Chapter 163

Next morning.

The second round of disciple duels has begun.

Meanwhile, on the venue of this grand competition, two arenas have appeared.

On the venue of this grand competition, two arenas stand towering.

One is for the five hundred disciples who advanced from the previous round to settle their ranks, while the other is prepared for the five hundred disciples who were miserably eliminated in the previous round.

The two arenas will hold matches simultaneously.

The teams from each sect have already entered the field.

And the top five hundred disciples and the bottom five hundred disciples have also been seated separately.

Yuan Yao discovered that among the Carefree Sect disciples who advanced from the previous round of disciple duels, there were fifteen in total.

The second round of duels continues the rules and format of the previous round.

Yuan Yao drew lots.

This time, she actually drew number one.

Yuan Yao's eyebrows twitched slightly.

She remained on the arena, waiting for her opponent to appear.

Unexpectedly, her opponent turned out to be an acquaintance.

—Chongxu Sect's Gongsun Yongyuan.

That is, one of the three whom she had "conquered" by force in the Wuduan Mijing.

She still remembered the names of the other two: Zhang Zhengchu and Cui He.

However, Cui He is already dead.

Gongsun Yongyuan was rotund; upon seeing that his opponent was Yuan Yao, his face changed in shock, and he hastily sent a mental transmission to Yuan Yao: "Boss, I know I was wrong; I shouldn't have drawn number one… you… could you spare me from publicly repenting?"

As he spoke, his legs went weak, and he very much wanted to kneel before Yuan Yao.

"Sure," Yuan Yao replied with a faint smile.

Gongsun Yongyuan's legs grew even softer, trembling uncontrollably.

"I concede!" he immediately raised his hand to signal.

Yuan Yao: "……"

Seeing this, the Chongxu Sect leader's face darkened, and he silently cursed: "Useless trash! How pathetic!"

The referee immediately announced Yuan Yao's victory.

Right after the announcement, Gongsun Yongyuan gave Yuan Yao a fawning smile, extended his hand, and let her go first.

This toady's appearance made everyone present twitch at the corners of their mouths.

Yuan Yao gave him a slight nod, then stepped down from the arena.

And as she walked toward the waiting area, someone happened to come face‑to‑face with her.

A youth in a green robe, with a jade‑like countenance, sword‑shaped brows and starry eyes—none other than Xiao Zhufeng of the Chongxu Sect.

As Yuan Yao looked at him, he was also looking at her.

Xiao Zhufeng gave Yuan Yao a slight nod.

Though puzzled, Yuan Yao returned the nod.

For some reason, she felt that Xiao Zhufeng seemed to have something he wanted to say to her.

As they brushed past each other, Xiao Zhufeng's lips parted slightly.

"Do you still remember me?"

Yuan Yao froze; she was about to ask what he meant, but saw he had already leapt onto the arena.

He had drawn number two.

Yuan Yao watched his retreating back, feeling a strange sensation rise in her heart.

Had she known him before?

This doubt remained unresolved even when she returned to her seat in the waiting area.

In the ten years since she entered the Carefree Sect, she had left the sect only a few times; even when she did go out, she saw few people, making it impossible for her to have met Xiao Zhufeng of the Chongxu Sect.

She gazed from afar at Xiao Zhufeng on the arena and saw him defeat his opponent with a single sword strike, securing victory.

She turned to Ying Wuji and asked, "Junior Brother, do you know Xiao Zhufeng?"

"I do," Ying Wuji replied, slightly startled.

"Then has he ever come to our Carefree Sect?"

"He has!" Before Ying Wuji could answer, Cang Li laughed and said, "Don't you remember? When the master announced taking on disciples ten years ago, he had over a hundred people stay at the Carefree Sect for examination—and Xiao Zhufeng was among them!"

"I still remember once, you stepped on the jade pendant he had dropped on the ground; he got angry and shoved you. Then you clenched your fist and punched him in the chest."

"He angrily shoved you again."

"Then you swung another punch at him."

"He angrily shoved you again, and you punched him again. Right after, the two of you were about to fight when the Eldest Senior Brother appeared and mediated."

"Hahaha, that's too funny!" Cang Li said, unable to hold back laughter.

Hearing Cang Li's words, Yuan Yao now had a faint recollection: back then she didn't know Xiao Zhufeng's name, and later she couldn't recognize him, so she could never link that child from ten years ago with Xiao Zhufeng.

Yuan Yao stared at Cang Li, whose grin was fit to burst, her face darkening as she gritted her teeth: "Third Senior Brother, you just stood there watching me and Xiao Zhufeng fight back then?"

Cang Li gave a light cough, "I wanted to help you too, but at that time I was fighting with your Fourth Senior Brother."

Yuan Yao looked at Xue Jin, who seemed somewhat uneasy.

Yuan Yao rarely saw her Fourth Senior Brother like this, and instantly became interested: "Why did you two fight back then?"

Cang Li snorted coldly, "Your Fourth Senior Brother hit me because the master praised me a few times."

Xue Jin lightly furrowed his brows, "No."

"What is the reason?" Cang Li was taken aback.

Xue Jin obviously didn't want to say, only replying, "I forgot."

"Obviously it's because Master praised me that you're unhappy!" Cang Li snorted.

Xue Jin sneered, "It was you who dropped your smelly sock on my seat, making them think it was mine and mocking me."

Cang Li guiltily touched his nose: "……"

Actually, he did it on purpose.

Yuan Yao and the others couldn't help laughing.

Suddenly, Ying Wuji spoke up: "Actually, I was there too at that time."

He was then leaning against that peach tree, studying swordsmanship, and witnessed everything that happened beneath it.

The Eldest Senior Brother was maintaining order, mediating.

Because everyone present was a child, and nearly every child already had a sense of self, knowing their identity, talent, and family backing, they almost all thought they were the boss.

Moreover, the Second Senior Sister present was outrageous, actually teaching other kids to gamble big or small.

Now, ten years have passed.

Among the over a hundred people back then, some had died young, while others had become the new generation of heaven's chosen ones in various places of the Three Islands Nine Provinces.

"I remember now!"

Yuan Yao suddenly stared intently at Ying Wuji and said, "Junior Senior Brother, did you not fall from that peach tree on the back mountain back then?"

Ying Wuji's face twitched slightly: "……"

His foot slipped, and he fell down.

Song Yan chuckled lightly, "Yes."

Because Ying Wuji just happened to fall behind him.

Yuan Yao recalled childhood events, and many youthful faces involuntarily surfaced in her mind; she didn't know how they were faring now.

Ying Wuji answered Yuan Yao's initial question: "When we went out for training, we occasionally ran into Xiao Zhufeng, and sometimes we chose to travel together."

Xiao Lingwei said: "At first, he would also ask you why you didn't come out for training, and we would brush him off; later, he stopped asking."

"Is he trying to find me to take revenge?" Yuan Yao rested her chin on one hand.

Song Yan said softly, "He wouldn't hold such a grudge."

"That's right, when I was young I even shared a bird egg with him." Although it wasn't cooked.