Sect Tournament All a Setup

Blood Fiend Sect.

The annual Outer Sect Competition was about to begin.

This was the most bustling time for the entire sect.

This year's competition was even more frenzied than in previous years. The ultimate reward was not just the qualification to enter the Inner Sect, but also five coveted spots to enter the Azure Wood Mystic Realm.

The Azure Wood Mystic Realm.

An ancient ruin jointly controlled by three nearby third-rate sects.

It opened once every ten years for a duration of one month.

Inside, there were not only ancient spirit herbs and lost magical artifacts, but even legacy caves left behind by predecessors who had passed away in meditation.

For these bottom-tier cultivators struggling at the borders, this was an opportunity great enough to defy the heavens and change their fate.

Late at night, one week before the competition.

The main peak of the Blood Fiend Sect, the Sect Leader's secret chamber.

Liu Tianxing sat cross-legged on a futon, looking at the hidden compartment that had appeared out of thin air in front of him.

Inside the compartment lay a thin slip of paper.

This was the latest order issued by his Master who hid in the darkness.

With trembling hands, Liu Tianxing unfolded the paper.

It contained only a simple line of text:

Revise the competition rules. Add a new clause: Outer sect handymen may also register to fight. Those with outstanding results may receive a spot for the Mystic Realm.

Liu Tianxing was stunned.

Handymen joining the fight?

And giving them spots for the Mystic Realm?!

In the forty years since the Blood Fiend Sect was founded, there had never been such a ridiculous rule.

What were handymen? They were laborers inferior even to outer sect disciples, doing menial chores like fetching water, chopping wood, farming, and feeding demonic beasts. Their cultivation generally hovered around the third or fourth level of Qi Condensation, and they had not even learned a single complete low-tier spell.

Letting them onto the arena to fight against those outer sect elites at the eighth or ninth level of Qi Condensation?

Wasn't this just sending them to their deaths?

Furthermore, the spots for the Azure Wood Mystic Realm were incredibly precious. Even inner sect disciples fought tooth and nail for them; how could they be distributed to handymen?

Liu Tianxing instinctively wanted to resist.

But the Life and Death Talisman on the back of his neck seemed to sense his hesitation and grew slightly hot.

That soul-deep shudder instantly surged through his entire body.

Yes...

Liu Tianxing swallowed hard and used his spiritual energy to shatter the slip of paper into powder in his palm.

He did not dare to ask why.

He only knew that if he did not comply, he would not live past tonight.

Early the next morning.

The notice board in the Blood Fiend Sect's plaza was surrounded by a massive crowd.

Once the newly revised competition rules were announced, the entire outer sect was completely in an uproar.

Handymen can also participate in the competition? Is the Sect Leader crazy?

Hahaha! Is this meant to give us free kills and punching bags?

Mystic Realm spots? Are those trash who can't even hold a Fireball Spell steady worthy of entering the Azure Wood Mystic Realm?

The outer sect disciples mocked them brazenly.

In their eyes, this was nothing more than a cruel sideshow created by the Sect Leader to liven up the atmosphere of the competition.

But at the edge of the plaza.

A young man wearing gray handyman clothes stared fixedly at the notice board.

His name was Gu Yan.

He had only joined the Blood Fiend Sect three months ago.

Because he offended an outer sect steward, he was banished to the Spirit Beast Garden to shovel manure.

For three months, he had endured all kinds of humiliation and disdain.

But at this moment, his fists were tightly clenched. Due to extreme excitement, his nails dug deeply into his flesh.

Teacher...

Gu Yan called out secretly in his mind using his divine sense.

The opportunity has come!

I can finally stand proudly on the arena and trample all those who looked down on me under my feet!

Deep within Gu Yan's sea of consciousness.

A faint shadow of a remnant soul flickered slightly.

An aged voice, filled with endless vicissitudes of life, echoed in his mind.

Disciple, calm down.

This rule change is suspicious. But since the opportunity is right in front of you, you must seize it.

Over these past three months, under this old man's guidance, you have cultivated the Primordial Spirit Devouring Art, and your cultivation has secretly reached the ninth level of Qi Condensation. Coupled with the Phantom Steps this old man taught you, no one in the outer sect can withstand ten exchanges with you.

The old man's voice carried a hint of arrogance.

In the Azure Wood Mystic Realm, there is an ancient cave dwelling. Before this old man fell back in the day, I left a hidden sensory mark nearby. Inside, there is something that will allow you to soar to the heavens.

Secure the spot. Enter the mystic realm.

Gu Yan took a deep breath, his eyes burning with raging ambition.

Yes, Teacher!

He turned and strode toward the registration area.

His back revealed a kind of determination of an OP protagonist about to make a grand return.

Meanwhile.

In a corner on the other side of the plaza.

A young man similarly dressed in gray handyman clothes, holding a large broom in his hand.

Was quietly sweeping the fallen leaves on the ground.

Shen Fei.

He didn't look up at the notice board, nor did he look at Gu Yan, who was trembling with excitement.

His gaze remained fixed on the stone slabs beneath his feet.

However, the scan of his Eye of Destiny had already covered the entire plaza.

Ding!

Target locked.

Name: Gu Yan.

Identity: Blood Fiend Sect Outer Sect Handyman.

Destiny Level: Grade A.

Core Tags: Trash Counterattack, Portable Old Grandpa, Pretending to be a Pig to Eat a Tiger.

Current Cultivation: Ninth Level of Qi Condensation (Disguised as Third Level of Qi Condensation).

Destiny Resonance Direction: Azure Wood Mystic Realm, Ancient Cave Dwelling Legacy.

Shen Fei looked at the long string of data popping up on the system panel.

The broom swept across the ground, making a rustling sound.

He didn't smile.

Nor did he show any of the arrogance a villain would display upon discovering prey.

He merely made a precise categorization in his heart for this young man named Gu Yan.

A key.

A toolman used to scout the path, clear mines, and crack ancient formations.

Nothing more.

The day of the competition arrived quickly.

The Blood Fiend Sect's martial arts arena was boiling with voices.

Four arenas hosted fights simultaneously.

The elimination rounds of the first two days passed without much excitement.

Until the third day.

Gu Yan stepped onto the stage.

His opponent was an elite disciple ranked in the top ten of the outer sect, with a cultivation at the eighth level of Qi Condensation.

A handyman? Get lost! Don't dirty my sword!

The elite disciple's face was full of disdain. Without even drawing his magical artifact, he directly blasted out a Flaming Palm.

A burst of roaring laughter erupted from the audience below the stage.

But the next second.

The laughter stopped abruptly.

Gu Yan did not dodge, nor did he panic.

His body twisted in an unbelievably bizarre manner, instantly evading the attack range of the Flaming Palm.

Phantom Steps!

Gu Yan shouted low in his heart.

His entire person turned into a blur, instantly appearing behind the elite disciple.

He didn't use any spells.

It was merely pure physical explosive power, coupled with the hidden enhancement of his ninth-level Qi Condensation spiritual energy.

Bang!

A heavy punch.

It landed solidly on the elite disciple's back.

Pfft!

The elite disciple wildly spewed a mouthful of blood. His whole body flew out of the arena like a kite with a broken string, smashing heavily onto the ground, and he passed out on the spot.

One move.

Instant kill!

The entire venue fell dead silent.

Everyone looked at Gu Yan standing in the center of the arena as if looking at a monster.

A manure-shoveling handyman instantly killed a top ten outer sect elite with one punch?!

How could this be possible?!

Whoosh—

After a brief dead silence, the martial arts arena completely boiled over.

He hid his cultivation!

This footwork... this is definitely not our sect's cultivation method!

In the following matches.

Gu Yan completely tore off his disguise.

The cultivation of the ninth level of Qi Condensation erupted fully.

Under the on-the-spot tactical guidance of the Old Grandpa's remnant soul, every one of his strikes was precise and ruthless.

Three consecutive victories!

He directly tore through several of the strongest disciples in the outer sect.

Without any suspense, he secured the final quota to enter the Azure Wood Mystic Realm.

Gu Yan stood on the arena stage.

He relished the expressions of shock, fear, and disbelief on the faces of those below the stage who had once humiliated and looked down on him.

He felt that all the frustration he had endured over the past three months was completely released in this moment.

"I, Gu Yan, am absolutely no trash!"

He tightly gripped the jade token representing the mystic realm quota in his hand and let out a long howl toward the sky.

This was the standard satisfaction point of the trash-to-hero counterattack trope.

Playing the pig to eat the tiger, shocking the entire audience.

Meanwhile, on the spectator stands at the edge of the martial arts arena.

Liu Tianxing sat in the sect master's main seat, his face frighteningly gloomy.

Several inner sect elders and elite disciples were protesting vehemently by his ear.

"Sect Master! This is against the rules! How can a handyman of unknown origins enter the Azure Wood Mystic Realm?!"

"The cultivation method he uses is unorthodox, there must be something fishy going on! We must investigate strictly!"

Liu Tianxing looked at Gu Yan on the arena.

He also felt that there was something wrong with this handyman.

But he didn't dare to investigate.

Let alone deprive Gu Yan of his quota.

Because he clearly remembered that the note which changed the rules said, "Handymen may also register."

Did that demon king hidden in the darkness go through all the trouble to change the rules just to watch a handyman fight?

Absolutely impossible.

Liu Tianxing took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the unease in his heart.

"Rules are rules."

Liu Tianxing coldly swept his gaze over the protesting elders.

"Since he won, the quota is his. Whoever dares to say another word will be dealt with according to the sect rules!"

With the sect master speaking, the voices of protest were forcibly suppressed.

The grand competition came to an end.

Gu Yan became the biggest dark horse of the Blood Fiend Sect.

The crowd in the martial arts arena gradually dispersed.

By the steps at the outermost edge of the arena.

Shen Fei, wearing that gray cloth handyman uniform, held a broom in his hand.

He quietly swept up the crushed stones and debris scattered on the ground from the fighting.

He didn't look at the boundlessly glorious Gu Yan on the arena.

Nor did he listen to the discussions of the surrounding disciples.

He was merely finishing the work a handyman ought to do.

[Ding!]

[Target Child of Fortune, Gu Yan, has successfully obtained the entry qualification for the Azure Wood Mystic Realm.]

[Fortune resonance route has been locked.]

The system's cold notification sound rang out in his mind.

Shen Fei stopped his broom.

He took off his rough work gloves and clapped the dust off his hands.

The fish had taken the bait.

And it was an excited fish, one that thought it had grasped its own destiny.

"The guide has been found."

Shen Fei leaned the broom against the corner of the wall.

He turned around and walked toward the dilapidated thatched cottage in the handyman quarters.

The setting sun stretched his shadow out long.

While everyone in the Blood Fiend Sect was shocked by Gu Yan's counterattack.

No one knew.

That this seemingly blood-boiling sect grand competition.

From the very beginning.

Was a meticulously designed death trap, meant to pave the way for this fat sheep.