"..."
The person on the stage wore a long, snow-white cloak, held a scepter, and stood ramrod straight. From a distance, their figure was truly a pleasing sight. Unfortunately, they were wearing a hat, so only the tip of their fair nose could be seen.
Xia Qingmei cupped her hands in greeting, somewhat hesitant, and asked, "May I ask your name?"
"That's not important." The person on the stage turned his head slightly, glanced at Xue Zhi, revealing half of his profile, and smiled slightly. "I was just standing up for that girl from earlier."
The scene fell silent instantly.
Zhu Sha's eyes widened: "So handsome..."
Liuli said, "Zhusha, your age..."
"Shut up!"
“Young master, there’s no need to be so lenient with women here. This is the arena for the Heroes’ Gathering.” Xia Qingmei thought for a moment and then smiled. “Besides, not stating your name is against the standards of the gathering.”
At this moment, Shi Yan stepped forward and said, "It's alright, you two can begin."
Feng Cheng, the leader of the Huashan Sect, said to the recorder, "Make a note of this: Shangguan Tou of Yue Shang Valley."
"But that young master didn't..."
"Shangguan Tou, Shangguan Tou, ignore him, just remember him." Feng Cheng wiped his sweat. "These two kids are so annoying, let them both suffer heavy losses."
The girls from Xueyan's sect started chattering:
"Who is the head of the papacy?"
"Yes, how rude! How can you speak to your senior brother like that?"
Yuan Shuangshuang was overjoyed: "My Tou'er, Zhaojun has finally gone beyond the Great Wall!"
The men around him glanced at him and then fell silent.
Only Lin Xuanfeng has remained silent.
This time, Xia Qingmei didn't use the Welcoming God Finger technique again, but instead went straight for the Seven Swords of Void Extreme, one of the three great sword techniques of Lingjian Manor. This move had always been his trump card and his signature move. Among the seven swords, the first six swords repeatedly alternated between two sword techniques, and the last sword was used to deliver a heavy blow, which was generally difficult not to cause serious injury.
Unexpectedly, with each attack, Shangguan Tou used the same move with his staff, only in the opposite direction. On the final strike, Shangguan Tou shifted his body to the side, and the sword missed its mark. Then, Shangguan Tou held his staff horizontally, blocking the sword, and lifted it upwards, the blade pointing directly at Xia Qingmei's own neck.
Shangguan Tou asked, "Shall we continue?"
Xia Qingmei remained silent.
"I won't go too far since you're from Lingjian Manor," Shangguan Tou suddenly lowered his voice. "If you treat other women like this just because you like one woman, then you're not a good man."
Xia Qingmei pondered for a moment, then cupped her hands in greeting and smiled, "Thank you for your guidance. I think I know who you are now."
He had barely gone down when Mu Yuan leaped up and landed in front of Shangguan Tou.
12
Shangguan Tou slightly raised his head, revealing the three red dots under his eyes: "And who are you, sir?"
"Mu Yuan of Chonghuo Palace, please." Mu Yuan bowed to Shangguan Tou.
"I'm not registered, so challenging me is pointless."
Mu Yuan was taken aback for a moment, then said, "In the battle just now, Chonghuo Palace is grateful for your help, but please accept our assistance."
Everyone could see that Xia Qingmei had suffered internal injuries after Shangguan Tou defeated her. Fighting him now would be a loss of face for Chonghuo Palace. Therefore, Mu Yuan's only option was to challenge Shangguan Tou to indirectly defeat Lingjian Manor.
Shangguan Tou said, "If I'm not mistaken, you will leave the stage after defeating me, right?"
"yes."
"I won't answer."
"If you do not accept, you will lose your qualification for the conference."
"I never attended the conference in the first place, so there's no question of whether it was canceled or not. Now that the young lady has calmed down, my purpose has been achieved. Farewell."
After speaking, Shangguan Tou once again vanished from the venue in the blink of an eye. Most people didn't even get a clear look at his face.
Mu Yuan glanced at Xia Qingmei, who was sitting in the crowd pretending to be fine, and had no choice but to give up.
As soon as they came down, Zhu Sha couldn't help but say, "Idiot Mu Yuan, why didn't you chase after them?"
“Since he has no intention of fighting, we shouldn’t force him. Besides, I know nothing about his martial arts skills. If we force him to stay and he gets defeated, I’m afraid the young master will kill me.” Mu Yuan spoke the last few sentences in a softer voice, glancing at Xue Zhi out of the corner of his eye.
"No way!" Xuezhi slapped Mu Yuan's shoulder hard. "Brother Mu Yuan, you're so loyal. I thought you guys would definitely leave me hanging up there."
"Young Palace Master, please don't say that. When you were alive, I promised you that no matter what happened, I would protect you and Chonghuo Palace, even at the cost of my life."
Zhu Sha said, "What are you worried about, Great Protector? That person looks impressive, but he might not be as good as you. If you were more high-profile, you would have been famous in the martial arts world long ago."
"Shangguan Tou's martial arts skills should not be underestimated. To date, his record of fighting others has always been that he stopped short of defeat. Regardless of how it ended, he has never been defeated, and no one has ever investigated his bottom line."
"Shangguan Tou?" Xuezhi blinked. "That's Shangguan Tou? How did you know?"
"His Seven Swords of the Void had been cultivated to at least the eighth level, so he must have stayed at the Spirit Sword Manor. However, the move he used to defeat Xia Qingmei was the Mirror Transformation Staff Technique of Moon Valley. The staff head was a light blue gemstone, which looked like an ice cube, so it should be the Frost Soul Staff."
Zhu Sha said, "It was originally easy to guess, but the Great Protector made it difficult."
How do you know?
“He has three red tattoos under his eyes.”
"This could be an imposter."
Zhu Sha pointed behind him to the entrance of the venue.
Many girls began to leave, rushing towards the door.
"Mu Yuan is foolish."
"He ran so fast, what do you think it was? He ran so fast and the scene was so spectacular. If he had stayed any longer, he probably would have been surrounded and killed by the out-of-control women."
Mu Yuan couldn't help but laugh.
Liuli nodded thoughtfully: "No wonder your lightness skill is so good."
Xuezhi said, "I don't like him."
Liuli said, "Here we go again."
"How can a man be so irresponsible? Don't tell me it's because he's good-looking. My dad is the most beautiful woman in the world, and he's still irresponsible."
Zhu Sha said, "The young palace master is absolutely right!"
Liuli said, "...Here we go again."
Afterwards, Xuezhi participated in several more martial arts competitions, ranking twenty-third. No woman in the history of the tournament had ever achieved this ranking before the age of twenty; theoretically, it should have been an extreme honor, but she was Chonglian's daughter. Rumors swirled, and while Xuezhi tried to pretend she didn't hear them, she couldn't help feeling agitated. Those with discerning eyes could see that Chonghuo Palace, having lost Chonglian, was severely weakened. Mu Yuan stepped in, symbolically fought a few matches, then refused Yuan Shuangshuang's challenge, ranking sixteenth. Xuezhi disliked Yuan Shuangshuang and complained to Mu Yuan for a while.
But Mu Yuan said, "It's best to avoid offending some people. Let's let them off the hook for now. Give me ten years, and I'll give you back the Chonghuo Palace of yesteryear."
Xuezhi was deeply troubled by her opinion of Mu Yuan. She trusted him implicitly, but she knew that as the future Palace Master, she couldn't be completely at ease with anyone. However, lacking Chonglian's calm wisdom, Lin Yuhuang's quick wit and strength, and without their unparalleled skills, she was practically devoid of confidence.
That night, Xuezhi was particularly downcast. It was the first time she had ever gone out to practice martial arts in the middle of the night. Looking at the shimmering surface of the Shen River, she suddenly remembered the Red Flower Courtyard from her childhood. Lin Yuhuang squatted down beside her, teaching her how to do horse stance, leg presses, and punches.
"Drink!" Little Xuezhi, her eyes sparkling with laughter and her voice still childish, landed a clumsy, soft left hook on Lin Yuhuang's nose. Lin Yuhuang, furious, pinched her cheek and scolded her for being stupid, hitting her father instead of a straw man.
The water's shimmering light was almost blinding.
"drink!"
Under the boundless starry sky, Xuezhi's eyes flashed, she gritted her teeth and swung her sword, swiftly and fiercely cleaving a wooden stake in two.
Author's Note: 3 chapters on July 22nd
13 14 15
13
A moment later, the sounds of punches and kicks, along with muffled groans, came from behind the bridge. Xuezhi paused her movements slightly and walked forward a short distance. Before she even reached the other side, she saw a group of people supporting another person, preparing to push them towards the riverbank. Those who would resort to violence in this area were usually not just petty thugs. With Mu Yuan not with her, even Xuezhi, with her high level of martial arts, felt somewhat uncertain. Just as she hesitated, slowly making her way forward, she suddenly heard a deafening roar ahead, a sound so loud it sent chills down her spine. The person and a large rock vanished along the riverbank.
Then the group of transvestites burst into a flamboyant laugh and disappeared outside the inn.
Xuezhi quickly followed, only to be stunned by what she saw: there was another set of steps below the riverbank, and the stone was on the middle of those steps. The person who had fallen down was lying next to the stone, unable to move, and no one knew whether he was dead or alive.
In the dead of night, the scene was rather eerie. Xuezhi stared blankly at the person, unsure whether to go and investigate.
Not long after, the person started climbing over the steps.
Xuezhi finally couldn't help but say, "Hey, hey, what are you doing? You'll fall if you climb any further."
The man seemed not to hear her and continued crawling forward. Then, when he reached the edge, he chose to fall.
Xuezhi rushed forward, but heard no sound of someone falling into the river. She only saw that the large rock had shifted slightly. Upon closer inspection, she realized that a long iron chain was embedded in the rock, and the chain was tied around the person's waist. The person was hanging between the river and the steps, swaying back and forth.
Xuezhi then saw a calm, still river below, with a small paper boat floating directly beneath the steps, containing a small medicine bottle. The paper boat was slowly drifting downstream, while the person's hand was outstretched, as if trying to catch the boat. Unfortunately, the distance was too great, and the chain was simply not long enough.
"Do you want that bottle of medicine?" Xuezhi asked.
The person did not reply.
It's unclear who devised this torture. This person seems to be poisoned and unable to exert any strength. But if he manages to reach the medicine bottle, the boulder will fall into the river. At that point, even if he gets the bottle, he will die.
Without a word, Xuezhi jumped into the river, swam to get a small boat, and then swam towards the man. She floated a little higher and handed him the medicine bottle. But as soon as she saw him, she screamed in terror.
His face was covered with multicolored blisters, just like the man who died at the heroes' gathering during the day.
The man slapped her hand away, and the medicine bottle flew into the water.
Xuezhi was quite bold and asked anxiously, "Was she harmed by the people of Hongling Temple and is she delirious? That's the antidote."
The man pointed to the small boat that had already drifted away.
Xuezhi asked, "Do you want that boat?"
The man didn't speak. Xuezhi swam over again, picked up the boat, and handed it to him. Without a word, he ate the boat.
"You... wake up! You're eating paper, not medicine."
The man ignored her words, closed his eyes, and waited quietly for a moment. Suddenly, he pushed off with his feet and leaped onto the steps. With a few whooshes, he reached the top of the steps, took out a small bottle from his pocket, dripped liquid onto the iron chain, and with a forceful chop, the chain broke.
He darted back to the shore in a few quick movements.
Xuezhi floated ashore and followed him: "Are you alright?"
I'm still afraid to see his face. But when he turned around, there was nothing on his face—meaning there was nothing there, literally.