Chapter 20

"Junior will do my best!" Wei Yuning said properly.

Fairy Yunyan gave a light smile, nodded, and said nothing more; meanwhile, the Qiuhu maiden beside her turned her head and glanced at Wei Yuning.

Wei Yuning, however, dared not look back at Qiuhu, because he discovered a problem: the less he could remember Qiuhu's appearance, the more he wanted to look at her—this was like a kind of alternative attraction. Curiosity can kill a cat; he didn't know if this world had that saying, but Wei Yuning now began deliberately avoiding this ordinary-looking female cultivator.

At this moment, Qingwu on the high platform had already drawn his side sword and began to gather energy for the next wave of attack. This time the preparation time for the weapon attack was much shorter; after three breaths, Qingwu's body leapt into the air, sword in front, body behind, thrusting straight at the torso of the wooden dummy.

The standard side sword of the Heaven Sword Chamber is about two and a half chi long, with a white narrow-mouthed blade and a black hilt. Though its shape is simple, it is a proud product of the refining chamber, because the materials it uses are mostly the lowest-grade ore needed to craft spiritual artifacts, plus low-grade refined iron, using only a tiny amount of top-grade refined iron; yet its ability to blend with spiritual energy is not inferior to that of a treasure sword forged purely from top-grade refined iron, and it is not lacking compared to many minor sects' sect-defining weapons—the only difference being that its strength is somewhat lower. However, standard weapons are not sold to outsiders; members of other sects or loose cultivators can only purchase trimmed-down versions at the Guest-coming Peak's equipment shop.

A point of golden light appeared at the tip of the sword, with a "bang," the sword struck the wooden dummy post, emitting a dull thud.

"The demonic zone is not bad, Qingwu, step down!" Hongzhi nodded in praise, "Next, Qingge, step up."

"Why… did the attack become weaker?" Wei Yuning opened his mouth wide and couldn't help but ask.

"Isn't that quite normal? Could this disciple be a flesh‑body foundation establishment?" Yunyan Xianzi frowned and asked, while Qi Que beside her glanced over again, both women showing strange expressions.

Wei Yuning realized he seemed to have asked a very foolish question, and immediately gave an embarrassed laugh: "Haha, I was just joking!"

The two female cultivators of the Qingluan Sect almost simultaneously gave Wei Yuning a look as if looking at a lunatic, then turned their heads together to look ahead. Not sure if it was an illusion, Wei Yuning felt that Qi Que girl didn't seem very respectful toward Yunyan Xianzi, completely unlike the proper attitude a junior disciple should have toward a senior, which made him a bit more curious about Qi Que.

"Curiosity killed the cat!" Wei Yuning silently recited to himself, then firmly gave up the idea of continuing to observe Qi Que.

A burst of cheers rose, and even more amusingly, the shrill screams of the Qingluan Sect female cultivators clearly drowned out the shouts of the Yunyin Sect disciples. Indeed, Qingge, this handsome hunk, is extremely popular among female cultivators, his popularity has reached a level that makes many fellow disciples unable to envy him.

Of course, this does not include the direct disciple Qing Cong and Wei Yuning from the fallen world. Even with several people between them, Wei Yuning could still hear Qing Cong's disdainful snort.

Wei Yuning naturally could not act as lowly as the handsome Qing Cong who raised his eyebrows; he stretched out his right hand, raised his middle finger, and with a faint smile gestured at Qingge.

Qingge indeed is a master's demeanor, observing six directions and listening to eight directions, he noticed Wei Yuning's small movement, which is normal, as they are only about five or six meters apart, and moreover, Wei Yuning's direction is exactly where several Qingluan Sect beauties are. Seeing Wei Yuning's gesture, Qingge was stunned for a moment, but soon also enthusiastically raised his middle finger at Wei Yuning.

As a master, naturally not following convention, Qingge's stage entrance is far more flamboyant than Qingwu's. An arc of light flashed, and due to the extreme speed, it seemed as if a semi‑transparent arched bridge appeared between the ground and the platform, then in an instant Qingge appeared on the platform.

"Qingge senior brother's Xuan Yue body technique is indeed formidable!" a voice came from the back rows.

"Xuan Yue body technique?" Wei Yuning, having just arrived at the sect for a little over a month, had never heard of this technique before. Visually, it indeed appears ghostly elusive, somewhat like the legendary "shrink the earth into an inch," useful for both offense and escape.

Wei Yuning turned his head, wanting to see which senior brother spoke, intending to find him after the dispersal to learn more details. His turning direction happened to be toward Qi Que's side; unexpectedly, Qi Que girl also turned her head back at the same moment, and in the spark of electric fire, their noses "bumped" together. Wei Yuning's nose felt sore, he quickly closed his eyes, but tears still flowed out uncontrollably.

At the same time, an extremely rich dark fragrance slipped into Wei Yuning's highly sensitive nostrils; this fragrance was so refreshing to the heart and soul, even more refreshing than the thickest spiritual energy, making him instantly desire to plunge into the land of beautiful dreams.

However, the pain from the collision of their noses made Wei Yuning slightly sober; he took a deep breath, exhaled most of the inhaled fragrance, then opened his eyes.

A face with distant‑mountain eyebrows, clear autumn‑water eyes, and a peerless beautiful visage appeared just half an inch before his face; yet this fairy‑like visage also emitted a faint, restrained charm, this restrained allure being far superior to the vulgar heavy makeup and gaudy makeup, Wei Yuning was completely stunned; just as he was dazed, he suddenly felt a moment of dizziness, and Qi Que's face turned into that of an ordinary passerby.

"Don't spread rumors, this is my secret!" A cold, icy voice slipped into Wei Yuning's ears.

"Qingge senior nephew, it's not early, hurry up and compete, first magic then artifacts." Hongzhi's voice sounded again.

While Qingge was still receiving the audience's cheers and striking poses, he hastily stood straight, came to the wooden dummy post, stood ready, and prepared to cast a spell. Wei Yuning nodded absentmindedly toward Qi Que, his heart pounding "thump thump," almost three minutes passed before he finally calmed down, but the throbbing in his heart would not fade.

……………………………….

"……The final result is Divine Medium, excellent, befitting an inner disciple, Qingge steps down. Next, the Baodao Fang's Qingfu." Hongzhi's clear voice sounded again in his ear, bringing Wei Yuning's attention back to reality.

Qingfu is a person with an extremely elegant appearance, like a refined young master, but his aura is very strange; from the moment he stands, walks slowly to the edge of the platform, then leaps onto the stage, each step has no extra movement, each step does not waste any extra energy, appearing slow and clumsy, yet it is a visual enjoyment like flowing clouds and flowing water; at the same time, a faint golden aura circle of about five feet in radius slowly rotates around him.

Although not as swift and handsome as Qingge's Xuan Yue body technique, it wins in steadiness and grandeur, having a unique character, especially the aura circle around him, which seems like a moving fortress.

"It seems this senior brother is following the turtle school's path!" Wei Yuning sighed in his heart.

Qingfu's magical attack uses the Lightning Chain technique that Wei Yuning is very familiar with, except this time it is performed via a weapon, rather than like Qingwu using a finger as a sword; its strength is at the ghost level, close‑combat sword technique attacks at the ghost‑middle level, just like that Qingwu.

Still, the close‑combat attack power is low; this time Wei Yuning has learned his lesson and did not foolishly ask again.