Although Ji Yutang didn’t accept the martial challenge, she was still very interested in the challenger’s situation.
After all, she didn’t know if the opponent would continue to challenge after winning or losing.
The challenger was named Yan Shouxia, currently at the Mortal Shedding stage, having only studied the “Heavenly Questions.”
However, she had already visualized her life-bound artifact and was just a step away from choosing her path to condense her life-bound true essence.
To advance from the Tui Fan stage to the Foundation Establishment stage, both the life-bound artifact and true essence are indispensable.
Some condense sword embryo true essence, others condense five thunder true essence, and the life-bound true essence varies from person to person, resulting in different golden cores.
For example, Ji Yutang, her future path is similar and can be called the “Great Dao Dragon Pill.”
The martial challenge was set for three days later, and all the disciples in the academy came to watch the excitement.
Firstly, because Li Jingyu and Ji Yutang were treated exceptionally well, and secondly, it was customary to give the “newcomers” a hard time.
“Senior Sister Yan is just one step away from condensing her life-bound true essence to successfully establish her foundation. Now challenging the new junior sister, isn’t that bullying?”
“Do you think those two junior sisters are easy to deal with? Junior Sister Ji… well, I don’t know about her. But Junior Sister Ran is a true disciple of Taiyuan Dao Palace, right? Besides, judging by her aura, she should be close to Senior Sister Yan’s level.”
The onlookers gathered early around the fighting platform, while Li Jingyu and Yan Shouxia arrived fashionably late.
One adorned with jade hairpins and earrings, the other with a noble demeanor, as calm as a chrysanthemum.
Ji Yutang didn’t appear with Li Jingyu; she took an inconspicuous corner position, her eyes fixed on the two people on the platform.
“Ran Guzhu” was an enemy she must defeat in the future, while Yan Shouxia was the immediate threat in front of her.
Understanding their skills and techniques was something she needed to do, so she would have a better grasp when facing them in the future.
“Junior Sister Ran,” Yan Shouxia smiled slightly, raising her sleeve towards Li Jingyu, “The technique I practice is the ‘Heavenly Questions Sutra,’ and I have now condensed my life-bound artifact—the Book of Heavenly Questions.”
Li Jingyu raised her eyebrows with a smile, her magical power surged like a tide, and a green gem floated in front of her.
She raised her sleeve in return, “The technique I study is the ‘Nine Lunar Phases Heavenly Chapter.'” This is a method of visualizing the Lunar Star Lord, evolving from a new moon to a crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, then waning gibbous, last quarter, and finally back to a new moon, forming a lunar cycle.
However, this technique often needs to be combined with other divine abilities.
The students of Bailu Academy didn’t know what “Ran Guzhu” primarily practiced, but Ji Yutang was very clear.
Hearing Li Jingyu’s words, a strange light flashed in her eyes.
Her main technique was clearly contemplating the stars, so how did it become lunar phases?
They say the three lights are the sun, moon, and stars; could it be that after entering Taiyuan Dao Palace, she practiced another technique?
Not wanting to expose her true methods now?
While Ji Yutang was pondering, the people on the platform had already started to move.
After Yan Shouxia expressed her humility, Li Jingyu didn’t decline and took the initiative.
Her magical power surged like a tide, and the green gem split into several light shadows, floating above.
As the light shadows split, a vast tide rose at Li Jingyu’s feet, ebbing and flowing with the lunar phases.
“Is it a water technique?”
Yan Shouxia looked at Li Jingyu with bright eyes.
Her cultivation was slightly higher, so she could naturally see that Li Jingyu’s gem was close to truly becoming a life-bound artifact.
She flipped her wrist, and a heavenly book floated above her, with the sound of pages turning, a voice filled with melancholy sounded: “In the beginning of ancient times, who passed down the Dao? When the heavens and earth were not yet formed, how could it be examined? Who can reach the utmost of the dark and bright? How can the image be recognized?”
The heavens cannot be questioned, not asking the heavens, but asking the heavenly questions.
As the Dao sound from the Book of Heavenly Questions spread, the environment on the fighting platform changed accordingly.
The Book of Heavenly Questions asked, and Yan Shouxia’s response was silent, an evolution of the surrounding circumstances, ultimately outlining a world she answered.
To counter this technique, one could either create a “Heavenly Response,” preemptively disrupting Yan Shouxia’s Dao domain, or rely on magical power to forcibly break this change.
Li Jingyu chose the latter.
The rise and fall of the lunar phases drove the tide’s ebb and flow, like a silver ribbon descending from the sky, sweeping towards the world ahead.
The waxing and waning of the lunar phases were like the cycle of life and death, and her Dao domain was also a complete world.
In this situation, it was a matter of the collision of magical power and the evolution of Dao techniques.
As the words from the Book of Heavenly Questions fell, it was not only Yan Shouxia herself who had to answer; if Li Jingyu didn’t answer the heavenly questions, each word seemed like a literary seal, striking towards her.
Li Jingyu remained calm, on one hand, driving the tide to wash over Yan Shouxia’s Dao domain, and on the other, manipulating the lunar phases in mid-air, whether incomplete or complete, its essence was still the gem emitting a green light.
At this moment, the gem emitted a faint moonlight, hovering around Li Jingyu, repelling the falling characters.
“No wonder she’s a true disciple of Taiyuan Dao Palace. Senior Sister Yan’s Book of Heavenly Questions directly points to the root of the Dao, and many have suffered losses on it. At this stage, it’s often a dilemma whether to answer or not.”
A faint sigh sounded close by, and Ji Yutang, who was seriously observing the battle on the platform, couldn’t help but glance back when she heard the voice in her ear.
It was a disciple of the academy in Confucian robes, but unlike other meticulous disciples, she had her hair loose and held a wine gourd in her hand, exuding a bit of the Daoist’s carefree and unrestrained demeanor.
Ji Yutang thought for a moment before remembering her name—Shen Zao.
“Sister Shen,” Ji Yutang raised her sleeve towards Shen Zao, speaking politely.
Shen Zao chuckled softly, her gaze falling on the “palace sash” hanging from Ji Yutang’s waist, teasing, “This grass weaving is quite unique.”
Ji Yutang didn’t have many hobbies, but grass weaving was one of them.
The jade on the palace sash was casually found, but the “knots” hanging below were all carefully woven by her, each with a different shape.
Ji Yutang’s face turned slightly red, a hint of embarrassment flashing in her eyes.
She pretended not to hear Shen Zao’s words and instead asked, “Sister Shen, who do you think will win?”
“Does it make a difference?”
Shen Zao replied with a question.
Ji Yutang: “…”
It makes a big difference.
She didn’t particularly like Li Jingyu, but since they were under the same roof and seen as one by other students, she had a feeling of not wanting to see her win, yet not wanting her to lose either.
“Junior Sister, do you think winning will let her escape the next battle?”
Shen Zao looked at Ji Yutang with a raised eyebrow and smiled, “Besides martial battles, there are also literary battles. Junior Sister is not a disciple of our academy, and having Yan Shouxia appear again would be too much. Next, I’ll be the idle one to challenge.”
“Idle?”
Ji Yutang’s eyes flashed with doubt.
Don’t be fooled by her being immersed in drunkenness all day; that’s because she only studied the word “wine”!
What do you mean by not bullying people?
As if she was new and didn’t know Shen Zao had the reputation of “fighting wine with a hundred poems”?
Just as Ji Yutang was momentarily distracted, a series of thunderous roars erupted from the fighting platform.
Ji Yutang focused her gaze and saw a flash of lightning emerging from the tide, rumbling loudly.
“Lunar Heavenly Heart Thunder? Tsk tsk, this Junior Sister Ran has quite a few divine abilities, huh?”
Shen Zao’s eyes flashed with a smile.
Yan Shouxia’s Dao domain was disrupted by the thunder river before it could truly form, and it would take considerable effort to condense it again.
She herself was hidden in the divine light of the Book of Heavenly Questions, still able to use other divine abilities, but Li Jingyu was also protected by the lunar phases formed by the gem, making it difficult to reach her true form without considerable effort.
A smile flashed across Yan Shouxia’s eyes, and she was the first to put away the Book of Heavenly Questions, looking at Li Jingyu, “Junior Sister’s Dao techniques are impressive, I admit defeat.”
Li Jingyu also withdrew her magical power, bowing to Yan Shouxia, “Senior Sister Yan, you flatter me. I couldn’t do anything to you, so it’s not a win.”
Yan Shouxia shook her head, not responding, but instead changing the topic, “The martial battle is over, but what about the literary battle? Will the new junior sister accept it?”
“No need to worry, the literary battle, Junior Sister Ji has already accepted it.”
Shen Zao, with her drunken eyes, spoke loudly.
Her words drew everyone’s attention to Shen Zao and Ji Yutang.
Ji Yutang: “!!!”
This was completely unreasonable; when did she agree to a literary battle?
Shifting her gaze to Li Jingyu, she found that the other party remained silent, showing no sense of awareness.
“There’s no better time than now; a literary battle doesn’t require preparation, let’s do it now.”
Shen Zao smiled at Ji Yutang.
“Although Junior Sister Ji hasn’t joined the Confucian Sect, she’s well-read, and in terms of literary talent, I’m far inferior to her. It’s fitting for her to take on this battle.”
Li Jingyu turned to Ji Yutang, her eyes bright and clear like water.
Ji Yutang pressed her brow.
Elder Yue said the battle could be avoided, but with Li Jingyu showing such skill in the martial battle, if she backed down in the literary battle, it would make her look even worse.
Her body was obscured by the Xuanxiang Pearl, so many couldn’t see clearly, but not knowing now didn’t mean they wouldn’t know in the future.
If—Ji Yutang’s thoughts were in turmoil, she glared at Li Jingyu with resentment before turning to Shen Zao and agreeing, “Alright.”
Shen Zao nodded in satisfaction, taking out a conch from her sleeve, “This artifact is called the Heartless Conch, silent and emotionless. This time, the theme is ’emotion,’ and you can express it freely. I won’t make it difficult for you; if you can make this Heartless Conch respond, you win.”
Ji Yutang: “…”
Today, she has a new understanding of the phrase “not difficult.”
She was silent for a while before asking, “Does Sister Shen have a way to make the Heartless Conch respond?”
Shen Zao replied calmly, “Of course I do.”
Before anyone else could speak, Yan Shouxia’s cold voice interrupted, “Impossible!”
She didn’t even look at Shen Zao and directly said, “Choose another.”
“Why is it impossible?”
Shen Zao’s lips curled into an amused smile.
She crossed her arms and lazily looked at Yan Shouxia, leaning closer as she said, “Just because you can’t, doesn’t mean I can’t.”
Shen Zao’s tone was full of provocation.
The two senior sisters clashed, and in the end, they parted on bad terms, leaving the matter unresolved.
Ji Yutang felt relieved but also a bit puzzled.
Does the Heartless Conch have some special significance?
