Chapter 103

“What is that?” Song Hansheng’s face twisted for a moment. “Ye Qiao, what is that?”

A ghost infant?

It turned out to be the very ghost infant that had been giving the Song family headaches for a long time?

“It’s a ghost infant,” Ye Qiao confirmed his suspicion. “This domain is his home. Don’t you remember?”

Song Hansheng seemed to be stunned.

Xue Yu pushed past him. “That’s not the point.” He pointed at Xiao Qi. “This little ghost just focused on you right after entering the Song residence.”

Ye Qiao nodded.

Xue Yu instinctively wanted to keep Ye Qiao away from the child. Ghost infants were unpredictable, and they might be plotting with the ghost cultivator.

“He’s very dangerous,” Zhou Xingyun added.

Ye Qiao agreed, recalling how the ghost infant had initially pursued her aggressively.

Ming Xuan noticed their conversation was drifting and, amid the chaos of battle, shouted, “Stop chatting, everyone!”

“Don’t you know?” He threw out talismans to block the attacks coming from below and tossed in a heavy bomb as well. “She has contracted the ghost infant.”

Which meant, no matter who betrayed, the ghost infant wouldn’t betray.

At that moment, some people were stunned, some were relieved, and some were cursing.

Song Hansheng was among those cursing. If he remembered correctly, this ghost infant came with its own domain—why was it contracted by Ye Qiao instead of him?

The woman hadn’t expected him to approach and call a stranger. Her expression turned cold. “Xiao Qi.”

“Come here!”

Ye Qiao, grinning mischievously, pointed at the little ghost perched on her shoulder and said, “Your son is so adorable. He’s mine now.”

The woman’s face darkened, and she instantly exploded in rage. Ghostly energy surged out from her, forming several streams that attacked them.

With Xiao Qi joining the battlefield, the situation changed drastically. The occasional disturbing ghost hands disappeared, replaced by a more relaxed environment within the domain, and the previously slowed-down speed returned to normal.

“Why are you standing there in a daze? Hit her.”

Ye Qiao’s first ambush was swept away. With her weapon, she decisively side-sliced, dispersing the black mist.

With the assistance of the talisman formation and Xiao Qi’s help, she was in her element, and even if she couldn’t defeat her opponent, she wouldn’t be entirely passive.

Moreover, she had been suppressing her mid-foundation stage cultivation for a long time and was also considering trying the late stage, but for now, Ye Qiao intended to focus on laying a solid foundation.

It was an undeniable fact that her spiritual root was weak, so she could only proceed cautiously.

Ming Xuan was the most stable in terms of cultivation among them. Although he had been stuck for a long time, he was now in the early Golden Core stage and had no trouble dealing with a mid-Golden Core talisman cultivator.

Zhou Xingyun casually took a sword from a cultivator, his voice calm: “Borrowing your wife for a bit.”

“Eh?” The sword cultivator, who had lost his wife, cracked up instantly. “Your mother…”

In the next moment, the man slashed his sword like cutting water, creating a neat cut on the ghost cultivator’s body.

He immediately swallowed the words he was about to say. When Zhou Xingyun looked over, he awkwardly laughed: “Your mother is in good health and everything is going well.”

Ye Qiao followed closely behind.

Elder Duan trained her with restraint each time, but ghost cultivators were merciless. She constantly had to dodge and adjust her sword techniques, while Zhou Xingyun was the busiest, saving one person after another.

Ye Qiao truly witnessed the difference between the Nascent Soul and Golden Core stages.

If Xiao Qi hadn’t been there, they would have been thoroughly beaten.

“By the way, if your Song family bigwigs capture the ghost cultivator, who gets the final reward for completing the task?” She swallowed a few pills to recover and suddenly remembered this detail.

Song Hansheng replied without hesitation: “Of course, it’s ours!”

The generous reward they offered proved they weren’t short of money, but they weren’t foolish either; a pile of high-grade spirit stones worth tens of thousands could buy a lot of talismans.

Ye Qiao used her weapon to quickly cut through the ghostly aura, which then turned into several streams, converging again and relentlessly pursuing her.

It was troublesome.

“That’s a Yin spirit, formed from resentment, indestructible and persistent.” She said coldly.

“Indestructible and persistent?” Ye Qiao squinted and, disregarding her surroundings, suddenly pulled in closer and raised her hand to demonstrate with materialistic fists, saying, “Let’s see, is your mouth tougher, or my fists?”

Explaining ghosts to a modern person only made Ye Qiao hit harder and more mercilessly.

She didn’t dodge and got hit directly, several confinement talismans fell, and the woman easily broke free, sneering: “What about the talismans?”

With that, she curved her hand into a claw and viciously grabbed at Ye Qiao. Ye Qiao decisively rolled away and quickly threw out her talismans while running, calling out to the others.

“Hurry, brothers, where are your talismans? Throw them out to calm her down. She’s driven crazy by me.”

It was fine when she wasn’t running, but once she did, the ghost cultivator followed her in a mad chase.

“That Ye Qiao,” Song Hansheng noticed that the scene was eerily familiar. Seeing the ghost cultivator closing in, he cursed while running: “How does she always manage to precisely anger the final BOSS?”

First the demon beasts, then the demon race, and now the ghost cultivator; summing it up: this person is toxic.

Xue Yu: “……” He was also very curious!

With Ye Qiao attracting most of the firepower, the others had lighter burdens. Zhou Xingyun attacked alone while the other sword cultivators provided cover for the talisman cultivators.

Everyone was showing off, and only Ye Qiao was getting beaten.

“Her Clear Wind Steps are almost smoking.” Ming Xuan felt extreme sympathy.

Ye Qiao dodged several attacks using Clear Wind Steps while leveraging the surrounding formations to restrain the ghost cultivator. Although she understood the formations, the ghost cultivator didn’t, and despite the ever-changing scene, she really couldn’t catch Ye Qiao right away.

The woman’s face darkened.

She initially thought it would be an easy fight, but a foundation cultivator was proving more difficult than a Golden Core one.

Mu Chongxi, who had just woken up halfway, was still a bit dazed. He lay in a relatively safe spot, and when he opened his eyes, he saw a chaotic scene within the dark domain, with some cultivators lying on the ground in disformation.

“Awake?” Xue Yu glanced at him, tossing some spirit recovery pills, “Go help out.”

“They’re still fighting over there.”

Without further ado, Mu Chongxi immediately drew his sword, cleared the ghostly aura, used Clear Wind Steps, and landed in front of the opponent. With a swift sword strike, he attacked with lightning speed.

The reason for the inheritance is that it can be recalled with a closed eye, not requiring one to comprehend it themselves. Though somewhat rough, it could be learned without a teacher.

For Mu Chongxi, with his innate talent, one lesson was enough.

The ghost cultivator’s pupils constricted, momentarily stuck by the young man’s domineering sword energy, and awkwardly dodged. In the next moment, Zhou Xingyun followed closely and pierced through her.

In the domain, the speed at which the woman was restrained, combined with the fact that other sword cultivators weren’t to be underestimated, meant that while they dodged Mu Chongxi’s fierce sword strikes, they couldn’t avoid Zhou Xingyun’s silent attack.

Zhou Xingyun did hold back somewhat. This was the Song family’s territory, and the person still had to be handed over to the Song family’s head. They only needed to capture the opponent.

The domain quietly dissipated the moment the woman was injured. As the sky brightened slightly, there was still a lingering chill in the air. Many cultivators were injured, but overall, the task was a perfect success.

“Finally over.”

Ye Qiao, exhausted, collapsed onto the ground, her hands crossed behind her head, lazily saying, “So tired.”

But there was no way around it; the house would fall apart without her.

Sigh.

The young woman had a gentle appearance, fair skin, and looked incredibly well-behaved, clearly the type loved by righteous sects.

But thinking of her endless tricks, the sword cultivators’ faces darkened.

It was only after the fight that they realized they had been tricked. Damn it, that woman was actually the real ghost cultivator from the Song residence.

Moreover, the more they looked at Ye Qiao’s face, the more familiar it seemed, as if she had just chatted with a guard not long ago.

“Absolutely amazing.”

“Ye Qiao.” The deceived sword cultivator stepped forward, his tone almost tearful. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

To be honest, they had long heard that this direct disciple was different from others, but that was just hearsay; not all cultivators watched the grand competition.

With a face full of disillusionment, he sighed: “Now I understand why you deserve to have won first place twice.”

It was all well-deserved for Ye Qiao.

Ye Qiao smiled slightly and waved her hand. “Thank you for the compliment. It’s my honor. I’m Ye Qiao, representing myself.”

“Stop with the talk.” Ming Xuan, exhausted, slapped her shoulder impatiently. “Let’s go, the Song family head wants to see us.”

Everyone was exhausted. They lay on the ground for half an hour before the higher-level cultivators from the Song family finally arrived.

“You Song family folks sure take your time. Five minutes to recharge, two hours stuck in traffic, huh?” Ye Qiao kicked Song Hansheng’s calf. “By the time you got here, we could have grown three feet tall in graveyard grass.”

Song Hansheng: “…” He knew he was at fault and, surprisingly, did not retort.

Yun Que’s gaze was fixed on Mu Chongxi.

“You got the inheritance,” she said with certainty.

That sword technique didn’t resemble Changming Sect’s.

Ming Xuan: “What, are you jealous?”

Ye Qiao chimed in: “Jealous that his talent is higher than yours?”

Xue Yu criticized her: “That’s not right.”

With everyone chiming in, Yun Que was left blushing with anger. “No…” She was anxious to explain that the inheritance should have been hers.

But with the Changming Sect’s people turning everything upside down, it seemed like she was the petty one.

Zhou Xingyun also glanced at Yun Que, calmly：“If you’re not capable, don’t blame the road for being uneven.”

Seeing the situation become tense, Song Hansheng was forced to clean up Yun Que’s mess. He said coldly, “My father wants to see you. Let’s go.”

…

The group followed Song Hansheng through several twists and turns into the main hall. Only the head of the Song family was there to meet them. The group exchanged glances and bowed politely.

“Disciple of Changming Sect, Ye Qiao.”

“Disciple of Changming Sect, Ming Xuan.”

“…”

After exchanging names, the Song family head glanced at Ye Qiao thoughtfully and said kindly, “So, who dealt with the ghost cultivator?”

Seeing that no one else was moving, Ye Qiao stepped forward. “I did.”

The Song family head was taken aback, not expecting it to be her.

He pondered for a moment and slapped his palm heavily. “You are the Ye Qiao who suppressed the Sword Questioning Sect at the grand competition?”

The grand competition was a place where many young prodigies made their names. Although the team competition didn’t reveal the individual sect’s strength as clearly as the individual competition, the most important aspects were coordination and strategy.

Clearly, Changming Sect left a deep impression in every match.

“Indeed, a hero emerges young, a prodigy with exceptional talent. Unlike some people…” He said, pulling a stern face and glancing at Song Hansheng, “Only knows how to cultivate and never uses their brain.”

Song Hansheng, usually as diligent as a little bee, was baffled: “?”

He had to endure his father’s double standards, especially with his fanaticism for geniuses. Whenever a genius emerged in one of the eight major families, his father would spend an entire evening at their house, obsessively discussing it and turning into a bundle of jealousy.

After listening to a string of meaningless comments, Ye Qiao and the others finally received the spirit stones they had been eagerly anticipating.

The Song family head was extremely enthusiastic throughout, especially toward Ye Qiao. After the Changming Sect members had left, he quickly asked, “Hansheng, what do you think of the painting talismans skills of that little disciple from Changming Sect?”

Song Hansheng felt somewhat aggrieved. “I haven’t seen them.”

He only knew her talismans were quite cheap.

But to see Ye Qiao’s talisman skills, they would have to wait for the individual competition.

“Indeed, a variable,” the Song family head mused. “Pay more attention to her. The commotion caused by that kid recently is quite significant.”

Winning first place twice at the grand competition and dealing with the ghost cultivator showed she was no ordinary talent.

Fortunately, Ye Qiao only had a mid-grade spiritual root. While proficient, she couldn’t truly master it.

Song Hansheng: “I understand.”

His tone was slightly cold. “Wait for the fourth match. She will be finished.”

Then, they would team up with the other three sects to deal with her!

*

After descending the mountain, the five individuals with different attire walking together were quite a sight. Ye Qiao, lazily with her hands behind her back, asked, “How should we explain Xiao Qi’s situation when we return to the sect?”

“Just say we brought a disciple back for the master?”

That would surely scare Qin Fanfan to death.

“Just tell him the truth,” Mu Chongxi mumbled. “I think I’ve figured out how to practice that inheritance sword technique. Ye Qiao, do you want to join me?”

“No, you keep it to yourself.”

“This is what you deserve,” Ye Qiao patted him and offered a false show of concern. “Remember to report to Elder Duan. You can go to class and get beaten up.”

She wouldn’t be joining in.

Now, the elders were extremely lenient with her and no longer chased her to scold her for no reason. Ye Qiao was enjoying the high treatment from the alchemy and talisman cultivators once more.

It felt simply delightful.

Returning to the competition grounds, Ye Qiao hurriedly sought out Qin Fanfan to inquire about matters related to spiritual roots.

The other senior brothers had all gone to sleep. Despite feeling sleepy, Ye Qiao asked several people and finally found him.

“Master.”

She knocked on the door and walked in.

“I have a question to ask you.”

Seeing that they were the geniuses from their sect, Qin Fanfan’s irritable mood softened. “Ask.”

Ye Qiao pondered for a moment before asking, “Do you know much about top-grade spiritual roots in the cultivation world?”

“…Hmm?” Qin Fanfan was taken aback. “What did you say?”

He was busy polishing his treasured sword. Learning that the five direct disciples of the divine beasts had completed their mission and returned to the sect had given Qin Fanfan a rare headache.

Although they had brought him honor at the grand competition, the chaos caused by these people when they were together was extraordinary.

While they were away, Changming Sect had enjoyed a rare period of peace.

Ye Qiao watched her master polish his sword with a look as if he were treating it like his wife, and after a pause, asked, “Master, top-grade spiritual roots. Have you heard of them?”

“If you haven’t heard of them—” she shrugged. “I’ll just go to the library and look for myself.”

“Top-grade spiritual roots.” Qin Fanfan’s hand paused as he was polishing his sword. “Why do you suddenly want to ask about this?”

*

Missed full attendance, sobbing to death.

People live up to their names; I am the King of Slacking.

I just discovered that someone gave Yun Que the nickname Yun Niao (Cloud Bird), and I suddenly find it so amusing, hahaha.