The Heavenspan River was a body of spiritual water that flowed through the center of the Eastern Cultivation Continent, dividing the orthodox sects from the demonic cultivators. It was also the site of the Heavenspan Tournament — a once-a-decade competition where the best disciples of every sect gathered to compete for glory, resources, and the attention of the Heavenspan Realm's guardian spirits.

The Spirit Stream Sect sent Bai Xiaochun.

'Why me?' he asked, because asking 'why me' had become a reflex at this point.

'Because you're hard to kill, you have Silver Skin, and you've been in more life-or-death situations than most of the elders,' the Sect Leader said. 'Also, everyone else refused.'

The Heavenspan Tournament gathered cultivators from over a hundred sects, each sending their most promising disciples. Most of them were at the Foundation Establishment level, with a handful of prodigies already at Core Formation. Bai Xiaochun was still technically at Qi Condensation Level Nine — his bizarre cultivation technique advanced slowly compared to traditional methods — but his combat effectiveness was wildly disproportionate to his level.

The first day of the tournament was a group melee in a sealed arena with random monster spawns and limited resources. Fifty disciples entered; twenty would advance. Bai Xiaochun's strategy was, as always, to hide until the numbers thinned.

He found a cave in the arena's northernmost corner, reinforced it with a defensive formation, and waited. Five separate disciples found his cave. Four of them fell for the trap formations he'd laid. The fifth was too powerful, but Bai Xiaochun surrendered immediately, which the disciple found so confusing that he let him go.

By the end of the day, Bai Xiaochun was among the twenty survivors, having expended exactly one technique and zero serious effort.

'Unorthodox,' the head judge muttered. 'But effective.'