Battle Against Lu Xueqi

Upon entering Sword Peak, he saw the senior sisters engaged in pairwise battles, each testing their martial prowess. The scene was quite spectacular—not only did all manner of Divine Ability manifestations appear in rapid succession, but Sword Qi also clashed and crisscrossed from time to time.

One woman in particular, dressed in white as snow and breathtakingly beautiful, wielded a blue longsword as she fought another senior sister.

At times, she leapt and danced through the air to slash out with her sword; at others, she shifted and transformed with her Movement Technique. She was like a fluttering butterfly—yet one capable of stirring up a heaven-shaking tempest with its wings. One must not let her beauty cloud one's judgment; her strength and martial prowess were not to be underestimated.

This woman was none other than Master Shui Yue's beloved disciple, Lu Xueqi.

After Lu Xueqi slashed out another strand of Sword Qi, the other senior sister could no longer withstand it. She was repeatedly blasted backward by the Sword Qi, only stopping several meters away. Coming back to her senses, she gave Lu Xueqi a bitter smile. "Junior Sister, Senior Sister has lost."

"Your Junior Sister merely won by a narrow margin with her clumsy skills. Please forgive me, Senior Sister!"

Yet Lu Xueqi showed no joy. Holding her sword, she respectfully bowed to return the salute.

Afterward, she walked to Shui Yue, who was watching from the side, and likewise bowed respectfully, as though awaiting Shui Yue's instruction.

"Mm. Your Sword Skills are already quite proficient, but you must still cultivate diligently."

Shui Yue gently raised Lu Xueqi up and did not stint on her encouragement. Then, with a grave expression, she said to Lu Xueqi, "This Seven Meridians Martial Arts Tournament has been affected by people from the Demonic Cult, so every peak and every lineage is placing particular importance on it. They are all concentrating on cultivating their martial arts. I fear it will be even more difficult than before. You must not take it lightly."

"This disciple will remember!"

Confidence flashed in Lu Xueqi's eyes as she solemnly replied to Shui Yue.

"Master! Senior Sister Lu!"

Just then, Su Changqing stepped forward and saluted Shui Yue.

"Changqing, you've come out of seclusion?"

Shui Yue asked Su Changqing with some puzzlement.

"I came out of seclusion just now. I happened to run into Senior Sister He, who told me that all of you were at Sword Peak, so I came over to join the excitement."

Su Changqing truthfully explained to Shui Yue, then used the Heaven Concealing Art to conceal his true Cultivation Level and present himself as being at the first stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Before entering seclusion, he had told Shui Yue that he was at the ninth stage of Qi Refining and would be breaking through into the Foundation Establishment Realm. Thus, displaying the first stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm now could not have been more fitting.

"You've already established your foundation? Not bad at all!"

Fortunately, Shui Yue still trusted Su Changqing and did not carefully examine him with spiritual energy. Otherwise, with her Spirit Transformation Realm Cultivation Level, she would have seen through Su Changqing's true cultivation at a glance.

Seeing that Su Changqing had already established his foundation, she nodded in gratification.

Back then, Su Changqing had been the one everyone thought least highly of. Yet now, establishing his foundation within a year placed him at an upper-middle level among the disciples. It was enough to prove both Su Changqing's diligence and her own teaching ability.

"Thank you for your praise, Master!"

Su Changqing smiled and returned the salute. Then his gaze fell upon Lu Xueqi, and he said with great admiration, "But with pearl and jade before me, how can mere tile and stone compare? Seeing how outstanding Senior Sister Lu is, this disciple knows he must cultivate diligently if he wishes even to glimpse her shoulders."

At Su Changqing's roundabout praise, a charming blush appeared on Lu Xueqi's cool face. "Junior Brother, you flatter me!"

Su Changqing merely smiled and said nothing more.

Lu Xueqi, meanwhile, quietly sank into thought. She did not know why, but she always felt that this Junior Brother of hers was immensely mysterious, as though he concealed countless secrets—like a towering mountain whose summit could not be seen even when one raised one's head.

She even had an inexplicable feeling that Su Changqing's strength was fully capable of matching hers. Among all the disciples of the same generation on the peak, this was the first time she had ever felt this way.

Especially after Junior Brother's latest seclusion, now that he stood before her, that feeling had become even more apparent.

"Junior Brother, would you be willing to spar with Senior Sister?"

Lu Xueqi emerged from her thoughts. She decided to use this opportunity to determine whether her feeling was real, and also to see just what level this Junior Brother had reached.

"Hm?"

Su Changqing, who had been observing the battles of other senior sisters, suddenly heard Lu Xueqi's proposal. He froze slightly, then turned back to look at her in surprise.

From the bottom of his heart, Su Changqing was unwilling. He only wanted to remain an unnoticed nobody. If he fought Lu Xueqi under everyone's gaze, would that not draw all their attention to him?

"Senior Sister, you want me to be your sparring partner? But I'm only at the first stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm. I fear I would hardly be a match for you."

Thus, Su Changqing immediately declined tactfully.

"Junior Brother, you are too modest. Establishing your foundation in a single year is enough to make you one of the outstanding ones. Besides, neither Master nor any of us have ever seen you fight. Don't you want to show us what you can do?"

Seeing him refuse, Lu Xueqi became even more certain of her suspicions.

No matter what happened today, even if she had to make Master force him to do it, she had to have Junior Brother spar with her. Otherwise, that feeling would linger endlessly, and she would only become more deeply entangled in it.

I don't!

Su Changqing shouted inwardly, but he could not be so rude in reality.

Just as Su Changqing was still considering how to refuse, Master Shui Yue spoke first. She fixed her gaze on Su Changqing and said, "Changqing, there is no need for you to decline. You are merely sparring with your Senior Sister. Senior Sister Lu will naturally restrain her strength and will not hurt you."

"But—"

Hearing Shui Yue put it that way, Su Changqing thought and thought but could not come up with any way to refuse his master's request. He could only grit his teeth and agree. "Fine, then. Senior Sister, you must go easy on me!"

Upon hearing Su Changqing agree, Lu Xueqi revealed a sly smile where no one could see.

So I have to invoke Master's authority before you, this Junior Brother who hides his talents so well, will show us a little of what you can do?

The two carried their longswords on their backs and headed toward the now-vacant training ground from before. Seeing this, the senior sisters all stopped their sparring and turned toward them curiously.

"Quick! Stop fighting! Junior Sister Lu is going to battle Junior Brother!"

"Hm? Junior Brother has reached the Foundation Establishment Realm in just one year? How could his cultivation speed be so fast? Didn't everyone say back then that Junior Brother's spiritual root aptitude was terrible?"

"Hey! Don't you think Junior Sister Lu and Junior Brother are both exceptionally beautiful? Walking side by side, they look like a golden boy and jade maiden."

"Now that you mention it, why do I feel like they have the look of husband and wife? If they could truly make a good match within our peak, that would be a tremendous joyous occasion for our peak!"

Since Lu Xueqi and Su Changqing both held singular status within the peak, the senior sisters all stopped what they were doing and gathered around the training ground to join in the excitement.

Every senior sister watched them with the indulgent smile of an auntie.

Su Changqing was utterly helpless. Lu Xueqi, on the other hand, seemed to have heard this sort of teasing often enough. Her face merely flushed slightly, yet she did not stop their remarks.

Once the two had taken their positions on opposite sides, they each raised their swords and saluted.

"Junior Brother, please enlighten me!"

"Senior Sister Lu, please go easy on me!"

Even Shuiyue, who was usually so aloof and unconcerned with worldly affairs, flew over on her Flying Sword. A silent smile curled at her lips as she watched the two. Today, she wanted to see just how long this little disciple of hers could keep hiding his true abilities.