At dawn, before the sky had fully brightened, the stars descended behind the snowy mountains as the sun gradually rose from the mountainside.
In the stories, there was once an immortal who said this:
“Whenever the sun rises, forget yesterday.”
I am still the number one Sword Immortal in the world.
Obviously, the other twenty-nine Foundation Establishment female cultivators on the Immortal Sect Plaza did not believe this.
Because every one of them was sharpening her sword today, and although no one spoke, each person’s gaze intentionally or unintentionally drifted toward the corner before moving away as they lowered their eyelids and casually fiddled with their sword hilts.
Mu Zhiming, standing in the corner, naturally could not notice any of this because after half a year, her eyesight was already almost gone, and she was wearing a Black Eye Veil on top of that.
She was one of the three remaining contestants who believed those words.
The other two were Su Qingyue and Chen Miao.
Su Qingyue had arrived at the arena on the Plaza early that morning, still dressed in a white Daoist robe, her waist cinched tightly and outlining her slender figure.
She condensed a trace of Spiritual Energy at her fingertip and lightly pointed toward Mu Zhiming in greeting before looking away.
Chen Miao was not nearly as diligent.
She arrived at the very last moment, even responding to the Elder’s reprimand with a carefree laugh.
“I got up late, forgot, forgot, you see what a mess this is.”
Although her tone was completely relaxed, there were heavy dark circles beneath her eyes.
The Elder scolded her a couple of times before looking toward the Plaza and the viewing stands on the mountainside and speaking in a powerful voice:
“Today, there will be no separate arena divisions.”
“Instead, all 32 contestants will engage in a melee on the Plaza to determine the remaining two who will advance to the finals.”
As soon as these words were spoken, most of the contestants on the Plaza froze in place.
Only Mu Zhiming and Su Qingyue remained calm, lightly gripping the swords in their hands.
The two of them both looked toward the viewing stands in unison.
The Loose Cultivators from outside the Immortal Sect who were watching from the stands were also discussing among themselves, quietly talking about the competition rules.
Ji Wangshu vaguely heard something about how the rules had been customized for Mu Zhiming because they were afraid she would not be able to find her enemies.
Now that there was a massive melee, she could just fight randomly and still advance.
The Loose Cultivators became increasingly ridiculous as they talked.
They started saying things like the Immortal Sect’s sky had gone dark, someone had accidentally trespassed into the heavens, and someone should persuade Yu to put down the sword in her hand.
Ji Wangshu arrived late today because he had applied medicine to Mu Zhiming again that morning before coming over, so he naturally knew nothing about the commotion that had just occurred.
He casually swept his gaze across the stands before suddenly freezing.
‘Why are there so many more male cultivators in the stands today?’
And judging from the insignias pinned to their Daoist robes, they were actually from the Immortal Sect as well.
He had never seen so many male disciples inside the Immortal Sect before.
He pondered this but could not figure it out, so he found a seat toward the back and sat down.
The moment he sat down, he frowned and flared his nostrils.
Aside from the hazy scent of the morning air, there was also a strong fragrance of perfume.
Ji Wangshu followed the scent and discovered that it was coming from the two male cultivators sitting beside him on the right.
The one on the left had a thin layer of powder on his face, moist red lips, and hair meticulously tied up with a jade hairpin.
There were even small holes pierced through his earlobes, each carrying a pair of tiny silver rings.
The one on the right wore a tight-fitting cropped outfit that exposed his waist, with clearly defined abdominal muscles and a thin silver chain around his waist that occasionally made a soft sound.
Ji Wangshu looked the two of them up and down, curled his lips, and moved slightly farther to the left.
Different outfits, but equally delicate features, equally overwhelming fragrances, equally bubbly voices.
They even had the same short stature, looking around 5 feet 3 inches tall.
Combined with their almost mass-produced styling, they looked exactly like the idols who had emerged from the talent trainees of his previous life.
Ji Wangshu could not appreciate them, but he could only respect them, so he decided to keep his distance.
The two male cultivators also noticed Ji Wangshu’s movement and turned their heads toward him with puzzled expressions.
The male disciples of the Immortal Sect were often cultivated as cauldrons for the female disciples, practicing techniques specifically meant for female cultivators to absorb their cultivation.
They waited for whichever female cultivator took a liking to them and formed a Daoist partnership with them.
Before that, they all lived together in residences on the mountain peaks.
However, they had never seen Ji Wangshu in those mountain residences.
The two exchanged a glance and remained silent for a moment before one of them spoke:
“Daoist Friend, why have we never seen you at the residence before?”
“Where do you live?”
Ji Wangshu was looking at Mu Zhiming in the corner, worrying about her injuries today, when a bubbly voice suddenly sounded beside him.
He turned his head and answered indifferently:
“Me?”
“I live in the Plum Blossom Courtyard halfway up the mountain.”
“The Plum Blossom Courtyard?!”
The two male cultivators looked at each other, momentarily unable to believe it, but Ji Wangshu did not look like he was lying.
“Isn’t that Fairy Mu’s residence?”
“I haven’t heard that she found a Daoist partner.”
“So Fairy Mu likes this type??”
The two male cultivators carefully sized Ji Wangshu up again.
Sword-shaped eyebrows and starry eyes, a masculine face, handsome features, a height of over 5 feet 7 inches, and even thin calluses on his hands.
Ji Wangshu opened his mouth, instinctively wanting to say that he was merely Mu Zhiming’s Childhood Sweetheart and not her Daoist partner.
But when he thought of what had happened last night, the words suddenly became difficult to say.
Last night, the two of them had applied medicine to each other so intimately, and Mu Zhiming had even kept her legs together with a flushed expression.
If they were truly Childhood Sweethearts, their relationship should have been nothing more than friendship.
How could they have been so intimate?
Intimate enough for him to enter a young woman’s private room, have her remove her clothes, and remain in close contact with her for the time it took to burn a stick of incense.
Ji Wangshu did not know how to respond, so he could only look toward the viewing stands again.
The match on the stage had already begun.
Three sword lights suddenly appeared beside Su Qingyue, one on the left and two on the right, shooting straight toward her with three consecutive flashes.
Her expression did not change.
Her sword left its sheath, and she sidestepped the first sword.
Her Profound Rank sword swept across like flowing water, forcing back the person on her left.
She then lightly tapped the ground with the tip of her foot and raised her body slightly, allowing the second and third swords to skim past within three inches of her chest.
Her sword immediately flew from her hand, controlled by Spiritual Energy, and directly took down two more people.
The entire process took no more than two breaths.
It was extremely dangerous, yet not a single sword light even touched the corner of Su Qingyue’s clothes.
After dealing with the three people, her sword flew back into her palm with a whoosh, and she stood there with her sword on her back.
She then looked toward the mountainside stands again, as though searching for someone, before stopping her gaze at the rear of the stands.
The two male cultivators felt Su Qingyue’s gaze settle on them and immediately became excited, whispering among themselves.
“Fairy Su seems to be looking at me?”
“She’s obviously looking at me.”
“Ah, she’s looking so much that I’m getting excited down there.”
“Hmph, you shameless pervert.”
“Don’t just talk about me.”
“You pulled your collar up too, exposing those little abdominal muscles.”
“After all, who doesn’t know that Senior Sister Su hasn’t looked for another Daoist partner since returning from her travels down the mountain?”
“Hey, I heard that person became depressed and still hasn’t emerged from secluded cultivation.”
“Exactly.”
“Otherwise, why do you think so many male cultivators came to the stands this time?”
“Isn’t it all so Senior Sister Su will choose them, allowing them to rise to prominence and become her Daoist partner…”
Their conversation was loud enough to naturally attract Ji Wangshu’s attention as well.
However, he did not stop them.
Instead, he instinctively rubbed his nose, scratched his head, and looked toward the arena.
‘Why does it feel like… Su Qingyue is looking at me?’