Chapter 16: Be My Stool

At the very moment Ruyi Pei launched her challenge against Qing, Ye Luqing heard the voice of the System in her mind.

[Ding, a powerful obsession has been detected. Special Mission triggered.]

[Mission Objective: Win the battle against Ruyi Pei. Upon success, you will be rewarded with a Special Battle Title.]

Hearing the System’s prompt, Ye Luqing was momentarily stunned, but quickly caught the System’s implied meaning.

This was a Special Mission—there was no punishment even if she failed.

Most importantly, the System said, “Win the battle against Ruyi Pei.” In other words, whether she accepted the challenge or not, Ruyi Pei would still attack her.

This battle was now inevitable.

Therefore, Ye Luqing decided to up the stakes.

“I refuse.”

She lightly hopped off the stage, pretending to make a move to leave.

“Could it be that Senior Sister Ye is afraid?”

Ruyi Pei’s gaze narrowed slightly, the long sword in her hand still gathering sword intent, as if she might strike at Ye Luqing’s back at any moment.

“That’s not it.”

Ye Luqing smiled faintly and turned to look at Ruyi Pei.

“I only responded earlier to give the Disciples of Biluo Peak an explanation. Now that you’ve apologized, there’s no reason to keep fighting.”

Hearing this, Ruyi Pei nodded, understanding Ye Luqing’s intention.

Then I’ll give you a reason.

“If you win, I’ll agree to anything you ask.”

“But if you lose, you can’t pester Senior Sister Xiao anymore.”

Ye Luqing’s eyes immediately lit up.

“Anything?”

“Yes, anything.” Ruyi Pei replied calmly.

The corners of Ye Luqing’s lips curled up as she leisurely walked back onto the stage.

Looks like, aside from the System’s reward, she could get another prize today.

A battle title… She was already looking forward to what effect it might have.

She remembered that in games, many titles gave independent damage bonuses.

She hoped she could get a strong one.

And even if, worst-case scenario, she lost, there was practically no loss.

The System no longer had any failure penalty, and as for Ruyi Pei’s demand, Ye Luqing didn’t really mind complying.

Her not pestering Xiao Qingxuan ≠ Xiao Qingxuan not pestering her.

The inequality was settled instantly.

Besides, facing a strong opponent like Ruyi Pei, she could also test just how strong she was now.

If she wanted to defeat Xiao Qingxuan, she’d have to get past her junior first.

Seeing Ye Luqing tempted by the reward, the disciples below the stage grew worried again.

“Senior Sister Ye, you’ve already defeated Huasheng and restored Biluo Peak’s honor.”

“That’s right, Senior Sister Ye, there’s no need to fight this round…”

As fellow Formation Cultivators, they could sense the power of Ye Luqing’s Arrays.

But the more powerful the Array, the greater the consumption.

With her cultivation having dropped by a whole major realm, Ye Luqing would find it hard to use a second one.

Golden Core versus Nascent Soul—no one would blame her for avoiding the fight.

“So you all think I’ll lose?”

Ye Luqing raised her brows.

“Th-this isn’t what we meant…”

Though the disciples said this, they still felt worried inside.

Just then, a voice suddenly cheered out.

“Senior Sister Ye, you can do it!”

Everyone instinctively looked toward the source of the voice, only to see Ying Qianqian’s face flushed red, her eyes full of trust in Ye Luqing.

The Disciples of Biluo Peak immediately felt ashamed.

That’s right, Senior Sister Ye had already stepped up—how could they say such discouraging words?

“Senior Sister Ye, go for it!”

“Victory is certain!”

Seeing this, Ye Luqing couldn’t help but grin.

Being trusted by others—what a wonderful feeling.

“Then just watch closely. See how Biluo Peak’s Second Senior Sister defeats the villainous sword cultivator of Heavenly Sword Peak.”

Seeing this, Huasheng from Heavenly Sword Peak immediately grew nervous.

At first, he hadn’t thought Ye Luqing could possibly be a match for Ruyi Pei, but seeing the surging morale on the other side, he started to waver.

He glanced worriedly at Ruyi Pei on the stage.

To his surprise, this Inner Sect Head seemed to have a clear sword heart, staring straight at Ye Luqing, completely unaffected by the Biluo Peak disciples.

Huasheng’s throat bobbed. Today’s battle would not end simply.

Ye Luqing walked toward Ruyi Pei step by step.

The closer she got, the more she sensed that Ruyi Pei was deliberately imitating Xiao Qingxuan.

Aside from those ice-blue eyes, everything—from dress to hairstyle and demeanor, even that aura of cool indifference—bore some resemblance.

So obsessed with Xiao Qingxuan… Yet that cold fairy did not reciprocate.

Looking at Ruyi Pei, who resembled Xiao Qingxuan by five or six parts, a bold idea suddenly rose in Ye Luqing’s heart.

Her lips curled up slightly.

She used True Qi to compress her voice into a line, secretly transmitting it to Ruyi Pei’s ear.

“If I win, you have to come to Biluo Peak and be my stool.”

Receiving the voice transmission, Ruyi Pei’s expression changed visibly, even her overwhelming sword intent wavering for a moment.

“Ye Luqing, just how far do you want to humiliate me?”

She replied in the same way, using True Qi transmission—no cultivator below the Transformation God Realm could overhear.

She, the dignified Inner Sect Head of Heavenly Sword Peak, going to be Ye Luqing’s stool? Such a preposterous thing was more unbearable than death.

“Didn’t you say anything? Now you want to go back on your word?”

“Or is it that such a small matter can shake your devotion and resolve toward Xiao Qingxuan?”

“……”

“Fine, I agree.”

Ruyi Pei’s gaze gradually grew firm. To return to Xiao Qingxuan’s side, she would pay any price.

Ye Luqing cleared her throat and spoke:

“Your cultivation is higher than mine. No problem if I make the first move, right?”

Formation Cultivators were never suited for this kind of arena match.

Without time to set up beforehand, their combat power was the weakest among all cultivators.

“I’ll let you attack three times.”

Ruyi Pei raised a defensive sword stance, which suited her just fine—it would prevent Ye Luqing from making excuses if she lost.

For three moves, she would only defend, not attack.

Ye Luqing nodded in satisfaction and began setting up Arrays.

Diamond Array, Qingshen Array, Julì Array…

All sorts of dazzling Arrays instantly enhanced Ye Luqing’s body.

These Arrays were originally meant to boost Xiao Qingxuan, but now Ye Luqing was experiencing them herself.

On the other side, Ruyi Pei was a bit speechless.

Although she agreed to let Ye Luqing attack three times, wasn’t constantly stacking buffs in place a bit much?

“Such a little trick…”

Looking at the rainbow-colored, Array-covered Ye Luqing, Ruyi Pei finally couldn’t hold back and made her move.

If Ye Luqing kept stacking buffs, her aura would soon reach Nascent Soul Peak.

“Watch my sword!”

A surge of sword Qi shot out instantly.

The moment Ruyi Pei struck, even the audience below felt their hair stand on end.

If Huasheng’s sword was a raging wave, then Ruyi Pei’s was a white dragon riding the surging tide.

The greatest feature of the Nascent Soul Realm was the cultivation of the Nascent Soul, allowing for incredibly precise control of spiritual power.

With the Nascent Soul’s boost, True Qi was used far more efficiently than at the Golden Core Realm, and techniques were even more powerful.

The same sword Qi strike, but the power was worlds apart.

Yet, faced with such a formidable sword strike, Ye Luqing didn’t dodge at all.

She went straight forward, tossing out the Arrays she had prepared in advance.

First, a viscous, water-blue orb of light.

The best way to deal with a sword cultivator’s sharp sword Qi was to use thick, substantial True Qi to wear it down.

It might be simple, but it was effective.

Huaxuan Weak Water Array.

The sword Qi was wrapped in the blue orb, as if being corroded and dissolved, disappearing together with the light.

The second Array swiftly flew to Ruyi Pei’s feet.

As soon as the green light landed, it turned into countless vines that tightly bound her.

Sumeru Living Tree Formation.

From the moment the System prompt appeared, Ye Luqing had been preparing these Arrays.

Her jumping off the stage, then slowly walking back up, and all that back-and-forth with Ruyi Pei were just a cover for secretly preparing the Arrays.

Those rainbow buffs were just a feint.

The real killing move was still the trump card she’d just learned.

Xuanhuang Zhenyue Art, Eight Strands Xuanhuang True Qi Version.

This was her last bit of Xuanhuang Qi—two more strands than when fighting Huasheng earlier.

The ground under Ruyi Pei’s feet caved in, as if a mountain had descended from the heavens to Suppress her.

Though she had been on guard, she was still pinned down, unable to move.

“Huasheng really lost fair and square…”

Let alone Gold Core Peak—even ordinary Nascent Soul Realm cultivators would probably be crushed on the spot.

“But… I’m not Huasheng!”

Boom!

A surge of powerful sword Qi suddenly exploded in the space, followed by waves of thunderous booms.

Profound-level Upper Technique, Sword Dao: Rift Sky

“Break for me!”

The sky-cleaving sword Qi sliced through the Disha Power, and the Xuanhuang Qi shattered into golden fragments, scattering across the arena.

The audience below held their breath. They’d seen many Nascent Soul Realm battles, but never one this intense.

Even Ye Luqing herself was surprised.

By her calculation, the Disha Power triggered by eight strands of Xuanhuang Qi should be enough to Suppress an early Nascent Soul Realm cultivator.

Not to mention, she was now under multiple Array boosts—the effect should be several times stronger than when she fought Huasheng.

This Ruyi Pei truly was a formidable foe.

“Huff… huff…”

Ruyi Pei gasped for breath, breaking the Xuanhuang Zhenyue Art had consumed a great deal of her energy.

Her body was utterly exhausted, but her eyes remained clear as ever.

There was an elder on Heavenly Sword Peak who wielded a heavy sword, whose Disha Power was very similar to Ye Luqing’s technique.

She had comprehended that elder’s sword intent, which was how she managed to use Rift Sky to cleverly break the situation.

An ordinary Nascent Soul sword cultivator facing Ye Luqing’s three combined Arrays would have been knocked out of the arena long ago.

Disha Power could only be condensed by communicating with Heaven and Earth at the Transformation God Realm.

The one Ye Luqing used must have been some kind of Earth Grade Array.

Though she didn’t want to admit it, Ruyi Pei understood—mastering Earth Grade Arrays at the Golden Core Realm, Ye Luqing’s achievements in Array Arts were nothing short of genius.

However, using Earth Grade techniques at the Golden Core Realm came at a huge cost.

If her guess was right, that last strike was already Ye Luqing’s full strength.

Next would be her best chance to defeat Ye Luqing.