Chapter 18 – Misunderstanding

Due to the delay, it was already afternoon when Feng Ye and Hao Chen returned to the sect.

The way back to their rooms was through the main hall square, which was crowded with people today.

Feng Ye looked from a distance and saw the group of people lined up in a long queue. They were signing up for the competition, which was to be held the next day. There were only four days left before the journey to the Floating Island Secret Realm, and the seventy-nine junior disciples who could participate would be selected tomorrow.

Afterwards, they would rest for two days before being led to the entrance of the Floating Island Secret Realm.

But this had nothing to do with Feng Ye. Just like Hao Chen, he had no interest in this secret realm.

However, although they weren’t interested, the unconcealed conversations of the junior disciples they passed by inevitably entered their overly-sensitive ears.

“Have you heard about that fellow named Fang Yang?” A junior disciple standing in the square said to his companion as Feng Ye walked past.

Fang Yang?

This key word caused Feng Ye’s ears to prick up again, and he came to a stop.

Hao Chen also heard the conversation between the two disciples. He had little interest in that naive boy Fang Yang. Even though Fang Yang had cultivated sword qi at the seventh level of Qi Refining and seemed to possess extraordinary comprehension, Hao Chen’s feelings remained unchanged.

There was no shortage of outstanding people in this world, but even so, those who could stand at the same heights as him were rare, or perhaps virtually nonexistent.

Although there was a connection from heaven to earth, it had always gone top to bottom. There was no way for the human realm to actively connect to the heavens. Just like the distance between heaven and earth, the distance between gods and humans was difficult to cross.

Moreover, even the gods in heaven were divided according to level. As the Lord of the North Sea, Hao Chen was undoubtedly at the top.

This was a matter of destiny. The number of gods in heaven was fixed. Reality was not like the mortal imaginings in storybooks, where one could break through the boundary and become a god after reaching a certain level of cultivation.

Gods were all born gods. Each had their own duties and titles, which were bestowed upon them by the Heavenly Dao when they were born.

As Kunpeng, he was born as the god who guards the North Sea.

It was no exaggeration to say that he could soar up to 90,000 li. When he transformed into his Peng form, his fully spread wings could even block out the sun.

The ability to steal the sky and change the day^[1] was only one of the supernatural powers he was born with.

Fate was determined by heaven. Although it may sound cruel to those born with mediocre talent, in the heavenly realm, this was an ironclad fact that could not be shaken.

The level of one’s ability was determined from the moment they were born. This seemed like a gift from heaven, but it was also a shackle.

Therefore, although Hao Chen moved around the human realm in human form, he never really took humans seriously. Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, or Nascent Soul, they were all equally insignificant in his eyes.

Feng Ye was a tiny bit higher than them in his estimation, because this fellow was most likely not human and was probably from heaven.

But whether Feng Ye indeed came from heaven or his guess was wrong, Feng Ye was just someone with ulterior motives, and Hao Chen didn’t believe that this person had power to rival his own.

The number of gods in heaven who measured up to him could be counted on one hand. Some Hao Chen knew, and some he didn’t. But from the perspective of personality, Feng Ye was unlike any of them.

He was currently matched with Feng Ye, but he was just playing around. He never did anything substantial, just fooling around with the intention of having fun.

Otherwise, if he really wanted to, wouldn’t he just use force to make Feng Ye reveal his true identity?

But that would be too boring. He was already bored enough.

Thus, he would rather use all sorts of childish means with Feng Ye, rather than adopt a more mature and efficient method.

Hao Chen’s interest was limited to Feng Ye. As for Fang Yang, this naive person, he had no other thoughts about him except for using him to find clues.

Therefore, he was uninterested in the conversations of those around him.

Feng Ye, however, stopped.

So Hao Chen also stopped, and even considerately raised his fan as a cover for Feng Ye’s eavesdropping.

Unfortunately, while the two people chatting didn’t notice Feng Ye and Hao Chen suddenly stop, Hao Chen’s fan movements were so conspicuous that they couldn’t help but look over.

Feng Ye: “……”

Hao Chen gave him an apologetic smile: “Oops.”

Nothing good had happened after meeting this person. Feng Ye was inwardly disdainful. Then he thought that since he had already been exposed, it would be too shameful to continue eavesdropping.

So he stepped forward and took the initiative to chat with his fellow disciples: “I heard you two talking about Fang Yang. I’m a good friend of his. What happened?”

The two people exchanged a glance, then the one who had mentioned Fang Yang at the beginning answered Feng Ye: “It just happened a while ago. I heard that he single-handedly killed a White-Nosed Demon Bear that had suddenly advanced to Foundation Establishment in the back mountain.”

So that’s it, Feng Ye thought to himself. He had thought Fang Yang had gotten into an accident.

However, the speed at which gossip traveled within the sect was truly astonishing. It had been less than an hour from the time Fang Yang had been taken down the mountain by the two inner sect disciples to when Feng Ye had walked down, but the news that Fang Yang had killed a White-Nosed Demon Bear had already spread.

Hao Chen was unsurprised by how fast it spread. After all, he had already discovered while chatting with people that although these sword cultivators seemed serious and rigid, there was a gossipy young maiden under every icy face. If not, then the rumor that he and Feng Ye were practicing dual cultivation wouldn’t have spread so widely and become known to everyone.

Presently, among all of the junior disciples and managers in charge of miscellaneous matters at the foot of the mountain, perhaps only Feng Ye and Fang Yang, the subjects of the rumors, were unaware of them.

And as the only person who knew the entire truth, Hao Chen was not going to tell Feng Ye. He felt that the identity of a cultivation partner was quite good. No one would suspect him if he stayed by Feng Ye’s side. On the contrary, he would receive some fantastical benefits.

Now that he knew what was happening, Feng Ye was ready to leave. Just as he was about to say farewell, another junior disciple said in bewilderment: “Foundation Establishment stage?! Doesn’t the White-Nosed Demon Bear only reach the tenth level of Qi Refining when it reaches adulthood? And that Fang Yang…..he seems to be only at the seventh stage of Qi Refining?”

His companion said with a nod: “That’s right. The highest level of cultivation among our junior disciples right now is the seventh level of Qi Refining, and there are only a few of them. As for the White-Nosed Demon Bear, it seems to have suddenly mutated and advanced to Foundation Establishment. The inner sect disciples in charge of clearing monsters out of the back mountain checked, and it was definitely at the Foundation Establishment stage.”

Another person exclaimed: “He’s only at the seventh level of Qi Refining and was able to kill a White-Nosed Demon Bear at the Foundation Establishment stage. It seems there’s already a definitive winner in tomorrow’s competition.”

His companion echoed: “Yeah, we’re just trying to get a spot in the Floating Island Secret Realm. No need to think about winning the championship.”

As the two of them talked back and forth, Feng Ye took advantage of a brief pause to cut in: “Many thanks for letting me know. I have something to do, so I’ll take my leave now.” 

The two junior disciples nodded politely to Feng Ye, then continued to chatter about personal matters.

Feng Ye and Hao Chen continued to walk toward their rooms.

On the way, Hao Chen casually brought up a topic based on the conversation they’d overheard earlier: “Fellow Daoist Feng Ye, do you think your shidi will be able to win tomorrow?”

Feng Ye crossed his arms, pretending to think hard. Then he said with modesty that masked his pride: “Nothing is absolute.”

Feng Ye felt that it was a sure thing for Fang Yang to win the competition at his current level. After all, it was Feng Ye himself who’d taught him. But it was better to not draw attention, so he didn’t say anything definite.

Hao Chen spread out his fan and waved it, saying a bit meaningfully: “If Fellow Daoist Feng Ye participates in the competition, there will be a different champion.”

Feng Ye raised an eyebrow: “Fellow Daoist Hao Chen seems to have misunderstood my strength?”

Hao Chen couldn’t help but smile when he heard this, a rare smile that came from the heart: “There is no misunderstanding.”

No matter who you are, to me, you’re just as weak as everyone else, Hao Chen thought.

Feng Ye stared at Hao Chen’s smile. Then he also smiled from the bottom of his heart, but didn’t refute or say anything else.

The two of them arrived at their residences, said their duplicitous goodbyes, and retired to their separate rooms.

These two people who didn’t care about the Floating Island Secret Realm naturally had no idea how intense the discussion outside was. Nearly all junior disciples intended to compete for a spot. Even though most of them knew their abilities were limited, they simply wanted to snatch one of those seventy-nine places.

But there were still a few people aiming for the championship. The temptation of an earth-level magic weapon was too great.

They had originally had some confidence in themselves, but who would have thought that Fang Yang would suddenly defeat a Foundation Establishment stage White-Nosed Demon Bear today? With this strength, he was almost certain to win the championship.

Those who had originally wanted to compete for the championship couldn’t help but lament having no chance to win, but some had other thoughts in mind.

Lu Chengye heard other people saying that Fang Yang was certain to win the competition, and was so angry that his clenched fists made a creaking sound. Not only had that nosy brat Fang Yang once snatched the person he had his eye on, but he also intended to steal his earth-level magic weapon tomorrow? 

Although the magic weapon was meant to be the prize for winning the competition, Lu Chengye felt that such a good thing should belong to him. 

But Fang Yang seemed to be truly strong, and he feared he would be unable to beat him. If…..there was a way to destroy his cultivation…..wouldn’t he be unable to compete?

The more Lu Chengye considered it, the more excited he became. Greed and jealousy were the perfect helpers, and almost instantly, a vicious plan took form in his mind.

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[1] To steal the sky and change the day (偷天换日) means to change the truth of things in order to deceive others. ⮐

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Chapter 17 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 19