Damned Healer

Chapter 767 767: Path Of Inner Cultivation

On the mountain, after some discussion, the cultivators nearby started secretly paying attention to Darian and his group. They began considering the possibility of admitting defeat in advance if they ran into those people in the second round. After all, it wasn't worth risking their lives if they didn't have confidence.Step by step, those 87 youths kept climbing at a steady and uninterrupted pace.

Gildor and the three Queens felt like their hearts were about to jump out of their chests; their eyes didn't even blink as they stared at them climbing the stairs.

...

...

"YES!!!"

Veyra roared at the top of her lungs. Beside her, the two Queens also threw away their composure, their eyes trembling. They had never felt such overwhelming emotion before.

At the very top, Darian reached the checkpoint, quickly arriving at the mountain gate. Right behind him, all 86 disciples also crossed the finish line.

They entered just after the disciples from the top 10 organizations. Darian could have forced everyone to go faster, but even if they arrived first, it wouldn't mean anything at all. It was enough just to pass within the top 1000.

The main point was hiding their true capability. He felt that among the 500 who arrived ahead of them, there were many trying to hide their own strength. These cultivators didn't want to reveal their power and attract attention too early. But of course, they couldn't be too slow either, or they'd end up being ridiculed.

When Darian's group arrived in a hall inside the mountain, 500 figures stared at them intensely. They measured them seriously and, seeing the symbols on their chests, knew exactly where they came from. But… that was absolutely unexpected.

Who knew how long it had been since the Bakunawa Abyssal Triarchy or the Golden Crow Sect had gotten even a single person into the top 1000. And now all of them?

Many were stunned, but not all. A group of fifty figures watched Darian and the others more calmly.

They were all humanoid with ordinary sizes, and had a pair of small, yellowish wings that looked ethereal and magical. Their eyes were red, and they all wore very little clothing, showing skin covered with pulsating black and yellow markings.

A mystical aura surrounded them naturally, as if they were one with the laws of the world. Darian's gaze turned toward them; they were the Dire Feys.

Obviously, that Elder Fey had told everything that happened during the Healers of Heaven Sect event to the Yinblood Sect. Earlier, Darian had felt that she understood a bit of his true identity. So those youths had already been warned about him.

Right behind Darian, all 86 had blank looks on their faces. They still hadn't processed that all of them had passed. It felt like they were inside an illusion.

"Relax," Darian's voice suddenly sounded. At that moment, everyone's eyes changed.

Every single one of them almost collapsed with joy. But they didn't dare make much noise, since they were standing in front of the 500 greatest geniuses of the universe.

Outside, young cultivators were falling from the sky like flies, turning into pulp of blood without mercy.

All of them had been called geniuses and had been pampered and protected their whole lives within their organizations. But now, they died miserably while their Elders watched from afar in sorrow.

"I have to do this!" a young woman roared as she climbed the steps.

Many figures on the mountain clenched their fists, their hearts trembling with nervousness. At that point, anyone still there was already very close to the end.

But they could already feel it was almost impossible to keep climbing, much less climb faster. If they tried, they would suffer the same fate and be thrown to their deaths.

"We'll make it!"

Someone roared, but right after that, he was struck by the energy current and thrown into the air. Several others followed him in the fall. Some of them, even after being hit, managed to activate everything they had and land back on the staircase.

Then they stood up and crawled forward again.

There were also those who got hit once and gave up. And there were even those who hadn't been hit at all but still turned around and quit, because they knew they definitely wouldn't pass.

Minutes passed slowly. At that moment, figures covered in blood appeared at the finish line. As soon as they confirmed they had succeeded, they all rolled their eyes and fainted.

The young talents from the top 10 who had been there for a while looked at those newcomers with disdain; most had a trace of contempt in their eyes.

Meanwhile, the 86 all looked at Darian, who gave a small nod. Then they ran to the fallen ones, supporting them and making them swallow some healing pills.

All of them knew how hard it was to come from a low place and reach that point. They had climbed the mountain easily now, but during the last 19 months, they had nearly died many times and had ended up in states far worse than the people lying there now.

For a desperate hope, it was necessary to bet everything one had and dedicate body and soul to it. After all, that was the path of inner cultivation.

There were countless cultivators in the universe, but in the end, only a handful of them managed to reach the very peak. To reach that stage, they needed perseverance, talent, but also opportunity.

But those lucky opportunities could only be seized by those who were prepared; otherwise, those chances meant nothing.

...

An hour passed quickly.

At that moment, the mountain steps lit up. A spatial force covered everyone standing on the steps at the same time. In the next second, people found themselves already on the ground.

"NO!"

Many cries of lament echoed. Thousands of them had been able to see the finish point just a few steps above moments ago, but now everything was lost. It was the end.

"The thousand winners have already been decided!"

The voice of the Chromaraic woman echoed throughout the city. Then she waved her hand, and countless shining runes gathered in the sky.

Everyone on the ground looked up and saw names forming into a list. There were one thousand names.

Gildor and the three Queens, even knowing the result, still stared at those 87 names in complete disbelief. Their hearts pounded wildly, and their fists clenched tightly.

There was no surprise for anyone among the first five hundred. Then people began reading the names from the lower part of the list; besides each name, the organization they belonged to was written next to it.

Right at position 501 was Darian's name, followed by everyone from his group in order.

"What? How is that possible!" Several Elders and disciples on the ground exclaimed in disbelief when they saw those names.

From that day on, the Golden Crow Sect and the Bakunawa Abyssal Triarchy would become the most talked-about and discussed names across the entire universe.

At that moment, space hummed, and the thousand winners appeared on the ground. Everyone stood upright, many with proud looks on their faces.

That Spiritual Demon from before was among the thousand, along with several other figures whose cold gazes and intentions Darian could feel directed at him.

Darian reflected calmly. Why did people besides the Spiritual Demon hate him? Simple, those people came from organizations that had tried to steal his things at the Healers of Heaven Sect before.

The leaders of those powers knew their disciples could never compete with him, so no one had permission to attack him. If they happened to face him in battle, they would immediately surrender. But…

The other 86 youths were another story. They felt they could target those people, and they didn't hesitate to do so. As for Darian, they were certain the youths from the universe's top 10 could deal with him.

What would they gain from that?

It was a long-term gain. They imagined Darian had handed those things he obtained to the Golden Crow Sect and the Bakunawa Abyssal Triarchy. So their goal was to undermine the younger generation of those two organizations. That way, it would take them longer to produce truly powerful figures, giving them time to pressure those mid-level powers until they managed to steal their things.

It was a huge surprise that they had managed to reach this level with their disciples in such a short time. But they were still young, making them easy targets.

At that moment, the voice of the beautiful Chromaraic echoed again. "Everyone, return and rest. In exactly 24 hours, at the Rainbow Heaven Mountain arena, the battle to decide the top 100 will take place!"

After speaking, she entered the flying boat and disappeared completely.

Like rays of light, Gildor and the Queens appeared around the large group.

"Master…" Vymara and the other two murmured, their eyes full of tears.

The Queens took a deep breath and gestured for everyone to quickly return to the residence in the city. They didn't want to make a scene there in front of everyone.

In a short time, the residence that had once been assigned to one of the worst organizations in the Celestial Tournament had now become the center of attention of the entire universe.

Inside, shouts of celebration exploded without hesitation. Everyone laughed and celebrated euphorically.

Darian was the only one who didn't join; he said goodbye and went into his room, preparing for the next day. Seeing how serious he was, everyone talked and celebrated for only a few hours before calming down a little.

Now that they were in the top 1000, they would definitely give their best in pursuit of the dream of reaching the top 100. To achieve that, they could only rely on themselves now. They would fight one-on-one, and the entire universe would watch their battles.

At some point, all the disciples had already gone to their rooms. No one was overly anxious; in fact, they strongly wished the next day would arrive quickly so they could finally fight with everything they had.

...

The hours passed quickly. At that moment, the city that had previously been quiet and occupied only by the participants of the Tournament changed completely. People from all over the universe filled the entire planet and quickly moved toward the arena.

To be able to enter and watch live, everyone there was a big figure from the greatest sects of the universe. Euphoria and excitement spread everywhere.

At that moment, Darian and his entire group stepped out of the residence. Outside, they immediately felt countless gazes fixating on them.

Everyone froze for a moment. Darian, however, took calm steps forward.

"Let's go."