Su Jing traces back to Jinyang City
Chapter Sixty-One
The autumn sun was warm, the breeze was gentle, and there were hardly any clouds in the sky—it was a rare and beautiful day.
Today, the results were released, and Zhou Yulin got up very early. As soon as she stepped out the door, she saw a suspicious person.
The man made a move to slip away, but Zhou Yulin called out to him, "Quan Jin."
Quan Jin scratched his head and stepped out from behind the tree, saying dryly, "Well, it really is quite a coincidence."
Zhou Yulin put on a forced smile and said, "You're the young sect leader of the Qingyun Sect. Is it a coincidence that we meet here?"
"Hey! Stop calling me Young Sect Master all the time," Quan Jin said uncomfortably. "It sounds really strange."
"Your name is Zhou Zhao, right? I talked to my dad and he'll pull some strings for you."
Seeing that Zhou Yulin had no patience to listen and was about to leave, Quan Jin quickly stopped her, "You! You, don't be ungrateful. Do you think just anyone can open the back door?"
Quan Jin said with dissatisfaction, "I don't give preferential treatment to just anyone."
Zhou Yulin: "What's wrong? Should I thank you?"
"Tch! Fine, no thanks then. You're taking my kindness for granted, humph!" Quan Jin flicked his tattered sleeves and strode away.
Zhou Yulin hadn't left home early to begin with, and with Quan Jin's commotion, the place was already bustling with noise when she arrived. It wasn't just outer disciples present today; Zhou Yulin quickly scanned the crowd and spotted many familiar inner disciples. Unlike the last competition, most of those present this time were young geniuses from her generation.
"Oh? Come and see where you are from the bottom?" A mocking voice with ups and downs came from afar. Yu Tingting walked over arm in arm with an inner disciple. Unfortunately, the disciple she was arm in arm with was Yin Xingzhou, whom she had seen before. He was wearing the inner disciple's robes of the Sword Academy. He half-embraced Yu Tingting. The moment he saw Zhou Yulin, his brows furrowed tightly. "Really ugly."
Zhou Yulin touched her disguised face and asked, puzzled, "Are you talking about yourself?"
Yin Xingzhou's face darkened, and he almost immediately became gloomy. "The most valuable thing about a person is self-awareness. The saying 'ugly people often cause trouble' is really true."
"Oh." Zhou Yulin took out a mirror. "I think I'm pretty good-looking. But you should look in the mirror more often and see what you look like."
Yu Tingting noticed the displeasure on Yin Xingzhou's face and quickly seized the opportunity to say, "It's this guy. He bullied people in the previous dormitory. Not only was he arrogant and domineering, but he also dared to offend the young master."
"This is the person you asked me to arrange?" Yin Xingzhou's expression softened slightly upon hearing this. "I've already spoken with the elders of the inner sect, and this person will definitely not be allowed into the inner sect."
Yu Tingting's face lit up with joy, suppressing her rising tone as she gently traced circles on Yin Xingzhou's chest with her finger, "Then, young master, what about other people's affairs?"
Yin Xingzhou playfully pinched Yu Tingting's nose and chuckled, "It's just arranging an inner disciple, what's so difficult about that?"
With the results about to be released, Yin Xingzhou glanced at Zhou Yulin, who was eagerly waiting in the crowd, and sneered, "We'll see."
Judging solely by strength, it might be difficult for Zhou Yulin to enter the inner sect without taking the exam, since he had barely suppressed his strength to the early stage of the Golden Core realm. However, challenging for entry into the inner sect would be more than enough for him. As Zhou Yulin listened to the discussions among the crowd, a disciple followed Elder Ouyang to the front of the stage. After some grand words, Elder Ouyang channeled a burst of spiritual energy into the crystal ball held by the disciple. The next second, a huge list appeared before everyone's eyes. Zhou Yulin was looking from back to front, and after seeing more than half of it, he still hadn't seen his name, which puzzled him.
Until someone slapped her hard on the back, exclaiming, "Good heavens, you're the champion!"
Zhou Yulin hurriedly looked at the first name on the list. Looking at the two characters "Zhou Zhao" engraved on the list, she blinked and couldn't react for a long time. Goodness, this person used a back door to put her directly at the top of the list.
Zhou Yulin was completely dumbfounded.
This is definitely repaying kindness with enmity.
Who repays a debt of gratitude by pushing their benefactor into a fire pit?
Zhou Yulin closed her eyes, unwilling to accept this fact.
Unfortunately, things are never quite as satisfactory as they seem.
Upon seeing the name flashing bright red, Zhou Yulin knew she was in trouble.
The top three finishers in the outer sect competition of the Qingyun Sect must accept challenges from inner sect disciples.
Win or lose, you must accept it.
And then, looking at the name Yin Xinglu slowly appearing behind it.
Zhou Yulin's eyes lit up almost immediately, "This is a good idea."
She glanced around casually and, sure enough, spotted a bewildered Yin Xinglu in the corner. "Who the hell signed me up?!" As expected, the young lady never hid her temper.
Seeing that their protests were ineffective, the two stood on the Wulingtai platform.
Having not stood on the Five Spirits Platform for a long time, Zhou Yulin felt a little uneasy.
Yin Xinglu crossed her arms and looked at the unremarkable Zhou Zhao with great vigilance. "You want to compete with me?"
Zhou Yulin pointed to herself, "Didn't you sign up yourself? Or did I sign you up for you?"
"Who knows?" Yin Xinglu smiled. "I just don't like you, that's enough."
Yin Xinglu took out her bow and, without warning, unleashed a barrage of arrows, keeping Zhou Yulin at a distance of six meters.
Zhou Yulin wasn't in a hurry. She slowly circled around the Five Spirit Platform, as if teasing Yin Xinglu, and lightly stepped forward with her hands behind her back.
Yin Xinglu was getting annoyed. Firstly, her spiritual energy was greatly depleted, and secondly, she was exhausted, while her opponent seemed completely unaffected—who could tolerate that? She almost immediately thought of the pills Xu Zuiyue had given her, took them, and her spiritual energy instantly surged. Even the bottleneck that had been blocking her for so long showed signs of loosening, and Yin Xinglu's eyes lit up.
Although Xu Zuiyue is a bit foolish, this medicine is indeed quite good.
When she gets off the stage, ask her for a few more.
The spiritual energy within her body surged, and the spiritual energy filling Yin Xinglu's palms had somehow taken on a blackish tinge.
"Ha, you overconfident ugly freak, just wait to die!"
Zhou Yulin dodged as before, but unexpectedly, the bow flew towards her as if it had a direction. A sense of familiarity welled up in her heart. Zhou Yulin summoned the Jade of Immortality and cut the arrow in half. What Yin Xinglu had eaten in front of her just now, Zhou Yulin thought was some ordinary pills to replenish spiritual power, but now it seemed that it was more than that.
Zhou Yulin looked at Yin Xinglu, who seemed completely oblivious to the problem. Yin Xinglu even smugly challenged Zhou Yulin, "Well, have you seen the power of this young lady? Why don't you kowtow and admit defeat?"
Zhou Yulin gave the man a meaningful look. "I hope you can still laugh later." Such sincere words naturally turned into highly provocative remarks in Yin Xinglu's ears.
"Let's see who laughs last; the dead can't laugh."
Yin Xinglu said ominously, the arrow he drew was aimed precisely at Zhou Yulin's heart.
Zhou Yulin smiled and said, "Enough with the nonsense, Miss Yin, are you afraid?"
Yin Xinglu looked at the seemingly ordinary person who had won the championship, and gripped the bow in her hand tightly. At that moment, she realized a little danger. "Fire a volley of arrows!" She quickly drew the bowstring three times, and the arrowheads, stained with black spiritual power, attacked Zhou Yulin. Zhou Yulin was one step ahead, and floated the Jade of Immortality in front of his chest. "Domain, open."
The surrounding scenery changed, and in the pure white space, only Zhou Yulin and Yin Xinglu remained, standing facing each other at opposite ends of the space.
"What do you want?" Yin Xinglu underestimated this person. Her face was pale, and as she watched the person slowly approaching, her legs went weak. "Here to collect a debt?" The woman's tone was light and cheerful, and the voice sounded strangely familiar to Yin Xinglu.
She gently ran her hand across her face, and with a surge of blue-green spiritual energy, an exquisitely beautiful face came into view. Zhou Yulin's pupils reflected Yin Xinglu's astonished expression. She bit her lip, saying in disbelief, "It's you? Zhou Yulin. You're still alive!"
"I am honored that Miss Yin still recognizes me." Zhou Yulin smiled and said, "I should thank you. You sent someone to take me to a brothel for auction and then had me and Xu Zuiyue kidnapped. Anyone who didn't know better would think that you took care of me."
Panic welled up in Yin Xinglu's heart. In the face of strength, everything else was futile. If Zhou Yulin were a weak disciple with no background, she would not be flustered at all today. But now Zhou Yulin is not only a disciple of Qingyun Sect, but also won first place in the outer sect competition. She is the focus of everyone's attention and has a bright future. She is definitely not someone she can easily offend.
"You, you, in front of everyone, you can't do anything to me."
Yin Xinglu hardened her heart and said with a wicked smile, "You don't want to fight me to the death either, do you?"
"What do you mean by 'fight to the death'? I only know the principle of 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.' It's not that retribution won't come, it's just that the time hasn't arrived yet. Yin Xinglu, your retribution is coming soon." Zhou Yulin stated calmly, her tone barely fluctuating. In her, there was only a calm composure that had washed away all restlessness.
"What retribution? It's just the delusion of a lowly person. Don't think that just because you entered the inner sect you can rise to the top. So what if you're number one in the outer sect?" Yin Xinglu continued to output relentlessly, completely unaware that the vibrating bow in her hand was gradually turning black.
“The Jade Sword.” Yin Xinglu recognized the sword in Zhou Yulin’s hand and asked in surprise, “Why are you holding the Drunken Moon Sword?”
Zhou Yulin glanced down at her old friend and said in a teasing tone, "Who told you this sword belongs to her?"
“She told me herself.” Yin Xinglu looked at Zhou Yulin with disdain. “So you stole her sword.”
"This sword was originally mine," Zhou Yulin said calmly. "Whether I'm dead or alive, it's mine. Why don't you ask the sword?"
Yin Xinglu seemed to remember something. "The Xuanling Sect Leader has a disciple named Zhou Yulin. He became famous at a young age and is an undisputed young genius. He was also the previous Sword Master of the Unfallen Jade Sword. Wait, Zhou Yulin." She pronounced these three words carefully and finally realized, "You're that Zhou Yulin?"
Instead of answering, Zhou Yulin asked, "So what if it is? So what if it isn't?"
“If you are, then I admit defeat.” Yin Xinglu answered readily, even adding, “I’ll kowtow to you, I don’t care if I kneel down.”
Zhou Yulin laughed, her tone mocking, "Is that all the backbone you have?"
"Hey! What do you mean by 'no backbone'? Zhou Yulin, go ask me how many people in my generation idolize and look up to her. She made a pact with the spirit sword when she was young, and later became the champion of the Five Spirit Platform. She has never lost a competition in the Immortal Sect Tournament. What do you think?" Yin Xinglu said with her hands on her hips, extremely dissatisfied. "If it were Zhou Yulin, I would have just admitted defeat. Why would I come up here and embarrass myself?"
Zhou Yulin glanced at the man, casually tossed a sword on the ground, and said, "I forgive you if you atone with your death."
"Impossible," Yin Xinglu said through gritted teeth. "Are you sure you want to do this in front of everyone?" She replied softly, "You've fallen into demonic possession. Do you think you can survive if you go out?"
Through the blade, Yin Xinglu saw herself covered in demonic energy and instantly collapsed to the ground. "No, no, I'm not a demonic cultivator, I'm not, I just..." As if she had thought of something, she gritted her teeth and said, "That bitch Xu Zuiyue! I won't let her go after I get out of here."
Zhou Yulin waved her hand lightly, and her domain dispersed. She looked coldly at Yin Xinglu, who was full of demonic energy, and said, "Let's talk in the dungeon."
Yin Xinglu, radiating demonic energy, was swiftly taken away. Zhou Yulin stood on the Five Spirits Platform, gazing down as usual, but the three figures from before were nowhere to be seen. The voices of praise faded with the bleak autumn wind. She stared blankly at the empty seat, then quickly regained her composure. "Congratulations," Elder Ouyang said, landing beside her. "As the first-place winner, you can choose any treasure you like from the Qingyun Sect's treasury. It can be anything."
Elder Ouyang was always kind and gentle to his outstanding disciples. He stroked his beard with a smile, waiting for the man to think it over carefully. Unexpectedly, the man answered without hesitation, "Su Jing, I want Su Jing."
Although Elder Ouyang did not understand, he expressed his respect.
"Alright, let's stay at Sujing's place then."
No sooner had he finished speaking with the sect leader than the cracked mirror appeared in his hand. Looking at the broken mirror, which was even missing a piece, Elder Ouyang guiltily hid it behind his back and said tactfully, "Why don't you get a different one? That broken mirror isn't necessarily any better."
Zhou Yulin asked, somewhat puzzled, "Didn't you tell me to pick whatever I wanted?"
Elder Ouyang's smile became somewhat forced. "It seems so. I'm getting old, and my memory isn't very good."
"You said that as the number one winner, you can choose any treasure you like from the Qingyun Sect's treasury, it can be anything." Zhou Yulin imitated Elder Ouyang's tone perfectly, making Elder Ouyang blush. How could he explain it? Should he just tell this little girl that the mirror was actually broken? But looking at the outer disciples eagerly waiting below the stage, Elder Ouyang was truly in a dilemma.
He silently called out to the sect leader in his heart, but his call went unanswered.
"Elder Ouyang." A voice urged from below the stage. Elder Ouyang looked in the direction of the voice and saw the former little tyrant of the sect, who had been exonerated and returned to the Qingyun Sect.
Even though he had lost his cultivation, the man still acted arrogantly and urged, "What are you dawdling about? Can't the Qingyun Sect even afford this little bit? How stingy."
Elder Ouyang: My little darling, please don't make things worse.
“Of course, of course not.” Elder Ouyang stammered, “It’s just that the Mirror of Destiny is not a good thing. There are so many good things in the treasure vault. I only said this because I value talent.”
At this moment, as if things weren't chaotic enough, Chen Muyao, the second-ranked disciple, also spoke up, "Hurry up, I'm waiting to go on stage."
Yu Tao'er, who was standing to the side, yawned and said, "Elder, if we don't go back soon, my Gu worms will starve to death."
Tu Ya was bumped by the man's arm and looked up from his book. "My mom is calling me home for dinner!"
Gu Shuangshuang touched her stomach. "Yes, Elder, I'm in a hurry to go back for dinner!"
With these people taking the lead, the disciples below the stage began to stir. Elder Ouyang was truly in a predicament. The broken mirror was really not presentable, but this little girl seemed to really want it. Just as Elder Ouyang was thinking about making a feint, Zhou Yulin took the mirror that Elder Ouyang had hidden behind his back.
Upon seeing the shattered mirror, there was an uproar.
Before he could even be shocked, a voice came from beside Elder Ouyang's ear, "Elder, someone has broken into the Qingyun Sect and is heading towards the Five Spirit Platform. This person is very strong, and none of us are his match."
"It's broken." Zhou Yulin looked at the shattered mirror, her thoughts racing. But more than that, she looked at Elder Ouyang, whose expression had suddenly become extremely solemn.
"Everyone on high alert! You can't even stop one person? What are you all doing?"
It seemed that someone had trespassed into the Qingyun Sect. Zhou Yulin casually looked into the distance and caught a familiar spiritual energy fluctuation. This aura was definitely real.
Upon seeing the people appearing on the outskirts of the crowd, Zhou Yulin froze in place and murmured, "Senior Brother."
Xuan Qingxian raised his eyes and rushed straight towards Zhou Yulin. Zhou Yulin wanted to say something, but saw this person snatch the mirror directly. The broken mirror was nothing special. Before Elder Ouyang made a move, Xuan Qingxian took out a fragment from his sleeve. And that fragment was all too familiar to Zhou Yulin - it was the source of everything.
The neatly assembled Mirror of Destiny unleashed azure spiritual energy. Xuan Qingxian raised his sword to block it and softly said to Elder Ouyang, "I apologize, senior. This is a last resort."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xuan Qingxian silently recited the incantation he had long memorized. A gust of wind swept in, but the person standing in the center of the storm remained as calm as Mount Tai. Elder Ouyang shouted, "Don't let him open the Mirror of Destiny! Someone! Someone stop him!"
But it was too late. Without turning his head, Xuan Qingxian plunged his natal sword into his heart, and blood streamed down the blade. "With my heart's blood, I make a pact, I wager my lifespan. Return to Jinyang City, and the Mirror of Destiny will open."
The broken mirror was restored to its original state, like ripples spreading across water. The moment Xuan Qingxian's fingers touched the mirror, he disappeared from the spot. The mirror did not close immediately. Zhou Yulin, who could not open her eyes due to the strong wind, struggled into the eye of the storm and then entered the mirror.
Elder Ouyang hurriedly tried to pause the teleportation, but it was too late; the bet had already been made. The Mirror of Destiny had been successfully activated by this person, and just as he was about to remind the disciples below to be careful...
A figure quickly flashed past him, and before he could see it, the person had already jumped into the Mirror of Abode with Zhou Yulin.
Gu Ling and Yu Tao'er shouted, "Count me in!"
Xu Zuiyue lifted her skirt and hurriedly followed.
Gu Shuangshuang, munching on a chicken leg, pulled Tu Ya inside.
At this moment, Elder Ouyang angrily grabbed Quan Jin, "They're one thing, at least they have spiritual power, what are you going in for?" Quan Jin saw that the entrance to the Mirror of Abode was about to close, "Jinyang City, I still have spiritual power!"
After saying that, he pushed Elder Ouyang aside and entered the Mirror of Abode a second before it closed.
Elder Ouyang was left standing there, his mind racing, trying to figure out how to explain things to the sect leader.
Or should he remind the sect leader to have a second child?
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