Chapter 100: Disciple Conferencet (Part 12)

Xu Qianyu ran to the competition arena, where a white-bearded elder, the judge, looked at her with anger and said, “It’s the final round, yet you still aren’t focused. If you don’t want to be here, you might as well forfeit.”

Seeing the crowd waiting for her, Xu Qianyu touched her hair bun reassuringly. Her senior brother had managed to comb his hair in the dark without it getting messy, which eased her mind. She said with an air of indifference, “I overslept.”
A chorus of complaints seemed to come from the audience below.
Xu Qianyu looked again and realized that today she was facing Lu You in the competition.

It turned out the people below weren’t there to watch her match; most of them were friends and family of Lu You. On her side, there were only a few scattered supporters and a couple of her previous opponents, Yun Chu and Yun Lan, who probably just came to enjoy the spectacle.
Lu You had always been well-liked. Xu Qianyu glanced at her and found it familiar. “Draw your sword.”

Lu You had fair skin that glowed like a glazed flower in the sunlight, small and delicate, as if she could shatter with a single touch. Her eyes were a bit red, making it hard to read her expression. She drew her sword and said, “Please, Senior Sister, enlighten me.”
The blade reflected the sunlight. Xu Qianyu noticed that Lu You had replaced her sword with one she had never seen before; the scabbard was adorned with a pebble-shaped gem, glowing with a red hue that cast a coral-like, semi-transparent light on her hand. Xu Qianyu couldn’t help but be captivated for a moment.

Suddenly, Lu You charged at her, and the sword in her hand transformed into countless sword shadows in the sky, rushing towards her like a meteor shower.
This attack wasn’t unfamiliar to Xu Qianyu. She closed her eyes and utilized “killing intent resonance” to sense the true nature of the attack, spotting the main body of the sword radiating a rose-red murderous aura, and she drew her sword to stab.

However, at the moment of contact, the sword slowly unfurled a red mist, resembling a massive blood-colored eye opening in the void.

Xu Qianyu felt as if she were being stared at by that eye; her blood felt frozen for a moment. By the time she thrust her sword again, the main body of the sword had already evaded her like a swimming fish.
She had missed!
The hurricane-like sword energy instantly pushed her away. Xu Qianyu’s wooden sword embedded deep into the arena, stabilizing her form as her heel crossed the boundary line, causing the talisman on her foot to flicker. This match was in the ring; if pushed outside the boundary, she would lose.

Lu You gracefully landed and quietly said to Xu Qianyu, “Senior Sister, I appreciate your guidance.”
It was like reliving a dream; each time she unwittingly lost to Lu You, she wore this bewildered expression while the crowd cheered.

Xu Qianyu didn’t know where she went wrong. Her palms were sweaty, and her mental state wavered.
Clearly, the last time she had protected the furnace, Lu You wasn’t this formidable, yet now she seemed to have become unexpectedly elusive.

The sword formations began again, and Xu Qianyu’s Killing Intent Resonance seemed to fail, always a beat slow, causing her to lose several exchanges.
“What kind of sword is this? Is it also a magical weapon?” Xu Qianyu asked, trying to suppress her impatience.

The system replied, “It should be something she exchanged from the marketplace. This item is of high grade and possesses immense power, equivalent to a top-tier artifact in this world.”
That red gem was probably the blood-colored eye, specifically countering her killing intent resonance.

Xu Qianyu was pushed out several times by the sword formations but gradually calmed herself amidst the rising heat. Suddenly, she recalled what her senior brother and the old woman had taught her when she first started learning the sword: 

They had said that there would always be discrepancies between the hand and the eye; only through practice and experience could one bridge that gap to achieve precision.

If the eyes couldn’t see clearly and consciousness couldn’t serve as a reference, one could only rely on the feeling of the hand in the void.
Though she hadn’t committed to drawing grids in the dark to practice swordsmanship, these days, she had swung her sword thousands of times without fail, amounting to millions of strikes.

In that little courtyard, on the high-level sword arena, and in the practice field, she had trained day and night, developing her own “sensation” alongside the countless tiny wounds on her hands.
Xu Qianyu’s dark, clear eyes turned emotionlessly. Just before the rose-red meteors descended, she calmly sensed the warmth on her cheek and suddenly thrust her sword forward.

The wooden sword gathered strength and shot forward. In the instant the blood eye opened, it froze for a moment, but within that moment, the main body of the sword also flew towards her and was accurately struck away by the wooden sword!

The sword formation suddenly broke apart. The sword slammed back into Lu You’s hand as she reached out to hold it. Her petite body staggered back a few steps, and she awkwardly lost the round.
Xu Qianyu stood still, holding the thick wooden sword upside down at her side, the wind tousling the red ribbon on her head.

“A tie,” the golden crow announced, judging, “take a moment to rest before starting again.”
During the break after their tie, a disciple walked through the crowd with a tray, arriving beside the Zhilan carriage under the big tree, smiling, “Please, Miss, take an apricot.”

On the tray lay a yellow apricot and a white apricot, representing the two competing disciples.
Taking an apricot was essentially betting on the outcome. Xu Qianqian, being weak and unable to cultivate, always had this game arranged for her during ties, giving her a sense of participation and showing the sect’s regard for the sect leader’s daughter.
“That one is Lu You; and this, is she the little junior sister?” Xu Qianqian asked as she looked at the two, pulling the carriage closer to get a better view.

Lu You, resting with her sword, had already received food from many who approached the arena, and she replied delicately.

Xu Qianyu… Xu Qianyu squatted on the ground, busy looking at her reflection in a puddle, wanting to see how her senior brother had styled her hair and whether it looked good.

The attending maid, Biyun, brought over a fruit plate and said, “Sister Lu came early to greet the young lady and brought fresh flowers and fruit. The little junior sister is still under the sect leader, yet she hasn’t come even once. It seems Sister Lu was right; the little junior sister is quite selfish and willful.”

Another maid, Bicao, chimed in, “I agree. The last time I saw her, she was standing on the furnace yelling, very disrespectful.”

Xu Qianqian said, “Don’t speak ill of others behind their backs.”
Biyun stuck out her tongue, “I don’t care about anyone’s flaws. I’m the young lady’s maid; whoever treats her well, I like; if anyone is disrespectful to her, no matter how good they are, I won’t like them. I heard the little junior sister is quite close with the sister-in-law, so they must get along well. I think she’s just another sister-in-law.”

Hearing her maid speak fondly of her brought comfort to Xu Qianqian, but when she packed the fruit into her handkerchief, she found it hard to eat.

The relationship with her sister-in-law was a burden on her heart. Fu Shuangshuang always seemed to harbor subtle disdain for her, and she didn’t know how to interact with her, yet her sister-in-law naturally liked the little junior sister.

Many things in this world, like spiritual roots, were destined this way; they couldn’t be forced.
“Take this fruit to the little junior sister.”
As she spoke, she took the yellow apricot from the plate.
Biyun said, “Miss, Sister Lu brought us gifts; she’s so good to us…”
Xu Qianqian replied, “I will remember Sister Lu’s goodwill. But I still hope my elder brother and second brother can be happy; let’s bet on the little junior sister to win.”

Among the unspoken concerns was a senior brother Shen. It was said that the little junior sister was mentored by Shen Suwei, and if she didn’t perform well, Shen Suwei would probably face blame, which was something she didn’t want to see.
When the fruit plate was brought over, Xu Qianyu was hungry and didn’t bother being picky, devouring everything.

Hearing that it was sent by Xu Qianqian surprised Xu Qianyu, and she turned to look at the colorful Zhilan carriage in the shade of the tree. The person inside was almost unrecognizable, and her thanks were likely unheard, so she just waved her hand.
Biyun laughed, “The little junior sister is waving to us.”
Xu Qianqian also smiled slightly, but she suddenly caught sight of a red thread tied around Xu Qianyu’s wrist and felt an inexplicable premonition in her heart.

This prayer thread was worn by many disciples, so it wasn’t particularly rare.
Xu Qianqian fiddled with the red thread on her hand.
Maybe she was overthinking it.

---

Xu Qianyu originally thought she had grasped the rules of that treasure. When the sword formation appeared again, she was no longer worried.

Who would have thought that blood-red eyes would suddenly appear in the air, overlapping one after another, followed by three, four, and five, as they intermingled in the sky like fireworks, making her dizzy?
Her head buzzed, and she couldn’t see anything. Before she knew it, she was pushed out of the line.

“Xu Qianyu has committed a violation.”
Lu You landed on the ground, her brows furrowed, a look of resentment on her face.
That day in the pavilion, she had heard with her own ears the ambiguous relationship between Xu Qianyu and Shen Suwei, as if struck by lightning.
Wasn’t Senior Brother Shen the cold, difficult-to-approach immortal lord? In her past life, the Demon King killed Xu Qianyu, yet he didn’t appear; how could he be connected to Xu Qianyu first?
She couldn’t help but think, Was this connection born in this life or had it existed in the previous one, only unnoticed by her? If Shen Suwei hadn’t yet taken a liking to him, why was Xie Yuzhen so angry?

Every detail pressed down on her, and she immediately stopped pondering.
If she dug any deeper, her world would collapse.
Xie Yuzhen absolutely could not like anyone else. The ninety-nine percent completion of the strategy couldn’t deceive her.
But this situation reminded her that Xu Qianyu had become the biggest disturbance in the second loop.

She had exchanged all her pleasure points for treasures and techniques, and only by getting rid of her could the plot return to its rightful course.
Lu You’s supporters cheered loudly, while Xu Qianyu’s side was cold and desolate.
Yun Lan cleared his throat, forming a horn with his hand, and called out in a clear voice over the crowd, “Hey, Xu Junior Sister, wake up! Are you still asleep? Go kill her like you did just now! Leave no trace!”

Sitting beside him, Ye Ling stared at him as if he were a ghost, lightly kicking his robe and saying, “Are you crazy? Supporting her?”
“How did she come over to provoke me last time, attacking my furnace and causing flaws in my magical tools? Don’t you remember? You can’t support her.” She complained again, “Why are we sitting here anyway?”

Yun Lan chuckled, “Isn’t it because there was no space over there?” He added, “Since I’ve been eliminated anyway, it doesn’t matter who I support; as for why we’re sitting here, ask Senior Brother Xiaochu. He insisted on sitting here.”
Ye Ling turned to look at Yun Chu.

Yun Chu, holding a whisk, looked handsome and serious, silent as he focused on the two in the arena.
Ye Ling suspiciously raised her chin, “Junior Brother Xiaochu, who are you betting on to win?”

Yun Chu said, “Xu Qianyu shouldn’t have lost.”
“Can you even see? Junior Sister Lu was taught by Master Wuzhen, so her strength should not be underestimated.”
Yun Chu did not respond, thinking to himself that she was quite foolish.
After a moment, Yun Chu raised his hand, curling his fingers to peek through. Suddenly, a celestial eye opened on his forehead, and white light shot from his hand toward the arena.

He had fought against Xu Qianyu before, and his strength was still not comparable to hers; thus, he hoped that Lu You would lose. As long as he could defeat Lu You, he still had a chance to make it into the final list.

However, Xu Qianyu kept losing, and he wanted to see what was happening.
Yun Chu observed the two instruments, four symbols, and eight trigrams on the arena, all completely out of position, as if a different small world was nestled in the middle of the natural spiritual realm, centered around Lu You, enveloping the entire arena.
“Eh?”

Yun Lan saw him forming a seal with his hands and hurriedly stopped him, saying, “Senior Brother, what are you doing? We’ve only learned the Wind and Thunder Eight Trigrams Formation for two months!”
Yun Chu replied, “Don’t stop me; I want to try.”

Suddenly, the formation in his hand expanded like white light, rotating the four symbols and eight trigrams back to their original positions on the arena. However, he overshot, and the eight trigrams in the surrounding world were also shaken and turned out of place.
Yun Chu was sweating profusely and wanted to try again.

Xu Qianyu had already reacted; she saw that the blood-red eye in the air had truly transformed into fireworks, each one exploding into a cloud of blood mist.
In the air, there seemed to be an indescribable scream.
She shook her head, holding her sword tightly, seizing the moment to channel the power of thunder and lightning, and suddenly struck towards Lu You’s main body sword!
With a loud “bang,” the red gem on Lu You’s sword was sliced off, falling into the dark crevice below, with a sound echoing back after a while.

Xu Qianyu looked at the web-like crevice beneath her feet, stunned for a moment. Then the arena suddenly collapsed, and both of them, along with fragments of the arena, disappeared, rising in a cloud of dust.

The disciples watching nearby stood up and fled, screaming, “The ground has collapsed! Junior Sister Xu split the earth!”
Among them, Biyun cried out the loudest, hoarsely and sharply, “Miss, Miss! Not good; Miss Qianqian fell down with her!”
Then a black shadow swiftly leapt into the ruins.
“Don’t panic, it’s fine,” a female disciple helped Biyun, saying, “Master Wuzhen jumped in; he should be able to bring all three of them up.”

However, one person still flew up to the arena. Xu Jiansu, holding a black and red dual-color sword, hurriedly tried to go down to rescue Qianqian, slashing everywhere: “How did she split it?”
After randomly slashing a couple of times, Xu Jiansu also fell down as intended.
“I don’t even know what’s below; hurry and ask the sect leader…”