Li Taiji's emotional display was, for one, because his disciples had finally recovered and broken free from the influence of corruption.
Although these disciples were not his direct, personal disciples, since they had entered his sect, they shared the bond of master and disciple. Such a bond was not easily severed.
Secondly, Li Taiji was deeply shocked by Chen Xu's heaven-defying comprehension ability.
In just five years, starting from scratch, Chen Xu had actually fully comprehended the Dao principles of corruption.
Although the Dao principles of corruption were not as profoundly mysterious as those of time, space, causality, or fate, as one of the former six special Dao principles, their complexity was certainly near the top.
Yet, for such a top-tier Dao principle, Chen Xu had only taken five years.
Five years! To other Dao Lords, that was barely long enough for a quick nap.
Normally, when Dao Lords meditated on a Dao principle, it would easily take centuries, if not millennia. There had never been a case where someone fully comprehended a Dao principle in a mere five years.
Li Taiji felt that with Chen Xu's terrifying comprehension, perhaps the first Existence Rank expert in the history of the myriad worlds would appear in the not-too-distant future.
As for who that person would be, there was no doubt.
But if Chen Xu knew what Li Taiji was thinking, he would definitely burst into laughter and say:
“Old Li, you've got the wrong guy.”
The only reason he, Chen Xu, could comprehend the Dao principles of corruption so quickly was entirely due to the Hell Armor and his talents, 【Paid Annual Leave】 and 【On Duty】.
Once the Hell Armor's resonance was activated, it constantly radiated the Dao principles of corruption. It was equivalent to the Mother of Hell personally demonstrating them in front of him at all times. Where else could one find such treatment?
If it were any other Dao principle, Chen Xu couldn't say for sure how long it would take him to comprehend it.
But one thing was certain: he would definitely not go into such a secluded meditation to comprehend Dao principles again anytime soon.
Suddenly, the auras of several Martial Dao Lords appeared outside the Universe Daoist Academy.
Extreme Martial, Ten Thousand Beasts, and Star River—the several Dao Lords immediately rushed over upon receiving Li Taiji's message.
“Brother Li, is what you said true?”
The Extreme Martial Dao Lord had an impatient temperament. Without waiting for Li Taiji's invitation, he charged straight into the academy.
Then, he saw the disciples of the Universe Daoist Academy who had just recovered, still sitting cross-legged on the ground, taking medicine and regulating their breathing.
Without another word, the Extreme Martial Dao Lord vanished on the spot, presumably heading back to bring his own people.
“Fellow Daoist Chen, please forgive him. Extreme Martial has always been like this.”
“Haha, it's fine.”
After the Extreme Martial Dao Lord left, the Myriad Beast Dao Lord and the Star River Dao Lord also entered the Universe Daoist Academy.
Seeing the disciples of the Universe Daoist Academy gradually returning to their lively selves, the Myriad Beast Dao Lord said nothing. He simply uncorked the gourd at his waist and tilted it slightly.
In the next instant, one martial artist after another rolled out of the gourd and onto the ground, their bodies radiating a thick aroma of alcohol.
My goodness, he was treating his disciples like medicinal ingredients.
Noticing Chen Xu's shocked expression, the Myriad Beast Dao Lord let out a hearty laugh.
“I must have made a fool of myself in front of you, Fellow Daoist. Unlike Brother Li, who is proficient in the Dao of Yin-Yang balance, I can only use the medicinal power of my Myriad Beast Wine to nourish my disciples' bodies and suppress the aura of corruption.”
On the other side, the Star River Dao Lord took off a planet-shaped jewel from his necklace and gently tossed it upward.
The jewel slowly rose into the air, expanding larger and larger until it reached the size of a normal planet.
Then, a beam of starlight cascaded down, and martial artists were teleported down one by one by the starlight.
By the time both Dao Lords finished deploying their methods and releasing their disciples, the previously vanished Extreme Martial Dao Lord also rushed back.
This Dao Lord's method was, to put it mildly, rather simple. He carried a massive blanket wrapped around tens of thousands of martial artists over his shoulder.
Upon landing, he casually tossed them, and his disciples tumbled onto the ground.
But surprisingly, despite the rough method, the disciples of the Extreme Martial Dao Lord were in the best condition.
This was because every single disciple carried a faint trace of the Extreme Martial Dao Lord's own Dao principles. It was clear that this tough guy also had a soft heart.
Now that all the martial artists had been brought out, Chen Xu did not delay any longer. He flicked his finger, and the demonic face manifested once again.
In the next moment, the corruption on the martial artists was sucked into the demonic face's mouth and completely devoured.
Without the corruption, these martial artists quickly regained consciousness.
Their reactions were similar to those of the Universe Daoist Academy's disciples. They dazed for a moment, and then a series of startled cries erupted.
“Holy crap! Why did my muscles shrink so much?!”
“We're doomed! The Martial Arts Tournament is just around the corner. My cultivation level actually regressed instead of progressing! If I don't get a good rank this time, I won't even be able to stay in the Fingerling Division next term!”
“Martial Arts Tournament?”
Chen Xu was quite interested in this, but Li Taiji grabbed his hand and led him outside.
“Fellow Daoist Chen, tonight we drink until we drop!”
The other Dao Lords joined them.
The grand feast lasted for a full seven days. Cooks from the entire Universe Martial World were summoned to continuously provide food and drinks for the banquet.
During this time, the Dao Lords took turns trying to get Chen Xu drunk, all because he had casually claimed that a thousand cups wouldn't faze him, and ten thousand cups would only whet his appetite.
The result was a Chen Xu who grew more sober the more he drank, and four Martial Dao Lords who became increasingly dazed and worked up.
Li Taiji, in particular, had his entire wine cellar emptied in one go. Chen Xu originally wanted to stop there, but Li Taiji refused to let him off.
The heavily intoxicated Martial Dao Lord went through his disciples starting from his eldest, emptying their personal wine stashes one by one.
And Li Hu, the culprit and accomplice, contributed greatly by precisely pointing out where each personal disciple hid their wine.
By the end, even the personal disciples' reserves were completely depleted, and only then did the Dao Lords finally give up.
The Dao Lords slumped back in their chairs. Since they were drinking for pure enjoyment, none of them used their supernatural abilities, relying solely on their raw physical constitutions to endure the alcohol.
This allowed Chen Xu, who possessed passive talents, to cheat his way to victory.
The alcohol was finished, and Chen Xu was still cleaning up the remaining peanuts fried in a blend of True Dragon oil, Phoenix oil, and Ancient Desolate Bull oil when he suddenly remembered something.
“By the way, Brother Extreme Martial, I heard your disciples talking earlier about preparing for the Martial Arts Tournament. What exactly is this tournament? Do you host it yourself?”
“The Martial Arts Tournament? Well, sort of, but it's not just me. We all host it together. Aside from our Dao Lord-tier martial arts factions, some Eternal Rank martial arts factions also participate.
“It's a grand event for martial artists, similar to the Immortal Dao's Immortal Feasts. Except we martial artists prefer to have a real fight with weapons first.
“Once the fighting is done, we hold the feast.”
Suddenly, the Extreme Martial Dao Lord slapped his forehead, as if remembering something. He stared at Li Taiji with a mischievous grin.
“Brother Li, speaking of which, it's your Universe Martial World's turn to host this term's Martial Arts Tournament, right?”
Li Taiji looked puzzled, not understanding why the Extreme Martial Dao Lord had such a strange look in his eyes.
“Yes, what of it?”
“What of it? Today's feast has completely cleaned out your reserves and your disciples' stashes. For the banquet after the Martial Arts Tournament, don't tell me you're going to serve simple food and no alcohol?”
“Hahaha, Brother Li, even if you run out of wine, don't worry. On the Monkey Planet in my Ten Thousand Beasts Martial World, there's an entire planetary ocean filled with monkey wine. You can have as much as you want.”
“That might be so, but Brother Myriad Beast, your monkey wine is only abundant in quantity; its quality is honestly mediocre.
“If Brother Li needs it, he can take some Starry Wine from my Star River. This wine is brewed from the essence of the sun and moon and the charm of the stars, leaving an endless aftertaste.”
Li Taiji showed no appreciation for their kindness, looking utterly dismissive instead.
“Shoo, shoo! Who says I don't have wine? It's just wine. Even if I have to borrow from Brother Hunyuan, I'll get enough!”
“Hahaha!”
The venue was filled with laughter once again.
After laughing, Chen Xu continued to ask.
“Brothers, could you tell me more about this Martial Arts Tournament?”
“Hahaha, of course, no problem. Hic.”
The Extreme Martial Dao Lord let out a burp and sat up.
“To put it simply, this Martial Arts Tournament is just an arena competition. Anyone at or above the Epic Rank can sign up.
“Based on cultivation levels, it's divided into four divisions: Epic, Legendary, Mythic, and Eternal.”
To make sure Chen Xu understood, the Extreme Martial Dao Lord specifically used the universal realms of the myriad worlds rather than martial arts-specific terms.
“Each division has four rounds of competition. The first round is the qualifiers. The passing condition is simple: defeat a combat puppet of the corresponding realm.
“We all chipped in to custom-order these puppets from a master craftsman.”
“After the qualifiers comes the elimination stage, which uses a points system. During this stage, martial artists can challenge others at will. A win grants two points, a loss deducts one point, and a draw yields zero points.
“A challenge can be rejected, but the one who rejects it will immediately lose one point.
“To prevent malicious point-farming, challenges cannot be repeated against the same opponent.
...
“The third round is the arena match, selecting the top ten strongest to enter the final championship round.
“As for the championship round, I'm sure Fellow Daoist Chen already understands. The winner takes the crown, and the losers still gain valuable combat experience.”
Hearing this, Chen Xu nodded, a concept forming in his mind.
“Brother Extreme Martial, when will this Martial Arts Tournament be held?”
“Uh, if I remember correctly, it seems to be next year?”
Extreme Martial looked at Li Taiji, seeking confirmation.
“Yes, next year. If Fellow Daoist Chen is interested, you are welcome to come to my Universe Daoist Academy to join the grand event.”
“Certainly, certainly.”
Chen Xu agreed verbally, but his mind was on other matters.
A Martial Arts Tournament? It sounded quite interesting. Why didn't he host one himself?
Only martial artists competed in the Martial Arts Tournament. With so many transcendents and power systems in the myriad worlds, why not host the First Grand Assembly of Transcendents of the Myriad Worlds and attract all the transcendents?
At that time, he could broadcast it through the Undead Network. Perhaps he could even completely popularize the Undead Network in one fell swoop.
Chen Xu's eyes lit up, and he slapped the table hard.
“It's decided then!”
Rate on N.U.
