Chapter 14 Test (Part 5) Would you like to consider the Path of Slaughter? ...

"Foundation Establishment cultivator fighting Golden Core cultivator? Are you kidding me?"

"Senior Sister Qingxing is so unlucky..."

"What bad luck? You didn't see how she performed in the flight test. It's not certain who will win or lose!"

"I was there! That ferocious beast looked terrifying; it scared the crap out of me as soon as it appeared!"

The chatter of the crowd reached Qingxing's ears. Qingxing remained silent. Wenren Xi, who was standing next to her, pulled out a fan from somewhere and covered his nose with it. He exclaimed, "Ah!" "Junior Sister Qingxing, I can only wish you good luck in dealing with this little madman."

Everyone in Mount Taihua knows that the sect leader has two exceptionally talented disciples. Both of them entered Mount Taihua in the same year and both possess top-grade spiritual roots. They should be the envy of most people, but they are also extremely diligent. When they practice swordsmanship, they lose track of time and ignore the people around them. When they fight, they are like madmen, never backing down even if they are covered in wounds.

One disciple, defying superstition, dared to offend Shen Wan, only to be severely injured in a one-sided beating. As a result, while a small minority were jealous, most disciples kept their distance from them.

Qingxing withdrew her gaze and said calmly, "Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother."

She had been wondering when she would get to experience the power of the male and female leads, and now, fate has arranged it for her.

Wenren Xi shook her fan: "I'm really looking forward to seeing what kind of magic array Junior Sister will use this time."

"I can't say for sure,"

“But senior brother,” Qingxing said, glancing at the people already waiting on the martial arts stage ahead, “you should look forward to your own competition time first.”

Wenren Xi paused, glanced at the details displayed on the screen, chuckled helplessly, and slowly walked away.

To speed up the second round of testing, the elders set up multiple training platforms, conducting ten matches simultaneously across ten venues. This saved time and also dispersed the spectators, allowing each disciple to choose what interested them and preventing the training grounds from becoming too crowded.

Wenren Xi joined the sect early, was kind-hearted, and was handsome and strong. He was quite famous in Taihua Mountain, and many people came to watch the battle today specifically for him, forming a fairly large circle around his platform.

Qingxing's competition was in the afternoon, and since she had nothing else to do, she simply followed the crowd to the edge of the largest martial arts arena to wait and see Wenren Xi's performance.

Wenren Xi's opponent was named Sun Xiaojiu, a talisman cultivator in the early stage of the Golden Core realm. At this moment, he stood solemnly on one side of the martial arts stage, as if facing a formidable enemy.

Wenren Xi, on the other hand, had a completely different demeanor. He leisurely crossed his arms, a gentle breeze ruffling his hair ribbon and brushing against his jade-like cheeks. His eyes were curved in a smile, and he seemed very relaxed, not like someone about to fight, but more like someone enjoying the spring.

The procedures and rules for the inner sect tests and private duels are not much different, except that there are some additional spell restrictions to specifically prevent "illegal" spells such as "teleportation arrays".

The supervisor's sword hovered above, his gaze indifferent as he looked at the two people on the field.

"The first to step out of the stage loses within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."

As soon as he finished speaking, a loud "bang" resounded, and the bronze bell on the martial arts stage shook violently. The person opposite him took the initiative to make a move, leaping up and throwing several talismans at Wenren Xi with a "whoosh".

Wenren Xi stood there with a smile on his face, motionless.

Several talismans imbued with spiritual power pierced straight through his body, creating several large holes.

Qingxing didn't react much, only slightly furrowing her brow. The audience below was stunned by the sight, but the next moment, the body riddled with holes suddenly exploded, white cotton fluff flew everywhere, and a piece of paper with a smiley face drawn on it slowly floated down and landed below the martial arts stage.

They've fallen for their trap!

Sun Xiaojiu only realized what was happening when his pupils suddenly shrank, but it was too late to turn around.

"You threw the talisman quite accurately, but it's a pity," Wenren Xi's amused voice rang in his ear, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end instantly, "too slow."

As soon as he finished speaking, dozens of silk threads were pulled straight at the same time. Sun Xiaojiu felt a suffocating sensation in his throat, his mind went blank for a moment, and then he was pulled by a huge force and flew directly off the martial arts stage, crashing heavily to the ground.

The disciples below the stage gasped. Wenren Xi moved so fast that no one could even see when he had wrapped the silk threads around Sun Xiaojiu's neck.

"Wenren Xisheng!"

As the examiner announced the results, at the same time, the three large characters "Wenren Xi" on the scroll flashed for a moment, moving up one place.

It turned out to be a one-hit wonder!

There was a moment of silence in the audience, followed by a huge burst of discussion.

"Wow! Senior Brother Wenren is amazing!"

"As expected of Gongcheng or the elder's prized student, I didn't even know when he made his move!"

"I hope I don't run into him next time. I want to steadily make it into the top ten..."

"Senior Brother Sun is at least a Golden Core cultivator. Can Golden Core cultivators really kill each other in one move...?"

The crowd sighed and dispersed. Qingxing glanced at Sun Xiaojiu; perhaps he was too devastated, for he stood silently in the audience after getting up from the ground, looking utterly ashen.

"Poor thing, poor thing." Guda had been awake for a while. It had been lying in the green apricot bun, only its eyes showing, silently watching the whole scene. "This Wenren Xi is really a smiling tiger, terrifying, terrifying!"

Qingxing didn't answer, thinking to herself: Judging from the competition just now, Wenren Xi did hold back a bit in the first round.

She recalled the cold-glowing threads from earlier; this level of power didn't seem like something that would be forced back by the greatly weakened Ten Thousand Kill Sword Domain.

"Little Gudako, talking behind people's backs isn't a good habit." Wenren Xi appeared behind Qingxing at some point, reverting to his elegant gentlemanly demeanor. "Junior Sister, isn't it time for dinner? Would you do me the honor of accompanying me to the kitchen?"

Qingxing asked in confusion, "Senior brother hasn't started fasting yet?"

Eating too much food with a strong smoky flavor can affect cultivation, so most cultivators follow the principle of "fasting should start early rather than late." It's understandable that she, a latecomer to cultivation, doesn't fast, but for someone like Wenren Xi, who is in the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm, even if he didn't want to, Gongcheng would probably force him to fast, right?

“There’s no conflict,” Wenren Xi said with a smile. “After all, sometimes you want to experience the flavors of everyday life.”

Qingxing didn't mind having another person. Before she could speak, Guda flew out of the bag and teased, "Why are you always bothering my master? Don't tell me you like her? I'm warning you, I don't approve!"

"If that's what you're saying, I can admit it."

Wenren Xi didn't refute, but just smiled and said it, displaying a shameless and philandering attitude.

Qingxing was speechless. She grabbed Guda's head and said, "Don't talk nonsense."

With a "humph," it "whooshed" back into the cloth bag.

The kitchen was usually not crowded, so there were plenty of empty seats. Qingxing took a bowl of soup and found the nearest seat to sit down, with Wenren Xi following closely behind.

Qingxing usually eats alone, which has forced her to develop the habit of "not talking while eating." Wenrenxi, on the other hand, is a talkative person and has never experienced such a quiet atmosphere before. He glanced at Qingxing several times and finally couldn't help but speak up.

"Although it may be presumptuous, I would still like to ask a question."

Qingxing scooped up a spoonful of soup, and Wenren Xi slowly asked, "Junior Sister, have you not yet chosen your path?"

"No."

If we compare cultivators to steamed buns, spiritual roots are the water, acquired efforts are the flour, and the "Dao" is the dough.

To achieve enlightenment and ascend to immortality, one must choose a path that suits one's own conditions.

Looking across the cultivation world, there are all kinds of paths to cultivate, but the most common ones are nothing more than six: the path of ruthlessness, the path of slaughter, the path of worldly affairs, the path of all living beings, the path of carefree wandering, and the path of demons.

For example, Qingxing's master, Jiu Quchen, cultivates the Dao of Freedom; and for another example, the head of Taihua Mountain, Jiu Chaoying, cultivates the Dao of All Living Beings.

As for Qingxing... she had pondered this herself in her previous lives. In any case, she didn't care whether she became an immortal or not. Every time she broke through to the Golden Core stage, she would simply choose any cultivation path to play around with. So far, she had experienced the Path of Ruthlessness, the Path of Freedom, and the Path of All Living Beings.

She just never figured it out.

"Junior Sister, how about considering the Path of Slaughter?" Wenren Xi coaxed patiently. "You saw my performance just now, Junior Sister. Our Path of Slaughter uses killing to stop violence. Our actions are clean, decisive, and awe-inspiring. It's a very cool path."

"I see that Junior Sister has a calm mind and is not easily swayed by demons. The path of slaughter is very suitable for you."

"No, I'm not really interested."

Qingxing resolutely refused. Before the inner sect test, Jiuquchen had asked her about choosing a path, but Qingxing thought she would talk about it after the test. She had not yet decided what to cultivate in this life. As for the path of killing... she did not like this kind of violent approach, so she had never included it in her consideration.

Wenren Xi said with some regret, "Alright."

Gudako, standing to the side, took a big gulp of rice wine and said drunkenly, "Why did you make my master fix this! Qingxing can't turn into a smiling tiger like you!"

Thinking of Qingxing's talent in formations, it proudly snorted, "If my master cultivated the path of slaughter, none of you could defeat her!"

Wenren Xi smiled: "Yes, I agree with that statement."

Upon hearing this, Qingxing couldn't help but feel a little strange: Why did Wenren Xi suddenly ask this? If she really was highly compatible with the Path of Slaughter, wouldn't she steal his thunder if she started cultivating it?

"Don't look at me like that, I'm not a bad person." Wenren Xi seemed to have guessed what she was thinking. Meeting Qingxing's suspicious gaze, he sighed softly, "Because this path is too violent and easily generates inner demons, almost no one is willing to enter the path in recent years. I was just thinking that since Junior Sister is willing to cultivate an unpopular array master, perhaps she can revitalize the path of killing."

This is why he invited Qingxing to the kitchen after the competition today.

After finishing her soup, Qingxing stood up expressionlessly: "Then I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you, Senior Brother."

Knowing that she was definitely not going to agree, Wenren Xi shook her head helplessly and followed her away.

In the afternoon, there was also a showdown between Qingxing and Xie Yuzhou. Most of the people in the kitchen were afraid of missing out on the excitement, so they just quickly finished their meals.

No one noticed that a faint purple demonic aura, like a snake flicking its tongue, was slowly emerging from where the two were sitting.

A note from the author:

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These two chapters will slow down the pace a bit, the next chapter will feature the return of our handsome daughter!

(By the way, these two don't have a romantic storyline; the main romance is a one-on-one relationship between the male and female leads.)