Chapter 123: Chapter 123: Immortal Sect Monster Room

"Chen Che, would you please share a few words about qualifying for the next round!"

"I’m thrilled."

"How would you rate your performance in this competition?"

"It was decent."

"Could you share some of your Cultivation experience with us?"

"Hard work and diligence."

...

The moment the competition ended, the teachers, parents, and reporters who had been waiting in the viewing area for a full three days rushed forward, swarming the students who had qualified. The reporters practically shoved their microphones into Chen Che’s mouth.

After all, the final battle on the great lake had been absolutely spectacular.

Apparently, the Hui Province Immortal Sect’s Ministry of Education had already edited the footage, polished it up, and was preparing to use it as a promotional video for the provincial combat competition.

"Teacher Li, I got two Jade Talismans and qualified for the provincials too, so how come not a single reporter wants to interview me?"

Zong Yudao asked, his eyes filled with envy as he watched Chen Che get swarmed by reporters.

The other parents listening in balled their fists.

Li Xiaoshuang opened his mouth but didn’t know how to answer.

"You qualified, too?"

Squeezing his way out of the crowd, Chen Che let out a long breath. He saw the Jade Talisman in Zong Yudao’s hand and quickly asked what had happened. Upon learning that the Foundation Establishment Elder Turtle had actually taken the initiative to give Zong Yudao the Jade Talisman, he was instantly overcome with envy.

"...What kind of insane luck is that!"

Lin Yi sat to the side, only able to watch helplessly.

He had neither Chen Che’s strength nor Zong Yudao’s luck.

In the end...

...he got nothing.

The Hui Province Daily went on sale at ten o’clock sharp, and today’s headline was the combat competition.

On his way out of the competition venue, Chen Che casually bought a copy. The first thing he saw was a photo of himself sitting cross-legged on the great lake. He looked suave and handsome, yet he still possessed the vigorous spirit of a Cultivator. Zong Yudao read the paper until it was practically falling apart and discovered that Chen Che’s name had been mentioned a total of twelve times.

Meanwhile, his own name appeared only once.

"Fuck!"

...

Zong Yudao and Lin Yi had originally planned to hang around He City for a couple of days, but they had to get back to their classes.

Old Li gave them a few brief instructions before hurrying the two of them back to school.

Chen Che, however, stayed behind to wait for Ding Dawei, as he still had the Pill competition to attend. The Pill competition was also three days long. Seeing several hundred people, himself included, crammed into a massive plaza to perform Alchemy, Chen Che suddenly felt it was all a bit of a hassle.

’If I could be like Sacrificial Officer Shali and just take all these people out, couldn’t I qualify directly?’

The thought suddenly surfaced in Chen Che’s mind as the exam papers were being distributed.

The proctors recognized this "dark horse" and, noticing the strange look in his eyes, worried he might do something drastic. They stuck close to him, watching his every move.

However, when Chen Che reined in his thoughts and focused all his attention on the Pill Furnace before him, their worry instantly turned to astonishment.

In their eyes, a contestant who had dominated the combat competition probably wouldn’t have had much time for Alchemy.

But the result was the exact opposite. They watched as Chen Che performed Alchemy as easily as if he were stir-frying vegetables, going through one batch after another.

Even some Tier Two Elixirs didn’t pose much of a challenge.

He succeeded after only one or two failed attempts.

"Incredible!"

"The refining of that batch of Pills was as smooth as silk!"

"Looks like he has the Pill competition in the bag."

His powerful Cultivation, coupled with his Foundation Establishment Fourth Layer Divine Sense, allowed Chen Che to finish refining all the Pills in just two and a half days. He even used the spare time to double-check his work, striving for a perfect score on every single Pill.

"How’d the test go?"

Ding Dawei asked eagerly as Chen Che walked out of the venue.

"It went okay. I could basically make everything. The rest just depends on how the judges score it," Chen Che answered honestly.

The provincial Pill competition was even stricter.

Each Pill would be assessed by three Golden Core Cultivators, and their average score, calculated to three decimal places, would determine the ranking. Only the top ten with the highest final scores would qualify. Therefore, until the results were announced, no one could be certain if they had made the cut.

"Don’t worry about it. As long as you did your best," Ding Dawei offered a few words of comfort.

He had just competed in the combat tournament and rushed into this second event with almost no rest. It was a lot to ask of him.

Chen Che grinned as he glanced at his phone, having just received a message.

Ye Youwei: Congrats on qualifying in the combat tournament.

Chen Che: Thanks!

...

...

Riding the school bus back to Six Continents...

Before he even entered the campus, he saw a massive banner stretched across the school gate:

[CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR STUDENTS CHEN CHE AND ZONG YUDAO ON QUALIFYING IN THE PROVINCIAL COMBAT COMPETITION.]

To the side, a Jade Array had also been set up, projecting a line of scrolling text a hundred meters into the air, with each character several yards tall. Ding Dawei told him the Array had been up for several days already and would shine even more brilliantly at night, visible from miles away.

Furthermore, the principal had set it up himself.

After all, Six Continents hadn’t had a student qualify for a provincial competition in over a decade. Since two had made it through this time, it was only natural to publicize it with great fanfare. By now, even the vendors at the street market knew that Chen Che had qualified for the provincials. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

’They should have just converted the cost of the Array into prize money and given it to me!’

Chen Che stared at the Array for a long time, but that was his only thought.

On the way back to his classroom, he was constantly stopped by other students pestering him with questions.

Huang Zhongfei felt no envy this time; the gap in their strength was simply too vast.

He was, however, envious of Zong Yudao. Rumor had it that Zong Yudao would be appointed the Martial Cultivation Committee Member for Class One next semester. After all, with Ye Youwei gone, the student with the Upper Spirit Root was now the most talented one in their class.

"Here’s the acceptance letter!"