The Sect Grand Tournament
Wasn’t this just trying to force a buy and sell? What did you do wrong?
Qin Yan’s grip on Mosen’s collar loosened, causing Mosen to thump back down onto his knees. He desperately wanted to cover his Shizun’s mouth in an act of unfilial defiance, begging him to stop talking.
Mosen was on the verge of tears, and could only repeat to Xiao Yuan, “This disciple was blind and failed to recognize the Immortal and Immortal Lord yesterday. I hope the Immortal and Immortal Lord will be magnanimous and spare this disciple this once.”
As soon as these words left his mouth, Qin Yan, who had been feeling indignant over his disciple’s spineless display, choked on his breath, followed immediately by a fit of earth-shattering coughs.
This plague-ridden disciple of his, how on earth did he manage to provoke someone from the Sword Sect, especially Sect Master Xiao’s junior brother, Elder Xiao Yuan?
Didn’t he know that these cultivators from the Sword Sect, especially the ones surnamed Xiao, were notoriously fiercely protective of their own throughout the entire cultivation world?
Disciple, you should count your lucky stars that you only suffered these two slaps.
Just a moment ago, the master and two disciples had been acting as arrogant as could be, storming over to demand an explanation from the Sword Sect. Now, they instantly deflated like punctured balls, shrinking into a miserable, withered huddle.
Qin Yan stopped stroking his beard, so stressed out he looked like he might pull out every last hair of it.
What on earth was he supposed to do now? He was worried sick.
Who could have imagined that they had clearly come to question the Sword Sect’s lax security, only to end up delivering themselves right to the enemy’s doorstep on a silver platter?
Xiao Yuan lifted his eyelids, his gaze passing over the trembling Pharmaceutical Valley disciple kneeling on the ground to land on Qin Yan. He said calmly, “This child is arrogant and conceited. If he is not strictly disciplined, I fear he will bring disaster upon his sect one day.”
Friction between disciples was completely normal; as long as it didn’t hurt anyone fundamentally, those were trivial matters.
However, once it came to bringing disaster upon a sect, that was a completely different story.
A wave of lingering fear washed over Qin Yan. Realizing that his disciple probably hadn’t told him the whole truth, he pointed a withered finger at the kneeling disciple and bellowed harshly, “Wretch! What on earth did you say last night? Out with it, confess right now!”
Of course Mosen didn’t dare tell the truth. He stammered for ages without being able to squeeze out a single syllable, seeing which, Qin Yan became so furious his beard twitched violently. He turned instead to his granddaughter, “Dandan, you tell me! What did your Senior Brother Mosen say last night?”
Qin Miaomiao had never seen her kind and gentle grandfather speak to her in such a tone. Having witnessed what just happened, she also realized that she and her senior brother had made a terrible mistake.
Tears welled up in her eyes, but she didn’t even dare to cry as she repeated Senior Brother Mosen’s words from the previous night line by line.
“Which sect are you disciples from? Don’t you know we are medicine cultivators from Pharmaceutical Valley?”
“If you offend our Pharmaceutical Valley, do you intend to make an enemy of all medicine cultivators?”
“So what if it’s a forced sale? It’s just a worthless spirit beast anyway. If my Pharmaceutical Valley wants it, we’ll take it. We gave you some face, but did you really think you were somebody special?”
With every single sentence Qin Miaomiao recited, Duan Wangyue silently repeated it in his mind. When she reached the line, “Did you really think you were somebody special?”, Duan Wangyue licked his sharp tiger fangs and repeated it once more in his head.
Did you really think you were somebody special.
Once Qin Miaomiao finished recounting Mosen’s words with a trembling voice, a heavy silence fell over the main hall.
Xiao Ziyu was the first to speak, “Your disciple certainly has a big mouth, opening and closing it with threats of making an enemy of Pharmaceutical Valley.”
Qin Yan also felt that he had nowhere to put his old face. As Elder Xiao had said, if this disciple of his wasn’t strictly disciplined, he would surely bring disaster upon his sect sooner or later.
What decent person’s disciple opened their mouth at every turn to threaten an entire sect?
After Qin Yan uttered plenty of pleasantries and was heavily fleeced by Xiao Ziyu, he left in a trembling huddle with his disciple and granddaughter.
Xiao Ziyu handed all the medicinal pills he had extorted from Qin Yan directly over to Xiao Yuan, calmly lowered his gaze to take a sip of tea, and thought to himself that in front of outsiders, he certainly maintained the imposing demeanor of a Sect Master.
And besides, as the personal senior brother of Shizun, his cold-faced expression was carved from the exact same mold as Shizun’s.
Xiao Ziyu was in an exceptionally good mood. With just a little bit of verbal effort, he had extorted a huge sum from Pharmaceutical Valley; for the next several decades, Sword Sect disciples wouldn’t have to worry about medicinal pills at all.
Those who practiced swordsmanship or forged artifacts were bound to get injured from time to time. Even though the Sword Sect was vast and wealthy, things scammed from other sects were free to use.
“Wangyue, come here.”
Xiao Ziyu set down his teacup and beckoned to Duan Wangyue. Looking at the little junior brother who lagged far behind his peers in height, he let out a soft sigh, “If you encounter a situation like this again in the future, beat them up first and talk later, understand?”
“If you can’t beat them, run back to the sect. The Sect Master martial uncle, the various martial uncles, and your Shizun are all here; someone will always back you up.”
“As long as you remain a disciple of our Sword Sect for a single day, nobody will ever be allowed to wrong you.”
As he spoke, Xiao Ziyu’s gaze drifted momentarily toward his junior brother.
Hearing the Sect Master martial uncle’s and Shizun’s nearly identical words, Duan Wangyue took a step back and bowed deeply, “This disciple obeys the Sect Master’s order.”
At this, Xiao Yuan felt a stir in his heart, suddenly finding the color of the Wuran whip exceptionally pleasing to the eye. He lowered his gaze to gently stroke the cool, smooth body of the Wuran whip with his fingertips.
Catching this out of the corner of his eye, Xiao Ziyu couldn’t help a helpless yet doting smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Fine, he only had this one junior brother; if he didn’t pamper him, who else was he going to pamper?
So what if he took in a half-human, half-demon disciple? So what if he did?
“Alright, you two head back. I still have work to do.”
The sect grand tournament lasted for three days. From the first day to the third, ever since the Law Enforcement Elder took a stroll around the mountain gate and the patrolling disciples passed the word along that the visiting sects participating in this tournament are unusually powerful, the news spread across the entire sect in less than two hours.
Throughout the entire sect, any disciple at the Foundation Establishment stage or above participating in the tournament burned with high enthusiasm, rolling up their sleeves in preparation to put on a stellar performance and let the other sects witness the true strength of the Sword Sect.
Duan Wangyue looked at his opponent, who stood a full head taller than him and possessed a much sturdier build. Both parties bowed to each other in greeting.
“Sixth Peak, Duan Wangyue, early Foundation Establishment grand completion.”
“Second Peak, Long Daqing, early Foundation Establishment grand completion.”
“Please advise!”
Both competitors on the stage were sword cultivators, and the clear, ringing sound of two spiritual swords being unsheathed echoed distinctly through the air.
Up on the high platform, Shang Qijiu waved his landscape-painted folding fan with Yixue plum blossoms serving as the ribs. Glancing down, he remarked, “Little martial nephew’s luck isn’t so great, how did he draw Long Daqing of all people in the draw?”
Xiao Yuan asked, “Long Daqing?”
Shang Qijiu gave an affirmative hum, snapping his folding fan shut with a sharp sound as the fragrance of the Yixue plum blossoms wafted through the air. “Right. This disciple is the youngest one on my older brother’s peak, but he’s also the one whose cultivation has progressed the fastest.”
“And besides.” Shang Qijiu flicked his folding fan open again to shield the lower half of his face, leaving only a pair of eyes with faint red moles at the outer corners visible, his gaze shifting fluidly. “Little martial nephew looks so tiny. Junior Brother, did you actually forget to feed him meals?”
“Sob sob sob sob!”
“My younger brother is unruly and possesses a foul mouth that doesn’t know how to speak properly. Little Junior Brother, please forgive him and don’t stoop to the level of a fool.”
“Sob sob sob sob!”
You’re the fool who doesn’t know how to speak properly!
Seeing his carefree younger brother worming his way over to Xiao Yuan’s side and opening his folding fan to reveal only his eyes, knowing instantly that the fellow was up to no good, Shang Qi’an strode right over and clapped a hand firmly over his mouth. This wretched brother of his had no redeeming qualities aside from good looks and skill at blacksmithing.
If Shang Qijiu knew what his brother was thinking, he would have rolled his eyes so hard they’d pop out, clicked his tongue, and retorted, We’re twins, we look identical!
Could you stop covertly bragging about your own good looks, seriously!
Stinky older brother!
Xiao Yuan shook his head, though a sudden thought of his senior brother’s earlier casual glance flashed through his mind. Feeling slightly guilty, he looked back toward the stage, perhaps he was simply overthinking things.
However, even if he knew, so what? As long as the little dragon remained his disciple for a single day, his senior brother and the Sword Sect would protect him for a single day.
The words his senior brother had spoken were, in essence, the little dragon’s greatest talisman for survival.
On the stage, Duan Wangyue wielded the Raoxue sword, trading blows evenly with Long Daqing. Regardless of whether it was physical stature or raw physical strength, Long Daqing held a massive advantage over him.
Furthermore, since their cultivation realms were identical, if Duan Wangyue wanted to win, and win cleanly, he couldn’t fight Long Daqing head-on; he had to use his wits.
Long Daqing had strength; he had speed.
Clang!
When their spiritual swords crossed, Duan Wangyue felt a numbness shoot all the way up his arm. Moving with extreme agility, he withdrew his force and quickly stepped back a pace, springing into action the moment Long Daqing leaned forward from his own momentum and centrifugal force.
Long Daqing’s reactions were equally swift. Anticipating that Duan Wangyue would leap into the air, step onto his body, and utilize a plunging weight technique, he pivoted flexibly, attempting to grab the foot Duan Wangyue was about to plant on him.
Using the tip of the Raoxue sword against the ground for support, Duan Wangyue vaulted into the air, rapidly converging his spiritual energy into his foot, and delivered a vicious kick straight to Long Daqing’s lower back with enough force to send him flying entirely off the stage.
With that, victory was decided.
A brief, eerie silence fell over Ring Number Twenty-One, followed instantly by an earth-shattering wave of cheers and applause. Before the match, just looking at their respective builds and heights, everyone had assumed this bean-sprout-like disciple stood no chance against the towering Long Daqing.
Who would have guessed that this little bean-sprout would actually win, and win with such flair?
With the Raoxue sword sliding back into the Raoxue flute sheath at his waist, Duan Wangyue tapped his toes lightly against the ground and landed before a grimacing, wincing Long Daqing who was sprawled out on the floor. He extended a hand, “Good match, Daqing.”
Long Daqing took Duan Wangyue’s hand, using his strength to pull himself up. Rubbing his aching lower back with a silly grin, he chuckled, “Wangyue, not bad at all! Losing to you is no disgrace at all.”
Duan Wangyue smiled faintly without a word. When he looked up toward his Shizun standing proudly on the high platform, the warmth in his eyes grew genuine, as Shizun had been watching him the entire time.
This realization brought an immense wave of satisfaction to Duan Wangyue, making him feel considerably more amiable even toward Long Daqing.
Long Daqing gave a sheepish chuckle, rubbing the back of his head with an embarrassed expression as he stammered, “Say, would it be alright if I took a look at your weapon?”
Duan Wangyue hesitated for a fraction of a second before unhooking the Raoxue flute and placing it in his palm for inspection.
Long Daqing was a sword cultivator himself. Although he had only stepped onto this long, arduous path of cultivation for a few years, he had heard the phrase “a sword cultivator’s sword is like a sword cultivator’s wife” until his ears were practically calloused, so he exercised strict propriety and refrained from actually picking it up with his hands.
This respectful gesture made Duan Wangyue view him with even greater favor. He truly lived up to being an opponent whom he had pretended to struggle against evenly before finally defeating, putting on a brilliant performance right in front of Shizun.
The boy simply had good situational awareness.
“If I’m not mistaken, this must be the Raoxue Flute, right? My lucky charm is really something else; it actually got to trade blows with Raoxue, which ranks in the top 100 of the Dharma Weapon Rankings!”
Duan Wangyue’s face still maintained a gentle, pleasant smile. This probably fell under the category of fools rushing in where angels fear to tread with sheer blind luck, right?