Chapter 76
Soon, the disciples who had performed songs and dances to entertain the guests had all left. Amidst a burst of enthusiastic gongs and drums, Xie Yijun stood on the platform and announced the official opening of the competition. Ye Zhilan, as the senior sister of Yunhua, naturally took on the responsibility of hosting the competition. Lu Huaiwei also accompanied her. After the disciples quieted down a bit, Xu Lianzhi called out the names of several people according to the roster, and the martial arts competition began.
In fact, the new disciples had already had their first test a few days ago. Since there were a lot of new disciples this year, it was necessary to screen them in advance. The people who made it onto the roster today were all personally selected by Xu Lianzhi. After all, watching two-on-one duels would take too much time, so Xu Lianzhi decided to invite more people to the arena to spar on the sword-fighting platform to shorten the duration of the tournament.
Eight people competed simultaneously, divided into four groups. Each match resulted in four winners. As the competition continued, after two hours, the number of disciples still able to continue the contest dwindled significantly.
On the stands, the elders watched intently as the contestants competed below, secretly observing for promising talents. Whenever a promising performer appeared, their eyes would light up, and they would instruct their disciples to write down the name so they could recruit them after the competition ended.
Meanwhile, many of the new disciples were also observing the people in the stands.
"Ah, Elder Xu of Wenxin Peak seems kind and approachable. I'm too timid to sit under a strict elder, so Elder Xu is just what I need!"
"I'd really like to go to Tianyin Peak. You all know about Ding Lianzhen, right? Elder Cheng is getting old now and has said he's considering retiring. He definitely won't be taking on any more disciples. On the other hand, Vice Elder Chang is young and hasn't taken on any disciples yet. Tianyin Peak is currently short of a senior disciple to manage things. If Vice Elder Chang becomes the senior elder, he'll definitely take good care of his disciple. If not now, when? What a great opportunity! Maybe the position Ding Lianzhen vacates will be mine!"
"Tianyin Peak is too tiring, I don't want to go. I've already made up my mind. There aren't many people at Wuhui Peak, and Senior Sister Lu is kind and caring towards the younger generation. Going to Wuhui Peak is the best choice!"
"Come on, everyone knows that the senior brothers and sisters of Wu Hui Peak are all the best of the best. With your abilities, let alone the Grand Elder, even Vice Elder Li might not look at you!"
...
The disciples discussed amongst themselves, arguing about which peak they wanted to go to. After a moment, someone asked, "Hey, Yin Qiu, you've always performed well. The elders have heard about you and are probably all vying for you. Which peak do you want to go to?"
Fu Xiang, who was standing beside her, had already been called away by Xu Lianzhi. After the disciples in the arena finished their competitions, it would be her turn to go on stage. Yin Qiu was absent-minded and was somewhat slow to react when she heard this, so she did not answer in time.
She didn't answer, but the other disciples answered for her: "What nonsense are you asking? Yin Qiu has long been a candidate for the sect leader's closed-door disciple, she's definitely going to the Mingguang Hall!"
The disciple who spoke earlier said, "That's not necessarily true. Yin Qiu and Martial Uncle Man have such a good relationship, maybe she'll go to Jingyue Peak?"
Mentioning Man Jiangxue only fueled the disciples' clamor.
"You haven't heard yet, have you? Martial Aunt Man never accepts disciples! I heard from other senior sisters that she rarely participated in the new disciple gatherings in previous years. I think that although she came this year, she definitely won't accept any disciples. She's probably just here to see Yin Qiu!"
"No way? Master Man is so powerful, yet he doesn't take on any disciples?"
"It's common knowledge in the palace. Look around, besides Uncle Man, which other uncle or elder doesn't have a disciple?"
"But there are always exceptions! I think Uncle Man might just marry Yin Qiu this year!"
"Yes, Yin Qiu, has Uncle Man ever said he would take you as his disciple?"
Yin Qiu was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously looked at Man Jiangxue in the distance, before finally shaking her head and saying, "Uncle-Master didn't say that."
"See! I told you my master wouldn't accept disciples, not even Yin Qiu!"
"That's a real pity. I wonder what it takes for Master Man to accept a disciple. To be honest, the place I really want to go to is Jingyue Peak!"
"Then I advise you to give up now. If even Yin Qiu can't go there, then don't even think about it!"
The noisy chatter echoed in her ears. Yin Qiu was already preoccupied, and hearing these words made her feel even more suffocated. She wanted to get up and find a quieter place to sit, but then she heard the disciple say, "If we can't go to Jingyue Peak, Mingguang Hall is fine too. Whoever becomes the sect leader's disciple may be the next sect leader!"
"You don't even need to think about that. That's something Yin Qiu and Fu Xiang should worry about. It has nothing to do with us!"
"Hey! How about we place a bet and see who comes in first place!"
"Okay! I bet on Fu Xiang!"
"Me too! I bet on Yin Qiu!"
Seeing that they actually started betting money, Yin Qiu sighed and rubbed her forehead, feeling both amused and exasperated. After a moment of silence, she suddenly stood up, took out a few copper coins, and slapped them on the ground: "Wait, count me in."
The disciples looked at her with great curiosity.
Who do you want to bet on?
Amidst the various scrutinizing gazes, Yin Qiu slowly raised her head, looking over the crowd at Man Jiangxue high above.
Clutching the snow-white money pouch in her hand, she said firmly, "I'll bet on my master."
·
Man Jiangxue put down her teacup. She seemed a little tired after sitting there for so long. She got up and walked to the back of the stands and stood there for a while. Soon after, Xie Yijun followed her.
The duel on the sword-fighting platform was in full swing, and the battle became more and more exciting as it progressed. Xie Yijun turned her sore neck and said, "I think this year's batch of new disciples is really good, much better than the previous two years. Now that the elders of each peak are getting old, I was worried that there would be no successors, but looking at it this way, I was worrying too much."
Man Jiangxue casually took the dagger and played with it, gently stroking the sharp, thin blade with her fingertips, and replied, "It's all thanks to Lianzhi's excellent teaching. Over the years, she has worked diligently and conscientiously in the new disciples' academy, cultivating a lot of talent."
Xie Yijun agreed and said slowly, "That's right. I originally wanted to promote her to take over as the head steward of the palace. After all, Zhilan is still young and is always busy with all sorts of affairs, leaving her no time to practice martial arts. It would be good to have a steward to share the burden with her. But who knew that Lianzhi would refuse and insist on staying in the new disciples' courtyard? However, there is no one else who can take on the job, so I let her be."
The two chatted idly for a while, and then Xie Yijun said, "I've been observing Yin Qiu for a long time, and she seems a bit restless. Don't let it affect her performance later. What did you tell her last night?"
Upon hearing this, Man Jiangxue couldn't help but shift her gaze to Yin Qiu in the distance.
The child sat alone on the far side of the stands, surrounded by lively disciples, but she alone remained calm and unmoved.
“I explained it very clearly to her, and she understood,” Man Jiangxue said.
“This child is kind-hearted by nature and is on good terms with Fu Xiang. I’m worried that she might develop a sense of pity and deliberately give in to Fu Xiang.” Xie Yijun frowned.
“It shouldn’t be that bad,” Man Jiangxue said. “The palace is the most important place, and she should be able to distinguish between what’s important and what’s not.”
Xie Yijun nodded, and Man Jiangxue continued, "However, I do feel a little reluctant to put this burden on her, so don't have too high expectations. No matter what the final result is, I don't care. I only care about whether Yin Qiu is happy or not. We can talk about other things later."
"You said the same thing when I asked you to strongly dissuade Mandong from getting married," Xie Yijun said with a slight disagreement. "How could I not want this child to live a carefree life? But in this world, how can everything go as planned? There are always times when we have no choice. The lessons of the past are still there. I advise you not to be soft-hearted and repeat the same mistakes."
Man Jiangxue paused in her play with the dagger, and after a moment of silence, said, "It's not as serious as you make it out to be."
Xie Yijun didn't want to argue with her. When she caught sight of Fu Xiang's figure below, she lifted her leg and said, "Never mind, let's continue watching."
·
On the other side, upon hearing Fu Xiang's name, Yin Qiu finally snapped out of her daze and hurriedly looked towards the dueling platform.
At this point, more than half of the participants had already competed. Given Fu Xiang's usual performance, she didn't need to participate in the eight-person competition at all. Therefore, currently, only Fu Xiang and another female disciple were facing off, with no one else present.
Fu Xiang was already the center of attention in the disciples' courtyard. As soon as she appeared, cheers rang out from all over the stands, and all the elders looked on with anticipation, their eyes fixed on her.
At Ye Zhilan's command, Lu Huaiwei struck the drum, and Fu Xiang leaped forward to meet the female disciple. The two immediately began to fight.
The female disciple had won several matches in the previous contests, but even so, she still seemed to be struggling against Fu Xiang's attacks. This match was almost without suspense, and after only a few rounds, the female disciple lost her sword and had no power to fight back.
Xu Lianzhi immediately shouted, "Fu Xiang wins!"
In an instant, everyone stood up and whistled at the crowd. Fu Xiang was beaming. She bowed to the stands in all directions before turning to look at Yin Qiu and giving her a smug smile.
Yin Qiu returned her a smile, but before the smile could fade, Xu Lianzhi called out again, "Next match, Yin Qiu! Against Bai Ling!"
Upon hearing Yin Qiu's name, the disciples shouted even more enthusiastically, creating an even more exaggerated scene than Fu Xiang's. Now everyone in the palace knows that Yin Qiu is Shen Mandong's daughter. Shen Mandong was once famous throughout the martial arts world and still lives in the hearts of martial arts heroes. As her descendant, Yin Qiu is naturally someone everyone is looking forward to.
On the stands, all the elders sat up straight, and even Xie Yijun couldn't help but crane her neck to look. Only Man Jiangxue remained calm, leaning casually against the back of her chair, silently watching the figure walk into the arena.
"Xiao Qiu! Do your best!" Fu Xiang jumped down from the stage and patted Yin Qiu on the shoulder.
On one side, Ye Zhilan and Lu Huaiwei both cast expectant glances at her, and Xu Lianzhi also encouraged them, saying, "With Fu Xiangzhu as a role model, you must not make any mistakes. Go quickly."
Yin Qiu nodded slightly, bowed to the group, and then silently flew into the dueling platform.
On the opposite side, the female disciple named Bai Ling had already warmed up and stood on the platform before Yin Qiu.
Bai Ling was the female disciple who had been practicing swordsmanship with Yin Qiu after Fu Xiang went to Mingyue Tower. In fact, her reputation was no less than that of Yin Qiu and Fu Xiang. Even many senior disciples recognized her. It was because she had accidentally fainted during her first martial arts class and had to be dragged back to run laps that Bai Ling had made an impression on most of the disciples when she first entered the palace. In addition, she was serious in class and worked particularly hard when practicing swordsmanship. She had even ranked in the top three in two martial arts tests, so Xu Lianzhi thought highly of her.
Although Bai Ling was still somewhat inferior to Yin Qiu, she seemed to be in good condition and was not intimidated. This calm and composed performance attracted the attention of many elders.
The two first bowed to each other, greeted each other, and then, after Ye Zhilan gave the order, they took off their swords and began to spar.
Since entering the palace, besides Fu Xiang, Bai Ling has sparred with Yin Qiu the most. Both of them are well aware of each other's strength and familiar with each other's moves. Therefore, the battle is not very intense. Instead, they seem to be in control, advancing and retreating with ease, which is quite entertaining.
However, everyone could see that Yin Qiu was not using her full strength and was holding back. No matter how Bai Ling tried to attack, she only defended steadily and never took the initiative to attack. On the surface, it seemed that she was forced to the point of having no way to fight back by Bai Ling, but in reality, the rhythm of the entire competition was completely controlled by Yin Qiu.
Bai Ling knew she was no match for her, so she only wanted to take this opportunity to show off her skills and win the favor of the elders. But seeing that Yin Qiu refused to make a move, as if she was playing with her, Bai Ling couldn't help but say, "Yin Qiu, let's finish this quickly. I'll accept defeat wholeheartedly. Why are you dragging this out?"
Yin Qiu said, "I'm waiting for the right opportunity."
Bai Ling asked, puzzled, "What timing? You're bound to beat me no matter what, why do you need to wait?"
Yin Qiu remained silent, her gaze gradually deepening as they exchanged blows, her expression displeased. Bai Ling couldn't fathom her thoughts, feeling that continuing the fight was simply a waste of time, yet she couldn't bring herself to admit defeat in public. Confused, she could only continue unleashing her sword techniques on Yin Qiu.
She wondered to herself, what exactly was Yin Qiu trying to do?
However, just as this thought crossed her mind, she saw Yin Qiu suddenly surge with power, his sword flashing with intricate patterns, moving so fast that only afterimages could be seen. Bai Ling was startled, but also delighted. She thought that Yin Qiu was finally going to end the competition, so she also thought of showing off a beautiful move at the last moment to the elders in the stands.
Instead of dodging, Bai Ling advanced, breaking Yin Qiu's attack with a move called "Swallow Skimming Water". In previous sparring sessions with Yin Qiu, she would always be countered by Yin Qiu's "Three Lights Encircling the Moon" when she used this move. So she was prepared to lose gracefully.
Unexpectedly, Yin Qiu did not deflect the sword move as she had planned, but instead attacked with a direct slash, without using any sword moves.
The two were moving at their fastest speed. Once their blades clashed, how could they stop in time? All Bai Ling saw was a blinding flash of sparks from the friction of the sword blades. She instinctively looked away, worried that the sword light would hurt her eyes. She had never seen Yin Qiu fight in such an unconventional way before. For a moment, she couldn't help but feel flustered. She quickly grabbed her sword and swung it around haphazardly for a few moves before hurriedly dodging and stopping.
But just as she regained her footing and was about to pull back, she felt her sword being gripped tightly, and she couldn't pull it back even a fraction of an inch.
Bai Ling looked up and saw that the tip of her sword was pressed against Yin Qiu's neck, and the sharp blade was held in Yin Qiu's white-knuckled hand.
The next moment, a string of bright red blood dripped down.
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