique was already terrifying. Facing him meant being ready to lose a limb. That generation was so scared of him they wouldn’t leave home without a limb-regeneration pill. Who knows how strong he is now?”
“Say, does he have a Spiritual Treasure?”
“Does a Storage Ring count?”
“…Since when is a Storage Ring a Spiritual Treasure?”
The people of Great Zhou surrounded the registration point. Some who were knowledgeable could identify the backgrounds of the registrants. Seeing all these cultivators they had only heard about now appear before their eyes drew wave after wave of exclamations.
Nascent Soul cultivators were mid-tier in the Nine Provinces. Some cities might not even have one. Now they were gathering in one place—clearly showing how influential this Tournament was.
“Are you here to register?”
The official in charge of registration asked. The newcomers gave off a powerful aura, filling him with a strange sense of confidence.
“Yes.”
“Name, realm, and affiliated power.”
A beautiful woman stepped forward gracefully, with an air of elegance and nobility. A gourd hung at her waist, drawing everyone’s attention.
Several male cultivators, thinking they had decent chances, were tempted to approach her.
“Yu Ming, Nascent Soul Stage, rogue cultivator.”
“So you’re a Nascent Soul True Person.” The official cupped his hands respectfully and said politely, “Please place your hand on the compass.”
The compass was divided into six sections, corresponding to the six main realms from Qi Refining to Fusion.
The beautiful woman extended her delicate jade hand and gently touched the compass. The needle spun and pointed to the Nascent Soul realm.
The crowd gasped—she looked no older than twenty-seven or twenty-eight, and yet her cultivation was so high.
Those who had just been scheming instantly gave up their thoughts.
The compass was etched with a precision formation. As long as a cultivator placed their hand on it, it would show their true realm. Not even Fusion Stage cultivators could fool it.
This was to prevent high-realm cultivators from posing as low-level ones to compete and disrupt order.
The compass was extremely expensive to make. If not for an event of this scale, Great Zhou wouldn’t have brought it out.
Seeing that she truly was at the Nascent Soul Stage, the official recorded her identity and handed her a wooden token.
“This is your identity tag. Please keep it safe. With this, your food and lodging in the Imperial City will be covered by Great Zhou.”
Yu Ming nodded without a word.
“Bai Tu, Nascent Soul Stage, rogue cultivator.”
Another person from the group stepped out and reported his information.
After testing, Bai Tu was confirmed to be at the Nascent Soul Stage, and the official handed him a token as usual.
“That name of yours is pretty plain,” Yu Yin remarked coolly.
“Like yours is so much better,” Bai Hongtu retorted. Both of them were failed Human Sovereign Candidates and had a close relationship. When Yu Yin advanced to the Tribulation Stage, Bai Hongtu was the first to congratulate her.
“Chen Jiannan, Nascent Soul Stage, rogue cultivator.”
The Sword Sovereign reported his real name. Too much time had passed since his era—nowadays, people only knew the title “Sword Sovereign,” not his true name.
The Sword Sovereign returned to the group and exchanged a glance with Bai Hongtu. Both were full of fighting spirit, eager to battle right then and there, but Jiang Li coughed twice, making them rein it in.
“Li Er, Nascent Soul Stage, rogue cultivator.”
The Second Sect Master of the Dharma Body Sect didn’t use a fake name either. “Li Er” was a common name in the Nine Provinces, no need to make up a new one.
The crowd was shocked—these four were all Nascent Soul cultivators, yet completely unknown. No one had ever heard of them.
Then again, the Nine Provinces was vast and cultivators were scattered. They couldn’t possibly know everyone.
“Will you be participating in the competition?”
The official looked at the one who seemed to be the leader, judging by his presence.
Jiang Li shook his head. “If I entered, it’d be bullying others with my realm. That’s no fun.”
The official understood. This one must be a Soul Formation cultivator—not eligible to participate.