Chapter 21: Chapter Twenty‑One Qing Luan Transformation

"Not bad, your offense and defense are measured; such performance among the Sword‑Wielding disciples is very rare! You go first, next up, Qing Sha of the Heavenly Sword Hall, step forward." Unexpectedly, the lower‑attack Qing Fu received high praise from Manager Hong Zhi.

Qing Sha lives up to his name: a cold‑faced handsome guy, his long eyes flicker with a hint of intimidating light. He steps forward, leaves the line, leaps, flips a somersault in the air, lands steadily; his movements are swift yet silent, like a leopard in the forest.

Wei Yuning has a gut feeling that Qing Sha is a formidable person; regardless of how high his attack power is, his clean, decisive skill alone makes him hard to deal with.

Unlike other Heavenly Sword Hall disciples, Qing Sha not only carries a long sword on his back but also hangs a short blade at his left waist. Wei Yuning notices that his right hand, aside from necessary motions, remains on the short blade's hilt.

"Begin!" Hong Zhi declares loudly.

Upon hearing Hong Zhi's command, Qing Sha shows no hesitation; his right hand draws the short blade as fast as lightning, a lightning chain shoots out from the tip, landing in the Ghost Upper Zone.

The audience below erupts in astonished shouts.

Even more surprising, before the shouts subside, Qing Sha has already withdrawn the short blade, drawn the long sword on his back, and a powerful slash lands on the wooden dummy, the interval less than half a breath.

"Spells and weapon attacks both count as Ghost Upper Zone, well done, nephew Qing Sha, you've improved!" Hong Zhi nods with a smile.

Qing Sha nods, clasps his fists in a salute to the audience, then leaps, lands steadily in front of his seat, spins and sits down, looking exceedingly dashing.

The next participants, Qing Ren, Qing Li and Qing Chou, perform averagely, all scoring Ghost Middle Zone. That's normal, as Qing Ge, Qing Wu and Qing Fu are inner‑gate disciples whose strength is indeed a notch higher, while Qing Sha belongs to an outer‑gate hunting squad; in pure combat power he surpasses many inner‑gate disciples.

"Miss Feng Ci, you're up next!" Hong Zhi smiles, announcing the next contestant.

Miss Feng Ci is tall, with a classic beauty face—somewhat like the popular internet‑celebrity looks on Earth—long straight eyebrows, big eyes, a high, refined nose, cherry‑shaped mouth and a pointed chin, all very familiar and friendly to Wei Yuning. She isn't the type with a curvy figure; her greatest trait is her expressive eyes, constantly holding a smile, irresistibly captivating.

Compared with the flamboyant, unusually seductive Fairy Feng Wu, Wei Yuning finds Miss Feng Ci more to his taste. Of course, both women's looks still fall short of the enigmatic Autumn Goose female cultivator by more than a hair's breadth.

Miss Feng Ci does not leap onto the platform; she walks up via the side stairs. Of course, no one doubts they could leap—Qing Luan Sect excels at illusion, and its concealment and flight techniques are also famed; even disciples who haven't reached Foundation Establishment can fly off the ground using sect secrets. After decades of interaction, both sects understand each other's surface techniques, though deeper secrets remain hidden.

The three phoenixes of Qing Luan are all strikingly beautiful, each having garnered a group of Yun Yin Sect fans; now that Feng Ci steps onto the stage, a crowd of Yun Yin Sect disciples burst into applause.

"Begin!" Seeing Miss Feng Ci steady herself, Hong Zhi says gently.

"Yes, Uncle Hong Zhi!" Feng Ci folds her robe, bows, turns sideways, faces the wooden dummy, closes her eyes to regulate her breath.

"Ha!" After a clear shout, Feng Ci lifts the phoenix‑head short staff hanging at her waist, points forward; a phantom Qing Luan bird head shoots out from the staff tip toward the wooden dummy. When the phantom's beak strikes the dummy, it sounds as if a solid object hits, emitting a "do" sound, while a faint, high, clear bird call can be heard.

Attack power is Ghost Middle.

Since Qing Luan Sect only has magical attacks and no melee attacks, this result counts as the final score.

"Fairy Yun Yan, I'm not very familiar with your sect's techniques; could you explain them for us?" Manager Hong Zhi turns his head toward Yun Yan, saying cheerfully.

"Uncle Hong Zhi, you're being overly modest! But since you've given the order, how could I disobey?" Fairy Yun Yan pauses, as if choosing her words, "Miss Feng Ci is using our sect's 'Qing Luan Transformation'. The spirit sense becomes the sect's totem divine bird, Qing Luan; the phantom's attack power and appearance are secondary—the key lies in its divine resonance. In it, spirit is primary, form is auxiliary, yet both are indispensable. The more the phantom mirrors Qing Luan's shape while retaining its divine resonance, the deeper the practitioner's cultivation. Legend says that when the technique reaches its pinnacle, the phantom can become a true Qing Luan, and its bodily attacks rival those of the Dragon King clan."

"As for Miss Feng Ci, her comprehension of the technique isn't deep enough to bring out its traits; otherwise her attack power would be at least Ghost Middle. Her 'Qing Luan Transformation' has form but lacks divine resonance, so she must keep improving!" From her tone, it's clear Fairy Yun Yan isn't very satisfied with the disciple.

"Thank you, Uncle, for your guidance; I'll definitely work harder!" Feng Ci bows her head, then slowly steps down from the platform; the whole scene looks like a scolded young wife.

The Yun Yin Sect disciples in the audience chatter; they feel ashamed, being Foundation Establishment disciples of a major sect yet most of them are less cultivated than a female disciple from a mid‑size sect. At the same time, they think Fairy Yun Yan is overly harsh and feel great sympathy for the pitiful Miss Feng Ci.

Manager Hong Zhi twitches his mustache and smiles, says nothing, and after the murmurs subside, announces, "Next, Miss Feng Wu of Qing Luan Sect."

"Alright!"

"Fairy Feng Wu, I have confidence in you!"

"Miss Feng Wu, I am Chang Fei; don't rush to set a marriage, wait for me!"

"Miss Feng Wu, I love you!"

……

As the top‑looks representative female cultivator of this marriage alliance gathering, Feng Wu's popularity soars to the heavens; many heated‑up spectators shouted irrationally, including the reckless junior disciple, errand boy Chang Fei.

Qing Cong's eyebrows tremble like a sieve at high speed, showing great displeasure that someone dared to flirt with the girl he likes right in front of him. Yet the law doesn't punish the crowd, and the setting is inappropriate, so he holds back his anger; however, he quietly notes some names in a little ledger, with Chang Fei's name underlined emphatically.

Miss Feng Wu, like Miss Feng Ci, also walks up the platform. Yet she sways three steps at a time, flaunting a devilish, seductive gait; her purpose is clearly different from Feng Ci's, as the path from her seat to the platform is plainly her showcase.

When she reaches the center of the stage, she suddenly spins, leaping more than three zhang into the air; her long robe's hem flutters, pink peach‑blossom petals drift down from the sky, enveloping the entire platform and the surrounding few zhang radius. For a moment, the crowd feels as if they've entered a spring peach‑blossom forest, encountering a beautiful Peach Blossom Fairy.

The Peach Blossom Fairy appears faintly amid the swirling petals; not only her white dress, but also her hair tips and cheeks are tinged with the blossom's color.