Five Peaks Sword Sect Arena Competition

Upon reaching the courtyard where the Mount Hua Sect was staying.

Yue Buqun, Ning Zhongze, and the others were waiting at the entrance. The moment they saw Ji Shu, every pair of eyes lit up. Ning Zhongze and Yue Buqun even beckoned directly to him.

"Ji Shu. Come over quickly!"

Ji Shu hurried over and bowed to Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze.

Ning Zhongze nodded with a smile.

Yue Buqun reached out and patted Ji Shu's shoulder, speaking earnestly.

"Ji Shu, after breakfast, we'll be heading to the Arena Competition. Do you remember what I told you? You must stay steady. Whether our Mount Hua Sect can rise again rests entirely on you!"

Though Ji Shu was a Player, his background was well known.

Moreover, his talent was so extraordinary that even immortals descending to earth would likely be utterly shaken. On top of that, Ji Shu had saved the Mount Hua Sect from a pile of eggs several times. Yue Buqun had long since acknowledged Ji Shu; otherwise, he would never have said such things, much less allowed his own daughter to keep Ji Shu company late at night.

Now, seeing Yue Lingshan's demeanor, he felt even more certain. He naturally looked at Ji Shu as though he were his own future son-in-law, and the more he looked, the more satisfied he became.

It was only natural that he would be warmer toward Ji Shu.

Ji Shu smiled and nodded. He did not know what Yue Buqun was thinking, but it was enough to know that everyone in the Mount Hua Sect approved of him.

Mount Song Sect.

On the broad martial arts grounds.

The people from the major sects stood in separate groups, their banners clear and distinct. Sects such as Shaolin Temple, Wudang Sect, and Kunlun Sect had all settled into their respective areas.

Ji Shu followed Yue Buqun and the others to the Mount Hua Sect's seating area.

Zuo Lengchan stood atop the high platform, delivering an impassioned speech in a sonorous voice, his words flowing without end.

What he said boiled down to one point: the Five Peaks Sword Sect had always been joined branch to branch, sharing breath and fate. He hoped that after merging, they would obey a unified command and all heed the Sect Leader's orders. Otherwise, when great disaster came, they would likely find it difficult to withstand it.

Once he finished.

Aside from the Mount Song Sect and some of its dependents, who loudly echoed and praised him.

Most of the others merely looked on coldly, keeping their lips sealed.

"I hereby announce that the Arena Competition begins now."

Zuo Lengchan declared loudly.

"The rules are simple. Only members of the Five Peaks Sword Sect may participate. Whoever remains standing on the arena at the very end, with no one able to stop them, shall be the Sect Leader!"

"Who will go first?"

Zuo Lengchan looked around.

Yu Jizi burst into laughter.

"My Mount Tai Sect shall cast a brick to draw forth jade and make fools of ourselves first."

With a single leap, he flew onto the arena and cupped his fists toward all four directions.

"Yu Jizi seeks instruction from you all. Which one of you will come up first and lend me a hand?"

"I will!"

Linghu Chong sprang up from the sect leader's seat in the Mount Hengshan Sect's section. His toes lightly tapped the ground as he stepped across the wooden posts, spun through the air, and landed softly on the arena. His eyes shone as he stared at Yu Jizi. "Linghu Chong has come to seek instruction!"

Linghu Chong's sudden appearance on the arena left Ren Yingying utterly stunned.

Yesterday, and even the night before, she had deliberately tried to persuade Linghu Chong to abandon any thought of becoming enemies with Ji Shu. At the time, Linghu Chong had seemed to take her words to heart, but now it appeared that he still harbored resentment and had not truly listened to her.

Ren Yingying frowned.

If Ji Shu had been easy to deal with, she would certainly have stood with Linghu Chong and chosen to kill Ji Shu. But Ji Shu was far too vigilant, improved far too quickly, and was far too difficult to kill. If such a terrifying enemy could not be killed, there would be endless future troubles. The best course was not to provoke him!

"Senior Brother actually went up at a time like this."

Lu Dayou, Yue Lingshan, and the others were equally unable to make heads or tails of it. Since when had their Senior Brother become so impulsive and fond of fighting?

Ning Zhongze and Yue Buqun frowned deeply, their faces full of doubt.

By then, Linghu Chong and Yu Jizi had already begun fighting on the arena.

Having cultivated the Nine Swords of Dugu, Linghu Chong's battle against Yu Jizi was like striking from a higher dimension. In just a few exchanges, Yu Jizi made one careless mistake, and a sword tip was pressed against his throat.

"You lost."

Yu Jizi's face flushed crimson. As the Mount Tai Sect's new sect leader, he had been defeated by a junior in only a few moves. He was unwilling to accept it, but beneath the eyes of the crowd, he could not go back on his word. He could only snort and turn to leave the arena.

Zuo Lengchan immediately shot Tang Ying'e a look.

Tang Ying'e leaped onto the arena and asked for instruction, but he was still no match for Linghu Chong. He was defeated in barely a dozen moves. Tang Ying'e was deeply moved and could not help saying.

"The Mount Hua Sect has produced a genius like Ji Shu. I never expected you, Linghu Chong, to be so formidable as well. The Mount Hua Sect truly has excellent feng shui!"

Linghu Chong pressed his lips together and instinctively looked toward the Mount Hua Sect. Seeing Ning Zhongze smile at him, joy rose in his heart. Seeing Yue Buqun's expressionless face, his heart darkened. Then he saw Yue Lingshan's beautiful eyes fixed only on Ji Shu, and that complicated emotion surged within him. Thinking of the deaths of the Six Immortals of Peach Valley, and scene after scene of Yue Lingshan lying in Ji Shu's arms late at night, his blood rushed to his head. He pointed his sword at Ji Shu.

"Ji Shu, do you dare fight me?"

The moment he said this.

Zuo Lengchan inwardly cried that things were bad.

Fei Bin, Ding Mian, and the others also found it extremely troublesome. They had set mechanisms on the arena, intending to trigger them when they fought Ji Shu and severely injure him. Yet a Linghu Chong had suddenly charged out from the side!

Their original intention had been to send Yu Jizi of the Mount Tai Sect onto the arena to provoke Ji Shu. If Ji Shu refused, they would have other disciples needle and taunt him.

As long as Ji Shu stepped onto the arena, the Mount Song Sect disciples would challenge him one after another. After a wheel battle, Ji Shu would surely exhaust his inner strength. At that point, they could activate the mechanisms and, without anyone noticing, kill or cripple Ji Shu.

If Ji Shu died, they could casually find some excuse to brush it aside. After all, accidents were inevitable in an Arena Competition.

Who could have known that Yu Jizi would go up without first provoking Ji Shu, only to have Linghu Chong snatch the lead from him? How could Fei Bin and the others not be furious?

But then they secretly laughed. Is this internal strife within the Mount Hua Sect? Hopefully Linghu Chong can defeat and severely injure Ji Shu. That would save us a great deal of trouble.

Thinking of Linghu Chong's extraordinary swordsmanship.

Zuo Lengchan and the others turned their worry into delight.

Yue Buqun, however, furrowed his brows into the character for "river," a faint anger appearing on his face!

Yue Lingshan looked at Linghu Chong in astonishment. Why is Senior Brother challenging Ji Shu?

Lu Dayou and the others were equally bewildered.

Ji Shu roughly understood what was happening, but he did not expose it. He looked toward Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze. "Sect Leader, Martial Mother, I'm going up."

"Be careful."

Ning Zhongze said, "Safety comes first. Victory or defeat is not important."

Yue Buqun nodded deeply in agreement. "The plan comes second. If it truly cannot be done, your talent is so great that we can speak of it another day!"

Yue Lingshan also added her own words of caution.

Linghu Chong's cultivation was remarkable, his ears sharp and his eyes keen. Furthermore, he had been watching the Mount Hua Sect's side all along, so he naturally heard Ning Zhongze and the others clearly. It was as though a bottle of five flavors had overturned in his heart, and he hated Ji Shu all the more.

He tightened his grip on his sword, watched Ji Shu step onto the arena, and said.

"Hengshan Sect Leader Linghu Chong. Please instruct me."

"Mount Hua Sect disciple Ji Shu. Please instruct me."

The two cupped their fists to each other.

Then Linghu Chong suddenly drew his sword and thrust straight toward Ji Shu's eyes.