Chapter 35 – Leverage

If Administrator Zhang knew something, it could be said that the entire sect knew it. He was Lingxiao Sword Sect’s ultimate gossip-monger.

This time, the news he received from Fang Yang was told to others less than an eighth of a shichen after he said goodbye to him.

One person told ten people, and ten people told a hundred. Gossip always spreads faster than any urgent military intelligence.

But this time there weren’t as many lively onlookers or discussions, because everyone had more important things to focus on.

The day before had been the competition for the Qi Refining disciples. One hundred spots had been confirmed, but there were still ten places for Foundation Establishment disciples that had yet to be assigned. These ten places would be decided through today’s Foundation Establishment competition.

This competition was held in the same arena, and the onlookers were no fewer than the previous day. Most of those watching yesterday had been Qi Refining disciples, because the inner sect Foundation Establishment disciples were somewhat disdainful of it and declined to attend.

But today, regardless of cultivation level, everyone who was free formed a dense crowd around the arena.

A simple martial arts competition shouldn’t have been such a big deal. The culprit for this crowded scene was the sect leader’s renowned second disciple – Cao Zirui.

Since the day Cao Zirui entered the sect, he had been wreathed in a nearly blinding halo. He had a one-in-a-million top-grade single spiritual root, and it was a miracle that he could reach Foundation Establishment within a year.

He was only 1.7 meters tall, but people looked at him as if he was standing atop a platform, gazing up at this legendary genius. 

However, although he was a genius, nobody knew his true strength.

As the sect leader’s direct disciple, he never practiced swordplay or cultivated with the other disciples. And he was a solitary person by nature. It was difficult for him to warm up to people when approached, much less when he was kept apart in such a way.

Apart from his master and Elder Zhou, he basically didn’t have any friends he could talk to in Lingxiao Sword Sect, and nobody had seen him in action. 

But the more this was the case, the more curious everyone else became. They were curious as to whether this genius was really as they imagined, a natural-born prodigy who left everyone in the dust, so far ahead that they couldn’t even see his back.

Today was a good opportunity. Cao Zirui would be participating in this competition, so everyone could take this chance to observe and learn.

The competition started on time at chenshi, and Sect Leader Ji took his seat on the viewing platform slightly before it began. As for Elder Zhou, who was supposed to have come with him, he was unable to watch the competition due to some urgent matters that had come up.

The Foundation Establishment tournament was different from the Qi Refining one – the mere fact that these disciples had reached Foundation Establishment was already a demonstration of their strength and talent.

Compared to the large amount of people at Qi Refining stage, which was a mixed bag of talent, Sect Leader Ji attached more importance to today’s competition. After all, his treasured young disciple would also be participating – in the first round, even – so he couldn’t be late.

As for his not-so-treasured eldest disciple, Xue Ren had learned his lesson the previous day and forwent diligently serving tea and water. Instead, he stood quietly beside Sect Leader Ji and awaited instructions.

However, this did not win him praise. Compared to the endless praise he gave Cao Zirui, when it came to Xue Ren, the sect leader treated praise like gold and rarely handed it out.

At the referee’s command, the competition officially began. 

Standing in the ring, Cao Zirui attracted the attention of the entire audience. With him present, all of the other contestants were mere supporting roles.

The mood of Cao Zirui’s opponent was the same as that of the junior disciple named Zhou Liang, who had been matched against Fang Yang the day before. There were no other words in his mind besides “bad luck,” and he was entirely lacking in fighting spirit.

Ten moves. He didn’t even last ten moves against Cao Zirui. His sword was sent flying, and he met defeat.

Everyone: “…..”

Was that all?

The audience, which had been eagerly awaiting an incredible fight, were surprisingly unanimous in opinion. There were no dazzling magic spells or impressive sword moves, and Cao Zirui had defeated his opponent without using any spiritual power.

This was different from what was agreed, ah! The show was no good, they wanted a refund!

Even though they hadn’t bought tickets, and wouldn’t get a refund even if they had.

They were all unresigned, and waited to watch the next match. The next opponent was better, and lasted for twenty moves, but his sword was also knocked away by Cao Zirui.

The crisp sound of the sword hitting the ground echoed in everyone’s hearts.

No, was it that easy to win?

They hadn’t even seen what happened, ah!

But Cao Zirui, the star of the show, couldn’t hear their heartfelt wishes at all. And even if he did, he wouldn’t care. He continued to do things his own way and maintained his efficient attack style all the way to the finals.

The final opponent was a powerful fellow disciple in the late Foundation Establishment stage, named Wu Kai. Cao Zirui had only been cultivating for a year, and although he was also at Foundation Establishment, he was in the initial stages at best.

His opponent was two levels higher than him, a situation that was extremely unfavorable for Cao Zirui.

There was no sign of worry on Cao Zirui’s face, which surprised nobody. They would be surprised if there was any expression at all on that icy face.

This time, Cao Zirui seemed to be facing a tough fight. He fought his opponent for a hundred rounds without either of them winning.

This fellow disciple named Wu Kai, who was in the late stage of Foundation Building, didn’t hold back in the least. He possessed spiritual roots of gold, fire and earth. When he drew his sword, he infused it with gold spiritual power, making the blade much sharper than an ordinary iron sword.

The instant the blade flashed out, the strong gust it created brought with it a wave of scorching heat that distorted the air. 

However, this heat wave turned into a plume of white mist when it met Cao Zirui’s sword.

Cao Zirui had a single water spiritual root. Water and fire were incompatible, and it had always been the case that the stronger one would subdue the other. Moreover, the spiritual power of a person with three spiritual roots was far inferior to that of Cao Zirui’s one spiritual root.

Wu Kai’s one advantage was that his cultivation was higher, which allowed him to maintain the current balance without showing signs of defeat for the time being.

But this was only temporary. He knew that if he continued to drag it out like this, he would lose.

Cao Zirui had been taught by Sect Leader Ji himself, and his sword skills were so advanced that he was far ahead of his fellow disciples who had to learn everything on their own.

Since the first match, Cao Zirui had never actually used his full strength. Nobody knew what was on his mind, but he didn’t use spiritual power if he could avoid it, and didn’t use any spells.

If not for this, the competition would have already ended.

Although it was unknown if Cao Zirui was doing this out of underestimation for his opponent or for other purposes, Wu Kai was holding back his anger. Was this high and mighty disciple of Sect Leader Ji really that good? Were ordinary disciples like them destined to be trampled under Cao Zirui’s feet for the rest of their lives?

He had to win at least once!

With his sword in his right hand, he made hand gestures with his left hand hidden in his sleeve.

He had used both of his gold and fire attributes, but had not used his earth-based spiritual power thus far. 

This was the moment he had been waiting for!

A section of the stone ring suddenly turned into a soft, muddy swamp directly where Cao Zirui was about to step. He didn’t seem to notice.

As long as Cao Zirui steps into the quagmire, I can take advantage of this opportunity to win! Wu Kai thought excitedly.

However, when Cao Zirui stepped into the quagmire as expected, he showed no signs of sinking or tripping.

Only then did Wu Kai discover that a thin layer of ice had formed over the ground, and that Cao Zirui had not stepped into the swamp created by his magic spell, but onto the ice.

“Seven.” Wu Kai was so shocked that he didn’t even have time to react when Cao Zirui spoke a number.

He swung his sword horizontally, forcing Wu Kai to take a large step back.

“Six.” The second slash came a moment later, faster and more powerful than the previous one. Wu Kai hurriedly raised his sword and was barely able to parry it.

“Five.”

“Four.”

Each of Cao Zirui’s attacks was faster and more powerful than the previous one.

He was imitating the Seven Strike Takedown Feng Ye had displayed yesterday, which had ultimately sealed his victory.

It was a pity that when Cao Zirui got to “three,” Wu Kai’s wrist was numbed by the powerful, unrelenting force, and the hilt of his sword slipped out of his hand.

The winner was decided. Cao Zirui sheathed his sword and put his hands behind his back.

It came as no surprise that he was the champion. Sect Leader Ji on the viewing stand was filled with joy, but Cao Zirui’s face showed none.

Instead, he was frowning slightly.

It didn’t work, he thought to himself. In fact, when he got to “three,” even if Wu Kai’s sword hadn’t fallen out of his hand, Cao Zirui wouldn’t have been able to perform the last two strikes.

The key to these seven strikes was that each one must be stronger and faster than the previous strike, so as not to give the opponent time to accumulate strength and counterattack.

But there was always a limit to human strength and speed. Distributing the power and speed of each strike sounded easy, but was actually difficult to implement.

Too light, and it would be unable to stop the opponent. Too heavy, and it would be like when Cao Zirui reached the number “three” and couldn’t go on.

In the battle yesterday, Feng Ye hadn’t used any fancy or flowery sword techniques. He simply regulated each of his sword strikes with an almost terrifying level of control.

Cao Zirui stood in awe of such control. And today, he attempted to accomplish it himself. However, although he tried to hit the same spot with every strike, he was unable to succeed more than thrice. The opponent’s sudden changes in sword trajectory disrupted his precision.

He had tried to use the Seven Strike Takedown, but failed.

Perhaps, leaving aside my cultivation and spiritual root, I’m far inferior to that junior disciple at the third level of Qi Refining, Cao Zirui thought absentmindedly.

“Zirui, well done!” Sect Leader Ji’s smiling voice finally brought back Cao Zirui’s wandering soul.

Only then did he return to his senses. He walked from the ring to the viewing platform, stood in front of his master, and saluted.

Sect Leader Ji looked upon Cao Zirui with satisfaction and gratification, thinking that his young disciple was perfect in every way. He had great talent, cultivated diligently, and was neither arrogant or impatient. His only drawback was his expressionless face, but such a minor flaw could be ignored.

It likely wouldn’t take many years for Cao Zirui to reach Nascent Soul, and then Sect Leader Ji could step down from the burden of his position and hand Lingxiao Sword Sect over to him.

Just like when Shifu handed Lingxiao Sword Sect to Shixiong…..

Ling Yun had failed at the responsibility their master had entrusted him with. He committed a heinous crime, angered the gods, and caused Lingxiao Sword Sect to suffer heavy losses. A large number of elite disciples had died in that nightmare.

And before they could recover from that fire that burned the world, they also faced accusations of shirking their responsibility by other sects.

Under such pressure, as one of the only remaining Nascent Soul cultivators in the sect, Ji Chengyue was forced to succeed the position of sect leader, where he served for one hundred years.

But he knew that his abilities were limited. Although he was at Nascent Soul stage, among Nascent Soul cultivators, his strength was at most average.

Therefore, under his leadership, Lingxiao Sword Sect hadn’t shown any signs of rising. He gave it his all, but could just barely manage to keep the sect from falling completely out of the top ten sects in the world.

He could never truly become a powerhouse that shocked the world like his shixiong, nor could he lead Lingxiao Sword Sect to its true pinnacle.

He could only hope that the next generation would be able to accomplish what he couldn’t. He placed that hope on Cao Zirui.

With these thoughts in mind, he couldn’t help but say aloud: “Zirui, ah, one year ago, you were still a boy who couldn’t use a sword. But in the blink of an eye, you’re an independent swordsman. It probably won’t take long before the thousand steps and one hundred checkpoints pose no problem at all for you.”

Half-joking, he expressed his great expectations for Cao Zirui.

Cao Zirui’s reaction was mild. He completely missed the point of the last sentence, which basically pointed out that he would be the next sect leader.

But Xue Ren was different. He had always been intelligent, and would think deeply on words that had no special meaning, let alone such obvious hints.

His master was biased to such an extent?! Even the sect leader position was to be given to him?!

Why?!

Why Cao Zirui?!

Xue Ren’s jealousy at this moment was like the rising tide of a river. Unable to hold it back any longer, it burst free.

He looked at Cao Zirui with a dark expression, nearly overwhelmed by the resentment he had accumulated over these days. He almost wanted to step forward and loudly question his master’s injustice.

He was obviously a direct disciple of their master too. Why was the sect leader so harsh to him, not even sparing him a kind look?

And as for Cao Zirui, their master gave him nearly everything he could, including praise and the Lingxiao swordsmanship, and now he was even going to give him the sect leader position!

Xue Ren clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His remaining sanity prevented him from taking action.

Going on like this wouldn’t get him what he wanted…..no! What he deserved!

What Lingxiao swordsmanship? It was the position of sect leader that should be his!

It’s Cao Zirui who showed up at the last moment and snatched it from me! Xue Ren thought with gritted teeth.

He did his utmost to remain calm and not reveal any abnormalities in front of his master. But his uncontrollable anger still revealed itself somewhat in his gloomy eyes.

Fortunately, the entirety of Sect Leader Ji’s attention was on Cao Zirui, so he didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.

The competition was over at last, and Sect Leader Ji announced the winner. After he said a few more words to encourage the other disciples to follow Cao Zirui’s example, everyone dispersed.

“Zirui, come with me to Cloud-Step Hall. There is still room for improvement in some of your moves today,” said Sect Leader Ji.

“Yes,” Cao Zirui replied with a bow.

“Shifu, I’ll leave first.” Xue Ren suddenly said farewell.

As if he had just remembered something, the sect leader turned around to glance at his eldest disciple, whom he had completely forgotten about. He gave Xue Ren a nod.

Then, without looking back, he left with Cao Zirui.

Xue Ren bowed toward their receding backs. Once the two of them were far enough away, he abruptly shook his sleeves as if to vent his anger, shattering the stone bricks within a three-foot radius.

This still failed to slake his hatred. As long as Cao Zirui appeared before him, the fury in his heart would not subside.

He had no affection for his fellow junior disciple. Cao Zirui had only joined the year before, and he had already reached Foundation Establishment stage. Xue Ren had been away from the sect for most of the year, so it could be said that he’d only met Cao Zirui a few times.

His fellow junior disciple was a natural-born iceberg. He couldn’t string many sentences together, and had never shown any respect to his shixiong. It would be strange if Xue Ren did have any feelings toward him.

No, it couldn’t be said that he had no feelings. 

After all, hatred was an emotion. His hatred for Cao Zirui was as deep as the sea. He wished he could cut him to pieces and make Cao Zirui return everything he had taken from him.

It was just that…..

He couldn’t do anything to Cao Zirui himself.

No matter how talented Cao Zirui was, he had only just reached Foundation Establishment. Compared to Xue Ren, who was already in the middle stage of Golden Core, he could be crushed to death with the flick of a finger.

However, if he left any traces behind after doing the deed, and his master found out…..

The results would not be what he wanted.

His master practically cradled Cao Zirui in his heart. If anything happened to his precious little disciple, he would definitely get to the bottom of it.

Therefore, he must never lift a hand himself.

But who could he turn to?

This matter must never be spread outside, and if something happened, that person must never implicate Xue Ren.

Unlike the unpopular Cao Zirui, Xue Ren had a very good reputation in the sect, and there were quite a few people who could be considered his friends.

But these friends were of no help at the moment, and Xue Ren couldn’t rest assured at all. If even a hint of news about what he intended to do leaked out, he would be doomed.

He had to find someone he could trust completely, but who would be able to fit that description…..?

Xue Ren was walking with his head down, his mind full of thoughts. He wasn’t paying attention to whether there was anyone in front of him.

“Aiyo!” Someone suddenly shouted.

Xue Ren was already in a bad mood, and to make matters worse, some unscrupulous person had just bumped into him.

Just as Xue Ren was about to lose his temper, he saw the junior disciple who had been knocked to the ground quickly get to his feet and apologize.

“I’m sorry, pardon me.”

Xue Ren was about to vent his anger, but suddenly stopped. Not because of the apology, but because…..he vaguely felt that this person looked familiar.

Where had he seen this person before?

He narrowed his eyes at the other person. He didn’t know if this junior disciple was afraid of his gloomy expression, but after giving his apology, he rushed off.

Xue Ren had no solutions for the moment, and continued onward with some doubts.

He reminisced as he walked, feeling that he had overlooked something very crucial.

He went over all of the minor details that had happened these past two days, gradually stringing those unrelated fragments together.

The collision…..the yellow flowers falling out…..Blazing Sun Flowers…..poison!

Xue Ren swung his head toward the direction that person had just left. He finally remembered who he was. Wasn’t he Lu Chengye, the champion of yesterday’s Qi Refining competition? Although he’d been defeated by another junior disciple who appeared at the last moment, Lu Chengye was still the nominal champion.

Lu Chengye was also the person who’d bumped into him at the corner yesterday morning, and when they collided, yellow flowers had fallen out of the other man’s clothes.

Xue Ren hadn’t paid attention to Lu Chengye’s guilty, panicked expression at the time, but now that he was thinking about it, he recalled it very clearly.

The unlucky person Administrator Zhang mentioned who’d accidentally eaten the Blazing Sun Flower had most likely been targeted by Lu Chengye. His purpose was naturally to eliminate his most capable competitor.

Unexpectedly, Xue Ren had accidentally discovered a case of poisoning.

He normally wouldn’t even bother with this sort of thing.

But this incident gave him inspiration, and he finally realized what kind of person he could put his complete trust in. 

Naturally, it was someone he had leverage on.

Gazing after Lu Chengye’s back, a malicious smile appeared at the corners of Xue Ren’s mouth.

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Chapter 34 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 36