Gale

Yan Jue returned to her room in a foul mood, and from a distance she spotted a brand-new copy of The Five Dragons Encyclopedia placed at the doorway.

Yan Jue first swallowed her irritation, picked up the paper from the ground, and went back inside to shut the door.

She put away the Cloudvoid Umbrella and returned it to her Qiankun bag, then unfolded the paper to read it carefully.

She flipped to the first page.

The paper mainly introduced the current state of the competition.

The people of Kongqing Prefecture had also noticed that this round had produced quite a few rising stars.

Especially Yan Jue, who had once been a good-for-nothing. She had actually made it to the fourth round; tomorrow would be the fifth. The farther the competition went, the more likely it was that she would run into Qi Xianqing.

The paper also reminded Yan Jue of a piece of trivia she had almost forgotten.

Back then, the original Yan Jue, all for the sake of the male lead, had repeatedly provoked Lord Meng Heng. In front of the teeming crowds at Five Dragons Square, she had even challenged Lord Meng Heng to a life-and-death duel, declaring that she would settle things with him at the Five-Dragon Summit.

...

Yan Jue then turned to the second page, and the entire page was full of gossip about Qi Xianqing.

In this competition, Lord Meng Heng’s performance had remained consistently stable.

Yun Jie, who had always been regarded within the sect as almost on par with Lord Meng Heng, had unfortunately drawn him in the second round and been eliminated on the spot.

It had originally seemed that Yun Jie could at least finish second this time; now it looked as if she would not even manage third.

From yesterday’s fourth round, it seemed that Qi Xianqing’s Thunderflame Sect sword art, One Thought Sever, had already reached great mastery. In the matches to come, she might well become unstoppable.

Yan Jue stared at the paper and could not help frowning slightly.

The farther the competition went, the harder it would get.

When she faced Lin Xi today, she had already clearly felt the pressure.

What kind of people would she be up against if she kept going to the end? Qi Xianqing...

No matter what, she did not want to end up opposing that killing machine, okay?

As Yan Jue was reading, she suddenly heard the sound of wings flapping outside the window.

She paused. There was the Immortal Crane from Five Dragons Mountain; somehow, it had landed by her window again.

In the bamboo basket hanging from the crane’s neck was a short note.

Yan Jue hurriedly unfolded it; sure enough, it had been sent by Qi Xianqing.

Qi Xianqing: Tomorrow, at the hour of the Snake, Cold Pool.

It must be that the message Yan Jue had revealed to Qi Xianqing yesterday had borne some fruit.

Just in time, Yan Jue also had something she wanted to ask her.

So Yan Jue sat back down on the bed, full of anticipation.

Late at night.

Yan Jue pressed her palm downward first and sent a wisp of true qi into the egg beside the bed. Only after watching the cracks on the egg flicker in and out of light did she slowly begin to analyze what the Demon Lord had said earlier.

From the Demon Lord’s conversation with Chu Fu, it seemed Qi Xianqing might also be one of their targets.

But for the time being, she should still be safe.

If nothing unexpected happened tomorrow, this fifth round would be against Chu Fu...

Chu Fu wanted her dead.

It looked like the trouble from the original novel had not fully passed yet.

She would have to make thorough preparations.

Yan Jue frowned slightly; with thoughts racing, she had already formed a rough strategy for dealing with it.

Yan Jue opened her Qiankun bag and rummaged through it for a while before taking out a round, ice-blue bead.

She summoned the white fox. “This is that thunder-warding bead you spat out for me last time. What exactly is it good for? Can it block most lightning?”

In Yan Jue’s palm lay a pale blue bead, faintly chilled in the candlelight. It was the one the white fox had spat out for her last time.

Bai Ying had been suddenly called out and was still a little dazed.

She looked at the bead and nodded. “Demons fear lightning the most. This bead can even block heavenly thunder. It was given to me by an elder in our clan.”

Yan Jue rubbed the bead in her hand, then put it back into her Qiankun bag and nodded. “Excellent.”

-

Yan Jue woke very early the next day.

Thinking about the male lead and the Demon Lord, how could she possibly have slept well?

Yan Jue got dressed, went out into the courtyard, and practiced a full set of punches. Then she strapped sandbags filled with spiritual power onto her legs.

When she saw that the time was about right, Yan Jue headed for Cold Pool.

It was morning; mist drifted over Cold Pool, and the air was fragrant with water vapor and fresh grass.

Before she had even approached, Yan Jue saw someone standing by the pool.

Qi Xianqing wore a sea-green pleated dress with a jade pendant at her waist. Her black hair was pinned up with a hairpin, the rest falling loose over her shoulders.

Hearing footsteps, Qi Xianqing lifted her head and looked at Yan Jue. “Junior Sister Yan is here.”

Yan Jue averted her gaze, a little uncomfortable. “Senior Sister.”

Seeing her expression, Qi Xianqing could not help finding it amusing. This person had poured out so much grievance in the short note yesterday; why was she suddenly acting so timid the moment they met?

Qi Xianqing took something from her sleeve and waved it in the air.

Yan Jue froze. What Qi Xianqing held in her hand was, unexpectedly, a pale green pouch.

It was a storage pouch specifically used for spirit stones. Otherwise, several thousand spirit stones would not be easy to carry.

Yan Jue stared blankly. “Where did so many spirit stones come from?”

Qi Xianqing: “Bai Chuli overcharged you. I had her return them.”

“Three Bloodline Pillulas of mystic beasts may be precious, but they still do not compare to three thousand top-grade spirit stones, so I had her return two thousand four hundred top-grade spirit stones.”

Yan Jue looked at Qi Xianqing, and the corners of her lips curved up without her noticing. Her earlier bad mood vanished without a trace.

She had already made a huge profit on the betting tables the day before yesterday, and now Qi Xianqing had actually helped her get back another sum.

Qi Xianqing was the strongest backer she had on Five Dragons Mountain!

Yan Jue was just about to take the Qiankun bag back when Qi Xianqing suddenly curved her lips and withdrew her hand. “How are you going to thank me for helping you with this?”

Yan Jue stood rooted to the spot. “Thank you... how..."

All at once, she thought of what the white fox had told her that day about repaying someone with her body...

Yan Jue’s ears instantly turned red. She looked at her, deadpan. “How about we split these spirit stones seventy-thirty?”

Qi Xianqing: “..."

Qi Xianqing smiled, then simply tossed the pouch full of spirit stones to her.

Yan Jue felt the pouch’s soft texture in her hand, and her mood brightened again. Even her manner of speaking to Qi Xianqing grew unconsciously closer. “Senior Sister, I want to ask you something.”

Qi Xianqing’s brows moved. “Mm?”

During the Five-Dragon Summit, things were far too busy; sometimes Qi Xianqing did not even have time to go to Frozen Peach Haven, and Yan Jue had not sought her guidance in martial arts for a long while either.

Yan Jue: “If you run into a cultivator on the competition platform who uses wind-element divine abilities, what should you do?”

Qi Xianqing paused slightly, then said thoughtfully, “Wind-element divine abilities first restrict movement speed; under a gale, you will find it hard to move even an inch.”

Qi Xianqing added, “If you think you can be blown out of the arena by the wind, that is not likely. No one below the Heart Stirring Realm can do that, so you do not need to be too nervous. You only need to steady your foundation.”

Yan Jue: “If my speed slows down significantly under strong wind, what can be done?”

Qi Xianqing: “It is not without a solution. The Spirit Communion Art can often be very useful in such situations.”

That’s right.

The Spirit Communion Art...

Yan Jue frowned in thought and hummed softly.

Qi Xianqing lifted her eyelids and glanced at her. “Who are you fighting today?”

“The pairing for the fifth round of the Five-Dragon Summit should have been announced earlier.”

Yan Jue: “Chu Fu.”

“..."

A silence fell over the area.

Qi Xianqing: “What a coincidence?”

Yan Jue wore a bitter expression. “Mm... it really is a coincidence.”

Looking at Qi Xianqing, Yan Jue suddenly asked, “Senior Sister, have you recently felt dizzy or mentally muddled, or felt as if someone, somewhere, has been controlling you?”

Qi Xianqing’s brows moved. “No. Why do you ask?”

Yan Jue said heavily, “Nothing.”

Qi Xianqing’s brow furrowed slightly.

-

In the afternoon, Yan Jue arrived at Five Dragons Square and went straight to the contest board.

Golden characters rippled in the sky...

Yan Jue – Chu Fu.

These four characters were especially clear.

Yan Jue frowned slightly.

As expected.

Before coming, Yan Jue had secretly prayed that the Sect Master would not have such great influence, but this novel’s setup was just like that; within the sect, the person with the greatest power was the Sect Master.

With the Five Dragons Sect Master’s authority, it would be easy enough to alter the order of the matchups.

The surroundings were very noisy.

Du Ying stood beside Yan Jue and also noticed that her expression was off. “What’s wrong? Don’t tell me you still...”

She stopped halfway through. Last time, during Qi Xianqing’s class sparring, Yan Jue had beaten Chu Fu mercilessly.

That scene was still fresh in her memory.

How could Yan Jue still have those feelings for Chu Fu?

Du Ying: “You beat him last time; you should be able to do it again this time too, right?”

This time, Yan Jue really was not sure.

First, Chu Fu had consumed a great many of her pills in recent days and had already broken through to the Fusion Realm.

Second, Chu Fu also had the Demon Lord’s help.

Yan Jue looked at the name on the contest board, her expression grave.

Retreating at the last minute was not her style. She was going to go head-to-head with the Heavenly Dao!

She did not believe that, in a proper public duel before the major sects, the Demon Lord could still directly kill her!

Fifth martial platform.

Yan Jue came to the front of the platform, her expression solemn, and glanced at the sky above.

The Heavenly Deduction Array above the platform had not yet been activated, but one could already faintly tell that the weather there seemed darker than elsewhere.

Duan Luxi was still wearing a greenish-yellow dao robe, a stack of books in her arms.

She had already been eliminated the day before yesterday, and her mindset was quite good; she smiled at Yan Jue. “Junior Sister Yan, are you confident about today’s match?”

On that day at the emerald betting table, everyone had been wagering that Yan Jue would not survive the first round; unexpectedly, she had already made it to the fifth round in the blink of an eye.

If she could survive the fifth round... that would mean she had already drawn extremely close to the front ranks of the competition.

Looking at Yan Jue’s harmless little face, Duan Luxi was indeed quite astonished.

After all, no matter how one looked at it, Yan Jue was only an outer sect disciple.

An outer sect disciple making it to the fifth round; just how hard must she have trained normally?

Duan Luxi truly did not dare imagine it.

Yan Jue gave her a wry smile, took the book, and registered the magical artifact she would be using.

Whatever worked best in her hands was what she would use.

This time, she still chose Northern Sea black iron.

Yan Jue also asked Duan Luxi, “Senior Sister, this bead of mine is a protective item and not really a magical artifact. Can I bring it onto the martial platform?”

Duan Luxi was slightly startled, and her gaze fell on the ice-blue pearl at Yan Jue’s waist.

The bead had been tied to her ceremonial sash and hung at her waist like a jade pendant.

Duan Luxi asked, “Does this bead have any special function?”

Yan Jue: “It’s for protection; it has no offensive effect.”

Duan Luxi: “Junior Sister, wait a moment.”

She turned and ran over there, apparently to say something to an elder.

An elder with a snow-white beard came over, picked up the bead at Yan Jue’s waist, and examined it. After a moment of thought, he said, “You may bring it, but you cannot use it as an offensive magical artifact. Otherwise, your match result will be void.”

Yan Jue breathed out in relief. “Of course.”

A sudden clamor rose from the crowd.

Chu Fu, wearing the standard gray-green dao robe of a Watercloud Sect outer disciple with a longsword on his back, slowly walked onto the martial platform.

As expected of the male lead; in the sunlight, his features were handsome, and even the way he walked seemed to carry light with it.

The crowd immediately began whispering.

“That’s Chu Fu, right? I remember he was still at the Qi Refining stage a few months ago. That cultivation speed..."

“He’s an outer sect reserve disciple, but he’s a genius! What’s so strange about cultivating at that speed?”

“Hmph, so what if he’s a genius..."

The crowd below the platform buzzed with discussion.

Some voices were approving, others not so much.

Compared with three years ago, when Chu Fu had just entered the outer sect and the praise had been one-sided, people’s assessment of him now was clearly much more balanced.

Chu Fu heard it; his expression darkened, and he could not help clenching his fists.

This time, on the martial platform, he would kill that woman outright! Let’s see what those people had left to say then.

Ding——

A clear bell rang, and faint golden light flashed across the sky.

Chu Fu looked at Yan Jue gloomily.

He was no longer the little Qi Refining disciple he had once been.

The aura of a Fusion Realm expert rolled off him; the demonic seal the Demon Lord had given him last night was safely tucked in his pocket, and a faint stream of powerful spiritual energy was constantly surging through his body.

Right now, he was not afraid of Yan Jue at all.

Chu Fu cupped his hands toward Yan Jue. “Senior Sister Yan, please enlighten me.”

Yan Jue looked at him darkly, secretly rolling her eyes.

The match began.

The Heavenly Deduction Three-Absolute Formation started operating, and the sky had already turned completely overcast.

A bolt of lightning flashed across the heavens, illuminating the girl’s face a stark white.

This round of the match was actually in thunderstorm weather!

Chu Fu closed his eyes, then suddenly spread his arms.

The longsword behind him instantly shot up, spinning furiously through the sky.

In an instant, a violent wind arose!

A whirlpool-like gale spread out from his side, and the match immediately turned into a dangerous zone filled with howling wind.

The people below the platform all widened their eyes.

This was actually the rare wind-element divine ability: Gale Sword Dance!

The fierce wind threw everyone off balance. Yan Jue immediately used Flying Swallow Steps to move away from the center of the storm. She did not dare be careless in the slightest when dealing with Chu Fu, and at once raised Northern Sea black iron to meet him.

Suddenly, a thunderbolt struck down!

Yan Jue froze; her pupils contracted sharply.

This heavenly thunder, mixed with the force of the gale, condensed in the air into a golden dragon baring its fangs and claws.

If it struck her, she would likely reveal her true form on the spot!

Yan Jue flashed aside again, but the screaming wind completely restricted her movements.

She had only taken a few steps forward when everything before her suddenly went white. The blinding light made it impossible for her to see the direction ahead at all; she could only feel a terrifying current of electricity surging in front of her.

...

Qi Xianqing had just finished her match and was walking over here at an unhurried pace.

Zhou Leng smiled in front of her. “At a boring time like this, of course we have to find some entertainment..."

Qi Xianqing: “What entertainment?”

Zhou Leng: “Naturally, to come and admire the bearing of Watercloud Sect’s newly risen outer sect genius disciple.”

The person Zhou Leng was referring to was, of course, Yan Jue.

Although Senior Sister had once had many unpleasant dealings with Yan Jue, now Yan Jue seemed to have turned over a new leaf, and Senior Sister appeared not to care anymore.

So Zhou Leng naturally did not hold old grudges either.

The two of them arrived in front of the sixth martial platform and were suddenly met with a sky full of thunder and lightning.

Qi Xianqing frowned slightly. Everyone below the platform was holding their breath and watching intently when they suddenly saw that, at the very instant the golden dragon-like lightning was about to reach Yan Jue, it abruptly curved away and avoided her!

Boom!!

With a tremendous crash, the lightning struck the martial platform. The ground instantly caved in; the originally level floor was in an instant covered with cracks.

Yan Jue lowered her head reflexively and saw that the thunder-warding bead at her waist was flickering with a faint azure glow in the dim light.

She could not help breathing a sigh of relief. It really was exactly as she had imagined.

The match was still continuing.

The spectators below quickly noticed that something was wrong.

Although, well...

Why did Chu Fu look like a lightning rod?

And why did heavenly thunder seem to have a grudge against Yan Jue, always aiming for her specifically?!

From just now until now, no one knew how many bolts of heavenly thunder had already been directed at Yan Jue.

The thunder rolled in, yet it always brushed past her by the narrowest margin.

The second bolt, the third bolt...

But the thunder was as if it were only pretending to strike; every time it was about to touch Yan Jue’s body, it would just barely veer away, striking the ground on either side of her instead and leaving deep cracks behind.

On the martial platform, the rain poured down in sheets. Yan Jue’s jet-black hair had been soaked through, and she was in complete disarray from head to toe.

She kept her eyes slightly open. The back of her fair hand had been scorched black by the aftershock of lightning, yet she still met each of Chu Fu’s attacks with unwavering determination.

Chu Fu made a sweeping gesture with both hands, then immediately formed a hand seal with his right hand and shouted coldly, “Qi Blade!”

The air beside him instantly began to twist and condense, turning into countless thin, sharp blades of compressed air.

The air blades let out a shriek and came rushing toward Yan Jue with force enough to split mountains.

This was a duel at the Fusion Realm; it was entirely different from the Qi Refining realm.

Even the spectators standing below the platform could feel an intensely dangerous aura.

Chu Fu formed seals with both hands and silently recited a mental incantation. In an instant, the storm around him intensified, and the gale began to rage once more.

Yan Jue planted her feet firmly. If her stance loosened even slightly right now, she would be blown clean away by the wind.

No.

She could not get anywhere near Chu Fu at all.

Although the Myriad Sword Art was a long-range attack, it was still restricted to a certain range...

Right now, she had already been blown to the south side of the martial platform, while Chu Fu was on the north side. Her Myriad Sword Art could not accurately pierce Chu Fu’s body.

Yan Jue gritted her teeth and tried to take a step forward.

No good; the wind blurred her vision, and rain poured down from overhead. She simply could not take a single step forward!

Her movements were completely restricted.

In the torrential rain, Yan Jue forced her eyes open and suddenly remembered something.

The gale... the Spirit Communion Art!

Over there, Chu Fu maintained the attack distance that satisfied him, looking at Yan Jue, who was unable to move even one step forward under the wind. He once again raised the longsword in his hand.

Kill her.

This was the final strike!

Chu Fu shouted, “Breaking Wind Slash!”

The iron sword suddenly swelled in size in the air and, borrowing the force of the gale, shot straight forward. It was aimed directly at Yan Jue’s chest!

At the same time, another bolt of heavenly thunder struck toward Yan Jue. It just happened to bend away at the last moment, but the massive fluctuation of spiritual power still made Yan Jue stagger a few steps and nearly fall.

This strike would surely carve out that wretched woman’s heart.

Chu Fu curved his lips. Her heart was his too.!