Chapter 118

“Did I make him puke with my ugliness?” Ye Qiao concluded deeply.

Xue Yu’s mouth twitched. “Not exactly.”

“Then why does he puke every time he sees me?”

Xue Yu shook his head and decided to get to the point. “Where’s your senior brother?”

“Training.” The boy who had just turned away to vomit managed to suppress his nausea. Seeing who it was, he asked coolly, “What are you here for?”

“To build some rapport with him,” Ye Qiao said as she pulled Xue Yu along, nonchalantly heading inside. The boy couldn’t stop them and could only watch helplessly as they swaggered in.

Ye Qinghan was indeed training. The spiritual energy around him was gathering rapidly in the Wenjian Sect courtyard, swirling intensely. The purer the spiritual root, the faster the absorption rate of spiritual energy, forming a small vortex that continuously flowed into the boy’s body.

Ye Qiao touched the dissipating spiritual energy at her fingertips. “All the spiritual energy around here is being drawn towards him.” The courtyards where the core disciples lived usually had the densest spiritual energy to aid their cultivation, but even that wasn’t enough for him.

Xue Yu speculated, “He probably wants to break through to the Nascent Soul stage before the fifth round begins.”

“Is that really necessary?” Ye Qiao said. “His cultivation is already very high.”

Xue Yu spoke softly, “But Wenjian Sect wants to take first place. They can only win through the individual competition.”

Team competitions were out of the question, as Ye Qiao had taken first place in all three rounds single-handedly. However, taking first place in the individual swordsmanship competition wouldn’t be easy, as many skilled rogue cultivators would be participating. To ensure victory, breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage was a safer bet.

“Ye Qinghan has been at the late Golden Core stage for a long time. Trying to reach the Nascent Soul stage in just over a month is not impossible.”

Ye Qinghan, the top swordsman, was the great hope of the entire cultivation world.

Ye Qiao interrupted his absorption of spiritual energy and smiled friendly, “Ye Qinghan, want to go down the mountain together?”

Ye Qinghan opened his eyes. Hearing the familiar voice, he turned to see Ye Qiao and thought she was crazy. He frowned, “No.”

Since when did they have such a good relationship that they would go down the mountain to train together?

Although she had saved them, Ye Qinghan was a man of principle. During the competition, anyone who wasn’t a core disciple of his own sect was an enemy.

“Oh, if you don’t want to, then don’t.” Ye Qiao wasn’t afraid of being rebuffed and continued to ask with a smile, “When do you plan to break through to the Nascent Soul stage?”

Ye Qinghan thought she was mocking him for not breaking through after so long, and his voice turned slightly cold. “This month. What do you really want to say?”

Ye Qiao’s eyes lit up at his words, and she gave him a thumbs up. “Good luck.”

Ambitious. That gave her hope for her own breakthrough.

Ye Qiao had never appreciated Ye Qinghan’s diligence so much before.

Ye Qinghan lowered his eyes, not wanting to talk to her anymore.

Several courtyards had reported breakthroughs in the past few days, proving that real combat was always more effective than training.

Ming Xuan’s realm had also loosened, and after Ye Qiao and Xue Yu returned, he had already stabilized his breath.

Xue Yu raised an eyebrow, looking at Ming Xuan. “Mid Golden Core stage. You’ve also broken through?”

Almost all the disciples in the secret realm had advanced, except for Ye Qiao. The outside world attributed this to her spiritual root.

Ming Xuan said, “Yes.”

He was about to say something when he noticed Ye Qiao, following Xue Yu, looking sour and envious, like a lemon essence personified.

Ming Xuan tactically leaned back, “You still haven’t broken through?”

Ye Qiao lay down on the ground. “No.”

“Why?” Ming Xuan rubbed his chin. “I see the elders and little martial uncle train you quite hard.”

It made sense to be skilled in multiple disciplines like swordsmanship, alchemy, and talisman drawing, so it was strange she hadn’t advanced.

Mu Chongxi, knowing her situation, said, “She can break through, but she needs something to help her. And having suppressed it for so long, she should be able to break through more than one stage.”

“What kind of help? We can look for it.” Ming Xuan nonchalantly crossed his legs.

“Thunder tribulation, do you have it?” Xue Yu glanced at him disdainfully.

Ming Xuan’s leg shaking stopped. “No, I don’t.”

“But,” he changed his tone, hitting his palm with a fist, “we can piggyback off someone else’s tribulation.”

“I heard Ye Qinghan is working hard lately?”

“When the time comes, you can piggyback on his.”

Ming Xuan remembered she could absorb heavenly lightning. If someone else helped with the tribulation, what’s the harm? Ye Qinghan should be grateful to their Changming Sect for such a great favor.

The three unanimously agreed.

Instead of improving themselves, they’d rely on Ye Qinghan.

The three happily high-fived.

Mu Chongxi, seeing his senior brothers and sister radiating laziness, puffed up his cheeks. “I want to high-five too.”

Ming Xuan lazily extended his hand to bump fists. “Let’s go visit Ye Qinghan in a few days.”

After all, in the secret realm, their cultivation would be suppressed. In the individual competition, Ye Qinghan, as a Nascent Soul cultivator, would dominate the core disciples.

It didn’t matter.

They didn’t care.

Winning the team competition was enough; they’d leave the individual competition to fate.

Hearing their plan, Zhou Xingyun silently covered his face.

He’d heard of parents hoping their children would succeed, but this was the first time he’d heard of hoping Ye Qinghan would succeed.

Ye Qinghan, who had high hopes from Changming Sect, was still cultivating. He’d been absorbing spiritual energy for days and opened his eyes to see his courtyard occupied by Changming Sect members.

Ye Qinghan’s mouth twitched. He couldn’t stand it anymore. “Are you guys insane?”

They were all staring at him.

What did his breakthrough to Nascent Soul have to do with Changming Sect?

Could they break through together with him?

“No, we just heard you’re planning to break through to Nascent Soul,” Mu Chongxi sat cross-legged next to him. “Our Changming Sect emphasizes companionship.”

“We’ll accompany you through the breakthrough.”

Zhou Xingyun found a place to hang himself and nodded in support.

Xue Yu fiddled with a spiritual plant. “Need any pills? Free of charge.”

“Ah.” Ming Xuan’s eyes curved with a fake sigh. “What can we do? We’re just kind-hearted.”

Ye Qinghan: “…”

He almost lost his mental state.

Chu Xingzhi was also annoyed. These people came to their courtyard every day under the pretext of bonding.

What bond could they have with the neighboring sect?

The boy hugged his sword, leaning coldly against a side, mocking, “Hey, you guys can’t just torture my senior brother because Ye Qiao can’t break through.”

Chu Xingzhi thought that the Five Sects had foresight.

Why didn’t they ever accept core disciples below the highest grade? Limited spiritual roots made breakthroughs difficult. Ye Qiao had been at the Foundation Establishment stage for so long without progress. Wasn’t that proof enough? If you can’t break through, you have to find a way. What’s the point of torturing them at Wenjian Sect all day?

Mu Chongxi didn’t even lift his head. “You don’t understand.”

It’s not that she can’t break through; it’s that she hasn’t found the opportunity.

Ye Qinghan took a deep breath, ignoring them. With one month left before the secret realm opened, Zhou Xingyun had broken through to the peak of the Golden Core stage, the same level as Ye Qinghan. With the individual competition approaching, he wanted to break through to the Nascent Soul stage.

Ye Qinghan was determined to take the top spot on the Swordsmanship Rankings.

In recent days, Ye Qinghan had vaguely touched the edge of the Nascent Soul stage. He urgently needed someone to fight to achieve the breakthrough, so he looked at Zhou Xingyun. “Want to spar?”

Zhou Xingyun thought for a moment and then said, “Her.” He pushed Ye Qiao forward.

Ye Qiao: “…”

Ye Qinghan narrowed his eyes and looked at Zhou Xingyun. “Are you insulting me?”

“No,” Zhou Xingyun said, his voice cold and indifferent, “Our Changming Sect has two geniuses, one is Little Junior Brother, and the other is her.”

Ye Qinghan: “…” Seeing that Zhou Xingyun was adamant, he reluctantly turned his gaze to Ye Qiao.

Finally, with some reluctance, he said, “Fine.”

They would eventually face each other, either in the secret realm or in the individual competition. A sparring match now wouldn’t hurt.

Each of them drew a black sword. Ye Qinghan’s sword aura was domineering, while Ye Qiao’s style was more agile. The gap between them was significant due to their different levels of mastery.

Ye Qinghan frowned slightly, a hint of disdain in his eyes. “After studying swordsmanship for so long, is this all you’ve got?”

He had seen her spar with Chu Xingzhi before, learning quickly and almost instantly replicating what she saw.

But she was just fast.

When sparring with Ye Qinghan, her flaws became apparent. Her swordsmanship was not proficient, and she was quickly pushed back.

Ye Qiao ignored him, deep in thought.

She had noticed when sparring with Chu Xingzhi that the Wenjian Sect’s sword techniques were aggressive and similar. She had remembered Chu Xingzhi’s moves and thought about how to counter them.

Once she roughly figured out Ye Qinghan’s attack patterns and sequences, Ye Qiao decisively changed her sword style. Her techniques were not confined to one approach. Though they had many flaws, they were also diverse, leading to a temporary stalemate.

After several exchanges, Ye Qinghan gradually realized this.

Every time he found a flaw and struck, Ye Qiao could dodge at various tricky angles, constantly adjusting her mistakes. At first, he easily suppressed her, but it gradually became less effective.

That Ye Qiao…

It didn’t feel like a spar; it felt like she was using him as a whetstone.

This unpleasant metaphor made Ye Qinghan’s expression slightly stern. “Are you toying with me?”

“Of course not,” Ye Qiao replied nonchalantly. “I respect you very much.”

Indeed.

She hadn’t done anything but adjust her flawed sword techniques.

Ye Qinghan felt somewhat frustrated, especially seeing Ye Qiao being pushed back by him yet still improving and correcting her mistakes. Winning didn’t give him any sense of accomplishment.

Finally, he reluctantly sheathed his sword. “Come back when you’re at the late Golden Core stage.” He pursed his lips and said coldly, “I hope you can fight me fairly then.”

Ye Qiao thought to herself, wasn’t she already fighting fairly?

Without a clear outcome, Ye Qinghan calmed down and focused on his cultivation. He was genuinely dedicated, ignoring everything around him. The people guarding him got a bit bored.

So, they gathered around and started cracking sunflower seeds.

Mu Chongxi admired him. “Ye Qinghan has great determination.”

“That’s why he can succeed.” Ming Xuan poked Zhou Xingyun. “Learn from him.”

Zhou Xingyun echoed soullessly, “So impressive.”

To break through to the Nascent Soul stage, it was just a matter of time for Ye Qinghan, as long as the spiritual energy was dense and his foundation was solid.

On the seventh day of guarding him, the five of them looked like thieves stealing melons. When they saw the aura of a breakthrough, they all stood up at once. “It’s happening.”

A golden wave of light flashed, and the sky darkened as thunderclouds gathered. Zhou Xingyun said calmly, “It’s here.”

Finally, it had arrived.

It wasn’t easy.

Nascent Soul stage thunder tribulation hadn’t appeared in the cultivation world for a long time. Every occurrence caused a stir.

Ye Qinghan was undoubtedly the top swordsman, and the thunderclouds were terrifyingly thick. He opened his eyes and unhesitatingly flew to an empty area to avoid hurting others.

“We should go too,” Mu Chongxi said, tossing aside the sunflower seeds.

“Hurry, hurry.”

They flew quickly on their swords, joining many other cultivators who had gathered outside. The core disciples were also watching.

They were all supreme spiritual roots, destined to break through to the Nascent Soul stage sooner or later, so they wanted to see what the thunder tribulation looked like.

But before they could get closer, the elders stopped them. “Stay back.”

“Be careful not to get caught in it.”

Nascent Soul stage thunder tribulation was no joke. Judging by the situation, it wouldn’t be over quickly.

“The Nascent Soul stage is different from the Golden Core stage.” The elder stood with his hands behind his back, his expression solemn. “If he succeeds, Ye Qinghan will be the top young cultivator.”

If he failed, he would be struck down by the heavenly lightning. Thunder tribulation was no joke, and the eager core disciples gradually quieted down. Si Miaoyan looked up, frowning. “Judging by the thunderclouds, this could take a while.”

“And he might advance two stages. That’s amazing.” Miaomiao held her face in admiration. “Most people only advance one stage.”

Achieving the Nascent Soul stage in such a short time was why he was called the top swordsman.

Qin Huai said calmly, “With Ye Qinghan’s talent, it might take more than a day and night.”

Everyone was discussing Ye Qinghan, and when the Changming Sect members arrived in a hurry, the others just glanced at them without much interest.

Ye Qiao found that with the elders guarding the place, there was no way to get in. Zhou Xingyun simply grabbed her, and with a silent motion on a light breeze, they slipped in unnoticed. “Let’s go.”

For a Nascent Soul stage thunder tribulation, the Wenjian Sect had cleared the area in advance, leaving a large open space around. The two of them took a secluded path that no one was watching and snuck in. It seemed no one would expect disciples to risk their lives by running into a thunder tribulation.

As soon as Ye Qiao entered, she saw Ye Qinghan sitting in the center, waiting for the thunder tribulation. She waved and casually sat beside him. “Hey, buddy, mind if I share some thunder?”

“…”

Ye Qinghan was so startled by the girl’s sudden appearance that he held his breath. When he looked up and saw her, his brows furrowed tightly. “Ye Qiao.”

“If you have a death wish, there’s no need to do it this way.”

A Nascent Soul stage thunder tribulation could render a hundred-mile radius barren.

Ye Qiao asked, “Just wondering, can you handle a Nascent Soul stage thunder tribulation?”

Ye Qinghan replied, “Hard to say.”

The elders knew he was going to face the tribulation and had given him several high-grade and even top-grade magical artifacts, but they could only block a few strikes. The rest he had to endure himself.

“You’re not leaving?” He noticed her looking like she planned to stay and his usually indifferent expression showed some cracks.

“No, I’m not leaving.”

An elder from the Bishui Sect, known for his sharp spiritual sense, rubbed his forehead. “Red clothes, it looks like Ye Qiao.”

Ye Qiao? Wasn’t she also a genius in three paths?

An elder’s face suddenly changed. “Get her out of there quickly!” Was she going to wait to be struck to death?

But it was too late.

As they spoke, the heavenly thunder had already fallen.

*

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