Lian'er Is Afraid

The Joint Grand Tournament of the cultivation world was a grand event.

The restriction was that sect cultivators under a hundred years old were eligible to participate.

Every sect had quotas and could send ten people to compete—fewer were allowed, but never more. Therefore, when sects sent disciples to the Joint Grand Tournament, they generally selected the most outstanding ones—Nine-Clear Haoran Sect was no exception.

Yet no matter how exceptional a disciple was within Nine-Clear Haoran Sect, once they reached the vast lands of Cangzhou and faced the heaven-favored geniuses of the truly great sects, their strength seemed somewhat lacking.

As the foremost disciple of Nine-Clear Haoran Sect's current generation, the original owner had failed even to break into the top hundred in the last competition before returning in defeat. One could imagine how formidable the opponents in the Joint Grand Tournament were.

Xuan Mo sighed again. "If only Master were twenty or thirty years younger. He'd take the championship of a mere Joint Grand Tournament with ease."

Chu Zeming reached out and smacked Xuan Mo. "No ambition. Even if the Sect Master takes first place, the secret treasure won't be yours. If there's treasure, you have to fight for it yourself. How would you know you can't do it if you don't try?"

After taking a solid slap to the back of his head, Xuan Mo looked deeply aggrieved.

Chu Zeming said earnestly, "Maybe if you enter the tournament, you'll get lucky and win a spot? It's not just the top three who get rewards. I remember the top ten get them too."

Xuan Mo said gloomily, "Senior Brother, I'm only at Half-Step Golden Core. How could I possibly place in the Joint Grand Tournament? The opponents are so strong that I might not even make the top hundred. Entering would just mean getting beaten up."

Chu Zeming pondered. "Not necessarily. Maybe you'll draw a bye and advance straight into the top hundred. Maybe your opponent will get an upset stomach before taking the stage and won't be able to compete... Anything is possible."

"..."

Xuan Mo was speechless, choking on his words.

Sitting beneath the shade of a tree and looking at his senior brother's calm, composed expression, Xuan Mo inexplicably realized that he actually seemed to have been encouraged...

Maybe his opponent really would get an upset stomach and fail to show up?

The Blackfeather Continent was vast.

Cangzhou was extremely far from Nine-Clear Haoran Sect, so they had to depart half a month in advance.

When he arrived at the main hall again, Chu Zeming saw the other eight junior brothers and sisters participating in the Joint Grand Tournament besides himself and Xuan Mo.

Ling Tian's presence did not surprise Chu Zeming, but could someone tell him why Yue Lian was once again here to fish in troubled waters?

This was the Joint Grand Tournament. Going to Cangzhou meant representing the face of Nine-Clear Haoran Sect. Wasn't sending Yue Lian just a joke?

The expression on Chu Zeming's face was far too obvious, and the elders seated at the head of the main hall immediately became somewhat awkward.

Ling Yunzi, however, remained perfectly forthright.

This arrangement had not been his doing. It was a decision unanimously reached by the elders.

Qin Elder coughed, easing the awkward atmosphere before explaining, "Your junior brother Lou Ying was supposed to participate in this Joint Grand Tournament, but he celebrated his hundredth birthday the day before yesterday and thus lost his eligibility. Since this is an important matter involving meeting disciples from other sects... after unanimous agreement from the Council of Elders, we decided to let the person who can best represent the image of Nine-Clear Haoran Sect fill this vacant spot."

Chu Zeming: "..."

He understood.

Yue Lian had been dragged in to make up the numbers because he was pretty.

There were not many good-looking people in the sect.

Aside from the sweet and lovely female disciples of Star-Moon Peak, rough men and gay men made up the greater half. Chu Zeming did not agree that Yue Lian could represent Nine-Clear Haoran Sect's looks, but he was not qualified to oppose the elders' decision.

The journey was long, so this time the sect had prepared transportation for the ten disciples heading to Cangzhou.

Seeing the magnificent and imposing spirit beast carriage soaring through the air, Chu Zeming quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

He truly did not want to travel with Yue Lian. The sight of him was an eyesore.

Perhaps to avoid losing face for Nine-Clear Haoran Sect, the carriage had been decorated in extreme luxury. A beautiful Cracked Four-Legged Beast pulled it, glazed ornaments hung from its four eaves, and jewels and spirit stones were scattered across the carriage body. A spatial formation seemed to have been used inside, fitting five rooms and one hall neatly within the tiny carriage.

After the elders repeatedly reminded them of the precautions they needed to take, the ten disciples filed into the carriage.

Once everyone had boarded, the Cracked Four-Legged Beast lifted its feet and raced into the distance.

The sun rose in the east, and purple qi came from the east.

It was the perfect time to set off.

Qin Elder stood where he was, watching the carriage and spirit beast fade farther and farther away, carrying the ten disciples until they gradually disappeared into the horizon. He murmured, "I hope they will grow braver with every setback and keep their Dao hearts firm..."

The cultivation world was vast, and there were many outstanding people. Perhaps they could not compare to those peerless monstrous geniuses.

But they... were Nine-Clear Haoran Sect's future, representing the fortune of the entire sect.

Ling Yunzi stood beside him and said lightly, "Qin Elder, rest assured. My Nine-Clear Haoran Sect has its own fortune. Lian'er is one blessed with great fortune. He will slowly grow and lead the sect toward prosperity."

Qin Elder sighed and said seriously, "Sect Master, forgive this old man for speaking bluntly, but your favoritism toward Yue Lian is excessive. It is unfair to your other disciples and truly inappropriate."

"There is nothing inappropriate about it." After speaking lightly, Ling Yunzi flicked his sleeve and left.

He had once sought a divination before the ancestral shrine of the sect's forebears. The reading showed that the disciple who had joined the sect halfway through would one day become someone who could turn clouds with one hand and rain with the other.

Lian'er was that person.

He only needed to treat him well and favor him.

As for everyone else, they did not matter.

Within the sect, the elders and Sect Master parted on bad terms over Yue Lian.

Inside the carriage, Chu Zeming was also getting a headache because of Yue Lian.

The rooms had already been assigned, but Yue Lian absolutely refused to share one with Senior Brother Wu.

In the main hall.

Yue Lian clutched at his half-slipped robe and accused in a low voice, "Senior Brother Wu peeked at me while I was bathing and changing."

Beside him, the honest-looking young cultivator frantically shook his head. "I didn't, Senior Brother. I only wanted to go in and meditate. I didn't expect Junior Brother to be changing clothes. He'd only bared one shoulder, and I backed out right away. I swear I didn't see Junior Brother's flesh."

Yue Lian gave the honest young cultivator a resentful look, then said indignantly, "In any case, I won't share a room with Senior Brother Wu. Lian'er is afraid!"

Chu Zeming's head ached terribly.

He was a grown man. So what if he had been seen? Why make such a huge fuss? So fussy. They had only just set out, and he already needed to bathe and change clothes. Was he here to compete or enter a beauty pageant?

Looking at Yue Lian, Chu Zeming said with a dark expression, "What do you want, then? Two people sharing a room means being seen by accident is unavoidable. There are only five rooms total. It's impossible to give you one all to yourself."

Yue Lian gathered his robes closer and said earnestly, "Senior Brother Xuan Mo can switch rooms with me. I want to share a room with Senior Brother."

At those words, Chu Zeming's face darkened further. "Aren't you afraid I'll peek at you while you bathe?"

Yue Lian declared righteously, "I believe in Senior Brother's character."

Chu Zeming felt as if anger had raised a lump atop his head. "I think you shouldn't stay in any room at all. Isn't there a hall left over? The hall is yours."

Yue Lian: "..."

Was he joking?

Chu Zeming sneered at Yue Lian and called, "Xuan Mo."

Xuan Mo turned his head. "What is it, Senior Brother?"

Chu Zeming lifted his chin in indication. "Push these chairs together. Then go get bedding from the room. Junior Brother will sleep in the hall."

Yue Lian: "..."

Chu Zeming had trained Xuan Mo to be remarkably efficient. In no time at all, he had pushed the chairs together and carried over bedding.

Yue Lian stood in the middle of the hall, staring at the crude "bed" before him without speaking for a long while.

Chu Zeming rose and called Xuan Mo back to the room with him.

Before leaving, he specifically warned everyone to stay in their rooms and cultivate properly if they had nothing to do. They were not to come into the hall and disturb Junior Brother's rest, lest "Lian'er be afraid."

The handsome, beautiful young man in black robes left with his diehard follower.

The junior brothers in the hall also returned to their rooms one after another.

Only Yue Lian remained in the vast hall.

Yue Lian stepped forward and sat on the "bed" made from chairs. Feeling its uneven surface and the way it came loose at the slightest movement, his eyes became somewhat blank.

But...

So spicy. He liked it.

Then Yue Lian calmly lay down on the "bed" and covered himself with the quilt.

For the next few days, no one paid him any attention, and Chu Zeming never came out either. Yue Lian lay there in utter despair until the carriage reached Cangzhou.