A Losing Start

In the Haotian Mountain Range, the Vast Heaven Sect's gates stood wide open that day.

The Grand Elder had personally come to the gates to welcome their visitors.

The main reason for such a grand reception was that their visitor was Cheng Xiaotian, lord of Martial Emperor City, a figure capable of going toe-to-toe with Gu Mingchao.

A powerful expert naturally deserved treatment befitting one.

"City Lord Xiaotian, you've come a long way. The Vast Heaven Sect welcomes you!" The Grand Elder warmly ushered Cheng Xiaotian and his companions through the gates.

Everyone exchanged pleasantries on their way to Haotian Palace, where Gu Mingchao had already been waiting in the Haotian Grand Hall for some time.

When the Grand Elder led the people from Martial Emperor City and the Heavenly Medicine Palace to the entrance of Haotian Palace, Gu Mingchao rose from his seat and went out to greet them.

As he walked, Gu Mingchao spoke to Chu Xinghe, who stood nearby. "Xinghe, follow behind me."

"All right..." Chu Xinghe followed the sect master, unsure why.

But the other elders around them looked startled.

A major sect like the Vast Heaven Sect had many rules of its own. When receiving an honored guest such as the lord of Martial Emperor City, there were clear rules about where each person should stand.

Only two people could stand directly behind the sect master: the Grand Elder and the chief disciple!

By telling Chu Xinghe to stand there, the sect master was effectively acknowledging him as the chief disciple of this generation!

The elders looked at one another, but none of them said much.

After all, Xinghe's ability and character were plain for all to see. There really wasn't anyone who would object to him becoming chief disciple.

"Brother Mingchao! It's been ten years since we last met, and you're as impressive as ever!"

"You flatter me, City Lord Xiaotian. You're the one whose name has truly become known throughout the world these past ten years!"

As Gu Mingchao and Cheng Xiaotian exchanged courtesies, the people from the Vast Heaven Sect turned their eyes to the three young people following behind Cheng Xiaotian.

The one standing first was... well, to put it in Chu Xinghe's words, the guy looked like a male lead who had walked straight out of a comic, as though he were standing in the light.

He was Zheng Yu, the peerless genius the Grand Elder had said appeared only once in a thousand years.

Behind Zheng Yu was a girl with a longsword on her back. Although she looked ordinary, the sword behind her was anything but.

It trembled constantly, as if it were alive and might leap from its sheath at any moment!

"Sword intent! How old is this girl? She's already cultivated sword intent!" One of the elders had discerned the secret hidden in the sword behind her.

It was sword intent, something everyone who cultivated the sword dreamed of attaining. Yet it was difficult to achieve. So many people spent their whole lives striving for it, only to fall short of even touching its threshold, let alone possessing sword intent of their own.

Yet this young girl before them had already comprehended her own sword intent at such a tender age. Martial Emperor City had truly come with hostile intentions this time.

Farther back stood the third person, a youth a full two meters tall. His skin was a strange gray, and his muscles made one wonder whether he might burst out of his clothes at any moment.

But the guy was really quite ugly, and he didn't look very bright, either.

"It's the ancient dragon rhinoceros bloodline! Martial Emperor City actually found a disciple with the ancient dragon rhinoceros bloodline!"

A well-informed elder of the Vast Heaven Sect had recognized the dragon rhinoceros bloodline in the third person.

Good grief. A sword prodigy who had comprehended sword intent at such a young age, and someone with the dragon rhinoceros bloodline—either one would be a heaven's chosen among heaven's chosen. Yet both stood behind Zheng Yu, who looked as though there was nothing special about him at all. What did Zheng Yu have going for him? His good looks?

Besides Martial Emperor City, Wu Qun, master of the Heavenly Medicine Palace, had also brought along their genius, a girl you couldn't tell was an adult or not just by looking at her!

If you only looked at her height and face, you would certainly think she was underage. But a quick glance at her chest would tell you that calling her a minor might be jumping to conclusions.

The girl was staring fixedly at Zheng Yu, her eyes never leaving him from the moment they came in.

She had probably even worked out where she and Zheng Yu would be buried after growing old together and dying.

Wu Qun coughed and introduced the girl, whose name was Luo Ying'er. Chu Xinghe also committed the names of the other two from Martial Emperor City to memory.

The sword intent girl was Xiao Ling, and the big rhinoceros was Zheng Bo!

What Chu Xinghe found most unbelievable was that the big rhinoceros, Zheng Bo, was actually Zheng Yu's younger brother.

All Chu Xinghe could say was that their parents were truly something else. Were they sure they didn't want to check which one wasn't their biological child?

Gu Mingchao briefly introduced Chu Xinghe and the others as well, and everyone's attention naturally fell on Chu Xinghe.

"You inherited the Haotian Sword Casket. Even I would like to see this flying sword technique!" Cheng Xiaotian looked at Chu Xinghe with a smile.

By now, Chu Xinghe's acquisition of the Haotian Sword Casket was no great secret, and the legend of the nine flying swords had spread throughout the world.

"Yu'er, you should take this opportunity to learn from your senior brother Xinghe."

"Yes! Greetings, senior brother Xinghe. I am Zheng Yu."

"Ah... you're too polite, junior brother Zheng Yu... We can learn from each other..."

Gu Mingchao showed everyone to their seats. The Vast Heaven Sect had prepared a grand banquet to welcome the people from Martial Emperor City.

The banquet was boring. It was just the elders from both sides sitting there making humblebrags.

Chu Xinghe brought Wan Lin and Ma Liang over to toast the visitors and welcome them.

Zheng Yu drained his cup in one gulp, all the while saying polite things about seeking senior brother Xinghe's guidance over the next few days.

Xiao Ling drank tea instead of wine because she had only recently comprehended sword intent and feared she would be unable to suppress it if she drank.

The big rhinoceros, meanwhile, didn't even acknowledge Chu Xinghe, simply gnawing away at a chicken leg.

This guy didn't just look a little slow. His brain simply didn't work very well...

Lastly, there was Luo Ying'er. Even when Chu Xinghe came over to offer a toast, the girl didn't take her eyes off Zheng Yu.

Chu Xinghe left, at a loss, but junior sister Wan Lin said she felt an affinity with Luo Ying'er and sat down beside her. Yet... as Chu Xinghe watched the two chatting, how did junior sister Wan Lin's hand... end up somewhere it shouldn't quite have been?

And then there was the way they looked at Zheng Yu... Of the two girls, Luo Ying'er's eyes shone as she gazed at him, but junior sister Wan Lin's look... Why did it seem as though he had murdered her father and stolen her wife?

The banquet ended in a harmonious and pleasant atmosphere.

The Vast Heaven Sect also arranged accommodations for the guests.

After accompanying the Grand Elder to see the guests to their lodgings, Chu Xinghe returned to rest.

He slept without dreaming, and early the next morning, the Grand Elder summoned him to the Medicine King Palace.

"The martial competition is set for tomorrow. The first match will be Wan Lin against Xiao Ling, the second Ma Liang against Zheng Bo, and your duel with Zheng Yu will be the third."

Chu Xinghe nodded.

"The sect master and I discussed it last night. I'm afraid it will be very difficult for Wan Lin to win the first match."

Chu Xinghe agreed with the Grand Elder. Wan Lin was outstanding, exceptionally so, but Xiao Ling had comprehended sword intent at such a young age. Even though both were at the third rank, the gap in their fighting strength was far from small.

Although Chu Xinghe looked worried, "Good Days" had already begun playing in his heart.

What was this called again?

A losing start!

Junior sister Wan Lin would go down in the first match, and the Vast Heaven Sect would lose the opening round and get off to a losing start. Could anything be more delightful?

If Ma Liang then lost to the big rhinoceros in the second match, that would be even more perfect. He certainly wouldn't disappoint them in the third. Three matches, three defeats—could there be a more perfect ending?

"As for the second match, even if Ma Liang can't win, he won't lose. The ancient dragon rhinoceros bloodline is the strongest bloodline in terms of defense, and Zheng Bo seems to cultivate Martial Emperor City's exclusive Elephant Armor Art, which takes defense to its utmost limit. But you saw the fellow yesterday..."

As the Grand Elder spoke, he pointed at his head. Everyone understood what he meant.

"So Ma Liang won't be able to break through his opponent's defense, but Ma Liang has an absolute advantage in speed, and his opponent won't be able to do anything to him either. The most likely outcome is a draw."

A draw?

All right... that wasn't unacceptable.

"So the outcome still rests on you and Zheng Yu. The first two matches are nothing more than a prelude, and it doesn't matter who wins or loses them. As long as you can defeat Zheng Yu, Martial Emperor City will have lost even if they win both of the earlier matches!"

The Grand Elder looked at Chu Xinghe with a solemn expression.

Chu Xinghe nodded emphatically. "I'm confident!"

As the saying went, the greater the expectations, the greater the disappointment. This time, Chu Xinghe didn't even need to make a military pledge. As long as he lost at his usual level, pushed the limits of how badly he could lose, and lost shamelessly enough, no one would be able to protect him. Even the Vast Heaven Sect's reputation would suffer as a result.

Seeing Chu Xinghe's serious expression, the Grand Elder broke into a smile.

"Xinghe, don't put so much pressure on yourself. Just as you said, don't let your fear of failure make you afraid to even hope for victory."

The Grand Elder patted Chu Xinghe firmly on the shoulder and left, looking thoroughly satisfied.

After the Grand Elder left, people from the various palaces came running over to cheer Chu Xinghe on.

"Senior brother Xinghe, you're the best! Who does that Zheng Yu think he is? Knock him flat!"

"Junior brother Xinghe, you have to believe in yourself. With your strength, as long as you perform as you normally do, victory is guaranteed."

"Senior brother Xinghe... you're sure to win, but could you avoid hitting Zheng Yu in the face? It would be such a shame to damage it..." Those were the junior sisters from Hill Forest Palace...

Sure enough, good looks were justice. Their elbows had nearly bent all the way into Zheng Yu's bed.

The Grand Elder stopped the rest of the people who came to encourage Chu Xinghe.

His reason was that they shouldn't put so much pressure on Chu Xinghe!

But pressure... back then, I stood with both hands in my pockets, not knowing what pressure was!

That evening, Feng Fei watched junior brother Xinghe fall asleep as usual, without a hint of pressure, and couldn't help shaking his head in wonder. "Junior brother Xinghe truly is no ordinary person..."

The Vast Heaven Sect's largest martial arena was packed that day.

Everyone in the Vast Heaven Sect who could come had gathered at the arena, and the sect master was personally presiding over the martial competition.

After a few simple courtesies about the Vast Heaven Sect and Martial Emperor City being branches of the same tree, the competition officially began.

With all eyes upon her, Wan Lin stepped onto the fighting platform, the large staff in her hand especially eye-catching.

Chu Xinghe glanced at it. The staff in junior sister Wan Lin's hand was called the Coiling Dragon Three-Section Staff, a spirit weapon fused with her soul. What she cultivated was also Hill Forest Palace's supreme art, the Ruyi Staff Technique.

What Chu Xinghe couldn't understand was why Hill Forest Palace, whose disciples were all women, was so fond of studying staff techniques.

Was it the collapse of morality or the distortion of human nature?

Or... were they making up for what they lacked?