Almost no one present believed Cang Yu could win.
They already looked down on this disciple with such abysmal talent. If not for his current status as Yi Ling’s personal disciple, not a single person would have given him a second glance. High Expectations Palace, Lingxiao Palace, had always revered cultivation base and natural talent above all else. Had Yi Ling not been present, Cang Yu, a mere Qi Refining realm cultivator with a five-element spiritual root, likely would have been beaten out of the sect gates long ago.
Lu Yufeng handed Cang Yu a standard-issue spiritual sword used for trials, patted his shoulder, and sighed, “I truly don’t understand what Yi Xiao Han is thinking. As your Martial Uncle, I can only wish you good luck.”
Cang Yu: ” “
In truth, Cang Yu had initially believed he could win; in his memory, Yi Ling rarely did anything without absolute certainty. But when he discovered that Yi Ling actually intended to help him cheat right in the open
Although he knew he was weak, he had never imagined he was so pathetic that his Master would go so far as to violate his own principles just to make sure he won this trial.
Cang Yu tightened his grip on the hilt, resolving to work even harder than his Master from now on. Otherwise, with his poor talent, who knew when he would finally no longer require his Master’s protection?
Clang!
As Lu Yufeng directed a burst of spiritual energy into the spiritual sword hanging directly above the center of the martial arena, the trial officially began.
Almost the instant the spiritual sword vibrated, Luo Xingzhou charged forward with a drawn blade, moving like a flash of sword light. Before Cang Yu could even react, the sword qi was already right in front of him.
Cang Yu’s heart leaped in shock.
Did Luo Xingzhou truly possess such strength?
Just as he thought he was about to take the full force of the blow, he realized his hand was moving beyond his control. Turning the sword at a speed Cang Yu could never have managed on his own, it precisely caught the incoming sword qi and instantly repelled it.
Cang Yu: “?!”
What was going on?! Just as he was in mid-wonder over whether he had awakened some latent talent, a voice echoed within his sea of consciousness.
“Focus.”
Master?
Cang Yu looked toward Yi Ling in astonishment, but his Master was merely sitting on the high platform, calmly watching the stage below.
“It is merely a split soul,” Yi Ling explained. “Temporarily attached to your body.”
So Yi Ling was personally taking the field to cheat for him.
Cang Yu understood in an instant. It turned out he had not unlocked any hidden potential just now; his Master was controlling his movements.
“Do not get distracted. Hand your body over to me. If you resist my split soul, the spell will fail.”
Because the transmission occurred directly inside his sea of consciousness, Yi Ling’s voice felt intimately close, as if whispering right against his ear. Cang Yu’s face flushed red. Uncomfortably rubbing the tip of his ear, he softly let out a quiet “Mm.”
【Huh? He actually managed to dodge your sword strike? Is he really this powerful now?】
The System clearly grew suspicious. It scanned Cang Yu’s divine sense, yet found nothing out of the ordinary.
【Luo Xingzhou, do not be careless. I feel something is very wrong.】
Luo Xingzhou was also quite surprised that his strike had been deflected back. “Do you think Yi Ling already taught him some sword technique? But how could that be possible? It has only been a few hours. Even if Yi Ling was willing to teach him, what could Cang Yu possibly learn in that time?”
The System remained noncommittal: 【Be careful. He is coming at you.】
When Luo Xingzhou turned his attention back to Cang Yu, he discovered that the aura surrounding Cang Yu was entirely different from before. Even the greenness of a novice entering his first trial had vanished, replaced by an easy familiarity forged through battles of blood and fire.
It was almost as if he were an entirely different person.
Yi Ling quietly listened to their conversation. Standing before Luo Xingzhou with sword in hand, a single thrust through the heart would be enough to claim his life; he could barely contain himself.
However, he could not, and did not want to, end things so quickly.
Since Luo Xingzhou had always believed he held total control over everything, Yi Ling did not mind letting him lose everything he thought he possessed, bit by bit.
The corners of his lips curved slightly. With a turn of his wrist, the spiritual sword in his hand vanished in an instant, turning into swirling silver snowflakes that drifted toward Luo Xingzhou.
The System cried out in shock: 【Linghan Six Absolutes?! How did Cang Yu learn that?!】
The Linghan Six Absolutes was a sword technique Yi Ling had created himself at twenty years old, when he reached the pinnacle of the Sword Dao. The sword qi would transform into fallen snow swept along by fierce gales, endlessly tracking the enemy’s location. It appeared harmless on the surface, but would claim the opponent’s life the moment their mind relaxed.
Whenever Yi Ling used the Linghan Six Absolutes, he never missed, and no one had ever survived it.
【My database does not contain a solution for the Linghan Six Absolutes. However, since it is not Yi Ling executing it, Cang Yu cannot possibly kill you in the arena anyway. So you do not need to worry.】
Luo Xingzhou: “? What do you mean? Are you saying that no matter how you help me, I have zero chance of winning?”
【You cannot win. The Linghan Six Absolutes is the most powerful set of sword techniques in this world. Besides, if you were to somehow withstand the Linghan Six Absolutes, Yi Ling would definitely suspect you.】
Luo Xingzhou: ” ” No wonder Yi Ling sent Cang Yu to fight directly, as he had been certain of victory all along!
Left with no choice, he could only put on a show of resisting with all his might before ultimately succumbing. He intentionally let the sword qi slash several terrifying wounds across his body, collapsing onto the ground covered in injuries.
No matter how shocked Lu Yufeng was by the sudden reversal in the arena, he had no choice but to announce Cang Yu as the winner.
The moment Cang Yu unleashed the Linghan Six Absolutes, Lu Yufeng immediately turned to look at Yi Ling, his face filled with disbelief.
“You actually passed this sword technique to him? No, how did he manage to learn it?”
Others might not be able to tell how well Cang Yu executed the technique, but Lu Yufeng understood completely. The strikes were made without a shred of hesitation, decisive and clean, reaching a level of absolute mastery.
Yi Ling looked at him affectionately. Right now, he truly felt that his Senior Brother’s brain was somewhat lacking.
Fortunately, Lu Yufeng finally recalled the hairpin Yi Ling had inexplicably given to Cang Yu. The astonishment on his face instantly froze. Gritting his teeth, he lowered his voice and said, “Yi Xiao Han, you are playing at cheating right in front of me?”
Yet Yi Ling showed no trace of shame, contrary to what Lu Yufeng expected. “Regardless, since Luo Xingzhou lost the match, I will not accept him as my disciple.”
Lu Yufeng: ” ” Wait a second, when did Yi Xiao Han become this shameless? Was this still the person he knew?
Yi Ling stood up, raised his hand to summon Cang Yu back to his side, and said to Luo Xingzhou, “I never expected that my young friend could not even beat the disciple I just took in.”
Luo Xingzhou bowed neither humbly nor arrogantly. “It was this disciple who was overly arrogant. There is always a higher mountain, and people beyond people. In the future, this disciple will certainly study and practice the paths of cultivation diligently.”
Yi Ling was currently contemplating what method to use to expose the fact that Luo Xingzhou relied entirely on the System’s help and was actually just an empty shell, when he heard someone beside him speak.
The Third Elder, Shen Qingran, who had always upheld the principle of watching the show without uttering a word, said, “Since Young Friend Luo possesses a water spiritual root, why not come to Chunhe Peak and learn medical arts under me? What do you say?”
Yi Ling was stunned. In his past life, he did not have many impressions of Shen Qingran; only on a few occasions when he was gravely injured and dragged to Chunhe Peak by Lu Yufeng to lie down for a few days had he seen Shen Qingran brewing medicinal decoctions beside him.
However, based on Yi Ling’s impression of Luo Xingzhou, he would likely reject Shen Qingran eight times out of ten.
“This disciple is willing!”
Unexpectedly, Luo Xingzhou showed no hesitation whatsoever, accepting as if by instinct.
Yi Ling: “?!” Could it be the System’s idea? But right now, no matter how hard Yi Ling focused, he could not hear the System’s voice at all.
Although Yi Ling did not wish for Luo Xingzhou to become a disciple of Lingxiao Palace, it was Shen Qingran who had offered to accept him. If Yi Ling were to stubbornly interfere again, it would certainly make them think he had been possessed; after all, Yi Ling’s public demeanor had always been that of a gentle, considerate, and kind elder.
Thus, Yi Ling could only suppress his displeasure as he watched Shen Qingran and Luo Xingzhou establish a master-disciple pact.
Beside him, Cang Yu clearly sensed Yi Ling’s shift in mood and looked at him in confusion.
Why does Master feel this way upon seeing Luo Xingzhou take someone else as his master? Could it be he still wanted Luo Xingzhou to become his disciple after all? Was earlier just a test for him?
Cang Yu’s mind spun with a messy pile of wild thoughts when he suddenly remembered the hairpin Yi Ling had given him.
Master practically never wasted effort on useless things. This hairpin was likely the magic treasure that allowed Master to possess his body, right?
Feeling a wave of bitterness, Cang Yu removed the jade hairpin, held it up with both hands, presented it to Yi Ling, and whispered, “Master, I am returning this to you.”
The frustration in Yi Ling’s heart had yet to dissipate when he saw Cang Yu inexplicably trying to return his disciple-acknowledgement gift. A burst of irritation welled up inside him, and he said in an unfriendly tone, “Why are you returning it to me?”
Yet to Cang Yu’s ears, those words carried an entirely different meaning.
In his previous life, Yi Ling had used this exact same tone when expelling him from Lingxiao Palace.
“Harming your fellow disciples, an unstable Dao heart, falling into demonhood to bring calamity upon the world… You are unworthy of being a disciple of Lingxiao Palace!”
Cang Yu felt his limbs go cold and his entire body freeze, unable to move. His vision blurred as two streams of cold liquid slid down his cheeks.
“?” Yi Ling was stunned.
In his eyes, he had merely said a single sentence. Why was Cang Yu reacting like this?
Noticing the state of the master and disciple, Lu Yufeng leaned over. Seeing Cang Yu weeping uncontrollably, he turned to Yi Ling and asked, “What did you do to bully the boy into this state?”
Yi Ling was completely at a loss: “I did not do anything.”
“Then are you just going to let him keep crying?” Lu Yufeng looked at Cang Yu, who seemed determined to cry himself to death, thinking that they absolutely could not let anything happen to him in Lingxiao Palace. “Coax him a little, at least!”
Yi Ling blinked at Lu Yufeng in confusion: “How do I coax him?”
He did not even know why Cang Yu was crying; how could he possibly know how to soothe him?
“Stop crying,” he said dryly.
Lu Yufeng: “? You call that coaxing someone?” Anyone who did not know better would think he was scolding him.
Perhaps because the emotions in Cang Yu’s heart were too intense, Yi Ling, who was forced to share his feelings through their bond, also felt a surge of soreness in his nose and a sharp ache at the corners of his eyes. By the time he opened his mouth again, tears actually fell from his eyes as well.
Lu Yufeng stared dumbfounded at Yi Ling, who had also begun to cry. “What are you doing, crying along with him?”
Yi Ling: ” “
He slowly calmed his emotions. He recalled that when he was young, his master, Yun Chen, would hold him in his arms to soothe him whenever he was sad. Although Cang Yu was no longer a child, if there was a method, he ought to give it a try.
Yi Ling raised his hand, pressed the back of Cang Yu’s head, and pulled him directly into his embrace, saying, “If you have something to say, tell your Master. Do not bottle it up inside.”
Perhaps because Yi Ling used too much force, Cang Yu let out a muffled grunt in his arms. As if suddenly snapped awake, his crying came to a halt.
After a long moment, however, he still did not speak. Instead, he began to squirm slightly.
Just as Yi Ling was feeling bewildered, Cang Yu spoke with difficulty: “Master, please loosen your grip a bit, your disciple cannot breathe…”