Xiao Xinran turned pale with fright and asked nervously, “The Bloodthirsty Banner fiends specifically harm the Qi Sea and Innate Spiritual Foundation of Right Path cultivators. You haven’t fallen under some evil spell again, have you?”
In truth, he had not.
Furthermore, he was even practicing what the world considered an evil demonic art, and he had somehow “rushed” to the third realm.
“What? Why didn’t you tell me sooner!”
Ji Shiyu slapped her forehead as she remembered something.
Without another word, she pounced on Yun Liu, grabbed his finger, and stuffed it into her mouth with a loud chomp.
“Hiss, why are you biting me!?”
“Don’t move. Let me thuck on it a bit and you’ll be fine. That’th how I fixed her latht time!”
Ji Shiyu made muffled sounds.
Her teeth were in excellent condition, and her bite force was surprisingly strong.
Xiao Xinran actually nodded and stopped Lin Shu from stepping forward.
To be safe, it was better to let the “rabid dog” treat him—fighting poison with poison.
“I’m perfectly fine! Let go, you rebellious disciple!”
Yun Liu glared at the defiant girl in his arms.
He pressed down on her head but could not pull his finger out, so he had no choice but to toss a green sweet cake to save himself.
The unique fragrance caught Ji Shiyu’s attention.
Her eyes lit up as she jumped up to catch it, chewing in small bites.
“Mung bean flavor. This is delicious.”
Yun Liu wiped the saliva off his hand and looked at the row of teeth marks, saying irritably, “I really have to thank you two. You care about me so much that you traveled all this way just to bite me!?”
Xiao Xinran and Ji Shiyu smiled awkwardly, finally remembering why they had come.
“Is it really okay for you to participate in the Great Competition in your current state?”
Yun Liu finally understood why they were here.
Upon learning of his opponent, he leaned his head against his hand and sighed, though not because of his first-round match.
“You’ll have to ask Lan Seat about that. You two aren’t the only ones worrying needlessly.”
Gelan did not care whether Yun Liu agreed or not.
She had bypassed Yan Bingling, the Head of Tianxiang, and reported it directly, hitting it off with that “Great Baldy” who had ulterior motives.
A useless Chief Disciple plus a useless Master—both of them could go eat trash!
If even this could not keep her beloved son, then she would have to roll up her sleeves and take action herself.
She could not let some little hussies from other peaks take advantage of him.
Don’t misunderstand; it was just a bit of teaching by example.
Master and disciple would go into battle together, and she would guide the young man step-by-step to seal the deal.
The Grand Elder was exceptionally gratified; this was what a productive official of the Divine Radiance Sect looked like!
‘So that’s how it is,’ Xiao Xinran thought to herself.
‘My Aunt Master is useless; in critical moments, we still have to rely on Ge Erniang.’
Yun Liu took on a rare stern expression and scolded, “Instead of worrying about others, why don’t you focus on your own opponents? How is your Sword Canon cultivation going?”
“Have you figured out the relationships between the Five Elements? Don’t go crying for your parents on stage. Every year, the top sixteen in the Yanding Sword Contest can enter the Sword Furnace to cultivate for three days. That is a true stroke of Fortune!”
Who could argue with that?
Ao Tian also lifted his eyelids.
A doting father breeds a failed daughter; Shiyu was nearly spoiled rotten.
One was the Supreme Path Maiden and the other was the Star Maiden.
They clearly bore the mission of saving the Nine Provinces, yet instead of cultivating properly, they spent all day visiting and causing trouble.
Today, they were caught red-handed.
Xiao Xinran and Ji Shiyu scratched their heads guiltily.
Their requirements for their debut were not high—as long as they were not lower than their opponents, reaching the top sixty-four would be a blessing.
“What’s with those expressions? The biggest taboo before a battle is underestimating the enemy!”
At that moment, someone with a swaying skirt strolled into the room, chuckling softly.
“I could hear your voice from a mile away. These two are luckier than you. Just relax and perform normally.”
Seeing the woman in green, Yun Liu’s expression softened significantly.
Ji Shiyu hid behind Qin Yao and whistled, looking quite proud.
After all, passing the first round was equivalent to filtering out half of their fellow disciples.
“Hmph, don’t get happy too soon. Lucky players don’t go far.”
Xiao Xinran rolled her eyes at the blonde, knowing she had a perfect start and felt fearless.
“I heard from the Senior Brothers and Sisters that there are many experts participating this year. Recently, a mysterious fellow disciple has appeared. He forced a large number of Sea of Clouds Demonic Spirits to move out single-handedly, leaving the nearby area barren. Not even a trace of demonic aura can be smelled.”
“Supposedly, that group of Demon Sect fiends who ambushed us before must have been dealt with by that guy. He’s at least a Golden Core sword cultivator.”
Ji Shiyu also nodded.
She had heard rumors as well; everyone on the First Peak was guessing who that person was.
He was likely a formidable rival who could threaten the Chief Disciples of each peak.
Lin Shu stole a glance at Yun Liu and lowered her head in shame, not daring to make a sound.
After spending time with him, she felt even more in awe of the mysterious Young Master.
The young man was more than just modest; he was low-profile to an extreme.
Even the Deadpool who followed him like a shadow could not be certain of his true strength.
He definitely could not be measured as an ordinary elixir cultivator.
In a life-and-death struggle, she—a Mixed Spiritual Root Outer Sect body cultivator—had less than a 50% chance of winning, and that was against a Young Master who was not using his sword.
This made the Level 3 Golden Core Lin Shu feel deeply ashamed, leading her to work twice as hard on those two secret manuals.
If she could not beat her master’s bodyguard, there would be no reason for her to exist.
In the Dao Arena outside the courtyard, there was a cloud of yellow mist called the Three Lives Array, filled with the sharp light of blades and shadows of swords.
Out of curiosity, Ji Shiyu slipped inside to play, and Xiao Xinran was not to be outdone.
Before long, the screams of the two could be heard from within.
“Will it be okay?”
“It’s just a second grade Earth Rank formation. Let them be.”
“If Tan’er were here, it would certainly be even more lively.”
“You mean even noisier.”
“Haha.”
Finally enjoying a moment of peace, Yun Liu secretly grabbed a small hand and gently massaged it.
Lin Shu took two steps back, pretending not to see.
Their circle was truly messy; the cultivators on the mountain really knew how to have fun.
Qin Yao’s face turned slightly red, but she did not resist.
She only tugged at Yun Liu’s sleeve.
“Master has that kind of personality where she likes to force others. If you’re unhappy, you must say so, otherwise, she will become even more excessive.”
Yun Liu shook his head.
‘You might not believe it, but I also really need this chance to enter the Sword Furnace. If I can’t use the Meteor Flame to achieve a Realm Breaking, I’ll have to find another way.’
“How could I be unhappy when I can witness you reaching the summit with my own eyes?”
It turned out that Yun Liu was not incapable of sweet talk; he just had a limited number of people to use it on.
Qin Yao shot the boy a look and curled her lips.
She was modest in speech, but internally, she was very happy.
“It’s not that easy. That’s because you haven’t seen how powerful the Falling Cloud Peak Chief Disciple is. There are rumors that he has already stepped into the Nascent Soul realm. He has firmly guarded the reputation of the First Peak for the Grand Elder these past few years.”
“Not yet.”
Yun Liu was quite certain.
At most, he had half a foot across the threshold.
In his memory, Qin Yao had lost in the top eight to the Falling Cloud Peak Chief Disciple’s sword this year.
However, things were different now.
Soon, everyone would understand the true weight of the Clear Mist Peak Senior Sister…
Looking at the young man’s handsome profile, Qin Yao could not help but remember the scenery of the Cloud Top from last year.
That was also when she had first met Junior Brother Yun.
At that time, Yun Liu was only a Heavenly Spiritual Root at the peak of Qi Refinement.
Because the Celestial Phenomena Peak had plenty of slots, he had joined just to make up the numbers along with Ah Lian.
Yet, relying on the second realm of the Sword Scripture of Celestial Phenomena, he had won several matches against opponents in the early stages of Foundation Establishment.
The stunning performance of the two had shocked the Five Peaks.
Everyone thought it would be the beginning of the rise of Heavenly Phenomena, not knowing it would be the end.
Yun Liu eventually lost to a Senior Sister from Clear Mist Peak, stopping at the top sixty-four.
As a newly promoted Inner Disciple, it was already quite remarkable.
But at that time, the young man who had formed a bond with Xiao Xinran was also bathed in Extreme Destiny.
His luck was excellent, and he had not encountered any difficult opponents during his advancement.
This time was different.
His very first opponent was a dual Earth and Water Spiritual Root cultivator at the Earth Foundation Establishment stage.
But Yun Liu was no longer his old self.
Yun Liu remembered Zhang Ziyou because this person was supposed to be Ji Shiyu’s first-round opponent.