Chapter 33
"Alright, I hope you keep your word, my righteous senior brother."
She smiled gently, seemingly unconcerned that the person they were attacking was herself.
Unaware of the truth, Chen Jing scoffed at Wen Wan's actions, believing she was bluffing and using a feigned retreat as a tactic to advance.
Only Liu Ruotong, who knew the truth, panicked inside, but on the surface she still maintained the appearance of a kind and innocent girl. She carefully pulled down Chen Jing's sleeve and said, "Senior Sister Chen, let's not make a big deal out of this. Junior Sister Wen is still young. It would be great if she could admit her mistakes and correct them."
"Young? Able to admit her mistakes and correct them? Does she look like she knows she's wrong? She clearly doesn't know how to repent."
Seeing Wen Wan's indifferent attitude, Chen Jing was furious. She was determined to teach her a lesson. Even if the disciples didn't report it to the elders, she wouldn't let her continue to be so smug and carefree.
Liu Ruotong wanted to try to persuade her, but the duel number had already been drawn against her, so she could only go and compete. She hoped that Chen Jing and the other disciples were just acting on impulse and would forget about it after the competition.
Liu Ruotong is currently at the Golden Core stage, and is considered one of the best among her peers. Her opponent was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, so the outcome was a foregone conclusion, and she easily won the match.
Soon it was Chen Jing's turn. She was more senior and quite popular among her fellow disciples. When it was her turn, a group of junior disciples cheered her on, and she left the stage amidst cheers.
His vanity was greatly satisfied.
Wen Wan drew a healer with low combat power, who was obviously there to feed kills and gain experience. She won the first match without breaking a sweat.
Many disciples were just there to make up the numbers in the elimination rounds, and the first round ended quickly.
In the second round, Wen Wan's opponent was still a disciple who came to make up the numbers, and a formation master who advanced by luck. Wen Wan summoned Mo Ying and broke the formation in one move.
In several rounds, she encountered disciples who were either not very strong or just there to make up the numbers, and managed to squeeze into the top 32, but she didn't show any of her own strength.
"Junior Sister Wen, congratulations on advancing."
Luo Zifan, who also came off the field to squeeze into the top 32, couldn't help but be happy for her when she saw that she had also advanced.
"Senior Brother Luo, congratulations to you too."
Wen Wan turned to greet him, only then noticing his tattered clothes. It seemed the other party had deliberately used sword energy to damage his clothes and embarrass him. She reminded him, "Senior Brother Luo, why don't you go back and change your clothes first?"
Luo Zifan encountered his mortal enemy, who was powerful and loved to play pranks. Although he narrowly won, he ended up in a somewhat disheveled state, which is why he disliked those eccentric sword cultivators.
He was originally going to stop in this competition. If his opponent hadn't been trying to trick him, he wouldn't have been restrained by his immobilization talisman, allowing him to win by a narrow margin.
After being gently reminded, he realized that his clothes were indeed a bit tattered. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he took his leave.
"Wow, did you see that? Liu Qingqing is really strong. She's only just reached the Nascent Soul stage, but she can instantly kill a Golden Core cultivator without giving him any chance. Her movements are so swift and decisive. That's so cool!"
"Is this the world of geniuses? At only 24, they have already reached the Nascent Soul stage, while I have cultivated diligently for decades but am still only at the Core Formation stage. I am no match for them."
The speaker was a Nascent Soul cultivator who had been defeated by Liu Qingqing in the previous match. Although he looked young, he was already over a hundred years old. Most disciples with mediocre talent were like him, breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage at around a hundred years old, which already showed good potential. Some people were even stuck at the bottleneck of breakthrough forever.
"Doesn't anyone think Liu Qingqing is heartless? I heard that in the qualifying match just now, she was facing her own younger sister. It's a bit too much to not give her own sister any face at all."
"Being instantly defeated as soon as she entered the arena is indeed shameful. If they are really sisters, Liu Qingqing has really gone too far."
The group discussed in normal volume, without intentionally avoiding others. Since cultivators generally have good hearing, many people around overheard and developed a bad impression of this "genius."
"So, this genius seems to be rather cold and unapproachable."
"Indeed, he sounds arrogant and haughty. We'd better avoid him in the future."
Liu Qingqing has focused on cultivation over the years and has no interest in making friends, so people are naturally unfamiliar with her and easily swayed by public opinion. At this moment, disregarding sisterly affection is the impression people have of her.
Wen Wan listened to every word, inwardly thinking that these people were just meddling in other people's business.
She was really looking forward to Liu Qingqing's appearance. She figured she must be quite strong and had probably changed her attitude of being easily bullied. Otherwise, she wouldn't want to be friends with her.
She didn't listen any further. The competition for the top 32 didn't start until tomorrow, so the disciples who had advanced were taking advantage of this break to rest. Wen Wan naturally didn't miss this opportunity either, and went back to practice drawing talismans.
Although you can't bring talismans outside the arena, you can increase your proficiency, reduce the time spent drawing talismans, and increase their power. Why not practice more?
What she didn't know was that no sooner had she left than those gossiping disciples were dealt with.
...
Today's round of 32 is the top 8. The winner of the first round will have to play two more rounds. Wen Wan's goal is to be in the top ten, so she must win these two rounds.
As luck would have it, he won the first round by hiding his true abilities, but in the second round he encountered Shen Jing.
"Who is fighting against Senior Sister Shen? Wen Wan from Silver Moon Peak? Never heard of her. Is she a disciple who recently joined the sect?"
A disciple in the audience raised a question.
After all, although the sect is large, disciples from other peaks will know or have heard of the talented disciples who have distinguished themselves. But these are all top sixteen. They do know Senior Sister Shen Jing, who has a long tenure, but they've never heard of Wen Wan before. How did she make it into the top sixteen?
"I know this guy. He's just a nobody. He got lucky in the previous matches and made it into the top 32. The opponents he faced were also disciples who mainly focused on support skills, not sword cultivators. He barely won and made it into the top 16. But now that he's run into Senior Sister Shen, his good luck should be coming to an end."
"I can't believe someone like that could even make it into the top 16. You guys don't know, do you? I heard it's her who's caused Senior Sister Zhang to be bedridden to this day."
"Hearing what you're saying, it seems her strength isn't that great. Senior Sister Zhang was harmed by her and can't even participate in the competition. Senior Sister Shen and Senior Sister Zhang are from the same sect, shouldn't we teach her a lesson?"
The group then began to angrily criticize Wen Wan's so-called "evil deeds."
"Don't believe everything you hear. We're all from the same school, so don't make things up without evidence, lest you ruin the reputation of the person involved."
Luo Zifan overheard several people gossiping about Wen Wan. Although she hadn't had much contact with her, she believed that Wen Wan wasn't that kind of person.
Hearing what he said, although it made sense, the group wanted to argue further, but when the competition on stage began, they finally fell silent and watched the competition attentively.
He himself was eliminated in the round of 16, but knowing that Wen Wan was still competing, he came to watch her play.
He was curious about the strength of his junior sister, Wen, who was making bold moves.
Previously, I thought that Junior Sister Wen was still young, had talent in talisman-making, and might also be quite good in swordsmanship, but it would be extremely difficult for her to break into the top ten. I didn't expect her to be so determined. As long as she wins this match, everything will be fine.
He's a natural talent, exceptionally gifted in both swordsmanship and talisman-making. I'll have to talk to my master about it and see if I can poach him.
Looking at the people on the stage, Luo Zifan once again had the idea of inviting Wen Wan to become a disciple of Lan Xuefeng, since Wen Wan didn't have a master anyway.
"What? Is that woman on stage your friend?"
A female cultivator approached from behind her, watching the duel on the stage with a calm expression.
Luo Zifan didn't react for a moment, then belatedly realized that the other person was talking to him. He nodded, thought for a moment, and affirmed, "Yes, she is my friend."
The other person was dressed in white, with eyebrows like willow leaves, cherry lips and a delicate nose. Her exquisite and petite face, coupled with her almond-shaped eyes, should have given people the impression of being well-behaved and lovely. However, the sharpness in the corners of her eyes and her cold temperament made her hard to ignore and instead gave people a feeling of being difficult to approach.
He's a new face, but quite strong; he's probably already in the top eight and here to get to know his future opponents.
A new face, yet possessing talent; it seems she is none other than Liu Qingqing, the hidden genius of Ziwei Mountain.
Luo Zifan silently analyzed the situation in his mind.
Neither of them spoke again, and they both watched the competition on the stage intently.
Although Shen Jing looked down on Wen Wan, she knew that Wen Wan's success was not solely due to luck. She was not to be underestimated. In addition, she had a grudge against Wen Wan, so she immediately launched a strong attack using her natal spirit sword.
Wen Wan didn't expect her attack to be so fierce right from the start, and almost fell victim to it. Fortunately, the Ink Shadow in her hand was no pushover either, and it withstood the attack without warning, which instead triggered its fighting spirit.
After all, it didn't get a chance to play in the previous few games.
Driven by spiritual energy, it cooperated wholeheartedly, each move transforming into a powerful sword aura, its momentum like a rainbow, its sword light drawing a long arc, striking the enemy with fierce force.
Judging from Wenwan's moves, one could tell that this sword was extraordinary. Even though she was prepared, Chen Jing, who had withstood the blow, was still knocked away and almost had to leave the stage to end the match.
The audience was stunned. With just one move, he had completely gained the upper hand. If Shen Jing had been even slightly careless, the match would have ended immediately.
Even those of them below the stage could clearly feel the powerful sword intent. No one expected that this junior sister, who advanced here by so-called "luck," would be so strong. Moreover, judging from her condition, she hadn't even used her full strength in that last sword strike.
The situation, which was initially thought to be a sure win for Shen Jing, began to falter.
Luo Zifan gasped. If he remembered correctly, Senior Sister Shen Jing was in the mid-Nascent Soul stage and majored in swordsmanship.
Although Wen Wan knew she was a sword cultivator, she didn't even have a master, liked to draw talismans, and was always thinking about running to the ninth floor of the Scripture Pavilion. She had never heard of any of her deeds, so how could she be so strong!?
I initially thought that Junior Sister Wen was just saying it casually in order to reach the ninth floor and be in the top ten of the competition. I never expected that the clown would actually do it himself.
Thinking of this, he no longer hesitated, took out the only communication talisman he had drawn, and hurriedly sent a message to his master.
It's too late to boil the frog in lukewarm water.
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