Chapter 19 The Dust Settles

Jiang Yan turned her head and met Gongsun Jin's pixelated face.

She could roughly understand the aloofness emanating from him.

Gongsun Jin didn't say much, only nodded slightly at her.

He doesn't want to change his Daoist partner yet, and after spending the last few days together, he doesn't want Jiang Yan to get hurt. However, she does face difficulties in her battle against Shen Miaoyin.

Jiang Yan frowned slightly. As she looked away, she noticed that the bluish mosaic at his feet had moved forward a little.

Lin Yun also wanted to say a few words, but for a moment he didn't know how to start.

He was already doing alright with his current partner, and he didn't want to find someone even worse.

Shen Miaoyin looked at Jiang Yan, raised an eyebrow, and said, "This is a challenge you signed yourself. You don't want to admit it, do you?!"

Jiang Yan gently curled her lips: "The outcome is still undecided, perhaps you should worry about yourself!"

"You're being stubborn, then let's continue!"

After saying that, she leaped forward and thrust her sword at Jiang Yan. Jiang Yan was already exhausted, but she still managed to hold off two rounds.

In the third round, Shen Miaoyin pierced her left shoulder with a sword, and blood gushed out, mixed with the spiritual energy in her body!

Ling Yue called out anxiously, "Sister Yan!"

Ruoning also looked worried: "Junior Sister..."

She had intended to reassure Jiang Yan that losing the competition was alright, safety should come first. But this competition now concerned her fellow Daoist partners…

Xiao Mei: "Host, did you hear what I just said? Shen Miaoyin has probably taken a special elixir. You're unlikely to be her match right now. Since we're going to break the contract anyway, why don't we just let it go!"

Jiang Yan frowned and looked ahead at Shen Miaoyin, who was already confident of victory.

The man looked at her smugly: "Jiang Yan, aren't you going to admit defeat? If you keep fighting, I'm afraid you'll lose all your cultivation and turn back into your original form!"

Jiang Yan replied silently to Xiao Mei: "It's between me and them if I want to break the contract with them! They can choose to be partners with anyone after breaking the contract with me. But I have no right, nor can I, just let them lose to Shen Miaoyin like this."

"It was my mistake not to see through the scheme Shen Miaoyin left in the challenge letter, and I must take responsibility for my mistake."

As soon as she finished speaking, her eyes narrowed, and she gripped her sword, aiming it at Shen Miaoyin.

Shen Miaoyin smiled contemptuously, not taking her attack seriously at all. At this moment, she was even somewhat distracted in dealing with the situation.

She wanted to show everyone how she could make fun of Jiang Yan on stage.

She wanted to show Jiang Yan's partners what kind of good-for-nothing Jiang Yan really was! Following Jiang Yan would only bring harm and no benefit; only by following her could they have a bright future!

Shen Miaoyin and Jiang Yan fought for a while, but then she probably felt that it was about time.

The sword suddenly turned and thrust straight at Jiang Yan's heart.

Jiang Yan on the other side seemed to have no idea what to do, and for a moment she forgot to dodge, and was stunned in place.

"Junior Sister!"

"Sister Yan, be careful!"

"Miss Jiang!"

In an instant, voices of worry arose, and even Gongsun Jin and Dongfang Chen couldn't help but frown.

If Jiang Yanruo takes this sword strike, she'll probably...

The next second, the long sword in Shen Miaoyin's hand pierced Jiang Yan's heart, and her eyes were full of smugness.

Just as she was about to pierce Jiang Yan's chest with her sword, a sharp sword aura suddenly rose up. Before Shen Miaoyin could react, Jiang Yan pierced her chest with his sword.

Shen Miaoyin frowned in surprise, and Jiang Yan swiftly kicked her away, sending her flying off the stage!

Then she raised her hand, pulled the sword from her chest, and threw it aside.

The steward of Wushan announced loudly, "In this round, Jiang Yan of the Hehuan Sect wins!"

Shen Miaoyin was supported by several Daoist partners, her angry and resentful gaze fixed on Jiang Yan on the stage.

She never expected that Jiang Yan would dare to use herself as bait to lure her into the trap!

Take advantage of her moment of carelessness and launch a sneak attack!

Shen Miaoyin said resentfully, "Jiang Yan, you won by cheating. Even if you win, it doesn't change the fact that you're shameless! It's a fact that you harassed my Senior Brother Yuheng! If Wushan gives a spirit beast to such a scoundrel, what credibility will it have left? The Hehuan Sect is not a proper sect to begin with. I think there must be something fishy about this competition!"

Hearing her say that, the group of people below who already looked down on the Hehuan Sect also joined in fanning the flames.

In thousands of years, when has the Joyful Union Sect ever been so prominent? Where did they get their strength? They must have cheated!

Ruoning angrily argued with them for a few words, but she was no match for them on her own.

Po Yun had already flown to the arena and handed Jiang Yan a few pills: "Junior Sister, take these quickly. They are the sect's secret medicine for healing injuries."

Jiang Yan took the pill he handed her and swallowed it.

The audience.

Xiao Bai, Ling Yue, Lin Yun, and Shen Yuchen couldn't care less about the discussions at this moment; their eyes were still filled with undisguised astonishment.

Xiao Bai frowned: "Didn't she know that what she just did was very dangerous?"

Ling Yue said with heartache, "You always said you wanted to break the contract, why..." and risk your life.

Xiao Bai pondered for a moment: "Miss Jiang has her own principles. She may want to break the contract, but she would never do it in this way."

Upon hearing this, 'Gongsun Jin' couldn't help but turn his head to look at the small white snake that still had a green skin.

He admitted that at the last minute, he did indeed have a bit of a cynical mind.

Jiang Yan is... much more interesting than he imagined.

Dongfang Chen remained silent, seemingly deep in thought.

Shen Yuchen was also filled with mixed emotions.

Lin Yun stared at the somewhat disheveled Jiang Yan on the stage and muttered, "She really did have designs on me..."

Otherwise, why would he risk his life just because someone was going to take him away?

Lin Yun darted to Jiang Yan's feet in a flash, wrapped his arms around her ankles, and began to channel spiritual energy into her.

Jiang Yan glanced down, then smiled and said, "Thank you, Xiao Bai."

Lin Yun: "..."

Fine, considering he got hurt because of her, I won't hold it against her for mistaking him for someone else today.

The murmurs below continued, and at that moment, Elder Wushan walked out, leaning on his cane.

"When did it become your place to interfere in how I, Wushan, conduct myself? The truth you seek is all in the Time Replay Mirror!" With that, he raised his hand and projected a series of virtual images into the air.

The Hehuan Sect knows exactly how every competition begins and ends.

"Anyone who dares to question whether this is fair can come to me, Elder Wushan. If anyone dares to slander me again, don't blame me for being impolite!"

The audience fell completely silent.

Another image soon appeared in the air.

The scene depicts Shen Miaoyin's Daoist partner, Yuheng, how he orchestrated a chance encounter with Jiang Yan, how he knelt at the door to beg for her hand in marriage, and how he planned to annul the engagement. It also shows how Jiang Yan explicitly told him during the dissolution of their contract: "I will no longer cherish such an ungrateful and heartless person as my senior brother. From this point on, we will have no further connection."

With the truth revealed, everyone turned to look at Yuheng beside Shen Miaoyin, pointing and whispering about him.

"You speak so eloquently, yet you are such a shameless scoundrel!"

"His current Daoist partner is actually trying to covet someone else's Daoist partner. They are truly insatiable!"

Elder Wushan said in a deep voice: "Yuanjian Pavilion has turned black into white. He is hereby punished with a hundred-year ban from entering Wushan territory and from participating in any Wushan competitions."

With that, he casually dismissed the group of eyesores in front of him.

Then he turned to Jiang Yan and said in a compassionate tone, "Now choose your spirit pet."

As soon as Jiang Yan turned around, she saw several spirit beasts squatting not far away.

There are three level-five beasts: a raccoon, a black panther, and a fox.

The level eight beast, Taotie, is rather large, a dark blob.

However, Jiang Yan couldn't accurately distinguish their shapes; she simply avoided the enormous one.

Standing before a spirit beast that resembled a fox: "This one will do."

As soon as she finished speaking, the fox suddenly jumped into her arms, its little head nuzzling against her chin.

Elder Wushan gave the fox a meaningful look: "Alright, now that you've chosen your spirit beast, you may descend the mountain."

Jiang Yan, holding the fox, nodded and said, "Thank you, Elder."

Another junior brother from the Hehuan Sect also obtained a level 5 beast.

After that, everyone in the sect walked down the mountain together.

Feng Qingyu turned her head and glanced at the 'fox' following at Jiang Yan's feet.

It would transform itself into a rabbit one moment, a cat the next, and... a small black beast with black pupils like copper bells.

Ha, it certainly knows how to have fun.

Elder Wushan stood atop the mountain, gazing at the black ball of fur and sighing helplessly. He had kept it by his side for many years, and he felt a pang of reluctance to part with it.

The steward beside him said, "Elder, is it alright to just leave it next to a Foundation Establishment cultivator like this?"

Elder Wushan stroked his beard and smiled: "It chose its own master, and if it thinks it's good, then it is. That girl is quite good; it certainly won't treat her badly."

The steward remained silent. He knew that when the little beast came to the elder to beg him to give it to the girl as a spirit beast, the elder had made a deal with it: if Jiang Yan won the competition and chose it at the last moment, he would allow it to descend the mountain.

In retrospect, they were truly destined for each other.

She had no intention of choosing it, yet she still ended up choosing its form; it was all predestined.