Junior Sister, is this the Xiao Rui you spoke of?

Ye Xing held back a breath in his chest, neither willing to flare up nor willing to let it go, feeling thoroughly miserable.

Thinking back on how the two of them had spent the past month doing nothing but practice swords alongside more sword practice, with Xia Wantang refusing to utter even an extra word, Ye Xing could only manage a bitter smile.

He had no one to blame but himself for looking for trouble where there was none, blurting out those hurtful remarks!

What he did not know was that Xia Wantang was more than happy to see things turn out this way.

Xiao Rui and Ye Xing would cross paths in the Grand Competition sooner or later. If she showed favor to both of them, it would be inevitable for the two men to catch on to the clues.

Fortunately, Ye Xing had laid everything out in the open; otherwise, she would have had no idea how to handle it.

Ye Xing sighed.

"Junior Sister, I only meant that the time for seeking a dao companion hasn't arrived yet, and we ought to prioritize our cultivation."

"That doesn't mean we'll cut ties and never see each other again in the future. At the very least, we should still be good friends."

Xia Wantang: ? Nobody ever said anything about being your dao companion.

Ye Xing had to be the most narcissistic among all the Sons of Destiny.

Xia Wantang sighed as well.

"Senior Brother, Wantang is not one to dwell on petty romantic attachments either. I have always cultivated diligently, which you have seen with your own eyes."

"It was my previous behavior that caused you trouble, Senior Brother. From now on, let's just be ordinary friends."

Ordinary friends? Well, you won't get a say in who I choose to hang out with, though~

Hearing that Xia Wantang was still willing to be friends with him, Ye Xing felt a mix of relief and loss in his heart.

What relieved him was that the two of them would not end up as strangers.

What disappointed him was that Junior Sister truly seemed to have given up on him, and the bashful shyness was gone from her eyes.

"By the way, Junior Sister, in your view, how do I compare to that Xiao Rui you mentioned?"

Ye Xing's pitch-black eyes stared straight at Xia Wantang. If gazes possessed warmth, she surely would have been scorched right through with a hole.

Xia Wantang pondered carefully for a moment.

"In terms of familiarity with moves, neatness, and foundational roots, Senior Brother naturally comes out ahead."

"However, Junior Brother Xiao possesses a driven tenacity, with sharp sword wind and indomitable spirit. He is a tricky opponent."

Seeing her earnest expression, Ye Xing could not help turning serious.

To earn such an evaluation from Junior Sister Xia, it seemed this Xiao Rui truly was a formidable adversary.

Although his cultivation realm far surpassed the other man's, he could only suppress his cultivation to the peak of the Mystic Martial Realm to avoid letting anyone catch on to the clues. If the opponent was genuinely this difficult to deal with, fearing he would find it hard to handle him even at the peak of the Mystic Martial Realm.

Ordinarily, Ye Xing would never have cared about such empty prestige, nor would he insist on fighting for first place in the Inner Sect Grand Competition.

Yet since Junior Sister Xia thought so highly of and defended this Xiao Rui, he simply had to win against him.

"Thank you for the reminder, Junior Sister. I will keep it in mind."

Xia Wantang: ...Who reminded you?

Too lazy to bother with Ye Xing and figuring the time was about right, she spoke up.

"Senior Brother, the Sect Grand Competition is about to begin. Let's hurry to the outer mountain."

With that, she drew the Jianjia Sword and set off on her flying sword.

Seeing this, Ye Xing hastily followed behind.

In the outer mountain, the Outer Sect Grand Competition was already in full swing.

The morning was dedicated to the outer sect disciples, serving essentially as a warm-up. Everyone knew this was just a minor squabble, and the afternoon's Inner Sect Grand Competition was when true matters would be decided.

Xiao Rui stood quietly alone in a corner, watching those outer sect disciples peck at each other like fledgling birds, refusing to join in the bustle.

He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his sword, closing his eyes to rest and preserve his strength for the afternoon's matches.

Yet even though he went looking for no trouble with others, someone deliberately came to provoke him.

Luo Ao led a gaggle of flunkies and swaggered up to Xiao Rui, surrounding him tightly.

"Well, well, if it isn't Xiao Rui, the odd-job disciple who went off the radar for two whole months?"

"You had the Saintess protecting you last time, but I haven't come to pick a bone with you in so long—were you feeling empty, lonely, and cold?"

Xiao Rui opened his eyes. His rugged facial features were plastered with impatience as his sharp gaze swept toward Luo Ao.

"Luo Ao, you and I have always kept to our own lanes. Why must you repeatedly come looking for trouble with me?"

When he said this, he completely ignored Ye Yilan standing by Luo Ao's side—who happened to be his childhood sweetheart.

Hearing this, Luo Ao simply dropped any reply, turning instead toward Ye Yilan with a tone dripping in mockery toward Xiao Rui.

"Little Sister Yilan, why do you suppose Xiao Rui isn't participating in the Grand Competition? I see all the other senior and junior brothers raring to go, yet he's just standing here daydreaming all by himself, tsk."

Over the past two months, Ye Yilan had relied on Luo Ao to acquire a wealth of cultivation resources she would never have dared to dream of before, and her cultivation had risen to the peak of the Human Martial Realm.

She felt immensely smug about this, and upon seeing Xiao Rui's current down-and-out state, she felt all the more grateful that she had chosen to throw her lot in with Luo Ao early on.

Thinking of this, Ye Yilan chimed in with mockery as well.

"Brother Ao, that's naturally because Xiao Rui's cultivation is simply too low. I'm afraid he couldn't beat a single one of our martial brothers."

Luo Ao was thoroughly satisfied with Ye Yilan's cooperation, bursting into laughter on the spot.

"Hahahaha, exactly. It's a good thing he has some self-awareness and knows to cower in a little corner instead of jumping out to make a clown of himself."

Xiao Rui lowered his dark gaze as he looked toward Luo Ao's group.

The one who disappointed him the most among them was Ye Yilan.

Whether it was fortune or misfortune, Ye Yilan had chosen to lean on Luo Ao just as he was preparing to share the good news that his cultivation had recovered, coming together with them to humiliate him.

Otherwise, he might well have been hoodwinked by her for the rest of his life.

Remembering that the Inner Sect Grand Competition was that afternoon and that he had kept his true strength concealed for long enough,

he no longer had any need to swallow his grievances in forbearance.

Thus, his cold voice rang out, his pair of eyes exceptionally piercing:

"Try saying that again."

Hearing this, Luo Ao laughed even harder.

"Hahahaha, has this little punk Xiao Rui lost his mind, daring to talk back to this Senior Brother of yours?"

"Then today, I shall take the Palace Lord's place to teach you what respect for elders and superiors truly means!"

As he spoke, he drew a long sword and launched a direct attack at Xiao Rui.

In his mind, Xiao Rui was still that good-for-nothing at the late stage of the Human Martial Realm, whose moves always appeared half-hearted even when he struck.

Yet to his utter surprise, not only did Xiao Rui dodge the blow, but he also drew his long sword and slashed out a fierce wave of Sword Qi that surged straight toward him!

"Crash!"

Barely a second later, Luo Ao collapsed flat onto the ground with a streak of blood seeping across his shoulder.

"Cough, cough-cough! That doesn't count, I hadn't started trying yet!"

Luo Ao wore a look of utter disbelief, while his inner thoughts screamed that it must have been because he hadn't performed properly that this scoundrel Xiao Rui had managed to exploit an opening.

However, the group of outer sect disciples around him had all sensed something was amiss.

The strike Xiao Rui had just unleashed was definitely something no Human Martial Realm cultivator could possibly pull off!

While everyone stood frozen in a daze, Luo Ao had already charged toward Xiao Rui once again.

Xiao Rui used only a single move yet again to knock him flat onto the dirt.

"Luo Ao, the fact that I didn't settle scores with you previously does not mean I am easy to bully."

"Now that I possess cultivation at the peak of the Mystic Martial Realm, you are no match for me!"

Hearing this, the outer sect disciples fell into a brief silence before erupting into a clamor of incredulous discussion.

"How can this be? Wasn't this Xiao Rui only at the late stage of the Human Martial Realm two months ago?"

"Could it be that he was concealing his true strength all along, and his cultivation had actually reached the Mystic Martial Realm ages ago?"

"I knew it! With Xiao Rui's talent, how could his cultivation possibly have remained unchanged all this time?"

When Xia Wantang and Ye Xing rushed over, they happened to catch this exact scene everyone was discussing.

Seeing this, Ye Xing raised an eyebrow, wearing a half-smile as he looked at Xia Wantang.

"Junior Sister, is this the Xiao Rui you spoke of?"