Five-Dragon Summit
Yan Jue’s face flushed bright red. “Because... because..."
Qi Xianqing looked at her.
Yan Jue: “Because she’s too cute. Even though she’s a demon, I still want to form a master-servant contract with her!”
This was a straightforward battle of will.
As Yan Jue spoke, she even took care to smooth out her lie as much as possible so it sounded coherent from beginning to end.
If she said she was afraid her identity would be exposed... then a master-servant contract, though very restrictive for a demon, did not allow the master to casually search the demon’s memories. Even if Qi Xianqing temporarily formed a master-servant contract with the little wild boar, there was no need to worry about Yan Jue’s identity being exposed.
But just thinking about Qi Xianqing forming a master-servant contract with the boar, then becoming inseparable from the little wild boar...
For some reason, Yan Jue just didn’t like it very much.
Qi Xianqing looked at Yan Jue for a long while. “But you already have a spirit pet. Isn’t that a little unfair?”
Hm?
Yan Jue instinctively reached out and rubbed the white fox’s head beside her, then lifted her chin and said, “Who told you I was some kind of pet-raising expert? I just happen to like taking these demons in.”
Qi Xianqing said nothing. That faint gaze made Yan Jue’s back go cold.
Yan Jue suddenly said, “How about this—let’s see which one this little wild boar spirit likes. Whoever she chooses will be her master.”
The little wild boar, suddenly called to the center of the room, looked at the two people who were both radiating hostility.
One was dressed in white, looking over with a cool, indifferent expression.
The other sat weakly on the bed, looking like she could barely stay upright.
The little wild boar abruptly felt the pressure in Yan Jue’s gaze.
“..."
So the little girl walked over to Yan Jue and grabbed her sleeve.
Qi Xianqing: “..."
Yan Jue pinched the little boar’s cheek, smiling so hard it was practically blooming. “Sorry. Looks like she likes me more.”
Qi Xianqing was silent for a few seconds, then looked at the little boar with a smile that was just short of gritting her teeth. “Why didn’t you choose me?”
The little girl held it in for a long time before finally managing a few broken words: “Fox sister... has..."
Yan Jue froze. In an instant, it felt as if all the blood in her body turned to ice.
But Qi Xianqing immediately understood what the little boar meant.
She already had a little fox baby.
Qi Xianqing’s gaze drifted, almost absentmindedly, over Yan Jue, then toward the window; her brows drew together slightly.
-
Later, Yan Jue and Qi Xianqing discussed it and gave the little boar a name.
Since she was a wild boar spirit, she would take the surname Zhu.
And now it was almost summer; the lotus blossoms in the pond were about to bloom.
So she was called Zhu He.
With Qi Xianqing’s help, Yan Jue and the little boar temporarily formed a master-servant contract that would last only three years.
The righteous immortal sects deeply despised demons who had already taken human form. If one was discovered, it usually did not end well.
So now that they had found a transformed little boar, forming a master-servant contract with her was, in fact, a form of protection.
If some righteous cultivator ever caught Zhu He in the future, she would at least have a mark on her body and wouldn’t be killed on the spot.
On this point, Yan Jue and Qi Xianqing were in agreement.
More importantly, Yan Jue was not the kind of master who would restrict a spirit pet’s movements.
Other than the white fox, who had chosen to follow her of its own accord.
As for this little boar, Yan Jue would let it go wherever it wanted.
-
After Yan Jue’s injuries healed, she returned to Watercloud Sect.
...
Yan Jue hadn’t expected that, in just two months, Qi Xianqing would end up caring for her twice.
Once during the heavenly tribulation, and once now.
For someone like Qi Xianqing—a thousand-year-old block of ice—she was surprisingly good at taking care of people.
Whether it was applying medicine or helping Yan Jue take it, she was meticulous in every way.
Fortunately, the injuries she’d suffered at the Sword-Dance Arena were not severe.
She had only drunk too much alcohol, and then there were the two demonic pearl artifacts from Chu Fu; when Qi Xianqing forcibly removed them, she lost a little blood.
After just a few days of recovery, Yan Jue’s wounds had basically healed.
That was just in time for the upcoming Five-Dragon Summit.
Yan Jue brought the little wild boar Zhu He and the white fox to the front gate of Watercloud Sect, then stopped.
Zhu He looked up at her blankly, mouth slightly open, revealing two little fangs.
Zhu He was a slender little girl, wearing a practical short-sleeved cross-collar top with a cloak woven from rough gauze draped over her shoulders. Her hair had been tousled by the wind.
Because she had taken human form, there was a hint of excitement sparkling in her eyes.
Yan Jue patted her head. “If anything ever happens in the future, you can come find me anytime.”
Yan Jue would not restrict a spirit pet’s movements; if the little boar didn’t want to live with her, she wouldn’t force it.
Zhu He looked at her, seeming to half-understand, and nodded.
Even though she had taken human form, she still wanted to live in the mountains.
Suddenly, footsteps sounded behind them.
Yan Jue turned around and saw Du Ying carrying a giant bronze man across the bridge.
But the bronze man was absurdly large and heavy; Du Ying was moving with great difficulty, stumbling along and gasping for breath.
Du Ying called out, “Yan Jue, help me!”
Yan Jue was just about to go over when Zhu He opened her mouth, took quick little steps forward, and lifted the bronze man from Du Ying’s hands with one arm.
Yan Jue: “...”
Good heavens...
With her tiny body, Zhu He was carrying a stone three times her size; faint muscle lines were visible straining in her arms.
She set the bronze man down at the entrance to Du Ying’s room, then said to Yan Jue, “I’m leaving.”
Yan Jue nodded. “Go on.”
Du Ying stared in shock at her departing back, disbelief written all over her face. “Who was that little girl? Why have I never seen her before?”
“And why do I feel like I can sense a trace of... demonic energy coming from her?” Du Ying stopped there. After all, the appearance of a demon in Five Dragons Sect was something people were deeply wary of.
Yan Jue forced out a smile. “That’s my newly contracted spirit pet.”
Du Ying’s eyes widened instantly. “What?!”
Yan Jue: “A wild boar.”
“...”
Du Ying: “Oh. I thought it was a fox or something. I was even thinking of getting one.”
Yan Jue tugged at the corner of her mouth. “...Why do you like foxes so much?”
Du Ying: “In this world, the most rakish, most seductive demon is a fox. Who wouldn’t want a little fox!”
“When it’s a fox, it can act spoiled with you; when it’s not a fox, it can even keep you company in bed.”
Yan Jue: “?”
Yan Jue: “That’s not how every fox is, is it?”
Du Ying: “Keep one around. Maybe you’ll run into a fox that knows how to be playful.”
Yan Jue: “...”
-
After Yan Jue returned to her room and packed her things, she headed out.
When she’d come in earlier, she had seen a short note on her desk; it was a letter from Duan Luxi.
The letter said that the “Seven-Luminescence Stone” Yan Jue had asked her to beautify last time was already finished, and that Yan Jue could go to Muyin Sect to pick it up when she had time.
As Yan Jue walked up the mountain path, Bai Ying, now transformed into a bracelet, was still complaining. “That’s because she’s never seen the vicious side of our fox clan... If she had seen us when we got serious, she wouldn’t say that.”
Yan Jue couldn’t help but laugh.
People often said foxes were naturally licentious and liked using charm arts, but that wasn’t really true.
Most foxes used charm arts only to achieve their goals.
Foxes were still very fierce.
On this point, Yan Jue was the first to agree.
Yan Jue soon arrived at Muyin Sect.
Duan Luxi opened the door and let her in. “Look!”
Then she handed something over.
Yan Jue was slightly startled.
It was actually a slingshot!
There was a small embroidered pouch hanging beneath it. Yan Jue opened the pouch and found the uneven stone inside.
Duan Luxi: “This slingshot is made from spirit-rhyme wood. When you fire the stone, it increases the power of the attack; it’s much better than just throwing it by hand.”
Yan Jue fixed the stone onto the slingshot, pulled hard, and let go. She saw the stone shoot out with lightning speed, directly piercing the thick tree on the other side.
Yan Jue was just about to ask whether the stone could only be used once when she heard a whistling sound from over there; the stone flew back out of the bushes and snapped tightly back onto the slingshot.
Duan Luxi: “I analyzed the stone’s five-element properties and copied a trace of its spirit-rhyme onto the slingshot. That way, no matter where the stone flies, it can fly back again.”
“If you use it well, it can even work as a boomerang.”
Yan Jue sincerely praised, “Amazing.”
Duan Luxi coughed. “Ten top-grade Spirit Stones.”
“Spirit-rhyme wood isn’t cheap.”
Yan Jue laughed and took Spirit Stones out of her Qiankun bag to hand over.
Duan Luxi was a little embarrassed. “Once I work hard and pass the Refining Hall exam, after I get into Refining Hall, it won’t be so expensive anymore. Refining Hall has plenty of materials.”
Yan Jue: “Thank you.”
-
Yan Jue came back from Duan Luxi’s place.
She shut the door, then summoned the white fox. “You come out.”
The bracelet on her wrist instantly turned into a shadow, then slowly landed on the ground.
Bai Ying looked at her gently. “I wonder what orders Master has for me.”
Yan Jue glanced at the sky.
It was almost dark.
Yan Jue: “Chu Fu is definitely going to participate in the Five-Dragon Summit. He ate so many of my pills that day; his injuries should be healed by now. Go take a look in the cave and see whether he’s there.”
White fox: “Yes.”
-
In the night, by the cliff.
No one noticed that a tiny fly, using the cover of darkness, slowly flew into the cave hidden beneath the cliff.
Yan Jue sat on the bed, eyes closed, feeling everything Bai Ying saw; she couldn’t help frowning slightly.
The cave was still gloomy, filled with a thick smell of blood.
Even though Yan Jue was far away, sensing everything there through immortal arts, she could still feel an extremely uncomfortable aura.
Deep in the cave.
The male lead was dressed in a dark jiese Daoist robe, sitting on the ground with his back against the cave wall, his face pale.
Yan Jue couldn’t help but sigh.
As expected of the male lead; after suffering such severe injuries just a few days ago, he could still make it here to pay his respects to the Demon Lord.
There were no other sounds in the cave, only the sound of water rushing in front of them.
A hoarse, aged voice came from behind the water curtain. “Your cultivation has improved greatly. It is obvious you’ve already obtained her yin essence.”
Chu Fu sat on the ground with his eyes lowered, saying nothing.
The memory of that night was not very clear to him. He only remembered pushing Yan Jue down onto the bed, and then the rest of the memory cut off abruptly.
But now that he sat here, he only felt a surging flow of spiritual power rising from his dantian all the way to his chest.
This was undoubtedly the sign of the Fusion Realm.
There were many strange things about the Pure Yin Physique, and Chu Fu was aware of them as well.
Perhaps when the yin essence entered his body, it brought him tremendous spiritual power while also interfering with his mind.
“Although Qi Xianqing was drawn in, that doesn’t amount to anything. Our goal has already been achieved.”
Chu Fu’s face was very gloomy; his mood was clearly terrible.
He clenched his fist and slammed it into the rock wall. Having just broken through to the Fusion Realm, the spiritual power in his body was still unstable. With that strike, a vast amount of spiritual power exploded through the air, and he actually shattered the hard rock in front of him!
Chu Fu: “But Senior Sister hit me. What does that mean?”
“It means that in her heart, I’m not worth mentioning at all.”
“In her heart, I’m not even as good as that piece of trash Yan Jue!”
The fly clung quietly to the rock.
Yan Jue wasn’t in the mood to listen to Chu Fu vent his negative emotions, and said in a low voice, “Fly in.”
The fly slowly flew through the air; without anyone noticing, it passed through the water curtain.
Yan Jue closed her eyes and, following Bai Ying’s line of sight, slowly swept her gaze across the space behind the water curtain.
Then she suddenly noticed something, and her pupils shrank sharply.
Sure enough, as expected, behind the water curtain, there was no one at all!
Only a mangled corpse.
This corpse was the Demon Lord of Duanhun Mountain!
The Demon Lord, who had still been alive just a few days ago, was now lying on the ground in an extremely bizarre posture, clutching a black beast egg beneath him; on his neck, a clearly visible crack could be seen.
He was obviously already dead.
Then who was talking to Chu Fu?
Using Bai Ying’s search from the side, Yan Jue quickly found a faint glimmer of light in the sky.
It was this glimmer of light that had been speaking to Chu Fu.
Immortal art: Seeing Through Heaven and Earth.
Someone was using immortal arts to transmit sound to Chu Fu from afar.
No way.
Yan Jue froze, suddenly feeling a chill run down her spine.
The Demon Lord was already dead. Then whose body was his soul using to survive now?
-
Tomorrow was the Five-Dragon Summit.
Night.
Yan Jue lay on the bed, clutching the sign numbered twenty-six, unable to sleep no matter how she turned over.
Because tomorrow would be her first match.
Before the competition, Five Dragons Mountain would not announce the exact matchups.
Yan Jue also didn’t know who, like her, had drawn number twenty-six.
Would this cannon-fodder role really end up, as Du Ying said, being used as a stepping stone for some big shot?
Surviving that death calamity by luck had already made Yan Jue very happy.
Although she didn’t care much about the result of the competition, this was still her first time going through something like this, so it was inevitable that she was nervous.
Yan Jue really couldn’t sleep. She put on her inner robe and went outside; just then, she saw Du Ying pacing anxiously in the courtyard with a face full of worry.
Yan Jue asked, “Why aren’t you sleeping?”
Du Ying: “Do you think I can sleep in a situation like this right now? Do you think I can sleep!”
“All my fellow disciples are cultivating; one of them even advanced to Late Illumination Stage last night, but no matter how long I tried, I still can’t break through. Just let me die from being overworked..."
-
Yan Jue returned to her room, locked the door, and instantly transformed into a small fox with bright red fur.
Yan Jue climbed out the window and padded along the mountain path on tiny steps.
On such an important night, she rather wanted to see what Qi Xianqing looked like when she was flustered.
What would Immortal Lady Qi look like when she was anxious?
With this malicious thought in mind, Yan Jue soon arrived at Frozen Peach Haven.
Because she had come here too many times, she could now be said to know the place like the back of her hand.
When Yan Jue was in human form, she and Qi Xianqing met in the Thunderflame Sect dormitories.
But when she turned into the little fox baby, they always met at Cold Pool.
The moment Yan Jue stepped into the fence of Frozen Peach Haven, she smelled a rich fragrance drifting through the air.
Qi Xianqing had set up a stove in the peach haven and was cooking something.
Under the dim light, Qi Xianqing wore a black long dress; her fair face was smoked bright red, and her lips also carried a faint red tint.
Qi Xianqing held a bowl in her hand, one leg bent up, the other pressed across it, swaying slightly.
She leaned forward a little, picking something out of the big pot.
It was actually... tripe.
Yan Jue: “...”
On such a nerve-racking night, this woman was actually eating spicy hot pot.
Was she even human? She was clearly a devil.
Qi Xianqing heard the footsteps and looked up at her, saying absentmindedly, “You’re here.”
Yan Jue walked over to Qi Xianqing and sat on the ground, watching her.
After finishing the hot pot, Qi Xianqing set the bowl down and slowly wiped her mouth with a handkerchief.
Then she crouched down and looked levelly into the little fox’s amber eyes, which were strikingly similar to someone’s.
When Yan Jue met Qi Xianqing’s gaze, her heart somehow gave a small jolt.
Then the girl’s cool fingertips came up, stroking upward along the fox’s sensitive body.
Qi Xianqing absentmindedly stroked the little fox’s fur, first the collarbone, then the waist.
The night was quiet.
At first Yan Jue thought Qi Xianqing was only petting the fox like usual, but the more she felt it, the more wrong it seemed.
Qi Xianqing’s fingertips slipped into the fur from time to time, almost as if testing something.
Or checking whether it had any wounds.
The little fox seemed to realize something, suddenly baring its teeth and stepping back, refusing to let her touch it.
Qi Xianqing narrowed her peach blossom eyes for a moment, then suddenly smiled, rubbed its head, and stood up. “I won’t touch you anymore; let’s go inside, shall we?”
Moonlight was like water, and the girl’s voice was gentle.
Yan Jue only felt as if her heart had been lightly jolted, and then she came back to herself, watching her warily as she slowly followed beside her.
Back in the room.
Qi Xianqing temporarily set that matter aside and sat down again, sinking into thought over the new problem.
Her junior uncle, the Sect Master, had always deeply despised the Demonic Cult. Yet that day, when he saw the two demonic pearls, he said nothing at all.
That was odd.
And this time Yan Jue had clearly been framed; that made things even stranger.
No matter what the junior uncle, the Sect Master, did, or what others did.
She would not let this matter end like this.
-
The light of dawn slowly rose from beyond the mountains. The morning wind carried the scent of woods and fields.
At that moment, the Five-Dragon Summit began as well.
The competition venue was Five-Dragon Square.
As early as mao hour, Five-Dragon Square was already packed with people.
The six competition platforms were arranged in the shape of a bagua diagram, scattered throughout the vast square.
Echo Hall had specially invited disciples to perform and liven things up. The girls, with their slender waists, sat at the front of Five-Dragon Square, their fair hands plucking the strings as they played “The Vast Sea Fisherman.”
The grand, sweeping music echoed over the square, carrying a faint air of excitement.
By the time Yan Jue and Du Ying arrived at the competition grounds, there were already many people there.
Du Ying pulled Yan Jue toward the south. “Come look, this is the matchup board.”
Yan Jue was slightly startled.
The matchup board was huge, hovering in the air in a dazzling gold color. It was probably written with some unusual artifact.
Yan Jue clearly saw that next to her own name was a big name: Ke Shuang.
Yan Jue suddenly felt a chill at the back of her neck, as though someone was looking at her from behind.
She turned around and met a woman’s gaze.
The woman was about eighteen or nineteen, with very cute features. Her hair was arranged in a Heart-Returning bun, and she wore a pale pink long dress, looking at Yan Jue with an indifferent expression.
Yan Jue vaguely felt that this person looked familiar.
Du Ying: “You’re really in trouble; you actually drew Ke Shuang, the junior sister with the best relationship to Li Hao, right off the bat. I heard she was already at Late Illumination Stage the day before yesterday. Are you even going to fight?”
Yan Jue suddenly understood.
No wonder Ke Shuang looked so familiar.
She remembered that on the day at Drunken Spring Pavilion, it was Li Hao who had brought this senior sister over, and they had gotten into a bit of an argument with her over the matter of the murderer.
She remembered Li Hao had even called her junior sister that day.
Back then, both of them had been at Initial Illumination Stage; she hadn’t expected her to already be at Late Illumination Stage now.
The Five-Dragon Summit’s process was much like a modern event.
First, an elder of great standing in Five-Dragon Sect came on stage to make a speech.
Then the competition began.
Du Ying had drawn number seven, so her match was ahead of Yan Jue’s.
Yan Jue went to the combat platform to watch Du Ying’s match.
Du Ying wore the standard jade-blue Daoist robe of Watercloud Sect inner disciples, with narrow sleeves and tied leg wraps, and she was warming up on the platform with a serious expression.
Although she didn’t show much expression, Yan Jue could still see her nervousness.
Yan Jue had just been about to wave at her.
Then she noticed something was off about the combat platform.
A layer of pale blue barrier covered the outside of the platform.
It seemed to be some kind of formation.
“Senior brother,” Yan Jue asked the man watching the match beside her, “may I ask what this barrier is..."
The man said excitedly, “You don’t even know that? This Five-Dragon Summit is using the newest competition format; they’ve integrated formations into the rules.”
“This is called the Heavenly-Evolution Triple-Absolute Array. Its function is to simulate weather and create certain obstacles for the disciples in the match.”
Yan Jue blinked and looked up.
On the platform where Du Ying stood, the sunlight seemed to be a little stronger than down here.
Yan Jue then looked to the leftmost platform and discovered that a sandstorm was actually blowing there; one disciple was rubbed so badly by the sand that she couldn’t even open her eyes, fell to the ground, and was then thrown out by another disciple.
“..."
Du Ying was still using that water-attributed immortal sword, “Torrent,” and standing opposite her was...
Du Ying had actually run into a big shot right from the start.
The person across from Du Ying was none other than Senior Sister Yun of Mystic Escape Sect, who had gone down the mountain together with them for a mission that day.
In Yan Jue’s mind, this senior sister, as Mystic Escape Sect’s chief disciple, was on the same level as Qi Xianqing.
A distant bell rang from afar.
The match began.
Du Ying suddenly leaped up, and the immortal sword Torrent swept through the air in a beautiful arc, after which waves of water shimmered outward!
Yan Jue was slightly startled; she saw that Yun Jie opposite her still hadn’t moved.
When the waves of water in the sky were almost upon her, she threw something out.
The art of strange gates and hidden movements.
A wooden tally turned into a person!
A slender wooden lot was thrown out, swelling in midair into a half-person-sized wooden tally soldier.
The soldier turned into a hazy shadow in the air, immediately blocking Yun Jie’s front as its long wooden arms rose to defend.
A dark brown protective barrier instantly appeared in the air!
All the water light was blocked back by the tally soldier.
Cold sweat broke out on Du Ying’s forehead. With the sunlight glaring down from above, it was so bright that she could barely keep her eyes open.
Du Ying suddenly raised the sword in her hand and shouted, “Cold Waterfall!”
In an instant, a waterfall seemed to appear leaping through the air before her. Yan Jue, standing below the platform, could even hear the deafening roar of water. Du Ying swept her right hand, and the huge current shot toward Yun Jie like lightning.
Yun Jie stood there calmly.
Since she was young, she had always believed her true opponent was only Lord Meng Heng, Qi Xianqing.
She didn’t care at all about anyone else.
Yun Jie: “Seven Stars, Thousand-Year Moon; Qiankun, Ten-Thousand Sea Wheel.”
The tally soldier in front of her began to tremble violently, and in a single instant it extended a pair of long, powerful arms, directly scooping her up and carrying her like an arrow leaving the string, heading east.
It was hard to imagine that such a clumsy tally soldier could have such astonishing explosive power. Carrying Yun Jie, it leaped from the east side of the platform all the way to the west, narrowly dodging the waterfall Du Ying had created.
The sunlight was fierce and scorching.
Yun Jie kept using a draining strategy; she didn’t attack at all, only commanded the tally soldier to keep evading Du Ying.
Gradually, Du Ying began to run out of stamina.
This kind of formation, which created intense sunlight, simply wasn’t suited to a cultivator like her who specialized in water techniques. During one brief pause to catch her breath, Yun Jie’s lips moved slightly, as though she were silently reciting some mental incantation.
That tally soldier actually charged straight at Du Ying, throwing out a punch in midair.
Du Ying was sent flying straight off the platform and crashed heavily to the ground.
Yan Jue froze, hurriedly flashing over to help Du Ying up. “Are you okay?”
Du Ying looked miserable. “I’m just too unlucky. I ran into Senior Sister Yun of Mystic Escape Sect right at the start..."
Yun Jie formed seals with both hands, and the tally soldier on the ground flashed in midair, then returned to the tally pouch at her waist.
She cast a cold glance at Du Ying, then turned and left.
Yan Jue hurried to comfort her. “It’s just a competition anyway; winning or losing isn’t important. What matters is whether you learned something in the match and can avoid making the same mistakes next time.”
“Thank you, Yan Jue,” Du Ying said. “Senior Sister Yun is also one of the most famous people in our sect, second only to Senior Sister. Dying under a beauty’s sword doesn’t feel regrettable to me at all.”
Yan Jue twitched the corner of her mouth, just about to speak, when she suddenly heard a distant bell ringing from over there.
The numbers on the platform over there were changing in rotation, and golden spiritual power gathered into a mass, condensing into a large twenty-six.
Her own match had started.
Yan Jue: “I’m going to my match.”
Du Ying: “Okay; once I rest a bit, I’ll come watch your match.”
Du Ying hesitated a little, because she had just seen that Yan Jue was up against Jin Gang Sect’s junior sister Ke Shuang.
Ke Shuang had always been a cultivation genius. Who knew how many rounds Yan Jue could last on the stage?
After explaining things to Du Ying, Yan Jue headed to her own competition platform.
The third combat platform.
Crowded like a mountain and sea of people.
Duan Luxi, wearing a green-and-blue Daoist robe, stood below Platform Three holding a booklet to register names. When she saw Yan Jue arrive, she gave her a look that said good luck and came over to pat her shoulder. “It’s only half a tea’s worth of time after you go on stage, so don’t be nervous, don’t be nervous. Yan Jue, what’s your weapon?”
In each match, each disciple was only allowed to use one artifact.
Otherwise, if one person could use all their artifacts, then going onstage to fight would no longer be a competition at all; they might as well just throw artifacts at each other. That wouldn’t be very fair to disciples with fewer resources either.
Before the competition, all participating disciples had to register with the working disciples.
After thinking for a moment, Yan Jue wrote on the register: Northern Sea black iron.
Duan Luxi took back the booklet. Yan Jue couldn’t help asking, “Senior Sister Duan, you didn’t sign up for the competition this time? How do you still have time to do this?”
Duan Luxi said miserably, “I didn’t want to either, but my master said there weren’t enough people for the competition this time and insisted I come be a registration disciple. My own match is very late, though, so you don’t need to worry about running out of time.”
Yan Jue was just about to speak when, from the corner of her eye, she suddenly caught sight of a lively figure over there.
A girl in a pale pink long dress leaped out from the crowd, her wide sleeves drifting in the air like a fairy’s.
She landed steadily on the combat platform.
Ke Shuang wore a pale pink flowing gown; her black hair was arranged in a Heart-Returning bun, her skin was snow-white, and she looked like a fairy.
She stared at Yan Jue across the wide combat platform, her expression stern.
Yan Jue smiled awkwardly yet politely and walked onto the platform.
A burst of whispering immediately rose from below.
“My God, Yan Jue’s first round is actually against Ke Shuang..."
“I heard Junior Sister Ke has always been brilliant in cultivation, and now she’s already at Late Illumination Stage. What is Yan Jue even fighting for? She should just go down already.”
“That’s not necessarily true. Didn’t Yan Jue beat Li Hao right here in Five Dragons Square last time?”
“That’s because Li Hao underestimated her! Junior Sister Ke has a naturally mutated ice spirit root; she’s extremely skilled at long-range attacks. How could she possibly let Yan Jue get close?”
Ke Shuang stared coldly at Yan Jue, cupped her hands, and said, “Jin Gang Sect, Ke Shuang.”
Yan Jue cupped her hands. “Watercloud Sect, Yan Jue.”
Another lingering bell rang.
The match began.
Everyone below held their breath.
Ke Shuang was very glad this time that she had run into Yan Jue.
Things were different now. She was no longer the pitiful little girl who had once hidden behind her senior brother at Drunken Spring Pavilion. She was now at Late Illumination Stage, and dealing with Yan Jue would definitely be no trouble at all.
Her purpose in coming today, though it was technically a competition, was largely to avenge Li Hao.
Ke Shuang also knew Li Hao might not have been a perfect man.
He had been pampered since childhood and had a few little temperaments.
But he had his gentle side too.
Li Hao would stand below the platform and cheer her on during those class sparring sessions she feared most.
He would also give her Firefly Herb when everyone else forgot her birthday.
And when she was sad, he would gently kiss her lips...
In short, Li Hao was a very good person!
Last time, Yan Jue had actually kicked Li Hao down in front of everyone. When Ke Shuang heard Elder Li say that such humiliation had happened to Li Hao, it might very well affect his dao heart from then on.
If his dao heart were ruined, cultivation from then on would become unimaginably difficult!
Ke Shuang looked at the beautiful pale face across from her, her fists clenching tighter and tighter.
She absolutely would not allow anyone to ruin Li Hao’s future.
Absolutely not!
She would use today’s combat platform to properly teach this person a lesson for Li Hao!
The Heavenly-Evolution Triple-Absolute Array activated.
Yan Jue instinctively looked up at the sky, her expression grave.
The weather over the combat platform changed in an instant; the sky here suddenly turned dark!
A purple-blue bolt of lightning suddenly appeared on the horizon.
The originally clear day actually began to pour rain!
Yan Jue, suddenly drenched like a drowned chicken: “..."
So unlucky.
Lightning was the thing in this world that most restrained demons and monsters; she had opened with a thunderstorm.
Flashes lit the air, and thunder rumbled.
Ke Shuang summoned her long sword, and in an instant, faint frost spread out around her.
Yan Jue blinked. The other side was also a mutated ice spirit root!
When both sides had ice spirit roots, it would come down to whose internal power was deeper.
Yan Jue narrowed her eyes as the long sword, carrying the power of ice and snow, charged at her. She flashed sideways to dodge, and in an instant a thick wall of ice condensed before her.
Ke Shuang’s ice sword let out a deafening shriek in the air, actually piercing straight through the ice wall and heading directly for Yan Jue’s throat, as if it meant to take her life on the spot.
Yan Jue flipped in midair, passing through the gap in the ice sword’s attack, and formed seals with her right hand.
In that instant, the Northern Sea black iron around her neck fell away, darting through the air like a flexible snake. It coiled around Ke Shuang’s sword in layer after layer.
Everyone below was shocked.
Ke Shuang’s face went white. The sword, overflowing with icy spiritual power, struggled left and right in the air, but the golden threads were bound around it so tightly they would not let go.
The golden threads actually left a deep mark on the immortal sword!
Yan Jue silently recited the Spirit-Linking Incantation and swept her left hand through the air.
The naughty golden threads wrapped around the long sword and ran off to a place ten li away.
Yan Jue then raised her head and looked at Ke Shuang.
And strolled toward her as if out for a leisurely walk.
Because these days, sword cultivators basically focused on swordsmanship and paid little attention to physical training.
Now that Ke Shuang was unarmed on the combat platform, she was no different from an ordinary mortal.
Ke Shuang bit her lip. “Return my artifact—”
Yan Jue slowly walked up to her. Ke Shuang suddenly retreated; she had heard that Yan Jue’s martial arts were very formidable, so how could she dare fight her at close range?
Thus the two of them launched into a brief chase on the combat platform.
Everyone: “..."
Yan Jue used Flying Swallow Steps like a cat catching a mouse; with her right hand she caught Ke Shuang’s shoulder. At the same time, Ke Shuang let out a terrified scream. Yan Jue’s scalp went numb, and she pressed lightly on Ke Shuang’s shoulder, giving it a shove.
Ke Shuang flipped straight off the combat platform.
The referee raised the flag, and Yan Jue won.
Yan Jue had only used finesse, not much forcsoe at all, yet she still sent Ke Shuang flying several zhang out from the combat platform.
Suddenly, a purple-red figure flew out from the crowd.
Li Hao, wearing the robes of Jin Gang Sect, steadily caught Ke Shuang, who was still flying through the air.
Li Hao looked up and glared viciously at Yan Jue. “You bastard, if you’ve got a problem, come at me! What kind of skill is it to target a girl?”
Yan Jue: “..."
At the same time, the golden clouds over the field began to shift again.
Two characters appeared on the field: seventy-six.
Ke Shuang stared at Li Hao with teary almond eyes. Li Hao’s heart tightened; he rubbed her face. “Ke-sister, wait here. Once your senior brother finishes his own match, I’ll come back and get revenge for you.”
Ke Shuang: “Senior Brother, be careful. Your opponent this time is..."
Before she could finish, she saw Li Hao leap up and fly straight onto his own combat platform.
Li Hao could be said to be quite confident in this match.
In the previous Five-Dragon Summit, because he had been lucky, he had managed to suppress everyone and ultimately become the third-place finisher.
This time, his cultivation was far beyond what it had been last time; he was already at Late Illumination Stage.
Li Hao was confident that he would definitely achieve a very good result this time as well!
After Li Hao jumped onto the platform.
The noisy crowd below the combat platform suddenly fell silent for a moment.
Then, all at once, they parted to make a path.
“..."
And then Li Hao saw... Qi Xianqing, dressed in black, with a long sword on her back, slowly walking up.
Lord Meng Heng?!
Qi Xianqing came onto the platform, her beautiful peach blossom eyes lifting slightly as she glanced at him indifferently. It seemed she was only checking her opponent and had no extra expression, yet she radiated an aura of authority and elegance from the inside out.
Cold sweat instantly broke out on Li Hao’s forehead.
The crowd below grew larger and larger.
There were six combat platforms in total at Five-Dragon Square, and spectators were distributed among all the matches; under normal circumstances, one match would not have so many people watching.
But this time was different, because the one fighting was Qi Xianqing.
“My God, this match has real drama. I heard Lord Meng Heng’s master, Master Yun Zhen, has a pretty good relationship with Elder Li. So this is like running into an acquaintance on the platform? And I also heard Li Hao was brought along for two beginner missions by Lord Meng Heng.”
“Do you think Lord Meng Heng will go easy on Li Hao? Setting aside their usual relationship, after all, Li Hao did help Lord Meng Heng teach Yan Jue a lesson last time.”
“Uh... even though that lesson failed. But Lord Meng Heng hates Yan Jue the most, doesn’t she?”
Li Hao heard the whispers from the audience below and, after holding it in for a long time, finally forced out a smile. “Senior Sister.”
Qi Xianqing: “Mm.”
Li Hao suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
-
After Yan Jue got down from the platform, she followed the crowd straight to Qi Xianqing’s combat platform.
She spotted a familiar figure below the stage.
Xue Shuangxing wore a black cloak, standing upright below the combat platform and staring fixedly at the people up on the stage, as though studying them very seriously.
Yan Jue still wanted to thank Xue Shuangxing for helping her out during the Five-Dragon Banquet a few days ago, so she walked over and cupped her hands. “Daoist Xue.”
Xue Shuangxing had all her attention on the combat platform and was suddenly called out of the blue. Coming back to her senses, she cupped her hands back at Yan Jue. “Daoist Yan.”
She spoke without much expression, every movement and word precise and formal, even more so than Qi Xianqing.
Yan Jue smiled and asked, “Why don’t I see Daoist Xue’s big tiger hound this time?”
Xue Shuangxing: “I was afraid it would scare the other daoists, so I made it smaller.”
Yan Jue: “Hm?”
Xue Shuangxing raised a hand and pointed to the tiger pendant around her neck.
So that was it; she had actually shrunk the tiger hound...
The tiger hound really had been wronged.
Yan Jue’s gaze then fell on the other Beast-Taming Pavilion disciples below the combat platform, each wearing cloaks.
Some had little monkeys, some little rabbits, some little snakes...
Yan Jue: “..."
A lingering bell rang, and pale golden light rippled out in wave after wave from above the square.
The match began.
...
Li Hao stared at Qi Xianqing and subconsciously gripped the sword in his hand tightly.
Senior Sister should go easy on him, right...
After all, they’d eaten so many meals together.
And he was the elder’s son.
Senior Sister definitely wouldn’t be reckless.
More importantly, Senior Sister had always been at odds with Yan Jue. Yesterday he had even helped Senior Sister teach Yan Jue a lesson. Based on that, Senior Sister shouldn’t hit him too hard either, right.
Li Hao licked his dry lips, not daring to hesitate. He immediately summoned his giant sword.
He still had quite a bit of confidence in this sword.
Just as a phoenix can also be reborn from fire, this “Thunderbeard Count” had been repaired after being a broken sword and then enhanced with fifty-six additional formation patterns! Li Hao never lacked money, and his investment in this sword had been at least one thousand top-grade Spirit Stones.
When cultivators fight, they compete in cultivation realm and artifacts.
Li Hao felt he still had the capital to contend with Qi Xianqing.
The silver sword Thunderbeard Count rose into the air, powerful currents of lightning spreading in all directions; every swing and attack carried a mighty force of thunder!
The whole area instantly fell silent.
Because Li Hao was the kind of person who liked to show off.
So almost every disciple in the sect knew the origin of Li Hao’s immortal sword.
The immortal sword Count—this was an extremely valuable sword, once broken and then repaired at the cost of several thousand top-grade Spirit Stones.
Qi Xianqing stood with her hands behind her back at the edge of the combat platform; Zhuying left its sheath.
Lightning met lightning; the small combat platform instantly turned into a giant field of electric power.
Li Hao shouted, “Supreme Star atop the platform, endlessly adapting to change; fast!”
Count immediately burst into motion in midair, stabbing toward Qi Xianqing with tremendous force.
The wind whipped past, and shadow-green flashed through the air.
Qi Xianqing’s figure turned into a shadowy afterimage, slipping past the immortal sword Count by a hair’s breadth.
Then Li Hao’s Thunderbeard Count snapped into two pieces.
“Tap—”
The two broken halves fell to the ground.
So fast that no one could even make out her shape, Zhuying had already returned to its scabbard.
Everyone: “...”
TL Note:
For non-Chinese speakers, reminder that "jie" in "Yun Jie" means "sister"