Chapter 42

The Fallen Blossom Slash would not stop until it drew blood.

It was the second day since Ye Qinghui had absorbed the Bodhi Spirit Pill. His cultivation had recovered to seventy or eighty percent, and he felt an endless surge of spiritual energy in his dantian. As a peerless treasure, the Bodhi Spirit Pill could not only help him absorb spiritual energy from his surroundings but also conceal his cultivation, keeping others from seeing his true strength.

He wielded the Flowing Light Sword with practiced ease, meeting the Fallen Blossom Slash head-on again and again without giving an inch. He kept it from getting close.

"Strange. He clearly has no Inner Core. How has his cultivation already reached the Golden Core Late Stage?" Jiang Wan's lovely brows drew together. A sharp glint flashed in her alluring eyes as she summoned another Fallen Blossom Slash.

The two Fallen Blossom Slashes wound around Ye Qingchuan like red specters. Even with three heads and six arms, fending off such fierce attacks would have been difficult. Ye Qingchuan calmly used defensive spells against strikes from every direction while looking for a chance to attack Jiang Wan, who controlled the slashes nearby.

Spotting an opening, he flew straight at Jiang Wan and engaged her at close range.

Although Jiang Wan's Swordsmanship was quite impressive, facing the genius sword cultivator Ye Qinghui's Flowing Light Illusion, controlling both her Spirit Sword and the Fallen Blossom Slash drained too much of her spiritual sense. Gradually, she began to falter.

Just as Ye Qinghui was about to end the fight with a single sword stroke, Jiang Wan's spiritual sense ran dry. The devastating Fallen Blossom Slashes veered off course, mistook their target, and swept toward her face.

Shock crossed Jiang Wan's face. She had no time to react, and the circling slashes were about to strike her pretty face. Time seemed to freeze from one second to the next. Everyone held their breath.

Ye Qinghui did not seize the chance to win. Instead, he turned the Flowing Light Sword. Blue light flashed, driving back the onrushing slashes and shielding Jiang Wan.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Senior Brother Ye truly is a gentleman, blessed with Innate Sword Bone and superb Swordsmanship. Wanwan admits defeat." Given a chance to catch her breath, Jiang Wan did not continue fighting. She withdrew both Fallen Blossom Slashes, cupped her hands, and conceded to Ye Qinghui.

When she looked at him, admiration and affection had appeared in her eyes.

The Cultivation World had always admired the strong. Cultivators like Ye Qinghui, who cared about the greater good, held fast to their Dao hearts, and refused to take advantage of someone in danger, were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. Jiang Wan had met many men, but she suddenly saw how different Ye Qinghui was.

[Oh no, oh no. First Senior Brother saved the beauty, and now she's fallen for him.] Ye Zhenzhen looked as though she had just stumbled on a juicy secret. This romance had never existed in the original book. [Senior Sister Jiang is beautiful, and she's so bold. I'd love to have her as my senior sister-in-law.]

"Junior Sister Jiang, thank you for the match." Ye Qinghui, sparing as ever with words, walked down from the platform with the cool, distant bearing of an immortal.

He had always been like a flower high on a mountain ridge. Though he cared for the Three Realms, only Junior Sister received his gentle words and smiles. Others usually saw nothing but his unreachable back.

[First Senior Brother, you haven't a clue about romance. Keep this up and you'll be alone forever.] Frustrated that he was letting such a chance slip away, Ye Zhenzhen cast a few more reluctant glances at the beautiful young woman on the platform.

Jiang Wan's gaze followed Ye Qinghui as he descended from the platform. Light shimmered across her face, with a tenderness beneath it. Her heart had clearly been stirred.

After that match, the other contests proceeded at full tilt.

Having absorbed the Inner Core formed from Ye Qinghui's Innate Sword Bone, Ye Qingyun defeated Lu Lingxuan of Spirit Sword Manor. In the quarterfinals, Ye Qinghui, Shen Xingyan, Jiang Kui, and Ye Qingyun emerged victorious and advanced to the next round.

Ye Qinghui would face Jiang Kui of Thousand Mechanisms Palace, while Shen Xingyan would face Ye Qingyun. The four would compete for the final two spots.

Seeing that Ye Ruheng, the Cloudsky Sect Leader, was absent, Jiang Buqun, the master of Thousand Mechanisms Palace, exchanged a glance with Immortal Venerable Shen. He then whispered a few instructions to Jiang Kui. Jiang Kui nodded in understanding, his gaze sharpening.

"Ye Qinghui, we never got the chance to test each other in the Illusory Forest. Now we can finally settle which of us is stronger." Jiang Kui ran a hand along his blade, a contemptuous smile curling his lips. "I won't hold back."

"Come on!" Ye Qinghui stood with his Spirit Sword in hand, his bearing extraordinary.

As his cultivation recovered step by step, he felt spiritual power surging through him. No one could defeat him.

Blue and silver sword light flared, and the two crossed the platform like shooting stars. Ye Qinghui no longer concealed his strength. Like a dragon gliding through water, he moved with fluid unpredictability, every stroke unstoppable. Jiang Kui refused to yield, sending out vicious silver-white sword light amid an overwhelming tide of killing intent.

Their swords clashed again and again, sending spiritual energy surging. The wind howled, and waves of force rolled outward.

Yet though Jiang Kui's swordplay was fast and ruthless, it lacked Ye Qinghui's balance of offense and defense and his endless variations. After more than a hundred exchanges, Ye Qinghui had seen through the patterns in his Swordsmanship and easily countered his Sword Moves. Jiang Kui grew flustered, forced from attacking into defending, and began to lose ground.

Suddenly, he darted aside and glared at Ye Qinghui, unwilling to accept defeat. The scar on his face looked especially savage.

[First Senior Brother, watch out!] Ye Zhenzhen saw Jiang Kui reach toward his waist and knew he was about to use a Hidden Weapon. She sprang upright in Ye Qingyao's arms and shouted a warning to Ye Qinghui with all her might.

Ye Qinghui faintly heard Junior Sister's cry and dodged to the side. Several Golden Centipede Silver Needles skimmed past his hair.

That was close!

The Golden Centipede Silver Needles were hidden weapons of Thousand Mechanisms Palace, engraved with golden centipedes. Poisonous and terrifyingly deadly, they could kill ordinary cultivators and leave even powerful ones unable to use their inner power.

"Jiang Kui, you used poisoned Hidden Weapons!" Ye Qinghui rebuked him. "Hidden Weapons are strictly forbidden in the Immortal Sects Grand Tournament. You broke the rules and should withdraw immediately."

Jiang Kui glanced toward Immortal Venerable Shen at the judges' table. Shen smiled and gave him a look, with no sign of stopping the match. Emboldened, Jiang Kui bared his teeth and argued, "Ye Qinghui, what gives you the right to call these Hidden Weapons? They're simply my weapons. How are they any different from Jiang Wan's Crimson Slash?"

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