Chapter 117 Stop messing around, you have to kiss here.

The round-faced little girl was taken aback by her sudden tattling. Her face fell instantly, and she pouted pitifully, complaining in a low voice, "I never thought you were such a tattletale troublemaker. I misjudged you."

The onlookers all knew that Bai was just teasing the child, and seeing that the clever little girl had gotten her comeuppance, they burst into laughter.

Bai shook his head and chuckled, stopping teasing her, and slipped out of the crowd. She had to hurry to arena number one; she thought she had just heard them calling her.

After finally managing to squeeze through the crowded throng, Bai leaped onto the ring and looked up at his opponent.

The person looked somewhat familiar, but she couldn't quite place the name. She asked hesitantly, "You're... from Jianzhou, right? I think we fought in the Sky Battlefield before. Sorry, I beat up a lot of people before, so I didn't remember your name."

The face of the swordsman from Jianzhou opposite him changed from white to green, then to red, then to purple, like a chameleon constantly changing, leaving Bai somewhat dumbfounded.

He gritted his teeth, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Jianzhou, Li Si, please enlighten me!"

"I must give you guidance." Bai Ye nodded in response. She drew her sword, the heavy sword in her hand carrying an indomitable momentum, and went straight for Li Si's face.

Li Si's ability to break into the top 100 shows he's no ordinary opponent. Facing Bai Ye, he dared not be careless in the slightest. His sword intent instantly surged to its peak, and with a flash of sword light, he charged forward to meet him.

"boom!"

The two swords clashed, sending shockwaves flying and causing the protective light shield around the arena to tremble violently.

Bai was also somewhat surprised. This person didn't seem to have such strong strength when they fought before.

Li Si caught a glimpse of surprise in Bai Ye's eyes and sneered, "A scholar should be looked at with new eyes after three days of separation. I haven't been idle for more than a month."

"It's not like I'm idle," Bai retorted.

"Hmph." A flash of black light appeared in Li Si's eyes, and he drew his sword even faster. His sword was extremely fast, and the sword shadows overlapped layer upon layer, enveloping Bai Ye.

Throughout the Nine Provinces, cultivators watching the battle through the Heavenly Mirror almost all focused their attention on Arena Number One.

At this level of combat, many low-level cultivators can no longer capture the specific movements of the two with their naked eyes; they can only see two blurry figures flashing rapidly.

In the audience's view, it seemed as if dozens of Bai Ye and Li Si's figures appeared on the stage at the same time, each afterimage fighting, which was dazzling.

The two exchanged nearly a hundred fast-paced, head-on blows. Bai had a general idea of ​​his opponent's current strength. Those who could make it into the top 100 were indeed skilled. Li Si's swordsmanship and spiritual power were both solid, and he was indeed quite capable.

"Your skills are not bad," Bai also praised. "However, you should go down now."

She held back, her spiritual energy surging instantly as she met the opponent's thrusting sword with a horizontal slash.

This sword strike appeared simple and unadorned, but the sword light it unleashed was extremely terrifying. With a single strike, the sword shadows in front of Li Si collapsed layer by layer, and he was blasted off the stage by this sword light.

On the arena, the sword light faded, leaving only Bai Ye standing alone with her sword. A gust of wind swept by, causing her robes to flutter wildly, and the red ribbon tied in her silver hair to dance freely in the wind.

"Arena Number One, Wilderness State, Bai Ye wins!" The referee elder's voice rang out promptly.

"Wow wow~~~ Wang Baiye, you're awesome!!!" A clear shout came from below the stage.

Bai Ye looked in the direction of the sound and saw that it was indeed that round-faced little girl again. A smirk appeared on her lips, her mischievousness returning, and she pretended to fly towards Zhong Jiuli on the high platform, "Still making a fuss? I'm really going to tell on you now!"

The round-faced girl glared at her angrily, then shrank back and disappeared into the crowd like a little rabbit.

Bai chuckled and shook his head, then leaped back off the stage.

Li Shoumo, Li Chengfeng, and the others immediately came forward and asked with concern, "How are you feeling?"

Bai also sent a telepathic message to the two of them, encouraging them: "Your strength is solid, and you should be on par with them. As long as you don't encounter those dark horses beforehand, you will definitely have a chance to fight, and the outcome is still uncertain."

Upon hearing this, the two felt much relieved, and their faces regained their confidence. Recalling previous Nine Provinces Grand Tournaments, the best result achieved by the Wilderness Province in the arena battles was only to break into the top fifty, while the top ten was an almost unattainable dream.

While Bai Ye and the others were discussing things, on the other side of the Sword Debate Peak, the round-faced girl, with a mournful expression, found her senior sister.

She tugged at her senior sister's sleeve, sobbing, and said pitifully, "Senior Sister Xiao, that Wang Bai is so annoying. If you draw her in the next round, you must beat her up and avenge me."

Upon hearing this, the woman whom she called Senior Sister Xiao couldn't help but smile. She reached out and patted her adorable junior sister's head, coaxing her softly, "Alright, alright, if Senior Sister is lucky enough to meet her on the arena, she will definitely give her a good beating and help our junior sister vent her anger."

She paused, then changed the subject, saying, "However, what she said earlier wasn't entirely unreasonable. A little gambling is harmless fun, and once is enough. But you're not allowed to secretly go and place bets again, understand?"

"Oh~" The junior sister pouted and responded unhappily.

"Don't look like that, your mouth looks like it could hold an oil bottle." Senior Sister Xiao chuckled, took her hand, and said, "Come on, let's go watch Senior Sister fight in the arena."

The two arrived at the third arena. The previous round had just ended, and it was Senior Sister Xiao's turn to step onto the stage. She squeezed her junior sister's hand and instructed her, "Stay here obediently and don't run around, understand?"

"Okay, Senior Sister Xiao, you should go up now." The junior sister waved her hand repeatedly, urging her to hurry up and go on stage.

On the arena, Li Chengfeng had been waiting for a while. When she saw her opponent step onto the stage, dressed in the robes of an inner disciple of the Sanqing Sect, she felt a little uneasy. However, she did not show any fear on her face. She simply clasped her hands in a salute, her fighting spirit high, and her voice clear and bright, "Wilderness State, Heavenly Sword Sect, Li Chengfeng."

"Zhongzhou, Sanqing Sect, Xiao Zizai!" Xiao Zizai returned the greeting with clasped hands, his demeanor calm and composed.

The two stood on opposite sides of the arena, their gazes meeting across the distance. The next moment, two figures shot towards each other like arrows released from a bow.

Li Chengfeng knew that the disciples of the Sanqing Sect were powerful, so he went all out from the start. He drew his longsword and used his strongest sword move. The sword light soared into the sky, carrying an indomitable momentum as he charged forward.

Faced with this fierce attack, Xiao Zizai smiled gently, and with a flick of her wrist, a pair of ancient-style golden maces, gleaming with a dark gold luster, appeared in her palm.

She slightly raised her arm, crossed her two maces in front of her, and easily blocked Li Chengfeng's earth-shattering sword strike.

With a "ding," sparks flew everywhere.

The moment the weapons clashed, Li Chengfeng's expression changed slightly, and she was secretly shocked. She had not expected that this Daoist Xiao, whose temperament was as calm as water, would use such a heavy and powerful weapon. The force of the recoil from the golden mace was like a tidal wave.

Her sword strike not only failed to move her opponent, but the immense force transmitted back from her made her hands go numb, her blood and qi surge violently, and her body flew backward uncontrollably.

Fortunately, Li Chengfeng was experienced in combat and remained calm in the face of danger. His body moved like a wisp of smoke in the wind, and after flipping several times in the air to dissipate the force, he landed steadily on the edge of the arena.

Her face was slightly pale, but she still sincerely praised, "Fellow Daoist Xiao's strength is indeed formidable; I almost couldn't even withstand a single move from you."

Xiao Zizai smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist Li is too modest. Your sword intent is equally extraordinary."

"Alright, let's go again!" Li Chengfeng shouted, fully activating the sword bone within her body. A silver-white sword light shot into the sky from behind her, and her momentum increased sharply.

She moved again, her sword flashing like a dragon, transforming into several afterimages as she attacked Xiao Zizai from all directions, attempting to suppress his golden mace with extreme speed.

Despite the rapid and fierce attacks, Xiao Zizai remained calm. The pair of heavy golden maces seemed weightless in her hands, yet they moved with the force of wind and thunder. No matter how cunning Li Chengfeng's sword shadows were, they were always blocked by the golden maces.

In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged nearly a hundred blows. Li Chengfeng was unable to gain the upper hand after a long period of attack, his spiritual energy was greatly depleted, cold sweat began to trickle down his forehead, and he was showing signs of fatigue.

"Fellow Daoist, are you running out of spiritual energy? Then it's my turn." Xiao Zizai shouted, his aura shifting from defense to offense.

Her left mace suddenly jerked, deflecting the incoming longsword, while her right mace, like a dragon emerging from the abyss, aimed straight at Li Chengfeng's chest.

The attack was swift as lightning, and the timing was perfect.

Li Chengfeng's old strength had just been exhausted and new strength had not yet been generated. His long sword was diverted, and it was too late for him to defend!

In the critical moment, she had no choice but to gather her spiritual energy and forcefully turn to the side to block with her arm. At the same time, all the spiritual power in her body surged to her arm in an attempt to block the mace.

The golden mace pierced Li Chengfeng's arm as he tried to block, and with a muffled thud, the spiritual energy shield that Li Chengfeng had hastily erected shattered.

The immense force penetrated her body and bones, and a crisp sound of bones cracking rang out. The bones in her entire arm shattered instantly, and it hung limply down!

The force of the impact caused her to stagger back dozens of steps before she could barely regain her footing. A sweet taste rose in her throat, and she nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Xiao Zizai did not press his advantage, but instead put away his mace and stood still, asking with concern, "Fellow Daoist Li, do you need to come down from the stage to heal your injuries?"

Li Chengfeng's face was pale. He forced himself to sheath his sword, suppress his surging blood and qi, and said frankly, "Fellow Daoist Xiao's cultivation is profound. I admire you. I have lost this match."

"You flatter me!" Xiao Zizai returned the greeting with a cupped hand, his expression calm and composed, displaying the poise of a disciple from a major sect.

Li Chengfeng turned and stepped off the stage, but his legs gave way as he landed, and he almost fell headfirst to the ground.

Li Shoumo, who was standing by, immediately stepped forward, supported her, and asked with concern, "How are you? Are you badly injured?"

"Don't move yet, healing is the priority." Hua Jinhe stepped forward quickly, holding a small white jade bottle in her palm. She poured out a healing pill and fed it into Li Chengfeng's mouth.

The pill entered her stomach and transformed into a warm current that flowed to her injured arm. Li Chengfeng finally caught her breath and regained some color in her face. She looked at her companions surrounding her with a hint of apology in her eyes: "I'm sorry to have disappointed everyone. I lost."

"There's nothing to apologize for." Bai also came over with a grin. "When you're fighting in a ring, it's either win or lose. The probability is 50/50, so it's very fair."

"Look up there, it's not just you who's losing, everyone else is losing too, right? Don't worry, your big sister is here to back you up!"

"You're so arrogant. Who do you think you are, my sister?" Li Chengfeng laughed and scolded, his dejected expression vanishing, replaced only by anger at Bai Ye for calling herself his sister.

“That’s right, that’s right, who do you think you are as an older sister!” Li Shoumo and Hua Jinhe also laughed and scolded.

This little tiger has practically grown up in everyone's sight, but now it's acting like the older sister in front of them.

The cultivators from the Wilderness State laughed. Although Li Chengfeng lost, the atmosphere in the team was not low. On the contrary, everyone had relaxed smiles on their faces.

After a round of laughter and commotion, it was soon Li Shoumo's turn to go on stage.

Everyone focused their attention and rushed towards the number one arena where Li Shoumo was, staring intently at the arena.

Li Shoumo's opponent is the young master of the Gu family, one of the eight great families of Guzhou.

This young man is burly and vigorous, and his martial arts style is also fierce and domineering, making him a direct match for Li Shoumo's style.

As soon as the battle began, the two clashed violently like two ferocious humanoid beasts.

Li Shoumo held the Emperor's Seal in one hand, receiving a continuous flow of Emperor's power, while in the other hand he wielded a heavy hammer, striking the man repeatedly with dull thuds.

The young master of the Gu family was covered with a layer of earthy yellow qi, which was extremely hard and was probably some kind of protective magic weapon. In particular, the yellow qi on his fists was so solid that the space trembled with every punch he threw, almost tearing the space apart.

The roar of the ring was deafening. Every clash of heavy punches and hammers unleashed powerful shockwaves that impacted the protective shield of the ring.

The elders guarding the arena had to step in to reinforce the protective shield to prevent the two from breaking it and injuring the spectators on the side of the stands.

"This princess of Li Kingdom is quite remarkable; she can actually fight the young master of the Gu family to a standstill!" Exclamations arose from the stands.

"The blessing of the Human Emperor's Seal is too heaven-defying. If her cultivation were any higher, the young master of the Gu family would undoubtedly be defeated," another person replied.

Zhong Jiuli and the others were also watching the battle closely. Even with her keen eyesight, she had some difficulty judging who would win or lose between the two.

The two on the arena were locked in a fierce battle. The young master of the Gu family did have an advantage in cultivation level, and his spiritual power was more abundant. He forced Li Shoumo into dangerous situations several times.

Fortunately, the Emperor Seal in Li Shoumo's hands was incredibly profound. At crucial moments, she would use the Heavenly Mandate to utter the word "Stop," which would imprison her opponent in place.

Although she could only imprison the opponent for a moment, it was enough for her to turn the tide of battle, turn danger into safety, and at the same time, take the time to strike the young master of the Gu family a few times.

This fierce battle lasted for several hours, from noon until dusk, making it the longest fight in recent days. All the other arenas were empty; everyone was focused on this protracted and bloody battle.

Both men on the stage were covered in blood. Li Shoumo's tiger's mouth was split open, and his heavy hammer was covered with dents. Upon closer inspection, one could see that the dents were large fist marks.

The young master of the Gu family was in an even worse state; his fists were torn open, revealing the bones beneath, his face was covered in bruises, and several large bumps had appeared on his head.

The two women stared at each other across the distance, their breathing heavy, hot blood mingling with sweat streaming down their faces, but they didn't bother to wipe it away. Both knew that victory or defeat lay in this final strike.

The next moment, the two charged at each other again. Facing the opponent's swinging fist, Li Shoumo neither dodged nor avoided, but shouted in a low voice: "Kneel!"

The golden light on the Emperor's Seal surged, enveloping the young master of the Gu family. His forward momentum suddenly halted, his knees buckled, and he knelt directly on the ground, his punch missing its mark.

The moment Li Shoumo spoke, he had already swung the heavy hammer in his hand.

With a loud bang, the young master of the Gu family was sent flying backward, landing outside the arena and kicking up a cloud of dust.

His head, already covered in bruises and bumps, now had a huge, bright red lump, making him look extremely pitiful.

"We won!!! We won!!!"

The Wilderness State camp erupted in a thunderous roar, and Dayue, Ayu, and the others jumped up excitedly and hugged each other tightly.

The girls' clear voices pierced the night and echoed across the Sword Debate Peak.

Liu Xianyue flew forward and looked at everyone, saying, "You must be tired after fighting for so many days. Let's call it a day. Go back and get some rest for the night. Those who are injured should take good care of their wounds. We'll settle our differences again tomorrow morning."

Upon hearing this, everyone bowed and took their leave, riding the cranes they had come on, returning to Welcoming Peak to rest.

......

In the courtyard where the cultivators of the Wilderness State lived, apart from the injured Li Shoumo and Li Chengfeng who were resting and recuperating in their rooms, everyone else had gathered in the open space in the center of the courtyard.

The group sat in a circle, each holding a jar of spirit wine. The air was filled with the rich aroma of the wine and the cheerful laughter of the young people.

Yun Shu smiled and said, "This time, two of us made it into the top fifty, which is indeed worth celebrating. However, we shouldn't drink too much. One jar of wine each, and after we finish, we should go back to our rooms to rest."

"Yes, Senior Yun!" everyone responded in unison.

Bai also sat in the crowd, drinking a few bowls of wine with everyone. Looking at these young, smiling faces, she felt much more relaxed.

However, she had other things on her mind. After quickly finishing her drink, she got up to say goodbye to everyone and, using the excuse of preparing for the big battle the next day, went back to her room to rest.

After parting ways with the others, she vanished into the night in a flash, heading familiarly towards the direction of Cloud Mist Peak.

......

At the summit of Yunwu Peak, the pink and white peach blossoms on the trees glowed faintly in the night.

Zhong Jiuli, Jiaojiao, Liu Xianyue, Jiang Zhiming and others sat in the pavilion enjoying the moon and drinking wine. Some spiritual food was laid out on the table. Jiaojiao ate with grunting and whimpering sounds, like a little piglet.

Bai Ye had just peeked out stealthily when he was caught red-handed by the sharp-eyed Liu Xianyue.

A mischievous smile appeared on her face. She scooped up Jiao Jiao, who was gnawing on spirit beast meat, and tugged at Jiang Zhiming's sleeve with her other hand, saying tactfully, "Oh dear, I suddenly remembered, Jiang Zhiming, didn't you say you wanted to observe the celestial phenomena tonight? The night is beautiful, let's go to the observatory."

Zhong Jiuli didn't know why Liu Xianyue was putting on this show until she caught a glimpse of Bai Ye emerging from the bushes, and a smile immediately appeared in her eyes.

"Hey, Mr. Liu, what a coincidence! I just arrived and you're already leaving?" Bai greeted him with a smile.

Liu Xianyue rolled her eyes at her, "Hmph, you stinky tiger, you better behave yourself. We have a tournament tomorrow, don't stay up too late and delay our business!"

After saying that, she didn't give Bai Ye a chance to refute, nor did she give her or Jiao Jiao a chance to say hello, and dragged Jiang Zhizhi away.

Jiang Zhiming lowered his eyes, his gaze falling on the sleeve that Liu Xianyue was holding, and the smile in his eyes was almost overflowing.

She looked up at Bai Ye, nodded slightly as a greeting, and then let Liu Xianyue pull her away from the courtyard, leaving the space to Bai Ye and the other person.

Bai blushed slightly when Liu Xianyue so bluntly pointed it out; she had only come to see Zhong Jiuli.

She walked up to Zhong Jiuli and asked somewhat shyly, "Zhong Jiuli, did you miss me?"

"Don't just stand there like an idiot." Zhong Jiuli smiled slightly and reached out to her, "Come and sit down."

Bai obediently sat down next to her, inhaling the familiar fragrance, and the slight nervousness in his heart was instantly thrown to the winds.

She relaxed, rested her head on Zhong Jiuli's shoulder, and muttered softly, "Why didn't you wake me up when you secretly brought me clothes the other night?"

Zhong Jiuli reached out and put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him so that they could feel each other's curves and warmth.

After holding you quietly for a while, she whispered, "I saw you were sleeping so soundly that I didn't have the heart to wake you."

"But I want to see you. If you think about it this way, haven't I missed seeing you one less time? That's a real loss." Bai said in a soft, coquettish voice, rubbing her cheek against Zhong Jiuli's neck. Her words were shameless. "Besides, if I fall asleep, you can kiss me to wake me up. I won't blame you for disturbing my sleep."

These words were indeed beyond Zhong Jiuli's tolerance limit. Her ears burned slightly, and her neck flushed red.

She nudged Bai Ye's increasingly outrageous head, somewhat unable to resist, and warned, "Alright, stop fooling around. We're still in the courtyard. Liu Xianyue might be hiding in the shadows watching us."

"Huh??? She can do something like that?" Bai also looked around and used his divine sense to search, but he couldn't see her.

"You know her personality; there's nothing she wouldn't do."

Bai nodded, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Zhong Jiuli. "You're right, we still need to go back to our room so she doesn't see us."

She took Zhong Jiuli's slightly cool hand and led her quickly across the courtyard back to their carefully decorated room.

The door was closed, shutting out the outside world. There were no lights inside, only moonlight streaming in through the cracks in the window, casting a few hazy shadows on the floor and barely illuminating the two figures standing opposite each other.

Bai also quietly looked at the woman in front of her. In fact, they had seen each other every day for the past few days, but in the sea of ​​people, it was difficult to even exchange a few glances.

At this moment, her gaze could fall on Zhong Jiuli without restraint, from her beautiful brow bone to her high nose bridge and her slightly pursed red lips.

Darkness always amplifies all the senses, whether it be fear or desire.

Zhong Jiuli felt her cheeks burning. Bai Ye's gaze, almost tangible, fell upon her, nearly setting her ablaze.

She tilted her head slightly and warned in a low, husky voice, "Don't mess around. You still have to go on stage tomorrow."

"Don't be silly, just give me a kiss."

Helpless, Zhong Jiuli could only give her a light peck on the cheek.

Bai shook his head in dissatisfaction, tapping his lips with his fingertip, "You have to kiss here."

Zhong Jiuli couldn't resist her, so she sighed softly and had no choice but to tilt her head back again and kiss those two slightly moist lips that had been wantonly teasing her since earlier.

She intended to break off the engagement quickly, but as soon as she pressed against him, Bai grabbed her neck, locking her firmly in front of him and preventing her from leaving.

The moonlight was like water, and two figures were intertwined closely in the hazy moonlight, while the ambiguous sound of water echoed in the dark room.

Like toddlers learning to walk, the two stumbled and fell into each other's arms onto the soft bed.

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Author's Note: [Chin resting on hand] I've been incredibly busy these past few days, and my drafts are almost gone~ *sigh*