Chapter 60: Stereotypes

In the fading glow of the setting sun, the matches for the Golden Core Group twenty-six into thirteen also came to a close.

Ji Xue maintained her standing as the Number One Talent, defeating her opponent with a single move, as was her custom.

Bai Zhiqiu’s second place was also well-deserved; using her Art of Deduction, she saw through all of her enemy’s attacks, achieving a total suppression of her opponent.

As for the Piaomiao Sect’s performance, it was quite bleak compared to yesterday.

The usually steady Zhao Wuji encountered Xiao Lengyue, the Grand Disciple of Queyue Palace who was ranked fifth on the Heaven’s Pride List, and ultimately suffered a regrettable defeat.

However, Lin Xiao was a surprise. Facing a core disciple from Wanshou Mountain at the Mid Golden Core stage, he managed to withstand the attacks of the opponent’s two natal spirit beasts, as well as their body, which had been tempered with the blood of monster beasts, and forcibly knocked them off the stage to claim victory.

“Waaaah, I’ve disgraced the sect…”

In the Piaomiao Sect’s preparation area, Su Qianqian was using a handkerchief handed to her by Wu Yan to wipe away her tears.

Su Qianqian’s good luck did not carry over into this round. This time, her opponent was no nameless nobody but a legitimate talisman cultivator from the Spirit Talisman Sect.

The opponent had clearly studied Su Qianqian’s fighting style. As soon as the match began, they used several talismans to construct a precise Spirit Ward Array for themselves.

The talismans Su Qianqian had brought from the sect hit the opponent’s Spirit Ward Array like raindrops falling on an umbrella; they produced sound but were otherwise completely ineffective.

The opponent simply waited quietly for Su Qianqian to run out of talismans before throwing out a Mountain-Breaking Talisman, sending Su Qianqian flying out of the ring.

Gu Jian stood to the side, watching the tearful Su Qianqian. He scratched his head helplessly, struggling for a long time before squeezing out a sentence. “It’s okay, Junior Sister Su. At least you made it to the second round. Unlike me, I was knocked out in the first round.”

At that moment, Zhao Wuji returned to the preparation area after having his injuries treated. He happened to witness this scene and thought Gu Jian had made Su Qianqian cry.

“Victory and defeat are common for any warrior.”

Zhao Wuji’s voice was steady, and although it lacked emotional fluctuation, his words carried a clumsy sense of comfort. “You just happened to meet someone who counters you, just like I did. I lost as well. A loss is a loss; just try again next time.”

With that, Zhao Wuji fished a small red candy out of his Storage Bag.

“Have something sweet. These are strawberry candies I only just bought from the East Market yesterday.”

Standing nearby, Gu Jian watched Zhao Wuji’s smooth sequence of maneuvers, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.

Senior Brother Zhao looked like such an honest person, so how was he so skilled at comforting girls?

But Gu Jian didn’t forget to offer his support. “Yeah, yeah, Junior Sister Su. Look at me; I lost in the previous round, and I’m still lively and well. You can just win it back next time.”

Wu Yan watched the interaction between the three from the side without getting involved.

She had never been good at dealing with crying girls, so other than handing over a handkerchief at the very beginning, she had done nothing else.

‘Oh, so there are losers huddling together for warmth here~’

Wu Yan looked down with interest at the three who were comforting each other, her tone full of mockery. ‘If you lose, all you do is huddle together here. Instead of wasting time crying, you should hurry up and go practice. With people like this around, it’s no wonder the sect was wiped out so easily by those demonic cultivators in the last life.’

Hearing Wu Yan mention the “massacre,” Wu Yan seemed as though she wanted to say something, but after looking at her surroundings, she abandoned the idea.

—

By the time everyone returned to the courtyard in City North, the sun had completely set.

Wu Yan avoided the others and went alone to the rockery in the courtyard, wiping her sword, Wu Nian.

‘Were the demonic cultivators from the last life brought into the Piaomiao Sect by you?’

Wu Yan suddenly asked the inner Wu Yan in her mind.

Ever since the inner Wu Yan mentioned that the Piaomiao Sect had been wiped out in the last life, Wu Yan had wanted to ask.

However, there were too many people around at the time, and she was worried that some might have strange methods to overhear the internal dialogue of others, so she had chosen to remain silent.

Regarding the memories of the Piaomiao Sect’s destruction, the inner Wu Yan had clearly experienced them in her previous life, but for some reason, whenever Wu Yan tried to view that part of the memory, she was never able to see the full content.

Whether it was the reason for Wu Yan’s fall to the demonic path, her motives, or the process of wiping out the Piaomiao Sect after her fall, everything was blurred and unclear.

‘Hah?’

Hearing Wu Yan’s question, the inner Wu Yan, who was sitting in a tree, immediately became displeased.

‘What do you mean, “brought in by me”? Does this seat look like such a classless person?’

The inner Wu Yan floated before her eyes, her blood-colored gaze filled with disbelief.

‘If this seat really wanted to wipe out the Piaomiao Sect, this seat would have done it personally, alright? Wouldn’t it be better for this seat to just capture everyone in the Piaomiao Sect and drain their spiritual power one by one?’

‘If this seat had taken action, that old woman Xia Lingshuang and your black-hearted Junior Sister wouldn’t have been able to escape at all. If that were the case, this seat wouldn’t have been heavily injured by that damn Yu Qingyao!’

Wu Yan was shocked to hear the inner Wu Yan say that she wasn’t the one who led the demonic cultivators to the Piaomiao Sect.

Although she had known since the last time in the Cangwu Secret Realm that there were spies from the Demon Sect hidden within the sect, the image of the inner Wu Yan as the Demon Venerable from her previous life had left such a deep impression that she had subconsciously pinned the blame for the demonic invasion on her.

‘Hmph, what is it? Do you have a stereotype about this seat now?’

‘I’m sorry, it was my mistake.’ Wu Yan apologized to the inner Wu Yan very sincerely.

Having a stereotype about the inner Wu Yan was indeed her fault, and she should apologize.

‘Th-this seat doesn’t need your apology!’

Upon receiving such a sincere apology from Wu Yan, the inner Wu Yan’s angry attitude softened instantly, and her tone became somewhat awkward.

‘That mistake this seat made was simply not realizing that the Piaomiao Sect Leader was trash!’

‘Trash?’

‘Of course! That old hag — this seat thought she was some kind of powerful character and went through all that trouble to capture her, intending to drain her spiritual power. Only after getting my hands on her did I realize she was just trash!’

‘Even though her cultivation looked like it was at the Body Integration Stage, in reality, she was only at the Soul Transformation Stage. And after draining her, I found she didn’t provide this seat with any spiritual power at all!’

‘If it hadn’t been for that old hag, this seat wouldn’t have had to wander around everywhere later to avoid those damn righteous sects.’

The Soul Transformation Stage? And she couldn’t provide spiritual power?

Yes, that would explain why the Piaomiao Sect, which clearly had a Sect Master at the Body Integration Stage, collapsed during the demonic invasion in the previous life.

Wu Yan thought deeply.

The moonlight spilled over her, making her entire being appear as though she were draped in a thin veil woven from moonbeams, looking cold and lonely.

Xia Lingshuang stood on the long corridor watching her, her expression complex.

In the last life, the Wu Yan of this time should have been arrogant, domineering, and full of hostility.

She would have gone mad if she lost and would have been mocking if she won; she would never have been as calm and peaceful as she was now.

Forget it, perhaps it was just her own stereotype.

The Wu Yan of this life was clearly not the same person as the one from the last life, and she shouldn’t vent the hatred of the previous life on this innocent Wu Yan.

In the future, she would treat her a little better.