I Have A Cultivation World

Chapter 509: Chapter 351: Reactions from All Sides_1

On Wood God Island, three unique and elegant female cultivators were seated around a pavilion floating atop a lake, sipping their tea.

“I can’t accept that Chen Mobai is ranked ahead of me on the list.”

Having finished reading the Foundation List, Pei Qingshuang, a woman of heroic and elegant bearing, furrowed her sharp brows and slapped the piece of paper onto the tea table.

“I heard from our junior brother Zong that Ding Chundzhi insisted on his opinion, so nobody at the Daoist Academy changed anything. They simply printed it according to his ranking.”

A woman in a green dress, with hair cascading down like a waterfall and a seductive posture, was fiddling with the teaware in her hand. The burgeoning tea leaves shimmered in the teacup, releasing a faintly pleasant aroma as they combined with the boiled water.

“Why isn’t your name on here? If you are first, I would have accepted it, wouldn’t I?”

Pei Qingshuang accepted a cup of clear tea handed to her by Wenren Xuewei, and puzzlingly asked the other female cultivator.

“Because I didn’t participate.”

The cold, snow-skinned Yan Qiongzhi muttered in a low voice.

The three of them, poised on the brink of Core Formation within the upper echelons of the Foundation Establishment realm, maintained an excellent relationship.

“What are you here for, then?”

Pei Qingshuang was slightly taken aback – she initially thought Yan Qiongzhi was here for the same matter.

“I feel that I’ve accumulated enough experience, and I’ve decided to give Core Formation a try, so I came to borrow the rank-5 Water Pulse Spirit Qi from Jumang Daoist Institute.”

Yan Qiongzhi said, leaving Pei Qingshuang furrowing her brows.

“Amongst the three of us, indeed you are the first to take this step. Let me congratulate you in advance.”

“I’m only about forty or fifty percent certain.”

Yan Qiongzhi shook her head, not accepting Pei Qingshuang’s congratulations.

“At least you have the courage to take that step. Unlike me, I have to painfully wait for the Jade Return Pill.”

While Pei Qingshuang was confident in her dueling ability, she wanted to be absolutely certain when it came to Core Formation. Hence, she had also taken up a position in the Immortal Sect and would need to put in sixty years of service.

“What about you? Why are you only ranked seventh? If you used your Lasting Spring Cultivation technique, I probably wouldn’t be a match for you.”

Upon hearing Pei Qingshuang’s puzzled question, Wenren Xuewei gave a slight smile and elegantly picked up the teapot, pouring more for her two good friends.

“It’s just temporary fame. I don’t care about these things.”

“But your fiery personality… This time, the Dance Tool Dao Academy came on strong, sending in three rank-9 Foundation Establishment graduates. Obviously, they are gunning for the first spot.”

Pei Qingshuang pointed at Chi Shicheng, Sun Daoji, and Bian Jingchun, who were ranked in the eighties and nineties on the Foundation List, hinting something.

“Even though the Daoist Academy ranks by overall scores, the world only cares about the person who ranks first. Even if the Dance Tool Dao Academy wins first place in team scores this time, it still cannot change the fact that they are considered weak under certain people’s public opinion manipulation.”

The offline tournament at the Daoist Academy employed a rule where individual scores contributed to team scores.

Each person could choose ten opponents to duel with – each victory adds one point, each loss deducts one point, and a draw scores zero.

Each Daoist Academy forms a team of ten, meaning the maximum score they could accumulate was one hundred points.

The final team rankings were decided by the total team score.

This rule was implemented because even if an exceptional talent like Xiahou Weihuan emerged from another academy, he wouldn’t be able to compensate for the points his teammates lost due to defeat.

The reason for this rule was because the Dance Tool Daoist Academy had a poor run previously, having their individual scores surpassed by the Pure Yang Academy and the Primordial Elemental Academy, hence ending up last in rank.

From then on, the offline exchange tournament became a team competition.

If the quality wasn’t enough, they made up with quantity.

As one of the Four Great Daoist Academies that corralled all the genius cultivators, even the weakest among them had an average strength surpassing that of an academy cultivator.

This invitation for past graduates to join suited Che Yucheng just fine.

Even though the three rank-9 Foundation Establishment cultivators, Sun Daoji, were just average among high-level Foundation Establishment cultivators, they were more than capable of defeating weaker opponents.

If these three used their tactics properly, they could secure at least twenty points.

There’s a possibility they could even get first place in an Inter-Sect College rankings, an honor they hadn’t won in a long time.

However, since the team scores depended on the overall capacity of the Daoist Academy, there had been hardly any fluctuation over the past few decades. Therefore, the public mainly focused on the individual scores.

The Daoist Academy where the person who ranks first in the individual score list belongs to will be considered the number one university in reality.

For instance, the title of first in Kunpeng Daoist Academy was obtained by the previous generation of chiefs like Lan Haitian and Qi Huanzhi.

And this is why other Daoist Academies only send the past year’s chief to make an appearance.

For the Dance Tool Daoist Academy to send three at once, it seemed like they’re showing signs of weakness.

“Should this require a follow-up maneuver?”

Pei Qingshuang glanced ardently at Chen Mobai, the top of the Foundation List, and spoke up.

“If you’re upset about it, just express your feelings. I only need to ensure my individual ranking stays within the top four.”

Wenren Xuewei casually stated her goal for this duel. Jumang Daoist Academy never cared much about rankings. They sought out Ding Chundzhi to establish this list to prepare some prizes in advance.

“I heard from my mother that they have Enlightenment Tea as a prize this time, are you sure you don’t want to aim for it?”