Chapter 26: Seven Peaks Martial Arts Tournament

Su Changqing, who was on the road back to the sect, naturally did not know what Daoxuan Zhenren was thinking; he stood behind Shuiyue with a relaxed mind, telling her about what had happened at Jiuyin Mountain.

It was just that Su Changqing glossed over some matters.

"Master, the Huanglan Narcissus was something I found in the swampy area in the depths of Jiuyin Mountain, and I also encountered a dragon-snake that was shedding its skin and breaking through its realm; it was truly peculiar."

"Not only does it have feathered wings, but it also has a spirit horn on its head, and its entire body is a five-colored ink-black. Does Master know what kind of demon beast this dragon-snake is?"

Su Changqing asked Shuiyue out of curiosity.

Shuiyue frowned slightly and thought carefully, but she could not recall any records regarding such a peculiar demon beast, nor had she ever heard of the existence of such a creature.

"I have never heard of it, nor do I know."

After pondering, Shuiyue shook her head and replied to Su Changqing.

Su Changqing was not surprised to hear that Shuiyue did not know; after all, he had seen all the records regarding demon beasts in the Qingyun Sect's Library Pavilion, yet there was absolutely no record of this kind of dragon-snake.

It seemed the dragon-snake's identity would still need to be verified by a professional.

After returning to the sect, Shuiyue went back to her own residence first to begin healing her injuries, and Su Changqing had nothing else to do, so he returned to his own residence to consolidate his Foundation Establishment.

The little dragon-snake also crawled out from his arm, and the man and snake began to cultivate in the room.

Another half a year of time passed by.

Su Changqing steadied his mind and sat in meditation in the room; the heaven and earth Qi in the surroundings flowed toward him like a gushing spring. The little dragon-snake watched Su Changqing, who was experiencing such a strange phenomenon, with its large, exquisite eyes, appearing very curious.

It was not until three hours later that a burst of Qi surged and moved, transforming into a pillar of light that shot straight into the high sky and vanished in an instant.

Only then did Su Changqing wake up from his meditation, his eyes flashing with a light of intermingled gold and purple.

"It's done!"

Su Changqing called out in pleasant surprise, then let out a long breath of clear air.

Half a year ago, he had already practiced the Infinite Profound Clarity Dao to the peak of the fourth level, but the Infinite Profound Clarity Dao was far more profound than the Taiji Profound Clarity Dao; merely breaking from the fourth level into the fifth was a natural chasm, and it took Su Changqing a full half-year to successfully break through the level.

This also meant he could practice even more profound Dao techniques! Having woken up at this moment, he had not only practiced the Infinite Profound Clarity Dao to the fifth level, but his cultivation had also reached the Foundation Establishment Fifth Realm, making him an incomparable figure among the new generation of Disciples, even reaching a level of cultivation on par with Senior Sister Lu Xueqi.

Of course, it was not only Su Changqing who had changed significantly; the little dragon-snake by his side had cultivated along with him over the past half-year, and its cultivation had already reached the Foundation Establishment Third Realm.

Now its wings were fuller, the spirit horn on its head was thicker, and the ink-black scales on its body had changed from five colors to seven under the illumination of light.

The little dragon-snake that could only crawl on the ground back then could now use the wings on its back to start flying.

A snake could actually fly in the air? Watching such a peculiar scene, Su Changqing smiled silently.

This was, after all, a mysterious and wondrous fantasy world; if it were in his past life, this little dragon-snake would have long been caught and taken to a laboratory to be studied ruthlessly by people.

Of course, he had not forgotten to search for the little dragon-snake's true identity over these years, but the theories were inconsistent; some said it was a Teng Jiao, others said it was a Profound Ink Snake, but Su Changqing had consulted materials and ruled out various speculations, and in the end, he had not arrived at an answer.

The mystery of the little dragon-snake's origin had become an unsolved case, and Su Changqing naturally did not care.

No matter what kind of demon beast the little dragon-snake was, they had lived together for a long time after all, and they had long since become friends with full trust in each other.

"Now that I have broken through the level of my Dao techniques, I have quite a bit of leisure time."

Su Changqing leaped up from the bed and extended his hand; the little dragon-snake naturally coiled around his arm. "Let's go, let's go out and see if there is anything fun happening lately."

Su Changqing gently tapped the little dragon-snake's head, and the little dragon-snake hissed happily.

Immediately, the man and snake left the room.

Su Changqing, who was preparing to go to the Xiaozhu Peak main hall first to take a look, saw that Xiaozhu Peak was very quiet; the group of senior sisters who usually practiced diligently on the peak were nowhere to be seen, with only one or two senior sisters still hurrying along, not knowing where they were rushing to.

Su Changqing was full of confusion; he stepped forward and stopped a senior sister. When the senior sister saw it was Su Changqing, she asked him with a look of surprise.

"Little Junior Brother! You've come out of seclusion?"

"Senior Sister He, I just came out of seclusion."

Su Changqing replied truthfully, then looked at the quiet environment around him and asked her curiously: "Senior Sister He, why are the senior sisters and Master not to be seen today?"

"Little Junior Brother, don't you know?"

Senior Sister He looked astonished.

Know what? Could it be that there was some major change in the sect? Looking at Su Changqing's stunned expression, Senior Sister He smiled and explained to Su Changqing: "Little Junior Brother, the sect is going to hold the 'Seven Peaks Martial Arts Tournament', so Master and all the senior sisters are practicing martial arts on Sword Peak. I came back to get something and was just about to head back."

"Seven Peaks Martial Arts Tournament?"

Hearing her say this, Su Changqing understood immediately; he had heard of this matter before, but he had forgotten about it once he entered seclusion, and he did not expect to happen upon it just as he came out.

"That's right. Little Junior Brother has only been in the sect for a year, so it is normal not to know much about this matter. The 'Seven Peaks Martial Arts Tournament' is the greatest grand event of our Qingyun Sect, and every peak and every lineage regards it as a matter of top priority."

"Each peak and lineage must send Disciples to participate in the martial arts tournament to rank the strength of each peak. The Disciples who can be selected to represent their lineages in the battle are all outstanding talents within the sect, and the scene is quite spectacular and exciting."

"Right now, Master is on Sword Peak leading us in practicing martial arts to improve our strength, so that we can select the senior sisters and junior sisters to represent our Xiaozhu Peak. I don't know if I will be able to be selected."

Senior Sister He explained one by one to Su Changqing.

Su Changqing fell into his thoughts silently; he certainly knew about the Seven Peaks Martial Arts Tournament. The story had devoted several chapters to describing it; it was not only a major event for the sect, but also a major event where Zhang Xiaofan would show himself before others.

"Senior Sister He has profound cultivation and refined martial arts; you will definitely be selected."

Su Changqing smiled slightly and replied to her.

"Little Junior Brother has such a sweet mouth!"

Senior Sister He rubbed Su Changqing's head.

Although Su Changqing was older now, these senior sisters all treated him as that well-behaved little junior brother, not excluding him at all because of his gender; instead, they loved him immensely. After being 'ravaged' many times, Su Changqing had no choice but to accept it helplessly.

"Little Junior Brother, do you want to go and take a look with me? Perhaps Little Junior Brother could also be selected."

Senior Sister He suddenly suggested.

Su Changqing thought there was nothing else to do, so he nodded and went with Senior Sister He toward the Sword Peak of Xiaozhu Peak. Before they even reached it, they heard the sound of weapons clashing coming from Sword Peak.

(End of chapter)