Chapter 66

Although the chance of a turnaround was zero, the party involved, Xiao Xiao, said he could still try to salvage twice; thus he ignored the faint pain in his lungs, drew a deep breath, and expelled another breath blast straight at Feng Baobao, who had not seized the opening to pursue, after luring her into an arc-like approach, he inhaled again.

Xiao Xiao watched the girl performing the arc-like motion approach nearby, took a deep breath, then violently exhaled outward, his true qi stirring up dust; however, what he did not expect was that the girl actually leaned back, seeming to slide on the ground beneath him, then tapped her right foot on his knee, launching herself into the air in an instant, performing a mid-air somersault to kick at him.

Damn, a thought flashed through his mind; Xiao Xiao tilted his head back and opened his mouth, spraying the remaining half-breath of true qi from his abdomen toward the girl who was about to attack him in the air; however, what he never imagined was that the girl's somersault kick was entirely a feint—she twisted in midair, pressed both palms together over his mouth, then placed her feet separately on his chest and lower abdomen.

'Tsk.' Zhou Shuo watched the man on the field whose mouth was directly covered by the girl's flying kick, and couldn't help sighing for him; the air trembled slightly, Feng Baobao landed gracefully, turned to leave the arena, while Xiao Xiao stood dazed in the field, blue smoke beginning to rise from his mouth, nose, and shoulders—that was his own soul, scattered by his own breath blast, not blown out but directly dispersed.

'What is this? Just now it was internal ejaculation, now it's oral ejaculation!' Zhou Shuo looked at the smoke-covered guy, couldn't help adding a vulgar remark—if not internal ejaculation then oral ejaculation.

'A bunch of reckless brats; luckily for them, I'm here today.'

'No rush, no rush; when the time comes that it truly cannot be resolved, the Old Celestial Master can still step in to help.'

Amid the clamor, Zhou Shuo accurately caught two sentences of dialogue, turning his gaze to the two standing among the three elders he had been observing earlier: one wearing a black cloak with silver trim, hair bound in a Daoist knot, likely the sixty-fifth Celestial Master Zhang Zhiwei; beside him, the one in a Western suit with a vigorous bearing was probably Lu Jin.

'…' Zhou Shuo gazed at the two standing elders, then shifted his eyes to the third person; Zhang Zhiwei and Lu Jin are both among the Ten Elders—one with an immortal's aura and Daoist bone structure, the other with a vigorous and sturdy bearing; the wheelchair-bound elder who could sit with them, judging by his features, should be Tian Jinzhong of the Celestial Master's Mansion; Gong Qing's intention this time to cause a great disturbance on Longhu Mountain stems from his belief that Tian Jinzhong may hold the secret of the Jia Shen Rebellion.

Zhou Shuo gazed at the old man sitting limply in the wheelchair, his eyes unusually sharp, and couldn't help curling the corner of his mouth; Gong Qing had never detailed this heavy objective to him, nor to the other ordinary members of the Quanzhen sect, his knowledge coming entirely from what he'd seen on Baidu—this is the advantage of being a transmigrator, though it's a pity the author apparently left the plot hole concerning the Jia Shen Rebellion and the Celestial Master's Mansion unfilled.

'The Azure Dragon Seven Mansions, the Jia Shen Rebellion—when will I ever get to see these truths?' Zhou Shuo, upon thinking of certain plot holes, couldn't help looking up at the sky, then turned his gaze back to the arena; Xiao Xiao, whose breath blast had exploded inside his body, stood motionless where he was, his soul turning into blue smoke that drifted out of his body, on the verge of soul and spirit scattering, while Feng Baobao, who was preparing to leave the field, also noticed this; the girl, though she had become a bit dazed and cold, did not remain indifferent—she opened her mouth and began to inhale.

Zhou Shuo watched the little sister inhaling with her mouth open, almost laughing out loud through his nose; she actually intended to draw Xiao Xiao's soul into herself using lung capacity alone—this method is no different from using a water gun against a bandit, yet she did it earnestly, and the blue smoke drifting from Xiao Xiao's body was indeed sucked in by her, but to no avail.

'Spit it out.' Zhou Shuo looked at the fellow with cheeks bulging and belly round, hand over his mouth, struggling not to vomit, twitched the corner of his mouth, while still observing Xiao Xiao, whose body continued to emit drifting blue smoke, he flicked his right hand toward the man's vacant eyes, sending out a round full-moon thought that flew into his forehead.

'Hah!' Feng Baobao looked at Zhou Shuo standing before the blue-clad person, her eyes widening from holding her breath, and expelled all the blue smoke she had sucked into her mouth and belly; the smoke flew into the air, instantly like birds, strands drifting toward Xiao Xiao, as if drawn by something on him.

'Hmm, Old Celestial Master, can you tell which school or sect this soul-summoning technique belongs to?' The Western-suited elder standing on the high platform gazed at the situation in the arena, a hint of doubt on his face, looking toward the Daoist-robed elder beside him.

'I can't tell, but the lost souls are indeed returning to that child—there's no need to doubt that.' The Daoist-robed elder shook his head, then gave a slight nod.

'Senior brother, even you can't make it out…' The wheelchair-bound Daoist, his eyes exceptionally sharp, leaned forward to look at the senior brother called the Old Celestial Master.

'Jinzhong, Old Lu, there's nothing surprising about it—talented people are abundant in this world, just like Feng Baobao we mentioned earlier; no one has stipulated that youngsters cannot reach the state of inner convergence of divine essence, nor has anyone decreed that we must know every qi practitioner in the world.' The Daoist-robed elder shook his head in disbelief.

'Inner convergence of divine essence!' Zhou Shuo watched Xiao Xiao's soul return to his body, then glanced sideways at Feng Baobao, who had expelled her soul; to the eyes of the extraordinary, this girl's condition is called inner convergence of divine essence, though it's unclear how it differs from the union of spirit and flesh.

'I…' The blue smoke faded away completely; Xiao Xiao opened his eyes, dazedly taking in everything around him—he recalled that he had apparently been sparring with Feng Baobao, about to blast her with his breath technique, when she covered his…

'It's nothing; you've already lost—your breath blast exploded inside you, nearly scattering your soul and spirit; it was I and she who helped you calm and gather your soul, the match is now over and you have lost.' Zhou Shuo looked at the dazed youth, waved his hand to retract the full-moon thought he had placed inside him, then pointed at the little sister beside him; Feng Baobao, seeing this, made an OK sign with her right hand.

'Thank you.' Xiao Xiao watched the light sphere fly out from his forehead, feeling strangely astonished, yet hearing the verdict of the Celestial Master's Mansion Daoist and seeing the many spectators' eyes around him, he did not doubt Zhou Shuo's words; he solemnly clasped his fists and bowed, displaying the propriety expected of a scion of a noble family; in response to his thanks, Feng Baobao scratched her chin, then, feeling self-conscious, walked away.

Martial Lord's Mysterious Gate

(No line 【24】 provided in the original list; however, the user included a line numbered 【24】 in the missing lines list, so we must translate it.)

【24】 'Thank you.' Xiao Xiao watched the light sphere fly out from his forehead, feeling strangely astonished, yet hearing the verdict of the Celestial Master's Mansion Daoist and seeing the many spectators' eyes around him, he did not doubt Zhou Shuo's words; he solemnly clasped his fists and bowed, displaying the propriety expected of a scion of a noble family; in response to his thanks, Feng Baobao scratched her chin, then, feeling self-conscious, walked away.

Not needed. Zhou Shuo glanced at the departing Feng Baobao, waved his hand, and also followed the girl, leaving only Xiao Xiao standing in the arena, a bit unable to collect himself—he had just lost like that, lost is lost, but what's with this attitude?

Xiao Xiao, please leave the arena immediately; next match, Zhuge Qing versus Wang Ye. The Taoist referee, seeing Xiao Xiao standing dazedly in the arena, couldn't help but shout.

Ah! Got it. Xiao Xiao, hearing the Taoist referee's loud shout, hastily came to his senses and then hurriedly left the arena; he was merely shaken by Zhou Shuo and Feng Baobao's attitude, leaving him a bit unable to collect himself—what on earth is this all about!

Zhuge Qing, Wang Ye, both contestants, please enter the arena immediately.

Baobao, how is it? Xu Si watched the two youths jump into the arena, turned his head to see Feng Baobao walking over from one end of the competition ground, and also saw the silhouettes of spectators standing on the viewing platform beside the competition stage.

What? Feng Baobao looked at the concerned Xu Si, her face showing a hint of confusion—what, how is it?

That guy who came in to help you, his soul-summoning method is unheard of—he actually let the lost souls return on their own to another person's body. Baobao, do you have any special feeling about him? Xu San pushed up his glasses, withdrew his gaze from the distance, and looked at the girl who had remained calm.

Feeling? No! Feng Baobao looked at the bespectacled man, following his earlier gaze, glanced at the man standing on the other side of the competition stage, slightly shook her head—that guy seemed nothing special.

Xu Si, do you know that guy? Xu San looked at the indistinguishable Feng Baobao, then turned to his brother beside him.

Tch, that guy leaves no impression; this time the Celestial Master's mansion's waters are bound to get muddy. Xu Si glanced at the distant figure, shook his head, and slightly gritted his teeth.

So, should we... that kid? Zhang Chulan looked at the Xu brothers, who were only talking to themselves, and at the perpetually dazed Feng Baobao, and involuntarily tried to speak. Before coming to Longhu Mountain, he had already been told some things; he knew his mission in coming to the Rongtian Grand Ceremony this time: one was to act as bait to lure the Quanxing; he had already captured Hu Jie, but there was still no trace of Quanxing. If this stranger foreign person is suspicious, we might as well just arrest him!

Hey kid, don't joke around—we, the Nowhere-Commune, aren't bandits. Xu Si, hearing Zhang Chulan's words, couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed.

Compared to this stranger, Chulan, you'd better still pay attention to the match in the arena, because no matter whether it's Zhuge Qing or Wang Ye who comes as your next opponent, you'll find them hard to deal with. Xu San, seeing Zhang Chulan trying to speak, advised him to focus his gaze onto the arena. Upon hearing his words, the perpetually calm Feng Baobao first glanced at Zhang Chulan before turning her gaze to the arena. The numbers from the top sixteen to the finals have already been drawn by the ten elders; they will enter in order, and the next match will be Zhang Chulan versus the winner between Wang Ye and Zhuge Qing.

Zhang Chulan felt Feng Baobao's gaze upon him, silently gave a wry smile, then turned his eyes to the two combatants in the arena. Besides acting as bait this time at the Rongtian Grand Ceremony, he also had the mission of obtaining the Celestial Master's inheritance rights to ask the old Celestial Master about the secret of the Jia-Shen year; the ultimate purpose of this mission was for Feng Baobao.

Wind Lord's Wonder Gate, Martial Marquis' Wonder Gate. Zhou Shuo withdrew his surveillance of the Nowhere-Commune four, turned his expectant gaze toward the two in the arena; he didn't know the outcome of this match, but according to the information he'd seen on Baidu, it should be the most exciting bout in the Rongtian Grand Ceremony—the Wind Lord's Wonder Gate from the Eight Extraordinary Skills versus the Martial Marquis' Wonder Gate of the Zhuge clan.