New world record

-For the first trial, you have to retrieve a red flag from the top of the Misty Mountain.

The elder starts explaining the rules, while pointing at a mountain in the distance.

-You may use any means at your disposal. There are 4000 flags at the summit, but only the first 2000 to return with a flag will advance to the next stage. You'll have to hand over the flag to one of the judges behind me, so that they can verify that it is indeed one of the flags from the summit.

The rules seem simple enough. I guess I don't even have to move a muscle to complete this. The funny thing is that a lot people must be thinking the same, for a different reason. Sure enough, a couple of hundred people reveal a sinister smile, as they realise the hidden possibilities.

-You have 1 minute to prepare, but you can't leave this square during this time, or you'll be disqualified! The bell will ring and the trial will start in one minute!

I move through the crowd, right in front of the elder and the panel of judges. I arrive just as the minute is up and a loud bell rings out. Most of the people gathered here start running towards the mountain, with a few taking to the sky with flight type secret treasures or artifacts. Some others sit down on the spot, clearly waiting for the people bringing flags, so they can rob it from them. I spread my 'Spatial Detection' to the top of the mountain, and frown. There is a powerful formation set up, preventing the use of spatial abilities in a radius of 500 meters around the flags. I could bypass the formation, but it would take more time than my second fastest option. I turn into a streak of lightning, and arrive in front of the flags in a fraction of a second, grab a flag, then return with the same speed. A second hasn't even passed, yet I'm standing in front of the judges with a red flag, that I hand over to them. If this isn't a new record, I don't know what would be.

The judges just realize what happened and are completely dumbfounded. They only saw a flash of light shoot to the mountain top, while I disappeared, then another flash of light shoot back, and I reappear with a flag. They'd have to be stupid not to realize what just happened, what should make their heads hurt though is how it happened. My 'Tribulation Control' has 'Flash Steps' incorporated, which is a heavenly movement technique by itself, but in the assimilated form it's even more efficient. But of course they have no way of knowing this, since they probably haven't even seen the lower level 'Lightning Steps' technique in action, not to mention my heavenly one. They stare in shock for a while, then one of them snaps out of it and checks the flag. When he's done with it, the shock on his face is even more apparent.

-How is this possible? It really is a flag from the mountain. One that I personally marked, even, there's no way I wouldn't realise if it's fake. Just... how?

He mumbles to himself, but I can hear it just fine. I just stand there, smiling, and waiting for them to snap out of their shock and declare that I have passed.

-Ahem. May I ask this outstanding junior, as to who your esteemed self is?

-Elder Tang is surely jesting. This humble junior is called Xiao Xia, and I'm just a simple outer sect disciple with no great background. I just happened to stumble upon an extreme movement technique, that just happened to suit this task perfectly. If not for that, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been nowhere near this fast at completing the task the the esteemed elders put forward.

I don't mind licking some asses if it speeds up the process. Besides, I'm not even lying, if I would have had to bypass the spatial formation, it would've taken me about a minute instead of a couple of seconds to get a flag, that's nowhere near as fast as I was.

-You're such an ass.

-Well, Eve, yes, but actually, no. You see, it's not my fault that these "esteemed elders" are like frogs in a well...

-I thought you hated xianxia tropes like that.

Eve lets out a giggle, apparently very amused at my choice of words.

-When in Rome... Huh, come to think of it, this is about the farthest we've ever been from Rome. Well, never mind, they made up their minds.

The judges finished discussing among themselves, and nod to the elder presiding over the trials. He then speaks up.

-Very well, Xiao Xia is the first to clear the First Trial. The according reward for this will be presented to you at the end of the trials.

I finally realise why they were deliberating so much. If it's about rewards, it's logical that a trial of speed would have some kind of special reward that can further increase the speed of cultivators. But how could they have the face to give me such a reward, after they've seen with their own eyes that I can travel literally at the speed of light? So they needed to take out some other treasure of the same caliber, to save face, and they had to discuss it beforehand. I run a quick analysis, and it shows me that there is a 99.6% chance that they'll give me a high grade spirit stone, because they deduced that this movement technique uses up a lot of my qi. A high grade spirit stone could last an ordinary cultivator of the Soul Severing realm for a few years, even if they depleted all their qi a couple of times a day. Yet it was completely useless to me, who could just tap a spirit mine at any time.

I sit down to meditate some distance away, ignoring all the dropped jaws of the surrounding cultivators, that witnessed the whole thing. I did indeed need to replenish the qi I've spent. I "conjured" a medium spirit stone in my pocket, that I immediately absorbed, then started to meditate in a slow manner, that wouldn't arouse any suspicion.

When the fastest one among the rest of the contestants returned in about ten minutes, happily dodging all the cultivators waiting in ambush with an exquisite footwork, and proudly presented his flag, the elder announced his success... at arriving in second place. I swear I could hear his jaw hitting the floor.