Chapter 49: Chapter 47: Champion of the Sect’s Minor Tournament
Panyun Mountain, Bian State, Jin Kingdom.
Legends say that deep within the impenetrable clouds, Immortals dance beneath the pines and drink alone under the moon.
The Heavenly Emotions and Oceanic Resentments Sect was a second-class Sect of the Demon Dao.
The standard for a Second-class Sect was having two to three Golden Core Great Powers in residence.
Competition in the Demon Sects was said to be fierce, even brutal.
And within a second-class Demon Sect, the competition was so savage that the mere mention of it was horrifying.
Dozens of disciples in the middle and late stages of Qi Cultivation had participated in this round of the sect’s tournament.
After a series of bloody, merciless battles, only two disciples remained.
Those eliminated earlier were considered lucky if they only suffered crippling injuries or missing limbs; even being killed on the spot was not the most tragic outcome.
Even being tortured and killed by a thousand cuts in a duel was not the worst fate.
The truly tragic fates were reserved for those who underwent Soul Extraction and Refining—their very sinews, bones, flesh, skin, and soul rendered down to become their opponent’s Demon Artifact or fuel their Cultivation.
This was the way of the Demon Sects: survival of the fittest, where the winner takes all.
Once you entered a Demon Sect, there was no leaving.
Even if you failed on the path to immortality and were tragically eliminated, you could still contribute to the Sect with your own flesh, blood, and soul...
Amidst an atmosphere growing ever more frenzied with the scent of blood, the last two disciples stepped onto the fighting stage.
One was a man of ordinary looks and a cold disposition, carrying a Thick-Backed Saber. He appeared to favor a bold, sweeping style of combat—but everyone who had made that assumption was now dead.
The other was a woman whose beauty defied description. At first glance, her almond-shaped eyes were as cold as frost, yet a closer look revealed a shy, unspoken allure that made one involuntarily want to draw near.
She wore a black blouse and skirt, her body almost entirely covered. Even her slender neck was hidden by a lace-trimmed collar, and not an inch of her wrists was visible.
Only her fair, tender, bare feet were exposed, stepping through pools of blood with an eerie, bewitching charm.
"Brother Helan, congratulations. You’ve found yourself a fine disciple! This Lin Sha’s Charm Skill has already transcended physical beauty; it strikes right at the soul. Even without any deliberate attempts at Charm, the grace in her every movement is enough to leave one utterly mesmerized. If she wins this tournament and gets that Foundation Establishment Pill, I expect she’ll break through to Foundation Establishment in just a few short years. She’ll probably advance unimpeded all the way to Foundation Establishment Perfection, with a good chance at the Golden Core Path. However, you must have other plans, Brother Helan, otherwise you wouldn’t have invested so much in training her. I can see she has already lost her primal yin, so I presume you aren’t raising her to be a Furnace Cauldron. What exactly are you scheming?"
The speaker was Mei Shuyu, one of the prodigies of the Heavenly Emotions and Oceanic Resentments Sect. Not yet sixty, she already possessed a Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivation and had Golden Core Potential before her hundredth year.
She had the appearance of a sixteen-year-old girl, with a delicate and slender figure.
Below a waist so narrow you could circle it with one hand, her hips were full and upturned, like a ripe peach that would gush juice at the slightest squeeze.
Her dark red lipstick looked like dried blood, giving her a fiendish beauty, like a poisonous flower that was all the more magnificent for its danger.
A perfectly harmless smile played on Helan Ruojin’s lips. "What could I possibly be scheming? Naturally, I’m just happy for my dear disciple."
Individually, his features were not particularly handsome.
But together, they created a unique charm that was devastatingly attractive to both men and women.
He was neither brutishly masculine nor repulsively effeminate. Everything was in perfect balance.
Mei Shuyu covered her mouth with a delicate laugh, the creamy white expanse of her chest quivering, drawing the involuntary gazes of the surrounding Cultivators.
She shot Helan Ruojin a look that was part pout, part pleasure. "Of course I believe you, Brother Helan. I remember you advanced to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage even before I did. If it weren’t for... ah, well. I do hope you can mend your Dao Foundation soon and recover your cultivation. Who knows? Perhaps you can still catch up to me before I reach Core Formation."
Helan Ruojin smiled with pure innocence. "How could that be possible? Junior Sister Mei, you’re our Sect’s prodigy, a Golden Core Seed. As for me, I’m not even qualified to be your lackey right now. I only hope I can restore my Cultivation one day. When that time comes, I pray you won’t scorn my pledge of allegiance!"
Mei Shuyu gave him a bashful smile. "Oh, Brother, don’t say that. I’m just a helpless woman. When you rise again, I will certainly have to seek refuge under your protection!"
They looked at each other and smiled, a silent, mutual understanding passing between them.
While they chatted and laughed, the young man with the saber had already been struck by Lin Sha’s Magical Artifact. Countless steel needles pierced his cowhide-tough skin, and blood, glowing an eerie blue from poison, gushed out.
Lin Sha stepped forward and closed her hand around his throat. Just as she was about to crush it, a powerful surge of Magical Power knocked her back. Her protective flowers immediately flew out, circling her menacingly.
"Enough! Lin Sha is the victor of this bout. And the champion of this tournament is Lin Sha!"
The young saber user was barely breathing, his eyes fixed on Lin Sha with a bone-deep hatred.
According to the tradition of the Heavenly Emotions and Oceanic Resentments Sect, only the champion received a reward.
Winner takes all.
Not only had he gained nothing, he was also left grievously wounded. Of course he hated her!
Lin Sha gave him an indifferent glance, her eyes devoid of warmth.
It was the way one looks at a dead man.
In her mind, he was already marked for death.
If she found the slightest opportunity, she would kill him without a second thought.
Lifting her head, Lin Sha gazed south.
’That heartless man... what is he doing right now?’
’Why hasn’t he come for me?’
’It’s been ten years. Ten long years.’
’I heard the champion of this tournament gets to lead a mission to the Feixian Peak Blessed Land. I wonder if I’ll be able to see Qing Lang there.’
’Qing Lang is so exceptional. The Zhongxuan Sect has probably hidden him away like a precious treasure. They won’t let him leave the safety of their Sect Protection Array easily... aah, if only I could see him just once.’
’But what if he’s found someone new... If he dares to find someone new...’
’I’ll flay that woman alive, break her bones, and tear her to pieces. And then I’ll ignore him for another ten years.’
’No, I’ll just kill the woman. Simply.’
’Ugh, Qing Lang would hate it if I killed someone... Fine, fine. As long as that bitch leaves him on her own and swears never to see him again, I suppose I could let her live.’
’She won, of course. And effortlessly. With her Charm Skill at such a high level, even an opponent with a heart of stone would be moved, reluctant to harm her. They always subconsciously hold back. They’re lucky if they can use even half of their true strength. When it comes to Charm Skills alone, even I have to admit I’m no match for that girl.’
"I heard," Mei Shuyu said, her sultry gaze clinging to Helan Ruojin, "that Ancestor Cai’s lineage, in their search for a disciple fit to practice the fragmented scroll of our Sect’s Foundation Technique, the Supreme Purity Emotion Scripture, deliberately spent several hundred years sponsoring a Martial Arts Sect in the Mortal World. They bestowed upon them a simplified version called the Emotionless and Desireless Skill."
"Anyone in the Mortal World who could master the Emotionless and Desireless Skill—progressing from the stage of Entering Emotions, to Breaking Emotions, to Absolute Emotionlessness, and all the way to the Ultimate Emotion Realm—would be brought back to the Sect. Such a disciple would be a treasure, a seed for a True Inheritor. Their Cultivation of the Supreme Purity Emotion Scripture would advance at an astonishing pace."
"And I also heard that, over a decade ago, the Martial Arts Sect sponsored by Ancestor Cai’s lineage was completely annihilated. The killer apparently used the very same Martial Arts taught by that sect. Afterward, Ancestor Cai performed a divination and simply laughed, saying everything was under control and that the Sect was on the verge of a great revival. And then he did nothing. What do you think, Brother? Do you suppose Ancestor Cai already knows who the killer was?"
Helan Ruojin offered an innocent smile. "I’m just a minor figure. How could I possibly know about such things? Junior Sister Mei, if there’s nothing else, please allow me to take my leave."
"Farewell, Brother."
Watching Helan Ruojin’s retreating figure, Mei Shuyu’s sultry smile gradually turned bone-chillingly cold.
