CHAPTER 17: Two Swords

Yu Youyou swiftly climbed out of the bathtub, dressed neatly, and opened the door.

Before she could even check what was going on outside, a gentle hand rested on her head. The sleeve of that hand carried a cool, herbal fragrance—pleasant, yet she was completely baffled.

What just happened?

Why did she hear two miserable screams just now?

“Sigh…” A soft sigh sounded above her.

Then came Qu Qingmiao’s voice, tinged with remorse and pity: “Senior Sister failed to protect you… You’ve suffered.”

Yu Youyou was still catching up. She instinctively replied, “Senior Sister, I’m not suffering. I can eat my fill every day now.”

Just this afternoon, she had checked the inner sect’s dining hall, where all the food was free spiritual meals. That was a vast improvement from when she had to gnaw on steamed buns for every meal!

Such a simple and humble wish, so easily satisfied…

Qu Qingmiao gazed at her with deep fondness.

Yu Youyou had changed a lot. If Qu Qingmiao hadn’t seen her regularly, she might not have been able to associate this beautiful young girl with the ragged beggar from when she first entered the sect.

Yet, the girl still looked delicate and frail. A stray lock of damp, inky hair clung to her pale neck, and in the night breeze, she looked like a tiny, rain-drenched kitten.

Her clear, untainted eyes brimmed with innocence and a faint trace of fear and hesitation, as though she was timidly yet trustingly seeking help.

Even someone as cold and stern as Qu Qingmiao felt her nose sting with emotion.

Yu Youyou hesitated. “…Senior Sister, what’s wrong?”

Senior Sister, please stop looking at me like that. You’re scaring me.

“It’s nothing.” Qu Qingmiao shook her head, then retrieved a soft towel from her storage pouch and began gently drying Yu Youyou’s damp hair. “Senior Sister will stand up for you. I won’t let you suffer any more injustice!”

The final words were spoken with steely determination, her gaze shifting toward the two figures sprawled on the ground—now filled with icy disdain.

“…Huh?” Yu Youyou was completely lost. Senior Sister, at least tell me—what injustice have I suffered?

Meanwhile, the two bound and gagged figures on the ground were truly the ones suffering.

Qi Nanfeng was on the verge of tears.

He had just slaved away fetching bathwater for Yu Youyou, his back still sore, only to be suddenly smashed by a pill furnace and then tied up before he could even react.

Su Yizhi felt equally wronged. He had exhausted his spiritual energy just to heat Yu Youyou’s bathwater, and now he had a massive lump on his head from being hit. What crime had he committed?

“Senior Sister, we’re the ones who are suffering here!”

Qu Qingmiao ignored their protests and sealed their mouths with another wave of spiritual energy.

She then turned to the elders, bowing deeply in apology. “It was my failure to discipline my junior brothers that led them to commit such vile, disgraceful acts, tarnishing the sect’s honor. I beg the elders to return for now—I will publicly announce their expulsion from the Pill Cauldron Sect tomorrow!”

“Mmff! Mmm!” Qi Nanfeng flopped on the ground like a stranded fish, struggling desperately.

All I did was deliver a few hairpins as gifts to some senior sisters and gather some inner sect gossip—how does that make me a disgraceful beast?

“Uuuugh!” Su Yizhi shed regretful tears, too drained to even struggle.

I only called a few senior sisters “good elder sisters” at Qi Nanfeng’s urging and ended up overhearing some gossip—and now I’m getting expelled?!

In the end, it was Yu Youyou who stepped forward to save the two of them.

“Senior Sister, I think there might be some misunderstanding here?”

….

After listening to the whole story and learning how these two managed to uncover that significant matter…

Qu Qingmiao: “…”

She still had some doubts. She found it hard to believe that the world would have such fools who would go as far as prying open doors just to share gossip—let alone two of them appearing at once.

She frowned and looked at Yu Youyou. “Do not let fear of their status, or their good looks, make you excuse their actions on purpose.”

If she were to carefully analyze it, Qi Nanfeng was indeed a handsome and tall young man. Despite his noble appearance, he always carried a warm smile, radiating the carefree aura of a little sun.

And Su Yizhi—there was no need to even mention him. Just calling out “good sister” had already made several Senior Sisters swoon. What a pale-skinned little pretty boy!

Qi Nanfeng beamed. “Well, I really do look good.”

Even Su Yizhi, blushing slightly, straightened his chest a little. It was obvious he couldn’t handle praise well.

Yu Youyou couldn’t bear to look at them but had no choice but to vouch for them once more.

She even had to take the blame herself. “And I was indeed too curious at the time, so I asked them to tell me from outside the door.”

Qu Qingmiao was silent for a moment, before finally feeling a deep sense of helplessness.

“If I remember correctly, I mentioned that tomorrow, all new inner sect disciples under the age of fifteen should come to the Medicine Valley, as there is an important matter to discuss?”

Qi Nanfeng stammered, “Could it be the thing I went to ask about?”

Qu Qingmiao looked at Qi Nanfeng with a blank expression. “Yes. Your hairpin was given away for nothing.”

Then she turned to Su Yizhi. “And your ‘good sister’ was also called for nothing.”

Su Yizhi: That’s fine. Calling someone sister doesn’t cost spirit stones.

“Since you want to know so badly,” Qu Qingmiao sighed, looking at Yu Youyou, though without any reproach. “Then I shall tell you now.”

Before explaining the matter, she first asked a question.

“Have you heard of the Four Realms Tournament?”

Qi Nanfeng, still rubbing the bump on his forehead, loudly answered, “We’ve never heard of it!”

“No, I have,” Su Yizhi contradicted him.

“I know about it too,” Yu Youyou added.

Qi Nanfeng looked at her as if he had seen a ghost. “Forget about Su Yizhi, but how do you know about the Four Realms Tournament?”

The reason Yu Youyou knew was because, in the original novel, the protagonist, Yu Bumie, first made his name known across the cultivation world during that year’s Four Realms Tournament.

As the name suggests, the “Four Realms” referred to the four regions where the human race resided: East, South, West, and North.

The Four Realms Tournament, held every four years, was the greatest event for human cultivators and the best opportunity for young cultivators to make a name for themselves, as only those under sixteen years old could participate.

In the tournament, young cultivators would form teams based on their respective regions and venture into the Ancient Everlasting Forest, which was overrun by spirit beasts. Their ranking was determined by the number of beasts they slew.

That year, Yu Bumie had broken through to the Golden Core stage during the tournament and single-handedly slew three Golden Core-stage spirit beasts, leading the Eastern Region to take first place. He also gained a group of talented followers and romantic interests.

“But since the Unyielding Sword Deity’s time, the Eastern Region has not claimed first place for nearly a hundred years.” Qu Qingmiao frowned, seemingly recalling some unpleasant memories.

“Moreover, because our Pill Cauldron Sect focuses on alchemy rather than combat, we struggle to kill spirit beasts. We can only heal cultivators from sects like the Yunhua Sword Sect. Not only do we suffer heavy casualties, but we are also looked down upon by other cultivators.”

Yu Youyou fell silent.

Many people had a habit of looking down on support-type cultivators. Yet, when they needed healing, they cried louder than anyone else, never considering that the frail medical cultivators were risking their lives to heal them in a forest teeming with danger.

“In order to ensure that the disciples participating in this year’s Four Realms Tournament can return safely, the sect specifically taught many combat techniques to Senior Brother Zhu, who has the strongest physique, so that he could protect the others.”

“But it was precisely because he practiced those techniques that a great disaster occurred a month ago.”

“A month ago, several spirit beasts suddenly appeared in Tonghua County. Among them, one had even reached the Nascent Soul stage. Fortunately, a senior from the Yunhua Sword Sect arrived in time to slay it. However, among the disciples our sect sent to heal the commoners, one was Senior Brother Zhu.”

“What was worse, Senior Brother Zhu was clawed by a spirit beast. At the time, he was busy treating the local villagers and failed to notice.”

“By the time he realized it, it was already too late. Senior Brother Zhu suddenly lost control inside the alchemy chamber and injured dozens of junior disciples. If not for the Elder arriving in time to stop him, the consequences would have been unimaginable.”

Qu Qingmiao lowered her gaze, her voice heavy. “At the time, all the disciples in the alchemy chamber were under sixteen years old.”

“With no other choice, we had to conduct the inner sect assessment early to select participants for the Four Realms Tournament.”

Upon hearing this, Yu Youyou suddenly recalled a passage from the original novel.

Back when Yu Bumie was in seclusion, his twin children had participated in a Four Realms Tournament. However, the other sects from the Eastern Region had sent in absurdly weak teammates.

Under such circumstances, the twins held their ground, working together to slay a Golden Core-stage spirit beast and claiming victory, humiliating the cultivators of the other three regions. As for those weak teammates—

“Shocking! Unbelievable! They gazed at the twins in awe, utterly conquered by their strength.”

The final scene had the protagonist leading his son while carrying his daughter, showering them with praise, as the female lead watched with a gentle smile.

Yu Youyou was stunned.

So… I was one of those nameless, faceless, utterly useless teammates who ended up kneeling in admiration?!

Another “useless teammate” was already too excited to sit still. “Senior Sister, how can I participate in the Four Realms Tournament?”

Following the principle of avoiding the Long Aotian storyline at all costs to avoid becoming a stepping stone character, Yu Youyou immediately declared, “Senior Sister, I am far too weak to be worthy of such a grand tournament.”

What a humble and good child, Qu Qingmiao thought.

She didn’t respond to Qi Nanfeng but instead reassured Yu Youyou, “Although you’ve only recently started learning alchemy, your talent is exceptional. Among those who entered the inner sect with you, you rank among the best. You should consider striving for a chance to participate in the grand event.”

“Besides, there are still several months before the Four Realms Tournament—you all still have time to improve.”

Qi Nanfeng: “Senior Sister, I’ll definitely go for it!”

Su Yizhi hesitated slightly, nervously asking, “But the tournament is held in the Eternal Ancient Forest… We’ll have to stay there for a long time, and there are so many exotic beasts. Isn’t it a bit dangerous?”

Qu Qingmiao chuckled. “Of course, but there will be powerful seniors secretly watching over you. And if you ever find yourself in an extremely perilous situation, you can forfeit and be teleported out.”

Qi Nanfeng: “Senior Sister, I’m not afraid of death!”

However, Su Yizhi and Yu Youyou still hesitated.

One didn’t want to become the classic cannon fodder character, and the other was afraid of dying.

Qu Qingmiao assumed they were just lacking confidence, so she gently encouraged them, “The realm that claims first place in the tournament will receive abundant cultivation resources. Not only are there plenty of high-grade spirit stones, but also a great number of rare and powerful artifacts. It’s also an opportunity to gain fame in the cultivation world.”

Su Yizhi immediately spoke up, “Senior Sister, I’ll do my best!”

He loved those ‘worldly possessions’ too much!

Qu Qingmiao continued, “Moreover, the Eternal Ancient Forest is a treasure trove for cultivators. Once you enter, you’ll have the chance to find all sorts of heavenly materials and earthly treasures, including fifth-grade, or even sixth-grade spiritual herbs.”

Hearing this, Yu Youyou sat up straight.

For some reason, her face suddenly felt itchy. If only Little Long Aotian were here to smack it twice—it might feel better.

Absolutely not because she was tempted by the high-grade spiritual herbs!

Qu Qingmiao added, “Also, I heard that the Undying Sword God’s twin children will be participating in the tournament. To support them, he has specially offered a pair of immortal-grade artifacts as the prize, expecting his children to win them back.”

In Tonghua County, people were generally friendly towards the demon race, and alchemists were especially kind-hearted. Qu Qingmiao seemed to recall something and showed a trace of pity.

With a sigh, she said, “It’s said that those two swords were forged from the fangs of a great demon.”

The curve of Yu Youyou’s smile froze.

Yet, her gaze gradually grew colder.