◎Second Update: The Fastest to Learn, and Quick to Win◎
The Outer Sect tournament arena was set on the outskirts of the Mountain and Sea Sect, some distance away from the Inner Sect’s dueling platforms. Most spectators here were disciples and teaching elders from each sect’s outer division.
At that moment, the entire audience had fallen silent.
Even the commentaries projected in the sky froze mid-discussion.
On the platform stood elite disciples from the Twelve Sects.
What was going on with Clearwater Sect?
Who was this newly arrived girl?
Ranked 10,125?
“Senior Sister!”
Zhao Keran’s face lit up.
“I just knew you wouldn’t be late.”
She nearly rushed forward to hug Lin Shuang but restrained herself.
“Senior Sister, shall we go up?”
Lin Shuang gently patted her on the forehead and nodded. “Mm.”
She tucked her storybook back into her qiankun pouch and took the lead onto the platform.
Behind her, Zhao Keran, Zhou Xuanwu, Chen Sixin, and the others followed.
What did it matter to be a top three in the outer sect?
What did it matter to be an elite?
Before Lin Shuang—the overseer of Zhenchuan’s 3,000th floor—they dared not walk ahead.
Apologies, but in Clearwater Sect’s outer sect, it was the 10,000th-ranked disciple who called the shots!
[What’s going on?]
“…Senior Brother Zhao, Mountain and Sea Sect is closest to Clearwater Sect. Have you heard of this Lin Shuang before?”
Wandering Blossom Sect’s sweet-voiced commentator, Kong Miaoke, quickly asked.
Zhao Ming looked conflicted. “…Ten thousandth place…”
“She’s actually ranked that low.”
It had to be her, right?
The one who helped him during an encounter outside the sect—Xiao Qi’s target for her fat-burning routine.
[Rank 10,000? Hahahaha! Even Mountain and Sea Sect is stunned.]
[Is this a joke?]
[Like Tian Ji racing horses?]
“Everyone stay calm, I’ll check our Wandering Blossom Sect publication How to Escape a Thousand-Year-Long Single Life: A Directory of Eligible Disciples.”
Kong Miaoke immediately pulled out a scroll.
She infused it with spiritual energy—searching “Lin Shuang.”
[Xiao Ke, are you just promoting your sect’s products again?]
[Can’t breathe from laughter. Six thousand spirit stones, and it’s worth it.]
The commentary buzzed with chatter.
But soon, Kong Miaoke’s expression turned incredulous.
How to Escape a Thousand-Year-Long Single Life: Volume 1 – Analysis of Outer Sect Eligible Disciples from the Twelve Sects
— Lin Shuang, no data found.
— Apologies. As of the book’s publication date, Clearwater Sect’s Lin Shuang ranked below 10,000.
— Disciples ranked below 10,000 were not included in the statistics.
— This is not elitism, but rather due to limited pages and limited energy. The author simply couldn’t account for the tens of thousands of disciples across twelve sects.
[……]
[She’s always been ranked outside the top 10,000??]
[Is Clearwater Sect’s disciple badge malfunctioning?!]
On the dueling platform, aside from Xiao Qi, elite disciples from all sects looked bewildered.
They all stared at the badge on Lin Shuang’s waist.
Even the elder presiding over the tournament and the judges were staring.
Lin Shuang, noticing their gaze, glanced down at her own badge.
To her surprise, “Huh? I remember being ranked 8,999 last time.”
She immediately looked enlightened.
She had missed the outer sect elite selection and training while in Zhenchuan, so other disciples gained merit points and rose in the ranks.
Meanwhile, she remained in Zhenchuan.
And since Zhenchuan was Inner Sect territory, no amount of experience gained there would be credited to her Outer Sect rank.
Her placement had simply dropped back down past the 10,000 mark.
Mystery solved.
Lin Shuang nodded calmly.
[?]
[She actually dropped in rank??]
[Is Clearwater Sect mocking us?!]
“Junior Sister Lin, you came after all,” Xiao Qi said brightly from the Mountain and Sea Sect corner. “Let’s do a fat-burning incense stick’s worth of battle later.”
Lin Shuang smiled in return.
But before she could reply, a clear crane cry rang out overhead.
The Mountain and Sea Sect elder lit the incense.
“Outer Sect Tournament—Begin!”
“First round: Multi-participant arena challenge.”
“Each sect shall have six disciples occupying twelve sections of the dueling stage.”
“Whichever sect finishes their assigned servant tasks fastest will be declared the winner.”
As the elder spoke, the vast dueling platform split into twelve zones. In each appeared spiritual fields to be watered, cauldrons to be scrubbed, and spirit tea sets waiting to be brewed.
Lin Shuang blinked.
Zhao Keran gaped.
[Outer sect tournaments are still this… grounded in practicality.]
[Don’t aim too high. Competing and showing off aren’t the point. In the outer sect, your job is to do chores.]
“Xiao Qi, are you mopping floors or watering the field and pruning spirit flowers?”
In the Mountain and Sea Sect area, Xiao Qi’s face turned dark.
He’d been hoping to battle Lin Shuang.
But this?
This was the tournament?
He stared at the dusty furniture before him, expression sour.
Then he glanced at Lin Shuang’s side—only to see that Clearwater’s six were almost entirely buried by overgrown spiritual weeds.
Stained cauldrons and tea sets were piled up high with ash.
They could barely be seen.
Worse than Mountain and Sea Sect’s situation by far.
[Ten years ago, Clearwater placed third-to-last in the outer sect tournament, tied with Cloudsun Sect.]
[In these tournaments, sects ranked at the bottom begin with harsher starting conditions.]
[Makes sense. If your spiritual roots are weak, you’re assigned the filthiest jobs!]
“Yes, this is the unspoken rule of Donghua’s outer sect circuit—or rather, the cruel truth of cultivation as a mortal.”
Commentator Kong Miaoke’s sweet voice carried a subtle hint of helplessness and ruthlessness.
“Fall behind once, and you’ll fall behind every step of the way.”
“If you want to catch up, you have to put in more effort than your peers.”
“Which outer sect isn’t like that?”
Zhao Ming from Mountain and Sea Sect sighed as well. “Ten years ago, our sect only ranked seventh—didn’t even make it to the second round.”
“The top three were Wandering Blossom Sect, Ten Thousand Monks Sect, and Solemn Inscriptions Sect.”
Soon, the projected screen zoomed in on disciples from these three sects.
Their plots of spiritual land and assigned tasks were noticeably fewer than those of other sects.
Kong Miaoke shook her head. “Seems like once again, the top three will be fighting for first place.”
“Everyone knows: our Wandering Blossom Sect excels in dexterity, the Monks are silent and efficient, and Solemn Inscriptions Sect has formations tailored for servant tasks.”
“In terms of Inner Sect strength, maybe Mountain and Sea can match us. But when it comes to chores, none of the others compare.”
“Look! Our Wandering Blossom disciples have already deployed ‘Wading Through a Hundred Blossoms, Not a Single Petal Stained’ footwork—they’re gliding across the fields.”
“And the monks are no slouch either, silently hard at work…”
The Wandering Blossom commentator clicked her tongue sympathetically.
“Clearwater Sect, Mountain and Sea Sect—excuse us. Perhaps in ten years.”
As she spoke, the projection revealed twelve mountain pavilions meant for spectating.
The largest, most comfortable ones with the best view were held by the top three sects.
Clearwater’s section? Only four or five disciples squeezed together on a single bench. Many hovered in the air on their swords just to watch.
They had to take turns sitting down.
That was the price of being bottom-ranked in the outer sect.
Even their viewing platform was the smallest and shoddiest, with the worst angle of view.
Several disciples clutched their viewing stones with furrowed brows.
Looking up at the arena, they could barely glimpse Zhao Keran’s silhouette.
The viewing stones gave them a better angle.
[We’re on-site but still paying for projection stones… Clearwater Sect’s seating really is terrible.]
[Mountain and Sea never liked Clearwater to begin with. Add in our decades of poor outer sect performance, and this shabby corner is understandable.]
[Wandering Blossom’s pavilion is spacious and even serves tea and snacks.]
Clearwater’s watching disciples looked on helplessly.
Even Senior Brother Xu Rui bit his lip in frustration.
Their four transmission hall instructors had no special accommodations either.
Only Li Daowei stood at the edge of the platform, monitoring the tournament.
What a sigh.
The newly inducted servant disciples of Clearwater Sect had seen their quality decline with each generation.
In the Pill and Artifact Sect, disciples never lacked spirit stones.
Wandering Blossom Sect profited from books, rankings, embroidered robes—attracting attention from many cultivators.
Ten Thousand Monks Sect was constantly surrounded by offerings of incense.
Meanwhile, Mountain and Sea Sect and Clearwater Sect upheld Daoist ideals—pursuing cultivation through simplicity and discipline. Compared to those flashy, revenue-savvy sects, they now seemed rather plain.
The radiance of a century ago had long faded. Talented new disciples rarely came knocking in recent years.
Worse still, with both Clearwater and Mountain and Sea situated near the same regional domains—like the City Lord’s Palace and the Great Wilderness Mountain—these neighbors had spent years fighting over disciples and spiritual springs. Endless disputes, endless internal attrition.
Now, the outer sects of both sects had declined. Even their inner sects were suffering from a lack of top-tier disciples. After decades of battling demonic cultivators, the drain on manpower had only grown.
Senior Brother Xu Rui’s gaze was heavy. He rose on his sword, eyes trained on that far corner of the arena—on the figure cloaked in red cords and green sleeves.
“Look quickly—Wandering Blossom Sect has completed one-third!”
“Ten Thousand Monks Sect is just a step behind, but when it comes to watering flowers and weeding, who could beat our Wandering Blossom Sect!”
Kong Miaoke laughed.
But in the next moment, her expression froze.
A gust of wind swept across the dueling platform. Amidst the blooming spring light, a sudden rain began to fall—silent threads slicing through the deep red spirit flowers.
Each droplet shimmered like taut strings—clear, continuous, and sharp.
They passed cleanly through tangled vines and foliage, slicing straight downward.
They soaked into the dried-out soil.
They streamed over dusty cauldrons.
They pooled and spilled gently, flowing straight into the open beaks of waiting spirit cranes.
Tens of thousands of rainlines fell in unbroken chains.
As though the sky had been washed clean, golden spring sunlight slanted down.
The spiritual fields were soaked down to the roots—perfectly watered.
All weeds were cleared; the blossoms glistened.
The cauldrons sparkled, spotless.
The spirit cranes fluffed their feathers and bathed in delight.
Beautiful.
No—fast.
So much had been done in one move!
Had Wandering Blossom Sect finished this already—?
No. Then why were their disciples’ clothes soaked?
“Ah!”
While Kong Miaoke stood dumbfounded, a crisp voice called out from the far corner of the platform.
“Oops, I just came out of closed-door training and forgot this isn’t the hundred-acre wheat field in Li Family Village.”
“One move… and I overdid it!”
“Wait—Elder of the Mountain and Sea Sect—if I finished the chores for all twelve sectors, that’s okay, right…?”
[???]
[!!!]
[???]
On the projection, Wandering Blossom Sect’s previously confident Kong Miaoke now wore a stupefied look.
[Wandering Blossom commentator, quick—switch the feed to the speaker!]
[In three breaths, I want to see who said that!?]
Soon, a nervous voice cut through the scene—Mountain and Sea Sect’s commentator, Zhao Ming.
“Everyone, something’s happened.”
“Our sect and the elders from each faction need to urgently confer.”
“If Clearwater Sect takes first place… what about everyone else?”
“None of the other sects completed the first round!”
In the first round, only the top six were supposed to move on to the next stage.
[???]
[?]
[……!?]
[??? Clearwater Sect completed sectors one through twelve?]
[What? Say that again—Clearwater took first, and no one else placed???]
Clatter clatter—
The projection picked up the sounds of storage pouches and items falling to the ground.
They came from disciples watching in person on the mountaintop—shocked out of their seats.
Even the spirit melon seeds in their hands were spilling to the floor.
Author’s Notes:
Master Zhao’s Journal, Entry 48:
“The fastest tournament in the history of the Twelve Sects. So fast, all twelve placements belong to me.”
—Spectating disciples: …
—Wandering Blossom Sect: …
—Ten Thousand Monks Sect: …
Don’t miss the previous chapter! It has introductions to several of the other sects—very important~
Whoosh! Outer sect tournament: complete.
Originally, I planned to end today’s update with Lin Shuang’s cool entrance.
But I thought—why not spoil my readers a little more? So here’s 3,000 extra words.
See you tomorrow~