The declaration of the Sect Grand Competition was like a spark thrown into a pile of dry tinder, instantly igniting the fighting spirit of the Piaomiao Sect’s Inner Disciples.
Everyone began rubbing their hands together, preparing to challenge Wu Yan in the internal selection half a month later to snatch that tempting spot.
—
The bamboo forest behind the Main Peak.
This was the sect’s tacitly acknowledged sanctuary for secret trysts. Its environment was elegant and secluded, and the Spirit Chi was dense, making it suitable for couples to meet.
However, ever since Wu Yan took on the task of defending the stage, the atmosphere in the bamboo forest had become murderous and monotonous.
“Sshing——”
A streak of sword light flashed with a sharp whistling sound, and a green bamboo in front of her snapped.
The cut was as smooth as a mirror, without a single splinter.
Wu Yan withdrew her sword and stood still, her brow furrowing slightly:
“Still too slow.”
“Slow as death! Slow as death! What are you dawdling for?”
Wu Yan (Inner) floated on a nearby bamboo branch, swinging her smooth calves, her tone full of disdain and irritability.
“Little Wu Yan, you’re setting aside perfectly good Demonic Arts and insisting on practicing this most basic Piaomiao Sword Arts like some Outer Disciple? Are you stupid? That kind of common trash should have been discarded long ago!
Listen to me and switch directly to Demonic Arts. When the time comes, go up on that stage and immediately tear that old woman Xia Lingshuang apart with your bare hands. Let everyone in the Piaomiao Sect see who really runs this place!”
Wu Yan ignored her and swung her sword again.
This time, she did not use any spiritual power. She relied purely on physical strength and muscle memory, repeating the movements of stabbing, lifting, swiping,and cleaving.
A hundred times, a thousand times, five thousand times…
Sweat slid down her cheeks and dripped into the soil.
Her arms were already aching and unbearable, but Wu Yan continued to persevere.
She wasn’t practicing techniques; she was honing her sword.
The three days and nights spent sorting through Sword Chi and Baleful Chi in the Sword Washing Pool were not simply torture or punishment.
While the Sword Chi brought pain, it also acted like a whetstone, grinding away the original impetuousness and hostility in her body.
Now, her sword heart was purer than ever before.
“Utterly boring!”
Wu Yan (Inner) lay flat in mid-air and let out a yawn. “That old woman just wants to work you to death. I didn’t expect you to be so cooperative! A battle of attrition relies on spiritual power, not this fancy footwork! Do you intend to use the tip of your sword to give people a massage on the stage? Listen to me, prepare some poison powder to hide in your sleeves, and spray it in the face of whoever comes up—”
“Shut up.” Wu Yan glanced coldly at Wu Yan (Inner).
“If I am to win, I will win fairly and squarely.”
At the same time, atop the Main Peak.
Xia Lingshuang stood amidst the clouds, her Divine Sense silently covering the bamboo forest on the back mountain.
After half a month of recuperation, her Divine Sense had nearly recovered to its original realm.
She originally thought she would see Wu Yan (Inner) secretly practicing some quick-fix Demonic Arts or refining a few demonic artifacts to quickly increase her strength.
However, all she saw was that figure swinging a sword over and over again in the bamboo forest.
Dull, tedious, yet permeating with an indescribable tenacity.
“Only practicing basics?” A hint of doubt flashed in Xia Lingshuang’s eyes.
“Master.” Yu Qingyao appeared behind Xia Lingshuang at some unknown time. “The lists of disciples from each peak have been compiled. They… all seem to want to pull Eldest Senior Sister down from her position.”
“When a wall is about to fall, everyone gives it a push. This is the cause she sowed herself,” Xia Lingshuang said indifferently.
“But… Senior Sister hasn’t left her doors for half a month. Is it really okay?”
“If she loses, she is unworthy of her reputation, and it would be the perfect time to strip her of her status as Chief Disciple.”
Xia Lingshuang turned to leave, her sleeves stirring a cold wind.
“If she wins, then this position of Eldest Senior Sister is hers to keep.”
***
The night before the Grand Competition.
Late at night, at the foot of Zhuqu Peak.
One thin and one sturdy figure stealthily approached the path that led to Wu Yan’s cave dwelling.
“Senior Brother Wang, are we really going to do this?” The thin figure held a small cloth bundle, his voice trembling. “If we’re caught, the Law Enforcement Hall…”
“What are you afraid of!” The sturdy figure grit his teeth, his eyes filled with hatred for Wu Yan. “Wang Teng was my cousin! He died under mysterious circumstances; it must have been that Female Devil’s handiwork. The sect protects her, so we’ll take matters into our own hands!”
The sturdy man was named Wang Zhi, the cousin of Wang Teng. The thin one was named Li Tong, Wang Zhi’s personal lackey.
Wang Zhi carefully opened the cloth bundle. “This Spirit-Dissipating Powder cost me a fortune on the black market. It’s colorless and odorless. As long as we sprinkle it on the restriction at her cave entrance, as soon as she steps out and activates her spiritual power tomorrow, she’ll be affected. Her spiritual power will become sluggish. When she gets on the stage and her spiritual power doesn’t circulate properly, let’s see how she dies!”
Arriving in front of Wu Yan’s cave dwelling, the two were just about to sprinkle the Spirit-Dissipating Powder on the door.
Suddenly, a cold voice, carrying a chill like the edge of a sword, rang out behind them.
“The recipe for this Spirit-Dissipating Powder is wrong.”
The two froze, as if struck by lightning, and turned around in terror.
Under the moonlight, Wu Yan stood there quietly, dressed in white with a long sword on her back.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, truly an inferior product. This generation of disciples is no good. When it comes to poisoning, they’re still using such old-fashioned methods and drugs.” Wu Yan (Inner)’s voice was full of disdain.
“Eldest… Eldest Senior Sister?!” Wang Zhi and Li Tong were scared out of their wits and turned to run.
Sshing—!
The long sword in Wu Yan’s hand didn’t even fully leave its scabbard. With just a slight vibration of the hilt, a condensed burst of Sword Chi shot out like lightning.
Before the two could take a step, they felt a chill in their knees, and then they knelt heavily on the ground.
Their legs weren’t severed, but the Sword Chi had precisely sealed the acupoints at their knees, making it impossible for them to stand.
“Spare us! Eldest Senior Sister, spare us! We were momentarily possessed by a ghost!” Wang Zhi and Li Tong kowtowed like pounding garlic, their entire bodies shrouded in cold intent.
Wu Yan walked to the small cloth bundle, lifted it with the tip of her sword, and took a sniff.
“It is indeed an inferior product.” Wu Yan (Inner) waved her hand dismissively. “Counting on this thing to work, they’d be better off hoping you trip on the stage! At least the odds of that are slightly higher~”
Wu Yan looked at the two of them with a calm gaze and a cold tone. “Want revenge? Fine. I’ll see you on the stage tomorrow. Using such tactics is disgraceful.”
“Get out.”
With a wave of her sleeve, two soft but irresistible gusts of wind directly swept the two men up and threw them out of the vicinity of Zhuqu Peak.
She didn’t kill them. She knew that if she dealt with these two before the competition, rumors would spread tomorrow that “the Eldest Senior Sister used despicable means to eliminate competitors before the match to keep her position.”
But a necessary punishment was indispensable. She had already recorded their actions with a Memory Stone, which she could simply hand over to the Law Enforcement Hall tomorrow.
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