“Sister Shangguan, you heard her. She is willing to accept my wager. This is a matter between the two of us; please do not interfere,” Ling’er said hurriedly.
Shangguan Yun glared at Ling’er and then shot a furious look at Mu Yanxi, clearly displeased with their taking matters into their own hands.
Mu Yanxi simply shrugged. She thought the little girl was quite foolish; Shangguan Yun was already clearly dissatisfied with her.
Even if she successfully won back the spot of dual cultivation partner, would Shangguan Yun even give her the time of day?
“I am going in first. Come over once you are ready,” Wei Ling said, not daring to look at Shangguan Yun’s expression as she turned and stepped into the water curtain arena designated by the teacher.
After Ling’er left, Shangguan Yun said grumpily, “It is one thing for Ling’er to mess around, but you were a man before. Why are you acting up with her?”
“If you had not agreed, she could not have forced you to bet your position as a study partner, no matter how much she pleaded.”
“She is clearly unconvinced. And not just her — look at the girls around us who were promoted directly from the Lingyue Chu Sect. They all have a problem with me,” Mu Yanxi said.
“If I do not establish my authority now, they will just use more schemes against me in the future, even if I avoid this today. Rather than dealing with headaches later, it is better to prove myself fairly on the arena.”
“Fine. But you do not actually plan to perform plucking and supplementing and take her primordial yin, do you? Ling’er is young and ignorant; do not lower yourself to her level,” Shangguan Yun said.
“Are you already pleading for her? If I am not mistaken, she is at Level 18 Qi Refining, which is two levels higher than me. Any way you look at it, her chances of winning are higher,” Mu Yanxi said with a smile.
“I tested your strength yesterday. Ling’er’s extra two levels of Qi Refining do not give her much of an advantage.”
“However, her family is very wealthy, so she likely has some trump cards. Be careful not to mess up,” Shangguan Yun reminded her with a smile.
‘She is clearly favoring me; she does not want to change study partners,’ Mu Yanxi thought.
She had originally accepted Shangguan Yun as a study partner simply because she had been chosen, and Shangguan Yun’s double cultivation effects were indeed excellent. Now, she had a reason not to lose.
Mu Yanxi nodded and walked toward the arena where Wei Ling stood. Zhao Shuanghua, who had been drinking, looked at Mu Yanxi and smiled.
“I did not expect a duel over a dual cultivation partner on the very first day of school. Interesting. Good luck; make it a good show.”
Judging by the teacher’s tone, wagering for a dual cultivation partner was not uncommon at the Spiritual Moon Great Sect.
After all, it was directly related to one’s cultivation speed. Mu Yanxi stepped into the water curtain.
Wei Ling looked at Mu Yanxi and slowly drew a Tang Dao. It was a straight blade, entirely dark green, with a glowing green groove on the blade that seemed to be accumulating spiritual energy.
A Fifth-Grade Magical Artifact. Mu Yanxi looked at it with a hint of envy; these girls from wealthy families really had quite a lot of good items.
“I did not expect that you would go from Level 13 Qi Refining yesterday to Level 16 today. Is double cultivation with Sister Shangguan that comfortable?” Wei Ling asked indignantly.
“It is definitely very pleasant,” Mu Yanxi said truthfully. Setting aside the physical pleasure, any cultivator would find it “pleasant” to break through three levels in a single night.
However, the fact that Wei Ling knew she was only at Level 13 yesterday and had jumped to Level 16 today meant that Wei Ling had been paying attention to her ever since Shangguan Yun chose her as a dual cultivation partner.
Hearing Mu Yanxi’s witty remark, Wei Ling’s face darkened, and she wore a very displeased expression.
She flicked her straight blade and said, “But it ends here. Not only have you just promoted without consolidating your realm, but even if you rose another three levels, you would be no match for me!”
As soon as she finished speaking, she pulled a large batch of crimson talismans from her Terminal Ring.
These talismans were vastly different from the ghostly scribbles Mu Yanxi had seen in her previous life; they were covered in complex, vertical mana circuits.
In an instant, the mana circuits on the crimson talismans emitted a fiery red light and intense heat.
They immediately transformed into a vast sea of fire that covered the entire water curtain arena, with a momentum comparable to a high-level spell from the late Foundation Establishment stage.
Mu Yanxi immediately used the water shield from the virgin fairy bathing method to surround herself and isolate the sea of flames.
However, she soon discovered that her mana was being consumed rapidly. Sensing that something was wrong, she instinctively began to move.
***
A second later, a black blade light slashed through the spot where Mu Yanxi had been standing, parting the sea of fire.
Judging by the dark green glow, it was a strike from the Tang Dao, and the attack had been launched directly at her location.
If she had stayed in place, that Fifth-Grade Magical Artifact would have surely wounded her.
Mu Yanxi ran quickly, constantly changing her angle of movement. Dark green blade lights followed one after another, nearly striking her every time.
Occasionally, a strike would even be aimed ahead of her to predict her movement, though they all missed because Mu Yanxi kept changing direction.
Mu Yanxi had originally thought she could just wait out the sea of fire, as a high-level Foundation Establishment spell stored in a talisman could not last forever.
But she soon realized that the fire showed no signs of stopping; instead, it seemed to be growing even more intense.
‘Is Wei Ling continuously using new talismans to maintain the fire? Or is the quality of these talismans so high they can last this long?’ Either way, Mu Yanxi wanted to curse about how annoying rich people were.
However, as she watched the dark green blade lights slash across her path, Mu Yanxi suddenly had an idea. It was a risky move, but if it succeeded, it might decide the match.
Mu Yanxi first poured a large amount of mana into her water shield, then she slipped out of it. The scalding flames immediately made her grimace in pain.
Fortunately, the Spiritual Moon Great Sect qipao was a Ninth-Grade Magical Artifact with some defensive properties.
Gritting her teeth against the pain, she rushed straight toward Wei Ling’s previous position.
Behind her, the water shield was sliced open by a dark green blade light. Mu Yanxi felt a surge of joy; she knew her gamble had paid off.
As she suspected, a Qi Refining stage spirit sense could only accurately capture mana reactions, especially in an environment where fire mana was so chaotic.
A water-attribute shield was as conspicuous as a bright light in the dark — enough to draw all of Wei Ling’s attention.
She reached this conclusion because her own spirit sense could not accurately pinpoint Wei Ling’s location either.
She could only sense the mana fluctuations from the Tang Dao that were distinct from the fire mana; that was where Wei Ling was.
As she rushed close, her star-imprint eye glowed with starlight. A large portion of the surrounding sea of fire was suddenly sucked into Mu Yanxi’s left eye.
Wei Ling, who had been smugly preparing to check her handiwork, was suddenly exposed right before Mu Yanxi.
“Spirit Snake Punch!” Mu Yanxi struck out. The phantom of a white snake extended, biting Wei Ling’s shoulder with lightning speed.
“Uh!?” Wei Ling was shocked. Enduring the pain, she swung her blade and severed the spirit snake.
Since the snake was made of mana, cutting it did not matter, but two bleeding bite marks were left on her shoulder.
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