Chaotic Sword Emperor-Chapter 58 – Three layers of prizes!

Ma Yongfan, ranked among the top ten in last year's freshman benefits, with a cultivation level at the eighth stage of the Transcendence Realm!
"Ma Yongfan, are you looking for a fight? Then bring it on!" Kong Qing's eyes sharpened, and his aura erupted without hesitation.
The older students were initially shocked, then quickly turned to sneer and mock.
"Kong Qing has really lost it!"
"He's only at the sixth stage of the Transcendence Realm and dares to fight someone at the eighth stage? Did he get hit in the head too hard last time?"
"Kong Qing was already defeated by Ma Yongfan before. Now, with so many people watching, he still dares to challenge him. He's really not afraid of losing face."
In their eyes, Kong Qing was overestimating himself!
"Clang!"
But as soon as Kong Qing drew his sword, their expressions changed.
"His aura is sharper than before!"
"Could it be that he has comprehended Sword Intent?"
"No wonder he dares to challenge Ma Yongfan!"
"Even if he hasn't fully comprehended it, he's close. Wasn't it said that he was far from it before? How did he suddenly improve so much?"
The crowd looked at Kong Qing with a hint of fear in their eyes, then their gazes collectively fell on Su Mu. In the entire Martial House, those who had comprehended Sword Intent were few and far between. There were even fewer who could help Kong Qing comprehend it.
Su Mu and Kong Qing seemed to have an unusual relationship. It must have been Su Mu who helped Kong Qing comprehend Sword Intent!
"It must be!"
"His Sword Intent is actually this terrifying?" Their eyes shifted back to Su Mu, their faces turning pale. It seemed they had severely underestimated the strength of Su Mu's Sword Intent!
Ma Yongfan's face darkened. Last time, he had narrowly defeated Kong Qing. Now that Kong Qing had stepped into the threshold of Sword Intent, he might not be able to win.
"Kong Qing, you've really become more and more useless, actually seeking guidance on Sword Intent from a trash Fate Palace." Ma Yongfan's expression turned relaxed, and he coldly said before turning to leave, as if nothing had happened, completely devoid of the righteous demeanor he had shown earlier.
"Hmph, still afraid, aren't you?" Kong Qing sneered. He could see through Ma Yongfan's little tricks, but he didn't make a move. If he caused a scene at the banquet, the Martial House would intervene.
Seeing Ma Yongfan not daring to make a move, the others also quietly dispersed.
Kong Qing walked back to Su Mu, his face showing a mix of emotions.
"Teacher, your Fate Palace..." he asked quietly. He had already heard about Su Mu's situation on the way here—a trash Fate Palace, joining the fifth division...
The fifth division wasn't a big deal; his goal was the path of the sword and catching up to the third-year students. The main issue was the trash Fate Palace, which he found hard to accept.
Unlike others, he couldn't believe that someone as skilled in swordsmanship and with strong cultivation as Su Mu could have a trash Fate Palace.
"What do you think?" Su Mu didn't answer directly but instead asked a question, then walked into the main hall.
"People only believe what they want to believe."
"People only believe what they want to believe..." Kong Qing stood there, repeatedly mulling over the words, then his eyes lit up as if he had understood something, and he hurriedly followed.
After entering the main hall, Su Mu nonchalantly picked up some fruit and started eating, not holding back on the fine wine either.
This sight made both the older and new students furious, but after glancing at Kong Qing, they could only feel helpless.
"You really have a big heart." Kong Qing, holding a cup of wine, stood beside Su Mu, looking at the older and new students who kept glancing their way, shaking his head with a smile.
"Let them look. They can't bite me." Su Mu said with a faint smile. The feeling of being hated but untouchable was quite satisfying.
Kong Qing was stunned, then shook his head again, finally conceding.
"Su Mu must be here for those prizes, right?" Gradually, everyone noticed Su Mu's constant attention to the three-tiered pagoda and realized his purpose.
"Haha... I thought he was just here to freeload, but it seems we underestimated him. But does he really think he can win the prizes? Dream on!"
"When the event starts, if he dares to participate, we'll make sure he loses miserably!"
While everyone was mocking, Su Mu turned to Kong Qing.
"How can I get the prizes?"
"Uh, well..." Kong Qing was eating fruit, but upon hearing this, the fruit in his hand suddenly lost its flavor, and his expression turned very awkward.
Seeing this, Su Mu raised an eyebrow in surprise. Could it be that Kong Qing had a miserable defeat at last year's freshman banquet?
"You..." Su Mu couldn't help but speak. Kong Qing was clearly strong and talented, so how could he have been so bad two years ago?
"Ahem... let me explain how to get the prizes first." Seeing that Su Mu had noticed his awkwardness, Kong Qing quickly coughed twice and explained the rules.
"The events arranged by the Martial House are mainly to add fun to the banquet, so they won't be very violent."
"The events are designed to test one's control over Yuan Qi, essentially control techniques."
"Control techniques over Yuan Qi?" Su Mu's eyes narrowed slightly, and he already had several ideas in mind.
Kong Qing nodded and continued, "However, you can't just participate in these events; you need to pass a test first."
"It's about to start." Kong Qing glanced at the center of the hall and stopped talking. The event was about to begin, and the rules would be explained clearly. Anything he said now would just be redundant.
Su Mu looked towards the center of the hall, where all the older and new students were gathering. Ma Yongfan stood on a raised platform, clearly the main organizer and host of this banquet.
"First, welcome all new students to the Martial House. As the banquet proceeds smoothly, everyone should interact and make friends. But what's a banquet without some fun? The highlight of tonight's banquet is about to begin!" Once everyone had gathered, Ma Yongfan spoke loudly.
"Before the event starts, let me introduce the prizes for this event!"
"The first tier is a low-grade spirit sword, awarded to the third-place winner of this event!"
The new students looked at the spirit sword with burning eyes. Spirit swords were extremely precious, and none of them had one. They could only earn one through hard work at the Martial House.
If they won first place, they would be ahead of others, even surpassing ordinary disciples by two years!
Su Mu put down his wine cup and walked over, his gaze briefly lingering on the spirit sword. One look and he could tell it was of low quality, incomparable to the one Kong Qing had given him, so he wasn't interested.
"The second tier prize is a low-grade Xuan-level Battle Technique!" Ma Yongfan continued, causing an uproar.
"Xuan-level Battle Technique!" The new students were all excited. Only a few of them had cultivated Xuan-level Battle Techniques, and even those who had were excited. Having an extra Xuan-level Battle Technique was never a bad thing, and they believed the Martial House's Xuan-level Battle Techniques were stronger!
"The second tier prize goes to the second-place winner!"
"And the first-place winner will receive a bottle of soul-recovery elixir!" Ma Yongfan announced the first-place prize excitedly, but both the older and new students reacted indifferently, even looking puzzled.
"What use is that elixir? Soul recovery? Whose soul is missing or something?"
"This stuff is only useful for alchemists, right?"
"Soul recovery? I'd rather have something that boosts my vitality, don't you think?"
"Haha..." The male students laughed, while the female students blushed.
Even Ma Yongfan couldn't help but chuckle, but he quickly restrained himself and explained, "The soul-recovery elixir is extremely rare and indeed very beneficial for alchemists."
"But think about it, everyone has a soul, so this elixir is also very useful for you!"
"It's said that consuming this elixir can help one break through realms, clear the mind, and is especially effective for breaking through major realms!"
Especially effective for breaking through major realms!
Everyone's expressions quickly became serious. They didn't hear anything else, just this sentence. This alone made them pay double attention to the elixir, even making their breathing rapid!
If it really had such an effect, consuming it would allow them to surpass others by at least three years of hard cultivation!
"The first place is mine!"
"I must get first place!"
"The elixir is mine, no one can take it from me!"
The new students' expressions turned fierce, determined to win first place!
"Senior Ma, let's start the event already!" Some couldn't help but urge, eager to get the prizes.
"Don't rush. Before the event starts, I have another important announcement!" Ma Yongfan raised his hand, his gaze falling on Su Mu, a cold smile appearing on his lips.
"Let's welcome the instructor and new students from the fifth division!"
"What? The fifth division is here?" Everyone was stunned, then turned to look outside the hall, seeing Tian Yuyue, Wei Zhuo, and Huang Yiyun arriving!
"Why are they here?"
"Why bring the instructor from the fifth division? Do they deserve to be at the banquet?"
"Su Mu, that trash, is already here. Why bring so many more trash?"
Su Mu and Kong Qing turned to see Tian Yuyue and the others, their faces darkening.
"Ma Yongfan, what do you mean by this?" Kong Qing's face changed, and he pointed at Ma Yongfan, shouting angrily!
The sudden invitation of the fifth division was clearly meant to humiliate them, to humiliate Su Mu!