Chapter 45

Ye Qiao rode the crimson bird, quickly soaring into the sky. The rebellious beast, realizing her intentions, desperately tried to shake her off.

Having previously experienced being thrown off, Ye Qiao clung tightly to its neck to avoid another harsh landing.

Despite her efforts, she was still jerked around wildly.

When they reached a high altitude, Ye Qiao seized an opportune moment to toss her long sword into the air. She then stepped onto it, adjusted her stance, and continued flying upwards.

She took out her map from her waist and unhesitatingly erased the curse mark that Duan Hengdao had carved earlier.

The map detailed the locations of various types of beasts, serving as a comprehensive guide to the secret realm.

Standing on her sword, Ye Qiao flew towards the area with the most beasts.

She didn’t need to attract much more hostility. As she passed by the beasts, she brandished the bamboo stick in front of them, causing them to go berserk, emerging from their nests and following her scent.

As for Ye Qiao?

Ha, with the Qingfeng Step technique, let’s see how fast she could run.

Weren’t the disciples from other sects all looking for beasts? She would deliver them right to their doorsteps.

The bamboo stick acted like catnip. Once its seal was broken, the beasts went mad, chasing her relentlessly.

Ye Qiao moved swiftly, using the Qingfeng Step technique to evade them, while shouting to the spectators outside, “Don’t fall in love with me. I’m just a legend.”

The spectators: “…”

“Who’s the top star in the cultivation world? It’s definitely Ye Qiao.”

“I just want to know, what is she planning?!”

It was clear from Ye Qiao’s actions that she wasn’t up to anything good.

The commotion she caused was so significant that Mu Chongxi, who was wandering aimlessly in the secret realm, noticed someone in the air being chased by a string of beasts.

Finding the scene familiar, he squinted and turned to Zhou Xingyun, “Senior Brother, let’s go find Little sister.”

Zhou Xingyun responded indifferently.

He and Mu Chongxi had run into each other by chance, both appearing disinterested in the competition. Mu Chongxi knew he had bet 150,000 at the gambling den, but it was just for fun.

Seeing Ye Qiao’s silhouette, Mu Chongxi’s spirits lifted. He stepped onto his sword and grabbed his senior brother, taking off.

Zhou Xingyun nearly choked from being pulled.

“Little sister!”

Mu Chongxi shouted loudly. Ye Qiao noticed her two senior brothers.

“Fourth Senior Brother.” Glancing at the beasts chasing her, Ye Qiao kicked the bamboo stick towards Mu Chongxi, “Catch!”

Mu Chongxi hesitated for a few seconds. Having developed a tacit understanding, he quickly caught it and, just as the beasts were about to catch up, kicked it back to Ye Qiao.

The two of them passed the stick back and forth.

Zhou Xingyun, who had never seen such a chaotic scene: “Huh???”

The spectators: ???

“Huh? In such a serious situation, are you two having a relay race?”

“I have a question. How does Changming Sect train their disciples? They run like rabbits.”

Generally, Golden Core stage beasts couldn’t keep up with the two of them. Their speed was swift as the wind. Could this really be the Changming Sect, which had ranked last for ten thousand years?

Duan Yu stroked his stubbly chin, watching the two disciples darting faster than rabbits, a hint of a smile in his eyes. “In the world of martial arts, speed is invincible.”

“No special secret.”

Their cooperation was practically unbeatable, with a large group of beasts unable to catch up.

Zhou Xingyun watched their smooth coordination with rare curiosity replacing his usual boredom.

—Hmm, I want to play.

However, neither of them noticed their senior brother’s interest. Ye Qiao quickly explained her plan to Mu Chongxi.

“Second Senior Brother and Third Senior Brother have been captured by the Chengfeng Sect.”

…

As dawn broke, Qin Huai emerged from the array and coldly laughed as he tied up the two disciples from the Changming Sect.

Ming Xuan was indifferent, raising his chin, “We don’t have the identity tokens. Are you sure you want to keep wasting time with us? I warn you, our little sister will be back soon and she’ll beat you up.”

Xue Yu leaned against a tree, showing no awareness of being a hostage, and softly added, “She’ll beat you up.”

Their annoying tone was identical.

Qin Huai sneered, “Confident, aren’t you?” Relying on a Foundation Establishment disciple? What could she do?

Duan Hengdao hesitated, “Should we leave?”

They hadn’t obtained the identity tokens, and staying here gave him a bad feeling.

“No,” Qin Huai said decisively, “Her senior brothers are in my hands. I don’t believe she won’t come back.”

He would soon regret this decision.

A cheerful voice called out from above, “Second Senior Brother, Third Senior Brother, I’m here to rescue you!”

The two looked up and saw their little sister.

Ming Xuan hadn’t expected her to arrive so quickly, but… “What is she holding?”

Xue Yu had a good memory, “It looks like the fire poker she always carries at her waist.”

Yes, it was the fire poker, dark and unassuming.

Seeing her two tied-up senior brothers, Ye Qiao’s smile straightened slightly. She winked at them from a distance and didn’t linger.

Facing the Chengfeng Sect members who had surrounded her and her brothers, she smirked and charged straight into their midst.

Qin Huai laughed when he saw her rushing towards him after returning.

Delivering herself on a platter? Why not kill her?

His smile hadn’t fully formed when he suddenly sensed the ground trembling. Several flying beasts from the sky dived towards their location.

Qin Huai didn’t care about these low-level beasts, but soon, flying and ground beasts were rushing towards them at an alarming speed.

“Retreat,” Qin Huai ordered decisively, his eyes narrowing.

This year, the Chengfeng Sect had many Golden Core stage members, but two of his junior brothers were artifact refiners who lacked combat abilities.

Ye Qiao wasn’t about to let them escape. She tapped her toes, double-jumping to catch up.

She ran ahead while Mu Chongxi covered her from behind, using the Qingfeng Sword technique to fend off attacking beasts, sending several flying.

When beasts approached, Ye Qiao adeptly guided Mu Chongxi, preventing ambushes.

Seeing that he had nothing to do, Zhou Xingyun freed the two tied senior brothers.

The three senior disciples worked together seamlessly.

“This is the first time I’ve seen such good coordination,” the elder from the Bishui Sect remarked, blowing on the tea leaves in his cup. “Your Changming Sect has trained them well.”

By rights, Ye Qiao, a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, should have been the weak link.

But that didn’t seem to be the case.

Whether it was her cunning tricks or her bold rescue from a beast’s lair, her actions outshone the other senior disciples.

“I notice that girl seems to have a different spiritual sense compared to ordinary sword cultivators,” an elder from the Chengfeng Sect observed, looking at Elder Zhao. “Are you sure she’s a sword cultivator?”

He remembered that such spiritual sense strength was usually seen in talisman or alchemy cultivators.

Elder Zhao frowned, “What do you mean? She’s holding a sword and using the Changming Sect’s sword techniques, isn’t she?”

Elder Zhao was annoyed. Did they suspect his sect of hiding something?

The Chengfeng Sect elder, seeing Elder Zhao’s reaction, thought: The cultivation world did have sword-talisman dual cultivators in the past, though they were rare due to the extreme difficulty and mental strain.

Although suspicious, he saw that Elder Zhao seemed unaware and decided to keep his doubts to himself, planning to observe Ye Qiao further.

…

Unaware of being watched, Ye Qiao was having a great time with the Chengfeng Sect.

Realizing the situation was dire, Qin Huai tried to retreat with his junior brothers.

But Ye Qiao pursued relentlessly.

The situation quickly reversed.

“Stay away,” Qin Huai shouted, his voice tinged with coldness as he ran. “If you come any closer, I’ll deal with you harshly in the next secret realm.”

He had defensive artifacts, but they were reserved for other senior disciples’ attacks, not for dealing with beasts. It would be humiliating.

Ye Qiao’s voice was teasing and arrogant, “No problem. Once you’re out, you can team up with Song Hansheng and Chu Xingzhi to get back at me. I’ve even named you: the Avengers.”

She added cheerfully, “How does that sound? Nice, right?”

Nice, your sister!

Outside, Song Hansheng and Chu Xingzhi, hearing this, thought: “…Thanks a lot.”

Since being eliminated, they had been sitting in the losers’ section, sharing the disgrace.

Logically, during such a serious competition, they should have been watching the recording stones of their respective sects.

However, perhaps even they hadn’t realized that their gazes kept drifting uncontrollably towards the Changming Sect’s recording stone.

They couldn’t help but want to see what unusual tricks Ye Qiao would pull off next.

Duan Hengdao’s hand activated a bead-like artifact, emitting a light that formed a protective shield. Listening to the piercing sounds around him, his expression turned serious. “I have an artifact that can trap some of the beasts, but there are too many of them here.”

They couldn’t kill them all.

Had Ye Qiao stirred up another beast nest?

Seeing this familiar tactic again, Duan Hengdao was nearly in tears.

Previously, they had coordinated to capture the beasts. But this time, Ye Qiao was with the enemy sect, and she brought a horde of beasts, charging directly at them without hesitation.

It was fun teaming up with Ye Qiao to trouble the Yueqing Sect, but being her opponent was a different story.

Yun Que frowned, looking towards the distant commotion. “What’s happening over there?”

Ye Qinghan shook his head.

The first person she encountered in the secret realm was Ye Qinghan. Yun Que had happily abandoned her senior brother to follow the Wenjian Sect’s disciple, scavenging along the way and killing a few beasts.

Many people outside the arena were pointing fingers at her behavior.

“If I were a disciple of the Yueqing Sect, I’d be furious.”

“Poor Song Hansheng… worked diligently on the first day to kill over a hundred beasts, only to find his little sister flirting with the enemy sect after being eliminated.”

Hearing the audience’s comments, Song Hansheng’s face darkened again.

*

Ye Qiao’s spiritual sense immediately detected Wenjian Sect members nearby. Normally, she wouldn’t dare provoke Ye Qinghan, but her senior brother was here now.

Without hesitation, she charged into the crowd of Chengfeng and Wenjian Sect members, leading the horde of beasts straight at them.

Ye Qinghan, momentarily stunned, drew his sword to fend off the attacking beasts, and coldly ordered his junior brothers and sisters, “Scatter.”

He could easily retreat with his disciples, but Yun Que clung to his arm in terror amidst the beast attack, severely limiting his movements.

Ye Qinghan couldn’t understand why there were so many beasts. It seemed endless, and although he aimed to be the first, he couldn’t fight off such a swarm alone.

Yun Que’s eyes widened in realization as she stared at Ye Qiao’s stick. “It’s you.”

“Senior Brother Ye, it’s her!!” Yun Que’s soft voice rose sharply. “She brought the beasts.”

Who else but Ye Qiao could pull off something so wicked?

Ye Qinghan realized it too.

But Ye Qiao clung to them like glue, relentlessly pursuing.

Beasts chased Ye Qiao, and Ye Qiao chased a group of senior disciples.

Qin Huai cursed, “Damn.”

Was she crazy?

To make matters worse, Ye Qiao taunted them while chasing, “Why are you running? Didn’t you say you’d eliminate us? Come on, I have three identity tokens from senior disciples. Don’t be shy, come and fight me.”

Annoying!

So incredibly annoying!!

But who dared approach her now?

Ye Qiao’s azure sword aura formed a crescent shape. With a flick of her wrist, the sword wind sliced through the necks of the beasts with precision.

She glanced at Zhou Xingyun, who was standing idle, and kicked towards him. “Senior Brother, catch.”

She wasn’t sure if her senior brother wanted to join the fun, considering Zhou Xingyun always seemed so serious.

To her surprise, Zhou Xingyun obediently caught it, reacting even faster than they did, disappearing in an instant.

Ye Qiao was momentarily stunned.

Both she and the fourth senior brother knew the Light foot technique, but neither she nor the naturally gifted swordsman Mu Chongxi could match his speed.

She had never seen anyone use the Light foot technique to its fullest potential.

“What are you daydreaming about, little sister?” Mu Chongxi blocked an attacking beast with his sword, brimming with excitement.

This was so much fun.

In the past, when they encountered these senior disciples in the great secret realm, they always ended up running away.

Now it was different—they were turning the tables.

“Hehe.”

“I’ve decided,” he clapped his hands and announced eagerly, “I’m going to play until the end of the secret realm.”

Rankings were just an illusion.

Anyway, their Changming Sect was already at the bottom. They had nothing to lose, so why not go all out?

“Nothing to lose, we might as well give it our all.”

With no desires, they were strong. If things went south, they’d just crush their identity tokens and escape.

Changming Sect didn’t care, but other sects couldn’t afford to.

Chengfeng Sect was already securely in second place, and with some effort, they could even aim for first. The sect competition had five rounds in the secret realm, with a point system: two hundred points for first place, and one hundred and fifty for second.

As for the Wenjian Sect, they were firmly in first place now.

Unless there was a life-threatening danger, they wouldn’t easily crush their identity tokens.

Ming Xuan looked up and saw a bunch of sword cultivators flying around in the sky, chasing each other. He was speechless, once again having his expectations shattered by Ye Qiao.

This might be the first time in the competition’s thousand-year history that someone single-handedly chased disciples from two sects into fleeing.