The Water Plume Sect’s ranking tournament finally reached its grand finals. After lying quiet for two or three days, the Zheng Peak arena once again became as lively and bustling as on the first day.
When Fuyan arrived together with Tong Zhen and saw the spectacle, she was much calmer this time. After all, she had already experienced it once before.
Sitting in the rest area, Fuyan deliberately took out her identity token and glanced at the roster for Group One. There were seventy‑eight people in total. According to the rules, it was still the same as before: opponents were decided by drawing lots until only ten people remained.
Then those final ten would enter a rotation battle. Whoever kept winning to the end would naturally become this year’s number one in the ranking tournament.
Fuyan had no intention of charging into the top ten. With her current strength, unless she broke through to late Aperture Opening, there was no way she could compete with that group. So her goal was the top fifty.
As long as she got into the top fifteen, it was fine. Anything above that was just a bonus.
“It’s starting soon, right? Why do I feel kind of nervous? What about you, Fuyan?”
Beside her, Tong Zhen glanced at the few deacon elders on the platform, then bumped Fuyan with her elbow and asked in a low voice.
Fuyan came back to herself and put away her identity token. Without even thinking, she lifted her gaze to the girl next to her.
“Nervous about what? It’s not like you actually care about your rank.”
Tong Zhen really didn’t care about her own ranking. She was sitting here entirely with a ‘this looks fun’ attitude, and Fuyan could see that easily.
Tong Zhen looked very innocent.
“But in this kind of atmosphere, aren’t you supposed to be nervous?”
“…”
While they were talking, a white‑clad figure walked into her line of sight. Fuyan looked up and saw that Bai Li had arrived at some point as well. Bai Li didn’t look at anyone around her, just sat quietly to the side and waited for the matches to begin.
We probably won’t run into each other today, Fuyan thought.
Very soon, the time for the finals finally arrived. Amid the crowd’s feverish excitement and anticipation, one of the deacon elders stepped up onto the platform to preside over the first match of the day.
“First match, Tong Zhen versus Liu Mingze!”
Hearing her own name, Tong Zhen’s eyes flew wide open. She looked as though she wanted to cry but had no tears. She stared pitifully at Fuyan.
“Why am I in the first match? And it’s against the same guy as yesterday. You had to work pretty hard yesterday to break through his defense—how am I supposed to fight him?”
Fuyan was a little speechless, but she still comforted her.
“Relax. You’re both body cultivators, but I can tell his physique isn’t on your level. Just focus and fight properly.”
“Really?”
Tong Zhen still didn’t seem entirely convinced.
But the match had already begun. On the other side, Liu Mingze had gotten up and was heading toward the platform. Tong Zhen naturally didn’t dare to dawdle and hurried after him.
Watching the two on the stage, Fuyan was actually quite looking forward to it. Although she could sense that Tong Zhen’s raw strength was greater, Tong Zhen seriously lacked combat experience. If she wanted to win, it wasn’t going to be easy, and Liu Mingze’s cultivation was a whole minor realm higher than hers.
Because of the preliminaries a few days ago, Tong Zhen’s performance had drawn plenty of attention. So this match immediately piqued everyone’s interest.
“I remember both of them are pretty powerful body cultivators, right? Body cultivator versus body cultivator—that’s going to be interesting.”
“I hate fighting body cultivators the most. I can’t break their defense at all, and their strength is nothing to scoff at either. In a match you have to split your focus—one part on finding a way to crack their defense, one part on guarding against their attacks. It’s hell.”
“Two body cultivators going at it… come to think of it, this is my first time seeing that. Body cultivators value innate physique talent a lot, so there aren’t many of them. I’m actually pretty excited to see this one.”
“Same. Look, they’ve already started!”
…
As the words fell, every gaze gathered on the wide platform. The two people on stage had already saluted each other, and the fight officially began.
Liu Mingze glanced down at Fuyan below the stage, and a flash of viciousness passed through his eyes. Yesterday’s match had turned him into a joke for the entire inner sect. He hated it so much his teeth ached, but he had to admit that Fuyan’s swordplay had made him wary.
Thinking of that, Liu Mingze’s gaze shifted back to Tong Zhen opposite him. If he wasn’t mistaken, this girl should be Fuyan’s friend. How convenient.
Tong Zhen saw Liu Mingze suddenly give her a strange smile and was a little puzzled, but she didn’t take it to heart. Her thoughts were all on how she was going to fight this match.
Soon, Liu Mingze finally moved. He shot forward and sent a punch flying straight toward her. Tong Zhen jumped in fright, but she had already fought quite a few matches, so at least her basic reactions were there.
The next second, Tong Zhen thrust out a palm and blocked Liu Mingze’s fist head‑on. Palm met fist—and she even faintly had the upper hand.
“What kind of palm art is that?”
Liu Mingze was a bit shaken. Tong Zhen’s palm technique didn’t look like it had much force, yet it caught his attack solidly. That alone showed how powerful the technique was.
But no matter how strong a technique was, it was useless if its owner didn’t know how to use it. Liu Mingze quickly raised his leg and kicked twice in rapid succession. Tong Zhen reacted on instinct, crossing her arms in front of her to block.
However, Liu Mingze’s strength wasn’t just for show. Tong Zhen was driven back several steps in a row.
Seeing this, Liu Mingze didn’t give her any chance to adjust. He lunged in again, unleashing attack after attack in a relentless storm, pressing her down completely.
Although Tong Zhen’s physical strength was formidable, just as Fuyan had thought, she had almost no actual combat experience. With no idea how to attack, all she could do was passively take the hits.
Watching Tong Zhen being suppressed so thoroughly she could barely catch her breath, Liu Mingze’s lips curved. Of course, this alone wasn’t enough to vent his anger. He suddenly lashed out with a heavy kick, sending Tong Zhen stumbling backward.
An instant later, Liu Mingze flashed behind her and drove a vicious punch into her back. Tong Zhen had never experienced this kind of ferocious assault before; her mind went completely blank.
Seeing Tong Zhen being batted back and forth like a ball, many people in the stands couldn’t bear to watch.
“This Liu Mingze is going too far. He’s treating Junior Sister Tong Zhen like a training dummy, just venting on her. This is supposed to be a tournament match, not a beating.”
“Wait, isn’t Tong Zhen really strong? From what I saw, her strength shouldn’t be any less than Liu Mingze’s. How is she getting demolished like this?”
“You didn’t see the earlier rounds? Tong Zhen’s strong, yeah, but she’s way too naive and has basically zero battle experience. How can she compare to a sly old fox like Liu Mingze?”
“True, but it still feels unfair. Did you see her match with Li Yanwei last time? Now that was a proper, upright fight.”
“You can’t put it that way. If Tong Zhen has no combat experience, that’s her problem. Why should anyone be obligated to exchange blow for blow with her? Liu Mingze pressing the advantage is just a show of strength.”
“Yeah… hard to say who’s right or wrong…”
Down below, once Fuyan clearly saw the situation on the stage, she couldn’t sit still anymore. It wasn’t just that Liu Mingze was suppressing Tong Zhen—he was also looking at her with blatant provocation.
Seeing that, there was nothing Fuyan didn’t understand. Liu Mingze was clearly taking his loss from yesterday out on Tong Zhen. After being pummeled like that, Tong Zhen was already dizzy and disoriented. She didn’t even remember she could admit defeat.
Thinking of this, Fuyan suddenly stood up.
Just as she was about to act, a soft but firm hand pressed down on her shoulder.
She froze and turned to see Bai Li. The other girl’s hand was on her shoulder, clearly intending to stop whatever Fuyan was about to do.
“If you go up there now, you’ll just be breaking the rules. Both you and she could be disqualified immediately.”
Bai Li’s voice sounded quietly.
Fuyan knew Bai Li meant well, but she was truly furious.
“It’s fine. Senior Sister, you don’t need to worry about me.”
No matter how you looked at it, Tong Zhen was just a sheltered little girl who didn’t concern herself with worldly matters. She was also the only friend Fuyan had made here. And today’s situation had arisen because of her. Even someone as normally calm as Fuyan couldn’t keep from acting on impulse right now.
Bai Li frowned slightly at that. Her gaze shifted to the deacon elders on the platform, as if she were thinking of how to handle this properly.
But just then, something happened that stunned everyone.
On the platform, a flash of spiritual light suddenly rippled across Tong Zhen’s body. A pair of cyan wings abruptly unfolded from her back.
The next second, Tong Zhen shot into the air. She pulled a spirit whip out from her storage ring and, face full of anger, lashed it straight at Liu Mingze on the ground.
“You’ve gone too far!”
Tong Zhen shouted furiously. The blazing spirit whip snapped down with fierce momentum. Liu Mingze tried to dodge, but he simply couldn’t. He was forced to take the strike head‑on.
In that instant, his defense was like soggy tofu. With that single lash, Tong Zhen sent him flying off the platform, crashing into the ground below. No one knew if he was dead or alive, and some people even heard the sound of his qi sea shattering.
The abrupt scene silenced the entire arena. Even the deacon elders were staring, eyes wide in shock.
Fuyan, too, was full of astonishment. By the time she regained her senses, Tong Zhen had already landed back on the platform. The cyan wings and spirit whip vanished as she stowed them away.
“W‑what… what just happened?”
Someone, still unable to believe their own eyes, blurted out in a daze.
“What was that? That power was terrifying. She lightly swung that whip and shattered Liu Mingze’s qi sea. That’s… that’s…”
“A spirit treasure. And a high‑grade one, at that.”
“How is that possible?”
Someone’s face was full of disbelief.
“Spirit treasures are so rare that the entire Northern Region can barely produce a few. How could Tong Zhen be carrying not one, but two high‑grade spirit treasures?”
…
Fuyan looked at Tong Zhen on the platform. Though surprised, she wasn’t particularly shocked. She had long suspected Tong Zhen’s background wasn’t simple; she just hadn’t expected it to be this deep.
The wings and whip really were Tong Zhen’s spirit treasures. She had never suffered any real grievances growing up. Just now, she had been so furious she acted without thinking, pulling out her treasures with no consideration at all. All she’d wanted in that moment was to end the fight as quickly as possible.
And then… this happened.
Once her thoughts settled, Tong Zhen looked from Liu Mingze’s crumpled form on the ground—no one knew if he was alive—to the crowd murmuring below. She suddenly realized she might have caused serious trouble.
Sure enough, several deacon elders rushed over and surrounded her. In a daze, Tong Zhen let them escort her off the platform and toward the sect’s main hall.
Seeing this, Fuyan grew genuinely anxious for her. Spirit treasures were incredibly tempting, not only for ordinary cultivators but even for the Water Plume Sect itself. She couldn’t bring herself to believe that the same sect master who treated Bai Li as a mere furnace cauldron would have any good intentions.
But Fuyan didn’t panic. She knew perfectly well that with her current strength, she could never catch up with those deacon elders at the main hall. Trying would only lead to a dead end.
Because of what had happened, the ranking tournament was naturally postponed. After taking Tong Zhen away, the elders announced the tournament would be restarted on another day. Liu Mingze’s body was also carried off.
Everyone was incredibly curious, but no one dared to ask questions.
When Fuyan left the arena, she was turning over plans in her mind when she suddenly spotted Bai Li’s figure. Bai Li was holding the Moonshaker Sword, walking toward her at a measured pace.
“Senior Sister Bai.”
Fuyan forced herself to sound calm as she greeted her. Then, remembering what had just happened inside, she added,
“Thank you, Senior Sister Bai, for earlier.”
If Bai Li hadn’t stopped her, she might really have charged onto the stage. If both she and Tong Zhen had been taken away by the deacon elders, then there truly would have been no way out.
Bai Li looked at her, her expression pausing for a moment. Only after a long beat did her red lips part.
“The Water Plume Sect’s deacons are, in principle, fair in how they handle matters. As long as the source of Tong Zhen’s spirit treasures is legitimate, the sect won’t do anything drastic to her. At most, they’ll punish her for crippling Liu Mingze’s qi sea.”
Hearing this, Fuyan was slightly stunned. She lifted her eyes to Bai Li and suddenly had the impulse to tell her the truth.
To tell her that the sect she trusted so much only raised her as a furnace cauldron.
But when she looked at Bai Li, the words stuck in her throat. She could imagine how devastating that truth would be to Bai Li.
If it shattered Bai Li’s dao heart, it could ruin her entire cultivation path.
With that in mind, Fuyan could only give a careless smile.
“Thank you, Senior Sister Bai. If that’s the case, then I don’t have to worry so much.”
“Is she very important to you?”
Bai Li suddenly asked another question.
That one actually stumped Fuyan. She thought it over carefully, then met Bai Li’s gaze and nodded.
“Tong Zhen is the first friend I’ve made since coming here, so yes, she’s very important. And today’s mess started because of me. If I hadn’t defeated Liu Mingze and made him hold a grudge, none of this would’ve happened.”
A friend?
Hearing that, Bai Li’s expression flickered. Walking this far along the cultivation path, she realized, she hadn’t really made any friends at all. The road of cultivation was a lonely one. She had always walked it alone.
“Senior Sister?”
Seeing Bai Li looking a bit dazed, Fuyan waved a hand in front of her eyes.
Bai Li snapped back to herself. She fixed her gaze on Fuyan and suddenly said,
“Come. Let’s go to the main hall.”
Fuyan blinked, not quite catching up, but Bai Li had already turned and started toward the hall. Fuyan froze for a heartbeat, then suddenly smiled and followed after her.
