Chapter 120

Chapter 120: The Sect Grand Tournament Begins

Little Hamster ignored her and turned its back.

Seeing this, Rong Shu reached out and scratched along Little Hamster’s back from head to rump, the tactile feel was fantastic.

Little Hamster shivered, stood up in Rong Shu’s palm, and continued glaring at her, its tiny face seeming to say: [No touching without permission!]

Rong Shu did not mind; after all, they had known each other for less than a day.

She picked up a sunflower seed from the small dish, cracked the shell and kept only the kernel, then held it to Little Hamster’s mouth as she asked: “Want one?”

After noting her “show of weakness” and her “decent attitude in admitting fault,” Little Hamster raised its tiny head, glanced at her, then took the seed with its little paws and began nibbling bit by bit.

Just as Rong Shu meant to keep feeding, a message arrived through her identity token, and when she looked, it was from Cheng Bu Fan: “Rong Shu, the sect grand tournament officially starts tomorrow. You must come watch and witness this young master’s heroic bearing!” Very good, as confident as ever. Cheng Bu Fan even attached the exact location of the matches, so Rong Shu replied: “All right, I’ll be waiting to see.”

Tomorrow, the sect grand tournament would begin. This time the event would run for three months. The competitions for Golden Core Stage, Foundation Establishment Stage, and Qi Refining Stage cultivators would all be held separately. Final resource distribution would be decided by each major realm’s top hundred, together with how many people each sect advanced and their placements. For the participants themselves, the higher the rank, the richer the prizes.

Rong Shu had not registered, but she had heard Cheng Bu Fan and Fu Yong Kang mention the rewards more than once: the Golden Core Stage top three each receive one Nascent Infant Pill and one mid?grade spirit weapon; the Foundation Establishment Stage top three each receive one Return to Origin Pill and one low?grade spirit weapon; the Qi Refining Stage top three each receive one Foundation Establishment Pill and one high?grade treasure artifact. The higher the placement, the more and better the rewards.

Thinking of the rewards made Rong Shu’s heart stir, but she also knew they were not for her. Given her current progress, even if she competed at her true cultivation, at best she would only make a splash in the Qi Refining Stage bracket. And the most important rewards for Qi Refining Stage were not particularly scarce for her, so missing them would not be a real regret. Cultivating steadily and growing safely was what mattered most.

Putting away the identity token, Rong Shu looked at the Little Hamster in her hands and asked: “Tomorrow, do you want to go out with me? I can tuck you into a small cloth pouch and carry you along, or you can stay here if you prefer.”

She had no plan to form a contract with Little Hamster yet, because she kept in mind what Senior Brother Lin Dao had said before: before the Foundation Establishment Stage, do not contract too many spirit or demon beasts. Rong Shu already had a Little White Tiger, so for now she could only wrong Little Hamster a little. Once she reached Foundation Establishment Stage, she would consider a contract.

Little Hamster thought for a few seconds on its own, then wrapped both little paws around Rong Shu’s thumb, clearly meaning it wanted to go out. He did not like being shut in.

Seeing this, Rong Shu gently rubbed Little Hamster’s small head, and this time she withdrew her hand before he could get angry: “Then it’s decided. You sleep first, I’m going back to cultivating.”

After swallowing a Fasting Pill, Rong Shu set Little Hamster down lightly.

Unknowingly, it was almost dark. But cultivation knows no day or night; in Rong Shu’s eyes, as long as she could cultivate, that was enough. She had not forgotten that Feng Lin wanted her dead and had already made a move. She did not know when he would act again, so a sense of urgency rose naturally in her heart. Still, no matter the pressure, at the tenth level of Qi Refining one could only slow down to polish and consolidate the foundation, because this directly affected the ceiling of one’s future path.

Little Hamster watched Rong Shu, who suddenly seemed like a different person once she began cultivating, and tilted its head in puzzlement, yet it did not disturb her and quietly walked to the other side.

Glancing at the small dish newly refilled with fresh fruits and seeds, Little Hamster touched its little belly with a paw. Mm, nothing feels off. So it left the dish alone, curled up nearby, and went to sleep.

It did not know why, but lately it always felt terribly sleepy. Clearly it had just woken, yet it never seemed to get enough sleep. Now and then a sliver of doubt flashed through Little Hamster’s mind. At the start it had only broken fragments of memory and a sprinkling of spiritual energy, but now it could not even change back to human form on its own and even felt hunger, a reaction only a “mortal” should have. It was as if it had regressed. Little Hamster did not understand why and could only adapt to this “regression” by force. In the final second before closing its eyes, Little Hamster glanced in Rong Shu’s direction.

The next day, Rong Shu poked the still?sleeping Little Hamster awake and asked softly. Little Hamster lifted its head, bleary?eyed, looked at her, then flop, it fell back onto the bed and went on sleeping. Seeing this, Rong Shu cupped Little Hamster up and placed him gently into a cloth pouch. She had laid several layers of soft cotton at the bottom and tucked in some chew treats for his teeth.

With everything prepared, Rong Shu headed out with Little Hamster. The pouch was small with a drawstring at the top so it could be looped around her wrist, but since her hands were free she supported it with her palms; if it dangled and swung around, Little Hamster inside would be uncomfortable.

Because her quarters were next to Cheng Bu Fan’s, she reached his door in a few steps and knocked twice. He opened soon after, fully kitted out, so Rong Shu greeted him: “Morning, how are you feeling, all set?”

Cheng Bu Fan thumped his chest, turned to close the door, and said with spirit: “Of course. This young master slept like a log and is brimming with energy today. I’m bound to sweep all before me!”

Rong Shu asked with curiosity: “What target ranking did Peak Master Cheng set for you?” Since Peak Master Cheng had insisted he break through to Foundation Establishment instead of suppressing his realm to stay in Qi Refining, he clearly wanted Cheng Bu Fan to make some name for himself in the Foundation Establishment bracket. As the peak master’s son, Cheng Bu Fan lacked no resources, only live combat and experience.

Cheng Bu Fan rubbed his nose and said: “The old man said at least top ninety.” Then he curled his lip: “That old man is crafty. In past tournaments, the Foundation Establishment top hundred were basically late?stage and mid?stage, and only a few exceptionally strong or lucky early?stage could squeeze in.”

The tournament’s format was similar to the sect’s internal selection trials. Heaven’s Evolution Sect had deliberately made the selection matches mirror the sect grand tournament so the disciples could get used to the rules in advance. The current formats were team battles, drawing lots for matchups, and arena challenges. However, the arena challenge was only a showcase of personal combat power; wins and losses there did not count toward overall ranking.