Chapter 84 Sword Cultivator: "Don't get distracted."
The disciples of the Hall of Good and Evil would naturally not dare to do such a thing. Those who judge others never judge themselves.
However, as Shen Cangyu spoke, the disciple of the Hall of Good and Evil was affected by her words and panicked. The word "evil" that had been above Shen Cangyu's head disappeared.
Shen Cangyu ignored him and walked away. The chatter around her continued, but Shen Cangyu paid no attention and sat back down on the preparation table.
Mingzhao had just finished her battle when she heard the news and came to find Shen Cangyu: "Did the people from the Hall of Good and Evil use the 'Determining Good and Evil' technique on you?" Her question was very tactful, and she did not directly say that Shen Cangyu was a bad person.
“The boundaries between good and evil defined by the Hall of Good and Evil are too vague. There are plenty of people who would be labeled as evil. The butcher who slaughters pigs every day has broken the taboo of killing. He is only killing pigs. Pork is eaten and fills people’s stomachs. Although it cannot save lives, it is still a good deed. But in the Hall of Good and Evil’s judgment, the butcher is also considered an evil person. I have never seen you do anything evil. On the contrary, you have guided many disciples and taught them many mental arts. In my opinion, you are not associated with evil at all,” Mingzhao said.
Shen Cangyu hadn't expected Mingzhao to come and talk to her about these things. To be honest, being called a villain was just a label to her; it didn't affect her mood. Whether others saw her as a villain or a good person, she didn't care. Besides, she had seen Pei Wenjing in her past life on Blind Mountain; the color of evil on Pei Wenjing was much deeper than on her. Even Pei Wenjing was an utterly wicked person, so what did she have to worry about?
"It's nothing," Shen Cangyu said. Mingzhao also breathed a sigh of relief, but then she looked at the other disciples beside her and couldn't help but worry.
The true power of the Hall of Good and Evil in determining good and evil lies not in the Taoist principles themselves, but in influencing people's hearts.
Those who are labeled as evil by the Hall of Good and Evil will constantly try to explain themselves to others in order to prove their innocence, which can range from affecting their mental state to causing them to lose their lives.
Mingzhao had once heard a rumor: someone ate one bowl of noodles, but others falsely accused him of eating two. The person who ate the noodles tried desperately to prove himself, but how could someone who had only eaten one bowl of noodles prove to others that he hadn't eaten two? The gossip weighed on his back like a stone, and finally, unable to bear it any longer, he cut open his stomach with a knife to show others whether he had one bowl of noodles or two.
Those who are accused or questioned often find themselves trapped in the need to prove themselves, and Mingzhao hoped Shen Cangyu wouldn't fall into that trap. Fortunately, Shen Cangyu seemed unconcerned about others' opinions of her; she wasn't affected by their judgments. Mingzhao truly envied her for this. Perhaps this was the source of her confidence as a member of Penglai, unlike them, disciples who had climbed step by step from small towns, striving to enter the inner sect from the outer sect.
But besides inviting suspicion, the most terrifying thing about judging good and evil is the prejudice of others. Once someone is labeled as an evil person, it will be mentioned repeatedly throughout their life, and it won't be easy for Shen Cangyu to wash off this label.
The last Kunlun disciple to be labeled a villain was Xu Qiubai, who has already left Kunlun. Mingzhao fears that Shen Cangyu will suffer the same fate as Xu Qiubai.
“You look even more scared than I am,” Shen Cangyu said, leaning back in her chair and tossing the kettle to Mingzhao.
Mingzhao snapped out of her daze and said, "Indeed, your reminder made me realize it." She uncorked the kettle and took a sip of cold water, swallowing the rest of her words.
The trial was her inner demon. If it weren't for the rumors, she wouldn't have had the chance to escape to Kunlun and find a way out.
It takes a lifetime of cultivation to eliminate one's inner demons, and Mingzhao understood this well, so she still couldn't help but worry when faced with similar situations. But looking at Shen Cangyu, Mingzhao suddenly felt that perhaps without the rumors and gossip back then, she wouldn't have had the chance to come to Kunlun, nor would she be who she is today.
She feared the trial, but looking at it from another perspective, that incident, though a calamity for her, was also a stroke of luck; it was a case of fortune and misfortune intertwined.
Mingzhao put the stopper on the kettle and said to Shen Cangyu, "You must not be influenced by others." Shen Cangyu was Mingzhao's guiding star. Looking at her, Mingzhao felt that she had regained the courage to move forward.
"The competition is over!" Lu Yuan walked towards them with a refreshed look, his clothes covered in mud. "What are you still standing here for? Go draw lots."
With half of the participants left on the field, there are very few people left, making it highly likely that they will become opponents.
Shen Cangyu placed her hand in the box, and the numbered stone balls rolled beneath her hand. Many people had already drawn lots before her, and now there were very few stone balls left in the box.
"Who is it?" Lu Yuan came closer and asked curiously.
Shen Cangyu looked down at his palm.
A2.
She looked up and saw Pei Wenjing.
At that moment, she seemed to hear herself from her memories saying, "This time, your opponent is still me."
A thousand years have passed, and they meet again on the field.
This time, she has to defeat Pei Wenjing, not as the protagonist, but as a challenger.
Pei Wenjing grew up in Kunlun. He had been cultivating for longer than Shen Cangyu, studying for longer, and had learned more mental techniques than Shen Cangyu. He was also very diligent and hardworking.
Among hardworking people, some are born with a better foundation and more resources than others. If such people can win, it does not affirm the theory of talent or deny the theory of hard work.
Because he was originally a proponent of the "effort theory".
If Shen Cangyu were to defeat Pei Wenjing using a cheat code or the protagonist's halo, it would be a trampling on the principle of "heaven rewards diligence".
Shen Cangyu wants to have a fair fight with Pei Wenjing, without using any cheat codes or protagonist halo; the outcome will depend on their own abilities.
"Please enlighten me." Shen Cangyu bowed to Pei Wenjing. When she looked up, she saw Pei Wenjing move. She turned and dodged to the side. Sure enough, the next moment, heavenly lightning struck beside her.
Pei Wenjing showed no mercy, which was exactly what Shen Cangyu wanted. If he held back even a little bit, it would be an insult to her.
The lightning bolt didn't dissipate after striking the ground; instead, it crawled along the soil towards Shen Cangyu. Shen Cangyu raised his hand: "Earth Dragon!"
The ground beneath their feet creaked and groaned. The next moment, the blue-purple lightning that filled the ground was absorbed by the earth dragon, filling its shell. It surged underground, rushing towards Pei Wenjing's direction.
"Ninefold Fire." Pei Wenjing made a hand seal and pushed it to the side. Flames transformed into a wall that encircled him, while the earth dragon that was rushing towards him was scorched by the flames and turned into clods of earth, falling to the ground.
Suddenly, his gaze shifted downwards, the flames pressed down, and the soil beneath his feet spread outwards, forming a thick clod of earth.
Sure enough, the next moment, earth spikes shot out from beneath his feet, shattering the clods of earth beneath him. He was carried into the air by the earth spikes, rolled backward, and was about to use the wind-riding technique to land back on the ground.
Shen Cangyu suddenly curled the corners of his mouth and changed the hand gesture of making a hand seal: "Sand worm."
Unexpectedly, the outer shell of the soil spike cracked open, revealing a large worm formed from sand and stone. The worm opened its mouth and swallowed Pei Wenjing whole.
Humans are humans, not birds. They don't have wings. If a human were to fall into the air, they would be vulnerable everywhere.
When the sandworm swallowed him, there was no wind around, so Pei Wenjing couldn't use his Wind Control and Sealing Techniques. If he dared to use fire to solidify the sandworm, he would be courting death.
The sandworm soared into the air, carrying Pei Wenjing with it as they crashed to the ground.
Just as it was about to crash to the ground, the sand worm suddenly stopped moving. Several white lights flashed from its belly, and the sand worm was cut into pieces. Pei Wenjing, who was hidden in its belly, landed gracefully, holding a white longsword in his hand.
Journey upstream.
This is the sword Pei Wenjing obtained in the Sword Pavilion. It was once Pei Wenjing's personal sword, and it was also the sword Pei Wenjing gave to Shen Cangyu in his previous life. This sword has been intertwined with them for many lifetimes, and now it has fallen back into Pei Wenjing's hands, and he has taken it up.
Seeing Pei Wenjing finally pick up his sword, Shen Cangyu also raised her hand, and the Kunlun Sword fell into her grasp. Since Pei Wenjing wanted to use a sword, then she would fight him with a sword.
But Pei Wenjing is not a sword cultivator, at least not in this lifetime.
Their battle was fierce and attracted a lot of attention. But when the sect leader's gaze fell on Su You in Pei Wenjing's hands, he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.
The sect leader remembered that Pei Wenjing had said since childhood that he would not become a disciple of the Myriad Weapons Returning to the Heart. Therefore, when other disciples were learning swordsmanship, he would always avoid watching, either hiding in his room, going to the Scripture Pavilion, or going to other places of Daoist practice. He was avoiding suspicion.
However, at this moment, Pei Wenjing's fighting posture and sword style were exactly the same as the sword technique of "All Weapons Return to the Heart".
When did he learn these things?
Who taught him?
The two swords clashed, producing a crisp clang. Their moves were identical, as if they were made from the same mold, with the same rhythm and angle of attack.
"Didn't Shen Cangyu leave Wanqi Guixin? How come her sword skills are still so fierce? If she continues to stay in Wanqi Guixin, wouldn't she be invincible?" The Wanqi Guixin disciples below the stage couldn't help but be shocked by this scene.
To the untrained eye, the moves of the two men on stage were dazzling, but to the expert, their swordplay was masterful and fluid, a level of skill that could not be achieved in just a few years.
They used to occasionally wonder why Shen Cangyu, an outsider, could inherit the Kunlun Sword. Later, when she left Wanqi Guixin, they thought, "This person clearly inherited the Kunlun Sword, yet she still wants to leave Wanqi Guixin. She really doesn't know what's good for her."
But now, looking at her swordplay, they finally realized that even if she didn't stay with Wanqi Guixin, her swordsmanship hadn't declined; in fact, it was even more superb than many of Wanqi Guixin's disciples. No wonder the Kunlun Immortal Lord chose her back then.
They looked at Shen Cangyu, then shifted their gaze to Pei Wenjing standing to the side. Pei Wenjing had never learned swordsmanship since childhood, so why did he know these sword techniques?
Could it be that he's also secretly working hard behind the scenes?
When Pei Wenjing picked up Suyou, he felt his heart pounding.
In the critical moment when he was trapped by the sandworms, he didn't have time to think much before Su You fell into his hands on its own. When he picked up Su You, he felt the sword in his hand humming excitedly.
Then, sword moves appeared automatically in his memory, as if he understood them perfectly.
Suyou has been waiting for him to pick up his sword again for over a thousand years.
"It's a pity Kunlun is gone."
A voice vaguely echoed in Pei Wenjing's mind, and he realized that it was Su You's sword spirit speaking to him.
Before he could ask a question, Shen Cangyu's sword move was aimed directly at him. He raised his sword to block it, but suddenly realized Su You's meaning.
Although the sword in Shen Cangyu's hand was powerful, it exuded a cold aura. It was an inanimate object, unlike Su You, which had a living sword spirit.
how so?
Pei Wenjing thought to himself.
Shen Cangyu frowned and shook off his sword: "Don't get distracted."
At this moment, Su You's thoughts and Shen Cangyu's voice rang out simultaneously: "When she became a god, she personally destroyed the sword spirit of Kunlun."
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