Pei Ruyi stepped out slowly from the Tai’a Hall on Heavenly Sword Peak.
Countless Outer Sect and Inner Sect disciples around her hurriedly offered their congratulations, their gazes filled with envy, jealousy, or sincere blessings.
Elders of the Void Crossing Realm only take on direct disciples once every ten years or even longer, and the competition for these positions is incredibly fierce.
Now that such a great opportunity had unexpectedly fallen to Pei Ruyi, it naturally attracted all kinds of attention.
Yet Pei Ruyi moved forward like a sharp sword, her imposing sword aura sweeping away every gaze.
As she walked, an unexpected figure blocked her path.
“Junior Sister Pei, congratulations.”
The person who spoke was a young man with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes. His aura was restrained, almost mortal-like, yet he gave off an unfathomable aura.
This was the manifestation of a Nascent Soul Peak cultivator about to break through to the Transformation God Realm—his energy merged with Heaven and Earth, blending with all things, just one step away from Transformation God.
The more restrained the aura now, the more magnificent the breakthrough to Transformation God would be.
“Second Senior Brother.”
Pei Ruyi cupped her fists in greeting.
The man before her was none other than Lian Tianliu, the direct disciple of the Second Elder of Heavenly Sword Peak.
He had entered the sect one generation before her and was now a Nascent Soul Peak cultivator, already touching the threshold of the Transformation God Realm.
Lian Tianliu smiled warmly at Pei Ruyi and asked,
“I heard, Junior Sister Pei, that you fought to a draw with Chuanhe from Myriad Arts Peak?”
Pei Ruyi nodded and, after a brief hesitation, replied,
“That’s true.”
“But… Senior Brother Chuanhe didn’t use the ‘Fifth Law.’”
At this, Lian Tianliu’s expression suddenly shifted into one of realization, his smile dimming ever so slightly.
“I see.”
Myriad Arts Peak, presided over by the Grand Elder, was the oldest and most complete peak within Xuanxiao Supreme Sect.
As a Dao Sovereign of the Law Realm, the Grand Elder’s understanding of all heavenly techniques had reached perfection, returning to simplicity.
Therefore, he had distilled his comprehension of the “Laws” into nine categories—from the First Law to the Ninth Law—for Myriad Arts Peak disciples to study.
The First Law corresponded to the Qi Refining Realm, the Second Law to the Foundation Establishment Realm…
Logically, the Fifth Law corresponded to earth-grade techniques of the Transformation God Realm, but there were always prodigies who could grasp it before reaching Transformation God.
As the peak lord’s direct disciple, Chuanhe, though only at the Nascent Soul Realm, was already capable of using the Fifth Law.
“Sorry to disappoint you, Senior Brother.”
Pei Ruyi clearly understood Lian Tianliu’s implication.
The Second Senior Brother wanted to test Chuanhe’s current strength against her.
As a direct disciple of the Second Elder and one of the strongest cultivators below Transformation God in Xuanxiao Supreme Sect, Lian Tianliu naturally aimed to secure the top spot in the Sect-wide Tournament.
And Chuanhe, direct disciple of Myriad Arts Peak, was one of his strongest rivals.
“Junior Sister Pei, being in the early Nascent Soul stage and managing a draw against Chuanhe, who wields the Fourth Law, is already impressive.”
Lian Tianliu laughed lightly on the surface; he wasn’t surprised that Pei Ruyi hadn’t forced Chuanhe to reveal his Fifth Law.
If they had to exhaust themselves against an Inner Sect disciple, even winning would reflect poorly when the news spread.
If it had been him, he would have handled it the same way—winning would bring no benefit, and losing would be seen as bullying juniors.
“By the way, I heard you lost to Senior Sister Ye from Biluofeng yesterday?”
Lian Tianliu suddenly shifted topics.
Pei Ruyi’s brow twitched but she still nodded.
“Yes.”
Upon hearing this, Lian Tianliu sighed and spoke with a trace of disappointment:
“That’s Junior Sister Pei’s shortcoming. Ye Luqing is only a Formation Cultivator, and her cultivation has even fallen back to the Golden Core Realm. You shouldn’t have lost.”
“Now that you are a true disciple of Heavenly Sword Peak, you should be more careful and avoid actions that damage the peak’s prestige.”
Though both the peak lord’s direct disciples and the elders’ direct disciples are called “direct disciples,” among disciples, elder direct disciples are usually referred to as “true disciples” to distinguish their identity from the true personal disciples.
“Second Senior Brother’s advice is well taken.” Pei Ruyi bowed slightly.
With the Senior Brother in seclusion breaking through to the Transformation God Realm, and Senior Sister Xiao Qingxuan already at Half-Step Transformation God, Lian Tianliu was effectively the leader of Heavenly Sword Peak’s disciples.
Even though Pei Ruyi had just been accepted as a true disciple by the Fifth Elder, she was inevitably constrained by Lian Tianliu.
“Enough talk. I hope you can redeem Heavenly Sword Peak’s reputation at the Sect-wide Tournament.”
“Of course.” Pei Ruyi’s eyes flashed a subtle sharpness. “I will repay yesterday’s humiliation in full at the tournament.”
“Good!”
Lian Tianliu nodded in approval.
“Then I wish you great success.”
Pei Ruyi gave a slight nod, offering no more pleasantries, and walked toward the foot of the mountain.
Though she had just spoken with bold words, she was a person who kept her promises.
By agreement, she was to be the bench for Ye Luqing.
Watching Pei Ruyi’s back, Lian Tianliu’s smile gradually faded into calmness.
“Early Nascent Soul—neither strong nor weak among the direct disciples of various peaks. Forcing other direct disciples to reveal their trump cards is already enough…”
“Junior Sister Pei, you’d better keep your distance. I’ll help wear down the opponents’ strength.”
“The solo champion will definitely be mine, Lian Tianliu!”
***
Listening to the system notification in her mind, Ye Luqing felt somewhat speechless.
Bro, are you seriously making me team up?
The system rewards were indeed generous—not only 1000 points, but also discounts on earth-grade techniques, roughly equivalent to a mid-level earth-grade technique.
However, if she chose the system-issued mission, she probably wouldn’t receive the Sect-wide Tournament’s rewards.
If she teamed up with an auxiliary battle-type Nascent Soul cultivator, she was confident they could place in the top four of the doubles competition and get the earth-grade treasure, but that still fell slightly short of the system’s current reward.
However, if she could claim the doubles championship and get the extra earth-grade technique reward, that would be much better than the system’s offer.
The problem was, even teaming with someone other than Ying Qianqian, could she guarantee victory?
As Ye Luqing fell silent, Ying Qianqian’s expression beside her grew a bit disappointed.
Her lips pressed tightly as she mustered courage to say,
“I… I won’t hold you back, Senior Sister Ye.”
Joining the doubles competition with Ye Luqing had been Ying Qianqian’s dream ever since she watched the Sect-wide Tournament three years ago.
She deeply admired Ye Luqing’s reliable presence.
She also wanted to become someone who could support others from behind.
Now the Sect-wide Tournament offered a chance for everyone to see Ye Luqing, while fulfilling her wish to support her quietly.
For this goal, she was willing to give everything.
“Xiao Qian…”
Ye Luqing stared at Ying Qianqian, sensing an astonishing fighting spirit in the petite pink-haired girl.
[Detecting intense resolve, issuing additional mission]
[Team up with Ying Qianqian and win the doubles championship. Reward: ‘Formation Grandmaster’ title]
[Formation Grandmaster: You have deployed countless formations with speed far exceeding other Formation Cultivators. When learning new formations, you quickly grasp their principles and achieve mastery.]
Ye Luqing raised an eyebrow.
A Formation Grandmaster, huh?
Her formation casting speed was already quite fast, but this title would elevate it even further.
Formations she just learned could be cast at mastery level, reducing the time needed to master each one and leaving more time to learn new formations.
The more formations she learned, the stronger she would become.
With this extra incentive, she was genuinely moved.
This title was a rare treasure—if it appeared outside, it would even be more precious than some Heavenly-grade items.
Even if the probability was low, it was worth a try.
She took a deep breath, her expression resolute as she looked at Bai Yuhan.
“Master, I want to participate in the doubles competition with Xiao Qian.”
Bai Yuhan’s heart stirred as she looked at Ye Luqing.
“Xiao Qing, are you sure?”
Setting aside Ying Qianqian, Ye Luqing had been doubles champion for three consecutive years.
If she wished, countless Inner Sect, true disciples, and even personal disciples would compete to team up with her.
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“I don’t just want to compete with Xiao Qian, I want to win the Sect-wide Tournament!”
Ye Luqing’s fighting spirit blazed.
Those were two earth-grade treasures, plus the new title from the system’s reward—she had to give it her all!