Chapter 103 My old friend wonders what the young clan leader looks like now...
Upon hearing this, Bai Shu was slightly taken aback, her thoughts drifting away. She recalled her childhood, when she used to misbehave in her family every day.
She was reminded of that fluffy little tiger, who trained her body by the river day after day, year after year. If she had grown up in the Bai family, she wouldn't have had to work so hard.
That child, did he want to become strong? It's a pity he was stuck with such an irresponsible mother.
Seeing her moved expression, Old Mrs. Bai continued to poke at her disobedient granddaughter's weak spot: "According to the information I received, your child has only truly embarked on the path of cultivation for a few years at most, right?"
"In just a few years, she has grown from a mere mortal to a young genius whom my Bai family has painstakingly nurtured. Girl, have you ever thought about how much hardship she endured alone out there? How much effort she put in and how many dangers she faced to reach Baidi City step by step, and then fight her way into the forbidden inheritance area, all just to find you."
"Alright, Grandma..." Bai Shu interrupted her, her voice already trembling with tears.
She turned her face away and hastily wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes. "I understand what you're saying. Just tell me what you want me to do. Don't say these things anymore. I'm already feeling terrible."
"Hey, you child, you're getting all upset as you talk." Grandma Bai's eyes were full of laughter. "Don't cry, or Grandma will feel sorry for you."
"Grandma, can you please stop saying such things with a smile?" Bai Shu said angrily. In front of the old lady, she reverted to being the child who could throw tantrums at will.
"Alright, alright, Grandma won't say anymore." Grandma Bai held Bai Shu's hand and said earnestly, "This is what Grandma is planning. The once-in-a-century Kyushu Genius Battle will begin soon. This is a perfect opportunity to make a name for yourself and your family and compete for fortune. This time, Grandma wants you to personally lead the team and take Qingji and the other younger generation to gain experience and broaden your horizons."
“A person’s reputation is like a tree’s shadow. If you, as a mother, establish a formidable reputation outside, who in this land will dare to easily bully your child? Isn’t that the greatest confidence you, as a mother, can provide for your child?”
Grandma Bai's persuasive rhetoric, comparable to a pyramid scheme, was layered and progressive, striking right at Bai Shu's heart. She left Bai Shu completely stunned, igniting the maternal love and passion within her.
"I understand! I will go." After saying that, Bai Shu felt a little unhappy again, thinking about how her little brat had gone to great lengths to find her in Baidi City, only to find that she and her mother hadn't even met, and now she had to leave again.
Seeing this, Bai Qingji stepped forward to comfort her: "Aunt, since things have come to this, why don't we go to Bai Family Restaurant for a meal? My cousin Aye really likes our food, and I can tell you all the interesting things that happened when she first came to Baidi City."
Upon hearing this, Bai Shu's sadness was replaced by curiosity, and she left Taiwang Palace with Bai Qingji.
Grandma Bai watched the aunt and niece walk away together, her eyes filled with smiles.
Upon arriving at the restaurant, Bai Qingji, familiar with the place, led Bai Shu to a square table in the corner of the hall and said, "Auntie, look, this is the place. When my cousin Bai Ye first came here, she sat here. She brought a little turtle and ordered more than twenty dishes."
As she spoke, she beckoned to the waiter and ordered everything from the menu that Bai Ye had eaten before.
Upon hearing the name "little turtle," Bai Shu knew it must be Jiao Jiao. She smiled and asked, "She ordered such a large table of dishes; does she have spirit stones to pay the bill?"
"Hahaha..." Bai Qingji's face was full of awkward laughter. Just as she was wondering how to explain, Qin Yanjing, who had received the message, arrived.
Bai Qingji immediately stood up and pulled Qin Yanjing, saying, "Auntie, look, the person who's paying for my cousin's bill is here."
Qin Yanjing bowed to Bai Shu and said, "Greetings, Aunt."
Bai Shu smiled gently and waved his hand, "Don't be so polite, please sit down. If I'm not mistaken, you're that little girl from the Qin family, right? You've grown up, but you don't look much different from when you were little. I recognized you at a glance."
Upon hearing this, Qin Yanjing's eyes flashed with surprise; she had no recollection of this aunt. However, she did not ask any further questions, but simply sat down next to Bai Qingji, elegant and composed.
“It’s normal that you don’t remember me.” Bai Shu saw her confusion and explained, “The last time I saw you, you had just celebrated your first birthday and were still being held in your mother’s arms. I was able to recognize you at a glance because of this small beauty mark on the side of your nose, which is exactly the same as when you were a child.”
"I see." Qin Yanjing smiled. "So, I met Auntie before Qingji did?"
“Yes, that’s definitely true.” Bai Shu nodded affirmatively. “When I left home, Aji was still in her mother’s belly.”
As the three talked, one delicacy after another was served, and the conversation that had been interrupted earlier resumed.
Bai Qingji vividly recounted the scene of the clan's grand competition, how she defeated her enemies with a single move, how she taught these arrogant young masters a lesson, and how her sharp tongue uttered those infuriating words.
Bai Shu listened intently, her smile never fading. Through these descriptions, she could already picture the arrogant and cocky little tiger on the training ground, making threats at everyone.
The meal lasted for several hours, until Bai Qingji was hoarse from talking, before he could roughly recount Bai Ye's various deeds since arriving in Baidi City.
After the meal, Bai Shu noticed the two young people exchanging flirtatious glances and wisely left, leaving them alone.
She strolled alone through the long-lost city of Baidi, her gaze sweeping over the familiar yet unfamiliar shops on both sides of the street. Childhood memories slowly welled up in her mind. It was a pity that her brat wasn't there, otherwise she could have taken him to try the foods she loved most as a child.
Before she could wallow in her melancholy for long, Miss Bai Liu came rushing over. Without saying a word, she grabbed Bai Shu and pulled her away, saying, "We've finally caught you! What are you hiding here looking at? Your sisters are all waiting for you."
Before Bai Shu could react, Miss Bai Liu led him to a private residence a street away. As soon as they entered, they saw all the sisters from back then waiting there with fierce expressions, each holding a huge wine jar and staring intently at the two who had just entered, or more precisely, Bai Shu.
Miss Bai waved her hand and laughed loudly, "Sisters, look, I've caught him. As for whether we can drink this guy who's been a fugitive for years under the table, that depends on your skills."
"You, Bai Shu!!! You'll be punished with three jars of wine before you speak!" A bold voice rang out, and the sisters rushed forward, instantly surrounding Bai Shu.
"Sisters, spare me! I'll drink it, I'll drink it!" Bai Shu's pleading voice came from the crowd. At this moment, she couldn't care less about her sorrow.
This usually deserted courtyard was now filled with the laughter of long-awaited reunions.
......
The Desolate State, the Heavenly Sword Sect.
Outside the core disciples' residence on Great Sword Peak stands a thousand-year-old maple tree. This tree is extremely tall and large, with branches resembling writhing dragons, and its dense canopy blocking out the sky and sun.
In late autumn, fiery red maple leaves flutter down over Great Sword Peak, turning the entire peak crimson – a spectacle unparalleled in the sect.
Therefore, it attracts many young disciples who are just beginning to experience love, who come here in groups to admire the falling leaves and, incidentally, to express their feelings to each other.
At this moment, under the maple tree, a young girl dressed in the white robes that are the hallmark of an inner disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect is practicing her swordsmanship.
The girl was about seventeen or eighteen years old, with a tall and straight figure, fair and beautiful face, and particularly striking eyebrows and eyes, exuding a unique and compelling sharpness that belonged only to sword cultivators.
The long sword in her hand moved like a dragon, its light swirling and swirling up a few fallen red leaves from the ground, which danced gracefully with her movements.
"Ayu, stop practicing your sword. Senior Sister wants us to go to the main peak. She says it's important."
A loud, energetic shout broke the silence of the mountains.
Hearing the sound, A-Yu sheathed her sword and looked up at the person who had come. The person was also dressed in a disciple's white robe, tall and fit, with broad eyes and a look of about seventeen or eighteen years old. He was waving vigorously at her.
“Dayue, I think your mother really made a mistake in choosing your name. A loud voice would have suited you better.”
"Fine, fine, say whatever you want." Dayue waved her hand dismissively. "Hurry up, I'm not waiting for you. Ahua and the others have already headed to the main peak."
After she finished speaking, she made a sword incantation with her hands, leaped into the air, and transformed into a streak of light, rushing towards the main peak.
Seeing this, Ayu didn't dare to waste any time. She casually tossed the long sword into the air, stepped onto it, and rode the wind to catch up with Dayue ahead.
She asked curiously, "Why did Senior Sister suddenly summon us? Could it be that she's letting us go back to our hometowns to visit our families?"
Upon hearing this, Dayue, who was in front, suddenly touched her cheek shyly and said, "I think it's very likely! Oh dear, I wonder what the young clan leader looks like now. If she's not pretty enough now that she's grown up, I won't marry her."
"..." Ayu rolled her eyes at her, annoyed, and didn't bother to continue the conversation. It was one thing when she was young and didn't know any better, but it was a little embarrassing to talk about marriage all the time, but now it was a bit embarrassing.
The two said no more and focused on flying over the misty, sword-wielding peaks, landing on the most majestic main peak among them.
Inside the main hall of the main peak, Li Chengfeng was already waiting with several junior sisters who had arrived earlier. Over the years, she had become more and more like the senior sister, and her temperament had become much more composed.
Seeing Dayue and Ayu come in, she smiled and waved, "We've been waiting for you two, come over here quickly."
"Yes, Senior Sister." The two quickly stepped forward and bowed.
"Hmm, no need for formalities." Li Chengfeng waved his hand, then turned around and respectfully bowed to the Heavenly Sword Sect Master sitting above him. "Reporting to Master, everyone has arrived."
Above the main hall, the Sect Master of the Heavenly Sword Sect slowly opened her eyes. Her gaze was calm as water as she swept over the energetic young disciples below, and she nodded, saying, "The once-in-a-century Nine Provinces Genius Battle will begin soon. Chengfeng, as the senior sister, you will lead the team and take your junior sisters to participate."
"Yes, Master! This disciple obeys!" Li Chengfeng bowed with her sword in hand, and her junior sisters standing behind her followed suit, bowing in unison.
"My Desolate State..." The Heavenly Sword Sect Master looked at the group of young disciples below, and suddenly didn't want to say anything more.
She ultimately just waved her hand listlessly: "Forget it, the ranking doesn't matter. Just treat this battle as a training exercise. Chengfeng, make sure to take good care of your junior sisters."
"Rest assured, Master, I will do my utmost to bring back a good ranking for the sect," Li Chengfeng said confidently.
The sect leader looked down at his most prized disciple, who, at less than a hundred years old, had already entered the Nascent Soul Realm, possessed a clear sword heart, and had sword bones in his body. He was indeed worthy of pride.
But... the opponent is even stronger!
"Chengfeng, as your teacher, the most important thing is that you return safely. Take care of yourselves and your junior sisters. Go now."
"Yes, disciples take their leave." Li Chengfeng said, then turned and stepped out of the main hall with his junior sisters.
"Senior Sister, are we heading to Zhongzhou?" Dayue asked, her eyes shining.
Li Chengfeng chuckled and explained, "We're not going directly to Zhongzhou. We need to go to Wangu City. All the cultivators from the Wilderness Continent who participated in the Genius Battle will gather in Wangu City. We need to go to Wangu City, and after the other sects determine their winners through their competitions, we'll all take the inter-state teleportation array to Zhongzhou together."
"Don't we need to participate in the preliminary rounds?" Ayu caught the key point and asked.
“No need. In the last Genius Battle, although our sect’s disciples did not achieve good results, they persevered to the final stage, which earned us the qualification to be exempted from the initial selection this time.” Li Chengfeng said, tossing a spirit boat out of his hand.
"Let's go, I'll explain to you slowly on the way."
She was the first to leap into the air. Seeing this, the other disciples followed suit, leaping up one after another and landing on the spirit boat.
Once everyone had regained their footing, the spirit boat, carrying the young generation of genius disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect, transformed into a streak of light and sailed away from the Heavenly Sword Sect's mountain gate, heading towards Eternal City.
Almost simultaneously, spirit boats took to the air in the locations of all the major forces in the Wilderness State.
These spirit ships, originating from different regions and representing different forces, flowed like rivers into the sea, soaring through the sky towards the Eternal City.
Those participating in this battle of geniuses include not only disciples of sects, but also countless rogue cultivators who have come from afar, as well as some ancient sects that usually live in seclusion and are little known to the world, who have also sent their most outstanding disciples to participate in the battle.
It can be said that during this period, all the elite young cultivators in the entire Wilderness State have flocked to Eternal City.
The influence and excitement of the Kyushu Genius Battle are evident from this.
Unfortunately, the turmoil in the outside world and the upcoming grand gathering of geniuses had nothing to do with Bai, who was currently in prison.
In the center of that ancient and desolate courtyard, Bai sat cross-legged, his eyes slightly closed, completely immersed in enlightenment.
Around her, nearly a hundred stars of different colors floated. These stars, some large and some small, were all extremely solid and contained a terrifying power.
In the center of the starry sky, Bai slowly opened her eyes. Deep within her eyes, a hazy nebula swirled, and after a moment, the nebula dissipated.
Looking at the starry sky, she nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad, you've integrated another law, and your speed is getting faster and faster."
Xiao Jin's voice rang out at the right moment: "That's natural. The more characters you understand, the more complete the system of rules you will build will become. When you learn new characters, you will be able to apply the knowledge to other situations. It seems that you have already taken the first step into this path."
"Okay, let's continue studying then." Bai finished speaking, patted his bottom, stood up, and returned to the main room.
Teacher Xiao Jin started the class again, breaking down these mysterious characters bit by bit and pouring them into Bai Ye's sea of consciousness.
Bai was completely absorbed in his studies, and before he knew it, a year had passed.
By then, she had spent seven years in this small house.
Bai remained oblivious to this, still absorbed in understanding the characters covering the wall. Only one more character remained; once she conquered it, she could leave this cursed place.
A moment later, the space in front of Bai Ye trembled slightly, and another star condensed and took shape.
This star is different from other stars; its light is more restrained, and its core seems to contain a swirling nebula.
The moment it appeared, the stars that had been quietly floating around Bai Ye seemed to be summoned and began to slowly rotate around this last star.
Bai opened his eyes, looked at the scene before him, and asked in his mind, "This is the real galaxy circulation, isn't it?"
"Yes, give it a try. It's that move you've always wanted to try but haven't been able to master," Xiao Jin encouraged.
Upon hearing this, Bai Ye raised her palm and made a loose clenching motion, causing the flowing galaxy to transform into streaks of shooting stars that converged towards her palm.
With a thought, the nebula in her palm began to spin rapidly, so fast that the stars formed from different laws began to blur and distort.
Under the extreme high-speed rotation and the impact of internal forces, the fundamental laws that constitute these stars finally began to collapse.
An extremely dark black hole, seemingly capable of absorbing all the energy in the world, appeared at the center of the nebula, suspended in Bai Ye's palm.
This time, it was no longer a raging, indiscriminate black hole of destruction, but rather floated quietly and docilely. The terrifying power contained within it was completely under Bai Ye's control, as if it were his own arm.
"Do you want to give this move a name?" Xiao Jin asked in his mind.
"Didn't you name it?" Bai retorted.
"Now it belongs to you, and you can name it."
Bai thought for a moment and decided that this kind of super move should have a more imposing name. "Let's call it the Invincible Spiral Black Hole that Can Dominate Heaven and Earth."
"So stupid, incredibly stupid," Xiao Wang muttered to himself.
"Uh... well, how about I send you the invincible giant black ball to the heavens?"
[You're so chuunibyou!]
Bai Ye originally wanted to come up with a few more names, but the pressure emanating from the black hole in her hand caused the space constructed by the laws of the Immortal Emperor to tremble.
Upon seeing this, Bai was not surprised but delighted. She casually flicked her hand, and the black hole that had been condensing in her palm disappeared without a trace.
"Yo-ho yo-ho~~~ Today is a good day~~" Bai hummed a cheerful tune as he unbuckled his belt, and his tattered clothes fell to the ground.
She first cast a dust-removing spell to get rid of the dust on her body, and then took out a clean set of clothes from her storage ring and put them on.
After tidying himself up, Bai asked in his mind, "Xiao Wang, how long have we been here?"
Seven years and sixty-eight days.
"Not bad, much faster than the eight years Xiao Jin mentioned, not bad at all." Bai was also very satisfied with his speed.
Actually, aside from the initial period when she was anxious to leave and felt somewhat tormented, she later became so immersed in cultivation that she lost track of time; a single meditation session could easily feel like several months had passed.
"But we still have to leave quickly, otherwise Xiao Jiaojiao and Zhong Jiuli will think that I don't want them anymore."
Bai muttered to himself as he walked towards the door. He pushed open the gate, only to find himself in a void.
"Huh? Didn't I already beat the game? You stingy thing, you don't want me to blow up this lousy house, do you?"
"Go back to the main room," Xiao Jin reminded him.
Bai did as instructed, turning around and stepping back into the main room. In that instant, the ancient characters that had existed for countless years seemed to come alive, emitting a hazy glow as they wriggled and peeled off the wall.
These characters came together and transformed into a pure white jade scroll, warm and understated.
Bai also reached out, and the scroll fell into her palm.
"Is this a parting gift? How generous of you?" she murmured to herself, surprised that the stingy guy would actually give her something.
With a loud "boom," another bolt of golden lightning struck from the sky, landing in the center of the courtyard.
Bai, who was in the main room, was so startled that he almost dropped the scroll.
"What's going on? Do we have to celebrate giving a gift with a lightning strike?" Bai said, peeking into the courtyard. He saw a line of large, flamboyant characters on the ground where the lightning had struck:
"None of the Bai family's current patriarch and his unworthy descendants are of any use!"
The author's words are filled with a sense of disappointment and frustration, which is palpable.
Bai stared at the line of words for a moment, then suddenly clutched his stomach and burst into laughter: "Hahahaha! I understand now! Is it because your Bai family descendants are incompetent? Not a single one of them can comprehend the Great Dao you left behind, so no one can leave this place. You wanted to pass on this core knowledge to them, but you couldn't find anyone suitable to take over, so you kidnapped me, an outsider, to learn it!"
She spoke and laughed, adding with a sarcastic remark, "Hey, if you ask me, your Bai family really isn't that great..."
"Boom! Boom! Boom!!!"
Golden lightning bolts rained down one after another, each one more ferocious than the last, relentlessly striking Bai Ye's heels.
"You stingy bastard, I won't say anything more, okay?" Bai was so startled that he ran away with his head in his hands. He no longer cared about teasing this stingy Immortal Emperor. He pushed open the dilapidated wooden door of the courtyard, and in a flash, he rushed out of the courtyard and plunged into the mountains and forests.
Even after she escaped the courtyard, the thunder relentlessly pursued her, making her jump and scramble around in a sorry state.
The relentless golden lightning only stopped, reluctantly, after Bai had scrambled back to the stone gate.
Panting heavily, Bai leaned against the stone gate. She first patted the grass leaves stuck to her clothes, then raised the white jade scroll in her hand and waved it in the air.
A sincere smile appeared on his face, and he said loudly, "Hey, ancestor, although you are a bit stingy, a bit irritable, and you like to strike people with lightning and imprison them, I still thank you for passing on the Great Dao to me. I acknowledge you as my ancestor."
Bai Ye puffed out his chest proudly as he said this: "My mother is your descendant, and so am I. The Bai family descendants are still quite something."
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