Chapter 87 Spectator's Seats: Master and Disciple (Part 1)
The summer heat has subsided, and the sun is still bright, but no longer scorching.
As Shen Lixia got out of bed, she noticed a small flower wreath on the little sparrow's head. Upon closer inspection, its fragrance was intoxicating, a scent of early autumn.
After changing her clothes and going outside, Shen Lixia saw her senior sister practicing her sword in the courtyard. Perhaps she was a little tired from practicing, as she used the tip of her sword to pick up flowers and collect the petals onto the blade, having a great time. Shen Lixia walked quietly, not wanting to disturb her, and watched from a distance.
After a while, Qiao Yanshen turned his head and met her bright eyes. He smiled and said, "Junior Sister, why didn't you call me?"
She shook off the petals and sheathed her sword. Shen Lixia stepped forward and naturally took Qiao Yanshen's sleeve as he slightly raised his hand, saying, "Senior Sister looks...very happy. I think Senior Sister can stay happy for a while."
"I'm not as happy as when I see you." These words made the girl's ears burn again, and she didn't know how to respond.
Qiao Yanshen sighed softly and led her out of the courtyard. She changed the subject, slowly recounting the day's activities. Upon hearing her story, Shen Lixia realized that she had also slept with Qiao Yanshen for a day and a night, which explained her dizziness. Fortunately, being a cultivator, she recovered quickly and was now fully alert.
So, today is the first day of the competition.
They must have missed the opening, so let's see if they can catch the most exciting part. Shen Lixia and the others hadn't spent much time in the sect, and the only outer disciple they were familiar with was Lin Yuxian. The two who just arrived, Lu Changqing, was born with a water spirit body, and Wu Zhuyue was born with a top-grade metal spirit root and a natural talent for sword cultivation; they were immediately taken in by Yi Xiaohan.
Shen Lixia's comment on this was: "Young people, don't they know how to endure the hardships they faced in the beginning?"
However, she was happy inside, and Qiao Yanshen felt the same way when he heard it.
“I never thought I would meet an old friend again,” she said, a hint of melancholy in her voice as if she were remembering something. “In this vast world, perhaps it is truly a case of coincidences leading to unexpected events.”
Shen Lixia knew who she was thinking of, and gave a muffled "hmm".
"If we are destined to meet, we will meet again."
The two flew towards the arena on their swords. Before they even reached the top of the peak, they could hear a great commotion of voices.
The small competition was an internal sect competition, so only separate arenas were set up. The first day was for the outer sect disciples to compete, and the second day was for the inner sect disciples. In the vast arena, the audience was distributed around the central arena. The white brick surface of the arena was now like water with many ripples, and the secret realm within was vast, with figures flashing and reflecting the mirage of thousands of small worlds.
Simply channel your spiritual energy into one of them, and you will be able to see what is happening.
As they walked among the spectators, searching for a place to sit, a divine thought gently resounded in their minds: "Come over here."
Looking in the direction their divine senses had come from, they saw a woman in black sitting alone at a small table. No one was around her, making the space feel exceptionally spacious. On the table were cups and a white jade bottle; as the two approached, they caught a faint scent of wine.
"Master Chi, what a pleasant occasion." Shen Lixia spoke first, sitting cross-legged at one side of the small table. Qiao Yanshen then sat down, noticing that although Chi Yueying had come today, she had disguised herself and concealed her cultivation, so that even though everyone knew that she was of noble status and did not approach her, they could not actually recognize who she was.
She glanced at the situation and immediately understood. Not only were those who had previously been on good terms with Elder Lin present, but many of the disciples who had recently witnessed Lin Yuxian's close relationship with them were also here. What was originally just a power struggle between the outer sect and the servants had become particularly captivating because of Lin Yuxian's presence. Everyone wanted to see what kind of person the young man, who had lost the protection of his elder brother and uncle and was now in the eye of the storm, had become.
Unfortunately, these people are bound to be disappointed. Those so-called "protections" are just a burden. Young people are never flowers that are protected and nurtured. Instead, they are tempered in the wild, growing many sharp thorns. When they bloom, they will inevitably have a cold and sharp brilliance.
Chi Yueying poured herself a drink, which piqued Shen Lixia's curiosity. She wanted to secretly take a small cup and try it while Chi Yueying watched the competition later. Just as her fingertips touched the jade-white cup, someone gently pressed down on it. Looking up, she saw Qiao Yanshen staring at her and said in a low voice, "Don't tease your elders."
Shen Lixia felt a little wronged—she just wanted to taste the wine.
Chi Yueying had already noticed the subtle interaction between the two. She chuckled, filled both wine glasses, and pushed them in front of them.
"It's brewed from peach blossoms picked from Guyu Peak in the spring. It's been brewing for a short time, so the flavor is mild and it shouldn't be intoxicating." After she finished speaking, her gaze returned to the stage.
Shen Lixia picked up the cup, sniffed it, and took a sip. The taste was indeed extremely faint. She glanced at Qiao Yanshen; he seemed to really like the flavor, taking a small sip and his eyes lighting up.
After tasting the wine, they all turned their gaze to the arena, to the small world where a fierce battle was taking place.
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On the field, Lin Yuxian was walking with her sword in hand.
From the very beginning, the young woman was extremely wary. She politely declined invitations to team up with others, but for those who sought violence, she had already prepared hand seals. With a single talisman, a gust of wind arose, sending the opponent flying tens of thousands of miles away in the blink of an eye.
After that sparring session, she often exchanged blows and discussed techniques with Shen Lixia. She was quite surprised to find that the other party's hand seals were extremely fast, and she learned a move from him as well. Several years passed, and she improved day by day, reaching the point where she could perform different hand seals with both hands. However, the latter was still unfamiliar, and she would not use it lightly unless it was a duel.
The number of participants in the preliminary competition was quite large. As a major sect in the Nine Regions, Taihui had over a thousand members, including both servants and outer disciples. She flipped through the records and found that in previous years, the number of those who withdrew was at most around a hundred. Including the apprentices who were eliminated at the beginning, there were still about eight hundred people left. Now that the preliminary competition was halfway through, if it ended in the evening as usual, there should only be two hundred people left.
The gap was too large, so the pace was extremely fast. This elimination process continued until only fifty people remained, which was when the competition became truly exciting.
Previously, she only needed to conserve her strength.
Although those outside the arena might not be able to guess her intentions and might see her as a coward avoiding the fight, Lin Yuqian didn't care. From the beginning, her only goal was to break into the top five.
The secret realm was vast, with dense forests on both sides. She was well-prepared and first used a Swift Wind Talisman to circle the area. Suddenly, she saw something along the way and stopped in her tracks.
It was a flower bud about to bloom. It looked extremely ordinary; unless one was an expert on flowers, even a close look would not reveal anything special. Lin Yuxian squatted down, her fingertips lightly touching the petals and leaves. After hesitating for a moment, she made up her mind.
Her group of companions, seemingly reliable on the surface, had all actually been through perilous situations. She alone, however, suffered greatly due to her conservatism and forbearance. Even the most composed Senior Sister Qiao and Senior Sister Tang had reportedly risked their lives during their tribulations or gambled in secret realms. If one is to compete, one cannot be conservative, nor can one wait for others to give them a chance.
She used to be blinded by greed, which is why she gave way to others. Now, she won't.
Thinking of this, Lin Yuxian quickly made a hand seal, using the unopened flower as her eye. An array plate appeared in her hand, its light flowing and gradually disappearing into the flower, then silently extending into the ground below.
Outside the arena, screams of people falling off the stage echoed continuously. Several disciples who had their heads severed by sword light in the secret realm touched their necks after leaving the arena, and breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that they had not been decapitated.
Shen Lixia rested her chin on her hand in thought, watching Lin Yuxian use the flower bud as the array's core, and suddenly laughed: "She's going to set up the Full Moon Array. But, is there anything special about that flower?"
Qiao Yanshen continued, "That is an epiphyllum. The sky in the secret realm changes depending on the battle situation, and in the end, it may be night."
"In other words, even if the moon appears in the sky, those who understand this formation will be affected in their judgment." Shen Lixia raised her wine cup and drank it all. "Truly a formation master, so meticulous in her calculations."
She secretly glanced at Chi Yueying beside her, thinking that with such wisdom and strategy, plus all the praise from them, Aunt Chi should be more optimistic about Lin Yuxian, right?
In fact, without her saying a word, Chi Yueying had come today specifically for Lin Yuxian. Qiao Yanshen had already seen this and said nothing more.
Chi Yueying remained calm, her gaze fixed on the young man setting up the array within the secret realm, a slight smile playing on her lips as she expertly executed the formation. The Full Moon Array, as its name suggests, is related to the moon. Cultivators embark on their path of cultivation by drawing upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth; all spells originate from this source, and the closer one's connection to nature, the more powerful they become.
The same applies to the Full Moon Formation. Skilled individuals can set up the formation directly, but if they can utilize the bright moonlight on a moonlit night or objects related to the moon, they can better unleash its power.
One withers, one flourishes, all within the formation, like the moon drawing the tide, peeling away layers to strip away the power of those within.
Chi Yueying's signature formation, the Moonlit Formation, wasn't limited to the Moonlit Formation. She became famous because she deployed this formation in the desolate demon realm during the three-race war, turning the tide of battle and reversing the tide of war. At that time, the Taihui Temple was filled with praise: on the left was the Mingji True Monarch, who slew millions of demon soldiers in a single night, and on the right was the Nine-Branch True Monarch, who sealed away all kinds of demons with this formation. Only then did Chi Yueying's name finally spread among the cultivators.
But she was not happy about it. This battle brought her fame, but also sorrow. If the war hadn't happened, she wouldn't have wanted this fame. Joy turning into sorrow would only make her ashamed to face her classmates and friends in the future.
For over a century, it wasn't just Yan Xueya who was untying her knots; she was too. Now, she has long since developed a new formation, and the once-glorious Crescent Moon Formation is now a thing of the past.
She won't use it again unless absolutely necessary.
However, Lin Yuxian could become the next person skilled in the Crescent Moon Formation, and even her other killing formations.
Time flew by, but Chi Yueying and Qiao Yanshen were completely unaware. They were so focused on their cultivation that even sitting in meditation didn't feel tedious. If they grew tired of one scene, they would simply change to another.
Shen Lixia couldn't sit still any longer. After a while, a rustling sound came from the young girl's hands, which made Qiao Yanshen turn his head to look. He found that she was watching the battle while rapidly sketching the fierce battlefield scene. The scene on the field changed in an instant, and she kept adding strokes.
Shen Lixia was engrossed in her painting, and Qiao Yanshen was also watching intently. He never expected his junior sister to be so skilled, capturing the dynamic movements so vividly.
Her mind is always like a child's; everything she sees is full of vibrant colors.
Qiao Yanshen felt from the bottom of his heart that this junior sister was extremely, extremely cute.
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Author's Note: I hesitated for a long time before adding the ensemble piece tag! I also enjoy writing stories about other characters. The two main characters will definitely have the most screen time, but I'll try to develop the other female characters' storylines as much as possible! Hope you enjoy reading!
Personally, I think Kobayashi and Ike are similar in some ways, or rather, several pairs of master and student are. Perhaps the students can resolve the regrets and tragedies their teachers made in their youth and avoid repeating them.
I'm taking the teacher qualification exam soon, and I'll try to update tomorrow, haha. Look at all this fuss, I'm going to have to take it without any preparation (sweating profusely).
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