The Nightmare Of Cultivation

Usually, in the Fighting Ground, only one platform was used each day, while the others were either empty or under repair due to damage from duels.

The spectators' stands were typically occupied by only a few people on normal days.

They became crowded only under three conditions:

First, when two powerful disciples on the Ranking Board were dueling.

Second, during the new disciples' competition held every three months.

And lastly, during the main sect competition held every two years.

Today was one of those occasions: the new disciples' competition.

People had come three hours early to get a good spot. Some wore the sect's uniform, while others wore ordinary clothes.

The disciples came to see their new peers, while ordinary people came just to enjoy the fights.

"Hey, who do you think will win the competition?"

"What kind of question is that? Obviously, it's one of the half-disciples, as always."

"I heard there are four muscle cultivators among them."

"Not only that, I heard the Third Elder's son is a mid-muscle cultivator."

"What?! He was a half-disciple, so he must be 16 years old now. A 16-year-old mid-muscle cultivator! That's insane!"

"Yeah, if another Darek doesn't appear, he's definitely going to win."

"I still remember when Darek beat all those half-disciples and shattered their egos."

All the spectators were lively with cheers and expectations.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out at the entrance of the Fighting Ground.

A tall man with a muscular body walked into the area. His hair and eyes were both red. His face was sharp, wearing a firm expression.

He took a seat in the stands without speaking to anyone.

"Is that Eland Orlain?! He's third on the Ranking Board. What's he doing here?"

"Maybe he came to watch the Third Elder's son?"

"Eland is in the late stage of organ cultivation. These duels must look like child's play to him."

"Wait! Look at the entrance!" someone shouted.

"What?! Is that Darek?!"

A handsome brown-haired man with and blue eyes walked through the entrance.

He approached Eland and sat next to him.

Eland stared at him. "How did you manage to come? I thought you had a mission."

Darek smiled. "I got permission to delay it. I can't miss this important event."

"Tsk... I don't know why Desper asked you to train him as well," Eland scoffed.

"Desper prefers the sword, not a spear, you spear-obsessed man," Darek replied simply.

"Tsk... you're not even a sword user," Eland sneered.

"Still, I can use the sword better than anyone in the sect," Darek smirked.

"And I hate that you're right. I don't even know why you don't use it as your main weapon. Tsk... you and that weird personality of yours," Eland muttered, shaking his head.

Darek didn't respond and turned his gaze toward the three platforms.

On each of the platforms stood around fifty disciples with one Elder in front of them. All of them were male disciples.

Half were teenagers, the half-disciples who had turned sixteen in the last three months.

They looked proud of themselves.

The other half were new disciples who had just awakened their Origin. The youngest among them was seventeen, while the oldest was around forty-five.

The Origin could manifest at any age, even if you were seventy, your body could still awaken its Origin.

On one of the platforms, Desper was observing the disciples around him.

He had learned the sect's rules, so he knew that females wouldn't participate in the competition.

"I feel jealous of the females, bro," one of the new disciples muttered.

 Desper could hear him.

"Yeah, their life is easier than ours," another said. "If they want to avoid missions and fighting monsters, they just have to marry and get pregnant."

Desper sighed as he heard them.

'That is right,' he approved. 'If a woman gets pregnant, during the second half of her pregnancy, the sect will allow her to stop taking any missions outside the sect, and it will be the same for the first six months after giving birth.'

 'After that, she is not allowed to get pregnant again for a year.'

'The sects set these rules not because they prefer women, but because if the parents are cultivators, their children have higher chances to awaken their Origin in the future.'

'And because of that, there are some other rules that encourage cultivators to marry and have children.'

'For example, if a man has more than one wife, his monthly allowance will be increased. Another rule supports marriage between cultivators, and another supports having more than three children,' Desper recalled.

'Because of the pregnancy rule, women can stop taking missions for one year every other year. So, the sects decided to give the Purifying Pill to a male disciple who will take missions until his death.'

Desper sighed. 'I don't know if that is fair or not, but this is humanity's way to survive against the monster invasion.'

He stopped thinking and returned to reality.

Right now, he was confused. The competition was supposed to start half an hour ago, but the Elders hadn't started it.

He wasn't the only one feeling that way. The whole crowd was confused.

"Why haven't they started yet?" Darek was no different.

Eland was the only one who didn't seem confused. He smiled and said,

"The main guest hasn't arrived yet."

"The main guest?" Darek repeated, narrowing his eyes.

The crowd was bored and dejected.

"What are you waiting for?"

"Start the competition."

"Start."

"Start, start, start..."

They had no patience.

"SILENCE…" one of the Elders suddenly roared.

His voice was so loud that some ordinary spectators held their ears in pain.

Everything went silent.

The three Elders turned and looked at the entrance, and everyone followed their gaze.

At the entrance, an old man was walking toward the platforms, not the spectator stands.

He had brown eyes, white hair, and a long white beard. He was walking slowly with his hands behind his back. His face looked kind, but his eyes were fierce.

Every step he took was light yet heavy, seeming to shake the ground beneath him.

He was wearing a black robe with three orange claw marks stretching from his right shoulder to his left hip, as if left by a tiger.

Desper felt that he had seen this man before, but he couldn't remember where.

Everyone's mouths and eyes were wide open.

"Th- the Sect Leader?!" someone murmured in a low voice, but everyone could hear it in the complete silence.

"Am I dreaming right now?" a spectator said in disbelief.

"I think we are," another replied.

"It is said that the Sect Leader only appears during the finals of the main sect competition. He's never appeared at any other event. What is he doing here?"

Everyone was completely stunned.

Desper narrowed his eyes. 'So, that is the Sect Leader.'

...

Eland had a big smile on his face.

Darek stared at him. "Let me guess. You're the one who invited him."

"I thought I should take some precautions," Eland replied as he looked at a specific Elder on one of the platforms.

"But to bring the Sect Leader? Isn't that excessive?" Darek asked.

"No, it's not. The Third Elder will supervise this competition. If his son loses, he might cause problems for Desper," Eland stated.

"Hmm, that is not a problem. We can just kill the Third Elder if he tries something," Darek said while licking his lips.

Eland didn't respond. He had known Darek for a long time and was used to his weird thoughts.

"How did you convince the Sect Leader to come?" Darek asked.

"It wasn't easy," Eland replied. "I informed him about Desper's identity, the one from Happy Village. He said he already knew Desper had become a disciple but still refused, worried it might attract the Great Elder's attention."

"So I had to tell him about Desper's plan to win this competition," Eland added.

"Hmm? Does Desper know about that?" Darek was surprised.

"No, but he'll understand that I did it for his own good," Eland said, shaking his head.

"Tsk, tsk... This plan is so cowardly. What's the point of winning if it's not with your real power?" Darek scoffed in annoyance.

Eland shook his head and didn't respond.

...

"We greet the Sect Leader," the three Elders said, cupping their hands in respect.

"There's no need for these formalities," the Leader replied, greeting them back.

"If it's not disrespectful, may I ask why the Leader has honored us with his presence today?" one of the Elders asked.

He was short, with brown eyes and blue hair. This Elder was the Third Elder, the father of the strongest half-disciple in the competition.

"Someone told me there's a troublemaker here, so I've come to check for myself," the Leader sighed.

"A troublemaker?" the Third Elder asked, confused.

"Third Elder, you don't need to trouble yourself with it. Just carry on with the competition," the Leader said, shaking his head.

After that, the Leader let his gaze wander across the new disciples until it paused on one in particular.

He looked at Desper a moment longer than anyone else.