Chapter 213: Chapter 203: Internal Tournament (Part 1)
Zhao Lin hurried forward, trying to get a better look at whatever was flying, but it had already left the range of his echolocation and vanished in the blink of an eye.
"What incredible speed!"
"Was that a hawk or an owl?"
Zhao Lin stopped, looking at the pitch-black forest, and pursed his lips.
According to the feedback from his echolocation, the creature didn’t seem to flap its wings, but instead shot straight through the air.
It was also much larger than a typical bird, with a body shaped somewhat like a cat’s.
"Strange. What could fly that fast?"
Zhao Lin muttered to himself, standing in place and listening for a while.
Although he was puzzled, it was too late, so he didn’t investigate further. Instead, he returned to his residence, shut the door and windows, and went to bed.
For the next few days, he ran a lap around Ancient Rock Mountain every day, patrolling the area. He found nothing out of the ordinary and gradually put his mind at ease.
’It was probably just a large bird, and I happened to catch it while it was gliding.’
...
「In mid-October, Zhao Lin returned to the Inner Court.」
Originally, the first day of each month was the day for the Inner Court’s assessment competition, but it was canceled this month because of another, more important event: the Inter-Sect Tournament.
Great Yue had three great sects: the Xingyun Sect, the Li Yang Sect, and the Southern Suppression Sect.
The young martial artists qualified to participate in the Martial Arts Assembly all came from these three great sects.
To help their disciples accumulate practical combat experience, the three great sects held an Inter-Sect Tournament every three years, a few months before the Martial Arts Assembly.
The so-called Inter-Sect Tournament was where disciples from the three sects sparred with each other.
Disciples from the same sect were too familiar with one another, and their martial arts came from the same lineage. When they sparred, it was easy to fall into predictable patterns, which would put them at a great disadvantage during the Martial Arts Assembly.
Only by sparring with unfamiliar opponents from different schools could one learn from their strengths to shore up one’s weaknesses and absorb new techniques.
The Inter-Sect Tournament had a history of over a hundred years. The three great sects took turns hosting it, and this year, it happened to be the Xingyun Sect’s turn to play host. This also saved the Inner Court disciples the trouble of a long journey.
Having been in the Inner Court for a long time, Zhao Lin had heard a little about the origins of the Great Yue Dynasty’s three great sects.
Since ancient times, there were nine military garrisons in the Central Plains, guarding the empire’s borders. With the rise of the martial path, these garrisons lost their original status. They were successively downsized and consolidated into three major garrisons, which eventually evolved into the three great sects.
The Southern Suppression Sect was in the south, the Xingyun Sect in the north, and the Li Yang Sect was located on the western frontier.
The Great Yue Dynasty funneled all its resources and manpower to the three great sects to cultivate talented martial artists.
This was also why Yongning City in Yan Province, despite being on the frontier, was a large, populous, and bustling metropolis.
"The people from the Li Yang Sect and the Southern Suppression Sect arrived yesterday. They’ve been settled in the courtyard residences on the back mountain..."
Yang Lin gathered the top twelve disciples of the Inner Court at Hongrong Pavilion. With a solemn expression, he said, "Although this Inter-Sect Tournament is an internal competition for the sects of Great Yue, its importance is by no means small!"
"I have been in charge of the Inner Court for over two years and have made many changes. I’ve heard much opposition from within the sect, with people saying I’m recklessly altering old systems and just trying to be unconventional."
"Heh... I, however, do not see it that way. But words alone are meaningless. The actual results will be revealed in this Inter-Sect Tournament."
"I hope all of you will display your strengths to the fullest, use one hundred percent of your abilities, and help me vindicate myself!"
The disciples, sitting in a circle around Yang Lin, all responded loudly in agreement.
"Rest assured, Headmaster, we understand."
"Yes, we will do our utmost."
Yang Lin’s gaze swept over everyone’s faces, finally landing on Zhao Lin. He said calmly, "Zhao Lin, all of your senior and junior brothers here have participated in the previous Inter-Sect Tournament. You are the only one for whom this is the first time. Do you have any questions?"
Zhao Lin thought for a moment and asked, "Headmaster, how many people from Great Yue participate in the Martial Arts Assembly, and how are the slots distributed among the three great sects?"
Yang Lin laughed heartily and said, "Good! You’ve hit on the key point."
After a moment of contemplation, he said, "The distribution of these slots is both complex and simple."
"In short, whichever nation is stronger gets to send more people to the Martial Arts Assembly."
"Specifically, it’s based on the overall performance rankings of each nation from the last three Martial Arts Assemblies. For example, how many people made it into the top thirty-two? How many into the top sixteen... and so on. The higher the rank, the greater the weight."
"Finally, the rank counts are tallied up, and the slots are allocated to each nation accordingly."
He then sighed. "Great Yue has not performed well in recent assemblies. Our ranking has slipped to third, so now we only have thirty-two slots, a far cry from the top two, Wuzhu and Weizi."
Zhao Lin’s heart stirred. ’Isn’t this similar to how slots are allocated in the UEFA Champions League?’
’The strongest leagues get the majority of the slots, while the weaker leagues only have one or two teams eligible to participate.’
’I never thought the rules of the Martial Arts Assembly would be so similar to the cup competitions from my past life.’
He heard Yang Lin continue, "By the same rules, the three great sects of Great Yue divide these thirty-two slots."
"Each sect gets roughly ten people, but which sect gets more and which gets fewer depends on the results of the last Martial Arts Assembly and this Inter-Sect Tournament."
"So, the Inter-Sect Tournament is also a test of the strength of each sect’s disciples. If we perform well, we might be able to fight for one or two more slots. If we perform poorly, then we’ll have to reduce our numbers."
"In recent years, the Li Yang Sect has had a slight edge. They took twelve slots in the last Martial Arts Assembly, while my Xingyun Sect and the Southern Suppression Sect each had ten."
Hearing this, the expressions of the two disciples ranked eleventh and twelfth changed. They were on the cusp. If their results in this tournament were good, they might make it to the Martial Arts Assembly. Otherwise, they would just be along for the ride as spectators.
Zhao Lin knew that every single slot was precious. It determined where the Great Yue Dynasty’s resources would be allocated—the stronger the sect, the more resources it received.
This principle held true for the nation, for the sect, and for the individual.
He thought for a moment and asked, "Headmaster, with so many disciples from three sects, how is the competition structured?"
Yang Lin smiled faintly and looked toward Xiao Jin. "Xiao Jin, you’ve participated in the last two Inter-Sect Tournaments. Why don’t you explain it?"
"Yes."
Xiao Jin responded in a low voice, then turned to Zhao Lin and said, "The tournament is divided into two groups. Disciples ranked outside the top twelve of each sect will draw lots for their matches, with the goal of gaining practical combat experience."
"As for the top twelve disciples, the three individuals of the same rank will fight each other in a round-robin. For example, the three first-ranked disciples—let’s call them A, B, and C—will have three matches: A versus B, A versus C, and B versus C."
"This compares the strength of disciples at the same level to see which sect is stronger."
Zhao Lin understood. This meant he would be fighting against the two fifth-ranked disciples from the Li Yang Sect and the Southern Suppression Sect.
"Thank you for the explanation, Senior Brother Xiao."
Xiao Jin returned the gesture and said, "You’re welcome."
Yang Lin nodded, looked around at everyone, and waved his hand. "Alright, that’s all for today. Go back and get some rest."
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