After a sleepless night, red, wormlike blood vessels covered the corners of You Su's eyes.
At dawn, Ji Lingruo's feeble call of "You Su, I'm hungry" finally roused You Su, who had sat motionless through the night.
You Su instantly came back to life like a stone monkey enlightened by the Buddha. He hurriedly rose, only to realize that his whole body was stiff and aching, especially his hands. He had clenched his fists so tightly all night that dried blood covered his palms.
He jogged to his junior sister's door and, doing his best not to reveal the intensity of his concern, asked:
"Are you feeling better, junior sister? What would you like to eat this morning?"
"Just cook me a bowl of noodles, with two fried eggs! No greens!"
His junior sister's toughness pained You Su. His expression softened as he said:
"Eating too many eggs when you're unwell isn't good for you. They're hard to digest. One fried egg, and more greens."
"I want two! Can't you at least put in fewer greens...?"
"Got it." You Su smiled and turned toward the kitchen.
The girl lying on the bed was like a frail willow in the wind. Her sickly pallor only enhanced her beauty. Hearing You Su's shop-assistant-like reply, she smiled, and the whole room seemed to bloom with spring. As though she had remembered something, she hesitated before calling out to him:
"You Su..."
"What is it?" You Su took a few steps back.
"I didn't refuse to eat that chestnut chicken on purpose... I really couldn't eat yesterday... How about you save it for me and I'll eat it tonight?"
It was as though someone had seized the softest place in his heart. You Su's breathing stopped for a moment, and the wrenching pain nearly pierced straight through his chest.
This usually spoiled girl had only just snatched her own life back from the Evil Demon, yet even now she still had the leisure to worry that she had slighted her senior brother's tiny bit of goodwill.
"Dream on. Once this village is behind us, there won't be another shop. I already finished it with my noodles this morning. Tonight, you can drink your plain white porridge." You Su forcibly suppressed the stabbing pain and teased her in a cheerful tone before heading to the kitchen to get busy.
"Tch." The pitiful girl pouted, then pulled the quilt over her face, which was brimming with smiles.
The golden sun hung high in the sky.
You Su did not tell Ji Lingruo that he had a match today. After making sure his junior sister had fallen asleep, he hurried toward the City Lord's Mansion.
Everyone he saw along the way was rushing about, bringing relatives and friends with them while calling out, "Hurry to the City Lord's Mansion and watch the fight!"
For ordinary mortals, getting to watch cultivators fight truly counted as a rare spectacle.
The area before the City Lord's Mansion was packed to bursting. Ordinary people had formed an impenetrable crowd around the outside, while all kinds of cultivators filled the interior.
Being blind revealed its enormous drawback at times like this. Even though You Su possessed cultivation, his current senses were not yet enough to support him in navigating such complicated terrain.
In truth, it would have been the same even for someone who was not blind. In a crowd this tightly packed, no one could possibly force their way through without twenty years of hawker's practice. You Su could only mingle with the surging mass and laboriously worm his way forward.
He wondered when the sort of scene in which the protagonist descended from the heavens at the critical moment and landed in the middle of the competition would happen to him.
Staggering and jostling his way in was certainly a little undignified, but it did not affect You Su's determination to win the final victory.
Trying to bring two possessed people across mountains and rivers to reach the divine mountain on his own would be fraught with difficulty. It was even possible that, after enduring every imaginable hardship to reach the divine mountain, he still would not be allowed through its gates. Thus, the identity of Auditory Disciple was a stepping stone You Su was determined to obtain.
As he squeezed forward, You Su suddenly discovered that everyone around him had retreated a step to either side, as though opening a path for him. At the end of that path, someone was walking toward him. With so many people around and their auras tangled together, he could not identify that person's aura for a moment.
"Hurry up. Your opponent is waiting for you." It was Wu Cheng.
You Su did not reply and silently followed behind Wu Cheng. Some mortals nearby who were friendly with You Su recognized him and shouted encouragement. You Su smiled and responded to each of them in turn.
The City Lord's Mansion had been encircled into a circular arena. Two seats had been arranged on the main dais opposite the entrance, with City Lord Liu and Immortal Master Gu seated on the left and right respectively. Below them, the masters of Sky Guard Sect and several other sects were arrayed on either side.
A tall man already stood in the center of the arena. He looked about twenty-four or twenty-five and wore a tight outfit that showed off his muscles. As he watched You Su approach at an unhurried pace, he swung his thick, elephant-leg-like arms, his eyes already gleaming with eagerness.
His name was Sheng Ziling. He was the second-ranked member of the younger generation of Wind Thunder Fist Sect, the second-largest sect in Chuyun City. Ever since he learned that You Su would be his opponent in the first round, his master had placed great hopes in him.
This had faintly given him the illusion that as long as he defeated You Su, he would become Wind Thunder Fist Sect's foremost figure in the future, while that junior brother who had always kept him beneath his thumb would become his subordinate. Whether he could become an Auditory Disciple no longer mattered.
As for You Su's strength, he had never worried about it. He had once sought You Su out for a spar, but after being refused, he had not taken it to heart, merely assuming that the other boy was timid. Reaching the Spirit Platform Realm at eighteen did indeed count as exceptional talent, but Sheng Ziling had already spent five years stabilizing his foundation in the Spirit Platform Realm since turning nineteen. That was not a chasm that could be crossed with ease.
When You Su stepped onto the platform, Sheng Ziling stretched lazily with one hand behind his back. His expression was almost languid.
"You blind fool, what took you so long? I thought you weren't coming. Weren't you pretty impressive yesterday?" Sheng Ziling's lips curled into an exaggerated arc.
At this moment, You Su wanted not only to be blind, but deaf as well. Sheng Ziling, however, still treated him as though he were mute and was about to continue when City Lord Liu loudly proclaimed:
"Both parties have arrived. Exchange the rites of sparring! When the bronze drum sounds, the match begins!"
You Su calmly bent at the waist and clasped his fist, while Sheng Ziling looked somewhat unwilling.
Gu Yao sat ramrod straight, concealing the focus in his eyes exceptionally well. He very much wanted to know whether this blind youth's strength matched his keen mind.
"Bang, bang, bang!" The bronze drum was suddenly struck with tremendous force, and everyone focused on the contest in the arena.
You Su felt as though thorns were pricking his back. Having been accustomed since childhood to hiding in a crowd, he truly could not adapt to being the center of everyone's attention. For a blind man lacking any sense of security, this was no different from standing naked in the middle of a crowd and dancing.
He had been forced to dance once yesterday. He had not expected to have to dance again today—and to keep dancing until he claimed the laurel.
At that thought, You Su felt utterly despairing and only wanted to end the battle quickly. But the broad-limbed strongman opposite him seemed unwilling to let it end too soon. He kept taunting You Su in a flippant tone, and when You Su ignored him, his voice grew even angrier.
You Su was truly helpless. He was afraid the strongman would anger himself unconscious before the fight even began, so he stopped standing around and moved.
Dressed in white, he was like an arc of light flashing past. In the next instant, the scabbard of the Ink Pine Sword was already pressed against Sheng Ziling's thick neck, pinning down his throbbing artery.
The noisy arena fell silent in an instant. Many young cultivators stood frozen, while the mortals who had squeezed into the inner arena were even more dumbfounded. Only the eyes of those with somewhat higher cultivation flashed with different hues.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
The bronze drum was struck once more. City Lord Liu drew out the final note of his announcement:
"Mandarin Sword Sect's You Su wins!"
Before you continue