Chapter 18

Wen Qingyin pushed open the house door; outside the sun was shining brightly.

The Cloud Immortal Sect sent over the academy uniform personally made for Wen Qingyin via a formation; embroidered with shattered-star gauze, it floated with light in the sunlight, and wearing it on Wen Qingyin looked like a flowing river of stars.

He habitually opened the jade slip; inside there were several more messages than before.

Two of them were sent from the Yingzhou Academy; one was the 'Courage Grand Gift Pack' mentioned by Qingxuan Shangjun at the time—opening it yielded nothing more than a few spirit pills and magical artifacts—and the other message was……

«The sect grand competition has been moved up to today? »

How did the time suddenly change?

After carefully reading the full message, the gist was that due to curriculum changes, Qingxuan Shangjun entered seclusion, so the sect grand competition was moved up to today; please all disciples proceed immediately to Qingyun Terrace for the sect grand competition.

As Wen Qingyin finished reading the last character of the message, a knocking sound suddenly came from beside his ear, then Zi Shu Zhi's voice sounded outside the door: «Young Sect Master! »

He went over and opened the courtyard door, and indeed saw Zi Shu Zhi standing outside his door.

Before Wen Qingyin could ask why Zi Shu Zhi had come, Zi Shu Zhi cautiously slipped into the courtyard, vigilantly peeking left and right.

«What are you doing? » Wen Qingyin asked him strangely.

Zi Shu Zhi looked around before withdrawing his gaze: «Isn't that Pei Junheng guy not here? »

After receiving Wen Qingyin's affirmative answer, Zi Shu Zhi eagerly said: «I came to find the Young Sect Master to go together to Qingyun Terrace; the matches there have already begun, and everyone from the Cloud Immortal Sect is waiting eagerly to behold the Young Sect Master's demeanor! »

Upon arriving at Qingyun Terrace, indeed a crowd of academy disciples wearing various uniforms had gathered.

The throng of verdant herbal cultivators saw Wen Qingyin arrive and all swarmed over.

«Young Sect Master! The sect grand competition will surely be won by our herbal cultivators! » the herbal cultivators chattered, among whom Zi Shu Zhi's voice was especially loud.

«Hmph, it's time to let those broken sword cultivators kneel beneath us begging for mercy! » Zi Shu Zhi crossed his arms, his arrogance blazing.

«Pah! » a clear cold snort came from afar; Zi Shu Zhi angrily turned his head.

Indeed, a sword cultivator clad entirely in moon-white walked over, obviously having heard the commotion; Qiu Sanchi, standing in front, shouted angrily: «You weak-chicken herbal cultivators, just wait to be knocked down by us! »

Hardly had those words fallen when a sudden abrupt question rang out: «Why say chickens are weak—is that discrimination against chickens? »

Who's looking for trouble?!

Qiu Sanchi abruptly turned his head, locking his gaze onto that discordant person.

The spotted Wan Wanqiu trembled, immediately hid behind Chi Feiqian, thus avoiding the disturbance that had almost implicated him.

The blue and white factions instantly fell into a chaotic brawl, while the yellow and blue groups spontaneously stepped back, withdrawing from the battlefield to observe at a proper distance.

The cacophony of miscellaneous arguing never ceased, but Wen Qingyin kept a solemn face, his eyes meeting those of the person beside Qiu Sanchi.

It was Pei Junheng, whom Wen Qingyin had not seen all morning.

«Silence. »

A dignified immortal voice came from the clouds; Changfu Shangjun appeared on Qingyun Terrace at some unknown time.

His gaze swept over the crowd on Qingyun Terrace, lingering on the flushed-faced herbal and sword cultivators who were arguing.

The herbal and sword cultivators could only temporarily cease fighting; although their mouths were shut, their eyes still clashed unyieldingly.

Before the sect grand competition had even begun, the air was thick with the smell of gunpowder, needing only a spark to ignite a raging fire.

«Since all disciples have gathered, the rules and format have long been announced. Then——»

An immortal crane cried as it flew past; the college emblem burning on the hundred-zhang stone platform vanished in an instant, leaving a gap between the stone wings awaiting a new emblem to fill it. The disciples on Qingyun Terrace all felt their fighting spirit rise at the crane's cry.

Waiting for him to seize the championship.

Wen Qingyin gazed at Pei Junheng opposite him; their eyes met, both filled with the exact same determination to win.

Changliu Shangjun's voice rang out like a tolling bell:

«The Yingzhou Academy's sect grand competition this year begins now——»

The sect grand competition adopts a one-on-one duel format, with multiple groups competing simultaneously; victors advance, losers are eliminated, until finally the champion is decided, and the emblem on the stone pillar ignites.

Wen Qingyin's first opponent was a talisman cultivator.

The talisman cultivator wore an indigo-blue uniform, standing at the opposite end of the platform; upon seeing Wen Qingyin come up, his eyes lit up.

«You're very beautiful. » He lavished praise without reserve.

The willow-leaf-like tender green set off Wen Qingyin's exposed skin like fresh white lychee flesh, as if biting down with lips and teeth would yield sweet juice.

Everyone says the Young Sect Master Wen's beauty is unrivaled in the land; indeed, that is true. Fighting such a beauty is a pleasure, only fearing that a heavy hand might injure this delicate little beauty, causing tears to flow would be awful.

The talisman cultivator brazenly scrutinized him.

Feeling the talisman cultivator's gaze, Wen Qingyin frowned impatiently.

As a result, the talisman cultivator's next sentence made Wen Qingyin unable to hold back a scornful laugh.

«Young Sect Master Wen, I don't want to rely on my status to bully others; seeing you so weak, I'll let you have one move. »

The talisman cultivator hooked his lips and chuckled, his tone full of assured victory.

It seemed to confirm that Wen Qingyin's fine, white, soft fingertips were only fit to be played with in others' hands.

Wen Qingyin directly laughed in anger at that remark; his formerly cold face gained a few smiles, moreover unfolding like a blossoming flower, a night-blooming cereus opening.

This actually caused the talisman cultivator to stare, eyes wide.

He stared at Wen Qingyin's gorgeous face without blinking, once again confirming his earlier thought.

A beauty like the Young Sect Master Wen shouldn't be in a place like Qingyun Terrace; he should be kept in a cage made of gold and jewels, to be lovingly cherished. By letting the Young Sect Master have one move, he could flatter the beauty; after the match, perhaps Wen Qingyin would be willing to have a private rendezvous with him.

Thinking thus, the talisman cultivator's gaze toward Wen Qingyin grew sticky and nauseating, yet he failed to notice Wen Qingyin's complexion growing colder from his stare.

«You want to let me have one move? » Wen Qingyin asked, his opening and closing lips as red as about-to-be-picked roses.

Having just met moments ago and already immobilized by Wen Qingyin's bewitching appearance, the talisman cultivator nodded, feigning suave nonchalance as he lifted his bangs: «Exactly, I see the Young Sect Master Wen as weak and do not wish to offend a beauty. »

His gaze toward him gave no concealment of his purpose: «I don't know if the Young Sect Master Wen is willing… eh?! »

Watching his own fingertips gradually turn cyan, the talisman cultivator who had been pretending nonchalance instantly turned ferocious.

«What have you done to me? »

The talisman cultivator's expression turned horrified, and together with the abnormal cyan on his skin came an unbearable itching, as if hundreds of ants were crawling up his body along with the cyan-black.

Suppressing the urge to tear his skin with his nails, the talisman cultivator looked at Wen Qingyin, his eyes blazing.

The talisman cultivator no longer dared to look at Wen Qingyin with that earlier gaze; his angry stare was mixed with deep dread, as if he couldn't believe he had fallen into Wen Qingyin's hands.

He fumbled frantically to pull out the talisman he had prepared, but as his hand reached for his talisman bag, the unbearable itch had already spread to his shoulders, almost preventing any movement.

What exactly did Wen Qingyin do!

As the talisman cultivator gritted his teeth and endured the pain, Wen Qingyin's cold voice sounded.

You lost.

You were already poisoned by me.

The talisman cultivator lifted his head in disbelief, only to see Wen Qingyin still standing where he was, as if he hadn't moved at all since stepping onto the stage.

Wen Qingyin didn't move a muscle—how did he manage to drug him in these few moments!

Impossible, absolutely impossible!

As his words fell, a celestial chime flew onto the stage.

Cloud Immortal Sect, Wen Qingyin wins.

Even after the talisman cultivator was led off the stage by an immortal elder, he still couldn't accept having lost so easily to Wen Qingyin.

This is no delicate flower in the palm—it's clearly a man-eating blossom!

Wen Qingyin, still on stage, had a slender neck; the eyes that the talisman cultivator had praised glanced down, seeing the talisman cultivator being led away curl his lip in disdain—the blatant mockery almost made the talisman cultivator charge back onto the stage to duel Wen Qingyin again.

As the talisman cultivator seethed with rage, a pill was thrown from the stage onto his feet.

What is this?

As the bewildered talisman cultivator lifted his head, he heard Wen Qingyin's voice: 'Here, the antidote.'

It sounded exactly like the tone used to call a stray dog, leaving the talisman cultivator seething again.

Medicine cultivators can concoct life-saving remedies that revive the dead and flesh white bones, so naturally they can also develop lethal poisons that kill unseen; likewise, slipping poison onto a target unnoticed tests a medicine cultivator's skill.

Did Wen Qingyin's subsequent opponents also fall to him? Each battle ended in three seconds, most unaware of how Wen Qingyin struck, only to find traces of poison on themselves.

Cloud Immortal Sect, Wen Qingyin wins.

Another celestial chime rang out; the sword cultivator disciple on the opposite side, sword in hand, could not accept the fact that he had been defeated by Wen Qingyin.

I don't accept it! You're hardly a medicine cultivator—you're clearly a poison cultivator!

The sword cultivator disciple's furious accusation was heard by Wen Qingyin, who not only didn't get angry but smiled happily.

Perhaps because he had won these bouts too easily, Wen Qingyin unusually had the leisure to chat a few words with this humiliated sword cultivator.

The pills we medicine cultivators use have all been reported to the academy and permitted by the immortal elders." Wen Qingyin moved two fingers, and a black pill appeared between them. "Just a little poison—it will only make your skin itch for a few hours." Even scratching cannot relieve it.

Other..." Wen Qingyin's gaze shifted to the sword cultivator's arm, bluish-black in hue, his tone threatening, "You won't even know when you're dead."

You medicine cultivators with ruthless hearts only resort to such underhanded sneak attacks—you know full well how many injustices you've committed!" The sword cultivator defeated by Wen Qingyin felt deep shame, after all, fiercely slapping the faces of medicine cultivators in the sect grand competition is the sacred mission of sword cultivators entering Yingzhou Academy.

I never expected to be defeated so quickly.

Even as he was led off the stage, the sword cultivator kept shouting, 'What are you gloating about! You will surely lose to our young sect master; the champion of the sect grand competition will be from our Myriad Noon Sword Sect!'

'Hah—' the medicine cultivator disciples in the spectator seats directed sharp mockery at the unyielding sword cultivator: 'You beaten dog, scram! Why stay here embarrassing yourself? You can't even compare to a single finger of our sect's young master!'

There were too many medicine cultivators here; the jeering voices came from all directions.

The sword cultivator's face flushed red then turned pale, but facing this situation he could only leave sulking, and he didn't even take the antidote Wen Qingyin tossed over.

These utterly wicked medicine cultivators!

The other sect disciples in the spectator seats lowered the volume of their melon-seed cracking; Cloud Immortal Sect and Myriad Noon Sword Sect are indeed like fire and water, irreconcilable. But for them, watching the show was truly exciting.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the Azure Cloud Terrace, the talisman suspended in midair was easily severed by an invisible sword qi.

Myriad Noon Sword Sect, Pei Junheng wins." The solemn celestial chime sounded like a hammer strike.

Although he had lost, Chi Feiqian on stage still wore a smiling, narrowed-eye expression, his smile indistinguishable from that of Qing Xuan Shangjun.

I gladly yield." He withdrew his hand and said to Pei Junheng, who had not even drawn his sword across from him.

Pei Junheng gave a faint nod.

After saying those four words, Chi Feiqian slowly and voluntarily stepped down from the stage, needing no immortal elder to escort him.

Chi Feiqian had already expected he could not defeat Pei Junheng, so he held no expectations for this match; he just didn't anticipate that Pei Junheng's cultivation had advanced to such a degree that even the sword qi of an ancient divine sword could be turned to his own use.

After he stepped down, several sword cultivator disciples surged onto the stage; one of them had a bluish tint to his skin, incessantly scratching his arm with a pained expression.

Before Pei Junheng could ask, the other sword cultivators rushed to complain: 'Young sect master! It's all that medicine cultivator Wen Qingyin—he's utterly vicious! Look at how his disciples turned out after he withdrew his hand; why are we sword cultivator disciples treated this way?'

Seeing Pei Junheng's gaze sweep over him, the sword cultivator defeated by Wen Qingyin lowered his head, enduring: 'Young sect master, Wen Qingyin is simply bullying people too much; please give him a harsh lesson, young sect master.'

He dared not say that only his severe symptoms were due to not taking Wen Qingyin's antidote, but thinking of Wen Qingyin's appearance, hatred flickered in the sword cultivator's eyes.

The sword cultivator disciples surrounding him chattered about their battles with medicine cultivators—some lost, some succeeded in advancing—but all ended up hoping that Pei Junheng would defeat the medicine cultivators and seize the championship.

Pei Junheng lightly nodded, a sword gradually appearing in his palm: 'I will defeat him.'

Without a doubt.

Wen Qingyin fought his way through obstacles and soon reached the final showdown; by then, few remained on the Azure Cloud Terrace.

At the opposite end of the stage, Wen Qingyin patiently waited for his opponent to step up.

He had long known who his final opponent would be, but seeing that person walk onto the stage, Wen Qingyin couldn't help but narrow his eyes.

Pei Junheng.

Wen Qingyin felt for the poison he had prepared in advance in his pouch.