NOVEL NEXT Ch. 24
Chapter 24: The Grand Competition Begins — Laughter Filled the Arena!
In the most remote and inconspicuous corner of the Martial Arena stood a team completely out of sync with the grand and majestic atmosphere of the venue.
That was the team representing the “Ascension Group.”
They numbered over two hundred, almost entirely composed of Chores Courtyard and Outer Sect disciples.
The one with the highest cultivation among them was only at Qi Refining Fifth Level.
What made people burst out laughing, however, was their attire.
They did not wear the uniform sect robes like other teams but instead had on self-sewn, crudely made black short-sleeved combat outfits.
On the back of each outfit, four crooked white-painted characters read — “Ascension Group.”
This appearance made them look less like a team of cultivators participating in the Sect Grand Competition, and more like a group of coal mine bosses from the mortal world taking their miners out for team-building.
“Pfft... What in the world is that? Ascension Group? Are they here to make us laugh?”
“A bunch of chores disciples, and they actually dare to join the Sect Grand Competition? And they even made their own uniforms — afraid others won’t know they’re trash?”
“Hahaha, look at their leader, that Zhang Daniu fellow! He looks like a bear, big and dumb!”
Mocking laughter echoed from every direction.
The members of the Ascension Group — especially those who had joined recently — couldn’t help but lower their heads in shame, their faces flushed red.
“Everyone, stick your chests out!”
Zhang Daniu didn’t care in the least. His bull-like eyes glared around as he barked in a low voice, “The President said, this is called ‘differentiated market positioning’! We need everyone to remember us! Remember, we’re here to ‘advertise,’ not to look cool!”
Just then, the bell tolled.
The Sect Master and the elders appeared on the main stage.
After a few formal words from the Sect Master, the Grand Competition was officially declared open.
According to procedure, each team would go up one by one to display their presence.
When Li Aotian’s team took the stage, thunderous cheers erupted across the arena.
But when the host read out “Ascension Group,” the entire venue went silent for a moment — and then burst into uproarious laughter.
Amid countless mocking gazes, Chu Feng led Zhang Daniu, Wu Hao, and the rest of their two-hundred-strong “black-clad battalion” onto one of the platforms.
Unlike the other teams who displayed their cultivation or magical tools, they, under Zhang Daniu’s lead, stomped their feet in unison, clasped their fists, and shouted at the top of their lungs — the slogan they had practiced countless times during their month of training.
“Ascension Group, going public today!”
“Place your bets, no regrets!”
“Our goal is — no cavities!”
The first two lines still sounded somewhat imposing, but the last one — which Chu Feng had mischievously added — turned the entire crowd into statues of disbelief.
Even the Sect Master on the main stage twitched at the corner of his mouth.
Elder Liu Changqing wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole.
Covering his face, he wailed inwardly,
“My one month of ‘advertising budget’... all for this?”
Li Aotian’s lips curved into a cruel and satisfied grin.
That was exactly the result he wanted.
To make Chu Feng and the Ascension Group the laughingstock of the entire Sect!
After the Ascension Group’s disastrous slogan performance, the mood of the opening ceremony turned strangely awkward.
Every time a new team went up, people whispered, “Do you think their slogan will be worse than the Ascension Group’s?”
Chu Feng had single-handedly derailed the entire Sect Grand Competition’s tone.
He himself, however, looked completely unconcerned.
Leading his team back to their corner, he sat down leisurely, as though he weren’t the one who had just turned the entire arena upside down.
“President, aren’t we... a little too high-profile?”
Wu Hao leaned closer, wiping the cold sweat off his forehead.
On stage just now, he had been so embarrassed he could’ve dug a three-bedroom apartment with his toes.
“Without being high-profile, how can we attract ‘attention’? Without ‘traffic,’ who would see our ‘advertisement’?”
Chu Feng shot him a glance. “Remember, negative fame is still fame. Now tell me — who in the entire Sect doesn’t know the ‘Ascension Group’?”
Wu Hao nodded half-understandingly, his admiration for the President growing even deeper.
On the main stage, the hosting elder coughed twice, trying to steer the event back on track.
“Next, we will begin the drawing ceremony for the first round of the team battles!”
As his words fell, a massive golden orb was brought to the center of the plaza.
The names of all participating teams turned into streaks of light, swirling rapidly inside the orb.
Everyone held their breath.
Especially Li Aotian, whose eyes were fixed on the orb, with only one thought in his heart:
Pick me! Draw Ascension Group!
He couldn’t wait to crush that group of clowns beneath his feet.
He had already decided to break their legs one by one — in the most brutal, most humiliating way possible — right before the entire Sect.
On the Ascension Group’s side, aside from Chu Feng and a few core members, most were sweating nervously.
“Please, don’t let us meet Li Aotian in the first round...”
“Yeah, our tactics haven’t even been tested yet. Facing the final boss right away — how are we supposed to play that?”
Only Zhang Daniu remained full of confidence.
“What’s there to fear? No matter who we face, under the President’s command, we’ll smash them all with one punch!”
“The drawing begins!”
As the host elder gave the command, the streaks of light inside the golden orb paired off in twos, transforming into golden characters that appeared in midair.
“First group: Thunder Hall versus Iron Sword Sect!”
“Second group: Blazing Fire Valley versus Windcloud Society!”
...
Group after group of matchups appeared, and everyone’s eyes searched nervously for the teams they cared about.
Li Aotian’s brows furrowed tighter and tighter.
His name and “Ascension Group” had yet to appear.
“Seventeenth group: Aotian Alliance versus Hundred Herbs Hall!”
Li Aotian froze.
The Aotian Alliance — that was his team’s name.
And Hundred Herbs Hall was another Inner Sect team composed mainly of alchemists, not very strong overall.
Not the Ascension Group, but still a decent “appetizer.”
Li Aotian comforted himself with that thought, glancing disdainfully toward Hundred Herbs Hall’s direction, already sentencing them to death in his mind.
Meanwhile, the members of the Ascension Group all breathed a collective sigh of relief.
“Thank goodness! We didn’t draw Li Aotian!”
“Yeah, we’re lucky!”
Just as they were celebrating, the final few matchups appeared.
“Twenty-fifth group: Ascension Group versus...”
Everyone held their breath once more.
Inside the golden orb, only two names remained — slowly drifting together, merging into one.