After a brief moment of silence, the area erupted into an uproar.

“Kid, do you even know who you’re talking to?”

“Damn! This guy’s looking for death. Is he always this reckless?”

“He dares to provoke all of us? This little bastard is way too arrogant!”

In an instant, all the Outer Sect Disciples participating in the competition were incensed, glaring furiously. A few with particularly short tempers even rolled up their sleeves and started closing in.

“I’m gonna kill you today.”

The young man with the fierce expression also snapped out of his shock, shooting Qi Yuan and his companion a venomous glare before preparing to make a move.

“What are you all doing? Fighting is strictly prohibited before the competition begins! Violators will be immediately disqualified!”

Right at that moment, a team of disciples from the Internal Affairs Pavilion responsible for maintaining order hurried over, quickly bringing the nearly out-of-control situation under control.

Seeing that they couldn’t teach Qi Yuan a lesson, everyone had no choice but to temporarily suppress their anger. They glared hatefully at Qi Yuan and Lin Zhen, hurling threats.

“You’d better pray you don’t run into me during the competition. Otherwise… hmph, just you wait.”

“Right, count me in. If we don’t eliminate these two brats first, where will we Outer Sect Disciples put our faces?”

“And me! If I don’t beat you until you’re kneeling and begging for mercy, I’ll write my name, Li Dali, backward!”

“Wait, buddy… your name backward is still Li Dali.”

“Dammit! Don’t get hung up on the details. My name is Li Dali, so what?”

…

Hearing the curses and shouts from all around, Qi Yuan showed not a trace of fear. A mocking smile played on his lips as he said with utter disdain:

“If you want to snipe me, you’d better put in some serious effort. I might as well tell you now: I’m taking first place in today’s Outer Sect Grand Competition. Not even the Dao Ancestor himself could stop me. That’s what I said!”

These words once again stirred public outrage. Almost every Outer Sect Disciple participating was furious, gnashing their teeth as if their fighting spirit had been ignited.

“This guy is just too arrogant. We have to teach him a lesson when the time comes.”

“Damn it, I can’t take it anymore. Even if I don’t get a ranking this time, I’ll make sure he’s the first one eliminated!”

“Exactly! When the time comes, let’s all team up first and take care of this loudmouth. Let’s see how he struts around then.”

…

Seeing his goal achieved, Qi Yuan gave a faint smile and quickly pulled Lin Zhen away from the scene.

The crowd was too worked up; if they didn’t leave now, even the Internal Affairs Pavilion people might not be able to control the situation.

“Brother Lin, why is your face so pale?”

Once they were away from the crowd, Qi Yuan suddenly noticed Lin Zhen’s unusual state and couldn’t help but feel puzzled.

Lin Zhen looked like he wanted to cry but had no tears. “Brother Qi… do you think it’s too late for me to quit now?”

He was genuinely scared. He was only at the fourth layer of Qi Refining. The only reason he signed up for the Outer Sect Grand Competition was to gain some experience and see the world.

Now, before the competition had even started, he’d managed to offend every single Outer Sect Disciple participating. How was he supposed to play this?

Under these circumstances, once the competition started, wouldn’t he immediately get ganged up on? His survival prospects looked grim…

“No need to panic.” Qi Yuan patted Lin Zhen’s shoulder with an air of complete confidence. “Just stick with me when the time comes. I guarantee nothing will happen to you.”

Lin Zhen forced a weak smile.

“Let’s just forget it. I probably won’t even make it past the first round.”

Qi Yuan didn’t say more. The reason he had provoked the other competitors was precisely to increase the difficulty for himself, ensuring the competition’s outcome would have a “shock everyone” effect.

After all, the additional task objective was “Shock Everyone and Claim First Place”.

Given the system’s tendency to be lenient with itself and strict with others, “shock everyone” in the task objective was most likely not just an adjective but a hard requirement!

While it would already be shocking enough for a Servant Disciple at the “fifth layer of Qi Refining” to win first place in the competition, the word “shock” was too subjective. How surprised did people need to be for it to count as “shocked”?

Moreover, Qi Yuan had once publicly used his bare fists and feet to send an Outer Sect Disciple at the seventh layer of Qi Refining flying and had received an entry evaluation of “Perfect Temperament.” Many people would subconsciously overestimate his strength.

If these people weren’t shocked by him winning first place in the competition, wouldn’t that be bad?

This concerned improving his spiritual root aptitude; he wasn’t willing to take even the slightest risk of task failure!

In short, to truly shock everyone, he needed to claim first place in a way that was even more breathtaking…

Just as these thoughts were running through Qi Yuan’s mind, a commotion erupted from the square.

“Look! The Sect Leader True Monarch is here too!”

As soon as this voice rang out, all noise immediately ceased. Everyone raised their heads and looked toward the distant sky.

Soon, dozens of streaks of light flew across the sky and landed on the open ground in front of the square in the blink of an eye—they were clearly many of Falling Cloud Valley’s higher-ups.

At their head was a middle-aged man dressed in brocade robes with a refined appearance. His expression was solemn and his aura powerful; this was Falling Cloud Valley’s Sect Leader, Bai Qingwu.

However, this Master of a Valley had threads of decline lingering between his brows; clearly, his previous attempt to break through to the peak of the Nascent Soul realm had failed.

“Elder Yang, begin.”

Bai Qingwu swept his gaze around before nodding toward an Elder from the Internal Affairs Pavilion behind him.

“Yes.”

Elder Yang Xiude from the Internal Affairs Pavilion, who was overseeing this Outer Sect Grand Competition, nodded. He then stepped forward slowly and announced in a clear voice:

“This session’s Outer Sect Grand Competition officially begins now!”

The next moment, he rose into mid-air as an oppressive aura at the Golden Core realm suddenly radiated from him.

Instantly, every disciple participating felt a tremendous pressure bearing down on them. Their breathing became labored and ragged as they hurriedly circulated their true qi to resist this pressure.

Qi Yuan very perfunctorily squeezed out two beads of sweat on his forehead before standing quietly still, waiting for this first round of screening to end.

Beside him, Lin Zhen suddenly relaxed his expression before falling to the ground with a thud.

He said sheepishly, “Brother Qi… sorry… I… I really can’t hold on anymore.”

Qi Yuan knew full well that Lin Zhen was far from reaching his limit; it was hard to say this performance wasn’t deliberate.

Of course, given this Child of Destiny’s personality, it definitely wasn’t because he was scared. He was probably afraid of holding back his friend during the competition.

Qi Yuan didn’t mind this. He simply gave a slight nod.

“You go rest down there. Remember to bet on me winning later in the competition pool.”

Lin Zhen: “…”

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

…

Soon, people kept collapsing, unable to hold on, and some even fainted on the spot.

Finally, after what felt like half an incense stick’s worth of time, Yang Xiude finally withdrew his oppressive aura.

His gaze swept over the remaining disciples as he said gravely:

“All those who fell just now are eliminated. Only those still standing are qualified to participate in the subsequent Outer Sect Grand Competition.”

Hearing this, many people gasped sharply.

This meant at least half had been eliminated without even setting foot on the competition grounds.