Chapter 35: Senior, he is the legendary Lingshan Daojun! ...
Everyone was stunned. They had never expected that Zhan Yao would interrupt the Sect Master just to say this. They looked at each other in bewilderment, wondering if they had heard it wrong.
Zhou Su and Xu Lian beside her were even more frightened. They quickly grabbed her sleeves and said anxiously, "Ayao, what are you doing? Stop talking!"
But Zhan Yao ignored them, simply pulled away her sleeves, raised her head and looked around, as if to say: I don't appreciate it!
The students who had led the riot were furious. "We were speaking up for you out of kindness, but how could you be so arrogant? We're all classmates, so normally you'd be a bit arrogant, but why are you being so arrogant now?"
Zhan Yao snorted coldly, looking him up and down mercilessly. "Who asked you to be so hypocritical? Just because I'm number one today, isn't it shameful for you to be defeated by me? I just lost a competition, but I'm still myself. I'm the only outer sect disciple who has reached the foundation-building stage. What's there to worry about? You've lost so many competitions before, why are you being even more pretentious than me?"
Those people were choked and felt very aggrieved.
Normally, everyone knew Zhan Yao's strength. Although everyone lost to her, no matter how many times they lost, they thought it was natural and no one would feel ashamed of it. Now that she said this, they felt extremely humiliated.
But what she said was right. All the Tianzi class disciples present were defeated by her.
"You, you don't have to care. After all, among these people, you are the most likely to enter the inner gate. But what about the others who were squeezed out by Mu Fuyun? What about Yu Cen?"
Yu Cen, who was suddenly called again, hesitated for a long time, looked at Zhan Yao, then at Mu Fuyun, and decided to stand up.
"I think that you all may have some misunderstandings about what happened three days ago."
Yu Cen has a mild temper and is very popular. Once he opens his mouth, everyone is always willing to listen to him.
"I didn't lose that competition because of bad luck. I lost because I was truly lacking in strength."
Seeing that the classmates from Class C who were speaking up for him looked unconvinced, he hurriedly continued to explain.
"In the sixteenth move of the Wind Companion Flowing Cloud Sword, I always experience a brief delay due to the twisting of my right pinky finger, causing the next move to flow less smoothly. I practiced this sword technique for three years without ever noticing this flaw. Junior Sister Mu, however, spotted it simply by watching me perform in those few days of competition. She was able to defeat me because she saw through this flaw early on; it wasn't just luck or chance."
Perhaps because he was afraid of misunderstanding, he explained it in great detail.
"At first, I had my doubts, but these past few days, I've pondered and experimented, and I have to admit that Junior Sister Mu is absolutely right. Those of you watching the competition might not have felt as deeply as I, who personally participated. During the competition, I truly felt like I was being invisibly drawn in a certain direction."
After hearing this, everyone was surprised.
In the past, competitions between disciples mostly relied on head-on strength to win. Whoever had superior swordsmanship, sufficient spiritual power, and powerful moves would win. Few people would win in such a step-by-step and meticulously calculated way.
It is rare in the inner sect, and the outer disciples have never seen it before.
"This is the first time I've heard of winning a competition this way."
"It sounds like this is a solution..."
"Mu Fuyun was able to win the previous two competitions. Did he also use this method?"
"I see that her swordsmanship is actually quite good during the competition. Every move is used just right. However, she seems to be exhausted after each round."
Those troublemakers looked at each other, speechless. The two protagonists themselves were not dissatisfied, and they really seemed like they were meddling in other people's business.
The leader was still stubborn and asked again: "Yu Cen, you must have been deceived. Is she really that capable of seeing such details?"
Before Yu Cen could say anything, Xu Huaiyan answered loudly, "He wasn't fooled! Junior Sister Mu also reminded me that when using the Wind Companion Flowing Cloud Sword's thirteenth move, the sword tip should be tilted to the right. After I corrected that, I narrowly defeated Zhou Su. In the two subsequent duels with her, I never lost again!"
Zhou Su was confused at first when she was suddenly called out. When she recalled the several exchanges with Xu Huaiyan, her face immediately turned ugly. The person who she thought was equally matched with her before has now quietly surpassed her. Even if it was just a little bit, this feeling was not pleasant.
The other dozen or so people on the trial stage all looked at Mu Fuyun as if they were seeing him for the first time.
Hongying: "So you have this ability."
Xiao Yan: "I really underestimated you before."
Among the other disciples, those who had rushed forward to stir up trouble had been refuted to the point of being speechless. They had a breath stuck in their stomachs, neither able to let it out nor swallow it, and their faces turned red and purple.
Those who had not participated in them before, or had not expressed their views clearly, began to speak.
"In fact, although Mu Fuyun's realm is not as high as Zhan Yao's, he is progressing faster than anyone else."
"I also think that being able to control a sword at the Qi Refining Stage is something that not everyone can do."
"She's quite capable, and doesn't look like someone with poor roots or no talent at all..."
A disciple from the Earth Class hesitated for a moment, then raised his hand tremblingly and asked, "Senior Sister Mu, could you please take a look at my swordsmanship when you have time in the future?"
Everyone's eyes fell on him again.
He smiled awkwardly and scratched his head. "I just want to see where my weaknesses are. After all, I have to take the test next year... It would be best if Senior Sister is free, but if not, that's okay..."
His voice became smaller and smaller, and he seemed to lack confidence.
Mu Fuyun did not answer directly, but asked him: "Junior brother, have you said anything bad about me before?"
The disciple was stunned for a moment, then shook his head repeatedly: "I didn't say that. I usually don't like to meddle in other people's affairs. Even when I was watching the game just now, I only said one thing about Senior Sister."
The disciples next to him quickly testified for him.
"That's right, what he said just now was 'I didn't expect there was a move called flying sword'!"
"No, he missed a sentence. He also said, 'Senior Sister Mu doesn't talk much, but everything she says is true'!"
Mu Fuyun smiled and raised his head, saying, "I'm just an ordinary person. I don't have a broad mind and can't repay evil with kindness. I won't help those who have slandered me behind my back. Since you don't have it, I'll dare to help you take a look in a few days. It may not be useful, but I will try my best."
The disciple's face lit up with joy, and he quickly bowed to express his gratitude.
For most people, silence is the norm, and seeing this situation at this moment, everyone feels happy.
But those who had slandered Mu Fuyun or accused him behind his back looked as if they had been slapped in the face in public, their faces stiff.
Among them, Qi Yuanbai felt the most embarrassed.
After all, he was the first person to publicly say that Mu Fuyun was too mediocre.
Although he did not speak ill of him, many disciples formed an inherent bad impression of Mu Fuyun because of his words.
Now, the disciple who was rejected by him because of "mediocrity" has become the biggest dark horse in the outer sect assessment, which has greatly damaged the face of him as the head of the sect.
Relying on the dignity and patience he had cultivated over the years, he did not lose his composure in front of everyone, but he did not stop the farce among his disciples in time.
Even if he was the head of a sect, and even if he had reached the Mahayana stage, he still had some shortcomings that most people found difficult to overcome. Although the result was very clear, he just didn't want to easily admit that Mu Fuyun was first.
"The assessment for the Tianzi class has now concluded. Today's results—"
He was about to continue speaking when a voice came to his ears.
"I am willing to accept this apprentice."
In front of Trial Taipei, in the clear blue sky, a figure came riding on the wind.
He was a man who looked like an immortal, dressed in a flowing white robe, full of pride and coldness. He seemed to have broken through the ice and walked on the snow, instantly dispelling the dryness unique to autumn.
Nearly a thousand disciples present stared in amazement as he flew through the sky and landed lightly on the trial platform. It took them a long time to come to their senses and guess who this person was.
"He just said, 'I'm willing to accept a disciple'..."
"Could this be—Lingshan Daojun?!"
“So young!”
"I heard that Junior Master is extremely talented and entered Taoism early, so he naturally has the ability to maintain his youthful appearance."
"When Daojun said this, does it mean that he is very satisfied with Mu Fuyun?"
"Wait, why did Daojun say he was willing to accept a disciple? Isn't this already a done deal?"
"That's Taoist Lingshan, the world's number one swordsman!"
…
Qi Yuanbai paused, his heart filled with astonishment. He had never expected that his junior brother, who had always lived in seclusion and was indifferent to worldly affairs, would actually walk out of Lingshanze, come to the trial platform, and announce in public that he wanted to accept this disciple.
Does this mean that Xie Hanyi was also watching the competition just now?
It's really unusual.
"Junior Brother, I remember you weren't keen on accepting a disciple before. Why are you suddenly interested in accepting this child now? In my opinion, the one called Zhan Yao is more qualified to serve under you as the number one swordsman."
He did not answer immediately, but whispered a secret message to Xie Hanyi from a distance.
Xie Hanyi didn't answer immediately either.
After landing on the trial platform, his eyes fell on Mu Fuyun.
At this moment, he said nothing, walked around the others with an expressionless face, and came straight to her. He stopped two steps away from her, turned around, and faced everyone in the sect with her.
"I just don't like so many people pressuring her so hard. Brother, you should know what kind of person I am." He sent a message to Qi Yuanbai.
Qi Yuanbai's eyes flashed, and he said "Okay" again, then he regained his composure and continued with what he had just said, but what he said was no longer what he really meant.
"—The result has been finalized, and you have all witnessed it with your own eyes. No matter how unexpected it was, no matter who was stronger or weaker, according to the competition rules, Mu Fuyun from the Tianzi Class A is the ultimate winner of the competition and will become the first disciple of Lingshan Daojun."
As he spoke, he turned his gaze towards Mu Fuyun on the trial stage and added, "This is also what Lingshan Daojun himself meant."
Mu Fuyun was unaware of anything because she was turning her head and staring blankly at Xie Hanyi who was so close to her, unable to come back to her senses for a long time.
"Senior, how could it be..."
She had never expected that the senior in white who had been guiding her in the back mountain was the legendary Taoist Master Lingshan!
At this moment, she should have held the sword in her hand, stepped onto the high platform, and accepted everyone's gaze, but because she was too surprised, she did not move for a long time.
Seeing her surprised look, Qi Yuanbai couldn't help but frown.
Is it really just a coincidence?
Xie Hanyi looked at her, a faint smile flashed in his eyes. Amidst countless gazes, he held her hand and took her to the platform.
"Scared?"
Taking advantage of the noise all around, he whispered in her ear.
Feeling the familiar coolness in his palms and the scent of frost and snow around him, Mu Fuyun finally came back to his senses and shook his head gently: "I'm just too surprised."
Then he returned to normal without his reminder. He smiled and bowed to everyone, then raised the Hengyu Sword in his hand.
Only then did everyone finally have the time to take a closer look at the sword.
There weren't many decorations on the silver scabbard. If no one had known in advance, no one would have guessed that this was the sword that Xie Hanyi had used when he first entered Tianyan and became famous throughout the sect with one sword.
Now, the scabbard with traces of wear and tear, stained with a few strands of Mu Fuyun's blood, appears unusually harmonious.
Even the two figures on the stage seemed to have an unexpected tacit understanding.
Qi Yuanbai didn't delve into the matter further. After the heated discussion subsided, he continued, "Alright, Lingshan Daojun's first disciple has been chosen. Now, I'll ask the elders from the other peaks to select suitable disciples."
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