Chapter 245: with translation of chapter title

Everyone followed the sound and saw that it was Ye Huanhuan.

She wore a veil on her face; even so, everyone could imagine the jealous expression beneath it.

Yes, Ye Huanhuan envied Ye Qingran. She never imagined that Jianchi Fengyi had come for Ye Qingran! The sword technique he just displayed was simply breathtaking! How could such a peerless genius deferentially call Ye Qingran, a good-for-nothing, his master?

Does she even deserve that?

Feng Yi's gaze shot over, sharp as a sword.

Ye Qingran patted his shoulder, signaling him to calm down, "I'm not worthy—are you?"

Ye Huanhuan gave a cold laugh, not without pride, saying, "I am a disciple of the Xuan Yuan Sword Sect, and moreover a student of the Qingyun Sword Immortal; no matter how you put it, I'm surely more qualified than you, right?"

The crowd nodded, quite agreeing with Ye Huanhuan's words.

Ye Qingran lacks a Spiritual Root, making her a good-for-nothing who cannot cultivate; compared to Ye Huanhuan, who has entered the orthodox sword path, she obviously has no advantage!

They were curious why Feng Yi would willingly call her his master.

"What, you also want to be Feng Yi's master?"

Ye Huanhuan's expression changed; seeing the crowd's disdainful gaze, she gritted her teeth, "Ye Qingran, I never said that—I merely meant that in cultivation you are far inferior to me, let alone being Feng Yi's master."

Ye Qingran turned her gaze to Feng Yi, smiling as she asked, "Ah Yi, do you also think I'm not worthy to be your master?"

Feng Yi smiled, revealing a row of even white teeth, "No! In Ah Yi's eyes, only you in this world are worthy to be my master!"

That demeanor was so well-behaved, utterly unlike his wild image when he first arrived!

"Ye Huanhuan, did you hear that? Feng Yi acknowledges only me as his master—how do you feel… aren't you angry?"

How could Ye Huanhuan not be angry?

She was practically about to explode with rage!

While silently cursing Ye Qingran in her heart, she also fiercely despised Feng Yi's gaze.

At that moment, Ling Qingwu's eyes flickered as she walked over a few steps and called out, "Ye Qingran, since you can get Jianchi Fengyi to call you master, you must have an astonishing understanding of the sword way, right?"

How could Ye Qingran not know what Ling Qingwu was thinking?

"That's only natural. Without a diamond drill, how could one take on porcelain work? Likewise, if I had no skill, how could Ah Yi willingly call me master?"

Ye Qingran smiled lightly, which made Ling Qingwu quite angry. "A good-for-nothing, and you dare say you have ability? What kind of bullshit skill could you possibly have?"

Before Ling Qingwu could speak, Ye Huanhuan eagerly said, "Ye Qingran, you keep claiming you have ability—fine, dare you spar with me in swordsmanship? I want to see what ability a good-for-nothing without a Spiritual Root could possibly have!"

If it were before, Ye Huanhuan would certainly never have uttered such a brainless remark, for it would damage her image. Moreover, such words were usually spoken by Ye Sisi on her behalf. But now Ye Sisi has changed, and she has also lost her Crown Princess status, so there's nothing left for her to worry about.

Ye Huanhuan decided that today she would definitely make Ye Qingran pay the price!

But Ye Qingran gave her a disdainful glance and said, "You? If I'm not mistaken, you haven't yet received orthodox training in the Xuan Yuan Sword Sect, have you? How could you possibly be worthy to spar with me?"

"No matter what, you're still stronger than this good-for-nothing!"

Ye Qingran shook her head, "Let's pick someone else; I'm afraid that if I win, you Xuan Yuan Sword Sect folks will say I'm bullying newcomers, and everyone will think my victory is undeserved."

Truly shameless!

Ye Huanhuan trembled with anger, practically wanting to rush over and tear Ye Qingran's face apart!

She truly regretted it to death; back on the Soul‑Severing Abyss, why didn't she just hack Ye Qingran into ten thousand pieces and feed the bits to the dogs?

Hearing this, several other Xuan Yuan Sword Sect disciples listened; a male disciple with a foul expression stepped forward, chin slightly raised, arrogantly saying, "Ye Qingran, can I be your opponent?"

"You?"

That male disciple gave an arrogant nod, "Not bad, it's me! I've already cultivated in the Xuan Yuan Sword Sect for three years!"

"So what level of swordsman are you now?"

"Sword King Peak!"—equivalent to the peak of the Yuan Xuan King's strength. This is the customary term among sword cultivators.

Ye Qingran dismissively shook her head, "You're not even a Sword Sect master—do you have the nerve to step forward?"

The male disciple's arrogance cracked instantly at Ye Qingran's contemptuous remark.

"I've only been in the sword sect three years and am already Sword King Peak—quite impressive—and you, a good-for-nothing, what right do you have to criticize me?" The male disciple was obviously furious, his voice raised several notches.

Ye Qingran said lightly, "Too weak—otherwise, if I win, everyone will again accuse me of bullying the weak."

The corners of everyone's mouths twitched.

Thinking, "Ye Qingran, rest assured—we all know you're a good-for-nothing; you couldn't possibly win! Even if you did, we'd just chalk it up to dumb luck and wouldn't say you were bullying the weak."

At that moment, another male disciple stepped forward, clearly somewhat older than the previous one.

"I've cultivated in the Xuan Yuan Sword Sect for five years and am already a middle-grade Sword Sect master—I ought to be qualified to fight you, right?"

The crowd looked at Ye Qingran, thinking she'd surely agree this time.

"You've cultivated for five years? Then, among the many disciples of the Xuan Yuan Sword Sect, can you rank in the top ten?"

That question left the confident Xuan Yuan disciple speechless.

He stared for a moment, then, burning with anger, shouted, "What do you think the Xuan Yuan Sword Sect is? Can just anyone casually make the top ten? Let me tell you, the Xuan Yuan Sword Sect embraces all the heroes of the world, geniuses as numerous as clouds…"

Ye Qingran made a stopping gesture, "Just tell me directly whether you're in the top ten!"

The male disciple gritted his teeth, eyes blazing, "No!"

Ye Qingran shook her head disappointedly, "Then I can't accept sparring with you, since I'm only willing to match up with top‑ten disciples."

"……"

The onlooking crowd no longer knew how to describe their feelings at this moment.

Ye Qingran said her sparring partner must be a top‑ten disciple of the Xuan Yuan Sword Sect; those who didn't know would think she was some kind of peerless genius!

As that disciple said, the Xuan Yuan Sword Sect embraces all the world's extraordinary talents; talents are countless, and its top‑ten disciples are the elite among elites, standing as the pinnacle in any nation!

How could such geniuses possibly lower themselves to spar with Ye Qingran, a good-for-nothing?

Ling Qingwu more or less figured it out—Ye Qingran's long speech was simply a ploy to get her to spar.

But does she deserve it?

Who is Ling Qingwu?

A disciple ranked in the top ten of the Xuan Yuan Sword Sect, the daughter of the Qingyun Sword Immortal, a peerless beauty, with top-tier talent. Besides her looks, any single one of her qualities could overwhelm Ye Qingran!

"Ye Qingran, if that's what you're saying, then only our senior sister Qingwu is worthy to fight you?" the female disciple shouted, cheeks puffed in anger.

Upon hearing this, everyone also realized that the speaker must have at least Sword Sect-level cultivation and be a top-ten disciple of the Xuan Yuan Sword Sect—could it be anyone other than Ling Qingwu?

But would Ling Qingwu agree?

A hint of disdain flashed in Ling Qingwu's eyes. Under the expectant gazes of the crowd, she spoke loudly: "My last sparring opponent was a senior brother ranked fourth in the Sword Sect; the time before that, it was one of the famed Seven Holy Sons of the Haotian Sect; the time before that—"

She listed five opponents in one breath, each a renowned figure whose name shook the region, a presence like thunder!

The implication…

All of Ling Qingwu's opponents have been stunningly talented heavenly prodigies—Ye Qingran, you're a good‑for‑nothing; do you even deserve to face them?