Chapter 67: Revitalizing the Cultivation World (67% complete)
As the smoke slowly dissipated, the figure gradually became clearer in everyone's sight.
The man looked completely exhausted. He managed to stand up straight, but then staggered backward. With nothing in his hands, he could only rely on his willpower to keep himself from falling.
Seeing this, Jiang Yun, who was watching his two partners fight from below the stage, felt a tightness in his heart. He unconsciously took a step forward from the pillar he was leaning against, and his hand holding the sword stiffened and fell to his sides.
No sword...
Just as he was clenching his fists, feeling uneasy for Su Xiaoyao, a clearly audible voice drifted through the swirling smoke—
"He! Lian! Yi!"
For the first time ever, Jiang Yun smiled slightly, and his usually furrowed brows relaxed instantly.
The phrase, full of vigor and power, sounds perfectly reasonable.
With that angry shout, she finally steadied herself, her wrist flicked to gather spiritual energy, and the heavy sword that had been deeply embedded in the arena trembled several times before being pulled out of the ground and flying back into her palm.
Even an ordinary arena within the academy is made of special materials and is not easily damaged, which shows how intense their battle was.
The greatsword returned to its master's hands, and the arena, crafted from an unknown rare material, was instantly restored to its original state.
Normally, Su Xiaoyao, who was extremely interested in weapon crafting, would have thoroughly studied the arena. However, at this moment, she felt no desire to explore external objects and her gaze was fixed on the other side of the arena.
As the last wisp of mist dissipated, the complete scene on the arena slowly came into view.
The two candidates, one standing and one sitting, were dressed fairly neatly because their clothes were not made of ordinary fabric, but they looked unwell. Even bystanders watching from afar could tell that they had suffered internal injuries of varying degrees.
Su Xiaoyao wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, swallowed the bloody taste rising in her mouth, and raised her sword to strike downwards.
"You dare scheme against me—"
Su Xiaoyao was always the one scheming against others, but who would have thought that even the most accustomed to walking by the river would eventually get their shoes wet, and today she would be used as a stepping stone by Helian Yi.
Opposite her, Helian Yi sat quietly cross-legged, calmly circulating his internal energy.
Under extreme pressure, he finally broke through the last shackle and successfully advanced.
Su Xiaoyao finally understood the pain and jealousy of the onlookers when she easily broke through in front of everyone a few days ago.
She ultimately failed to strike with her sword, not because she softened her heart, but because she succumbed to the allure of extravagant spending.
As she made her move, Helian Yi, anticipating this, tossed out a Qiankun bag, scattering eight or nine sacred-grade spiritual artifacts across the ground. And these were just the ones that fell out; who knows how many more were prepared in the bottomless storage bag.
Su Xiaoyao stomped her feet in anger.
She did win the match.
Aside from Xiao Tingyuan and Jiang Yun, who have always been by her side, no one knows that she, who appears to focus all her skill points on defense and escape, is actually a sword cultivator who is second to none. In the past, she was a well-rounded academic genius who excelled in all aspects of morality, intelligence, physical education, aesthetics, and labor without any weaknesses. In the new world, she is constantly learning new things, as if she has an obsessive-compulsive disorder of trying to learn everything she sees.
Therefore, she knows "a little bit" of everything, but she invests "a little bit" more in things that interest her.
996 once said that the "little bit" that Juan Wang mentioned should be measured in water tanks, which perfectly describes Su Xiaoyao's attitude towards learning.
Moreover, she is a person with great curiosity and energy. How could she not be tempted to practice swordsmanship and martial arts after transforming from an ordinary person into a cultivator who can travel between heaven and earth?
Who would have thought that her trump card, which she had kept hidden for so long in order to make a name for herself in the final round of assessments, would be used by Helian Yi.
Su Xiaoyao hates two kinds of people the most: those who don't let her show off, and those who show off in front of her. Helian Yi happens to have both characteristics.
She was so angry she wanted to bite her teeth.
In contrast, Helian Yi appeared refreshed and in high spirits.
Three years have passed. He finally got his revenge for the leaderboard sniping incident and the grudge for the dungeon raid. He finally got his hands on Su Xiaoyao for once.
She used to be uninterested in anything else, always laughing and joking as if she didn't care about anything. If someone took the top spot on her leaderboard, she would only try to get revenge on them in the game leaderboard. She always did whatever made her happy and never got truly angry.
Fortunately, the illusionary trial opened her heart, and he finally saw care and determination in her eyes.
At that moment, he knew that Su Xiaoyao's life goals had changed. Everything she did was no longer just to survive. It wouldn't be long before she would revert to the proud and radiant woman from her previous life in the illusion, who crushed everyone.
Therefore, he was certain that Su Xiaoyao would not pretend to be carefree and hide her talents as before, and that she would definitely steal the show in the final round of assessments.
She remained completely calm, which meant she must have other cards up her sleeve.
Su Xiaoyao gritted her teeth and said hatefully, "How could you have predicted that I would use all my strength to deal with you?"
Helian Yi circulated his spiritual energy, searching for the key to breakthrough. It was as if there was a thick barrier in front of him, and he had to find the weakest point to break through in order to enter a new realm.
While searching for weaknesses, he was in a good mood and kindly shared his thoughts and feelings.
Su Xiaoyao clicked her tongue. There was nothing she could do about it. Helian Yi was an extremely observant person. During her trip to the illusionary realm, her mental state underwent a series of breakthroughs, which clearly changed her. She couldn't escape his notice.
She retorted sarcastically, "You seem to pay quite a bit of attention to me."
“Of course.” Helian Yi felt no shame about it. “I have always regarded you as my opponent, not just because we are standing in the ring today.”
"Alright, thank you for your high regard." Su Xiaoyao retorted in a strange tone, then added, "How can you be so sure that the trump card I'm hiding is the power to suppress you, and not something else? Maybe I'm a hidden talisman cultivator, secretly drawing eight hundred talismans to subdue you."
Helian Yi laughed: "You and I are the same kind of people, and we would never rely on defense for safety."
Su Xiaoyao's arrogant personality was just like his. He didn't think that such a person would only defend and run away, so in fact, whether or not he had experienced the illusion, he would be wary of her.
"Besides," he added, looking at her sword, "people who don't use swords often can't handle them well. When flying on a sword, they're often at the same level as Shui Fan, but the speed and stamina you showed those few days delivering takeout were quite different."
Su Xiaoyao then realized where she had given herself away.
But she still had to defend herself: "Although I practice swordsmanship often, I am too lazy to expend my spiritual energy, so I don't fly on my sword very often. The main reason why I am so skilled at swordsmanship is that I am too talented. I can learn anything very quickly."
Helian Yi, unusually, did not refute: "Indeed, no one is more dazzling than you."
"You've finally spoken a few human words." Su Xiaoyao felt relieved and loosened her grip on the sword a little. She said with difficulty, "Fine, you're just a defeated opponent. Consider it a chance for me to break through."
"Don't even mention giving it away; you'll definitely find a chance to get it back later." Helian Yi saw right through her.
Su Xiaoyao had no way to defend herself, because he was right; she was indeed the kind of person who held grudges for every little thing. So she could only scoff.
The assessment ended with Su Xiaoyao's victory, a result that surprised the spectators yet also seemed expected.
From the moment the illusion that the Heavenly Dao Ancestor set up for her was unique, intelligent people knew that this person was definitely not as simple as her seemingly unreliable character.
She then quickly made breakthroughs, ranking among the top candidates under thirty, and also won first place in the written exam.
This outsider, who only entered the cultivation world halfway through his life and spent a few short years in the cultivation world and even this world, actually became an omniscient and omnipotent victor, and there wasn't a single flaw in his performance.
Needless to say, when it comes to weapon crafting, at this age, to be able to confidently overturn everything and start over when he is about to pass the test, risking being eliminated by failure, and to forge a super-grade spiritual weapon to pass the test directly, shows his mentality and ability.
Everyone thought she was already outstanding, but no one expected that she had a backup plan, which made all those who criticized her, saying that she only had the strength of the late Golden Core stage but was actually just a showy person without a solid foundation, slap them in the face.
—Hey, she's also an incredibly talented sword cultivator, isn't that surprising!
Su Xiaoyao actually understands human nature very well. Although her strength and influence are undeniable, and those rumors don't reach her ears, there are always people and a world of intrigue. Especially with her high-profile personality, she has attracted so much attention from the very beginning, and there must have been a lot of gossip behind her back.
She used to feel like an outsider, detached from the world, not truly belonging to it, so she just let things slide and turned a blind eye to some things.
But things are different now. With a change in mindset, she has re-examined everything around her.
She has friends to chat with, partners she would entrust her life to, and wealth she earned through her own hard work; the world has long since accepted her.
Without that sense of alienation, she no longer felt that this was an unimportant game, but instead became fully involved.
Since this is her world, she will not continue to slack off. In her mindset, she is still the ordinary little girl from her previous life. She likes to manage her own territory, make herself shine so that everyone can see her, like to do things in a high-profile manner, like to be the center of attention, and like to enjoy the praise and affirmation of others.
So no matter who her opponent is, she will give it her all this time, so that others can see the hard work she has put in for the past three years.
This time it was a success, although Helian Yi stole a little of the limelight.
But she was happy.
Su Xiaoyao stared at the sky where her shadow was cast, slightly lost in thought.
She looked at the illusion mirror as if she were looking at the audience behind the mirror, or as if she were looking through it at people in the distance.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
