Holding the Arena
Su Fuyun's face was deathly pale, and no matter how calm she tried to appear, her anxiety was still evident.
"You've made it to the finals of the Golden Core Realm stage, that's excellent. Your next task is to win first place in this individual competition. I don't think I need to elaborate on that, do I?" After swallowing a sip of hot tea, Su Fuyun's complexion improved slightly.
Sitting to her left, Chi Yan looked at her and scoffed inwardly, "The sect leader had already instructed me on these matters many times before I left, so the Holy Maiden really doesn't need to worry about them. Instead of wasting so much time, the Holy Maiden should think about how to explain things to the sect leader."
"What do you mean?!" As if her sore spot had been hit, Su Fuyun glared at her.
A beautiful woman in anger is a stunningly beautiful scene, but unfortunately, Chi Yan is not the kind of person who can appreciate it.
When Su Fuyun asked this, he answered very frankly, "What could this disciple possibly mean? I merely wish to advise the Holy Maiden that it would be better to focus on cultivation rather than wasting energy on useless matters."
He initially had a fairly good impression of this saintess, after all, she was a beautiful and gentle woman.
However, due to his friend Jing He's accident, he unconsciously took his anger out on Su Fuyun.
He and Jing He were old friends. Although they had some differences in talent in their early years, they unexpectedly became friends, perhaps because they were compatible with each other.
Because Chi Yan lacked talent in his early years, he joined the Mara Gate at a young age to try and find fortuitous opportunity for himself. Jing He, whose family worried that he would die young, started much later than him.
However, this did not affect their relationship; in fact, the brief separation brought them even closer.
Not long after Jing He Mara Gate, the new Holy Maiden approached him. After giving Jing He a Law Artifact, he soon encountered trouble.
After obtaining the "Spirit Cleansing Pill" from the sect leader and having his Spirit Root reduced from three to one, Chi Yan vaguely sensed that the Mara Gate held a secret about Spirit Root.
He didn't make a fuss only because he was the beneficiary.
However, after learning that his friend's Spirit Root was damaged and that he would never make any further progress in this life, he immediately guessed that this was probably also the work of Mara Gate.
Chi Yan had no powerful backing, so naturally he dared not express any dissatisfaction with the sect leader. He could only vent his anger on Su Fuyun, since this person, despite having the honor of being a Holy Maiden, had no real power whatsoever.
This was something Chi Yan only discovered after he gained the sect leader's favor.
Although Chi Yan didn't point it out directly, Su Fuyun could guess that the "useless thing" he was referring to was his own efforts to win over the Beast Taming Sect.
Her actions weren't exactly secretive, so naturally they didn't escape Chi Yan's notice.
"I will naturally explain to the sect leader. As long as our Mara Gate comes in first place, he won't have any complaints," Su Fuyun said, forcing a confident tone.
Chi Yan nodded. "If that's the case, then what exactly does the Holy Maiden want with her disciple?"
Finally getting to the point, Su Fuyun's expression instantly turned cold and stern. "I want you to cripple Chief Scholar Ten Thousand Daos Born's Dantian during tomorrow's finals!"
The woman's expression, illuminated by the luminous pearl in the room, revealed a hint of murderous intent, causing Chi Yan to subtly raise his eyebrows.
Could a mere competition really have caused her to harbor such deep resentment towards that female Ten Thousand Daos Born Cultivation Sect?
Chi Yan suddenly became interested in the entanglement between the two.
"Since the Holy Maiden has given the order, this disciple will certainly comply!" He had long wanted to help Jing He teach this woman who had made him lose face a lesson!
Thus, amidst the anticipation of those with ulterior motives, the final of the individual competition slowly began.
The location was the same arena from a few days ago, and Sang Ying led her fellow disciples who were ranked high to the spectator seats early in the morning.
Before the competition began, Sang Ying drew everyone's attention to herself and announced loudly, "Today is the final of the individual competition. It is already a source of pride for me, Ten Thousand Daos Born, that you have all made it to the finals. Even if you don't make it into the top ten this time, I believe you will all benefit from it."
"Therefore, we do not expect you to strive for the top in the finals. As long as you make progress, that will be enough to please the sect leader and elders. You must not harm yourselves in the pursuit of victory. If you face a powerful enemy, do your best, but absolutely do not be reckless!"
This is the result of Sang Ying's discussion with the two elders last night.
Although this might be seen as a sign of retreat or cowardice, in the eyes of the two elders, no matter how important the sect competition was, it was not as important as the disciples.
Now, it's clear that Mara Gate came prepared and has been ruthless in his attacks. To act recklessly at this point will only increase casualties.
Fortunately, Ten Thousand Daos Born's disciple was quite obedient. Even though he felt somewhat aggrieved, he still obediently agreed under Sang Ying's stern gaze, though his expression looked utterly wronged.
Seeing this, Sang Ying could only comfort them, saying, "You don't need to be so unwilling. We may have lost to him by one move in the individual competition, but that doesn't mean we can't get our revenge in the sect competition!"
Upon hearing this, several of the more lively ones immediately lit up, as if they had already come up with some trickery.
The brief instruction ended quickly, and people from other sects appeared one after another.
Unlike usual, Su Fuyun had been hiding for many days, reappeared in public this time, leading a large group of Mara Gate disciples to attend the finals together with Chi Yan.
Sang Ying noticed the smug look that Sang Ying was deliberately giving her and seemed to have a vague idea of what was going on.
Once everyone had arrived, an elder of the Azure Feather Sect stood up at the sect leader's signal and announced, "Today is the final of this individual competition. The final will last one day and will adopt the rule of defending the title."
At the elder's signal, everyone turned around and saw the twenty neatly arranged fighting platforms.
"Everyone may choose their dueling arena as soon as possible. After choosing, you will fight in pairs. The winner will become the champion and will continue to accept challenges from others. The person who defends the arena and fights to the last will be among the top ten!"
The rules were no different from before, and upon hearing them, the crowd not only showed no fear of fighting ten against one, but they all became excited.
They couldn't wait for the elder's command to rush up to the platform and compete with the others.
However, smart people know that very few of those who stand on the platform first can win all the way to the end.
No matter how strong someone is, they cannot last in such a relentless battle.
Therefore, in previous years' finals, the young disciples would always argue endlessly about who should go up first.
The elders in the stands had assumed today would be the same, and they had even come up with solutions.
As soon as the gong signaling the start of the competition sounded, figures instantly appeared on the ten fighting platforms belonging to the Golden Core Realm.
A quick glance revealed that Ten Thousand Daos Born cultivator, was standing on three of the ten dueling platforms.
As if mocking someone, the familiar female cultivator in the blue dress stood on the familiar number three dueling platform.
Sang Ying lowered her eyes and looked at Su Fuyun in the distance. With Su Fuyun's face gradually turning pale, she met her first opponent of the day, and thus began her winning streak for the day!
A note from the author:
I typed this on the train today, which wasn't very convenient, and my head was also hurting, so there are only two chapters for now. Sorry everyone.
That's all for today! See you tomorrow! ~Fluttering wings