Chapter 184: In the Arena (1)

When Ji Yuan was alone with Fairy Ye Chengxi, Shangguan Yan, Hua Wuwu and Hua Baiyue again, he turned to ask Hua Wuwu and Hua Baiyue with a soft frown. "Why didn't you greet Li Ye? It is only proper to return a greeting. After all, you know each other."

Hua Wuwu hummed softly, "He is not you. Why should we greet him?"

"We are saintesses while he is only a lowly golden celestial. Accordingly to the etiquette of the Desolate Celestial Fraternity, we need not return any greeting." Hua Baiyue added nonchalantly.

Ji Yuan frowned. "Remember that you had faked your cultivation realm so you are all at the same cultivation realm. Also that isn't nice…"

Hua Wuwu interrupted, "We are not even from the same celestial clan. He is lucky that we didn't walk away."

Ji Yuan: …

Shangguan Yan smiled, "Maiden Wuwu, Maiden Baiyue. My sister and I are lowly celestials too."

Hua Wuwu had a slight flush, "The two of you are different."

"Yes." Hua Baiyue took a quiet look at Ji Yuan before she said shyly. "Because…"

All of a sudden Ji Yuan had walked away because he saw something interesting ahead. A group of cultivators appeared to be dueling with one another so he had hurried to take a look.

Hua Wuwu, Hua Baiyue: …

Hua Baiyue stomped her foot angrily. "He is such a little rascal."

Shangguan Yan and Fairy Ye Chengxi returned a weak smile to each other. Obviously they know that Hua Wuwu and Hua Baiyue were always looking at Ji Yuan…

Fairy Ye Chengxi said tenderly to them. "If you like my old master, why don't you take the initiative?"

Hua Wuwu was startled. "Take the initiative? What do you mean?"

"We can't. He is our mistress' lord." Hua Baiyue shook her head.

Fairy Ye Chengxi smiled. "If you never try, how do you know? My old master used to say this to me. I had once thought that it was impossible between us."

Shangguan Yan held their hands and said. "Aren't we good sisters now? We can help you. I know my old master very well. If you don't take the initiative, he will likely to think of it as just a flirt. He doesn't like to commit to anyone."

Hua Wuwu and Hua Baiyue were disappointed immediately. They almost said at the same time. "He is so heartless…"

Fairy Ye Chengxi smiled. "No, he is not. Once you know him well, you will know that he is actually a most sentimental man."

"Didn't he lift the two of you up when he met you again?" Shangguan Yan said with a soft chuckle.

"It doesn't mean anything at all." Hua Wuwu sighed. "He is only treating us like we're his two little sisters."

Shangguan Yan smiled. "When you had said to him not to touch the two of you like his little concubines, he did ask you, so you are not going to be his little concubines and the two of you replied never."

Hua Wuwu, Hua Baiyue: …

"We are only joking. We thought that he is only teasing us…"

Fairy Ye Chengxi smiled. "Actually we can all see that Ji Yuan has a fondness for the two of you. That includes Palace Mistress. If he doesn't like you, he won't hug you so openly. My advice for the two of you is simple enough. Be frank with your feelings."

Hua Wuwu and Hua Baiyue were flushing all of a sudden as they muttered shyly. "He is only a beardless cultivator…uncouth cultivator…who will like him…"

They had actually liked Ji Yuan. In the past they were even thinking that should Ji Yuan failed his worthiness test by their mistress, they would still be willing to accept him. After all, they had already given him their first time.

Shangguan Yan smiled, "If you still want to be in denial then we can't help the two of you…"

Ji Yuan was shouting in their direction. "What are you doing there for? Come over here! It is more interesting over here!"

All four maidens immediately stopped chatting as they walked to where Ji Yuan was.

There was an arena in front of them and thousands of cultivators were cheering for the many cultivators that were dueling with each other.

These cultivators were having their honor duels to settle their previous vendettas with each other.

Although there was an armistice but cultivators could still choose to settle their differences with a mutual agreement in front of the witnesses.

And this arena seemed to be the place where they could settle their differences. What was more, they had the witnesses of the hundreds of celestial clans that were around them.

Ji Yuan took a quick scan at the duelists and secretly noted that half of the cultivators that were dueling did not seem to be having any life and death contest. Therefore he was not interested in watching their duels. It was because his sharp eyes could see that they were faking their duels in order to show off in front of the crowd. Usually these duels would end up in a draw.

He was dismayed that there were so many fakers around as he cursed silently. "When I know how to fake my duel, the whole lot of you haven't been born yet."

"Ji Yuan! Come over here!" A feminine voice had suddenly called out to him from the other end of the vast arena.

Ji Yuan was somewhat startled that someone had actually called out to him.

There were thousands of noisy cultivators that were watching the duels from all around the mountain slopes and cliffs. This voice had come from the top of a cliff overlooking the arena and her voice was concise and clear. This spoke volumes of her internal profound art and her cultivation realm level.

And she was Shui Xisi.

Her sharp eyes had spotted a handsome beardless cultivator and Ji Yuan was like an anomaly that stood up in a sea of bearded cultivators. Although there were also many beardless cultivators around but none was as handsome as Ji Yuan.

Shui Xisi was spotted with Shui Qingqing and several of the protégés of the Water Melody Palace on top of the cliff.

Shui Qingqing was stunned as she looked at her Matriarch Palace Mistress. "He is Ji Yuan?! Isn't he Li Yuan?"

Shui Xisi smiled. "He is really Ji Yuan. Remember I am just Envoy Shui Sisi while we are here so I have to pretend to take my orders from you while there are strangers around."

Shui Qingqing stared blankly in the direction of Ji Yuan. She had always wanted to meet Ji Yuan to correct him but at the same time, she had also missed Li Yuan so much.

To her utter surprise, Li Yuan and Ji Yuan was actually the same person.

She shook her head in disbelief and said silently. "Li Yuan, why did you lie to me? You are actually Ji Yuan…"

All of a sudden Ji Yuan had an awkward and ugly look as he noticed that almost all the cultivators were now looking in his way. It was because Shui Xisi had just announced who he was to everyone…

"So he is Ji Yuan?"

"He is really beardless?"

"He is the one that had killed Saintess Yuluo?"

"He is really so handsome…"

"He is the new Dark Lord of the Spirit Blue Moon Sect?"

"Is one of the maidens that are with him, Ling Feiyue?"

"Sword Saint Ji Yuan is here…"

"Sword Demon Ji Yuan is here…"

"Great Poet Ji Yuan…"

"I can't believe that he has lost his beautiful beard…"

"I have heard that the unorthodox cultivators are shaving off their beards because Ji Yuan has discovered a heaven-defying secret…"

Ji Yuan was looking extremely awkward and he had decided to ignore Shui Xisi, hoping that no one would look his way.

He muttered. "I am going to pretend that I do not know who she is referring to."

But Shui Xisi continued to shout, "The beardless man with the four beautiful veiled maidens. Ji Yuan, come over here and have a little chat!"

Ji Yuan: …

Unknown to Ji Yuan, a veiled Han Yuchi and Zhao Songjin were also among the crowd.

A curious Han Yuchi looked up the cliff where Shui Xisi and Shui Qingqing were. All of a sudden she was gasping. It was because she had noticed that the pendant that Shui Qingqing was wearing around her neck was the one that she had put around her baby several hundred years ago.

She was suddenly trembling because she had noticed that Shui Qingqing closely resembled Zhao Songjin!

She had suddenly stood up and was gasping.

Zhao Songjin was startled, "What is wrong, mother consort?"

Han Yuchi replied with trembling lips. "I think…I may have found your long lost sister now…"

Just as Ji Yuan was making his way up the cliff where Shui Xisi was, an angry cultivator had suddenly approached him; he was Jian Lindong from the Profound Heaven Sword Manor and he was shouting angrily. "Ji Yuan, so you are also here! Do you dare to accept my challenge for a duel?!"

Ji Yuan ignored him as he walked away from him and he continued his way to the top of the cliff where Shui Xisi was.

Hua Wuwu immediately reprimanded Jian Lindong, "Make way for us!"

Jian Lindong laughed loudly, "So Sword Saint Ji Yuan will actually be hiding behind the skirt of a maiden? Four maidens to be exact. A true man is someone who has a beard. It's no wonder that Ji Yuan is now a beardless cultivator and is a coward!"

He had purposely displayed his profound strength with his shout so that the thousands of cultivators in the vicinity would all be able to hear him.

There was a twitch in Ji Yuan's face as he turned to look coldly at Jian Lindong. "This is my last warning to you. Leave or else…"

"Or else what?" Jian Lindong laughed as he taunted Ji Yuan. "You are just a tortoise!"

Ji Yuan frowned. "Very well. I shall accept your challenge."

Jian Lindong was overjoyed as he said. "Good! You are a man after all."

He had immediately flashed down to the arena below and had unsheathed a heaven-step divine sword. "Ji Yuan, so what are you waiting for?"

Ji Yuan gently put down his spirit fox before he flashed down the arena and he had unsheathed his half-step celestial sword.

As he displayed his divine sword, he said coldly to Jian Lindong. "You are making a huge mistake by challenging me."

The crowd was soon gasping with shock.

"Sword Saint Ji Yuan actually has a celestial sword?"

"But he is a pure sword cultivator…"

"Sword Saint Ji Yuan is actually a great saint…"

"Jian Lindong is a middle saint…"

"Who will win?"

"This is very difficult to tell…"

"Anyone knows what is Ji Yuan's swordplay ranking?"

"Ji Yuan's swordplay isn't even ranked at all…"

"There is a rumor that he had killed Saintess Yuluo but there are no witnesses so his swordplay isn't ranked…"

Jian Lindong said coldly to Ji Yuan. "Today I shall avenge for my sister."

Ji Yuan frowned. "Didn't your father the Great Saint Jian Kang tell you that he has fabricated the lies about his daughter's death?"

Jian Lindong laughed before he lowered his voice. "Ji Yuan, you are too ruthless. Many years ago, you have dared to violate my sister and now you have even killed her. You have dared to trample onto the pride of my celestial clan. Today I shall make you pay dearly for this."

Ji Yuan: …

Ji Yuan: …

Ji Yuan: …

"When did I ever violate your sister…"

All of a sudden Jian Lindong had lifted his fingers and he was now wrapped in a black profound armor.

"What is this?" Ji Yuan was startled. He could immediately sense a powerful profound force within this armor. Profound armors in the Celestial Realm are five times rarer than divine swords and have formidable defenses.

Jian Lindong smirked coldly. "You didn't think that I have been preparing myself for this day, do you? This is the Wind Crescent Profound Battle Garb. Tell you one interesting thing first. With this profound armor, I am impervious to all sword energies attack."

Ji Yuan: …

Ji Yuan: …

Ji Yuan: …

"Even if you have a celestial sword in your hand, without power profound arts to back you up, do you think that your profound strength can penetrate through my profound armor?" Jian Lindong hummed coldly.

All of a sudden he had displayed his formidable profound aura with a burst of blinding golden light. "With my profound aura and profound animus to back me up, I can focus all my attack against you without a need to defend myself against you. No matter how fast you are with your sword, it is completely futile against me."

Ji Yuan: …

Ji Yuan: …

Ji Yuan: …

Shui Qingqing was startled when she saw the profound armor that was on Jian Lindong. "Matriarch Palace Mistress, I think Ji Yuan is in trouble…"

Shui Xisi rolled her eyes as she smiled weakly, "I think the same as well."

All the dueling cultivators that were fighting with one another had all stopped fighting and they were all looking in the direction of Ji Yuan and Jian Lindong. It was because this was a fight between a Sword Saint and a cultivation expert from one of the seven major orthodox clans!

Even the crowd had grown tense as they muttered excitingly. "Who do you think will win this duel?"

"Ji Yuan will lose because he is a just a beardless cultivator…"

"Jian Lindong has a profound armor that is a nemesis to Sword Saint's sword arts…"

"Isn't it cheating?"

"The Profound Heaven Sword Manor is also a major sword clan. Their Profound Heaven Sword is one of the most famous sword art in the fraternity…"