Chapter 68 Provocation to Revitalize the Cultivation World (68% complete)
Helian Yi secretly breathed a sigh of relief after Su Xiaoyao's mood improved and she stopped paying attention to him.
He struggled to suppress the blood gushing from his throat, barely managing to avoid looking disheveled.
Su Xiaoyao, unleashing his full power, possessed terrifying strength, just as he had anticipated—no, perhaps even more terrifying.
He thought that at least he would be able to stand up in the end.
He also suffered a lot during the countless times he pressed Su Xiaoyao and forced her to give her all, but now he was extremely grateful for the decision he made before the competition.
At the time, he vaguely felt that Su Xiaoyao was too calm in the face of his challenge. Then, after paying a little attention, he found that this guy not only opened a betting platform on the internal network, but also invested a considerable amount of money, betting everything on himself to win.
If she wins, she will make a fortune, but if she loses, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she'll be ruined.
Given Su Xiaoyao's personality, she wouldn't do anything without certainty. Considering how much she values profit, she wouldn't take huge risks. She may seem carefree, but she's actually very meticulous. She'll open a betting platform, but she won't be a gambler; she'll be an investor who targets profits.
This realization made him hesitate, so after much deliberation, he decided to turn the duel into a whetstone for advancement should things turn bad. This way, the fight would be more intense and satisfying, and even if he lost, he could still get back at Su Xiaoyao.
This decision was extremely wise; he didn't lose too badly.
In fact, if he were to get serious, he would have countless magical artifacts on his body if he used external aids, and the power of his two curved blades would be far greater than that.
However, Su Xiaoyao didn't even take out that strange pot, nor did she use any other weapons; she only took a newly forged super-grade heavy sword.
She genuinely wanted to fight seriously, without resorting to any tricks or cheating.
He respected his opponent's seriousness, so he gave up external help and finished the battle on equal footing, only resorting to a small trick when he was about to lose.
Helian Yi did not regret his failure today. He knew that he was arrogant and proud. Before he left home, his elders had told him that he should temper his temper. If the arrogant young master of the Helian family wanted to make further breakthroughs, he had to know that there are always people more capable than him.
Perhaps the breakthrough he made today after being stuck at a bottleneck for so long is also due to his clearer understanding.
Su Xiaoyao made him deeply understand what a genius is.
However, he was not discouraged. In fact, at this level, the subtle differences in talent have little effect. What matters next is mindset, hard work, and opportunity.
He doesn't think he'll lose to her again next time.
For many cultivators from prominent families and sects, the principles of humility, composure, and treating others equally sound simple, but are incredibly difficult to put into practice.
But he did it.
Born into the most prestigious family, he was not blinded by praise. He was arrogant yet self-reflective, and finally, with his gradually maturing and steady mind, he crossed the gap between the Golden Core stage and the Nascent Soul stage.
Helian Yi closed his eyes, and his aura gradually stabilized. The somewhat restless spiritual energy seemed to fall into a state of tranquility and slowly settle down.
The aura of spiritual energy, as deep as an abyss, makes people tremble with fear upon seeing it, and everyone who sees it cannot help but sigh that it is indeed worthy of being the heir carefully cultivated by the Helian family with all their heart and soul.
Although he lost this battle, not many people felt that he had failed.
He reached the Nascent Soul stage in his early twenties—a goal that many people spend their entire lives pursuing but never achieve.
Even if he makes it to the loser's bracket semifinals, his passing the assessment is a done deal.
The only Nascent Soul cultivator under thirty years old is already beyond the reach of a small realm, and his next assigned opponent will undoubtedly crush him completely.
Overall, the two long-time rivals, each with their own agendas, were satisfied with the outcome of the assessment.
After Su Xiaoyao stepped off the stage, she showed Jiang Yun her palm, her eyes sparkling with a bright smile: "Give me a high five, my good partner!"
Jiang Yun chuckled, sheathed his sword, and raised his hand.
"That's good." It's rare to see someone who's usually so taciturn praising someone.
"It wasn't thanks to you all." Su Xiaoyao became more polite when she was in a good mood.
Although her smugness was practically written all over her face, it wasn't a humble expression at all.
Jiang Yun didn't refuse: "Yeah, you've used the two of us as practice targets quite a bit."
Su Xiaoyao generally doesn't use her swordsmanship in public. Aside from beating up monsters in secret realms, her most frequently used punching bags are him and Xiao Tingyuan. It can be said that her current strength is inseparable from the contributions of these two human punching bags.
As Su Xiaoyao spoke, she remembered her other partner, turned around, and stood on tiptoe to ask, "Where is my other humanoid sand... my dear partner?"
She stopped herself abruptly after letting the cat out of the bag.
Jiang Yun remained silent.
She was thinking of calling someone a human punching bag, wasn't she? Turns out she knew exactly what was going on!
"Hey, why is Lao Xiao so slow? Slow and deliberate isn't Long Aotian's style." She changed the subject.
Jiang Yun had no choice but to remain silent. Hearing her words, he slightly raised his head and looked at the other arena, just in time to witness the scene of the decisive battle.
He said, "Look, they're down."
However, it wasn't Xiao Tingyuan who came down.
Qi Tian was still in a daze when he was chopped off the stage.
What happened to the promised kitchen repair?
Xiao Tingyuan stepped off the stage and helped him up, saying, "Watch your step."
"Thank you?" Qi Tian was still dazed.
Xiao Tingyuan has always been a nice guy, so he was even more polite to the other person. At this moment, he didn't forget to comfort him: "Look on the bright side, you'll soon meet your chosen opponent in the loser's bracket semi-finals."
"Huh? Who? Who is my opponent?" Qi Tian's mind was still reeling.
"Of course it's Helian Yi! Your long-awaited rival, Helian Yi! Did I knock your brains out?"
"No, I feel fine, it's just that I seem to have experienced some cognitive shock."
"It's good that it wasn't a physical impact, then I won't pay for your medicine." Xiao Tingyuan breathed a sigh of relief, waved his hand, and left to meet up with his friends.
Qi Tian stood frozen in place, his soul leaving his body.
Losing once was frustrating, losing twice... but I guess I'm starting to get used to it.
He couldn't help but look in the direction Xiao Tingyuan had gone, where a young girl stood, her brows radiating arrogance.
Oh, there's another one who defeated Helian Yi, so he doesn't even make the top three.
The pride I felt before the assessment vanished completely.
Qi Tian was plunged into a state of confusion, questioning the meaning of life.
On the other side, Su Xiaoyao and Xiao Tingyuan finished their matches one after another. Neither of them held back, and as expected, their scores were far ahead.
Su Xiaoyao has secured her position as the top player and is already celebrating her grand slam in the betting market.
"I'm a newly minted rich woman!" she patted her chest, brimming with pride.
Xiao Tingyuan's face instantly turned defeated, showing no trace of joy at winning the victory and gaining admission.
"It's over. I hesitated between Helian Yi and you, but I ultimately chose him."
"What? You actually chose someone else over me? Are you no longer my good partner?" Su Xiaoyao was shocked.
"A thousand spirit stones? I'm not rich to begin with, so naturally I have to be extra careful." Xiao Tingyuan touched his nose guiltily, trying to excuse himself. "Besides, you know I've always had bad luck. I'm afraid that betting on you will affect your luck."
"Don't explain, you've broken my heart!" Su Xiaoyao clutched her left atrium, feigning grief and indignation.
Xiao Tingyuan said with a mournful face, "I've also received my due retribution, my thousand spirit stones..."
He realized something was wrong halfway through his sentence: "Wouldn't that mean all my thousand spirit stones would have gone into your pocket?"
Su Xiaoyao was having a great time performing when she heard this and withdrew her exaggerated acting.
"Oh, it seems so. Oh well, I forgive you." She felt happy again when she thought of the spirit stone.
Now it was Xiao Tingyuan's turn to be envious: "You earn so much, you should treat us to a meal, Jiang Yun, you be the judge, do you think she should treat us to a meal at a restaurant?"
He looked at Jiang Yun and asked him to make the decision.
Jiang Yun lowered his eyes: "Yes, but we are the only restaurant on the island, and you are the only head chef."
Xiao Tingyuan belatedly realized: "..."
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Su Xiaoyao clapped her hands and cheered, "Great, great, great! I'll treat everyone. I'll ask the chef from my family's restaurant to cook a good meal for everyone."
Achieve a perfect closed loop!
“Then I’ll choose another one!” Xiao Tingyuan quickly said.
Su Xiaoyao flatly refused: "No change. I just like treating people to meals. My family's restaurant chef will serve a Manchu Han Imperial Feast tomorrow!"
The three-person team chatted and laughed, and the joyful atmosphere lasted until it was Jiang Yun's turn to go on stage.
Ghost cultivators were at a disadvantage in terms of time in the previous assessment. Although he was the first ghost cultivator to pass the assessment, he was not among the first batch of all candidates to emerge.
Therefore, when it came to the arena competition, he was unable to compete in the same team as Su Xiaoyao and Xiao Tingyuan, and he did not get to use the opportunity to choose his own opponent.
But none of that matters, because the person who chose him as his opponent is exactly what he wanted.
Su Xiaoyao took out two chairs and gave one to Xiao Tingyuan. She also placed a small, portable table in front of him, which was clearly made by her.
Xiao Tingyuan, with perfect understanding, prepared melon seeds and pastries from his storage space.
While cracking sunflower seeds, Su Xiaoyao said, "Who gave Wang Yikun the guts to challenge Xiao Jiang? Doesn't he think that striking first is the best policy? Doesn't he even have a glance at the difference in strength?"
"Who knows?" Xiao Tingyuan watched the show with great interest.
Jiang Yun naturally took out a tea set from the storage space and placed it on the table.
"Eating sunflower seeds all the time can make you thirsty," he said.
"Mmm-hmm." The two nodded in unison like obedient children. "Our Xiao Jiang is so considerate."
Jiang Yun glanced at them and took off the soul-summoning banner that was pinned to his back.
"I went."
"Beat him up!" Su Xiaoyao brandished her fists defiantly, unleashing a powerful combo of uppercuts and lowercuts.
Xiao Tingyuan quickly grabbed her: "There are so many people watching from the sky, you should be mindful of your image."
Then he turned to Jiang Yun and said, "Don't kill him, crippling him is enough."
"You're not much better," Su Xiaoyao teased him.
Jiang Yun always felt helpless when he was with the two of them. He chuckled lightly, then quickly composed himself and turned to walk towards the arena.
[He actually dared to challenge you! I can't stand this kind of provocation! Host, you're different now. You have the strength now and the academy's protection. Do whatever you want. If anything goes wrong, I, 444, will take responsibility.]
444 was as irritable as ever, and his performance review and training trip made him even more outrageous than before.
"good."
Jiang Yun's expression softened when it spoke, but the warmth vanished after he stepped onto the stage and saw the person opposite him, and the icy coldness that was as cold as a cave in the summer sun seeped into his eyes again.
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