People's hearts are cold
Time flies like water, and in the blink of an eye, the first day of the Immortal Sect Competition has come to an end.
Throughout the day, apart from Ji Yunxing's textbook-perfect duel, the other matches seemed utterly tasteless to Yun Qian, and watching them felt like a waste of time.
Those childish moves, the attacks that repeatedly missed, the magical artifacts that flew out of her hands, and some underhanded tricks... all these sights only made her feel bored.
After observing for a day, Yun Qian found it hard to imagine how these cultivators, with their current level of skill, could have driven Cangmin Mountain to the brink of destruction in the original story.
Perhaps it's just that today's contestants are not strong enough? Tomorrow might be different. However, even if the subsequent competitions are more exciting, Yun Qian has completely lost interest in watching them live.
Not only did she not go, but Baichuan and Qin Wu also chose to be absent.
Yun Qian has always been easygoing and insightful. Rather than wasting time on those boring competitions, she prefers to stay in the small courtyard and practice her swordsmanship to comprehend the Dao.
Qin Wu was naturally quiet and rarely went down the mountain when he was in Cangmin Mountain. Now that he was in the unfamiliar and turbulent Tianyan Mountain, he stayed in the courtyard all day long, focusing on nurturing his Sutian Sword and hardly ever leaving the house.
Yun Qian and Qin Wu seemed to be on the same wavelength, neither of them stepping out of the courtyard.
Bai Chuan, on the other hand, would occasionally go out for walks, but not to watch the competitions. Instead, he would go to places in Tianyan Mountain with abundant spiritual energy to find and pick some rare medicinal herbs to bring back to the courtyard for research.
With the protection of the "Return to One Formation" set up by Yun Qian, this small courtyard became its own world, isolating it from the noise and spying of the outside world, and no one could disturb the three of them in peace.
Thus, the position beneath the Wuji Platform, symbolizing the head of the sect, remained empty for several days, appearing particularly abrupt.
In the blink of an eye, it was the eleventh day of the Immortal Sect Grand Competition.
Yun Qian and her two companions had not set foot on the Wuji Platform in recent days, so they were unaware that their seats, which were right next to the arena and had an excellent view, had already been taken by someone else.
Cangmin Mountain's location is exceptionally advantageous, making it an ideal place to observe competitions. However, with no Cangmin Mountain disciples appearing for several days, coupled with the growing rumors in the cultivation world that Cangmin Mountain had already declined, some audacious disciples from various sects could no longer contain themselves and went straight there to occupy the mountain.
If they had simply been quietly sitting and watching the game, it might have been understandable. But these people went too far, behaving increasingly appallingly. The low tables and chairs that Tianyan Mountain had prepared for Cangmin Mountain had been violently destroyed, with the remains piled haphazardly in the corner. The once elegant area was now a mess of cups and plates, fruit pits and scraps scattered everywhere, appearing dirty and chaotic.
Today, the group of disciples occupied this place as usual, making noise and laughing without any restraint.
"I heard that there are disciples from Cangmin Mountain competing today, and those three will probably be here soon. Don't you all plan to avoid them?" A voice with a distinctly mocking tone rang out. The speaker was a man dressed in a blue robe with cloud patterns, who was standing not far away in front of the Qingyun Mountain seats, waving a folding fan. It was Lin Hanshuang.
He deliberately emphasized the pronunciation of "avoid" and "avoid" to make his intention to stir up trouble obvious.
Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, the disciples who had taken up the seats immediately started to argue back, like cats whose tails had been stepped on, their tone arrogant.
"Such a good location, if Cangmin Mountain doesn't come, why don't we borrow it for a bit?"
"Exactly! Why should Cangmin Mountain occupy the position of the number one sect for nothing? They are shameless and thick-skinned, and we will not accept that!"
"That's right! Does Cangmin Mountain even deserve it?"
A few voices echoed from the crowd, filled with disdain and provocation.
Lin Hanshuang lightly waved her folding fan, a hint of smug satisfaction flashing between her brows.
However, in the next instant...
"Buzz!"
A sharp, incomparable sword intent, imbued with chilling killing intent, suddenly cleaved down from mid-air without warning! Like a thunderclap from the heavens, it exploded suddenly in this area!
Lin Hanshuang's smug expression froze instantly, turning into astonishment.
The invisible yet tangible sword intent struck precisely in the center of the seats held by Cangmin Mountain! The disciples who had occupied those seats didn't even have time to react before they felt an irresistible force coming towards them. With cries of alarm, they were all sent flying and smashed to pieces in the blink of an eye!
Such powerful and precise sword intent!
Lin Hanshuang's heart skipped a beat, and he abruptly looked up towards the source of the sword intent. Just then, a melodious yet somewhat aloof and languid female voice rang out from behind him: "Judging from this young master's cultivation level, it seems he should avoid him."
Upon hearing this, Lin Hanshuang felt humiliated; the voice that had just sounded pleasant now sounded incredibly grating. He turned around angrily and met a pair of clear eyes that carried a hint of indifference.
The newcomer was none other than Yun Qian. She wore no makeup today; her jet-black hair was loosely tied up in half with a small black sword, cascading over her shoulders. She wore a pale yellow fairy-like dress, which accentuated her snow-white skin, making her appear gentle and kind, like a harmless girl next door. Yet, her words were sharp and cutting.
Upon seeing Yun Qian, a fleeting hint of amazement and disbelief flashed in Lin Hanshuang's eyes, but she quickly regained her haughty demeanor and forced herself to remain calm, saying, "This sword intent is indeed sharp; I should dodge it."
He changed the subject, trying to regain his composure, and said sarcastically, "I've always been self-aware and know my own shortcomings. It's just a pity that some sects aren't as self-aware as I am."
“You do indeed have many shortcomings.” Yun Qian readily agreed and continued, her tone calm yet all the more intimidating. “However, some people are self-aware because they lack the ability. But some people sit in a certain position because of their ability, and have no choice but to sit there.”
Lin Hanshuang's face turned pale from being choked, and she snorted coldly, "Is that so?"
"Of course." Yun Qian had no intention of arguing with him pointlessly. Too lazy to even glance at him again, she gently lifted the hem of her trailing skirt with her slender hand and gracefully swept past him, heading straight for the seats at the top.
Only then did Qin Wu, carrying Su Tian, appear leisurely in everyone's sight. His sword intent arrived first, followed by his physical presence!
At this moment, the area in front of the Cangmin Mountain seat was a mess. More than ten disciples lay sprawled on the ground, groaning incessantly, while their fellow disciples rushed to help them up.
However, instead of reflecting on their fellow disciples' rude behavior of seizing others' seats and damaging property, these newcomers preemptively accused Cangmin Mountain of wrongdoing.
"Your Cangmin Mountain is far too arrogant! During the Immortal Sect Competition, you dare to openly injure people. Do you even respect the rules of the competition?"
The Immortal Sect Grand Competition has explicit rules prohibiting individuals from attacking others outside of competition venues.
But so what?
Anyone with discerning eyes could see that Qin Wu's sword intent, though seemingly imposing, was actually controlled with exquisite precision, serving only to intimidate and sweep away, without containing any real killing power. His years of teaching those ignorant mortals at the foot of the mountain had given him ample experience, and his attacks were always extremely measured.
Looking at the tragic scene before her, Yun Qian sighed deeply, then turned her gaze to Qin Wu, who had just approached, and said with a hint of reproach in her voice, "Qin Wu, why did you act so impulsively?"
Qin Wu, who arrived a step later, had a face full of pure innocence and confusion. He blinked, looked at Yun Qian, and said frankly, "Senior Sister, I just didn't expect that they couldn't even dodge an ordinary sword intent."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the group of disheveled cultivators, as if stating a simple fact, his voice clearly reaching everyone's ears: "I thought that since they were all cultivators participating in the Immortal Sect Competition, their cultivation levels should be roughly the same."
Upon hearing this, the surroundings fell into a deathly silence, as if even the air itself had frozen.
Qin Wu's words were truly a blow to the soul, piercing the hearts of many present as if struck by an ice pick, sending chills down their spines.
Yes, they are both young cultivators around a hundred years old, and their cultivation levels should be roughly equal. A probing sword intent that did not contain any killing intent should have been easily avoided.
Why couldn't any of these people escape?
What does this tell us?
The answer is self-evident: the cultivation levels of these people are all below Qin Wu's! Moreover, they are far inferior!
Qin Wu was only a little over a hundred years old. Yet his cultivation level had already surpassed that of his peers by so much, and might even... be beyond the same realm!
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