Chapter 17 The Sect Grand Competition: Remember her, fear her, obey her. ...
Yes, the people of Yaoqing Sect are going to challenge Shen Zhou.
When Hua Deng learned of this news, he was quite impressed by their determination to die.
For example, right now, she's sitting in the audience seats of the martial arts arena, looking at the huge crowd below, and she still can't believe it.
There were at least a hundred people present, including familiar faces like Duan Yi. Fifth Uncle even waved a yellow flag and walked at the very front with great pride, reminiscent of "The Guide to the Medicine Purification Sect"—if one ignored his limping gait.
The streetlights were too bright to look at directly, so I found the best spot to sit down.
Her position was so conspicuous that everyone's attention was drawn to her.
In the center of the crowd, Duan Yi stared intently at her, revealing undisguised infatuation.
This showdown wasn't a sudden whim; it was the result of their collaborative planning over several days and nights.
The Immortal Sect Competition is about to begin, and the Xiashan Secret Realm will open at the same time. Since Junior Sister Hua has already registered to participate, the only way to give Shen Ye a chance to spend time with her is to leave him alone at the Yaoqing Sect.
Today is the day they will defeat Shen Ye and force him to withdraw voluntarily!
Duan Yi let out a sinister laugh.
Hua Deng was completely unaware of their thoughts and showed no concern whatsoever. She turned her head and said, "Master, please sit down."
"Please sit down, please sit down." The sect leader wiped away his cold sweat and secretly glanced at Chen Zhou.
He stood on the steps not far away, silently watching the crowd glaring at him.
He appears relaxed and nonchalant, but the more relaxed he is, the more likely he is to deliver a fatal blow.
Like a cheetah lying in wait, even when it does nothing, it always exudes a sense of oppressive power that is hidden yet ready to strike.
The sect leader was sweating profusely. Over the years, he had dealt with many cultivators, but he had only ever felt this way in front of Qiu Ce, the Sword Venerable of the Qingyang Sect.
But Qiu Ce Sword Venerable is already at the Tribulation Transcending stage, how can Shen Ye compare?
The Fifth Elder, who was in the mid-stage of the Integration Realm, shared the same idea as him.
He took out his most treasured sword from his chest at Chen Zhou's, but only received a disdainful look in return, and asked him with a bored expression, "Oh, you know how to use a sword?"
"Do you think we medical cultivators are powerless?"
The Fifth Elder, enraged, drew his sword... drew...
Why the hell can't I pull it out!
His beloved second-grade immortal sword, at such a crucial moment, was firmly stuck in its scabbard, not moving an inch!
Sweat dripped from his forehead, but Chen Zhou spoke lightly, each word landing heavily in his ears: "You want to draw your sword in front of me—are you worthy?"
As he finished speaking, he stepped down the stairs, his presence imposing on everyone. His pupils gleamed with the golden light of the sun, his brows and eyes were cold and sharp, impossible to look directly at.
The Fifth Elder was speechless.
The man walked past him and turned to Duan Yi: "I should have warned you, you don't seem to listen to me."
The pain of that day welled up in Duan Yi's heart, and he almost turned and ran away.
But Shen Zhou didn't give him that chance.
He said to the crowd, "I know you've come for the streetlights."
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried throughout the training ground. His words seemed to possess a certain magic, drawing everyone's gaze involuntarily to the bright lights.
"Remember her."
They etched that face deep into their hearts.
"Fear of her."
They began to feel a deep-seated fear of the streetlights.
"Obey her."
At that moment, everyone in the training ground knelt down and bowed their heads to the lanterns.
The person in the seat, holding a lantern, hesitated for a moment, then asked, "System, won't this shorten my lifespan?"
"Don't worry, host, your lifespan is normal."
Hua Deng was relieved and drank a cup of tea to calm her nerves.
The sect leader was unaffected by the magic. The Fifth Elder was kneeling in front of him, and he immediately took the Fifth Elder's arms to help him up.
"Hey, Fifth Senior Brother, what are you doing? I can't accept this!"
The Fifth Elder was completely unable to move. He could hear a buzzing sound in his ears, but he couldn't react. He was so angry that his face contorted with rage.
"Fifth Senior Brother, don't worry. I will manage the Medicine Purification Sect well. Why do you need to go to such lengths?"
"Pfft!" The Fifth Elder spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Senior brother!" The sect leader quickly supported his swaying body, his brows furrowed, but the smile on his lips grew wider and wider.
Meanwhile, Hua Deng was studying the system map. She was surprised to find that the red dots on the map were rapidly fading away, irreversibly turning into white dots.
This was something that should not have been possible.
She looked up in shock.
He actually... reversed the plot?!
With his back to her, Shen Zhou ordered the crowd, "You can all get out of here. Go back to sleep and forget about today."
The crowd scattered in a flurry, and the sect leader, quite astutely, slipped away as well. Shen Zhou turned around unhurriedly and walked up the steps.
Sunlight streamed onto his snow-white robes, revealing a faint arrogance in his eyes—an air of disdain for everything.
He rarely showed this expression, but it must be admitted that only on his face did this sharpness appear appropriate and not at all out of place.
Hua Deng slowly sipped his tea.
She gradually understood why Shen Zhou always seemed so indifferent.
Because it is powerful.
Because you are stronger than everyone else, you naturally lose your joy and anger, and you don't need to care about what others think.
Ants, just kill them.
This is probably Chen Zhou's state of mind.
This time, however, the lights were no longer afraid.
Not only am I not afraid, but I also... find it quite enjoyable.
"Are you tired from playing? Come and have something to eat." She beckoned to Chen Zhou.
Shen Zhou walked up to the table, glanced at the food, and shook his head.
Hua Deng said, "Don't you like these? Then tell me what you like, and I'll have them prepare them next time."
Shen Zhou rubbed his temples and casually said, "I can't taste anything, there's no need for me to eat it."
Hua Deng was stunned; it was the first time she had heard of this: "You can't taste any at all?"
“Most of it.” Shen Zhou put down his hand and sat down to the side. “It’s a side effect of practicing martial arts, and it’s been going on for many years.”
Hua Deng said, "You sword cultivators are truly terrifying."
If she had trained like that, she would have given up on life long ago.
After thinking for a moment, she pushed the cup next to her forward: "Here, try this."
Shen Zhou picked up the dark, medicine-like substance: "Is this for drinking?"
"Cola is delicious." Hua Deng smiled. "It makes you happy. You should try it."
Chen Zhou took a sip and said, "It's alright."
He couldn't say he was "happy" as she described, but he didn't dislike it either; for him, this was already a rare treat.
"Then these are all for you," Hua Deng said with a smile, resting his chin on his hand. "After you finish drinking, we'll go down the mountain."
*
If you were to ask Hua Deng what the most annoying part of the original novel was, it would undoubtedly be the section about the Secret Realm of Xiashan.
It not only features the most characters and has the most intense scenes, but it is also the most explicit.
What impressed Hua Deng the most was the concept of the "treasure map".
Each disciple entering the Xiashan Secret Realm will receive a treasure map, which marks the locations of various magical treasures and is divided into four categories: Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow.
Heavenly-level magic treasures only appear once every five hundred years, yet two appeared in this trial.
Because the second Heavenly Level character is the female protagonist herself.
The Joyous Union Body, a furnace cauldron appearing only once in a thousand years, was marked as a heavenly-grade magic treasure that would drive people mad the moment she stepped into the secret realm.
The rest of the story is predictable.
While reading under the lamplight, Hua Deng suffered several heart attacks, her face turning deathly pale and then yellow. She asked the system, "Is this reasonable? You guys who transmigrate into bookstores, see for yourselves, is this reasonable?"
The system stammered, "Actually, there are still some people who like this kind of storyline..."
"I don't like it!"
The system then fell silent, feeling guilty.
Back to the present, Hua Deng stroked the peach blossom bracelet on her wrist, silently praying that the plot from the original story would not come to pass.
It's unclear to what extent this bracelet can protect her. If her identity is to be exposed, she'll have to abandon part of the mission and escape the secret realm ahead of time.
The more uneasy she felt, the stronger her desire to buy things became. She bought a large number of self-defense magical artifacts at the foot of the mountain in a vengeful manner before returning to the sect to cultivate.
Pressure breeds motivation. Today, Hua Deng was more diligent in his practice than ever before, and only went to bed close to midnight.
Unable to fall asleep even when lying down, she tossed and turned for a long time before sitting up and turning on the communication disc.
That evening, she joined a group chat for the contestants.
Someone is inquiring about the specific rules of this Immortal Sect Competition.
One of the Daoist friends, nicknamed "Little Deer," kindly explained that more than fifty sects were participating in this Immortal Sect Competition. The competition was divided into two parts, one of which was the Xiashan Secret Realm, where the sect that found the most magical treasures would win.
The second is a martial arts competition, which is divided into four groups from Qi Refining to Nascent Soul, with the top ten in each group receiving a reward.
[Tears Wet Pig's Feet Rice]: Does that mean I, a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, have to compete with a group of peak Golden Core cultivators?
[Little Deer]: Yes, that's always been the case.
[Tears Wet Pig's Trotter Rice]: Shuan Q
Hua Deng paused in his writing.
Others might not understand, but she certainly does.
"System, are there other transmigrators in my world?"
"According to the rules, it's possible," the system said. "But don't worry, even if it happens, that person's storyline won't interfere with yours."
Hua Deng hummed in agreement and clicked on the private chat option.
[Wait, light, go]: Hello
[Tears Wet Pig's Trotter Rice]: ?!
[Tears soak the pork trotter rice]: Could it be family? Give the code!
[Tears Wet Pig's Trotter Rice]: What is Taylor's formula?
[Wait and wait for the light]: Haha, sorry to bother you.
[Tears soaking the pork trotter rice]: That's right, you are definitely my family!
Hua Deng: "..."
[Tears Wet Pig's Trotter Rice]: Are you also a participant in this Immortal Sect Competition?
[Wait and wait for the light to go]: Mm-hmm
[Tears Wet Pig's Trotter Rice]: Great! See you at Qingyang Sect!
The venue for this year's Immortal Sect Competition is the Qingyang Sect, one of the five major sects. Hua Deng will travel there with other disciples from the Yaoqing Sect in a couple of days.
The person opposite gave a brief introduction to the Qingyang Sect, and then set a time and place for the meeting. During the conversation, she seemed quite familiar with the Qingyang Sect, leading Hua Deng to deduce that she herself was a disciple of the sect.
With companions and Shen Zhou by his side, the gloom in Hua Deng's heart finally dissipated a bit, and he no longer suffered from sleepless nights.
Regain your energy, eat and drink well to prepare for the Immortal Sect Competition.
Come to think of it, having witnessed Shen Zhou's overwhelming power, what is there to worry about?
*
The day of the Immortal Sect Grand Competition is fast approaching.
Hua Deng abandoned his own carriage and chose to travel with Yao Qingzong's flying boat.
The flying boat was thirty feet long and extremely wide. Facing the lanterns, sitting around a table were Sui Xiuyan and another disciple.
Hua Deng had never been on a speedboat before, so he kept looking out the window at the scenery. Across from him, Sui Xiuyan was engrossed in a book, as quiet as a mute.
I dare not move, I dare not move at all.
If they hadn't lost the draw, who would have wanted to sit opposite Shen Ye?
At first, no one was that afraid of him, until one day a certain senior uncle, oblivious to the danger, patted Shen Ye on the shoulder and struck a pose: "You junior, why don't you bow to this old man... ah!"
With his screams, the bloodied arm was twisted off.
The sole of his shoe rolled over the severed arm on the ground. Shen Ye lowered his eyes and walked away indifferently.
From then on, she would avoid Shen Ye whenever she saw him. Today was really unlucky, but at least she could see her junior sister Hua to feast her eyes on.
As she was thinking, she saw the lantern tilt to one side, as if it were dozing off.
As she slept, she tilted to one side, her head slowly resting on Shen Ye's shoulder.
Sui Xiuyan's heart skipped a beat.
Shen Ye lifted his eyelids, his dark eyes chillingly cold.
Sui Xiuyan really wanted to wake up her junior sister Hua, but she didn't dare. She could only hope that her junior sister Hua would wake up soon.
But Hua Deng didn't wake up. It seemed to feel uncomfortable, so it adjusted its position, buried its head in the crook of Shen Ye's neck, and then went back to sleep contentedly.
He took a deep breath of cold air as he smoked.
She recalled how rough Shen Ye had been to Hua Shimei that night. Would he really resort to violence this time?
Sure enough, Shen Ye turned his head and looked at Hua Shimei.
He frowned.
He raised his hand!
His wicked hand reached towards Hua Shimei's cheek... Hmm?
He tucked a stray strand of Hua Shimei's hair behind her ear, seemingly annoyed by it.
After completing this step, he withdrew his hand and continued to cultivate with his eyes closed.
It was eerily calm from beginning to end.
Sui Xiuyan: "Hiss..."
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