Chapter21: The Unfortunate Person That Bumped Into A Bird
Although Zhu Yao’s master treated her really well, he was an extremely stubborn person at times, and when he had decided on something, he would not easily change his mind. For example, when he forbade her from leaving the mountain five years ago, she was seriously confined in the mountain for a whole five years. No matter how she tried to make a scene, look pitiful, throw tantrums, and talk sense to him, he never changed his mind. And, he seemed to have done something behind her back, as in this five years, the number of disciples visiting Jade Forest Mountain decreased as time went by, and even if it was an urgent matter, it would still be sent through paper cranes.
And even that little bastard Wang Xuzhi, seemed to have forgotten her, the only person who came along with him from the same hometown. In this five years, other than the little paper cranes occasionally flying in with short messages, he had never headed up the mountain to look for her. This little kid doesn’t have any conscience at all. Next time I see him, I will definitely spank him fiercely in the buttocks.
Depressed, Zhu Yao gazed at the moon and sighed. Only her breathing could be heard in this quiet place. Among the few dumb birds, that were used to call her for meals, flying in the sky, there was one that was especially fat, and it was flying as though it was drunk. It seemed to have crashed into something in the sky.
Eeehhhh!? It’s falling!
Zhu Yao instantly stood up, opened the door, and ran to the place where the celestial crane fell. That thing it crashed into earlier, was a human figure, wasn’t it!? The celestial crane bumped into a person! Zhu Yao who had not seen a single outsider for a very long time, sprinted the entire distance, as she wondered which unfortunate person would crash into a bird while flying on his sword.
After running all the way to the mountainside, Zhu Yao finally spotted the unfortunate person who fell onto the ground. Wearing the sect’s white uniform, he hugged onto his head with his two hands as he rolled left and right. Beside him, a celestial crane which was as tall as a human adult, with its head extended outwards, was pecking on his body.
“Ow, stop, stop, stop. Stop pecking, stop pecking. Peck again, and I will hit you.” The youth seemed to have sprained his foot, and was currently protecting his head like his life depended on it. “Dumb bird, stop.” The moment Zhu Yao called out, that extremely aggressive celestial crane immediately spread out its wings and flew towards Zhu Yao. It cried out haughtily, and then, it flapped its wings at Zhu Yao. The way it was acting, it was as though it was trying to boast that it had caught an intruder.
Zhu Yao stroked the celestial crane’s neck, and after appeasing it, she looked towards the youth on the floor. A celestial crane was a first-stage Spirit Beast, and it only had a tiny bit of spiritual knowledge. Any Essence-stage disciple could deal with it, yet, he simply dodged and did not retaliate, it was evident that he held no evil intentions to the Jade Forest Mountain.
“Wife!” That person blurted out, and with an excited expression, he walked over to her. With how he addressed her, Zhu Yao instantly recognized him. If he was not Wang Xuzhi, who else could he be?
With a joyful look, Wang Xuzhi tried to pull her hand. However, the celestial crane beside her cried out, and blocked him. Its long beak once again tried to make contact with his body. “Enough, dumb bird.” Zhu Yao patted on the celestial crane. “I know him. There’s nothing for you to do here. Go and play somewhere else.” The celestial crane looked at her, and then, it once again looked at the youth, before it flapped its wings and flew away.
“Little wimp?” If he had not called her wife earlier, Zhu Yao would not have believed that this handsome youth before her, was the spoiled brat back then.
Wang Xuzhi scratched his head embarrassingly, and complained. “I already told you many times, I have a name, and it’s called Wang Xuzhi.”
Zhu Yao laughed, and sized him up. “Alright, alright. Little wimp has grown up, and you have even grown into such a handsome young man.” In just five years, the child who was only at her chest-height back then, was now taller than her by the size of a head. The round bun-like face back then, was now a little sharpened, as though it had been cut by a sword. The shota back then, had already grown into such a handsome man.
Wang Xuzhi’s face flushed red from her praises. As though he had recalled something, he cleared his throat, and then, abiding to the rules, he gave her a bow. “Greetings to grand-martial aunt.”
“Good boy!” Zhu Yao habitually reached out her hand to stroke his head. However, she realized that this action was a little tiring now that he was this tall, and pulled her hand back. “You little twerp, you haven’t shown up for five years, so why did you suddenly have the thought of visiting me today?”
“I… I wanted to look for you as well.” Wang Xuzhi hurriedly explained. “But, because ancestral-martial uncle set up a formation on Jade Forest Mountain five years ago, and without his approval, not a single person was allowed to enter. This… This time, I was simply circling around the area, but, I did not expect that I would really manage to enter.”
So it was a barrier, it’s no wonder that the number of disciples visiting Jade Forest Mountain in the last five years was just a handful, and all of them were sent to look for her master, under the orders from the Sect Master. Master was evidently trying to isolate her, wasn’t he? Zhu Yao gritted her teeth, and felt like there was a need to talk to that certain master about life.
“Grand-martial aunt… Have, have you been well these last few years?” Wang Xuzhi tried asking. In the past few years, whenever he had nothing to do, he would circle around the vicinity of the Jade Forest Mountain with his flying sword, and looked if it was possible to enter and see her, however, he had never succeeded.
“I think it’s best if you call me big sister instead!” Zhu Yao pulled him over to a large rock at the side, and had him seated. Although she was older than him, she felt as though her youthfulness would disappear if people were to call her grand- martial aunt or ancestral-martial aunt all the time. Back then, she was the one who brought him here to cultivate, so, calling her ‘big sister’ would not be too exaggerated.
Wang Xuzhi smiled, and obediently called out. “Big sister Zhu Yao.”
“Good boy!” Zhu Yao could not help but stroke his head again. His hair which was already in a mess due to the celestial crane’s pecking, was messed up even more. “Tell big sister, how’s your cultivation coming along? Have you been well? Is there anyone bullying you? If there’s someone bullying you, tell me, I will deal with him.”
He shook his head, and obediently replied. “Master and my senior-martial brothers treat me really well, and I have small successes in my cultivation as well. Currently, I’m already an Essence Paragon.”
“Not bad, kid!” In his last letter, he told her he was still at the tenth level of Essence. But, in just a few months time, he actually became a Paragon. Then, his next step would be Foundation.
Wang Xuzhi’s face reddened again, and became even more embarrassed. She would never have thought, in just a span of five years, that fearless spoiled brat back then, would actually become so shy. Zhu Yao was momentarily mystified.
“When are you planning to build your Foundation?” Every elevation into a new realm had a big risk involved, as one had to use all his spiritual energy in his entire body to break through. If one’s successful, he would soar into prominence. However, if one was unsuccessful, the least that could happen was a fall in cultivation level, while, the most that could happen was Spirit Vein impairment, and he would no longer be able to cultivate again. And, the higher the cultivation level, the higher the difficulty.
Wang Xuzhi’s expression sank. “I plan to wait for a few years, and only consider it after I stabilize myself in the current realm.” Zhu Yao nodded, this was the right choice. In comparison, the success rate of breaking through into Foundation from Essence was very high. However, there were no shortage of unfortunate people, and even out of those with good foundations in place, the number who succeed was just half. Then, suddenly, she recalled of something, and turned to ask him. “Are you planning to use a Foundation Pellet?”
“Mn!” Wang Xuzhi nodded. “Master had already prepared a Foundation Pellet for me two years ago, however, I wish to use my own abilities to obtain it. Hence, in the Intra-Sect Great Tournament the day after tomorrow, I will be participating in the Essence group, and I will obtain the Foundation Pellet if I earn a place in the top three.”
After hearing this, Zhu Yao’s brows curled tightly.
“Big sister Zhu Yao, what is it? Am I not allowed to?” Wang Xuzhi thought she was worried about his safety, and explained. “You don’t have to worry, on the surface, the Intra-Sect Tournament is only conducted to select participants to represent our sect in the Inter-Sect Tournament. And, with my cultivation level, I’m pretty confident in getting to the top ten at least.”
Chapter22: The Storm At Jade Forest Mountain
“I’m not worried about that.” Zhu Yao sighed. “I’m just worried about you using a Foundation Pellet. I heard from master that, cultivation goes against the laws of nature in the first place, using medicine to elevate one’s level of cultivation, will only bring temporary effects, and it cannot be considered as one’s actual abilities, even if one gains strength for a short period of time. But, comparing the usage of external aid and of one’s own abilities, using one’s abilities is much more dependable. Master himself had never used any medicinal pellets to elevate his level of cultivation.”
Wang Xuzhi went silent for a moment. He knew of this logic as well. There were always side-effects to using medicinal pellets, even if they were not that obvious in the early stages, once one reached the later stages, he would encounter a bottleneck. However, compared to that, everyone had habitually relied on medicinal pellets to supplement and increase their success rates in building their Foundation, hence, he had not thought in that direction.
“Big sister Zhu Yao is right. I have to rely on my own abilities to build my Foundation.” “You have promise, young man!” Zhu Yao satisfyingly patted on his shoulders. She felt extremely happy that this spoiled brat had learnt to care about her and listen to her words. “Of course, if you’re really unable to endure it, use medicinal pellets when you have to. After all, all hope will be lost if you die.”
“Mn, Xuzhi understands.”
So obedient. So caring. As I thought, I did not care for you for nothing.
“Oh right, big sister Zhu Yao, what’s your current level of cultivation?”
She instantly fell onto the ground.
Zhu Yao held onto her glass heart and silently looked away.
Did you have to stab her in the heart like this?
Seeing that her expression was not that good, Wang Xuzhi muttered out. “I was not able to see through big sister Zhu Yao’s cultivation level, so I thought it was because your cultivation level was higher than mine, could it be…” His expression was momentarily in a slight panic, as he immediately began to remedy his words. “Big sister Zhu Yao, it… it wasn’t intentional. I didn’t know you have yet to take in spiritual energy… Don’t be mad at me. If I had known that you don’t even have a single bit of spiritual energy in you, I wouldn’t have brought it up. Don’t be anxious, taking in spiritual energy is actually really simple, back then, I learnt it in a single night. I…”
Stab. Stab. Stab. Zhu Yao simply felt a couple of daggers stabbing right through her heart. She could no longer restrain herself from covering the big mouth of the person who was anxiously trying to explain himself. Gritting her teeth, she said. “Can you stop?”
This little twerp is intentionally making fun of me, right!? Don’t think just because you have gotten bigger, I don’t dare to spank you.
Deep in the night, so as to not get pissed to death by the little twerp who disguised himself as a pure and innocent young man, Zhu Yao quickly kicked him out of Jade Forest Mountain.
As Wang Xuzhi rubbed his buttocks which were hurting from the kick, he waved his hand, and shouted. “You have to definitely come and watch my matches!” Only then did he reluctantly return as he was chased away by countless celestial cranes from the mountain.
Watch his match? How? She had to at least be able to leave to do so. If not for her master having to leave to reinforce the formation due to the Inter-Sect Tournament, Wang Xuzhi that little bastard might not have been able to enter the mountain in the first place. Haah, as she thought, a little bastard would always stay as a little bastard. No matter how pure and well- behaved he looked, it would not change his bastard personality. Zhu Yao had decided that, she would not be replying his letters for three months.
Recalling the kid’s cultivation level, and then, when she thought of her own, Zhu Yao sighed. She walked a few steps into the courtyard, sat cross-legged on the patch of grass in the courtyard, and tried to sense the spiritual energy that she had not been able to feel for five whole years.
The deep night in Jade Forest Mountain was utterly silent, and probably because her master had not returned, it felt even quieter. Zhu Yao took a deep breath, and for a moment, her entire mind was blank. Faintly sensing something warm was surrounding her, something sparked in her mind, and instantly after, she could feel countless spots of light currently circling around her. What are these spots of light? Even though she did not open her eyes, she could clearly feel them. Could these be spiritual energy particles?
At that moment, Zhu Yao was excited. Five years. After five years, she was finally able to sense spiritual energy. Among the spots of light, there were those which were tiny dots, while there were some that were grouped up together, and all of them were dancing in the air. As though they were alive, some of them were even a little cheeky and approached her, lightly brushing against her cheeks, as though they were demonstrating their affection to her. The spots of light were varied in colors, and among them, there was a type of spiritual energy with a small silver tail attached to it, which she felt extremely intimate to. It should be the lightning spiritual energy particles that she had to take in.
Zhu Yao suppressed the excitement in her heart, and recalled the method to circulate spiritual energy her master had taught her. Using her heart to sense the silver spots of light, she concentrated her thoughts in having them enter her body. Just when she began thinking about it, those spots of light seemed to have been affected by some sort of guidance, and with a twirl in the air, they hastily flew towards her. Before Zhu Yao could even feel happy about it, like an opened bottle, the shrieking stream of lightning spiritual energy particles scrambled as they rushed into Zhu Yao’s body, and they were basically uncontrollable. In just a few seconds, they had already filled all the tendons in her body. However, the spiritual energy particles did not stop and continued to drill into her body.
Her tendons swelled uncomfortably, and she felt unbearable pain from the top of her head to the tip of her toes. Immediately after, she seemed to have heard a ‘boom’ sound from within her mind, it sounded like something had been broken, and the spiritual energy particles which had been hindered earlier were smoothly flowing endlessly into her body once again. It continued to fill up her body, and then, it continued to break through. And this cycle continued on and on. Every single cycle, she would experience that unbearable pain, and the pain would increase in severity in every subsequent cycle.
What Zhu Yao did not know was, her cultivation level was skyrocketing at an astonishing rate as well. First level of Essence, second level of Essence, third level of Essence…
Suddenly, an extremely unbearable pain descended. It was pain that could not be described with words, and Zhu Yao felt her body was currently being forcefully ripped apart, as though she was about to be torn into countless pieces. From the top of her head to the tip of her toes, there was nowhere in her body that was not hurting. Zhu Yao collapsed onto the ground, and no matter what she did, she could not expel the pain. Blood was already flowing out from her eyes, ears, mouth and nose, her blood vessels exploded, and her entire body was already completely stained with blood. Zhu Yao simply felt that she might die in the very next moment.
Currently on the sea under Ancient Hill Sect, reinforcing the formation with the Sect Master, Yu Yan’s expression suddenly changed. He immediately turned and headed straight for Jade Forest Mountain.
“Ancestral-martial uncle!” Because he suddenly pulled back, the formation showed signs of collapsing. Zi Mo had no choice but to bite the bullet and covered for him. He turned around, only to realize his ancestral-martial uncle’s figure had already disappeared from sight. Ancestral-martial uncle, you can’t torture your junior like this. I can’t hold onto the Mountain Barrier Great Formation by myself, you know.
With his quickest speed, Yu Yan returned to the Jade Forest Mountain. In that short instance, he momentarily felt the imprint he left on his disciple’s forehead being activated. That was a type of Sensing Mystic Art that only a master and his or her personal succeeding disciple could have, and it would only activate at the moment when the disciple was at the borders between life and death. His disciple was evidently within Jade Forest Mountain, just what could threaten her life there?
Before he even reached the peak of the mountain, he had already felt the storm of lightning spiritual energy. He was a holder of the Lightning Spirit Vein as well, so he was rather familiar with this type of spiritual energy. However, the current situation looked as though all of the lightning spiritual energy particles between the sky and earth were being guided, and they were pouring towards the peak of Jade Forest Mountain at an overwhelming rate. Even the strongest Spiritual Energy Gathering Formation in the world, would not be able to bring in such a large amount of lightning spiritual energy.
Yu Yan flew closer, and realized at the center of those spiritual energy particles, was his disciple. Covered entirely in blood, she had collapsed onto the ground, and the surrounding lightning spiritual energy particles were endlessly pouring into her body. If this was to keep up, she would definitely die from self- destruction.
Yu Yan swung his sword, momentarily dispersing some of the spiritual energy, and rushed into the center of those spiritual energy particles. Raising his disciple up from the ground, he cast a Mystic Art on her that would forcefully awaken her.
Chapter23: Great Diarrhea Art
“Mas…ter!” The moment Zhu Yao could clearly see the person right in front of her, that unbearable pain once again attacked her, and she felt like fainting again.
Yu Yan did his best to keep her awake, and set up a formation that could obstruct spiritual energy. However, the surrounding spiritual energy particles were simply too many. After losing their guiding beacon, they instantly began to behave wildly, and attack indiscriminately. “Converge your mind, focus on a single thought, hurry and stop the spiritual energy pull.” Currently, the violent turbulence could only be stopped if his disciple stop her absorption of spiritual energy, otherwise, the entire Ancient Hill Sect would be wrecked by the rampant lightning spiritual energy particles.
Zhu Yao understood that the current situation was extremely grave as well. She crawled up and began to meditate, following her master’s instructions, she stopped her intake of spiritual energy.
After about five minutes, the rampant spiritual energy particles slowly calmed down, and began to disperse. Yu Yan released the formation, carefully looked at his own disciple, and realized, she was already an Foundation Paragon. Even Sovereign Yu Yan, who had a vast amount of experience, was a little shocked by his own disciple. Just what kind of disciple did he take in?
For five years, she could not even manage to take in a hint of spiritual energy, and once she learnt how to, she immediately rose by several levels?
“Master?” Zhu Yao could feel that her body was different as well, however she could not understand what was that earlier situation about. Was it her late-coming cheat?
“There’s no need to think too deeply into it.” Yu Yan cast a Dirt Removal Art on her, cleaning up the bloodstains that filled her entire body. Then, he carried his disciple who was completely fatigued into her cottage, and covered her nicely with the blanket. “Have some rest for now. Never bring this incident up to anyone else.”
Zhu Yao nodded. After seeing her close her eyes, Yu Yan then turned and left the cottage. Raising his head up, he looked at the lightning spiritual energy particles that had yet to fully disperse in the sky. This certain master was a little distressed. Improving one’s cultivation depended on spiritual energy, and the amount needed varied for different types of Spirit Veins. As to how much spiritual energy one could absorb, it would have to depend on how much one could sense spiritual energy, and the person’s affinity to spiritual energy. Even when he was promoting into a Demigod, he had never seen such a terrifying turbulence of lightning spiritual energy.
There were only two possibilities to the cause of such a terrifying scene. One, his disciple possessed a heaven-bending God Artifact, which had the ability to gather lightning spiritual energy. However, he had been alive for so many years, and had never heard of such a God Artifact in the world. Even during the legendary Ancient Savage Era, when it was known to be filled with countless of treasures, was not known to have such a God Artifact. And, when a God Artifact was born, there would definitely be signs about it appearing in the world, so it was impossible for its existence to be kept hidden. And, given his stupid disciple’s intellect, where her thoughts were basically written on her face, she would not possibly have the capability to hide it from everyone else, nor would she have the thought of doing so. Otherwise, it would not have been possible for her to not know how to take in spiritual energy for five whole years.
In that case, there was only one possibility left. His disciple’s affinity to lightning spiritual energy, was at an unimaginable degree. Hence, the lightning spiritual energy particles would scramble and rush into her body.
Haah, it seemed like he had taken in a very big trouble. But what could he do about it? She was his disciple, after all!
Zhu Yao slept an entire day and night. After waking up, she simply felt her mind was extremely refreshed, and her body was filled endless vigor. It seemed as though, in a single night, her five senses improved. In the past, she had the thought that Jade Forest Mountain was desolated, and even with a good look, she would not be able to see much life around. However, now, as long as she paid slight attention, she would be able to hear birds chirping in the forest, the caterpillars crying on the leaves, the butterflies flapping their wings around the flowers, and she could even occasionally hear the laughter of the disciples that were passing by Jade Forest Mountain.
This was an experience that she had never felt before, and when Zhu Yao opened the door, a feeling of being welcomed into a new world rose in her heart. As she thought, she did not cross into this world just for the sake of touring it, and the feeling of having a cheat was awe-awe-some. As though they had felt her thoughts, even the lightning spiritual energy particles in the air, were lively jumping about. Zhu Yao stopped her feet, looked at the blurry and dim spots of light in the air as they intimately circled around her. They then lined themselves up in a ‘S’ shape, and after that, they lined themselves in a ‘B’ shape.
She calmly waved her hand and dispersed them. Hmph, little bastards. That night, you bastards almost killed me. This time, I will not allow you guys to enter that easily. Even if you guys try to act all cutesy, it’s no use.
“Master!” The moment Yu Yan walked out of the door, he saw an unidentified object pouncing onto him. He habitually stepped to the side, and stared as she slammed her face onto the ground. Heaving a long sigh, he gave a ‘my disciple is being stupid again’ expression.
Zhu Yao slapped away the dirt on her clothes as she got up.
She was not angry, after all, he was the one who saved her life.
“Thank you, master, for saving my life. This disciple has nothing to repay you, why don’t I give you my love?”
Yu Yan looked at her weirdly. “You’re mine in the first place.” “Ehh?” What does that mean? Zhu Yao was a little stunned. What did he mean by she was his in the first place? She suddenly imagined herself as a commoner being favored by a rich and cold-looking CEO. No! I only said that as a casual remark!
Yu Yan saw that she had begun to turn stupid again, and explained. “You’re my personal succeeding disciple.” She could only have him as her master in the first place, so naturally, she was his. Love or whatever, was basically non-existent.
Zhu Yao’s face cramped. As she thought, her master was a martian who she could not communicate with. Ah whatever, I’m feeling good today, so I won’t talk back at him. “Master, what are we eating today?” Was it not time for breakfast?
“You’re hungry?” Yu Yan looked at her strangely.
Zhu Yao rubbed her tummy, and shook her head. Logically speaking, after sleeping for an entire day and night, she should have been extremely hungry by now. However, she did not feel the slightest of hunger right now.
“Once you reach Foundation, you will no longer feel hunger. From this day onward, you have no need to eat.”
“Ah, if we don’t eat, won’t we be missing out on one of the many pleasures in life?” As a gourmet, this was simply unacceptable. “Master, why don’t we occasionally eat, and experience life sometimes?”
Yu Yan was unmoved. “There are too many impurities in the food of the mortal realm, and they do not benefit one’s cultivation. Since you no longer feel hunger, there’s no need for food any longer.”
Zhu Yao was slightly distracted for a moment. She silently decided to eat sneakily in the future, and definitely not have master see her doing so.
“Since you have already built your Foundation, start training in all the Mystic Arts you have memorized in the past.” The certain master began to shift into teaching mode. “Just by having a high cultivation level, without any mystic arts, will not do. First, start by training in the entry-level Body Purity Art.”
“Yes, my liege! No problem, my liege!” Zhu Yao obediently raised her hands. Yu Yan ignored her nonsense, raised his hand and tapped on the center of her forehead. Zhu Yao felt a large amount of information pouring into her mind, and that was the Body Purity Art he spoke of. Actually, the so-called Body Purity Art, was to purify one’s meridians, remove the impurities in one’s body, which in turn, would allow spiritual energy to circulate more smoothly in one’s body. This way, casting Mystic Arts would be more fluent and rapid.
Zhu Yao closed her eyes and sat down. Following the method stated in the mystic art, she purified her meridians over and over again. However, she underestimated the amount of impurities she accumulated in her body in the last thirty-three years. After purifying them a few times, she felt an unbearable pain in her stomach. Guruguruguru. Her stomach growled. Embarrassingly, she looked towards her master at the side, and realized he was currently looking at her, unmoving. He looked as though he had already known that this would happen.
She gritted her teeth, leapt right up, and speedily rushed into the toilet. Liar! What Body Purity Art! It’s evidently the Great Diarrhea Art!
Chapter24: A Practitioner Who Cannot Fly
Hence, Zhu Yao, who had accumulated impurities for thirty- three years, squatted in the toilet for an entire day. Even if she possessed the cultivation level of a Foundation Paragon, she could barely stand still after the entire thing. When she returned to the courtyard while leaning against the wall, the moon was already glowing and the stars were already shining bright in the sky, and her master had long disappeared.
Zhu yao mustered the last bit of strength she had in her, and headed to the pond at the peak of the mountain to bathe, before crawling back to her own room. This Body Purity Art almost killed her.
From tomorrow onwards, she would refrain from eating. That was Zhu Yao’s firm decision when she got back to her own room.
She slowly closed her eyes. Oh right, I seemed to have forgotten something today? Ah, whatever, let’s sleep for now.
If there was one achievement Zhu Yao made in the last five years, it’s that she had memorized all the Arts under the Azoth- stage that she could train in. As someone who had experienced an examination-oriented education, and had crossed over that difficult path, memorizing them was simply too easy. And, master had often explained to her the principles of these Arts, so she had accumulated five years of basic theoretical knowledge.
And with her current cultivation level, when she tried to apply them practically, she was evidently able to use them easily. She basically managed to learn how to control them after a few dozens of tries. Occasionally, when there were a few difficult ones, her master would advise her at the side, and she would be able to comprehend them after that. Hence, in the next three months, Zhu Yao had been desperately learning the Arts she had fallen behind on.
However, there was one Art, that she could never conquer.
And that was the Flying Sword Art.
Looking at his disciple who had once again fallen from not even a height of four meters from the ground, Yu Yan heaved a long sigh.
Zhu Yao felt like crying. Crawling up, she picked up the long sword which had fallen beside her, and showed a face of defeat. No matter how strong a deity practitioner she was, she could not conquer her fear of heights!
That’s right. Zhu Yao was afraid of heights. Just by being a little high up, her legs would turn jelly, let alone standing on such a thin sword, and flying around on it. It’s really scary, alright!?
“Master, can I not use a sword?” As a deity practitioner, it was indeed embarrassing not being able to fly. However, her fear of heights was something she could not deny. “I’m really afraid of heights, just by standing on the sword, my legs will turn jelly. Switching it with a broader weapon is fine as well.” At the very least, she would feel safer.
Yu Yan looked at her, and began to seriously ponder about this problem. Actually, in Ancient Hill Sect, there were indeed many different types of weapon users, and the weapons they used to fly varied as well. However, swords made up the majority, as, swords had the strongest attacking power out of all weapons. And, Ancient Hill Sect was famed for its sword techniques as well. Yu Yan himself, practiced in the ways of the sword.
“What kind of weapon do you want to use?” “My requirements aren’t high. As long as it’s a little broader, convenient to use, and can be used to attack and defend. It’s best if it’s easily retractable too.”
Those aren’t high requirements, you say? Yu Yan heaved a sigh, and deeply pondered for a moment. “I will think of something regarding your weapon. In the next few days, practice more on the rest of your Arts. In a month’s time, you will be following me to participate in the Inter-Sect Tournament.”
“Inter-Sect Tournament!” This meant that she could leave the mountain. Wait a minute. “I’m… I’m participating as well?” She could not even fly with a sword, even if she went, she would probably be disintegrated in a second, right? Was it not the top three winners in the Intra-Sect Tournament who would be participating?
Yu Yan looked at her indifferently. “It’s fine if you just watch.”
“…” So she was simply going there to spectate. Why did she feel oddly irritated at her master’s expression? “Although you have already built your Foundation, your advancement in cultivation level was too quick, and you’re still not familiar with the usage of many Mystic Arts. You will benefit from watching the fights of others.”
Zhu Yao nodded. Indeed, her actual combat experience was equal to zero. Although she learnt the Mystic Arts by memorizing and cramping everything her brain, being able to apply them, was an entirely different matter. Even if her opponent’s cultivation level was much lower than hers, once they were to start dueling, she might not be able to obtain victory.
This could be compared to when one first begins to learn the multiplication table. Anyone is capable of multiplying up to nine times nine, and anyone can simply blurt out the answer to the multiplication of single-digit numbers. Everyone knows that two times two equals to four, but what about twenty-two times two? To calculate it in the quickest time possible, it depends on one’s experience and the method to derive the answer.
Mystic Arts were the same as well. Although there were differences in the amount of spiritual energy in every person, the speed of casting Mystic Arts, and the methods of using Mystic Arts were different for everyone as well. These were the keys to obtaining victory. And, in these aspects, she was just at the entry-level.
“Master, I understand.” Zhu Yao tightened the grip in her hands. This was the first time she had treated cultivation seriously, ever since she had crossed into this world.
Yu Yan nodded, and once again began to explain to her the essentials of some Mystic Arts, before turning to leave.
Zhu Yao began to seriously practice these Mystic Arts as well. Most of the Arts she were learning were Lightning Mystic Arts, and their attack power were extremely strong. For example, the Lightning Guiding Art, as the name suggested, once the Mystic Art activates, a strike of lightning would be gathered using spiritual energy. Master had said that, once she formed her Azoth Core, she would be able to comprehend the Great Lightning Guiding Art. When that time came, what would be emitted would not be just a single lightning strike, but tens and thousands of them. There was another Art called Heavenfall, which was the strongest out of all the Mystic Arts she knew of currently. With her current spiritual strength, she could barely cast it once. The difference between the Lightning Guiding Art and Heavenfall, was that, the Lightning Gathering Art used her own spiritual power to form lightning, while Heavenfall, was to directly guide a Heavenly Lightning to descend unto her target. However, a Mystic Art like that would deplete her entire spiritual power with just a single cast, and, if she were to miss, in the next moment, she would simply be lying on the ground as she waited for her death.
Of course, other than these, she knew of other types of Mystic Arts as well. However, she would have to change the lightning spiritual energy in her body to correspond to the type of spiritual energy needed to activate those Arts, before she could use them. For example, she would require to first change her lightning spiritual energy to fire spiritual energy, before being able to activate the Fire Ball Art. Not only was this time- consuming, it was very tedious as well.
However, a deity practitioner could not simply use a single type of Mystic Arts. Master had told her not to simply concentrate on a single type. As a Lightning Spirit Vein holder, she would only be well-recognized if she was able to master all of the other types of Mystic Arts.
A month later. The day of the Inter-Sect Tournament.
Ever since three days ago, Zhu Yao was able to feel the atmosphere around the sect was different compared to before. There were even more disciples passing by the cold and quiet Jade Forest Mountain as well. Although they were unable to enter the mountain, with Zhu Yao’s current divine sense, she was still able to sense them.
Zhu Yao could feel a large wave of festivities approaching, however… she was unable to leave.
Ever since her spiritual energy went berserk, her master once again reinforced the formation, and this time, not even a paper crane could fly in. When she found out this truth, tears flowed out of Zhu Yao’s eyes.
Her master had promised to bring her to watch the competition, however, in these last three days, she could not even find his figure at all. She had flipped the entire Jade Forest Mountain, and his figure was still nowhere to be found.
No, to be exact, she had not seen her master for an entire month. Ever since he explained to her about some of the Mystic Arts, he disappeared. Although he had often disappeared without even notifying her in the past, he had never been gone for this long before. If not for the fact that she was unable to leave the mountain, she would have already went to the Sect Master to file a missing person report. Master, hurry back and fetch your disciple! I want to leave!
Zhu Yao waited bitterly for an entire morning, and only at noon, did her master, who had been lost for an entire month, finally return. Zhu Yao could not restrain herself from shooting him with a resentful stare with a magnitude of a hundred thousand electrical volts.
Unfortunately, the certain master ignored her.
Chapter25: Who Doesn’t Know How To Bully?
Yu Yan reached out his hand, and there was a jade tablet on the top of his palm. Zhu Yao looked at it carefully. Eh? Why does this jade tablet look so familiar? Ah, isn’t this the identity jade tablet I received five years ago? Because she did not have spiritual power back then, she had thrown it away in some corner. “Master, where did you find it?” She had forgotten where she placed it herself.
Yu Yan did not answer, and simply told her. “The weapon you want has already been stored inside this jade tablet.”
Zhu Yao received the tablet. Using her divine sense to check, she realized, inside the jade tablet, was a few sets of clothes, and a few books regarding entry-level Mystic Arts. These should be the items issued by the sect, and a fan laid silently beside the Mystic Art books. She hurriedly retrieved it. Zhu Yao did not know what the frames of fan were made of, but they felt comfortable in her hands. The fan was dark red in color, although it did not have any flora designs, it gave off a faint soothing scent, and looked extremely beautiful.
Zhu Yao fiddled with it for a moment. It was exactly the weapon, that could both attack and defend, and was easily retractable, she requested for. Zhu Yao came to love the fan instantly.
“When this fan is opened, it can be used as a flying artifact. It’s speed is not incomparable to a sword.” He was completely disappointed in her Flying Sword Art. If his disciple, the disciple of Yu Yan, were to fall to her death from flying on a sword, it would be extremely humiliating.
Zhu Yao nodded heavily, and began to love it even more. Touching the fan, she suddenly recalled the few days he had gone missing. “Master, you couldn’t have spent the last month refining this fan for me, right?”
Yu Yan nodded his head indifferently, as though spending a month to create such a convenient weapon for his disciple was not that big of a matter.
Zhu Yao held onto the fan in her hands, and she felt so moved, her mind was completely muddled. “Master, you’re the best! This disciple will definitely be obedient, work hard in my cultivation, and take good care of you when you’re old!”
Yu Yan’s eyes twitched, his disciple was being stupid again. “Don’t you want to leave? Hurry and change your attire, and follow me to the Duel Arena in the Main Mountain.”
“Yes, my liege. No problem, my liege.” Zhu Yao immediately turned, and ran into her room.
Yu Yan watched her run off, and sighed deeply. He was not entirely sure if her personality was a good or bad thing. Everything was written on her face, she was too sincere towards others, and she lacked the cautiousness of a deity practitioner. He was worried that she was going to suffer if she were to encounter a bad person in the future.
Returning to her room, Zhu Yao impatiently pulled out all of the items in the jade tablet. She had already learnt all of the Mystic Arts in the books, hence, simply threw them back in after a single glance. However, those few sets of clothes could be used. They were all the sect’s white uniform, and were extremely simple looking. When she took a closer look, clouds were actually embroidered on the uniforms. Mn. ****.
In the past few years, as she was unable to open this jade tablet, the clothes she had been wearing were all given by her master. The designs were much better than these white uniforms. Her master was extremely skilled, after all. However, it was the Inter-Sect Tournament today, she felt that it would be best to wear this white uniform instead. The rest of her Sect disciples were wearing the same uniform in this big event, naturally, she did not want to be the exception. She hurriedly changed, and followed after her master as they left the mountain.
Only when she finally stood on the fan, did she feel the greatness of this weapon. After inserting spiritual energy into it, the entire fan enlarged by several times, and there was even enough space for ten people. The main point was that, the amount of spiritual energy needed to insert into this weapon was the same as flying swords, and the fan even had a built-in defensive formation. While in flight, not even a hint of wind could blow into them. Zhu Yao silently gave her master a thumbs up.
The Duel Arena for the Inter-Sect Tournament was set up next to the Main Mountain. Zhu Yao had thought that it would be similar to the duel ring in ancient times, and a simple platform would just be placed at the center. However, she did not expect to see a mountain floating next to the Main Mountain. Calling it a mountain would be a little exaggerated, however, it did indeed had a size of about three football fields.
A tall circular stage was built at the center. And then, facing towards the ring, was an even taller stage. On top of it, were a few floating chairs, and seated on them were a small number of people. Among the people who were dressed differently there, were five people in white robes. Needless to say, they were definitely the Mountain Lords of the various Mountains in Ancient Hill Sect. The people beside them were probably the Sect Masters of the other sects, who had brought their disciples to the tournament.
Without even looking around, Yu Yan immediately brought his disciple and flew towards the highest point of the stage.
Zi Mo instantly saw him, and was slightly shocked in his heart. He immediately stood up and welcomed him. “Greetings to Ancestral-martial uncle.” This big man had never participated in the Inter-Sect Tournament for thousands of years, why did he suddenly have the interest to appear today?
“Hi, old man!” Zhu Yao appeared behind Yu Yan, and waved her hand at him. She was a little excited after meeting someone she was familiar with for the first time in five years.
Zi Mo stiffened, and then, he coughed for a bit, instantly understanding the situation. “Greetings to Junior-martial aunt.” So he came to spectate because of his disciple. Zi Mo then looked at her carefully, and realized Junior-martial aunt, who had not taken in spiritual energy five years ago, had already built her Foundation, and was even a Paragon! This terrifying cultivation speed, as expected of a great master to bring up a great disciple. It was no wonder why Ancestral-martial uncle insisted on taking her in as his disciple back then.
The others had realized the situation here as well. Their eyes shone, and they began to stand up and bow one after another. “Greetings to Sovereign Yu Yan.” They were all rather excited in their hearts. After all, Sovereign Yu Yan was number one in the cultivation world, and it was stated in legends that he had not appeared in front of people for tens of thousands of years, and they were actually able to meet him today.
Yu Yan nodded, and he unreservedly walked over to sit on the chair right in the middle
The rest saw that he had no intentions for idle chatter, simply stroked their noses, and returned to their seats. However, they silently lowered their seats a little, giving Yu Yan the highest seat.
Zi Mo, who had his chair stolen: “……” He quietly instructed a disciple to bring another chair over.
While Zhu Yao took out her fan, flew behind her master, and stood upright behind him. My master is this cool and dazzling tyrant, and I’m cool and dazzling tyrant number two.
Suddenly, she felt a chill down her spine, as a cold pair of eyes stared right at her. When she scanned her surroundings, she made eye contact with a cold-faced woman.
Mn, she was rather familiar. Was she not the Medicine Mountain Lord she offended when she just entered the sect a few years ago? Her name seemed to be Hong Chou.
When she recalled that she even scolded her back then, Zhu Yao broke into a grin, and a voice with a sarcastic tone sounded. “Yo, Junior-martial niece.”
The lady instantly looked gloomy. After giving her a ruthless glare, she coldly snorted and looked away, showing Zhu Yao the back of her head.
Eh, you’re no longer cute if you act all prideful. This Hong Chou seemed to really take matters like this into heart. The incident happened so many years ago, yet, she still gave Zhu Yao such an expression. However, since she was Hong Chou’s martial-aunt, as a benevolent person, Zhu Yao would not fuss about it. Zhu Yao was about to silently watch the matches, however, she suddenly heard the sonorous cry of a bird.
Someone she did not know suddenly said. “The three Sovereigns are here.”
The audience on-site, turned to look at the clouds one after another. Three people, two men and one woman, appeared from above. One was stepping on a seven-colored mythic bird, one was stepping on a white tiger, and the last one was even stepping on a bright-colored jade lotus. Their bodies were filled with divine aura, as though they were deities who had descended into the mortal realm from the nine heavens. Especially the female practitioner among them, was as beautiful as the glowing moon, giving off a feeling of elegance and holiness. And, the bird cry earlier, was emitted by the mythic bird she was riding on.
From their imposing aura, they must be the three Demigod practitioners of Ancient Hill Sect. Before Zhu Yao could even feel astonished from this spectacle which looked as though it was from a Hollywood Production, suddenly, an overwhelming pressure assaulted her. She was just a Foundation practitioner, how could she withstand the pressure from a Demigod? Instantly, her blood rumbled within her body, her meridians began to hurt, and she felt as though her cultivation level was about to be damaged.
A hand was raised out, and it landed on her shoulder.
Instantly, the pressure she felt was completely dispersed.
Yu Yan’s expression momentarily turned cold. A pressure that was much more terrifying than the previous, which held a heavy killing intent, was instantly sent back at them.
The three of them instantly felt that terrifying pressure, and because they were not prepared, their legs turned jelly. If not for the fact that they had to keep their reputation into account, they would have already fell off from their spiritual beasts. However, they managed to hurriedly circulate their spiritual energy to block the pressure, and only then did they saw Yu Yan, who was staring at them coldly in the eyes.
Chapter26: Little Wimp’s Third Senior- Martial Brother
Their expressions became rather terrible. Initially, the reason why they released their pressure was to simply demonstrate the Ancient Hill Sect’s might, with the purpose of frightening the rest of the Sects. However, they did not expect the godly Sovereign to be present, and in the end, everything backfired.
The three Sovereigns, undoubtedly, were a little embarrassed, however, they managed to react, and they hurriedly retrieved their pressure at the quickest speed possible. They then moved forward and bowed. “Greetings to martial-uncle.”
Yu Yan simply glanced at the three of them, and then, continued to send his stupid disciple some spiritual energy. After confirming that she was alright, only then did he pull his hand back, and respond indifferently. “Mn!”
Sovereign Yi Ran was the first to spot Zhu Yao who was standing at the side. Out of the three Sovereigns, his personality was the most friendly in the first place. He took the initiative to converse with her. “Could this person be the new junior-martial sister taken in by martial-uncle?” He suddenly understood why martial uncle Yu Yan unforgivingly released his pressure towards them earlier. So it was because they had harmed their junior-martial sister earlier.
But, in actual fact, this was not a fault of theirs. The ones seated above this tall stage were all Sect Masters of the various sects, and their cultivation levels were at least at the early Azoth-stage. Who would have thought that his martial uncle Yu Yan would actually bring his disciple here to watch the tournament out of sudden impulse?
It would not have been right for Zhu Yao, who was pinpointed out, to continue keeping silent, hence, she bowed to the three of them. “Greetings to senior-martial brothers, greetings to senior- martial sister.” Zhu Yao had always known that there were three Sovereigns at the Demigod-stage in Ancient Hill Sect, however, as she had always been confined, she never saw them.
Other than Yi Ran, the two others simply nodded their heads politely.
Yi Ran’s smile was especially friendly. “A couple of days ago, I heard martial-uncle had taken in a junior-martial sister, yet, we never had the fate to meet. I didn’t expect that, the moment we actually get to meet each other, you had already built yourr Foundation. As I thought, you’re rather extraordinary.” “Senior-martial brother, you flatter me too much.” Mn, looks like he’s a rather friendly person. Zhu Yao smiled. “Senior- martial brother had always been in closed-door training, so I did not dare to disturb. Please do not blame me for not doing so, senior-martial brother.”
“Junior-martial sister, you’re too courteous. If you don’t mind, you can visit my cave residence whenever you’re free.” Yi Ran gave an even happier smile, and suddenly, as though he had thought of something, he continued to ask. “Right, I still do not know junior-martial sister’s name. Since you have admitted into the Jade Forest Mountain, you should have Yu as your surname. May I ask of your Daoist title?”
Zhu Yao’s expression darkened in an instant. Friendly, your sister! You can’t dig out a person’s dark secret just like that. Gritting her teeth angrily, she replied word by word. “My. Name. Is. Yu… Yao!”
When these words fell, Yu Yan who was beside her instantly turned and threw her a suspicious stare. Did I not bestow you the name ‘Wang’?
Zhu Yao returned him a ruthless glare. You’re Desire, your entire family’s Desire! Yu Yan frowned, and then, he sighed. He silently thought to himself. My disciple’s stupidity is getting worse and worse. She can’t even remember her own Daoist title. Then, he turned back and continued to look towards the ring. While Zhu Yao continued to silently stare daggers at his back.
Seeing that there was something amiss with the atmosphere between the master and disciple, Yi Ran tactfully stopped his questioning. After giving a few polite greetings, he positioned himself a little lower, and sat on his white tiger as he watched the match.
Hence, the tall stage was separated into three levels. The first level comprised of Yu Yan, and Zhu Yao, who was standing behind him. The second level comprised of the three Sovereigns. And the third level comprised of the various Mountain Lords and the Sect Masters of the different sects. With such a distinct separation in levels, Zhu Yao felt that she only required a can of cola to complete a super deluxe meal.
The appearance of Sovereign Yu Yan and the other three Sovereigns undoubtedly ignited the flames in the hearts of all of the disciples present. It must be known that in every Inter-Sect Tournament, to these participating disciples, not only was the tournament used to showcase a sect’s strength, it was even more so a chance for them to spread their names in the cultivation world.
And the victor of every tournament would be able to obtain a chance to receive pointers from elders who were at least at the Nascent Soul stage. And today, the strongest elders of Ancient Hill Sect even appeared. Leaving aside Sovereign Yu Yan who was number one in the cultivation world, even if they were only able to receive a few pointers from one of the three Demigod Sovereigns, the participants would still benefit for life.
Cultivation was not simply about absorbing spiritual energy to increase one’s cultivation level. The essence of cultivation was more about one’s comprehension to life and the Dao. And people who could reach the Demigod-stage, definitely had insights, of the many lives in the world and the Dao, that exceeded normal people. To receive a single pointer of them, forget about sudden realizations, it would benefit their future cultivation even more.
And because of this fact, every participating disciple worked even harder, as they fought with hundred and twenty percent concentration.
Unfortunately, Zhu Yao was unable to see them. That’s right, she was unable to see them. Zhu Yao only realized this when she decided to seriously watch the competition. Damn it, leaving aside the fact that this stage is too high up, why the hell is there a formation that blocks the line of sight in place? Naturally, those with high cultivation levels would not be affected, however, she was merely a Foundation practitioner, she basically could not see what was happening on the ring at all. As she thought, a price must be paid for acting tough. It was no wonder that, other than the various Sect Masters and Mountain Lords, there were no other disciples present. It was not because they were unwilling to bring them here, rather, they had known of this fact.
“Master… May I head down and take a closer look?” Zhu Yao had no choice but to discuss with Yu Yan, and temporarily shifted her gaze away from the ring.
Yu Yan looked at her, and understood that she was unable to see anything from here either. Hence, he nodded. “After the matches are done, return immediately. Do not stay for long.” To prevent yourself from learning bad things. Of course, he did not say that last line out loud.
Zhu Yao nodded. She looked around, and as she thought, she saw a familiar figure. Coincidentally, he was looking in her direction as well. Zhu Yao immediately activated the weapon beneath her, and hurriedly flew over. “Little wimp!” Zhu Yao tapped on the youth in front of her, who was looking about.
“Big sister Zhu Yao!” Wang Xuzhi excitedly turned his head. “You’re finally able to leave the mountain?”
Zhu Yao nodded. “I’m prodigious, after all!”
Wang Xuzhi did not retort about her arrogance, and simply pulled her hand, revealing a much happier smile.
The person standing beside him noticed this, and with a gossiping look, he spoke up. “Junior-martial brother, who is she? Aren’t you going to introduce her to us? When did you meet her? You little brat, I didn’t think you have this sort of taste.”
Wang Xuzhi’s expression instantly darkened, and he glared at him angrily. “Third senior-martial brother, don’t be disrespectful!”
“Yo, you’re angry!” Yan Yuehong twirled a strand of hair next to him. Looking at him from the corner of his eye, his smile was filled with ambiguity. “Don’t worry, junior-martial brother. Even though your senior-martial brother here is cool and handsome, and beloved by everyone, I will not steal her away from you. And… your senior-martial brother doesn’t really like older women, they’re not my type.”
This time, Zhu Yao’s expression darkened as well.
“Yan Yuehong!” Wang Xuzhi’s furiousness was like a cat with its hair standing up, as though he could fight him to the death in the next moment.
Coincidentally, Du Yuanchen nearby saw her as well, and before Wang Xuzhi could explode, he placed his hands together and gave Zhu Yao a bow. “This disciple greets Grand-martial aunt.”
This time, the one whose expression darkened was Yan Yuehong.
Zhu Yao chuckled, and had Du Yuanchen raise his head. Then, she turned and swept a glance at the person called Yan Yuehong. “So you’re my martial nephew’s third disciple?” Yan Yuehong’s brows tightened, and had no choice but to respond awkwardly. “Yes, greetings to grand-martial aunt. If Yuehong has offended grand-martial aunt, please forgive me.” He simply wanted to use this rare opportunity to tease his junior-martial brother who behaved so seriously at such a young age. How would he have known that she had a higher status than him. I can’t be blamed for this!
Chapter27: Someone Else’s Counter- Attack Drama
Zhu Yao gave an even bigger smile. “So it’s Little Three. Little Three, there’s no need to be too courteous. Little Three has not met me before, it’s totally understandable that you did not recognize me. Grand-martial aunt will not blame Little Three. Alright, Little Three?”
“Thank you, Grand-martial aunt.” He kind of felt that being called Little Three was a little strange?
“You’re welcome, I’m old, after all! My heart is big and wide, that’s the only good point of being old!”
Yan Yuehong: “……” Didn’t you say you wouldn’t blame him for it?
Puf!
The two people at the side could no longer hold their laughter.
“Big sister Zhu Yao, are you here to watch my final match?” Wang Xuzhi timely spoke up and changed the topic. Big sister Zhu Yao is the same as ever. She’s never merciful with her words.
“Final match? You entered the finals?” It was already the third day of the Inter-Sect Tournament. It was no wonder her master only brought her here today, he wanted her to watch the finals directly.
“Mn, I’m in the Essence group.” So she did not know about it. Wang Xuzhi was a little disappointed, but, he instantly cheered himself up. “The next match is the last ranking match for the Essence group, and the victor of that match will be fighting with me.”
In other words, the next match was the semi-finals?
Zhu Yao instantly focused, and looked towards the ring. She realized a match had just ended on the ring, and there were disciples currently cleaning the ring. It should have been a match of the Foundation group, and the victor was a disciple in blue robes. He seemed to be a disciple from another sect.
Not even a moment later, the referee who was in charge of the matches had already announced for the next match to begin.
Two disciples in white robes flew onto the ring at the same time, and their attire were the same as hers. One of them looked like a middle-aged man nearing his forties, while the other looked around the same age as Wang Xuzhi. However, he did not have the face of a pretty youth, rather, his face revealed a hint of firmness, and he looked a little familiar.
“This person is?”
“Big sister Zhu Yao knows this person as well!” Wang Xuzhi explained. “He’s Xiao Yi, the person who heavily injured little fatty Zhao five years ago. Currently, he’s an Outer Sect disciple.”
So he’s that little beggar! It’s no wonder she felt he looked a little familiar. She did not expect that he would actually enter the semi-finals, and his cultivation level was actually the same as Wang Xuzhi’s, an Essence Paragon.
“He’s rather hardworking.” From how this was going, it felt like a drama where a poor protagonist was making a counter- attack in life. “Mn.” Wang Xuzhi nodded in agreement. As an Inner Sect disciple himself, he deeply knew how hard it was for Outer Sect disciples to make themselves known. “Back then, his cultivation was crippled by master. In just five years since his cultivation was crippled, he managed to cultivate into an Essence Paragon, and even fought his way through into the semi-finals. He’s indeed really talented.”
Zhu Yao, who was even more talented, silently rubbed her nose, and decided to concentrate on watching the match.
Xiao Yi had Metal and Wood Dual-Spirit Veins. One was great for defense, while the other was great for offense. With the two types of mystic arts complementing each other, he was highly talented. While his opponent had Water, Wood, and Earth Tri- Spirit Veins. Although his talent could not be compared to Xiao Yi’s, but the complementary effects of his Spirit Veins were good as well, the flexibility of his mystic arts was extremely high, and his casting speed was quick.
The moment Xiao Yi’s opponent stepped foot onto the ring, he slammed his palms onto the ground, and a Wood-type Bind Art was released. The ground fluctuated, and beneath Xiao Yi, several vines instantly drilled out from the ground and moved to restrain him. Xiao Yi leapt out of the way, landing about thirty feet away. The moment he landed, vines once again popped out from underneath his feet, and their speed were twice as fast as before. Looking at the speed of these vines, it seemed that his opponent was extremely experienced with the Mystic Art.
Xiao Yi had no choice but to constantly leap away from those vines, and it looked as though he did not have any opportunity to stay on the ground. A hint of complacency was revealed on his opponent’s face. Making hand seals with a single hand, he cast out another Ice-type Mystic Art, summoning countless of ice blades which flew towards the person in the sky. Xiao Yi was unable to land firmly on the ground, and now, he had nowhere to run in the air either. This was an attack that block all of one’s escape routes. It had to be said that his opponent had planned his strategies really thoroughly, and he basically did not give Xiao Yi an opportunity to attack.
Xiao Yi tiringly dodged those incoming ice blades, as he maintained a barrier to block the rest, and carefully prevented himself from being caught by the vines on the ground. However, if he simply continued to dodge, losing would just be a matter of time.
Finally, his barrier could no longer hold up against the attacks from the ice blades, and it shattered soundingly. Xiao Yi had no choice but to summon his flying sword. He then used the Falling Sword Art, where he converged his spiritual energy into dozens of spiritual swords, which flew towards the person in front of him. Spiritual swords were converged by spiritual energy, so naturally they were sharper and firmer than the ice blades. The spiritual swords shattered the incoming ice blades as they flew towards the target. Just when the spiritual swords were approaching the opponent, a large number of vines drilled out from the ground, forming a wooden wall which blocked his attacks.
Taking the opportunity he was defending, Xiao Yi finally managed to land on the ground. He once again brought up his sword. This time around, rather than the dozens of spiritual swords he summoned earlier, what he used was the Falling Starflash, which summoned countless of spiritual swords at the same time, and they flew towards the target with heavy killing intent. The vines which were left on the ground were sliced into bits by the spiritual swords, and even the wall of vines he created was in the danger of being cleanly sliced away.
However, his opponent was not the least bit frantic, rather, a hint of a grin was revealed from the corner of his mouth. Quickly forming hand seals with his two hands, a flash of light appeared in his eyes. “Burn!” The lushful vines on the ring instantly burned into a huge fire, instantly trapping Xiao Yi within the big fire. His opponent had actually inserted a Fire-type Mystic Art into the vines, his hand seals were too quick, and he intentionally allowed Xiao Yi to slice away the vines. Xiao Yi did not realize it at all.
And when Xiao Yi used the Falling Starflash to summon countless of spiritual swords earlier, his consumption was huge. Currently, he basically did not have much spiritual energy left. It seemed like he was going to lose this match.
His opponent lightly laughed, and his eyes were filled with a look of complacency, as he looked towards the huge fire that filled the sky.
Suddenly, he heard a cold voice from within the huge fire. “Return Formation, activate!”
A gigantic mystic formation suddenly lighted up on the ring, and the huge fire was instantly extinguished. His opponent who was still smiling felt his blood rumbling, and then, he spit out a mouthful of blood. His cinnabar was completely empty, and he no longer had the ability to continue fighting. He could not help but look at the totally unscathed person in front of him with widened eyes. Return Formation reflects the caster’s Mystic Arts within the formation. When did he set up the Mystic Formation? Could it be while he was dodging those vines?
“Victory goes to Xiao Yi of Ancient Hill Sect!” The judge at the side announced loudly.
Xiao Yi no longer looked at the person on the ground, as he turned and left the ring. However, suddenly, he raised his head and looked towards the direction of the Chamber Disciples. He paused his steps for a moment, and then, he turned away and walked out the next moment.
Zhu Yao was startled. That Xiao Yi seemed to have been looking in her direction earlier?
Zhu Yao suddenly had a really strange feeling. This sort of feeling was very familiar, and it would always appear whenever she saw that youth named Xiao Yi. In the past, she had thought it was just a coincidence, but now, she was even beginning to suspect that the problem lied with herself. Normally, as someone who was among the lower-class for twenty odd years in another world, she should have been really interested in how a person like him who started out on a poor footing would make his counter-attack. However, she currently did not feel the least bit excited at all. Just why was that so?
“Big sister Zhu Yao, big sister Zhu Yao.” Wang Xuzhi nudged the person who was dazing at the side.
Only then did Zhu Yao regain her senses. Another match had already begun on the ring, and it was the match between practitioners at the Foundation-stage. It seemed like it was a match with larger importance, as the spectators outside the ring were more enthusiastic than before.
“Third senior-martial brother is definitely number one for this tournament.” Wang Xuzhi confidently said.
Zhu Yao then realized, one of the participants on the ring was actually Yan Yuehong, the one who badmouthed her earlier. When did he head onto the ring? Unconsciously, she seemed to have dazed for a very long time.
Little Three: It means someone who’s a ‘third wheel’ in a relationship affair.
Chapter28: Wang Xuzhi VS Xiao Yi
“This is the finals for the Foundation group?” Yan Yuehong was at the Foundation Paragon level, same as her.
Wang Xuzhi nodded. “Third senior-martial brother is actually really amazing. He’s the one who was first to obtain the qualifications to enter the finals among all of the participating Foundation disciples.”
“Is it very difficult to enter the finals?”
“Extremely difficult!” He continued to explain. “Every participating disciple is an elite of the various sects. Every sect will first conduct an Intra-Sect Tournament to select three participants, and there’s a total of three different groups in the Inter-Sect Tournament. There are more than ten participants in each group, and only after defeating everyone in the group, can you enter the finals.”
I see. It looks this person called Yan Yuehong is actually really skilled. “In that case, you’re really amazing too. You have entered the finals as well, haven’t you?” Wang Xuzhi smiled a little shyly, and nodded a little embarrassingly. This kid, back then, he was so arrogant and prideful. I didn’t expect to see him change so much in just five years. I simply praised him a little, and his face reddened so easily.
Zhu Yao suddenly recalled that she promised to see his preliminary matches a few months ago. She had actually forgotten about it.
“Sorry, Xuzhi. Back then, I promised to see your matches. However, four months ago, something happened, so I never had the chance to leave the mountain.” In the few days he was participating in the preliminary matches, she was recovering from the outburst of spiritual energy. When she fully recovered from it, he had already finished with the preliminaries.
“It’s… It’s alright!” Wang Xuzhi’s face reddened even more, and then, he raised his head and looked at her in the eyes. “You… What did you call me just now…?”
“Xuzhi?” Zhu Yao looked at him a little weirdly. “Didn’t you always want me to call you by your name? You’re a grown-up now, I can’t be calling you twerp or little wimp forever, right? What? I can’t call you that?” “You can! Of course, you can!” Wang Xuzhi hurriedly nodded his head forcefully, as though he was afraid she would change her mind.
This little wimp sure is hard to please. “When’s your match?” On the ring, Yan Yuehong had already obtained victory.
Wang Xuzhi turned to look at the ring as well. “It should be the next match.”
Already? Zhu Yao was a little startled, and she just happened to hear the announcement that the final match of the Essence group was next. It was between Wang Xuzhi and Xiao Yi, who had won just earlier.
“Big sister Zhu Yao, I’m going.”
Zhu yao nodded, and habitually, she reached out her hand to stroke his head, smiling. “That person should be specialized in formations. You must be careful.”
“Mn. I will.” “Good luck.” Zhu Yao did a ‘good luck’ gesture. “Remember, it doesn’t matter if you win or lose, it’s fine if you come back safe and sound.”
Wang Xuzhi was startled, as though he had never thought that she would say something like that. A moment later, he revealed a brilliant smile, as though rays of light were being emitted out from him, blinding and sparkling.
Zhu Yao reflexively raised her hand to block the shine, and when she regained her senses, Wang Xuzhi had already entered the ring. Was that just her imagination? Why did she feel that the little wimp’s smile was so brilliant, it almost blinded her?
The match on the ring had already begun. Facing his last opponent, Wang Xuzhi had no choice but to be even more cautious. Adding the stunning battle his opponent displayed earlier, he could not help but pay extra attention to the person in front of him.
Of course, the same went for Xiao Yi as well. Five years. He had been ousted out of the Inner Sect for five years. Today, he was finally able to cleanse all his shame, and retain his former glory. Today, he, Xiao Yi, would have everyone who had bullied him understand, what was true strength. When experts collide, only the brave will prevail. Almost at the same time, the two initiated their attacks.
Wang Xuzhi had the Fire Heavenly Spirit Vein, however, what he first used was not the Fire-type Mystic Arts he specialized in, rather, he summoned several wind blades. Xiao Yi did not put a barrier, instead, he slammed his palm onto the ground, erecting an earth wall to block the wind blades.
However, Wang Xuzhi’s wind blades were just a feint. When his opponent formed the earth wall, he had already moved towards Xiao Yi’s back. He summoned his flying sword, and swung it down. The sword was filled with spiritual energy, a strike with astonishing might. And, his opponent no longer had the chance to defend against it.
“Good!” Zhu Yao could not help but applaud Wang Xuzhi.
The sword slashed past the human figure, landed on the ground, and emitted out a ‘dang’ sound. And the human figure in front of him actually slowly dispersed, disappearing into thin air. It was actually a false image. Wang Xuzhi’s expression changed. As he did not have the time to find Xiao Yi’s true body, he immediately erected a defensive barrier. Sure enough, the moment his barrier was formed, a piercing sword strike came attacking towards him, and it struck the barrier heavily.
Wang Xuzhi swung his sword to force his opponent back, and leapt backwards himself, his defensive barrier had already shattered soundingly. As he thought, his opponent was not easy to deal with.
Similarly, Xiao Yi held onto the hilt of his longsword as he stared at him. Both of them were disciples who wielded swords, and they trained in the ways of the swords. Compared to Mystic Arts, they were most specialized in their sword techniques. Almost at the same time, the two of them abandoned their Mystic Arts, and collided with their sword techniques.
Xiao Yi had the Metal and Wood Dual-Spirit Veins, his sword emitted out a faint golden light, and due to its incomparably sharpness and firmness, it could be used to attack and defend. While, on the other hand, Wang Xuzhi had the Fire Heavenly Spirit Vein. His strikes were filled with destructive power, and his entire sword was as though it was burning with raging fire.
The two of them collided more than a hundred of times, yet, they were still unable to determine the victor, and if they were to continue fighting like this, they would simply be depleting their own spiritual energies. Finally, the two of them came up with ideas of their own. Xiao Yi threw out two formation flags, and a formation instantly took shape.
Wang Xuzhi had already prepared himself for his opponent’s formation. He flew up, and instantly distanced himself from the formation.
Hmph. At that moment, Xiao Yi revealed a cold smile. As he thought, those from the Inner Sect were all people who were cowardly and afraid of death. “Spirit Increasing Formation, Activate!”
As those words fell, large amount of spiritual energy gathered from all directions, and the formation on the ground released a brilliant white light.
Wang Xuzhi’s expression slightly changed. Xiao Yi intentionally threw his formation flags out in a wide manner to trick him into distancing himself from the heart of the formation. In actual fact, it was not an offensive formation, but a support formation used to replenish spiritual energy. As long as the formation was completed, the person within the formation would be able to have his spiritual energy instantly raised to the perfect state.
Not good. I can’t let him complete the formation. I have no choice but to take a gamble then.
Wang Xuzhi circulated all of the spiritual energy in his body, and for a moment, a violent wind stirred. A gigantic sword as high as a tower appeared from the ground, completely surrounding the entire ring. A dense sword energy flooded the skies.
“Isn’t… Isn’t this a sword formation that can only be accomplished by practitioners at the Foundation stage?” A disciple outside the ring cried out astonishingly. Only someone who had extremely high comprehension to sword techniques, could unleash a sword formation that surpassed one’s level.
Zhu Yao’s worried heart was tightened even more. The little wimp was putting his all into this attack, and the outcome of the match would be decided with this strike of his.
“Countless Sword Formation, disperse!” When those words fell, the gigantic sword that emitted out a dense and cold sword energy dispersed into countless of small swords in an instant. With the force of an avalanche, the small swords flew towards the center of Xiao Yi’s formation.
In the end, Xiao Yi’s Spirit Increasing Formation was never completed, however, his spiritual energy had recovered to a certain extent. With extreme speed, he left the heart of the formation, and flew towards the skies. However, the Countless Sword Formation actually followed after him.
He had no choice but to cast his Earth-type Mystic Art again, erecting a earth wall that covered himself entirely. However, the countless swords simply struck onto the wall, and it seemed as though his defense was about to be broken. Xiao Yi clenched his teeth, his eyes turned cold, revealing the determination to make his aspirations come true. This match, I can’t lose, I must not lose!
The wall that was struck by the countless swords shattered in an instant, and it looked as though victory had been decided. Suddenly, a sword energy that was even more frightening than the gigantic sword earlier, exploded from the earth mound. It was as though time had stopped, and the swords that were still attacking wildly had stopped in mid-air.
Xiao Yi stood up from the mound, and did hand seals one- handedly. Although his body looked fatigued, it still emitted out a relentless aura. He then shouted out, with emphasis on every single word. “Linear. Sky. Slash!” He swung the sword in his hand with all his might, and the countless swords in the air, were instantly blown away in all four directions. Only when they struck the spectator’s barrier outside the ring, did they finally fall onto the ground.
Linear Sky Slash? That was an Azoth-stage sword technique!
With his Countless Sword Formation broken, Wang Xuzhi’s spiritual energy was completely depleted, resulting to a backlash which caused him to spit out a mouthful of blood.
However, Xiao Yi’s technique was still not finished. He pointed the longsword in his hand towards the sky, and instantly, a humongous spiritual sword appeared in the skies. The spiritual sword was more than a hundred times larger than the gigantic sword Wang Xuzhi summoned earlier.
“Destroy!” Xiao Yi shouted loudly, and the humongous spiritual sword fell towards Wang Xuzhi, who no longer had the strength to retaliate. Zhu Yao felt her heart quivering. The ominous feeling she had ever since little wimp went onto the ring, was instantly infinitely stronger than before. A terrifying feeling instantly struck her heart, and all of the hair on her body stood on ends.
However, her body had already reacted unconsciously.
“Heavenfall!” A Heavenly Lightning split apart the air as it descended from the skies, instantly striking onto the descending humongous spiritual sword. In the next moment, the spiritual sword shattered into pieces.
Xiao Yi spit out a mouthful of fresh blood.
The entire audience was dead silent.
All of their eyes, gathered onto her face one after another.
“Uh…” ‘Embarrassment’ could no longer describe Zhu Yao’s current feelings. The hell, she herself did not know why she suddenly intervened. She looked at her surroundings, and then, she looked towards the tall stage. “Umm… My… My hands slipped. Ho. Hoho. Hohoho.” Audience: “……”
Chapter29: He Isn’t Even Willing To Give Me A Hundred Dollars
Even more glares filled with condemnation, like daggers, were thrown at her body, as though they were trying to rip her skin apart. Zhu Yao felt like crying. Don’t be like that. What happened to ‘friendship first, competition second’? She really did not intervene in the match on purpose.
Just when she was about to swallowed whole by the surrounding glares, a figure flashed right in front of her. A white figure had appeared before her. A terrifying pressure was spread in all four directions, and like a silent threat, everyone instantly kept their unsatisfied glares.
“Master!” It was her master, the master who saves her from all bitterness and difficulties.
Yu Yan’s face was cold as always, and he lightly glanced at her. “It’s getting dark.”
His sleeves fluttered as he waved his hand, and without even explaining, he carried his disciple and flew back to the Jade Forest Mountain, leaving an audience who did not even have time to react. Zi Mo silently looked towards the direction the two people disappeared to, cold sweat dripping down his head. Ancestral- martial uncle, you openly protected your disciple for personal reasons, and then, you left me to handle this mess. Are you really a man?
Heaving a deep sigh, Zi Mo regained his senses. He’s a Sect Master who specialized in cleaning the backsides of others, after all!
“Ahem! Xiao Yi is the victor of this match. In this Inter-Sect Tournament, he’s number one in the Essence group.” Only when these words fell, did the sounds of discussions among the audience finally stop.
Xiao Yi endured the rumbling blood in his chest, and forced himself to stand and bow. “Thank you, Sect Master.”
Wang Xuzhi stood up and left the ring. This was an outcome that was within his expectations, he had indeed lost this match. As he thought, he was still not strong enough. Raising his head, he looked towards the direction Zhu Yao had flown to, a feeling of melancholy suddenly rose in his heart. When he recalled the scene when the humongous sword was falling towards him earlier, he could not help but deeply frown again. When Zi Mo was about to announce his reward, he was stopped by the sonorous cry of a bird nearby.
Sovereign Feng Yi, the only woman out of the three Demigod practitioners, who was sitting on her mythical bird, gently stood up. It was just a simple movement, yet, her movement was like that of a fairy’s. With a light raise of her left hand, Xiao Yi, who was still kneeling on the ground earlier, suddenly rose into the sky, and flew towards the tall stage, stopping at the empty floor of the tall stage.
“You, you’re called Xiao Yi?” An ethereal voice echoed gently.
Xiao simply felt as though, from the skies, a soothing voice floated towards him, and each word rang in his mind. He could not help but kneel. “Yes… Xiao Yi is this disciple’s name.”
Feng Yi’s beautiful eyes closed slightly, and she only continued to speak after a short while. “Are you willing to admit under my tutelage?”
Xiao Yi was stunned. Not just him, even if it was everyone on- site, they were all unable to believe their ears. A Demigod Sovereign was taking in a disciple. And the person was the only woman out of all the Demigod Sovereigns in the cultivation world, who was said to have not taken in a single disciple.
Seeing that he did not reply for a long time, Feng Yi’s brows creased lightly. “You’re not willing?”
“No, this disciple is willing.” Xiao Yi was filled with surprise and was completely moved, he had to bite his lips tightly to prevent his tears from falling. He had thought that, even if he were to obtain first place, he would only return to the Inner Sect. He did not expect that he would have such an opportunity. It seemed there were still people that would treat him well in this world. He gently lowered his body, giving her the most sincere bow. “This disciple, greets master.”
Feng Yi nodded. Forming a hand seal one-handedly, a bright ray of light shot towards Xiao Yi’s forehead, leaving a mythical bird-like marking.
He’s actually a personal succeeding disciple! Waves of heavy breathing could once again be heard from the surroundings.
And regarding all these, Zhu Yao, who was currently being carried back home like a little puppy, was completely unaware. The moment they reached the mountain peak, she immediately made an innocent-looking face, and looked at her own master pitifully. “Master… It really was unintentional. I didn’t mean to intervene, I don’t even know what happened to me earlier.”
“Really, I swear!” Zhu Yao raised one of her hands. No matter how stupid she was, she knew that it was an one-on-one duel.
“It’s definitely because of that huge spiritual sword.”
“When I saw that spiritual sword, my entire body felt strange.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong!” Yu Yan finally replied.
“Yes, I didn’t do anything wrong. Eh? Master, what did you say?”
Master glanced at her chillingly, his face was filled with contempt. “What that person summoned was not a spiritual sword.” “Ah?” If it’s not a spiritual sword, what else could it be? A katana? Master, don’t fool me.
“That’s Sword Intent.” Yu Yan said indifferently.
“Sword Intent!” Zhu Yao was shocked. “Isn’t Sword Intent something that can only be trained by sword practitioners who are at least at the Azoth-stage?”
“In theory, yes.” Yu Yan frowned. That Sword Intent was hidden extremely deeply, even a Demigod practitioner might not be able to see through it at first glance. “Since he was able to bring out his Sword Intent, he must definitely have an exotic treasure on him.”
It was a definite answer, and not a suspicion.
“It’s no wonder he was able to cultivate to an Essence Paragon in such a short amount of time, even after being crippled.”
“He was not merely at the Essence-stage!” Yu Yan once again gave her a stupid look. “That exotic treasure of his, not only is it able to conceal his Sword Intent, it’s able to hide his cultivation level as well. His current cultivation level should be around the intermediate stages of Foundation.”
Zhu Yao’s eyes widened. Foundation intermediate-stage! Oh my god, this isn’t as simple as a poor person making his counter-attack, the way this scenario is progressing, he’s basically heading towards the summit in life.
A light bulb flashed in her mind. She finally understood why he looked a little strange to her. His experiences, were evidently the treatments male protagonists receive in novels!
“Master, do you know what exotic treasure he has?” A male protagonist who has been bullied since young, obtains a godly treasure by chance, and then, he raises his level as he fight monsters, as he walks down the path heading towards the peak in life. The longer Zhu Yao thought about it, the more she felt Xiao Yi was similar to male protagonists like that.
“Although I don’t know what exotic treasure it is, it’s definitely extremely beneficial to his Spirit Veins. Hence, he was able to raise his cultivation level this rapidly, and was even able to comprehend Sword Intent, which exceeded his current level of strength.” Yu Yan slightly frowned, and turned to look at his stupid disciple. “Sword Intent is incomparable to a spiritual sword, regular Mystic Arts are basically unable to resist against it. However, the Heavenly Lightning you guided down earlier, although it could not be compared to Disaster Lightning, it’s still power of the purest form in the world, hence, it was able to disperse his Sword Intent.”
“Master, you’re saying…” Zhu Yao stiffened.
“Without that ray of Heavenly Lightning, his opponent would have turned into a corpse.”
Zhu Yao’s expression instantly paled, fear began to rise from the bottom of her heart, and terror instantly struck her entire body. The mistake that she made by coincidence, actually saved little wimp’s life. Although she understood that a bunch of cannon fodders would lay behind every rising male protagonist, she had never thought that, one of her closest people would become one of those cannon fodders.
Seeing that his disciple had been silent for a while, Yu Yan raised his hand and stroked her head. “Do not worry, even though he possesses heavenly luck for obtaining this unusual treasure of his, your luck is not smaller than his.” Her affinity to lightning spiritual energy was high to the point of defying the heavens, an exotic treasure might not even be able to compare to that.
Zhu Yao’s thoughts were still deeply filled with little wimp’s safety, as she nodded her head randomly. The more she thought about it, the more worried she was. It was just a simple competition, and a life was almost lost. Wouldn’t the future be worse? “Master, about little wimp, I mean Wang Xuzhi, he should be fine, right?”
Yu Yan frowned deeply. Does she have to be this worried about the safety of an outsider?
Recalling the scene where his disciple and that kid was chatting happily earlier, how they looked rather intimate, and how she did not even bother looking at her master on the tall stage, he suddenly felt a little irritated, as though he had the feeling of a boar was suddenly eating the vegetables he had personally grown.
“He’s Zi Mo’s disciple, if something happens to him, he has his own master to worry for him.” He looked at coldly, his expression was telling her not to care about the kid.
Zhu Yao curled her lips. He’s not your child, so obviously, you wouldn’t be worried. It was just a competition, yet, his opponent actually dropped his killing move on him. Who would be sure that he would not create more trouble in the future? In any case, even if he did not dare to do some things in broad daylight, it did not mean he would not do them in the dark. She clearly remembered Xiao Yi’s warped three views, after all.
“Master, do you have any defensive mystical treasures that you can lend to me?”
The coldness of Yu Yan’s expression instantly fell to ice point. She wants to use his mystical treasures on that kid? He began to feel even more irritated.
“None!” Even if he did have some, he would not hand them over. He did not have any interest in bringing up a disciple who belonged to someone else, as it was already hard enough to bring up his own disciple.
“Eh? Master, didn’t you say that, the higher one’s cultivation level, the more mystical treasures one possesses?” Master, you’re trying to fool me, aren’t you.
“Those are foreign objects. One’s cultivation must depend on oneself.”
“Master!”
“Have an early rest, in a few days, I will teach you another new Mystic Art.” After saying that, his figure flashed, and he could no longer be seen.
“Stingy! Petty! Compassionless!” Zhu Yao stood there and silently complained. He isn’t even willing to give me a hundred dolla- pui! He isn’t willing to give me a single mystical treasure. He’s so stingy.
Chapter30: Men Should Be Strong And Muscular
Ever since then, Zhu Yao had pestered her master for three days, however, in the end, he still did not give in. And, she realized that, the more she praised Wang Xuzhi, the stronger was her master’s refusal. Zhu Yao became a little suspicious, and wondered if her master had been bullied by a spoiled brat in the past as well.
However, his supervision over her cultivation had become more diligent, and she had basically stabilized herself in her current realm. Her master stated that she could tackle Azoth really soon. However, in the end, she never had the opportunity to form her Azoth Core.
In Ancient Hill Sect, before Essence-stage disciples could breakthrough into Foundation, they must first head down the mountains for field training, with a Foundation disciple taking the lead. Very evidently, Wang Xuzhi was in this batch was well. Practitioners heading out for field training was the best method to raise their mental states, and Zhu Yao, who built her Foundation in a single night, did not have this sort of opportunity. No matter what, she had to try it out as well. This time, her master did not actually stop her, and simply instructed her a few things that she needed to watch out for, before letting her down the mountain. When she arrived at the meeting area, other than Wang Xuzhi, whose eyes momentarily sparkled, even the corner of Reverend Zi Mo’s lips evidently twitched a little, however, he did not have any reason to refuse her participation. Hence, he had no choice but to swap out Yan Yuehong, who was initially supposed to lead the party, and had her take over.
Under Yan Yuehong’s resentful gaze, Zhu Yao walked over to her own party. Four Essence-stage disciples and one Foundation disciple were placed in every team, and Zi Mo was rather tactful, as he placed her in Wang Xuzhi’s team.
Zhu Yao looked at her team, realizing Xiao Yi was in her team as well, she rubbed her forehead. This is really some god-tiered fate we have.
Sect Master waved his sleeves, and dozens of leaves flew out. Slowly, they enlarged themselves, appearing on the open space. These leaves were exactly the same as the leaf they sat on when they entered the sect. Back then, she even thought that it was a mystical treasure of some sort, but it turned out to be simply a common transportation tool used in the sect.
With Zi Mo’s single command, all of the teams left. As a team leader who was suddenly assigned to the team, Zhu Yao called her team members to board the leaf. Wang Xuzhi said his goodbyes to his master, had a short conversation with Yan Yuehong, and was the last person to board the leaf. Seeing that everyone was ready, she finally inserted her spiritual energy into the leaf, having it rise into the skies and catch up with the rest of the teams.
In just a short moment, they had already left the sect, and was flying over the huge sea. Zhu Yao turned to look at her own teammates. Other than Wang Xuzhi and Xiao Yi, the other two were both girls, and they looked like they were in their teens as well. They were like blooming flowers, and when she compared herself to them, a feeling of resentment to her own age suddenly welled up inside her. It seemed like her master’s decision to have her breakthrough into Azoth as soon as possible was a correct decision. Once one breaks through into Azoth, one will be a step closer to being a deity. One’s lifespan will be increased to a thousand years, and age will no longer matter after then.
Zhu Yao was not familiar with the two girls, and could only chat with Wang Xuzhi, who was by her side, helping her support the flight. “Hey, little wimp, what did you say to Little Three earlier?”
Little Three? Wang Xuzhi was startled for a moment, and only after a short while did he finally realize she was talking about Yan Yuehong. Giving her a light smile, he took out a jade tablet from his clothes. “This is our field mission this time.”
“Mission?” Zhu Yao was a little baffled. “Isn’t this supposed to field training? Why is there a mission?”
“The mission is the details of our field training!” He gave her a ‘this is common sense’ expression. “Every team has their own respective mission to complete.”
“Oh!” Isn’t this a business trip then? Zhu Yao’s enthusiasm instantly fell by a half.
“When we return, the sect will bestow corresponding rewards to the teams that complete their missions.” Looking at her unenthusiastic expression, Wang Xuzhi asked curiously. “What did big sister Zhu Yao think it was?”
Zhu Yao’s face cramped, as she silently swallowed down her thoughts of touring the mountains and seas, eating delicacies, and her questions of where they were heading to play. “Kuh, then, what’s our mission?” Zhu Yao hurriedly changed the topic.
Wang Xuzhi inserted spiritual energy into the jade tablet in his hand, checking its contents. After a while, he replied. “It’s in the southwest direction, a small town near Silent Melancholy City. It’s rumored that just recently, people had been disappearing. And, in a single month, the total number amounted close to fifty. Our mission is to head over to the town to investigate the cause.”
The name ‘Silent Melancholy City’ came from the nearby Silent Melancholy Forest. Because practitioners would frequently head over to the Silent Melancholy Forest to capture spiritual beats and gather spiritual herbs, Silent Melancholy City became the largest supply city for practitioners. And their target destination for this mission, was a small town just a few kilometers away from Silent Melancholy City.
The town was named Silent Town. Zhu Yao then asked casually, if there was another town named Melancholy Town. Wang Xuzhi actually nodded, and Melancholy Town was actually nearby, a place north from here. Zhu Yao silently retorted how the naming sense of this world was actually rather uniform. The number of residents in Silent Town was not many, and the people passing by were mostly practitioners heading towards Silent Melancholy City, hence, the town was not really luxurious-looking. Zhu Yao’s team rushed and arrived at the town before sunset. For convenience sake, Zhu Yao had her team change into regular clothes, and they found an inn to stay in.
Taking the opportunity to start up an idle chatter while sipping on his tea, Wang Xuzhi consciously began to inquire about the missing people in the town. Seeing that the few people in front of him were practitioners, the inn owner unhesitatingly told them everything he knew about the situation.
The situation seemed to have began a month ago, and people in the town disappeared one after another. These people comprised of townspeople and travellers who had stayed in for the day, however, all of them were men. And they were all strong and muscular men who were at the prime of their lives. No one knew how these men disappeared, and there were no abnormal disturbances. They simply disappeared from their rooms the next day, when others opened their doors and looked for them in their rooms.
“The people who disappeared were all men.” One of the young girls who came with them, looked at Xiao Yi beside her with a worried expression. “Big brother Xiao Yi, then you’re…”
Zhu Yao recalled that the name of this girl was Ling Long. She had met the girl five years ago, and the girl had always been by Xiao Yi’s side. It seemed like she was his die-hard fan.
“Junior-martial sister Ling Long, don’t worry, senior-martial uncle Xiao Yi is so amazing, he will definitely be fine.” The other girl named Su Zi consoled her, and with sparkling eyes, she turned to look at Wang Xuzhi. “And, there’s my senior- martial brother Wang as well! Senior-martial brother Wang, you will definitely protect us, right?”
Zhu Yao looked at the girl’s eyes which were about to shine out stars, and then, she silently looked at little wimp next to her. Eh! There’s something interesting to watch! First love, or something like childhood friends? These little self-made fan clubs are just too dazzling! Ah, youth~
However, Wang Xuzhi’s expression did not change, rather, he looked towards Zhu Yao, and said with a respectful tone. “Grand-martial aunt, how do you think we should deal with this situation?” Everyone seemed to have recalled that they actually had an “elder” among them, and they turned to look at her one after another.
“Don’t worry, didn’t the inn owner explain it earlier?” Zhu Yao waved her hands, and then, she strongly patted on Wang Xuzhi’s chest. Emphasizing on every single word, she said. “The people who disappeared were. Strong. And. Muscular. Men! You two do not fit the requirements.” They were not even fully grown yet, why were they so worried for?
Wang Xuzhi did not reply, and simply stared as she pulled her hand back, his ears were turning red at an abnormal speed. Su Zi at the side began to pout her lips, as she glared at Zhu Yao with an expression filled with resentment. Even Xiao Yi and Ling Long had weird expressions.
Uh… Had she done something that angered them?
“Kuh kuh, you people have an early rest today.” Ah, she did not care anymore, it was more important to complete the mission as early as possible. “Tomorrow, everyone shall split up and look for clues, we will then gather back here at this inn in the night.” “Yes!” The four of them replied together, and then, they headed to their own rooms.