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So the topic successfully shifted to the senior sister and her melon patch at Wanjian Sect. They'd heard she'd once said: "Stealing melons doesn't count as stealing. Can you really call it stealing when it's a Sword Cultivator doing it?"

Lin Xun spoke earnestly, even helping clean up the debris scattered across the floor. He didn't notice Ning Ning quietly letting out a breath beside him, relieved.

Phew. That was close.

Seeing Little White Dragon with red-rimmed eyes and a pale little face, she was glad she'd reacted quickly and played dumb.

Otherwise, he might really have started crying.

The next day, Ning Ning was woken by the system.

Luckily, the bed was a good distance from the pill furnace and hadn't been too badly affected. After saying goodbye to Lin Xun, she'd dragged her exhausted body over to bed and fallen straight asleep.

The moment she opened her eyes the next morning, she saw several lines of large text floating in her mind:

[System notification! Quest issued!]

[The Sword Sect tournament is underway. Still resentful over yesterday's defeat at Pei Ji's hands, you've sworn to teach him a lesson.]

[Proceed to the arena at once and attack Pei Ji from the shadows while he's competing.]

The plot point had finally arrived.

Ning Ning sleepily sat up in bed and ran a hand through her tousled hair.

This was the starting point of Pei Ji's comeback, a particularly memorable scene in the original story.

The Xuanxu Sword Sect's internal tournament used a knockout format. Pei Ji had beaten Ning Ning the day before, but today he still had to compete against the other disciples.

It was hard to say whether he was lucky or unlucky. His opponent this time was also a Golden Core Realm direct disciple.

The disciple was named Chen Zhao, and he studied under Master Qingxu. He was exceptionally skilled. After witnessing Pei Ji and Ning Ning's battle the day before, he knew better than to underestimate him. To be safe, he even resorted to a hidden weapon.

—Hidden weapons were naturally forbidden at the Sword Sect tournament.

But his Soul-Seizing Nails were as fine as mosquito legs, and their activation couldn't be detected by spiritual energy. On top of that, the spectators sat a great distance from the arena. So after using one to badly wound Pei Ji, no one noticed anything amiss.

Besides the one meddling in the match, the original owner had also gone out of her way to cause trouble.

The sword technique she mainly practiced was called Star Scatter. It called for strokes as swift as the wind and sword stances as dense as the stars—in short, fast, ruthless, and precise, catching enemies off guard with attacks that came and went without a trace.

That was right. The original owner had vividly demonstrated that there was no limit to how far someone could go in courting death. While Pei Ji and Chen Zhao were fighting, she'd used Sword Intent to ambush him from behind.

Caught between a hidden weapon and a Sword Formula, Pei Ji had nowhere to dodge. He was destined to be gravely wounded and left on the brink of death. Yet when all hope seemed lost, he would find a way to survive.

With that in mind, Ning Ning got out of bed, dressed, and washed up in one smooth motion. As she picked up the Star Trace Sword, she couldn't help thinking: Villains really are just tools for the protagonist to gain experience. Case closed.

Thanks to flying on her sword, she reached Kaiyang Peak, where the arena stood, in no time. Pei Ji and Chen Zhao's duel was at its most nail-biting, the stage filled with flashing blades and clashing swords.

At dawn, Kaiyang Peak was wreathed in clouds and rosy mist. Sunlight split through layer upon layer of White Mist, pouring down in a stern blaze like thousands upon thousands of sword-shadows, visible yet traceless. Mist rolled over the mountain peaks, clouds gathered and drifted away, and the whole scene resembled a painted gallery stretching for a thousand miles, washed in layer upon layer of watery hues.

To an ordinary observer, the two men onstage were no more than fleeting afterimages. Their fierce Sword Intent gleamed white beneath the sunlight. When their swords clashed, they cleaved through the slowly drifting mist, like frost and snow floating across the sky while thunder rolled in silence.

Pei Ji, clad in black, wore a cool, detached expression. An obscure Outer Sect Disciple, he had somehow managed not to fall behind in the match. Chen Zhao was beginning to lose ground, and Ning Ning knew it was time to act.

She could see the movements of the two men onstage with perfect clarity, so she knew exactly when to strike.

As White Mist rose around her, Ning Ning formed a hand seal and pressed steadily toward Pei Ji's back.

Rain-Beating-Flower Technique—swift sword, traceless stroke.

The invisible Sword Intent swept down with the motion, but before Ning Ning could manage a smile that said, "This tool can only help you this far," the corners of her mouth froze.

Oh.

She still wasn't very good at using the technique. This Sword Intent...

It seemed to have gone astray.

Pei Ji soon sensed a sword-wind bearing down on him.

Unlike Chen Zhao's murderous heavy sword, this Sword Intent was light and nimble, almost impossible to detect. He knew the feeling all too well. It belonged to the female disciple he'd fought the day before.

A deep, gruff male voice suddenly buzzed in his mind, making him furrow his brows slightly. "Damn it, someone's ambushing you!"

The voice had been inside him since birth. No one but Pei Ji could hear it.

It claimed it had once been a sword, but its name and the surname of its former owner were both unknown—it had lost its memory.

If Ning Ning had heard their conversation, she would have said knowingly, "Oh, so that's the voice of Chengying Sword."

Of course she knew whose voice it was.

Pei Ji was the reincarnation of an ancient Sword God, and his former sword, Chengying, had entered his body along with him. Unfortunately, too much time had passed, and Pei Ji wasn't strong enough to wield the divine sword. Chengying's memories and power had both been sealed away, leaving him as a middle-aged man who could only chatter endlessly inside the male protagonist's head.

"This Sword Qi... it's that female cultivator from yesterday."

Chengying let out a low, disdainful laugh. "What on earth is she up to? I knew that woman was up to no good!"

Ning Ning's Sword Qi was as swift as lightning, carrying an unstoppable, murderous force. Busy fending off Chen Zhao, Pei Ji could only dodge to the side.

But the moment he exposed that brief opening, he caught Chen Zhao smiling coldly, his fingertip twitching.

The Soul-Seizing Nail was tiny and hard to make out. As it crept toward him without a sound, a bone-chilling cold swept over him. With wolves closing in from both front and behind—and Chen Zhao having anticipated his movements—Pei Ji had nowhere left to retreat.

He was bound to take the hit.

Chengying could no longer hold back and roared furiously, "Damn it, you stinking woman! I'll teach you a lesson—"

Before he could finish, everything changed.

The Rain-Beating-Flower Technique's trajectory wasn't straight at all. It veered slightly toward where Pei Ji was now. It seemed that from the very beginning, the girl hadn't been aiming at where he'd stood before, but at where he was now.