Cen Mixuan had always been arrogant and condescending. Upon hearing Yue Fuya identify his sect, she deliberately sought to humble the Hengyang Sect disciples. Lifting her chin, she declared, "I'll give you three moves."
Had her opponent been Gongye Jiewu, he would have merely cupped his hands politely without taking her offer seriously.
But facing Yue Fuya, he simply nodded and said, "Thank you, Senior Sister."
Without further ado, he drew his longsword and launched an attack toward Cen Mixuan.
Initially looking down on him, Cen Mixuan knew Yue Fuya had only been a disciple for forty years, with twenty of those spent in seclusion. She assumed he lacked combat experience. Even though her senior brother had warned her about his exceptional talent, she paid no heed.
But when his sword nearly sliced off a strand of her hair, her view of this rigid young Cultivator shifted.
Though they were at the same cultivation level and Cen Mixuan had far more combat experience, Yue Fuya far surpassed her in steady and precise techniques.
Yue Fuya’s sword energy was fierce, the gleam of his blade carrying a sharp whistling sound. Without relying on flashy moves, his Immortal Sword danced through the air with astonishing speed, dazzling onlookers.
Cen Mixuan bent backward, narrowly avoiding the sword that swept past her waist. Though unharmed, the swift Immortal Sword severed the knot of her robe.
"You!" Cen Mixuan, accustomed to being adored and indulged by her peers for her beauty, had never suffered the humiliation of having her robe undone in public.
Not only was her current opponent unmoved by her appearance, but he also struck with ruthless efficiency.
Flustered, Cen Mixuan hurriedly retied her robe.
Yue Fuya frowned, having not anticipated such an accident. He refrained from attacking, allowing her time to fix her attire. Only when she charged at him in fury did he resume the fight.
But Cen Mixuan was now thoroughly provoked. Her killing intent intensified as she raised her hand and summoned a crimson whip from thin air, lashing it toward Yue Fuya.
Yue Fuya leaped backward, spreading his arms to evade, but the whip seemed to have a life of its own, extending several inches and nearly striking his shoulder.
Someone exclaimed in surprise, "Is that an Immortal Artifact?"
"Cen Mixuan is the daughter of the Chixiao Sect Leader. It’s no surprise she possesses rare treasures."
"Pity for her opponent—that sword of his is at best a high-grade spiritual artifact."
"Exactly. If he dares block Cen Mixuan’s whip with his sword, it will shatter."
It was widely known that ancient Divine Artifacts were the most powerful, but by now, most had been destroyed or lost. Next came Immortal Artifacts, followed by spiritual artifacts, which were used by the majority.
A difference of one grade between artifacts was akin to a Cultivator lagging two major realms behind.
Yue Fuya understood this well. He narrowly dodged the whip’s sharp edge, recalling his sword but not daring to engage directly, fearing it would be destroyed.
Cen Mixuan curved her lips into a smirk.
Yue Fuya sheathed his sword, showing none of the panic she had expected. Instead, he focused entirely on spell combat. Although most Hengyang Sect disciples were sword Cultivators, they all possessed Spiritual Roots. Raising his hand, Yue Fuya formed a seal, and vines sprouted from the ground, binding Cen Mixuan’s waist.
"So it’s a Wood Spiritual Root," Cen Mixuan raised an eyebrow, her fighting spirit and anger growing fiercer.
As a Water Spiritual Root user, she conjured water blades to slice through the vines and, combined with her whip, pressed her attack toward Yue Fuya.
Their back-and-forth spell battle was thrilling to watch. Given their prestigious backgrounds—one the closed-door disciple of the Hengyang Sect Leader, the other the direct daughter of the Chixiao Sect Leader—a crowd of disciples gathered below to witness their duel.Cen Mixuan realized that even with her Immortal Artifact, she couldn't defeat Yue Fuyai quickly. Her eyes turned sharp as she crushed the protective Talisman around her neck.
As soon as the outer layer of the Talisman shattered, a golden magic circle appeared, trapping Yue Fuyai on the other side.
"Let's see how you dodge this time!" Cen Mixuan lashed out with her whip.
This protective Talisman had been forged by the Chixiao Sect leader to protect her. Her father had already reached the late Transcendent Realm and was one of the great powers in the immortal realm.
Yue Fuyai was merely a Golden Core stage disciple, trapped within the golden magic circle, and had to endure Cen Mixuan's whip strike.
Yet Cen Mixuan didn't aim to injure him, but deliberately tore the clothes on his shoulder.
The crowd began whispering.
Even the elders from various sects frowned.
"Is... is this considered a violation by Junior Cen?"
In past competitions, no one had ever done this. Protective magic circles were valuable treasures, not to be used recklessly in sparring matches. However, there were no explicit rules forbidding such actions.
Cen Mixuan's father held a high status, and most in the cultivation world had to show her deference. That she was willing to shatter her only protective magic circle just to humiliate Yue Fuyai showed how fiercely competitive and vengeful this woman was.
While they were still hesitating, Yue Fuyai's white outer robe in the magic circle had been shredded to pieces, revealing the youth's well-defined chest muscles.
The Hengyang Sect elder looked grave and signaled to Yue Fuyai with his eyes, suggesting that if he couldn't hold on, he should voluntarily admit defeat.
Under these circumstances, they couldn't declare the match over, as neither contestant had been knocked out of the arena, and Cen Mixuan hadn't inflicted serious injuries on Yue Fuyai. But if Yue Fuyai voluntarily admitted defeat, Cen Mixuan would no longer be able to attack him.
Yet the youth in the magic circle pressed his lips tightly together, stubbornly and laboriously dodging the whip, refusing to speak.
Yaoguang said angrily, "This is going too far! Either give him a clean defeat, how can she humiliate someone like this!"
Su Su frowned as she watched, naturally understanding why Fuyai would rather endure humiliation than admit defeat.
Because he had said he would win the Soul Calming lamp for her.
Cen Mixuan sneered coldly, wanting to whip Yue Fuyai to his knees. The blood-red whip cut through the air toward the youth's knees in the magic circle. Seeing that the youth couldn't dodge, someone flew over lightly the next moment.
The whip was caught by Su Su, who twisted her wrist, causing a cluster of faint flames to ignite along the whip.
The flames traveled along the whip's tip all the way to Cen Mixuan's palm. Feeling a sharp pain in her hand, Cen Mixuan dropped the whip and stared wide-eyed at the newcomer.
The white-clad girl turned and said to the youth behind her, "Fuyai, that's enough. Don't push yourself."
Her tone was full of concern, suddenly reminding Yue Fuyai of the girl who had carried him through the mountain forest years ago.
Back then, the girl had also said helplessly, "Kid, why do you always push yourself so hard?"
Yue Fuyai stared at her blankly. Earlier, under Cen Mixuan's attacks, he had maintained his composure and stubbornness, but now he suddenly felt somewhat embarrassed.
He didn't even know where this feeling came from.
Just as Cen Mixuan was about to protest for herself, Yue Fuyai suddenly said, "I admit defeat."
Since Su Su flew into the competition arena, the venue had become so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Cen Mixuan gritted her teeth in anger: "Who are you! How dare you interrupt the competition!"
Whispers rose from below, but then Qu Xuanzi from the highest seat spoke with a smile: "Su Su, come here."
At these words, everyone looked at Su Su in surprise.
So this was Qu Xuanzi's daughter, whom he treasured like a precious jewel.It is said she was born with an Innate Spiritual Body—even while lying asleep, her body could spontaneously absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Sect Leader Li protected her meticulously. Though young and of noble status, her seniority was remarkably high.
When she went to Penglai to study as a child, she grasped the Light Swan Sword Art at an early age. The entire Hengyang Sect cherished her like a precious gem, yet in recent years, there had been no news of this Fairy.
Qu Xuanzi said, "Su Su is young and has never participated in the Immortal Sect Competition. I apologize on her behalf."
As soon as he spoke, not only the disciples but even the elders from various sects quickly clasped their hands and said it was no trouble.
Su Su pulled Yue Fuyai along and sat down beside Qu Xuanzi.
Many watched her with curiosity, while her fellow sect members looked at her with affection, even giving her an approving glance.
Su Su chuckled softly and winked back at them.
Upon learning the newcomer was Qu Xuanzi’s daughter, Cen Mixuan bit her lip.
Her original intention had been to impress Qu Xuanzi, but Yue Fuyai’s accident had caused her to lose control of her temper. Seeing how dearly Qu Xuanzi loved his daughter—even tolerating Su Su’s interruption of the match—Cen Mixuan felt deeply resentful.
Ying Zhuang stepped forward worriedly and called out softly, "Junior Sister."
He knew she had gone too far; Yue Fuyai clearly hadn’t acted intentionally, yet she had humiliated him and tried to break his pride.
Cen Mixuan knew she couldn’t make a scene now. As a guest, she certainly couldn’t start a fight with someone else’s treasured daughter. Reluctantly, she let Ying Zhuang pull her away, but not before casting a cold glare back at Su Su and Yue Fuyai.
Su Su paid no mind, and Yue Fuyai seemed rather distracted.
While the main arena was bustling with activity, another match was equally intense.
But compared to the showdown between Cen Mixuan of the Chixiao Sect and Yue Fuyai, the disciple of the Hengyang Sect Leader, the other competition grounds seemed much quieter.
Thus, it wasn’t until three days later that everyone learned about the undefeated young man in the most remote and rarely visited arena.
The young man in black robes had a delicate, pretty face that looked utterly harmless.
His dark attire was embroidered with silver fish patterns—he was a newly admitted disciple of the notoriously underachieving "Carefree Sect." Known for their laziness and nonchalance, the Carefree Sect resolved everything with a casual "let it be," and their average cultivation level was low. For this reason, few had bothered to watch the young man’s matches.
Yet, this very individual won nine consecutive matches on the first day and, on this day, defeated the head disciple of the Chixiao Sect in just three moves.
With his fingers curled like claws, he gripped the disciple’s neck. At that moment, everyone felt his icy gaze seemed intent on killing his opponent.
But the next instant, he humbly and flusteredly helped the other up, offering an awkward, bashful apology.
Because Su Su had interrupted the match on the first day to save Yue Fuyai, she spent the next two days sitting obediently beside Qu Xuanzi, not wanting to cause him further trouble.
Hearing about the "Carefree Sect disciple," her heart inexplicably skipped a beat.
When Yaoguang returned today, she sighed, "That person is truly formidable. Even I couldn’t defeat the Chixiao Sect’s head disciple in just a few moves. His techniques seemed vicious to me, but it might have been an illusion due to his unique cultivation method. After all, that male disciple was much more polite and gentle compared to Cen Mixuan."
"What does he look like?" Su Su asked.
Yaoguang grinned and said, "Well, he’s definitely not as handsome as Gongye Jiewu."
Su Su: "…"
She shouldn’t have asked Yaoguang about appearances. In Yaoguang’s eyes, Gongye Jiewu was the most handsome man in the world.
Su Su thought to herself that perhaps she was being overly sensitive.*
The person from the Carefree Sect who brought disciples to the competition was named Cang Hai. Cang Hai was plump, humble and amiable, and when he smiled, he resembled the Maitreya Buddha.
He was the eldest disciple under Immortal Lord Zhao You, with average cultivation. It had taken him several hundred years just to advance from the Golden Core stage to the mid-stage Nascent Soul. Despite having an extremely low alcohol tolerance, he was obsessed with drinking and was often so intoxicated he could barely keep his eyes open.
In the previous century's competition, Cang Hai had also participated but was knocked out in the second round.
This time, his master had him bring the newly entered junior brother along, and Cang Hai naturally didn't hold high expectations for him either.
After all, it was the Carefree Sect—everyone understood that winning or losing wasn't taken seriously.
Initially, Cang Hai stayed to watch his junior brother in black compete, but after some thought, he muttered to himself, "Might as well take this time to have a drink. By the time I wake up, junior brother will have been eliminated, and we can just head back to the Carefree Sect."
He drank and promptly passed out.
When he came to, the youth in black was shaking him. "Senior brother, Cang Hai senior brother."
Cang Hai opened his bleary eyes, and the boy's face came into view. He let out a drunken belch and patted the newcomer's shoulder. "Ah, junior brother, are you done with your match?"
"Senior brother, it ended a long time ago."
"Ended? Then let's go back." Cang Hai chuckled cheerfully, offering comfort. "You've just joined the sect; participating in the competition is just for broadening your horizons. Our Carefree Sect doesn't compete with these ordinary folks."
The junior brother in black smiled shyly. "Senior brother is right."
Cang Hai hung his gourd of wine at his waist. "Let's go, back to the sect."
The disciple in black didn't move, seeming a bit embarrassed. "Senior brother, I advanced."
Cang Hai: "..."
Thinking his junior brother was joking, Cang Hai stumbled dizzily toward his room when a crowd surrounded him, asking, "What's the background of that new disciple from your Carefree Sect? The chief disciple of the Chixiao Sect couldn't last three moves against him."
Cang Hai rubbed his forehead. No! It can't be!
What was going on? Was he listening to some horror story?
Since junior brother had joined the sect, he had shown no interest in anything, neither competing nor striving, appearing frail and pitiful. As for this Soul Calming Lamp, though it was an Immortal Artifact, it shouldn't have been of much use to most people.
How could junior brother have gone crazy like a dog, defeating someone in just three moves!
He turned around, but the youth had already disappeared, gone who knows where.
Only their master likely knew junior brother's origins.
Although the entire Carefree Sect was lazy, they had one good trait: they were simple-minded and kind-hearted. A couple of years ago, their master had picked up a bloodied person from some remote corner, covered in bite marks, some places even revealing white bone, looking utterly miserable and pitiful.
Immortal Lord Zhao You healed his injuries, and he gradually regained flesh. Later, when they tested his Spiritual Root, wow—it turned out to be a Heavenly Spiritual Root of the thunder element.
Overjoyed, Immortal Lord Zhao You immediately took him as a disciple and taught him meticulously.
Junior brother was obedient and sensible, and the entire sect held him in high regard. Immortal Lord Zhao You had feared that junior brother might look down on the sect as hopeless, but to his surprise, upon learning about it, junior brother didn't mind and stayed with the Carefree Sect.
But when it came down to it, Cang Hai knew nothing about where junior brother came from or what his past was like.
Defeating the chief disciple of the Chixiao Sect in three moves—was this really not a joke?
Cang Hai shuddered, feeling for the first time that junior brother was somewhat frightening.
No way! Junior brother had only been cultivating for two years, and their master had only asked him to bring the novice junior brother to broaden his horizons!
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