Since leaving Bai Li’s courtyard last time, Fu Yan hadn’t seen her for a whole month. Now, she couldn’t help being slightly dazed.
As if noticing her gaze, Bai Li suddenly turned her head and glanced back. For some reason, Fu Yan felt guilty and quickly shifted her eyes away.
Maybe it was because she’d taken Bai Li’s jade slip on sword insights. A whole month had passed, and she still hadn’t grasped anything about that “Heart-Piercing Sword”. No wonder she felt inexplicably guilty.
Seeing Bai Li look over, Tong Zhen gave her a friendly smile, then dragged Fu Yan forward to catch up. Smiling sweetly at Bai Li, she said:
“Senior Sister Bai, hello!”
Fu Yan felt a bit awkward. She’d been planning to slow down and let Bai Li go on ahead, but hadn’t expected Tong Zhen to haul her right under Bai Li’s nose.
“Senior Sister Bai.”
Fu Yan could only greet her politely.
Tong Zhen, with the heart of an overfriendly child, saw that Bai Li didn’t look impatient and immediately asked:
“Senior Sister Bai, this is our first time joining the inner sect ranking tournament. Could you tell us how it works?”
At that, Bai Li first glanced at Fu Yan, but quickly withdrew her gaze. Seeing the curiosity written all over Tong Zhen’s face, she could only give a brief explanation of the basic rules.
The Shui Ling Sect’s inner sect ranking tournament was held once a year. Before it began, the elders would divide all the inner sect disciples into ten groups. Each group would then have its own round-robin matches. Each victory earned one point; losses gave no points. The preliminaries had five rounds, so each group would end up with a highest scorer. Generally, the final top ten in overall ranking would be those ten people—though, of course, dark horses weren’t unheard of.
The rest of the rankings were also calculated by total points. The top hundred finals were separated from the later ranks. In other words, if your preliminary points were not enough to enter the top hundred, you likely wouldn’t even get the chance to participate in the top hundred finals.
After listening, Fu Yan couldn’t help sighing:
“If an ordinary disciple keeps getting matched against senior brothers and sisters who are aiming for the top fifty, won’t their points never go up?”
Bai Li looked back at her.
“The elders naturally won’t put all the strong ones in a single group. Later rounds within the group are decided by drawing lots. On the path of cultivation, sometimes luck is a kind of strength too.”
“So complicated!”
Tong Zhen had already been listening in a fog. Now her head hurt even more.
To cure all worries—only a fragrant drumstick would do.
Under Fu Yan and Bai Li’s slightly startled gazes, Tong Zhen simply took out a chicken drumstick from her storage ring and started eating it, looking a bit aggrieved.
Fu Yan: …
“Sorry, and thank you for explaining, Senior Sister Bai. We’ll go on ahead.”
Fu Yan gave an awkward smile, then quickly pulled Tong Zhen and flew toward the Main Peak’s tournament arena.
Bai Li didn’t say anything more and continued to sword-ride forward at an unhurried pace.
When Fu Yan and Tong Zhen arrived at the Main Peak arena, they were both slightly shocked by the scene before them. The arena was already packed with people; from afar, it was just a sea of heads, high and low.
“So many people!”
Tong Zhen held up her drumstick, so surprised she forgot to eat.
Fu Yan nodded, then quickly understood.
“Today’s ranking tournament isn’t just for all inner sect disciples to compete. The Left Peak’s outer sect disciples have also come to watch the excitement, and quite a few elders too.”
At that, Tong Zhen came back to herself. She hurriedly took a bite of the drumstick and mumbled:
“Right, let’s hurry and find a place to sit.”
Fu Yan didn’t object. Soon, the two of them found an empty spot in the noisy arena.
By the time the sun was high overhead, this year’s ranking tournament finally began. The inner sect Grand Elder slowly flew to the center of the arena. After signaling for the disciples to quiet down, he spoke unhurriedly:
“First, welcome all disciples to this inner sect ranking tournament. A year has passed. I trust your cultivation has not remained stagnant. It is time to show your full strength…”
The inner sect Grand Elder looked like a perfectly ordinary man in his fifties or sixties, with a kindly face. His voice wasn’t loud, yet it carried steadily and clearly into the ears of everyone present.
With that level of power, he was certainly no weaker than late Integration stage.
“The rules for this year’s ranking tournament are the same as in past years, so I won’t repeat them one by one. New inner sect disciples can ask their fellow senior and junior brothers and sisters. All right, this old man won’t waste more words.”
“The Shui Ling Sect Inner Sect’s Five Hundred and Sixty-Eighth Ranking Tournament officially begins!”
As his voice fell, all the disciples present erupted into cheers, eyes blazing with excitement. Many of them had tempered themselves for a whole year just to shine in this tournament.
“Hey, Fu Yan, what rank are you aiming for?”
As the Grand Elder’s last word faded, the nearby Tong Zhen finally finished her drumstick. She wiped her mouth and hands with a handkerchief as she asked curiously.
Fu Yan: …
The tone sounded like she could pick any rank she liked.
Fu Yan actually had a decent sense of her own strength. At best, she could break into the top fifty. If she’d managed to break through to mid Aperture stage a few days ago, she might have been able to reach the top thirty.
As for the top ten or top twenty, without at least late Aperture stage, Fu Yan felt she had no hope at all.
“Not sure. I should be able to get into the top hundred.”
She thought about it and answered casually.
Tong Zhen finished wiping her small hands, looking completely satisfied and full. She nodded.
“Then I’m getting into the top hundred too!”
As she spoke, it looked like the elders on stage were about to announce the group assignments. Tong Zhen stretched her neck to look, face filled with nervousness.
“What’s wrong?” Fu Yan asked.
Tong Zhen turned back to her.
“Please don’t put us in the same group. I really don’t want to meet you on the arena.”
Fu Yan couldn’t help finding that a bit funny.
“Why? Even if we end up matched, we can just go all out and fight.”
“No, no, no!”
Tong Zhen shook her head quickly, then said helplessly:
“Your swordplay is way too strong, Fu Yan. There’s no way I can beat you.”
…
Fu Yan wanted to say, that terrifying physical strength of yours—I’m not confident I could even break your defense. If they really had to face each other, it would be fifty-fifty who would win.
Thinking of that, just as Fu Yan was about to say something, someone shouted:
“The group lists are out. You can check them in your identity tokens!”
In an instant, all the inner sect disciples lowered their heads and poured spiritual power into their identity wooden tokens to check the group assignments.
“Great!”
Beside her, Tong Zhen suddenly exclaimed in excitement, then looked up at Fu Yan.
“We’re not in the same group. I’m in Group Six, and you’re in Group Eight.”
Fu Yan nodded, not thinking much of it. She skimmed through all the groups and couldn’t help finding it a bit amusing. Just as Bai Li had said earlier, the elders had divided them very fairly.
From last year’s top twenty, each group had two disciples assigned to it. By ranking, the ten groups were more or less balanced in overall strength.
Just as Fu Yan was about to put away her identity token, Tong Zhen suddenly exclaimed in surprise.
“Fu Yan, Senior Sister Bai Li is actually in your group too!”
Fu Yan froze for a moment. She’d only glanced over the list just now and hadn’t looked closely. Now that Tong Zhen reminded her, she finally saw Bai Li’s name in Group Eight.
There were more than eighty people in each group, with five rounds of fights. Each round had more than a dozen matches. So even if you were in the same group, you weren’t guaranteed to meet.
But if she really did face Bai Li, Fu Yan knew she definitely could not win. Still, she really wanted to know how many moves she could withstand under Bai Li’s hand with her current strength.
A strange feeling rose in her—half hoping to be matched, half hoping not to be. She wasn’t sure what exactly she wanted anymore.
“All right, the groupings are done. I trust everyone has found their assigned group. Now, quickly head to your group’s arena. The ranking tournament is about to begin.”
The Grand Elder’s gentle voice echoed again in the center of the vast arena. As his words fell, the surrounding crowd started moving in groups of twos and threes.
“I’m heading over to Group Six!”
Tong Zhen stood up, greeted Fu Yan, and turned to leave.
Fu Yan nodded. She also needed to get to Group Eight.
Group Eight’s arena was on the far right of the plaza. By the time Fu Yan hurried over, it was already packed. The surrounding spectator stands were completely full.
Fu Yan was still wondering why there were so many people here when she saw Bai Li walking toward their side. In that instant, all eyes were drawn to her.
“Ahhh! I finally see Senior Sister Bai again. Look, she’s so beautiful, I’m going to cry!”
“Sure, the other groups will have great matches too, but I still want to watch Senior Sister Bai’s group. Do you think she’ll keep her inner sect first place again this year?”
“Of course she will. Who other than Senior Sister Bai could take first? My good friend is also in Group Eight, I wonder if he can last even a single move under her hand.”
“Not necessarily. Senior Brother Yu Heng’s strength isn’t simple either.”
…
The chattering all around gave Fu Yan a headache. No wonder there were so many people here—turns out they were all here for Bai Li.
“All disciples of Group Eight, come draw lots.”
A steward elder on the platform suddenly called out.
Fu Yan put her thoughts aside and joined the line. The group only had a bit over eighty disciples, so it was soon her turn. She reached casually into the box, drew out a slip of paper, and stepped aside.
She unfolded it. Written on it was: “Number Thirty-Seven”.
Less than fifteen minutes after the drawing ended, the ringing of bells echoed again across the Main Peak. The next instant, everyone heard the Grand Elder’s voice:
“The inner sect ranking tournament officially begins.”
Within each group, opponents were decided by shaking numbered lots. Fu Yan had just sat down in the disciples’ rest area when she saw the steward elder on the platform draw two numbers.
At the same time, the other groups also began their first matches of the day, the elders’ voices echoing one after another across the arena.
“Group One, Number Thirty-Three versus Number Sixty-Five!”
“Group Two, Number Twenty-Seven versus Number Eighty-One!”
…
“Group Eight, first round, first match—Number Six versus Number Forty-Nine!”
…
Soon, Fu Yan saw two inner sect disciples beside her walk up to the platform. They saluted each other, then drew their weapons. In the blink of an eye, the fight had already reached a fever pitch. The surrounding spectators watched with relish.
After watching for a while, Fu Yan could already guess the outcome, so she withdrew her gaze. Halfway back, her line of sight accidentally fell on Bai Li to the right.
I wonder what number she drew, Fu Yan thought.
Today, Bai Li wasn’t wearing white for once. Like all the inner sect disciples, she had on a light-blue sect uniform. It didn’t diminish her cold, otherworldly beauty in the slightest.
So it was true—some people were born with that kind of aura.
As if sensing her gaze, Bai Li suddenly turned slightly and looked over. Her eyes met Fu Yan’s head-on.
Fu Yan froze, then quickly nodded in greeting and shifted her eyes away. Getting caught peeking was very embarrassing.
“Number Forty-Nine wins. One point.”
Luckily, the fight on stage had just ended, drawing most of the attention away. The result was exactly as Fu Yan had predicted.
After a few more matches, Fu Yan finally heard her own number.
“Sixth match, Number Thirty-Seven versus Number Fifty-Two!”
As soon as the words fell, Fu Yan rose and walked step by step onto the platform, Linglong Broken Sword in hand. A breath later, her opponent was standing across from her.
He was a mid Aperture-stage disciple.
“Number Fifty-Two, Lin Zhong. Please guide me.”
He was the first to salute.
Fu Yan returned the gesture.
“Number Thirty-Seven, Fu Yan. Please guide me.”
Lin Zhong was a blade cultivator. As soon as the salute ended, he charged at Fu Yan with his long saber.
Fu Yan didn’t dare be careless. She immediately used Wind Shadow Steps to leap back, quickly widening the distance between them.
Though Fu Yan’s cultivation was a whole stage lower than his, Lin Zhong didn’t dare harbor any illusions. He couldn’t even defeat Zhou Zhenlie, let alone the Fu Yan who had shattered Zhou Zhenlie’s qi sea.
Seeing Fu Yan easily dodge his first strike, Lin Zhong could only unleash his strongest move at once.
“Blazing Red Blade!”
In an instant, flames roared up along his saber as if it had spontaneously ignited. The air wavered from the heat. Gripping the blazing saber tight, his true essence exploded, and his figure shot straight at Fu Yan.
With that ferocious momentum and burst of speed, there was no reason for Fu Yan to keep dodging. She reversed her grip on Linglong Broken Sword, leaped, and met the flaming blade head-on.
In that instant, a violent wave of force twisted the air. Fu Yan’s true essence surged forth. Lin Zhong felt a tremendous pressure crash down on him. Before he could react, the blade-flame shattered completely.
The power of Fu Yan’s single sword strike slammed into Lin Zhong’s body. He flew backward and crashed heavily to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Sweat beaded on his forehead and slid down. Lin Zhong could only smile wryly to himself.
He hadn’t even been able to take a single sword.
“Sixth match, Number Thirty-Seven wins. One point.”
As the steward elder’s voice sounded, the result was sealed. Such a swift battle left many onlookers stunned.
“That was so fast! They’d barely been on stage for a few breaths, and the match is already over!”
“What, the sixth match is done already? I just went to the latrine and missed two fights?”
“Who is that junior sister? She’s only early Aperture-stage but defeated mid Aperture-stage Lin Zhong with a single sword?”
“You mean Junior Sister Fu Yan? Haven’t you heard about what happened a month ago? In a life-and-death challenge she smashed Zhou Zhenlie’s qi sea in one stroke. Lin Zhong isn’t even as strong as Zhou Zhenlie. The outcome was obvious.”
“So that’s her. I didn’t go watch at the time.”
“I think this Fu Yan might be this year’s dark horse. How high do you think she’ll rank?”
“Hard to say. The top hundred is definitely no problem. Whether she can get into the top fifty depends on how her later battles go.”
…
Amid the chatter from the stands, Fu Yan sheathed Linglong Broken Sword, stepped off the stage, and returned to her seat.
The next match was between two early Aperture-stage newcomers. Not only were their moves less exciting, the match would definitely take longer. The spectators soon turned their eyes to other groups’ arenas.
“Look at Group Six! That junior sister is fighting Senior Brother Li Yanwei, who’s ranked Ninety-Eighth, and she’s not losing ground. I think she’s new this year too. This batch is ridiculous—how are there so many dark horses? Are us old disciples supposed to survive or not?”
Hearing the incredulous voice behind her, Fu Yan couldn’t help turning toward Group Six in curiosity.
Soon, she saw a familiar figure.
On Group Six’s platform, Tong Zhen was fighting a male disciple. It seemed her luck was a bit bad; she’d run into Ninety-Eighth ranked Li Yanwei in her first match.
Tong Zhen was the first friend Fu Yan had made in the Shui Ling Sect’s inner sect. Naturally, she hoped Tong Zhen would win. She focused her gaze on the Group Six arena.
By now, Tong Zhen and her opponent had already exchanged four or five moves, yet she hadn’t fallen into a disadvantage. Li Yanwei opposite her was getting a headache. When he first saw a new early Aperture-stage disciple walk onstage, he’d thought the match would be over quickly, but he’d kicked an iron plate instead.
This timid-looking Junior Sister Tong was actually hiding her strength. None of his attacks could break through her defense at all.
“Junior Sister Tong is truly formidable.”
Li Yanwei could only smile bitterly. If this went on, he’d soon be the one at a disadvantage. He had no choice but to bring out his full strength.
At his words, Tong Zhen blinked at him in confusion. She still hadn’t realized how the match was going.
She truly had no concept here. From the moment the fight began, Li Yanwei had been attacking nonstop. All she could do was passively defend, not daring to relax for a second, afraid she’d be knocked out of the arena if she slipped up.
Hearing Li Yanwei speak, Tong Zhen looked at him with teary grievance.
Can’t you slow down a bit? Your attacks just keep coming, one after another. You’re not giving me any chance to breathe.
Li Yanwei: …
He actually understood the meaning in her eyes. With his usual good manners, even he wanted to roar, “Why do you look so wronged? If anyone should be upset, it’s me!”
Of course, he didn’t actually shout that. He could only swallow it.
Li Yanwei was ranked within the top hundred. For a new disciple with only early Aperture-stage to hold even with him was enough to draw countless gazes.
He gripped his spear tightly under everyone’s eyes and lunged toward Tong Zhen again.
Tong Zhen’s footwork was poor and her speed wasn’t great either, so dodging was impossible. She could only reach out and rely on her raw strength to meet the attack head-on.
As expected, the result was the same as before. Li Yanwei still couldn’t break through her defense, and naturally couldn’t wound her.
Just as he was about to pull back his spear and retreat a step to unleash his strongest “Explosive Spear” technique, he suddenly realized Tong Zhen was gripping the butt of his spear tightly and had no intention of letting go.
He froze, then immediately poured more true essence into his arms to yank the spear back—but it didn’t budge.
My weapon won’t come back?
Li Yanwei: …
What happened in the next moment made him want to crawl into a hole and die. He felt his spear suddenly lift upward, and because he hadn’t let go, he went up with it. Tong Zhen directly raised both spear and man high into the air.
On the platform, Tong Zhen was holding the very end of the long spear, easily hoisting Li Yanwei and his weapon and hanging them in midair.
Li Yanwei: … Who am I? Where am I?
Fu Yan, witnessing everything: …
The watching disciples all around: …
Aside from the sounds of combat from other groups’ arenas, the area fell utterly silent. Almost everyone stared wide-eyed at the Group Six platform.
Fu Yan had seen Tong Zhen casually swing a giant toothed crocodile with one hand before, but this sight still surprised her again.
Lifting a grown man wasn’t much. But that man was a whole cultivation stage above her. That was different—and she’d done it using his own familiar weapon.
After a brief silence, the stands erupted in loud discussion.
“Heavens, did I just see that right? That junior sister used Li Yanwei’s own spear to lift him into the air.”
“This world is too ridiculous. She looks so dumb and cute, but when she acts… it’s nothing like what I imagined.”
“I suspect my eyes are playing tricks on me.”
“You’re not seeing things. It’s real. And didn’t you notice? There’s no spiritual energy fluctuation at all around this little junior sister.”
“What? You mean she hasn’t even used true essence, and this is just… just her physical strength?”
“It really seems that way.”
“Good grief, what kind of monstrous body is that? She might be the biggest dark horse in this entire tournament. I could just kneel right here.”
“I suddenly feel sorry for Li Yanwei…”
…
While everyone was busy reacting to her actions, Tong Zhen didn’t think much of it. She just wanted Li Yanwei to take a break. He’d been attacking nonstop and she could barely keep up.
“I admit defeat!”
Just as Tong Zhen finally had a breather, a voice came from above her head.
As soon as he finished, Li Yanwei let go of his spear and dropped down, landing steadily on the platform.
“Group Six, fifth match, Number Twenty-Two wins. One point.”
Only when she heard the steward elder’s announcement did Tong Zhen come back to herself. Still gripping the spear, she looked at Li Yanwei in confusion.
“Huh? Wait, the match isn’t over yet. Why did you… admit defeat so suddenly?”
If it weren’t obvious that this girl truly lacked a few screws, Li Yanwei might have died of rage on the spot and dragged her down with him.
But looking at her innocent face, he felt that any anger would just be like punching cotton—utterly useless. Forget it. Even though he hadn’t used all his trump cards, he had indeed lost today.
“Could you give me my spear back?”
He could only ask helplessly.
Tong Zhen blinked and finally realized she was still holding his weapon. She hurriedly handed it over, embarrassed.
“Sorry, sorry, here’s your spear.”
Li Yanwei took it, then turned and walked off the platform without looking back, leaving behind Tong Zhen, who still didn’t understand how she’d won.
Watching this match made Fu Yan want to cover her face. She really couldn’t imagine what kind of family could raise such a living treasure.
She suddenly became curious about Tong Zhen’s background.
The morning matches ended soon. Everyone was still wanting more, but the midday break was only two hours long. The tournament resumed again in the afternoon.
In the entire morning, Fu Yan had only fought once. Bai Li hadn’t gone up at all yet. No one was anxious; one ranking tournament often took seven to eight days, sometimes more than ten.
After lunch, Fu Yan had just sat down and watched one match when the steward elder’s voice rang out again.
“Group Eight, eighth match—Number Sixteen versus Number Forty-One!”
The next instant, Fu Yan saw Bai Li rise and walk to the right-side platform.
She was Number Sixteen.
“Ahhh! Senior Sister Bai is finally on stage. Who’s her opponent?”
“You’re kidding, we waited all this time for Senior Sister Bai’s first match and her opponent is just a mid Aperture-stage disciple? What’s the point of that?”
“Don’t rush. The ranking tournament has only just begun. The real powerhouses won’t run into each other this early.”
“True. The early matches are just warm-ups. The real show is the finals.”
As the voices behind her drifted over, Fu Yan saw the two disciples on stage salute each other. However, as soon as the steward elder declared the match had begun, Bai Li’s opponent raised his hand.
“I concede.”
The elder wasn’t surprised.
“Number Sixteen wins. One point.”
With that, both disciples stepped down. The match had ended before it even started.
Fu Yan was a little surprised, but she understood. With such a vast difference in strength, it was better to concede and save strength for later rounds.
But actually trading a few moves with someone like Bai Li would force you to confront your own level clearly and might lead to greater insight and improvement.
The tournament continued in full swing. Before long, Fu Yan was called to the stage again, and this time her opponent surprised her.
“Number Fifty-Two, Qin Xinrui. Please guide me.”
Qin Xinrui stared at Fu Yan, enunciating each word.
In the month since they’d last met, Qin Xinrui had broken through to mid Aperture-stage.
Fu Yan hadn’t expected Qin Xinrui to be in Group Eight as well. She had to admit she hadn’t noticed her all morning. Since the inner sect competition where she’d defeated Qin Xinrui with a single sword, this was only the second time she’d seen her.
As soon as the match began, Qin Xinrui gripped her sword. Her gaze toward Fu Yan was full of loathing and jealousy.
The day she’d been knocked out cold by Fu Yan, Qin Xinrui had been furious enough to kill. She later realized she’d been used by Zhou Zhenlie, but that didn’t lessen her hatred. Fu Yan had humiliated her in front of everyone.
So for this whole month, Qin Xinrui had been training relentlessly, all so she could defeat Fu Yan publicly. Heaven didn’t fail the determined—she’d finally broken through to mid Aperture-stage before the tournament.
Qin Xinrui refused to believe Fu Yan was truly that strong—in fact, she refused to accept it at all. Even after Fu Yan’s name had become famous in the inner sect due to the life-and-death challenge with Zhou Zhenlie, she still clung to her own explanation: Zhou Zhenlie had simply been seduced, then careless, and capsized in a ditch.
Now that she herself was mid Aperture-stage, Qin Xinrui was certain: with a whole realm between them, how powerful could Fu Yan possibly be?
This time, Qin Xinrui forced herself not to rush in. She didn’t attack first as she usually would. Instead, she held her sword and stared at Fu Yan, trying to read her moves.
Fu Yan, naturally, didn’t think so much. In her eyes, this fight was already decided.
Since the other side wasn’t attacking, she couldn’t be bothered to drag it out. She drew Linglong Broken Sword, stepped into Wind Shadow Steps, and rushed straight at Qin Xinrui.
Qin Xinrui might not be very strong, but basic reactions were still there. She rolled aside to dodge and counterattacked with a low sweeping slash.
Fu Yan didn’t care. She simply leaped, planting the tip of her foot squarely on the end of Qin Xinrui’s sword.
Qin Xinrui felt utterly insulted. Realizing Fu Yan hadn’t taken her seriously at all, she lost all reason. She detonated her true essence in an instant, flung the sword upward, and sprang above Fu Yan.
“Fu Yan, let’s see where you dodge now. Go die!”
She practically roared the words through gritted teeth. Her hands moved, and in a blink she unleashed her strongest technique: ten sword strikes at once.
Fu Yan looked at the ten vicious sword-lights rushing toward her and could see just how much hatred Qin Xinrui bore her. She sighed.
She had thought Qin Xinrui had simply been blinded by Zhou Zhenlie. But it seemed the girl herself had an extremely petty, vengeful nature.
Facing someone who truly wanted her dead, Fu Yan would no longer show mercy. She raised Linglong Broken Sword and struck directly at the oncoming sword-lights.
In the next moment, the ten sword-lights shattered under her overwhelming sword qi, vanishing into nothing. Qin Xinrui took the full brunt of that force. She spat blood in midair and was flung clear off the wide platform.
One move was all it took to decide the winner.
“Number Thirty-Seven, Fu Yan, wins. One point.”
This time, Qin Xinrui wasn’t knocked out. She clutched her chest and struggled to her feet. When she heard the elder’s announcement, her eyes went scarlet. She looked like she’d gone mad.
She screamed hoarsely:
“No… impossible. How could this happen? Your cultivation is clearly lower than mine. How could I lose? No, no! I don’t believe it… You… you must have cheated. That’s it, you must have cheated. Someone check her! She cheated!”
Everyone: …
Has she gone insane?
The steward elder on stage finally looked at Qin Xinrui, frowning almost imperceptibly. He signaled some disciples to drag her away from the arena.
Fu Yan said nothing. She knew Qin Xinrui was finished—not because she’d cursed in public, nor because she’d dared to question an elder’s discernment.
It was because her Dao heart had collapsed.
For any cultivator, a firm, unwavering Dao heart was most important. Once the Dao heart was shattered, their path in this life was over.
“Who was that just now? How can she not accept defeat to that extent? It’s just one match.”
“There’s a story from a month ago… Eh, it’s not that big a deal. Her Dao heart is broken anyway. Even if she had heaven-defying talent, it’s all worthless now.”
“Good thing my Dao heart is always steady. Nothing’s happened yet that could shake it.”
…
Qin Xinrui’s incident was just a small interlude. After a few curious questions, everyone moved on. The tournament continued.
In the afternoon, Fu Yan went up three more times and won all three without issue. Bai Li, meanwhile, got drawn for four matches—but never made a single move.
It had become almost a rule: anyone matched against Bai Li would concede immediately. They couldn’t be blamed; she was the inner sect’s number one, while her opponents were all ranked beyond two hundred. They had no intention of pointlessly throwing themselves at a wall.
Just like that, the first day of the ranking tournament passed in heat and excitement.
That evening, in the inner sect dining hall—
Tong Zhen sat across from Fu Yan, gnawing on a braised spiritual pork knuckle while grumbling about the tournament.
“Fu Yan, I actually won three matches in a row today. I didn’t expect that at all. Their cultivation was clearly higher than mine, but somehow they still lost.”
It sounded a bit like humblebragging, but Fu Yan knew she was genuinely puzzled, not showing off. After a pause, she asked:
“Before this, have you ever fought people one or two realms above you?”
“Of course!”
Tong Zhen didn’t understand why she was asking, but still answered honestly.
“Back at home, whenever I sparred with clansmen who were a whole realm above me, I couldn’t fight back at all.”
“You don’t know, Fu Yan. I have the worst talent in my family. They all talk behind my back.”
She took a huge bite of knuckle, cheeks puffing out in aggrieved silence.
Fu Yan: …
The Minbei Region, where the male lead was born, was set in the book as the most barren region on the entire Tongxuan Continent. Across all of the northern territories, you could probably count the Void Transformation experts on one hand.
So after hearing Tong Zhen’s words, Fu Yan could guess this girl’s background definitely wasn’t from any family in the Minbei Region. She didn’t pry; after all, it was someone else’s privacy.
As for Tong Zhen’s confusion, Fu Yan could only say:
“There’s nothing strange about it. Strength still depends on the person. You don’t need to overthink it. If you can win, then win.”
Tong Zhen blinked, then nodded vaguely. With her mouth full of meat, her muffled response was barely intelligible.
“Come on, finish up and rest early. The ranking tournament continues tomorrow.”
Fu Yan put down her chopsticks.
Tong Zhen nodded, swallowed her last bite, and left the dining hall with Fu Yan. Then they each returned to their wooden cottages.
She didn’t know if she’d meet top-fifty disciples tomorrow. Fu Yan knew she was still far from strong enough. She needed to raise her cultivation as fast as possible. So after returning, she didn’t rest, but immediately sat down to cultivate.
The next day was another day of fierce battles.
On the fifth day of the ranking tournament—the last day of the preliminaries—the sun rose early as usual. Clear, melodious bells rang again across the vast Main Peak.
Fu Yan sat in the same spot as always while the first match of the day began on the platform. After a night’s rest, everyone was full of energy once more.
Close to noon, the steward elder announced another pair of numbers.
“Next in Group Eight, Number Sixteen versus Number Thirty-Seven!”
As soon as the words fell, the stands burst into an excited buzz. Many disciples began talking in surprise.
“What? That means Fu Yan is fighting Senior Sister Bai Li, right? I’m not misremembering the numbers?”
“You’re right, look, they’re already walking up to the platform. This is a surprise. The dark horse of this year versus Senior Sister Bai—we’re in for a show.”
“No doubt, Fu Yan is a dark horse this year. She hasn’t lost once and has kept up a winning streak. But now that she’s up against Senior Sister Bai, that streak is over.”
“Yeah. I had high hopes for Junior Sister Fu Yan, but if she runs into Senior Sister Bai, it’s just bad luck. Do you think she’ll concede like everyone else?”
“I don’t think so. I don’t know much about her, but from her previous fights, she doesn’t seem like the type to give up easily.”
“What’s the point of guessing? They’re already on stage. Just watch.”
…
Fu Yan suddenly realized she and Bai Li were rather fated. On the last day of preliminaries, they really had collided.
“Begin.”
The steward elder’s voice sounded at their ears. Fu Yan looked at Bai Li across from her and suddenly smiled.
She didn’t know where the tacit understanding came from, but she and Bai Li spoke at the same time on the platform.
“Number Thirty-Seven…”
“Number Sixteen…”
“Fu Yan…”
“Bai Li…”
“Please guide me.”
“Please guide me.”
