Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
During these days, Chen Jinshu had been practicing musical techniques and various combat maneuvers in her courtyard, primarily focusing on how to nimbly dodge enemy attacks while holding the Lüqi Zither.
After refining the Lüqi Zither, it had become as light and agile as an arrow in her hands. It wasn't heavy, but wielding it correctly while dodging still required training.
The zither was her main weapon in combat—something she could not easily part with during battle. Enemies would likely exploit this and target her instrument directly.
Thus, agile movement was essential.
She had noticed this weakness during the last illusion-array training with her master and had been working to correct it ever since. Now, she had reached the point where either she moved and the zither remained still, or both moved together in unison.
She could even use the zither like a boomerang—throwing it out and catching it smoothly at another location. This level of unpredictability made her difficult for enemies to handle.
One day, she received a message from her master: registration for the Grand Outer Sect Competition had begun. She was instructed to head to the Hall of the Medicine King to register.
There were eligibility requirements—only disciples who had reached at least the third level of Qi Refining could participate. At the registration site, both cultivation level and identity would be verified. Once registered, they would await the start of the tournament.
Chen Jinshu had another goal in mind during her visit—to learn about the main competitors from the Medicine King Peak in this year's tournament. Her primary objective for this competition was to win a spot in the Moon Cleansing Pool, a reward that would significantly impact her future cultivation path.
—
Not long after, when she arrived at the Medicine King Hall, she found it crowded with disciples waiting to register—over a hundred in total.
Because only the top-ranking disciples in the competition would receive rewards, many lower-level disciples chose not to waste their time.
Compared to the Alchemy Competition, the number was almost halved, but once disciples from other peaks were added, there would be at least five to six hundred participants. That meant a huge number would be eliminated in the very first round.
Activating her observation technique, she quickly assessed those around her. By the time it was her turn, she had already grasped the cultivation levels of all the other contestants.
As expected, all top 20 disciples from the previous Alchemy Competition had registered. Additionally, about ten were in the late stages of Qi Refining.
Most participants were in the mid to late stages of Qi Refining. Only a few at the third level had come to test their luck or gain experience.
It was clear that getting into the top three among such fierce competition would be incredibly difficult for Chen Jinshu. However, she wasn't without hope. Since matchups were determined by drawing lots, if she only faced opponents of equal strength in the early rounds, she stood a good chance of making it to the top.
This would reduce her chances of facing peak Qi Refining opponents—though such luck wasn't something one could count on. From what she knew about past competitions, it was rare to be matched against disciples from one's own peak. Most fights were between disciples from different peaks.
"Junior Sister! Please release your spiritual pressure! We need to verify exact cultivation levels for the competition. If you've made progress in the past half month, you must report it now!"
Chen Jinshu nodded and released her sixth-level Qi Refining aura.
The senior brother handling registration gave a small nod, took her identity token to record the information, then returned it to her.
"All set."
Chen Jinshu gave a brief nod and swiftly left the hall.
She had heard that registering cultivation levels allowed for better matchup pairing in the early rounds, increasing one's odds of progressing. Of course, this would only help for the first few rounds. Later on, lower-level cultivators could be paired against much stronger ones.
At that point, everything would depend on actual combat strength.
—
Spirit Cuisine Hall.
Not long after leaving the Medicine King Hall, Chen Jinshu was invited by a few senior brothers and sisters.
They had been sent by her master, Shui Huanmeng, since this would be her first time participating in the Grand Outer Sect Competition. She was unfamiliar with many details, so the seniors came to share insights and identify key competitors.
"When our Senior Brother competed, he made it into the top ten—he really brought glory to Medicine King Peak," said Dai Yuzhu.
"Second Senior Brother and Third Senior Sister also made it into the top twenty. Fourth and Fifth Senior Brothers entered the top ten. Sixth Senior Brother placed in the top thirty. As for me, I only made it to the top fifty…" she added a bit sheepishly.
In truth, when Dai Yuzhu had participated, the quality of disciples that year was lower than previous years. Even so, she only managed a top-fifty finish, showing just how intense the competition was.
Chen Jinshu listened with admiration. Her seniors had all made it to the top fifty—an exceptional achievement. Even though Seventh Senior Sister had only reached the top fifty, that year had seen many core disciples come out of seclusion just to test the waters, which greatly raised the difficulty of the competition.
In other words, Dai Yuzhu's performance was actually on par with her fellow seniors.
"Junior Sister, don't pressure yourself too much," said Senior Brother Zheng Shaosi, sensing her lack of confidence. "Back when we joined, most of us had much higher cultivation levels than you. Just do your best."
"Thank you, Senior Brother! I understand. I'll try my best to reach the top fifty, but I'll give it my all to win that Moon Cleansing Pool spot!"
Clenching her fists, Chen Jinshu's gaze became more determined. The spiritual treasure and the Moon Cleansing Pool—she had to win at least one, or her recent efforts would feel wasted.
"You definitely can do it!"
"Good luck!" her senior brothers and sisters all encouraged her.
"Junior Sister has a good chance at the Moon Cleansing Pool spot. The early rounds are mostly between disciples of the same cultivation range. Other late-stage disciples from our peak might be eliminated early."
"Just hold out for the first three rounds. That's when your odds will be highest."
They also began introducing the main competitors vying for the Moon Cleansing Pool reward: Du Yi and Jiang Daoyu, both formidable opponents.
Xie Mofeng explained that Du Yi had long been selected by a Medicine King Peak elder to be a disciple. The Alchemy Competition was just a formality to legitimize it—he had already been secretly trained in advanced techniques.
Jiang Daoyu was a rising star, specializing in swordsmanship and supplementing it with alchemy. He was known for being a rare dual-expert in sword and alchemy, and had inherited a powerful sword technique from a Golden Core elder.
"These two are your biggest threats. But aside from them, the third spot is still up for grabs—and that's your opportunity."
Chen Jinshu had already guessed the likely distribution of the top three spots. Her seniors confirmed her thoughts—the third spot was the uncertain one, and her best shot.
"Also, be especially wary of Ke Jing'an. She's a renowned medicinal cultivator from Medicine King Peak. Her pharmaceutical techniques can both trap and kill."
"A medicine cultivator?" Chen Jinshu blinked in surprise. She hadn't paid attention to Ke Jing'an before, since her past ranking hadn't been high and her cultivation was only at the seventh level.
But to think she was a combat medicine cultivator—that made her a strong and unexpected contender.