The Competition Festival Of Gyorei Cave

“Who did you hear that from?”

Xiaotan asked to confirm it.

“From some of the inner disciple senior brothers.”

“Then they must have meant only about the top five senior brothers in the Qi Refining Stage. For most of them, defeating a Thunder Bear should be difficult.”

When I heard that, I tilted my head.

“But in the exam to become an inner disciple, defeating a Thunder Bear is the condition for passing.”

Xiaotan shrugged.

“The reason the exam for becoming an inner disciple from the outer disciples is so strict is because the elders only want to make truly talented outer disciples into inner disciples.”

“Then why do they not make the exam strict from the start for those trying to become inner disciples?”

“The parents of those people are influential figures in the merchant capital of Boushin. They have likely made considerable donations to Gyorei Cave.”

Even if they aimed to become Immortals, that did not mean they lived by eating mist. To continue training, they needed food, clothing, and money.

For that reason, they had to build friendly relations with the influential people of Boushin. Xiaotan explained that because of things like that, Gyorei Cave had no choice but to accept the children of powerful families.

Even after learning that, I did not feel like criticizing the elders of Gyorei Cave. That was because I knew the world could not be lived in on ideals alone.

“If you are going to participate in the Competition Festival, please apply to Elder Tsuen.”

It was not exactly that I did not get along with Elder Tsuen, but the Rikyou matter had left bad feelings between us. I did not really want to see him, but there was no help for it.

I went to the Main Hall and headed for Elder Tsuen’s room. A large number of young Taoist practitioners had gathered there. They were probably the Taoist practitioners participating in the Competition Festival.

“You, you’re Kou, aren’t you?”

I heard a voice call my name. When I looked over, I saw a female Taoist practitioner I recognized. If I remembered right, she was the beautiful girl named Shunlin who had helped me when I was attacked by bandits. It seemed Shunlin had also passed the exam and become an inner disciple.

“It was Shunlin-san, right? It has been a while.”

“That doesn’t matter. Why are you here?”

“I took the outer disciple exam and passed.”

“An outer disciple… I see. So you quit the Chian Trading Company.”

“How has Yulong been doing?”

Shunlin furrowed her brows.

“He became a direct disciple of Elder Shanshi, the great swordsmanship master. He should be entering the Competition Festival too.”

“Which one is he entering?”

“Obviously the Martial Competition Festival. There’s no way someone like him, who hates studying, would enter the Elixir Competition Festival.”

I remembered being ordered by Yulong to help with his homework. I had not thought he had any talent for martial arts either, but compared with entering the Elixir Competition Festival, he had a better chance of winning. In yōma hunting, there was an element of luck, after all.

“Which one are you entering, Shunlin-san?”

“I’m entering the Martial Competition Festival too. I’m aiming for an Armored Boar.”

“Huh? If you defeat an Armored Boar, can you win?”

“If you’re lucky. In the Competition Festival two years ago, I think the Taoist practitioner who defeated an Armored Boar won.”

The fact that Shunlin was aiming for an Armored Boar meant she had a weapon capable of defeating one. Did she perhaps have a treasured sword?

“Do you have a treasured sword or something?”

Shunlin smiled brightly.

“I obtained the Flame King Staff.”

She told me in a low voice. It was surely something expensive, but since I had no knowledge of costly weapons, I had no idea what kind of weapon it was.

“That’s amazing.”

For the time being, I just gave a fitting response. That was the former Japanese in me. Since Shunlin had told me in a low voice, she probably did not want to talk about it openly very much. I wanted to ask in detail what kind of weapon it was, but I held back. I would look into it later.

“If you’re entering the Martial Competition Festival too, Kou, you’d need at least one treasured sword.”

“Even if you say that, treasured swords are too expensive for me to buy.”

Shunlin made a face as if she had made a mistake.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking enough.”

“By the way, about how much does the cheapest treasured sword cost?”

“Let’s see. Around three hundred gold coins, maybe.”

A sigh slipped out of me without thinking. I had never even seen that much money. The White Wolf Warhammer, Demon Spider Sword, and Demon Spider Greatsword I owned had power comparable to treasured swords, but their lifespan was short. Even the relatively durable White Wolf Warhammer would only last about five years.

The ones who made treasured swords and the like were not ordinary blacksmiths, but Immortals or Taoist practitioners of at least the Spirit Formation Stage. That was called treasure tool crafting, and the one famous for it in this Gyorei Cave was probably Elder Min.

“You’re entering the Martial Competition Festival too, right, Kou?”

“No, I’m planning to enter the Elixir Competition Festival.”

Shunlin looked surprised.

“So you’ve been studying alchemy too, Kou.”

I was neither handsome nor ugly, and I did not look especially intelligent. Some people said I had sharp eyes, but I had an ordinary face. Still, because I trained, I looked solidly built and muscular. So people tended to think I was better at martial matters than at things like elixirs, which fell into the scholarly side.

While Shunlin and I were talking, someone I had not wanted to meet noticed me.

“Who do you think it is—why, it’s Kou. Why are you here?”

I informed Yulong that I had become an outer disciple.

“Hmph, so you passed the exam, even if it was only for an outer disciple. Miracles really do happen in this world.”

Even though we were meeting again after a long time, he was as sarcastic as ever.

“I heard from Shunlin-san that you became a direct disciple of Elder Shanshi. Congratulations.”

Yulong put on a smug expression.

“With my talent, that was only natural. Since you’re here, are you entering the Competition Festival too?”

“I am.”

“I’ll tell you this now: to defeat a strong yōma, you need a special weapon. You don’t have one, do you?”

“The one I’m entering is the Elixir Competition Festival.”

“It’s your freedom if you want to make yourself a laughingstock.”

After saying that, Yulong glanced at Shunlin, then walked away. After that, I informed Elder Tsuen that I would be entering the Elixir Competition Festival.

“You’re entering the Elixir Competition Festival… are you sure this isn’t a mistake?”

Did everyone really think I was that much of an idiot? Or were the Taoist practitioners who entered the Elixir Competition Festival at an even higher level than I had imagined? Which was it?