Chapter 25
"Winners are kings, losers are outlaws. Take this!"
As he spoke, he swept out his hand, releasing Golden Centipede Silver Needles as dense as stars across the sky. They shot straight at Ye Qinghui, twisting nimbly in midair and covering the battlefield so completely that they were almost impossible to guard against.
Damn it. Jiang Kui knows my father has left and no one's here to back us up, so he's joined Immortal Venerable Shen and his lot in their filthy schemes. He's breaking the tournament rules.
First Senior Brother, hurry and use the method I told you about yesterday. Show him what he's in for!
They had predicted that Jiang Kui would resort to a Hidden Weapon once he found himself outmatched, and they had prepared a countermeasure. Even so, the sight made Ye Zhenzhen so angry she nearly sprang out of her senior sister's arms.
Ye Qinghui took out a Talisman and swept it toward the Golden Centipede Silver Needles. Every needle reversed direction and flew back at Jiang Kui.
"It's a Rebound Talisman!"
Jiang Kui had been smugly awaiting his victory. Caught off guard by his own needles, he was poisoned and collapsed on the spot.
Jiang Buqun, Sect Leader of Thousand Mechanisms Palace, flicked his sleeve in bitter disappointment. Jiang Kui's fellow disciples hurried over and gave him the antidote to the Golden Centipede Silver Needles.
Jiang Wan, whom Ye Qinghui had defeated earlier, sprang lightly up on her long legs. Clapping, she called out, "Good! Jiang Kui used a Hidden Weapon, only to hurt himself instead of his opponent. Serves him right."
She had become Ye Qinghui's biggest fan. Seeing him win made her happier than winning herself.
First Senior Brother, someone's taken a fancy to you. Ye Zhenzhen waved her little hands with a grin, sensing that something juicy was about to unfold.
When she had read the original book, she had loved Ye Qinghui's lofty, untouchable bearing. Even if he couldn't be the male lead, surely he should at least have been the second male lead. Instead, that idiot author had made him a beautiful, powerful, tragic piece of Cannon Fodder, given him hardly any scenes, and never let romance touch his story.
It would be such a shame if that lofty flower never descended from his pedestal. She had high hopes for Jiang Wan and First Senior Brother as a couple.
But Ye Qinghui had barely stepped off the arena before he scooped Ye Zhenzhen into his arms and gave her little cheeks a squeeze. "Junior Sister, are you that happy I won?"
Ye Zhenzhen: That's not it... I...
Ye Zhenzhen: This isn't quite how I expected things to go...
She had been rooting for a couple, only to find herself caught up in it.
Ye Qingyun relied on Ye Qinghui's Inner Core to make it smoothly into the final four.
Before competing with Shen Xingyan for a place in the final, he even indulged in a little conceited daydream. What if he beat Shen Xingyan? Would Immortal Venerable Shen be displeased? But he and his master had emptied their coffers to pay the entry fee of twenty thousand Superior Spirit Stones. For the sake of those stones, he couldn't go easy on Shen Xingyan, either.
This is so difficult... What should I do?
He took a few extra looks at the tournament's grand prize—the Land-Sea-Air Flying Vessel—and renewed his resolve to win it with everything he had. Then he strode into the arena, brimming with confidence.
As it turned out, he had worried for nothing.
When he faced Shen Xingyan head-on, he discovered to his shock that Shen Xingyan had broken through the Golden Core Late Stage and entered the early Nascent Soul stage. Though merging with Ye Qinghui's Inner Core had raised Ye Qingyun to the Golden Core Late Stage, the gulf between Golden Core and Nascent Soul was a chasm. It was not long before he suffered a crushing defeat.
Farewell, my great Flying Boat. I'll never get to ride you in this life. He wept a storm inside.
The finalists were decided. Shen Xingyan had defeated Ye Qingyun and would face Ye Qinghui the next morning for the title of Tournament Champion in this Immortal Sects Grand Tournament.
That night was utterly quiet.
In the original book, Peerless Furnace Cauldron, Shen Xingyan had all but secured victory by the night before the final. He had invited Ye Qingyao out for another moonlit meeting among the flowers, full of tender affection, and boldly promised, "Once the Flying Boat is mine, I shall give it to you." His words had moved the beauty to tears.
Strangely, this night passed without a ripple. Shen Xingyan did not even show his face.
Ye Zhenzhen: *?*
What is Shen Xingyan secretly up to?
It was not until just before the final the next morning that Shen Xingyan saw Ye Qingyao at the tournament grounds. Pointing to the Flying Boat, he solemnly declared, "Qingyao, if I become Tournament Champion, I'll give you the Flying Boat as proof of my heart."
White Peacock, you want to win the Flying Boat? Don't even dream of it. Ye Zhenzhen happily nibbled her little hand, looking at the Flying Boat as though it were already tucked safely in their pocket. Once she and First Senior Brother had entered the fray, everything seemed to have changed. The outcome would change too! The Flying Boat would be theirs!
The match began.
Shen Xingyan strode into the arena with his head held high. The Flood Dragon Patterns on his white robes gleamed gold, baring their fangs and claws. He looked spirited and utterly sure of victory.
Ye Qinghui stood in the wind as always, handsome and unworldly, as noble and cool as flawless jade.
Most of the spectators had bet Spirit Stones they had painstakingly saved for months, even years, on Shen Xingyan. Cries of "Shen Xingyan will win!" and "Young Sect Leader Shen is invincible!" filled the grounds. Only a handful of people—including Ye Zhenzhen and the others from Kongtong School, Lu Lingxuan of Spirit Sword Manor, and Jiang Wan of Immortal-Ending Hall—had wagered hundreds of thousands, even a million, Superior Spirit Stones on Ye Qinghui.
Luo Bingyao, dressed in a cool green Narcissus Dress, stood close beneath the arena to cheer on her beloved Shen. Since learning that Shen Xingyan liked people in green, she had begun imitating Ye Qingyao, even toning down her makeup considerably. But she looked rather like Dongshi trying to imitate Xishi's beauty.
She thought she stood out from the crowd like a crane among chickens. But Jiang Wan led a group of long-legged beauties from Immortal-Ending Hall to the front row. Dressed in fitted red gowns, they performed a sword dance to cheer Ye Qinghui on. They instantly became the focus of the entire crowd and eclipsed her.
No one noticed Luo Bingyao. Even Shen Xingyan failed to see her affected attempts to draw his attention.
After Shen Xingyan and Ye Qinghui exchanged a few probing moves, each was stunned by the other's strength. Ye Qinghui appeared to have no Core, but with the aid of a Bodhi Spirit Pill, he had not only restored his cultivation completely but also absorbed the spiritual power of Dragonblood Stone to break through. He had now reached the early Nascent Soul stage.