“Let Xia Xia participate in the competition!?”
Voices of disbelief rang out together, all eyes converging on the smallest figure among them.
Even the girl herself found Nan Xi’s decision somewhat unbelievable.
Σ(°△°)!
‘Me? Represent the Tianhe Sect in battle?’
“Peak Master, I believe this decision is unwise. This competition concerns the Tianhe Sect’s recruitment event and must not be taken lightly!” Ji Hongmei earnestly appealed to Nan Xi.
Just as expected.
Nan Xi silently scoffed to himself.
But who was he? He was a spy from the Wuxing Sect, infiltrating the Tianhe Sect to destroy them.
And as everyone knew, disciples were the Tianhe Sect’s future.
If they suffered a crushing defeat in this competition, it would inevitably tarnish the Tianhe Sect’s reputation among the younger generation of outsiders.
When the next recruitment drive for new disciples came around, the number of applicants to the Tianhe Sect would naturally plummet.
And then, they’d have no disciples left to train, heh heh heh heh!
As for who to send to lose this match?
The best choice was, of course, his little trash-can, Xia Xia!
Late Qi Refining Stage, only a week of swordsmanship practice, and even her sword was just a Mortal Grade Spirit Sword—strength like that on the fiercely contested Martial Arts Field would lose in no time.
This decision wasn’t some whim of Nan Xi’s.
From the moment he decided to bring Xia Xia to this recruitment event, he had already resolved to make her their absolute ace!
The ace of total defeat!
“Indeed, Peak Master, if we lose this match, the consequences would be dire!” the disciple in front continued earnestly trying to persuade Nan Xi to change his mind.”
“It wasn’t just Ji Hongmei. Even Wen Ruan, always gentle in temperament, hesitated for a long while before finally parting her red lips and seriously petitioning Nan Xi, “I beg the Peak Master to reconsider!”
As for Wang Quan and Yun Peng behind them, though they didn’t speak directly, the looks on their faces made their stance clear.
Sending Xia Xia to fight meant certain defeat!
Yet, facing everyone’s doubts, Nan Xi took a deep breath, then resolutely spat out two words—
“Enough!”
His gaze swept across each disciple’s face, his expression firm and decisive.
“I’ve made up my mind.”
“But—”
“I said, don’t question my decisions.”
The moment Nan Xi’s icy voice rang out, the disciples present fell into silence.
Though their eyes still held some hesitation, they no longer dared to dissuade him.
Perfect.
Nan Xi snickered inwardly.
As expected, all that practice smoothing over those absurd incidents at Tianquan Peak hadn’t gone to waste—at least with that “don’t question my decisions” line, these disciples wouldn’t keep arguing.
Now, only one final issue remained.
Nan Xi’s gaze slowly shifted to his side, meeting a pair of emerald eyes.
“Leave us. I have some things to discuss with Xia Xia.”
He glanced at the other four out of the corner of his eye.
Though hesitant, after a moment’s pause, the four disciples obediently left. In the empty waiting room, only Nan Xi and Xia Xia remained.
“Xia Xia.”
Nan Xi grabbed the girl’s slender shoulder, his eyes fixed intently on her.
“Xia Xia, reporting!”
“This battle, I choose you!” Nan Xi declared with righteous solemnity, as if tossing out a Pet Monster for a fight.
“Th-this… Master, you really want me to go up?”
Xia Xia hesitated. Clearly, she could predict the outcome of stepping onto that stage herself.
“Yes.”
“But—”
“I’ll be watching from the viewing stand. Don’t worry about anything going wrong.”
“Really!” Xia Xia suddenly grew excited, a hint of pleasant surprise in her voice.
“Of course.” Nan Xi smiled faintly, raising his hand to ruffle Xia Xia’s little head.
She was his only disciple. If things looked bad, he’d jump down and stop the match immediately.
Oh right, he still needed to give Xia Xia a warning.
“You—”
“Then, Master, I’m really going!”
Xia Xia clenched her small fists, her emerald eyes shimmering with hopeful light.
Her gaze was so intense, so earnest, like a fawn in the forest encountering the dawn after snow, charging recklessly toward the warm sunlight.
The words Nan Xi had on the tip of his tongue suddenly caught in his throat.
In his plan, Xia Xia only needed to go up, swing her sword a couple of times aimlessly, then let out a theatrical “ouch” as she lost to the opponent, and it would be time for Nan Xi to step in and intervene.
But now…
Nan Xi’s lips pressed together slightly, his brow slowly lowering.
For a moment, no one could tell what he was thinking.
A long moment later—
When his gaze lifted again, the look he gave Xia Xia suddenly softened.
The hand on her head slowly moved down, settling on her soft cheek.
Squeeze—
Under Nan Xi’s tugging, her slender cheek seemed to gain a hint of healthy fullness.
Thousands of words of advice halted at his lips, ultimately reducing to a single word.
“Okay.”
…
…
…
On the arena stage, Lu Luo’s attacks crashed down on Xia Xia’s blade like a relentless storm.
Fierce gales swept through, churning the distant Rear Lake’s surface into towering waves.
And Xia Xia, bearing the brunt of it, fared even worse.
Though most of the attacks were clumsily blocked, a few slipped past, slamming straight into the girl’s body.
Before long, several visible wounds had appeared on Xia Xia.
On the other side,
Even as Xia Xia tried to exploit gaps in the attacks for a few counterstrikes, her swordsmanship was far too sloppy, easily dodged by Lu Luo.
Then Lu Luo capitalized on the recovery lag, landing a few more significant blows on the girl.
The gap between them was clearly enormous.
It wasn’t just about cultivation level; it was a chasm of years of combat experience.
What combat experience did Xia Xia have? She only knew chores and sweeping, not some legendary swordsmanship enlightenment from menial tasks like the heroes in storybooks.
Clang!
Another round of clashes.
Lu Luo executed a backflip, landing gracefully on the ground.
On the other side, Xia Xia stumbled back several steps before barely steadying herself.
“Admit it. Even if we were on the same cultivation level, you could never beat me.”
Lu Luo spoke coldly, her gaze piercing straight at Xia Xia across from her.
“Honestly, a girl like you is pretty foolish, daring to step into a fight you’re sure to lose.”
“I know.”
“You know? Then why—”
“Of course I know there’s a huge gap between us.”
Xia Xia let out a silly laugh, her eyes still carrying that dim-witted look.
But in the next second, her gaze quietly lifted toward the high viewing stand.
Though the wounds from the battle had blurred her vision slightly,
She could still feel those eyes watching her.
“Sister Lu Luo, you know what?”
“Hmm?”
“I want Master to see me, no matter what. No matter what… I want to meet his gaze.”
Xia Xia slowly tightened her grip on Ban Xia, raising it again and holding it sideways at her side.
Lu Luo’s eyes narrowed as spiritual power gathered beneath her feet.
“Fine, if that’s the case, let’s end the warm-up here!”
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