Against Heaven's Will

"Welcome to the Water Land Capital!"

Right as their bodies came out of space, Xuefeng and Tianshi were greeted by multiple Staff Members who came up to the platform. Being quite dizzy from the extreme speed they traveled, he quickly grabbed Tianshi, supporting her up so she wouldn't trip.

"Are you okay?" Xuefeng questioned as he held onto Tianshi's face, completely ignoring the Staff. He quickly channeled his Fate Qi through her body, helping Tianshi handle the dizziness.

"Yes, thank you… I'm better now," Tianshi nodded, finally standing on her own.

The Teleportation Station worked in a similar way as normal teleportation but on a much bigger scale. They were coated with a thick layer of Ether Qi and sent flying through space in the next Station direction. The next Station worked like a net inside another dimension, slowing them down which allowed them to return to the outside world.

"Sir, Madam, don't worry. You will return to normal after a short walk," the Staff Member assured brightly.

The Teleportation Station was much bigger in the Capital but also more private, without any onlookers watching them arrive. It was more like a temple with one big hall. It was better than nothing.

"We are better already. Thank you," Xuefeng finally replied as they walked down the platform, gazing at the talking Staff Member. "Are there any fees for the service? I forgot to ask before we were sent here."

"Oh! No need, no need," the Staff Member shook his head hurriedly. "Only common Citizens are required to pay. Almost all high-status Sects have a deal with us to exempt their disciples from the pay. It will be covered by the Sect on the later date. I just need identification to note down your arrival in the report."

"I see. Is this enough?" Xuefeng asked as they pulled out their disciple tokens and channeled their Qi through it, activating the Golden Dragons.

Roar!

Two miniature Golden Dragons danced above their heads before returning to the tokens, shocking the Staff Members. It wasn't often that Sect Master Liu's token made an appearance in the Teleportation Station.

"Yes, yes! More than enough," the Staff Member called out ecstatic. "Please enjoy your stay in the Capital. If you need anything else, don't hesitate to ask."

Xuefeng only replied with a nod as he pulled Tianshi to the exit before asking, "Do you know about the Tournament that will happen any time soon? I would like to know some details about it."

———

"Oof… That was a stressful hour…"

Right after Xuefeng and Tianshi left, the Staff Members sighed in relief, finally able to relax a bit. First, it was Miss Liu and then another two disciples of Sect Master Liu. Their faces were hurting from forcefully smiling for such a long time.

"It seems like those two plan to join the Tournament. I guess we already know who will be the winner of this year's competition. Water Land Sects will be for sure pissed off," the Staff Member commented after explaining all the details about the incoming Tournament.

"I doubt it," his work buddy replied with a shrug. "Didn't you feel their cultivation stage? The pressure of their souls is that of a Pseudo-God Stage. It will be hard for them to win anything. They will be competing against strongest Immortal Stage Cultivators after all."

"Pfft," the Staff Member immediately snickered. "Do you think they would become Sect Master Liu's Personal Disciples if they were weak? Anyway, those two should be ones that Miss Liu was searching for. I think we should report it to her."

"Agree."

It wasn't like Sect Master Liu had tens of disciples, so it was a simple deduction, especially after Miss Liu said she is looking for them and a moment later, they appeared. Even their description matched. A handsome man of white hair with a beautiful brown-haired woman. There was no way they could make a mistake there.

Xuefeng and Tianshi were not aware of that exchange, casually flying towards the main arena in one of the Beast Taxis. The capital was indeed a Capital, overwhelming other cities with its size. Unless they had their own flying ship, they couldn't travel without a Beast Taxi or a permit.

Naturally, being two impostors, they wouldn't even think about the latter.

"Looks grand," Xuefeng commented as he gazed at the distant arena from up in the sky. "I expected it to be gigantic but this is really an overkill."

'It is like a football stadium from Earth,' Tianshi pointed out in their connection. 'Just ten times bigger.'

The Beast Owner seemed to be a chatty type as he quickly called out to them, overhearing Xuefeng's comment, "You are new to the Water Land? This is indeed one of the biggest arenas. It can fit more than a million people. When the Tournament starts, this place will be filled with crowds. Right now only participants gather to qualify for the tournament. Are you going to participate as well?"

"Yes," Xuefeng replied shortly but the Beast Owner didn't mind, continuing to talk.

"I wonder what will be the record for this year's qualifications. Last year it was almost eight million Units."

Xuefeng wanted to chat with Tianshi but this information intrigued him. They already knew about the qualification for the main event from the Staff Member of the Teleportation Station. It was quite common to test the strength of the participants before they were allowed to join the tournament. After all, no one wanted to watch some weaklings battle it out.

It was also a crucial part as only a thousand and twenty-four people could qualify for the tournament. A certain number of spots would be filled with known experts while the rest would be determined by the Qualification Test. One would be required to unleash a powerful attack at the testing machine which would determine the strength of your attack.

The only thing Xuefeng didn't know was how.

"Units? How much power are eight million Units?" Xuefeng questioned curiously.

The Beast owner was naturally happy to be given attention so he quickly replied.

"Boy, let this old man teach you. One unit is the equivalent of an adult human punch without any enhancements or special training. The Testing Machine calculates the strength of the attack based on how many times stronger it is than a basic punch. Eight million Units means that the strongest attack was eight million times more powerful."

"I see…" Xuefeng nodded in understanding before questioning in his mind. 'What do you think about my Sword Arts? How many Units of power could they have?'

'Based on your current stage…' Ming paused as if she was counting. 'Your stronger attacks should have around a million Units.'

Huh…

Xuefeng didn't know why but he was disappointed. Only a moment later did he figure out the reason.

'Is it because of the Refinement?' Xuefeng guessed.

'Yup,' Ming agreed. 'The Judgment Vine should have around ten million Units of power, even without any refinement, but you have too little Qi to use it frequently. You focus on refining your elements while we focus on your cultivation. Your strength will increase with just a little effort.'

'We already started working on it earlier this night,' Ling called out, causing Xuefeng to smile. Maybe for others Cultivation was boring but for him, it was pure pleasure. Being connected with Ling, their cultivation speed multiplied so he could enjoy his night activities with his wives while progressing in his cultivation.

Though, because there was only Water Qi in the Water Land's air, they would have to Dual Cultivate in every Land to cultivate all the elements. Naturally, no one objected to that, looking forward to every night.

The Beast Owner dropped them by the main entrance of the Arena and they immediately got overwhelmed by crowds. There were just too many young Cultivators trying to enter the Arena and participate in the Qualification Test. Even if they didn't qualify, it was still a nice way to check their current strength, an opportunity that didn't happen often.

Looking at the long queue quickly gave Xuefeng a headache, forcing them to skip another line once again, under everyone's gaze. Even though Xuefeng didn't wish to be arrogant, the queues for normal people were just too much to handle. The shorted queue by the side had just a few people waiting which was exactly what they needed.

The lady by the entrance only checked them once and she frowned, definitely not recognizing them.

"Name, age and show the Disciple Token of your Sect," she said casually while looking down at her list.

"Liu Xuefeng and Xiao Tianshi. Both Nineteen years old and Personal Disciples of the Sect Master Liu," Xuefeng introduced them both, making the lady freeze on the spot.

She looked up to take a second look at them and opened her mouth to speak when she was cut off by a male voice coming from behind.

"Huh? The rumored Sect Master Liu's Personal Disciples? Interesting."