I Can Upgrade My Talent Infinitely-Chapter 118: Round Rewards

"That stout-looking elder is the second-in-command of Battle Peak, and also my master, Elder Feng Tianrui..."

The first person Bai Qinying introduced to Fang Yun was her master.

Now Fang Yun understood why Bai Qinying hadn’t made an issue of things earlier. It was because her master had appeared.

’Her master is the number two figure on Battle Peak, and her grand-uncle is the number one figure on Dan Cloud Peak.’

’Senior Sister Bai’s background is quite formidable.’

As Bai Qinying made the introductions, Fang Yun nodded along, lost in his own thoughts.

The three Elders who appeared here today were the top three figures of Battle Peak.

"...This last one, Elder Miao Qinghong, is the Management Elder of Battle Peak and also a Sword Cultivator."

"Sword Dao Foundation Establishment," Fang Yun couldn’t help but remark upon hearing this.

"That’s right," Bai Qinying nodded.

"How many Sword Cultivation Elders does our Celestial Cloud Sect have?"

"Just this one."

’So, of the two men and one woman, the female cultivator who looked the youngest was the most powerful. Of course, her appearance didn’t necessarily reflect her actual age.’

’It wasn’t appropriate to ask about such things.’

’In the Cultivation World, appearances were the most deceptive; someone who looked young could easily be several hundred years old.’

After Bai Qinying’s introductions, Fang Yun had a general understanding of the three Elders from Battle Peak.

The one Bai Qinying described in the most detail was, naturally, her master, Feng Tianrui.

"Junior Brothers and Sisters, let’s head over."

"Alright."

The three Elders were already standing on the stone platform, and all the Inner and Outer Sect Disciples present began to gather around it.

Among the Elders, Bai Qinying’s master stood at the forefront, and it was he who would give the opening speech.

"The Inner Sect Grand Tournament, held once every three years..."

There had been some chatter among the disciples, but as soon as Feng Tianrui began to speak, the surroundings fell silent. Even without using Spiritual Power, his voice was exceptionally clear.

’The three Elders’ speeches are pretty similar to the ones those leaders used to give back in my school days in my past life.’

’I’m not very interested in this stuff, but I have no choice but to listen quietly.’

Of the three Elders on the stage, the Sword Cultivation Elder, Miao Qinghong, spoke last, and she also said the least.

After they had all taken a turn, Bai Qinying’s master once again stepped to the front.

"...Next, I will announce the rewards for this Inner Sect Grand Tournament."

Hearing the word "rewards," Fang Yun immediately perked up.

"All who advance to the second round will receive a reward of twenty Lower-grade Spirit Stones. The reward for the third round is fifty Lower-grade Spirit Stones, and for the fourth round, one hundred Lower-grade Spirit Stones."

"For advancing to the fifth round, in addition to a reward of one hundred Lower-grade Spirit Stones, you may also go to the Artifact Pavilion on Artifact Casting Peak and choose any Upper-grade Magical Artifact."

"If you can break into the sixth round, you will receive an additional two hundred Lower-grade Spirit Stones on top of the fifth-round rewards."

Three hundred Lower-grade Spirit Stones. Fang Yun couldn’t help but nod. ’That reward is decent, I guess. Not great, but decent. After all, the sixth round is the top eight.’

"Next are the rewards for the top four."

"Fourth place: five hundred Lower-grade Spirit Stones, plus one Top-grade Magical Artifact."

Fang Yun’s eyes lit up slightly. ’Starting from fourth place, the quality of the rewards takes a huge leap.’

’Especially the upgrade from an Upper-grade to a Top-grade Magical Artifact.’

"Third place: eight hundred Lower-grade Spirit Stones, and also one Top-grade Magical Artifact."

"Second place: one thousand Lower-grade Spirit Stones, one Top-grade Magical Artifact, and one Lower-grade Foundation Establishment Pill." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

As Feng Tianrui said this, the breathing of the disciples below the platform grew heavier.

You didn’t even need to be first; second place was enough to get a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Theoretically, with enough luck, even a disciple who wasn’t very strong could get second place.

They would just have to face weak opponents all the way, who themselves had only faced even weaker opponents before.

The odds of this happening were terrifyingly low, and it was all predicated on your own strength being above average to begin with. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be enough weak disciples to go around.

However, disciples strong enough to reach the fifth round could actually entertain the thought; for them, it was a real possibility.

When Fang Yun heard "Lower-grade Foundation Establishment Pill," he had no reaction. With his Five Spirit Roots, he needed a Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pill; a Lower-grade one was of little use to him.

"And for the first-place reward."

At this point, Feng Tianrui paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping over Bai Qinying below the platform.

"One thousand Sect Contribution Points, one Top-grade Magical Artifact, and one Middle-grade Foundation Establishment Pill!"

’The Spirit Stones were replaced with Contribution Points, and the Lower-grade Foundation Establishment Pill was upgraded to a Middle-grade one.’

Fang Yun noticed that when announcing the first-place prize, Feng Tianrui glanced in their direction.

’This first-place prize is tailor-made for Senior Sister Bai Qinying. It really pays to have connections.’

Bai Qinying was third on the Inner Sect Ranking, and since the first and second-ranked disciples had already failed Foundation Establishment once, they weren’t eligible to participate in the Inner Sect Grand Tournament.

Fang Yun wasn’t particularly envious of Bai Qinying, however.

Because as long as he performed well enough, Elder Bai Heyan had hinted that he would help him obtain a Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pill.

"The first-place prize is a Middle-grade Foundation Establishment Pill! This has to be the best reward for the Inner Sect Grand Tournament in recent years."

"First place requires real, solid strength. It’s out of reach for us."

"You’re right. Instead of dreaming about the first-place prize, we should be thinking about second place."

After Feng Tianrui finished announcing the rewards, he took a step back, and the disciples below the platform began to whisper amongst themselves.

It was normal for this kind of reaction to occur when the rewards were announced.

The three Elders let them talk.

"Junior Brother Fang, are you tempted by these rewards?" Bai Qinying asked, nudging Fang Yun lightly.

"Very tempted, especially by the Spirit Stones and Contribution Points," Fang Yun admitted honestly.

Other than the Spirit Stones and Contribution Points, he wasn’t too concerned about the Upper-grade or Top-grade Magical Artifacts, or even the Foundation Establishment Pills.

Unless a Top-grade Foundation Establishment Pill was on offer—that would be a different story for Fang Yun.

"What about the Top-grade Magical Artifacts?" Bai Qinying asked, confused.

Bai Qinying understood Fang Yun’s attitude toward Lower- and Middle-grade Foundation Establishment Pills; she had even discussed it with her grand-uncle.

But as far as she knew, Fang Yun didn’t have a Top-grade Magical Artifact yet.

"Senior Sister Bai, I think I know what you’re thinking," Fang Yun added by way of explanation. "For an Artifact Refiner, crafting a Top-grade Magical Artifact is nothing to brag about."

"Junior Brother... don’t tell me you Artifact Refiners take pride in *not* using Top-grade Magical Artifacts."

"It’s not that extreme..." Fang Yun shook his head.

Once his Combat Talent leveled up to three stars, he would also reach the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining. At that point, he planned to craft a Lower-grade Spiritual Artifact for himself.

As for a Top-grade Magical Artifact, for him, it would only be a very brief transitional item. Plus, since he was an Artifact Refiner himself, he wasn’t tempted by it.

"Rewards aside, just advancing through more rounds in the Inner Sect Grand Tournament is an honor in itself," Fang Yun said.

"You’re right," Bai Qinying nodded in agreement.

After giving the disciples below the stage enough time to discuss, Feng Tianrui once again stepped to the front of the stone platform.