Top-tier Unruly Master-Chapter 1580 - 1617: The Mysterious Flowerbed

At this moment, Ding Fan observed the disciples who had been overturned for a while and had already made up his mind. Ding Fan knew that the power within the man-made lake was not ordinary and not something regular cultivators could resist with True Qi. Ding Fan understood that even Distraction Stage cultivators would find it challenging to reach the flowerbed within the lake.

However, it was certain that Distraction Stage cultivators would definitely advance further than Nascent Soul Stage cultivators. Although the power within the man-made lake was somewhat immune to True Qi, cultivators with abundant True Qi could still resist more of the flowerbed’s power.

Ding Fan knew that the energy within the man-made lake emanated from the flowerbed in the center. But what puzzled Ding Fan was that even though his Divine Sense barely resisted the flowerbed’s power, upon closer inspection, he did not find anything particularly special within the flowerbed.

Yet Ding Fan naturally wouldn’t believe that there was nothing special in the flowerbed. He knew that to find out the truth, he had to wait for his turn in the competition and go in for a closer look.

Subsequently, Ding Fan found an unoccupied spot and sat cross-legged to cultivate, knowing he was number seventy-eight. With seventy-seven people ahead of him and each having three chances, Ding Fan didn’t rush, and soon entered a state of cultivation.

At this time, many cultivators noticed Ding Fan and felt quite surprised. They hadn’t expected the Lake Master’s elder brother to be so calm, still managing to cultivate at such a moment. Such confidence indeed showed a great breadth of mind. No premature judgments were made towards Ding Fan by these cultivators.

After all, in the first round of the Medicine Pill tournament, he had closed his eyes early to rest, yet ultimately achieved first place. So when people saw Ding Fan peacefully meditating again, their hearts were filled with curiosity, yet none dared to discuss Ding Fan.

Previously, the Lake Master Long Ren’s attitude was seen by everyone, clearly angry. After all, he was the Lake Master’s elder brother, therefore not someone to be casually discussed. Consequently, nearby cultivators moved away from Ding Fan, realizing that since the Lake Master’s elder brother had begun cultivation, it was best not to disturb him.

Although they dared not gossip about Ding Fan, within their hearts, they held little optimism for him. Despite being the Lake Master’s brother, his age was apparent - he was just another young person, similar in age to themselves. Even if his alchemy was somewhat impressive, it was just that.

After all, any cultivator’s energy was limited. Observing the weak True Qi fluctuations emanating from Ding Fan, he appeared to be a cultivator with very low cultivation, a common issue among young, talented alchemists as they focused most of their energy and time on pill refinement, leading to weaker cultivation.

However, no one would look down upon an alchemist for having weak cultivation. People acknowledged that although the Lake Master’s brother excelled at alchemy, he had great potential to become a powerful cultivator someday as well. Nonetheless, regarding this selection tournament, he was destined to be weak.

The competition was not solely about medicine pills; it was a comprehensive test of a cultivator, including cultivation strength, undoubtedly the most crucial aspect. Despite winning first place in the medicine pill contest, excelling in subsequent events was deemed impossible.

Thus, although they didn’t talk about Ding Fan, many had little faith in him.

...

"Look now, it’s Senior Brother Lu Ferng’s turn!" A cultivator shouted excitedly from the crowd.

Consequently, all eyes turned to the blue-shirted youth Lu Ferng by the man-made lake. Lu Ferng’s expression was serious; he knew this contest was no simple task. Approaching the flowerbed within the man-made lake lacked assurance, yet thankfully the rules didn’t require reaching the flowerbed to win.

It is only about who gets closest to the flowerbed. Although lacking confidence in reaching the flowerbed in the middle of the man-made lake, Lu Ferng felt very confident about going the furthest among all the disciples.

"Is this disciple prepared?"

The examiner, sitting nearby, seemed confident in Lu Ferng as he asked the question.

After taking several deep breaths and adjusting himself to optimal condition, Lu Ferng nodded to the examiner and said:

"I’m ready."

"Then begin!"

The examiner replied confidently, looking at Lu Ferng.

Tap tap...

Lu Ferng walked briskly across three stone steps and continued swiftly onward, soon reaching more than ten stone steps in distance.

The crowd watched this unfold in shock; most disciples found passing even a single stone step incredibly challenging, yet Senior Brother Lu Ferng crossed three steps successively and had already surpassed ten, still continuing.

The number of steps he’s progressed already made him the current first place, and Senior Brother Lu Ferng still continued without stopping!

"Wow! Senior Brother Lu Ferng is just amazing! He’s already crossed thirteen stone steps!"

"The previous first place merely reached eight stone steps, but Senior Brother Lu Ferng, as expected, stands out among the youth of the thirty-six caves!"

"Senior Brother Lu Ferng will surely be the first in this competition. I wonder how many stone steps he will eventually climb. Will he reach the flowerbed?"

"That is uncertain. You must know that Senior Brother Lu Ferng’s Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivation is just a step away from the Transcendance Tribulation Stage. Perhaps he might truly reach the flowerbed in the center of the man-made lake!"

"Indeed, Senior Brother Lu Ferng is unquestionably the first in this competition. Although he wasn’t the first in the Medicine Pill competition, that’s only because the Lake Master’s big brother is a bit better in pill refinement. In terms of overall quality, he surely isn’t a match for Senior Brother Lu Ferng!"

"Naturally, maybe that so-called Lake Master’s brother will make a fool of himself in this competition!"

"Haha..."

"Keep your voice down, or the Lake Master and others might hear us, which could be trouble!"

"Yes, yes..."

At this moment, all the disciples, both male and female, were discussing among themselves. They were shocked by Lu Ferng’s performance and began to show disdain for Ding Fan. They knew that Senior Brother Lu Ferng was an outstanding disciple of the thirty-six caves and was incredibly powerful and top-notch in the whole Donglai Continent and even the entire Cultivation World.

Although Ding Fan was considered a remarkable existence as a young Grade Nine Alchemist, he was slightly inferior to a versatile and exceptional disciple. Additionally, in everyone’s eyes, Ding Fan was merely an outsider competing for a spot in the Xuantian Secret Realm.

Therefore, everyone naturally sided more with their own, Lu Ferng.

When Lu Ferng reached the sixteenth stone step, his expression became extremely serious. A closer look would reveal slight muscle spasms in his body. At this moment, Lu Ferng knew he had reached his limit, trying his best to balance his body against that mysterious power. He then looked at the flowerbed in the center of the dark man-made lake, realizing he was still far from it, having only covered a fifth of the total distance from the lake’s edge to the flowerbed.

Lu Ferng felt a bit unwilling, but he also knew he had reached his limit. It would take decades more of cultivation to reach that flowerbed. He clearly felt that the mysterious power grew stronger as he approached the flowerbed.

At this time, although Lu Ferng wanted to step forward once more, he understood that taking another step would make returning rather embarrassing. Ultimately, Lu Ferng decided to give up, mindful of his image as an outstanding disciple of the thirty-six caves.

He turned around and gracefully returned, landing steadily. He tidied his slightly disordered robes and wiped the sweat from his forehead, finally breathing a sigh of relief. Although his return was satisfactory, his body was extremely empty and fatigued.

This competition was not easy for Lu Ferng, and he immediately gave up the remaining two attempts. He had exerted all his strength in the first attempt, and doing it two more times might not yield better results. Thus, Lu Ferng sat down and began to rest.

Everyone was still greatly moved, astonished by Senior Brother Lu Ferng’s achievement of sixteen steps, which seemed incredible!

Not far away, Long Ren and the thirty-six sect masters watched Lu Ferng’s performance, secretly admiring him. Reaching the sixteenth stone step at his age was quite impressive.

"This time, this disciple Lu Ferng should be the first in this competition indeed!"

"Indeed! Climbing sixteen stone steps! Such a feat is hard for others to surpass!"

"Not necessarily. Big brother seems pretty relaxed..."

...

The thirty-six sect masters started discussing, and one of them, noticing Ding Fan meditating as he did during the Medicine Pill competition, couldn’t help but express his curiosity. After he spoke up, everyone turned to Ding Fan, their expressions peculiar, and for a moment, they fell silent. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

The thirty-six sect masters were clearly very curious about Ding Fan. Seeing him relaxed as he was during the first competition, could he be just as confident this time? But they were obviously skeptical, even though he was a Grade Nine Alchemist, the Medicine Pill champion of this Dancheng competition.

Yet they thought Ding Fan wouldn’t perform well in this contest because cultivators at the Transcendance Tribulation Stage knew well the disadvantages a high-grade alchemist faces in terms of cultivation at a young age.

After all, he was the Lake Master’s brother. The sect masters didn’t favor Ding Fan but wouldn’t speak out. The Lake Master was already displeased, so naturally, they wouldn’t cause more trouble!

Long Ren also heard the discussions, noticing the sudden silence when his brother was mentioned, and turned back curiously. The thirty-six sect masters greeted him with smiling faces, although their smiles were a bit stiff, and they were at a loss for words.

Instead, Long Ren spoke first.