“Why is that?” frowned Long Chen.

“These missions can only be given out once the first Faction Competition is over. We only allow you to see the missions and rewards to give you guys a reminder.

“Within the monastery, the competition is extremely intense. If you want to obtain more resources than others, you’ll need to put in one hundred percent of your effort.

“The Faction Competition is a fight over the mission priorities. You’ll only receive missions in accordance to your ranking.

“If your faction comes in first, the points from the missions you’ll receive will number in the hundreds of thousands.

“If I were to make an analogy, these missions are like beef noodle soup. First place will come and take all the big pieces of meat. Only then can second place come and take the smaller pieces. As for third place, they’ll probably only end up with some leftover ground meat and noodles.

“The rest is also distributed in accordance to the ranking. As for last place, there won’t even be soup for them to drink. They’ll only be able to lick the bowl.” That woman explained it all in one go to Long Chen.

They were all disciples from the previous generation and had personally experienced that cruel competition. So they also deeply sympathized with these new disciples who had just arrived.

“So the start is extremely important. During the first Faction Competition, you must absolutely get a good ranking. It is the most important. Although the Faction Competition occurs once a month, if you’re unable to obtain a good spot in the first month, then the distance between you and the first place will only increase. That distance will only continue to grow larger each month, and it is extremely difficult to catch up,” she warned.

Long Chen gratefully nodded. After saying his thanks to her, he began walking back to the faction.

That senior apprentice-sister’s words were absolutely correct. The first Faction Competition was extremely important. Everyone started at the same starting line, but if they allowed others to take the lead, it would be extremely difficult to catch up.

That first step would allow them to receive more points and buy more resources, increasing the entire power level of the faction.

Then by the next competition, the distance would have only grown. If you were once more surpassed, it was practically certain that you would never be able to catch up.

It was unfortunate that he still didn’t know what kind of form the Faction Competition would take. Otherwise, if he could come up with some kind of good strategy, they would also get an advantage.

Long Chen had just been walking with his head down when a figure suddenly rushed over. He instinctively dodged to the side.

But that figure still crashed onto Long Chen. That person’s force was so great that being caught off guard, Long Chen was sent flying.

He only managed to stabilize himself dozens of meters away. His fury ignited, as he clearly knew that person had done that on purpose.

Looking forward, he saw a tall, large man who was completely bald icily looking at him. That person was a whole head taller than Long Chen. His huge arms were bare with many veins crawling over them, emitting an explosive strength like a volcano that contained endless power.

His arms were also covered with tattoos that were extremely crude. Standing there, he was like an unshakable iron tower.

Behind that bald man were three others. One of them had a powerful aura and was indifferently looking down on Long Chen.

As for the other two, Long Chen recognized them. They were surprisingly Lei Qianshang and Qi Xin. The two of them were smiling at Long Chen’s misfortune.

“This is the monster amongst monsters you told me about?” the bald man asked Lei Qianshang.

“Yes, but don’t underestimate him. Although he’s only in the late Blood Condensation realm, he wouldn’t be inferior to an outer disciple who is in the Tendon Transformation realm. He might even be a bit stronger.”

That bald man shook his head. “Having just advanced to the late Blood Condensation realm, his physical body is not bad. However, his cultivation base is too trash, not even worth looking at. Let’s go.”

That bald man directly walked right in front of Long Chen as if he didn’t see him. Either Long Chen would get out of the way, or there would be a fight.

Despite being shaken by this bald man’s power, that arrogance from the depths of his soul would not let him back down.

Although he clearly knew this person had to be even stronger than Lei Qianshang, he was unable to accept such humiliation.

Indifferently looking at this bald man, he slowly raised a hand. The Pill Flame in his body began to circulate, preparing to come out at any moment.

Seeing Long Chen actually refused to step aside and had taken a fighting stance, that bald man sneered, actually directly charging over, his aura exploding.

“Who dares be so impudent in a fighting-prohibited region?”

Suddenly, a shout rang out that made the bald man come to a step. He turned to see that a white-robed man was indifferently looking at them.

That man’s robes were those of a law enforcer, and his powerful aura was one that he didn’t dare look down on.

Long Chen was startled, as this person was actually someone he recognized, senior apprentice-brother Wan.

Seeing senior apprentice-brother Wan, that bald man only sneered lightly. Although he looked down on these people who were at the bottom of their generation, he didn’t retort.

He said to Long Chen, “Brat, next time you block my way, I’ll crush you to pulp.”

The bald man walked around Long Chen, followed by the other three. From the way they went, it seemed that they were going to the Xuantian pavilion to buy things.

Once those people left, senior apprentice-brother Wan smiled slightly to Long Chen. “Let’s walk for a bit. I have some things I want to say to you.”

Long Chen was surprised, not expecting the serious senior apprentice-brother Wan to look after him like this. Not only had he driven away the bald man, but he was also staying with him for a while.

“Many thanks, senior apprentice-brother Wan.” Long Chen cupped his fists, grateful to him.

His intuition told him that the bald man was extremely terrifying, even more powerful than Lei Qianshang and Qi Xin. He, who was not even in the Tendon Transformation realm, was not a match for him.

That infuriated him. If he had also advanced to the Tendon Transformation realm, how could he be so inferior to them?

“Looking at you, I’m reminded of myself three years ago. I was full of confidence back then. But people should sometimes know how to yield. That’s not weakness but simply strategy. Don’t try to be brave when you are weak, or the person who will be injured is yourself.” Senior apprentice-brother Wan chatted as they walked.

Long Chen smiled bitterly, “I also understand senior apprentice-brother Wan’s reminder. But unfortunately, I just can’t control myself. I would rather die than accept humiliation.”

Long Chen knew that was the influence of his Pill Sovereign memories. He simply refused to accept any humiliation. Asking him to accept humiliation was an even worse punishment than being killed.

If it were the past Long Chen, he would definitely have avoided that kind of situation as best as he could. To forcibly face someone who he wasn’t a match for wasn’t bravery, but stupidity. That was asking for death.

But although he understood this, he was unable to completely control the arrogance that came from the depths of his very soul. That arrogance would not let him yield to anyone.

Senior apprentice-brother Wan nodded, “That has to do with a person’s willpower. I can’t say whether that is good or bad. But let me give you one reminder.

“Your current cultivation base is the lowest within the entire monastery. Your realm is far too low.

“That person just now is Gu Yang. He has an innate, powerful strength. His physical body is inconceivably strong, and with his powerful combat strength, he has never met an equal within the same realm.

“More importantly, he revived his ancestral mark before entering the monastery. The power of his bloodline inheritance has already become part of his power. His strength is already beyond your imagination.”

Long Chen was shocked that he had awakened his ancestral mark before joining the monastery. Such a powerful person had definitely joined the monastery for the Ten Thousand Beast Essence Blood. Now that his physical body had reached an even higher level of perfection, wouldn’t he be even stronger than Tang Wan-er?

“Your generation of disciples is the strongest generation in the history of the monastery. Few generations have a genius who can awaken their ancestral mark.

“But this time there were four. Other than Tang Wan-er and Ye Zhiqiu who you know, there’s also the Gu Yang you just encountered.

“There’s also another person named Guan Wennan. His strength is terrifying, and he’s extremely arrogant and coldhearted. You should be more careful.

“I tell you this in order to remind you that when one hundred flowers bloom at once, there is no one who doesn’t want to be the lead.

“But you also know that there is just one lead. The competition will be extremely intense, and success in the first Faction Competition is crucial.”

“Many thanks, senior apprentice-brother Wan for your warning. Junior disciple will remember it.” Senior apprentice-brother Wan’s words were the exact same as that senior apprentice-sister from the Mission Distribution building.

“I look favorably on you. Good luck.” Senior apprentice-brother Wan patted Long Chen on the shoulder and then left.

Long Chen walked back to the immortal cave alone. Tang Wan-er and Qing Yu were still in their meditative states. That was a good sign.

Three days later, it was Tang Wan-er who was the first to wake up. After awakening, her aura had become completely stable.

It no longer leaked out like before. She had begun to control her own explosive aura. In other words, her realm had already completely stabilized.

Long Chen told her about what had happened in the Mission Distribution building as well as the matter of Gu Yang, giving her a fright.

She hadn’t expected that there were two others who had also awakened their ancestral marks. And one of them had even awakened it before her and Ye Zhiqiu.

“Wan-er, I still have a great deal of Jade Butterfly Queen Bee Crystal. You should distribute it to everyone so that they can all cultivate faster.

“Furthermore, also send some to Ye Zhiqiu. Since we are in an alliance, we’ll all be one family. Their strength is also our strength.

“I’m thinking of buying some more medicinal ingredients and refining some Tendon Firming Pills for her side as well. Ugh, if I had known earlier, I wouldn’t have let them go and buy those trash medicinal pills.” Long Chen couldn’t help but feel a bit regretful that he had forgotten about such an important thing.

By the time Long Chen had thought of it, they had already bought them. Sometimes, he really felt that his head wasn’t smart enough.

That very day, Tang Wan-er bought more medicinal ingredients, and Long Chen refined them into pills. His pills were all high grade, and so they could allow them to stabilize their realms even faster. For the first Faction Competition, spending a couple of extra points to save some more time was definitely worth it.

Once all their people had stabilized their cultivation bases, Long Chen had people spar with each other. Only in real combat could people become accustomed to their strength the fastest.

Their side had gotten at least ten more days than other people, giving them enough time to adapt to their cultivation bases. They would be able to fight with much more strength than others.

Under practically day and night training, the time quickly flew by. One month quietly passed before they knew it.

DONG!

A loud bell rang out, reaching every corner of the Xuantian Monastery. Long Chen slowly opened his eyes from his rest.

“The Faction Competition has started.”