Chapter 104 Sanqing City, the one she loves most is clearly me.
Bai family, Taiwang Palace.
The warm sunlight streamed into the hall through the open doors, and the small table placed by the window was also bathed in sunlight.
The table was laden with delicacies and various spiritual fruits. Bai buried his head in his food while vaguely recounting what he had encountered in the forbidden area.
"Here, this is what our ancestor asked me to bring you." Bai Ye held a chicken leg in one hand and reached into his chest with the other, pulling out a white jade scroll from his robes.
As soon as Old Mrs. Bai saw the scroll, her eyes widened instantly, and she almost impatiently snatched the scroll from Bai Ye's hands.
"Oh dear, you child, your hands are still oily..." she scolded as she pulled up her wide sleeve and carefully wiped the spot where Bai Ye had just held her hand.
Bai ignored the old lady and continued gnawing on the chicken leg until he had finished all the food on the table. Then he picked up the spiritual tea on the table, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp.
Having not eaten for so many years, she was incredibly hungry. Indeed, even those who cultivate immortality cannot live without food; otherwise, life would be meaningless.
"Alright, old lady, stop treasuring it. You'll have plenty of time to study it properly later," Bai said, putting down his teacup.
"Where is my mother? Could it be that she hasn't come out of the forbidden area yet?"
"She came out much earlier than you, a year ago," said the old lady without looking up, her attention completely focused on the white jade scroll in her hands.
"She came out a long time ago? Where is she? Doesn't she know I came out of the forbidden area?" Bai said, looking at the wide-open palace gate, as if her mother would jump out from behind the door to give her a surprise at any moment.
Grandma Bai looked up from the scroll and couldn't help but chuckle at her expectant expression. "Don't look anymore. Your mother isn't at the Bai family. A year ago, she led a team to participate in the Nine Provinces Genius Battle. Right now, she's probably on her way to Zhongzhou."
"Ah, you went to Zhongzhou?" Upon hearing this, Bai Ye immediately stood up and said hurriedly, "Grandma, I'm off too. See you later."
Before she finished speaking, there was a slight ripple in the space around her, and she disappeared from the main hall.
Grandma Bai looked at the empty seats, shook her head with a smile, and said, "You little rascal, you're always so impatient. You run off before you've even finished speaking."
......
In the Central Plains, at Sanqing City.
In recent days, Sanqing City has been extremely lively, with young geniuses from all over the Nine Provinces flocking here.
The city was bustling with noise, and the inns were packed to the brim. Among them were not only young geniuses who had come to participate in the battle, but also many people who came to join in the fun.
Even on the arena platforms within the city, battles raged from morning till night without a moment's rest. This unprecedented spectacle drew crowds of city residents and cultivators from all directions, who flocked to the arena platforms day after day, creating an impenetrable barrier.
Furthermore, members of the Myriad Elephants Pavilion set up betting odds at various arenas within the city. Whenever a cultivator from the Wilderness State stepped onto the stage, the odds were always incredibly high. However, the betting was overwhelmingly one-sided, with almost no one favoring the Wilderness State.
West of the city, the Guest Reception Hall. This place was arranged as the lodging for cultivators from the Wilderness Continent. Unlike the hustle and bustle inside the city, the atmosphere in the main hall of the Guest Reception Hall was quite somber.
Li Chengfeng sat in a corner with several junior sisters, silently eating a simple meal. Her face was somewhat pale, and she seemed to have suffered a serious injury.
"Senior Sister..." Dayue held the almost untouched rice bowl, looking hesitant to speak.
"Hmm?" Li Chengfeng looked up at Dayue upon hearing the sound.
"What kind of bullshit genius battle is this? I don't want to participate anymore. I'm just being bullied and mistreated every day since I came here. Let's go back to our sect."
“I don’t want to participate either,” another younger disciple chimed in.
"Stop talking nonsense. We are here not only representing ourselves, but also the face of the Heavenly Sword Sect and the Wilderness State. How can we just not participate?" Li Chengfeng's voice rarely carried a hint of sternness.
She knew why her junior sisters would say such things. Since they entered Zhongzhou, cultivators had been provoking them, the cultivators from the desolate state, every day under various pretexts, forcing them to step onto the arena.
A few days ago, she was forced to fight ten matches on the arena by the sword cultivators from Jianzhou. In the end, she was kicked off the stage while spitting blood. She lay in the inn for several days before finally being able to get out of bed today.
While recovering from his injuries, Li Chengfeng kept thinking back to his master's hesitant words before leaving, and suddenly he understood.
Perhaps their master had also experienced all of this back then, but they swallowed these humiliations, just to achieve a good ranking in the Nine Provinces Genius Battle and to win a little more luck for the Wilderness Province.
Senior Yun Shu, the city lord of Wangu City who led the team, had no other choice but to repeatedly urge everyone to stay in the inn as much as possible, reduce going out, and wait for the competition to officially begin.
Inside the inn's lobby, everyone ate their meals in silence. These young geniuses from various sects had only been in Zhongzhou for a few days, and the repeated blows had eroded their fighting spirit.
In the silence, a female cultivator dressed in the robes of a Hundred Flowers Valley disciple staggered into the inn, her face filled with panic. She spotted her fellow disciple who was having a meal and cried out urgently, "Second Senior Sister, something terrible has happened!"
Hearing the voice, the second senior sister of Hundred Flowers Valley looked over and saw that it was the junior sister who had accompanied the senior sister to buy herbs that day. She quickly stood up and asked, "Junior sister, don't panic. What happened? Where is the senior sister?"
The junior sister grabbed the second senior sister's arm and said urgently, "Just now, after buying herbs, the eldest senior sister and I were walking back when we were stopped by that group of people from Jianzhou when we passed through the market! They rammed straight into us and even accused us of deliberately bumping into them, demanding that we apologize. The eldest senior sister didn't want to cause any more trouble, so she swallowed her anger and backed down."
"And then?" the second senior sister asked quickly.
"Later, those people wouldn't let it go. They insisted that we reveal our sect and forced us to shout in the market that all cultivators in the Wilderness State were trash before they would let us leave. My senior sister couldn't stand it and started arguing with them. As a result, she was forced onto the arena in the west of the city. When I left, the fight had already started."
"What? This is outrageous! Let's go!" The second senior sister was furious and led her people out of the inn.
The people in the inn watched the departing disciples of Hundred Flowers Valley and felt utterly powerless.
Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from the stairs. Having received the message, Li Shoumo led several Xuanjia Guards down the stairs. They were fully armored and armed, clearly ready to fight to the death.
Li Chengfeng quickly stepped forward to stop him: "Li Shoumo, don't be impulsive. Those people are deliberately wearing us down. My injuries won't heal so quickly. We'll have to rely on you next. Don't fall into their trap."
Li Shoumo paused slightly, her gaze falling on Li Chengfeng's pale face, then sweeping across the hall. All the geniuses whose gaze fell upon her lowered their heads.
She shook her head helplessly: "Li Chengfeng, you're too naive. Hiding is useless. Even if we hide in this inn like turtles, people will still come to provoke us."
"The more we back down, the more they'll think we're easy to bully, and the more aggressive they'll become. Then, the Wilderness State will truly become a laughingstock. This battle of geniuses began the moment we stepped into the Central State."
“But if you get injured too, how will we compete when the competition starts?” Li Chengfeng advised. “Endure this moment of anger; our mission is to achieve a good ranking in the competition, isn’t it?”
"Have you ever thought that if you keep retreating and get used to it, when the moment actually comes that you need to face the enemy, will you still be able to lift your sword?"
"I, Li Shoumo, inherit the heroic spirit of my ancestors and protect the common people. Even if I die, I must die on the battlefield." After saying this, Li Shoumo slapped Li Chengfeng's hand away and led his men out of the Yingke Building.
The inn was deathly silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the empty doorway, a doorway with nothing blocking the way. Anyone could stand up and step out if they mustered the courage.
The silence seemed to last a long time, or perhaps only a moment.
Suddenly, a loud "bang" was heard. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Li Chengfeng slam his palm on the table, leaving a clear palm print on the square table.
"Damn it!!!" Li Chengfeng roared and charged out with his sword.
Without uttering a word, the disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect all drew their swords and caught up with Li Chengfeng.
"Fight them! If we can't even protect the fairies of our Hundred Flowers Valley, who will heal us in the future?" The current eldest disciple of Zixiao Dao Palace stood up, slammed his fist on the table, and roared.
"Let's fight them!"
"I'll give it my all. Senior Sister Hua even gave me some pills a while ago."
Various shouts arose from the crowd, and the last remaining fighting spirit of the cultivators from the Wilderness Continent was ignited.
The crowd rose to their feet and surged out, heading towards the arena in the west of the city.
......
On the arena in the west of the city, the battle is in full swing.
In the private room on the top floor of the tavern directly opposite the arena, the window was wide open. A handsome man stood by the window, wearing a flashy red robe, with an arrogant expression on his face, watching the two people fighting fiercely below the stage as if he were watching a gladiatorial contest.
The man in red said calmly, "Although the spiritual veins in this desolate state are depleted, the female cultivators raised here are quite beautiful and pleasing to the eye."
Behind him stood several young men dressed in sky-blue close-fitting clothes, carrying long swords and exuding a sharp aura; they were clearly sword cultivators.
Upon hearing this, one of the men in the light blue outfit immediately bowed slightly, a fawning smile plastered on his face, and asked, "Young Master, have you taken a fancy to that Flower Fairy from Hundred Flowers Valley below the stage?"
The red-clad man, addressed as the young master, scoffed as if he had heard a joke. "She's just a woman raised in some remote border region. She's only pretty and looks interesting, but it would be disrespectful to take her back with me."
"Understood, sir." The man in the blue outfit immediately bowed and replied. He moved swiftly, swooping down like a falcon and landing directly on the edge of the arena.
In the center of the arena, Hua Jinhe sent her opponent flying with a single palm strike. Before she could catch her breath, the man in the martial arts outfit flashed and landed in front of her. With a malicious smile on his face, he cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Zhang San from Sword King Valley in Sword State has come to learn from Fairy Hua's high skills!"
"Shameless!" Hua Jinhe said through gritted teeth.
"Oh, why do you say that, Flower Fairy?" Zhang San pretended not to know, feigning confusion.
"Truly shameless."
A shout rang out from the crowd below the stage. A beautiful young female cultivator pushed through the crowd, pointed at Zhang San on the stage, and yelled, "The Flower Fairy has already fought three matches, and her spiritual energy is greatly depleted. Meanwhile, your Sword King Valley keeps sending in wave after wave of new fighters. What, has Sword King Valley fallen so low that it needs to resort to a war of attrition to defeat its enemies?"
"Or is it that none of you young people are even capable of fighting? You people from Sword King Valley have completely disgraced Sword State!"
"This arena battle has always been fair, and it concerns the reputation of both states. Fellow Daoist, you should be careful with your words and actions." Zhang San's gaze was fixed on the female cultivator who had spoken.
"Aren't you all aware of the rules of the arena battle? Once you step onto this platform, you represent no longer just yourselves, but the sects and the states you belong to!"
"As long as there is no one in my Sword King Valley or Sword State who has not been defeated, and as long as this Sanqing City still exists, we are naturally qualified to spar with the Flower Fairy to the very end. Even if we fight until the end of time, it is in accordance with the rules."
Among the onlookers, many cultivators nodded in agreement, feeling that Zhang San's words made sense.
Stepping into the ring means accepting the rules. If you feel you can't win, you can simply concede and jump off the ring.
However, for these young geniuses who came carrying the expectations of their sects, how could they possibly utter the word "defeat"? They had defeated countless opponents to earn the opportunity to come to Sanqing City.
If one were to retreat without a fight and admit defeat in public on this arena out of fear of being outmatched, it would not only be a personal disgrace but also an insult to the reputation of one's sect, leaving it to be trampled upon.
Hearing the murmurs from the crowd, Zhang San's smile widened. "Fellow Daoists, you are all wise. My Sword King Valley has always acted with integrity and uprightness. When have we ever prevented Daoists from the Wilderness State from going on stage? It's just that Fairy Flower has no one behind her; no one is willing to go on stage! You can't blame my Sword State for that, can you?"
"Who says there's no one in the Wilderness State! Senior Sister, we're here!" The second senior sister of Hundred Flowers Valley rushed onto the stage first, blocking Hua Jinhe behind her, and said in a whisper, "Go down from the stage first to adjust your breathing and recover your spiritual power."
Hua Jinhe bit her lower lip, glanced at her junior sister who was blocking her way, and without the slightest hesitation, she flashed down to the ground below the stage.
Without wasting any time, she immediately took out the pill, swallowed it, and sat down to meditate and refine its power, hoping to recover her combat strength more quickly.
Only Zhang San and the second senior sister of Hundred Flowers Valley remained on the arena.
He leisurely sized up the gentle female cultivator before him, and said in a deliberately polite manner, "Fellow Daoist, since you've come up on stage, why not state your name?"
"Baihua Valley, Huayi, have come to learn from you!" Huayi's eyebrows furrowed. She had no intention of wasting words with the other party. Before she finished speaking, a pale purple light shot out from her palm, pointing directly at Zhang San's face.
Zhang San moved slightly, easily dodging the attack. His smile grew even more smug. "Oh, so it's Fairy Huayi. My apologies. However, you are only at the Great Perfection of the Golden Core stage. You are probably not qualified to fight me. If word gets out, it will make it seem like I, Zhang San, am bullying a female cultivator."
"Hmph, if you want to fight, then fight! Why waste time with this hypocritical nonsense!" Hua Yi's anger flared even more at his dismissive attitude, and her attacks became even more ferocious.
However, the difference in cultivation level between the two was too obvious, and Zhang San easily dodged each of her attacks with an almost playful attitude.
"Oh dear, Fairy Huayi's attack is truly frightening." Zhang San said jokingly, forming a sword with his fingers and casually waving it, sending several sword energies attacking Huayi.
With a "rip," Hua Yi's clothes were torn by the sword energy. The guy controlled his strength very well, tearing the clothes without hurting anyone.
In just a few moves, Hua Yi's clothes were ripped in dozens of places. As the torn fabric fluttered with her movements, her snow-white skin was faintly revealed beneath.
A burst of malicious jeers erupted from the male cultivators watching around the arena.
Seeing this, Hua Jinhe, who was meditating and adjusting her breathing below the stage, had no choice but to forcibly interrupt her breathing and flashed to land in front of Hua Yi.
She didn't look at her opponent immediately, but instead took off her outer robe and draped it over Hua Yi's shoulders. She lowered her voice and said, "Leave this to Senior Sister. You take the junior sisters back to the inn immediately. No one is allowed to come out without my permission."
"Senior sister... I'm so useless." Hua Yi's voice was low. The clothes on her shoulders still carried the warmth of her senior sister's body. The tattered clothes did not make her feel ashamed. What really hurt her and made her feel powerless was that she had tried her best, but she was still being played with in the palm of someone's hand.
"Listen to me, take the men back." After Hua Jinhe finished speaking, she turned to face Zhang San.
"Zhang San! A scholar can be killed but not humiliated. Today you have used such despicable means to humiliate my junior sister. In the future, someone will repay this humiliation a hundredfold or a thousandfold."
"Ha, anyone can talk big," Zhang San said with a disdainful expression. "No matter what happens in the future, the heroes of Jianzhou will never be defeated by a bunch of trash from the barbaric state. Since Fairy Hua has rested enough, then stop talking nonsense."
After he finished speaking, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes, and his aura surged instantly, with an incomparably sharp sword energy sweeping across the entire arena.
Hua Jinhe's face paled slightly. She forcibly gathered the spiritual power she had just recovered and quickly formed hand seals to set up a spiritual power barrier in front of her. At the same time, she reached out and patted Hua Yi's waist, sending him off the stage.
"You actually dare to be distracted by saving people!?" Zhang San shouted in a low voice, pointing his fingers like a sword and suddenly slashing forward.
A giant silver sword suddenly materialized above the arena and slashed down towards Hua Jinhe.
With a "crack," the barrier in front of Hua Jinhe shattered, and the giant sword continued its momentum, about to pierce through her.
"Certainly!"
At the critical moment, a majestic shout descended from the sky.
The moment the sound came, the figure clad in black armor had already landed in the center of the arena.
"And who are you?" Zhang San roared angrily, "How dare you interfere in the arena battle?"
"Wilderness State, Li Shoumo." The armored figure slowly turned around, facing Zhang San directly. "The one who will take your dog's life."
Before anyone could see the person's face clearly, they saw her figure flash by, instantly covering dozens of feet and arriving in front of Zhang San.
It was fast, so fast that it was hard to catch. That was Zhang San's feeling. He instinctively sensed danger and wanted to draw his sword to fight back. Just as his hand touched the hilt of the sword, the hand covered by black armor gripped his throat like an iron clamp.
"Ugh..." Zhang San groaned, his entire body thrown to the ground by the immense force, his head slamming heavily onto the hard arena, creating a crack in the solid ground.
"Not even as good as an ant." Li Shoumo scoffed lightly, and with a flick of her wrist, a dark heavy hammer appeared in her palm.
She didn't give Zhang San a chance to beg for mercy, and swung the heavy hammer down hard on his head below.
"Snap!"
The crisp, melodious sound of bones cracking echoed throughout the entire arena, even reaching the young master of Sword King Valley, who was watching from the sidelines in a distant tavern.
With a single blow, Zhang San's head exploded like a ripe watermelon, spilling red and white blood all over the ground.
His eyes widened in horror. The two were of equal cultivation, so why couldn't he even withstand a single blow from the other?
A burst of enthusiastic cheers and applause erupted from the crowd, and upon closer listening, it was clear that most of the cheers came from female cultivators.
As women themselves, they deeply sympathized with Hua Yi's plight and were filled with righteous indignation when they saw Zhang San humiliating Hua Yi in such a despicable manner.
Seeing Li Shoumo's swift and decisive actions in dealing with Zhang San, the female cultivators present all felt quite pleased.
Li Shoumo slowly raised his head and met the gaze of the Sword King Valley's young master across the crowd.
Her hands did not stop; the heavy hammer continued to fall, smashing the body beneath her until it was a bloody mess, unrecognizable.
Even so, Zhang San still retained a trace of his aura, which is what makes the Sanqing City arena so extraordinary.
This place is protected by an ancient formation. Any fatal attack will be forcibly intervened by the formation's power, preserving the cultivator's life to the greatest extent possible. On this arena, no matter what kind of injury one suffers, at most one will only be seriously injured, with absolutely no danger to one's life.
Inside the private room, the young master of Sword King Valley watched the bloody scene below the stage, listening to the muffled thunderous hammer blows, a bloodthirsty smile curling at the corner of his lips. "Provoking me? A mere princess of the Li Kingdom dares to provoke this young master?"
He casually waved his hand, and several young men in martial arts attire standing to the side leaped down and landed on the arena.
Li Shoumo tossed Zhang San, whom he was holding, out of the ring as if he were throwing away trash, and charged towards the group with his heavy hammer.
......
Yunkeju, located in the east of the city.
Bai Shu had just settled the Bai family members down and hadn't even had a chance to catch his breath when he noticed the unusually restless atmosphere in the inn, with many cultivators excitedly discussing something.
She listened intently and gleaned the key information from just a few words: Li Shoumo was fighting in a tournament in the west of the city, single-handedly battling against the heroes of Jianzhou.
"Ah Ji, your aunt is going out for a while." Bai Shu said to Bai Qingji beside her, then turned and ran out of the inn.
......
South of the city, Yuanshan Pavilion.
Lin Xia, who was leaving Dongzhou for the first time and stepping into the prosperous Zhongzhou, found everything new and interesting. She couldn't stay in the inn for a moment and kept pestering the Chu sisters to go out and see the world.
Seeing her like this, Jiang Lian couldn't help but smile. "Alright, alright, let's go. I'll take Xiaxia out and let her have a good look around Sanqing City."
As she spoke, a barely perceptible glint of anticipation flashed in her eyes, and she said softly, "While you're at it, find out if that guy has arrived yet."
"Yay, the island owner is the best!" Lin Xia happily hugged Jiang Lian's arm and shook it just like when she was a child.
"If Da Bai comes, I'll definitely give her a good scolding. She's been gone for so many years without even sending us a message. That's so unfair."
“Okay, I’ll curse her too,” Jiang Lian replied with a smile.
The group chatted and laughed as they stepped out of the inn.
After Lin Xia determined the direction, she pointed to the west of the city and said, "I've already inquired beforehand. The cultivators from the Wilderness State all live in the Guest House in the west of the city. Let's go there and explore."
......
Outside Sanqing City.
Under a clear blue sky and bright sunshine, the city gate was bustling with activity as cultivators, riding various flying magical artifacts and spirit beasts, gathered from all directions. Many of them had heard about the excitement in Sanqing City and traveled a long distance to join in the fun.
A travel-worn figure rushed across the sky. As it approached the city gate, it slowed down, folded its pair of extremely bright golden wings, and descended from the sky, landing at the city gate.
Bai also looked up at the crowd queuing to enter the city in the distance, then turned and headed towards the tea stall set up beside the main road into the city.
She casually picked an empty wooden stool, sat down, dusted herself off, and called inside, "Waiter, bring me a pot of tea, cold, but not overnight."
Upon hearing the commotion, the waiter, with an old handkerchief draped over his shoulder, immediately came over with a teapot. He quickly wiped the table with his hands and feet and then poured a bowl of fragrant tea.
Seeing that Bai was alone and dressed differently from those in Zhongzhou, the waiter smiled and greeted him, "Please enjoy your meal, sir. You look travel-worn; have you come from afar?"
"Heh!" Bai chuckled, flicking a low-grade spirit stone with his finger, which landed in front of the waiter. "Isn't that a pointless question? These days, aren't all the young cultivators with some strength in the Nine Provinces flocking to Sanqing City?"
"Then you absolutely must try our Sanqing City specialty, Sanqing Cake!" the waiter enthusiastically promoted. "I'm not exaggerating, Sanqing Cake is our Sect Leader Zhong's favorite."
"Hmm???" Bai glanced at Xiao Er, then shook his head with a profound expression. "What you said isn't quite right."
The waiter looked puzzled. "What do you mean, sir? Did I say something wrong?"
Bai Ye smiled smugly, picked up the rough teacup, drank the tea in one gulp, and said in a low voice, "She may like to eat Sanqing cakes, but what she loves most is definitely not Sanqing cakes."
"The one she loves most is clearly me."
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