SCC Chapter 12 (Patreon)

I leaned back as I held my now completely stuffed belly. The food at this restaurant was by far the best I’d ever eaten; the owner's hot daughter waitress didn’t hurt the ambiance either. I had the pork dumplings, spicy tuna gyoza, egg drop soup, and assorted vegetables and could barely finish them all. 

Mei-Mei had chicken and beef teriyaki skewers with a seaweed salad. Bai Bao ordered the kung pao, spring rolls, and seafood platter. Fatty Wei ordered so much I lost count of everything. He had twelve smaller plates of the appetizers with four large plates of the meal-size dishes sat completely empty in front of him. He was also leaning back with both hands on his stomach after enjoying such an extravagant meal.

My eyes scanned across Bai Bao again as I couldn’t believe everyone missed it. She was very plain looking, perhaps even less appealing than a non-cultivator, but even with just a glance, I could tell she had a special body. Just like Fatty Wei, some people were born with unique bodies or special bloodlines. 

Fatty Wei’s iron belly body was designed for being overweight. His entire family could put on weight almost effortlessly, and it made him far more resilient compared to other cultivators. While their iron belly worked tremendously for defense, it left their offense lacking slightly, which is why their clan practiced the fat-burning techniques their ancestors painstakingly created.

Bai Bao’s body wasn’t something that could be passed down from one ancestor to the next. It appeared randomly amongst people, and that was why it went so far undetected. It might also be because no one cared enough to look for the signs. Her robust frame belied the true power hidden within, and it could have gone undetected until she died in the previous world.

I could see the traces of the immortal phoenix body just from how she moved. It was one of the most powerful bodies if given enough effort to reach its true potential. Her spirit root was average at best, but if she managed to reach core formation, her entire being would go through a qualitative change. Her spiritual roots would go from fifty percent fire affinity to one hundred percent and from mid-rank to peak-rank.

It made me want to ally with her as she could be a very solid investment in the future. Another change that happens once she reaches core formation is that her body changes and becomes more beautiful. I had only heard stories, but every single story described the stunning beauty that the immortal phoenix body provided. I was interested but there was just one problem. It didn’t change the person's attitude and…

“Fuck me sideways that was one fucking scrumptious meal.” She was a bumpkin from the country. She couldn’t help but curse loudly and act like a man, as her attitude had always been like that ever since she worked on her father's farm. No one thought that she had a good enough spiritual root to be a cultivator, but here we are. She was in her seventies already, even though she only looked middle-aged. I wasn’t sure if the immortal phoenix body would reset her age, but even with my help, she might cut it close to reach core formation before she died of old age.

We’d cross that bridge in a hundred years or so. “Alright, now that we’re fed and watered. I’d like to discuss the plans going forward.” I pulled out a sheet of parchment as I unrolled it and moved some of the discarded plates so I could place it down on the table. “We need to win the upcoming tournament, and by we, I mean Fatty Wei and Bai Bao.”

They both looked at me like I just said the dumbest thing I possibly could, but I ignored their staring and continued. “You two have the best chance of winning without drawing too much attention. We don’t need to win the entire tournament, but the higher both of you can place, the better it will be for our future plans.” I further explained.

“Fatty Wei is at the ninth rank of qi condensation while you’re at the peak of early foundation establishment, you’re both primed to be stronger than most of the candidates in your brackets which will give you a bigger advantage. Finally, neither of you have to win; Fatty just needs to place in the top ten, and the better Bai Bao does, the safer we’ll be from being attacked as you’ll have shown how strong you are as a bodyguard.”

The parchment I unfurled had prizes for placing certain ranks, and they got progressively better the higher both of them went in the competition. I could take part, but me remaining a mystery for as long as I possibly could was something I deemed necessary. I could possibly defeat Bai Bao in a fight even though she was an entire realm ahead of me, but I’d have to reveal most of my trump cards to do so.

Both of them were less wary with my plans as they looked over the prizes for the qi condensation and early foundation establishment competitions. 

Qi Condensation rewards

Participation grants ten low-grade spirit stones

Ascending each rank grants ten low-grade spirit stones

Reaching the top one thousand participants grants one mid-grade spirit stone

Ascending each rank grants one mid-grade spirit stone

Reaching the top one hundred participants grants access to the hidden cultivation realm

Ascending each rank grants an access token to the hidden cultivation realm

Reaching the top ten participants grants a tenth-grade qi condensation weapon, as well as ten mid-grade spirit stones

Reaching the top five participants grants twenty mid-grade spirit stones, an assortment of alchemy pills, and a qi gathering array from a rank one formation master

Winning the competition grants one hundred mid-grade spirit stones, one high-grade spirit stone, one life-saving artifact(qi condensation), and access to an inner core technique

Early core formation rewards

Participation grants ten mid-grade spirit stones

Ascending each rank grants ten mid-grade spirit stones

Reaching the top one thousand participants grants one high-grade spirit stone

Ascending each rank grants one high-grade spirit stone

Reaching the top one hundred participants grants lessons from an alchemist, formation master, or eight hours of meditation under a wall struck by a wielder of sword intent

Ascending each rank grants an additional lesson or time slot with the wall

Reaching the top ten participants grants a flying sword, as well as ten high-grade spirit stones

Reaching the top five participants grants twenty high-grade spirit stones, an assortment of alchemy pills, and a qi gather array from a rank two formation master

Winning the competition grants one hundred high-grade spirit stones, a jade shard, an interspacial ring, three escape seals, and become the disciple of one of the inner core sect leaders

The rewards weren’t really that great altogether, and the sect had an arrogant view of itself to put an inner core technique or becoming the disciple of one of the sect leaders as the top grade reward. To be fair, it would be a quick way to speed up your growth, but you’d have to be constantly wary of your own master hobbling you in the future. No, what we needed was access to the hidden realm.

I also planned to take part just in case, as we needed at least two for me and Fatty Wei. I didn’t want Mei-Mei to take part as she was new to her rank and might be targeted because of her beauty. Now wasn’t the time for her to draw the attention of a sect leader.