IVYSCP - Chapter 127
Chapter 127
"If you can enter the Immortal Realm in the future and pass the Shangtianqiong Sect's entrance examination, I will consider taking you as my disciple."
That was the promise she had made to Meng Qi. Back then, she still thought of Shangtianqiong as the Shangtianqiong it used to be. She had never imagined that a single sentence from her would send Meng Qi straight into a wolf's den.
The mental cultivation method she had taught Meng Qi was something Lou Wudu would certainly recognize, unless Lou Wudu was a fool.
Lou Wudu had long known she had been revived.
Ling Qingyue's entire aura dropped. Yu Liuli and Xue Zizai, seated beside her, clearly sensed the shift in her mood.
From then on, Ling Qingyue divided her attention on the competition platforms. Aside from watching the Piaomiao Sect disciples, she added one more focus.
Meng Qi fought with great stability. Not a single match of hers exceeded ten moves. Even when facing fellow disciples from Shangtianqiong, she maintained the same swift, decisive approach without the slightest mercy, her strikes fast but never vicious, always stopping at just the right point.
Compared to Cui Heng on the other side, their styles were completely different. The spectators below the platforms were already predicting that the final showdown would be between the two of them.
After every Immortal Sect disciple had fought one full round, Ling Qingyue was certain. The final match would definitely be Meng Qi versus Cui Heng.
Following the first round, there was a half-hour rest period. The Piaomiao Sect disciples returned in high spirits. Not a single one had been eliminated.
Ling Qingyue smiled as she looked at them, said a few words of praise, and then solemnly instructed them. "In the matches ahead, if you encounter Cui Heng, forfeit immediately."
"Why?"
"Does Elder think we can't beat her? But even if we can't, we can't just forfeit outright. Wouldn't that make the other Immortal Sects look down on our Piaomiao Sect?"
"Yes, yes! Elder, we're not afraid of her!"
A gaggle of little sprouts crowded around Ling Qingyue, chattering noisily. Ling Qingyue understood full well that at their age, hot-blooded impulsiveness was perfectly normal.
So Ling Qingyue put on a stern face and summoned the authority of an elder. "Have you all forgotten what the Sect Leader said before we set out?"
The little sprouts lowered their heads. "We are to obey Elder Ah Xi in all matters."
Ling Qingyue nodded, then offered a little incentive. "If you behave and do as you're told, after we return, I will teach you a single sword move."
At those words, the drooping, dejected heads snapped up one after another, their eyes shining as they looked at her. "Really?!"
They had all entered Piaomiao Sect around the same time as Lu Yao. Training with their swords and practicing moves together every single day, they knew firsthand how much Lu Yao had improved during her time studying under Ah Xi, her swordsmanship advancing by leaps and bounds. If they could learn even a single move or half a style from Elder Ah Xi, they would gladly take Elder Ah Xi as their master!
"Really." Ling Qingyue promised them. "A word once spoken cannot be overtaken by a team of four horses."
In the second round, Piaomiao Sect still had no eliminations. Meng Qi and Cui Heng continued to finish their matches within ten moves.
In the third round, one Piaomiao Sect disciple drew Cui Heng. Before Cui Heng could even draw her sword, that disciple loudly shouted her forfeit, her face brimming with delight.
The spectators below broke into murmurs, countless gazes turning toward the Piaomiao Sect section.
"I thought we'd get to see Piaomiao Sect face off against Shangtianqiong head-on. Why'd they forfeit immediately?"
"Look at who she was matched against. If it were someone else from Shangtianqiong, that might be one thing. But up against Cui Heng… tsk, tsk. Though the competition rules say you can't take a life, injuries in a match are unavoidable. With a temper like Cui Heng's, if she ran into someone from Piaomiao Sect, wouldn't she strike dirty for sure."
"You've got some nerve saying that. This is Shangtianqiong territory. Aren't you afraid of being overheard?"
"Shh, keep it down."
Lu Yao's luck in the third round wasn't nearly as good. She drew Meng Qi.
Seeing Meng Qi's name, Lu Yao froze for a moment, still wondering whether this was the Meng Qi she knew.
It wasn't until the two of them stood on the competition platform that Lu Yao's eyes widened. She walked two steps toward the other side with a smile. "Meng Qi! It really is you?"
Her manner was clearly that of catching up with an old acquaintance.
Meng Qi blinked and also smiled at her. "Senior Sister Lu Yao."
Lu Yao studied the spiritual energy around her and furrowed her brow slightly. "You… Nascent Soul?"
So fast?
Meng Qi nodded. "I broke through not long ago."
Lu Yao still found it somewhat strange. Even if Shangtianqiong had discovered Meng Qi's extraordinary talent and poured resources into her, it was still impossible for her cultivation to leap forward this quickly…
Warily, Lu Yao asked her, "Meng Qi, have you felt anything… off?"
Meng Qi thought for a moment and shook her head.
Lu Yao wanted to ask more, but the match bell had already sounded, and a barrier descended around her and Meng Qi.
Meng Qi bowed to Lu Yao with formal courtesy. "Senior Sister Lu Yao, please bestow your guidance."
Lu Yao returned the gesture. "Please bestow your guidance."
Lu Yao drew her ritual sword, but then she saw that what Meng Qi held in her hand was still the same wooden sword she had used back in Linshui Town. Her brow twitched sharply.
Using a wooden sword in a ranking competition? Such arrogance? Was Shangtianqiong's territory toxic? A perfectly fine child came here and turned into this?
Meng Qi saw the complicated expression on Lu Yao's face as she stared at the wooden sword in her hand and hurriedly explained, "Senior Sister Lu Yao, please don't misunderstand. I've always used this sword. I'm used to it. And my master gave it to me. I want to use this sword to win a ranking at the assembly, so I don't disgrace her."
Lu Yao immediately realized who this "master" was. Instinctively, she turned her head to glance toward the viewing platform.
That one glance caught Meng Qi's attention, and she looked over as well. Her gaze instantly contracted, and her whole body grew stiff and uneasy.
It was Xue Zizai. She had come too. She really had entered Piaomiao Sect, just as expected.
By the time Lu Yao came back to herself, Meng Qi still hadn't turned her head back, that awkward, flustered expression on her face leaving Lu Yao baffled.
This didn't look at all like the face of someone seeing her master. Anyone who didn't know better would think she was looking at the person she held dear.
No, wait. When the senior had taught Meng Qi back then, she had obscured her appearance. Meng Qi shouldn't be able to recognize the senior. So Meng Qi was looking at…
Xue Zizai!
Lu Yao had stumbled on the truth.
"Stop looking." Lu Yao called her back to her senses. "Let's compete first."
The platforms beside them had all finished. They were the only ones left.
In the competition, all disciples were between Core Formation and Nascent Soul in cultivation, but the barrier that descended during the match suppressed their cultivation levels, keeping the two opponents evenly matched.
So even though she knew Meng Qi was at Nascent Soul, Lu Yao didn't think she would lose.
Then, after ten moves—
Lu Yao stared in utter disbelief at the wooden sword pressed against her throat, a bead of sweat rolling down from her temple.
She hadn't even lasted ten moves.
Meng Qi withdrew her sword and performed the salute. "Thank you for yielding."
Pale-faced, Lu Yao nodded, hastily returned the salute, and then retreated in defeat to the Piaomiao Sect section.
The moment she saw Ling Qingyue, tears welled in her eyes. "Senior."
Ling Qingyue was also somewhat at a loss. Being defeated within ten moves was indeed hard to accept, but how was she supposed to offer comfort? She had no experience in this area. She had always been the one knocking others off the platform.
"It's fine, it's fine. This is your first time at the Ranking Tournament, and among the sect disciples who came, you're the youngest. There will be more opportunities in the future."
At this, Lu Yao cried even harder. "But Meng Qi is younger than me! She started cultivating many years later than me, and this is her first time too."
Lu Yao wiped her tears, sat down in the back, and muttered under her breath, "Only a few months without seeing her, how has she become so formidable?"
After saying this, she leaned forward and asked in a faint, lingering tone, "Senior, did you secretly teach her something amazing?"
Yu Liuli, sitting nearby, was somewhat surprised to hear this. "This is your disciple? No wonder she's so formidable."
Xue Zizai had also heard. She clenched the hem of her robe a little too tightly and said in a quiet voice, "So you took on a disciple before."
Meng Qi had become so formidable in just a few months. And herself? She was still stuck at Qi Condensation.
Ling Qingyue: "…."
"I didn't teach her anything special. That she's reached where she is today is through her own ability."
A trace of gratification showed in Ling Qingyue's eyes. Meng Qi truly was a promising seedling.
It was fortunate that she had run into her back then, given her a harsh beating, and fixed those rotten faults of hers.
But still…
Ling Qingyue lowered her gaze. The one who had sent Meng Qi into the wolf's den was also herself.
Once the tournament was down to the final fifty competitors, the ten simultaneous matches on ten platforms were discontinued. Matches were held one by one on a single platform. Piaomiao Sect still had two disciples who hadn't been eliminated. During the breaks, Ling Qingyue gave them pointers on a few moves, while the heads stacked together behind them eavesdropped and secretly studied along.
Unfortunately, one of them drew Cui Heng, and the other drew Meng Qi.
Ling Qingyue stopped the disciple who had faced Meng Qi. "What did you think of her condition?"
The disciple frowned and said, "Her sword is very fast, but her qi was completely disordered. And… she seemed to be cultivating constantly, every moment. It was as if her spiritual energy only increased, never diminished."
Ling Qingyue nodded. An unsettling suspicion began to form in her mind.
Could it be a Bloodburst Pill?
The tournament went on for two full days and two nights. At midday on the third day, Meng Qi faced Cui Heng. This was the battle for the championship.
The two stood facing each other, the atmosphere stretched taut to its breaking point.
Lu Yao leaned forward and asked Ling Qingyue, "Senior, can Meng Qi win?"
Of course, in her heart she hoped Meng Qi would win, the kind of win where Cui Heng's head would get knocked right off. But that was only her hope.
Ling Qingyue didn't hesitate. "She cannot."
If Cui Heng were just an ordinary cultivator, there might be a chance.
Disappointed, Lu Yao sat back. "Fine."
On the platform, Cui Heng's gaze fell upon the wooden sword in her opponent's hand. She let out a mocking laugh and offered a reminder. "You'd better change swords."
Meng Qi shook her head. "No need."
Cui Heng slowly advanced two steps, then spoke casually. "I know the reason you refuse to take the Sword Venerable as your master is because you're waiting for someone. Do you know that she is also present today?"
Meng Qi suddenly raised her eyes and stared at her, her emotions surging. "Truly?!"
"Naturally." A smile curled at the corner of Cui Heng's lips. "So shouldn't you make sure she sees you?"
Meng Qi nodded forcefully. "Yes."
"Good." Cui Heng drew her sword and pointed it at her. "Then you had better give it your all."
A feverish heat spread through Meng Qi's body. She took it only as excitement. She had to prove herself to her master.
Cui Heng attacked without mercy. Her very first strike was a killing move, faint traces of lightning flickering along the blade's edge.
Meng Qi parried with a single sword, but the force sent her reeling backward beyond her control.
"Crack—"
A fissure appeared in the wooden sword.
Meng Qi's eyes flared with tension. She braced her palm against the wooden sword and shoved it back with all her strength, then in a flash her figure appeared behind Cui Heng, her leg sweeping out toward Cui Heng's lower back.
Cui Heng dodged, then clenched her fist and slammed it down viciously toward Meng Qi's calf.
If that punch landed, that leg would be crippled.
Everyone present watched this scene with bated breath, whispering among themselves.
"How can Cui Heng be so vicious and merciless! This is just a match, and her opponent is even a fellow junior disciple!"
"I heard the Sword Venerable has long intended to take another disciple. Could this Meng Qi be the disciple the Sword Venerable has her eye on? Is Cui Heng so unwilling to have one more person in the sect that she's acting like this?"
"To be the Sword Venerable's chief disciple and yet so narrow-minded! She'll never amount to anything!"
"Look! That person dodged!"
"Heavens, truly worthy of someone even the Sword Venerable has noticed."
Meng Qi had dodged, but the wooden sword in her hand also shattered.
She panted heavily, a faint red haze blurring the edges of her vision. She paid it no great attention. She raised her hand and drew the sword from her back.
Cui Heng sneered coldly. "An ordinary iron sword. Makes no difference from a wooden one."
Meng Qi pressed her lips together and said nothing. She raised her fingers to her chest and forcibly drew out her heart's blood. Using her heart's blood, she poured it into the blade, forcibly coating the iron sword with spiritual qi.
This way, the sword wouldn't shatter so easily.
"A futile effort."
Contempt in her voice, Cui Heng raised her sword and launched another killing blow.
Faced with Cui Heng's relentless barrage of lethal strikes, Meng Qi had no opportunity to counterattack at all. She could only incessantly parry and evade. Though she managed to dodge the killing blows, unavoidable injuries accumulated across her arms and back, fresh blood soaking into her ritual robe.
Strangely, as the wounds on her body grew more and more numerous, Meng Qi began to feel the surrounding spiritual qi drilling into her injuries. The spiritual energy within her meridians only increased, never dwindling, surging until her eyes flushed crimson and violent agitation seethed in her heart, growing unbearable.
At that very moment, Cui Heng closed in with her sword and whispered low, "Kill me, and the person you're waiting for will accept you as her disciple."
Meng Qi abruptly lifted her eyes, fixing on her like a wild beast, her gaze brimming with murderous intent.
Cui Heng saw that her goal had been achieved. A broad smile spread across her lips. "Come then. Kill me."
In an instant, Meng Qi shifted from defense to offense. Disregarding her injuries, disregarding the sword in her hand, she attacked Cui Heng with single-minded ferocity, wanting only her life.
She didn't realize that just moments ago, her spiritual energy had erupted violently, blood streaming from all seven apertures of her head, veins bulging across her entire body, her whole figure distorted and crimson-swollen, a grotesque sight.
"That's… a Bloodburst Pill! This person has ingested a Bloodburst Pill!" Someone recognized it immediately.
The Bloodburst Pill was forbidden medicine. A Shangtianqiong disciple had actually consumed a Bloodburst Pill.
Not a few Immortal Sect leaders were already displeased and were sending word to Lou Wudu, deeming this tournament unfair.
Lou Wudu's fingers tapped lightly on the armrest. Her voice carried into the barrier enclosing the match, cold and merciless. "Cui Heng, kill her."
"Yes."
Cui Heng received the command. With a turn of her wrist, the tip of her sword met Meng Qi's blade head-on.
The iron sword coated in a thin layer of spiritual energy shattered inch by inch, starting from the tip. A flash of clarity appeared in Meng Qi's eyes. Panicked, she opened her mouth to speak. "No…"
The overwhelming sword qi had already reached her chest. A sweet, metallic taste surged up Meng Qi's throat. Darkness swallowed her vision. Just before her consciousness sank into oblivion, she heard a furious roar—
"JIUGE!!!"
In that instant, a sword cry that sounded like a dragon's roar tore through the vast sky. Wreathed in a biting sword intent, it shot upward from the Shangtianqiong Sect's Sword Pavilion and streaked toward the Dao Debate Platform.
Every Sword Cultivator present felt a numbing tingle in their palms. The swords they carried all hummed and resonated uncontrollably, as if paying homage, as if in submission. Those with slightly weaker cultivation could barely hold onto their sword hilts, their long swords nearly flying from their grips to follow the direction of that sky-rending sword cry.
It seemed as if between heaven and earth, only this supreme sword intent remained, compelling ten thousand ritual swords to bow their heads in unison.
At last, the divine artifact that had slumbered in dust for a hundred years had awaited the arrival of its one and only true master.
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