Chapter 312: Disaster Approaches, Strange Omens Appear

Maidong talked and pleaded, finally managing to send Guanlan away, and only then did she find the time to carry Chiyanzi down the mountain, rushing as fast as she could to the outside of Wuji Hall.

It was very lively outside Wuji Hall; a circle of disciples surrounded the Yanwu Stage, some cheering, some booing, chattering away as if they were teasing birds or playing chess.

Maidong put Chiyanzi down, but the jolting had been a bitter ordeal for him, leaving him gasping for breath and feeling dizzy; when he looked at Maidong, however, she was like nothing had happened, neither flushed nor out of breath, just craning her neck to watch, which made Chiyanzi click his tongue in wonder—this young girl could truly be considered an extraordinary woman!

The attire of the Yuanqing Sect disciples was either cyan or light green, but there were actually disciples in other styles of clothing present, which made Maidong feel incredibly strange.

Ever since she was brought back to Yuanqing by Fuyin Zhenren, Maidong had lived for a long time on Qiuyun Peak; although she often went down the mountain to help Lingxiang manage Youran Abode, she had seen very few people, not to mention that the last time she had gone down the mountain without permission, she had only reached Qinxi City, not even arriving at Donggui County.

But even so, Maidong did not dwell on it, because the one walking onto the Yanwu Stage right now was the very person she had been thinking of, Xinyi; now her eyes were filled entirely with him, so how could she care about anything else?

As for why Chengkai had been defeated, it was not his fault. The person the Taishang Sect finally sent up was a petite female disciple, and this had put Chengkai in a difficult spot.

The martial arts and knowledge Chengkai had learned since childhood were taught by an Escort in the Chengfeng Escort Agency, and that Escort was a woman. This female master had been extremely conscientious in teaching Chengkai, and since women of the pugilistic world were often unconstrained by small matters, Chengkai had suffered quite a bit at her hands.

Furthermore, Escort Master Cheng had taught him since he was a child that he should be careful and protective toward women; under such tutelage, over time, Chengkai was mostly yielding toward women, let alone sparring with one.

If Chengkai were a reckless person, the matter of Cheng Danruo back then wouldn't have made him so troubled, would it?

Therefore, when the Taishang Sect sent that female disciple, Chengkai was also complaining bitterly in his heart; he dared not use his full strength to fight, but not fighting would make it hard to answer for the outcome. With no one to complain to, he had a lapse in concentration, allowing that female disciple to take advantage of the opening.

Although there was uproarious laughter or constant booing from under the stage, Chengkai did not feel embarrassed; instead, he breathed a sigh of relief—even if he lost, it was better than hitting a woman.

Before Xinyi went on stage, Lianqiao had told Banyue that the second disciple of the Taishang Sect was truly insidious to actually send a woman to fight; even if it were Xinyi responding to the challenge, she feared he wouldn't be able to let go either. Upon hearing this, Banyue couldn't help but worry and hurriedly suggested to Lingxiang that they change the disciple, but Lingxiang refused.

"The people for the trial were chosen long ago; changing someone now would it not mean we are a cut below?"

Come to think of it, this was not Huiyan's fault; when the disciples for the trial were selected, only names were mentioned, and no disciple had stepped forward, and that female disciple was named Lingyou—anyone who heard it would think it was a man.

Furthermore, Lingxiang had indeed used some small tricks; even if Huiyan had done it intentionally, one could not blame others. One cannot allow the magistrate to burn down houses while forbidding the common people from lighting lamps, right?

Watching Xinyi walk onto the stage with steady steps, Huiyan felt extremely smug, but Lingxiang looked on with disdain.

Lingxiang understood Xinyi; in his eyes, the boundaries between good and evil, winning and losing were clear, and he would not show mercy just because his opponent was a woman, so Huiyan's wishful thinking had truly been miscalculated.

However, even so, there were things that exceeded Lingxiang's expectations.

"Xinyi! Teach her a lesson; if you lose, I will definitely not spare you!"

It was Maidong.

Although Maidong's voice was not as terrifying as Lingxiang's, this loud shout was still clearly audible even amidst the noisy crowd.

Xinyi looked toward Maidong, his eyes full of doting; now, the only one who could make him smile was probably Maidong. He grinned at Maidong, then pressed his fist against his chest to tell her not to worry; he looked truly handsome and extraordinary, but Lingxiang, sitting not far away, frowned.

In the Dust-Peering Mirror, Lingxiang saw that in the near future, the Yuanqing Sect would experience a great disaster, and among it, the disciples of the Taishang Sect were also involved, which meant this calamity would happen in these few days, but the Dust-Peering Mirror did not reveal the cause, so Lingxiang could not be sure where the disaster would start.

Therefore, Lingxiang had gathered everyone here; firstly, even if the disaster came, there were those few old men to hold the line, and secondly, it was to concentrate the available power so that if the disaster arrived, they could respond comprehensively, and perhaps they might be able to escape the catastrophe.

But...

But Maidong was not in her calculations...

The Dust-Peering Mirror foretold that Maidong was the source of all this!

What kind of disaster it was, Lingxiang had no way of knowing, only that the beginning of it all was the appearance of Maidong. And at that time, Lingxiang clearly saw the opposition between Maidong and Yuanqing...

Lingxiang scrutinized Maidong, and only then did she realize that while she prided herself on "Seeing Micro and Knowing Through," she could not see through this sister who had accompanied her for many years.

Forget it, forget it; since the Dust-Peering Mirror had let her see everything, it was something that would definitely happen. Since that was the case, worrying was of no use; what could be done had been done, and the rest would depend on heaven's will.

Thinking this way, Lingxiang stopped dwelling on it and focused on the Yanwu Stage.

As for how Lingyou's Body Movement was, it was truly not very good; what she practiced was Divination Profound Arts, but she was quite lacking in Body Movement. However, Xinyi would not show mercy just because she was a woman; he would only think of a quick battle to end this farce, rather than dragging things out on stage out of pity for the fair sex.

After the two exchanged courtesies, they each stood still. The so-called "if the enemy does not move, I do not move"—Lingyou still understood this principle, but remaining in a stalemate like this was not a solution.

It was not that Xinyi did not want to make the first move, but he was inherently good at striking only after the enemy had struck, and even if he made the first move, it would mostly be starting with Witchcraft, but this trial had already had terms set in advance, so for him, it was somewhat inconvenient.

Forget it, it was just a little girl anyway, and she didn't look that powerful just now, so there was no need to be so cautious.

Thinking this, Xinyi took a stride, then suddenly leaped up and rushed toward Lingyou; just as he was about to get close, he suddenly drew his long blade and swung it down.

But just at this moment, Xinyi discovered that the Lujiao Changren in his hand was highly unusual.

From the day it was forged, the Deer Horn Blade had been a Slaying Demon Blade, held by the Lu Family and passed down through generations; the number of demon souls that died under this blade was countless, and having been long infected by the resentment of demons, it had gradually become a demon blade. However, the blade spirit was extremely spiritual, and even with demonic energy clinging to it, it could suppress it.

Since this blade had come into Xinyi's hands, it had never made any mistakes, but this time, for some reason, the demonic energy on the blade was overflowing, as if the power of the blade spirit had weakened and could not suppress this long-standing resentment.

This...

What is going on!