Chapter 99: Versus Li Xiaoyao

“Have you heard? It seems like there was quite a commotion at Talisman Peak yesterday. The entire peak was shaking for a long time!”

“Yeah, I’m a disciple from Talisman Peak. It suddenly started shaking yesterday.”

“This morning, I saw the Peak Master of Talisman Peak with a particularly grim expression. Could it be that something went wrong with the peak’s formation?”

“Maybe, Elder Chen from the Internal Affairs Hall also looked a bit upset today. I bet fixing the formation is going to cost a lot of spirit stones.”

“Stop chatting, stop chatting, Direct Disciple Ye is about to go up to the stage…”

The disciples were buzzing with gossip. However, as the third match of the day began, the atmosphere immediately became tense and quiet. Everyone looked towards the arena almost in unison.

The arena was located in front of the main hall of the Green Cloud Sect. A group of elders sat high on the stage. The peak masters, and even the sect leader who had reached the Foundation Establishment stage, were all present.

This was the final day of the sect competition. The top 25 disciples would be decided today. The winner would receive a Foundation Establishment Pill personally awarded by the sect leader.

“Wait, Ye Chen made it to the top 25? He’s been in the sect for less than a year, and to achieve this is already impressive. Elder Chen, are you being too demanding?”

The sect leader, whose eyes were almost too squinted to open and who appeared as frail as an old mortal man, squinted at the arena and asked Elder Chen in a low voice.

Elder Chen’s mouth twitched. He hadn’t expected Ye Chen, with his third-grade spiritual root, to break through two levels in just one year. He hadn’t anticipated that Ye Chen’s combat strength would rise so dramatically. With a never-before-seen giant hand spell, Ye Chen had easily swept through all his opponents. Had he known this would happen, would he have even needed to report Ye Chen to the sect leader?

Elder Chen had no personal grudge against Ye Chen. It was purely out of concern for the sect’s interests and reputation. But now, his views on Ye Chen were beginning to change.

As Ye Chen ascended the arena, Elder Chen couldn’t help but twitch his lips. This Ye Chen had gone to report to Gu Yunyun, claiming that Kong Xiangli had bullied him. That was one thing, but he had also reported “him”—saying that he was present at the time and did nothing to stop it, standing by as Ye Chen was bullied. He even accused him of failing to fulfill his responsibilities as an elder.

But at the time, Elder Chen had been observing, confirming that Kong Xiangli didn’t dare make a move, and that was why he hadn’t intervened.

Last night, after Kong Xiangli was beaten, the Peak Master of Talisman Peak had come to apologize, sending dozens of high-grade talismans to Ye Chen for self-defense.

Elder Chen had also been summoned by Gu Yunyun. Gritting his teeth, he apologized by giving Ye Chen a high-grade flying sword. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

…

To the right of the Sect Leader, Gu Yunyun, dressed in a red robe, was casually reclining in her chair, her posture relaxed and laid-back. There was no sharpness or edge that one might expect from a swordsman. But judging by the curve of her lips, it was clear that Gu Yunyun was in a good mood.

Ever since Ye Chen had given up the Five Elements Cave slot, Gu Yunyun had been ignoring her direct disciple, convinced that Ye Chen would undoubtedly embarrass himself in the Sect Competition. But what she didn’t expect was that Ye Chen didn’t embarrass himself at all—quite the opposite, in fact. He had brought her a pleasant surprise. Making it into the top 25 was far beyond her expectations. At this point, no matter how she looked at Ye Chen, he was pleasing to the eye.

Yesterday, when Ye Chen came to report, he didn’t stop for a second and went directly to every door to complain. If only Ye Chen’s performance could be a little better, though. After all, Gu Yunyun had never been one to fall short of others. When she was a disciple, she never placed lower than second in the Sect competition.

If Ye Chen could perform similarly, it wouldn’t tarnish her reputation. But Gu Yunyun soon shook her head, knowing she was asking too much. Ye Chen’s performance was already impressive. Even if he lost, it wouldn’t be a problem, as long as it wasn’t to a Magic Peak direct disciple. She and the Peak Master of Magic Peak were bitter enemies. Losing face in this way was something she simply couldn’t accept.

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And at that moment, the match was about to begin. As Ye Chen’s opponent stepped forward, he couldn’t help but notice that it was none other than Li Xiaoyao.

Li Xiaoyao wore a calm smile on his face. While Ye Chen’s giant hand was certainly terrifying, Li Xiaoyao had already devised a way to counter it. His swordsmanship had reached an exceptionally high level. Any giant hand could easily be sliced through with a single strike.

Although this kind of sword technique was extremely taxing, Li Xiaoyao believed he could only use it three times at most. But that was enough. Ye Chen’s giant hand would require even more energy to maintain, and with Ye Chen’s current cultivation of just the eighth level of Qi Refining, without stepping into the Five Elements Cave, Li Xiaoyao believed Ye Chen could only strike one or two times before his energy was depleted.

Li Xiaoyao smiled faintly, speaking in a condescending tone, “Junior Brother Ye, in battle, swords and blades have no eyes. It’s hard to control. If you feel threatened, remember to immediately crouch down and surrender, or else I’m afraid I won’t be able to react in time and might accidentally hurt you.”

Ye Chen rolled his eyes, clearly uninterested in wasting time with the taunts. “You’re not even worth wasting my breath on,” he thought to himself.