Early morning at Danxia Peak.
In the quaint pharmacy, a woman with ink-black hair sat behind a table.
One hand adjusted the medicinal herbs on a scale, while the other held a brush, recording notes in a ledger.
“If you have something to say, just say it.”
Ji Ling did not even look up, her voice cold and aloof.
“Hiee!”
As soon as she spoke, a pair of long, pale-gold ears poking through the doorway twitched in surprise and quickly retracted.
Soon after, a rabbit-eared girl dressed in a pale yellow dress crept inside on tiptoe.
“E-Elder Ji…”
“Hmm.”
Ji Ling’s eyes remained lowered as she placed the selected herbs into a jade box. She turned to the cabinet behind her and pulled out a fresh batch of ingredients.
“What brings you to my place so early in the morning?”
“I… I…” Ning Shiliu stammered, her voice soft. “A friend invited me to go out and play… There are no classes today, so… can I leave Danxia Peak?”
‘A friend?’
Ji Ling finally looked up at the young girl standing before her.
With Shiliu’s shy and cowardly nature, where did she get a friend?
… Oh, that’s right.
She suddenly remembered the scene at the school a few days ago and the pink-haired little girl — the one who called Ning Shiliu “Little Pomegranate.”
‘That’s Yun Xuechang’s daughter, right? I think her name was Rongrong?’
“Are you going to Mianyun Peak?” she asked abruptly.
“N-No!”
Ning Shiliu shook her head repeatedly, her rabbit ears flopping back and forth with the movement.
“Rongrong invited me to the Discourse Arena at Wendao Peak. She said her mother and her other mother are fighting there today, and she specifically asked me to watch with her.”
A fight?
‘Fighting? She must mean a duel. Are they tempering the Sword Heart through battle? Is Yun Xuechang about to break through her realm?’
Ji Ling lowered her gaze again and said indifferently, “Go then. It is good to see the world. Even if you cannot fully understand a Nascent Soul Stage duel, you may still learn a few things from it. If nothing else, that woman Yun Xuechang is certainly skilled in combat.”
“Find a senior brother or sister to take you there. Tell them I gave my permission.”
“Yes! Thank you, Elder Ji!”
Seeing her agree, Ning Shiliu bowed deeply before happily hopping away.
‘Could that girl called Rongrong really have become close to Shiliu so quickly? Was it because of that incident at the school?’
Ji Ling watched the pair of rabbit ears disappear out the door, lost in thought.
‘Her personality is nothing like Yun Xuechang’s.’
She gave a light snort and stopped thinking about it, turning her attention back to the medicinal herbs in her hands.
…
“Little Pomegranate! Over here! Over here!”
On the spectator stands of the Discourse Arena, Hua Xiangrong had been looking around and quickly spotted that pair of pale-gold rabbit ears in the crowd.
Seeing the pink-haired girl waving vigorously at her from the high platform, Ning Shiliu gave herself a little mental pep talk.
After a short while, she squeezed through the bustling crowd and reached Hua Xiangrong’s side.
“Rongrong, there are so many people here…”
Ning Shiliu, who usually stayed at Danxia Peak and rarely went out, looked at the surging crowd and whispered into Hua Xiangrong’s ear.
“Of course! This is Senior Sister Yun’s duel, after all. There were bound to be many people.”
Standing nearby, Lin Qianqian overheard the two little girls whispering. She turned around and looked at them with a smile.
“You’re Ning Shiliu from Danxia Peak, right? Rongrong mentioned you to me. She said you were her best friend and that you’re extremely cute — seeing you today, she was right.”
Extremely… cute…
Ning Shiliu’s cheeks flushed a light red. Her small hands gripped the hem of her clothes, and her fluffy long ears curled up unconsciously.
“Hello, Little Pomegranate. I’m Lin Qianqian from Wanjian Peak. If you don’t mind, you can call me Auntie Lin just like Rongrong does.”
As Lin Qianqian introduced herself, she smiled and pulled two packages out of her Storage Pouch, stuffing one into the hands of each girl.
“Here, these are freshly roasted sunflower seeds from the Dining Hall. I brought them specifically for you.”
Feeling the kindness of the gentle woman before her, Ning Shiliu held the package of sunflower seeds with both hands and nodded obediently.
“Thank you, Auntie Lin.”
“Aww, what a good girl!”
Lin Qianqian’s eyes crinkled into crescents as she smiled. She reached out with both hands and gently rubbed the heads of the two little girls.
‘Ahhh! Whether it’s Rongrong or Little Pomegranate, they’re both so well-behaved and cute! I really want to have a daughter as cute as them!’
Ning Shiliu let her rub her head, her eyes narrowing slightly in comfort.
She turned to Hua Xiangrong and asked curiously, “By the way, Rongrong, I haven’t asked yet… why are your mothers fighting today? Did they have an argument?”
Because Hua Xiangrong had used the word “fighting” when she invited her yesterday, Ning Shiliu had naturally misunderstood.
“Hmm… probably not.”
Hua Xiangrong also let Lin Qianqian rub her head.
Her mouth was stuffed with a large handful of shelled sunflower seeds as she replied vaguely, “Maybe they just have different stances.”
“?”
…
At that moment, on the Martial Arts Stage in the center of the Discourse Arena, Hua Yan was already pumping herself up on one side, eager to start.
Today, she had cast aside her usual elaborate hair accessories. Her red hair was tied high in a crisp ponytail secured with a gold openwork crown.
She wore a gold and red cloud-patterned martial outfit that hugged her waist, outlining her graceful curves.
Compared to her usual flower-like beauty, she now possessed an extra air of heroic spirit.
“I say, shouldn’t we get started?”
Hua Yan tilted her chin toward her opponent, her voice filled with anticipation.
Across from her, Yun Xuechang remained in her simple white robes. The Autumn Water Sword was slung across her back, looking cold and indifferent.
“Yes, I can start anytime.”
Yun Xuechang nodded slightly and drew her long sword. The cold blade left the scabbard with a silver flash, trembling faintly as if in anticipation of the coming duel.
The two had agreed to this duel privately, so there were no restrictive rules or even a need for a referee.
They could strike at any time. As for why so many spectators had gathered at the stands, it was only because Hua Yan had used a bit of cunning to leak the news in advance.
‘Heh heh, this is my battle for revenge! I lost so much face being defeated by you at the Hehuan Sect in front of so many people! This time, since there are plenty of onlookers again, let me defeat you once and for all in front of everyone! Yun Xuechang! Hahahaha!’
“Good! Since you put it that way — “
Hua Yan’s smile was bright as she quickly summoned a five-colored Array Disk into her right hand.
“Suppression!”
With a sharp shout, the light on the Array Disk shifted, suddenly turning a fiery red.
Simultaneously, a blazing fire dragon roared out from the disk.
Its massive jaws, formed from concentrated flames, lunged toward Yun Xuechang accompanied by a scorching heatwave!
In an instant, the half of the Martial Arts Stage where Yun Xuechang stood, along with her white-clad figure, was swallowed by the fire dragon.
The crowd in the stands erupted into thunderous cheers —
The battle had begun!