CH 22

Soon, it was Ji Chaoyun’s turn to take the stage.

His current attire was a disciple uniform which was easy to move in; it had narrow sleeves and a cinched waist that displayed his thin and slender figure. He slowly walked up the White Jade Platform, Jin Ting doing the same on the other side.

Finally standing opposite each other, they bowed in greeting when the golden gong on the platform rang. The moment the third gong fell, the two immediately drew their swords!

Baizhang Territory’s moves were arrogant and powerful. They had always used force to win, and focused on quickly ending their battles. Though Jin Ting’s roots were not the best, once he took the lead against an opponent with low spiritual power like Ji Chaoyun, it would be an easy win.

Jin Ting’s thrust was as straightforward and blunt as can be, and his raw sword intent flared towards Ji Chaoyun.

Unexpectedly, in the face of such a fierce move, Ji Chaoyun did not retreat. He walked towards the shrewd and fierce sword, his lips slowly curving into a confident arc.

“What the— Ji Chaoyun’s so powerful now that he can counterattack that move?”

“I thought it would be easy for Jin shixiong to beat him, but now it seems the two are clearly evenly matched.”

“What evenly matched? Don’t you see that Ji Chaoyun came here prepared? Jin shixiong is being suppressed to death. It’s not good to go on like this.”

“Hey, Jin shixiong is really unlucky. If he loses this duel, he’ll have to wait another year to be promoted.”

There was a lot of discussion under the White Jade Platform. Feng Qi stood behind the crowd, a smug smile on his lips.

How could the person he personally taught lose?

He stared at the thin and slender figure on the White Jade platform, and suddenly remembered the scene when he’d first met this person three months ago.

It was also here that the seemingly weak young man, relying on his superb swordsmanship and martial arts technique, defeated two Heaven-rank disciples and attracted his gaze.

Feng Qi still remembered the way Ji Chaoyun had looked at him when he’d first seen him. Those clear eyes of his were no longer calm, the shock and sadness in his eyes almost overflowing.

Likely seeing him as that person ba?

It was just that he hadn’t understood the turbulent emotions in Ji Chaoyun’s eyes. At that time… what had he been thinking about?

——He wants to fight this little dragon.

He wanted to know the true strength of someone who could defeat both Song Zhifei and Jiang Cheng without exerting all of their strength.

He wanted to know how much power this beautiful and almost seductive little demon dragon possessed.

Feng Qi subconsciously touched the gold chain in between his wrists. For the first time, the thoughtless Second Highness Feng felt a little regretful.

It must’ve been painful at the start.

How could he have done it?

If it had been now… he would’ve just stood there and let him stab both swords towards him.

Feng Qi was still in a daze when he suddenly heard the disciples around him talking. “Aren’t they fighting a little too fiercely? Killing to win the match?”

Feng Qi was startled and looked up at the platform.

Ji Chaoyun’s swordsmanship became swifter with every second that passed, and his moves were ruthless, forcing Jin Ting to retreat step by step, almost unstoppable.

In the arena competition, it was stipulated that leaving a fatal wound on the opponent’s body would mean victory. After all, the competition was not normally like a life-and-death confrontation. Usually, as long as one side completely broke through all the defenses of the other and spilled enough blood, the winner and loser could be determined.

But now, though Ji Chaoyun had clearly defeated Jin Ting, the two still hadn’t stopped.

Feng Qi assessed the situation for a moment, frowning tightly.

The problem didn’t lay with Jin Ting, but with Ji Chaoyun.

Ji Chaoyun didn’t stop, every move of his destined to kill. Jin Ting didn’t dare to stop!

“Ji Chaoyun, what are you doing?!” On the stage, Jin Ting’s pitiful figure finally couldn’t help shouting loudly as he dodged the other’s attacks.

What answered him was an oncoming sword. Between the shadow of the sword, Jin Ting clearly saw a sinister, murderous light flashing in Ji Chaoyun’s eyes.

He was startled, and his defense couldn’t help but slow down by half a second.

Ji Chaoyun’s moves were merciless, and Jin Ting’s absentmindedness almost became a fatal mistake. He watched the sharp edge of the sword approach his neck, and before he even had time to close his eyes, he was suddenly roughly pushed back.

Stab!——

From the platform came the sound of a sword piercing flesh. Jin Ting fell to the ground, and when he looked up, a slender figure stood in front of him, the blade of a sword piercing through his shoulder.

This misfortune happened very quickly. Continuous exclamations arose from the audience, as though they wanted to rush on stage.

“Don’t come here!” Feng Qi shouted loudly. His clothes were stained red with blood, which dripped down the blade of the sword.

But he just frowned slightly. Raising his hand, he held the weapon tightly before Ji Chaoyun could draw it back. He looked at the pair of demonic eyes in front of him, and softly said, “Calm down. Ji Chaoyun, can you hear me?”

The glazed vertical pupils in Ji Chaoyun’s eyes had completely faded. Hearing this voice, he froze.

What am I doing?

I… I stabbed him?

“Feng… Feng Qi…” Ji Chaoyun’s eyes regained a little clarity.

He had no idea why things had turned out this way.

While he’d competed with Jin Ting, as his spiritual power gradually depleted, not only did his strength not weaken, but another more powerful and reckless force was born within his body.

The power was like a prairie fire, instantly igniting the demon power he had been suppressing for a long time. It also made his rationality out of control.

Ji Chaoyun was only conscious for a short while before he was devoured once more by the clamouring killing intent within him.

He suddenly pulled out the sword and stabbed Feng Qi again.

“Chaoyun!” Feng Qi turned to avoid the attack, but before he could make a move, a ray of spiritual power flew from a distance and instantly hit the back of Ji Chaoyun’s head.

The flow of spiritual energy on Ji Chaoyun’s sword dissipated. The moment his body relaxedd, he fell. Feng Qi subconsciously caught him, looked up, and didn’t know when Immortal Lord Kai Yang had come to White Jade Platform, his eyes surprisingly cold.

“Hongmeng Academy has never had anything like this happen since its establishment. Ji Chaoyun must be severely punished!”

“The matter has not been investigated clearly, why should Kai Yang-jun rush to judgement?”

“Investigation? Now that the evidence is conclusive, what else ought to be investigated?!”

Feng Qi happened to be outside the Council Hall. Hearing these words, he paused slightly then stepped inside.

In the Council Hall, all seven immortals of the academy were gathered together, a rare occurrence; it caused the atmosphere to be particularly sombre. Feng Qi’s expression didn’t flicker, and he bowed to the crowd. “Greetings to all the Immortal Elders.”

Tianshu sat at the head of the table with a serious expression. “How is your injury?”

Feng Qi had changed into a clean disciple robe. The wound underneath was bandaged, but his expression was normal, almost as though he was not injured at all. “It’s just a skin injury, there’s no issue.”

Tianshu nodded and questioned, “You live with Ji Chaoyun. Do you know what’s been wrong with him recently?”

Feng Qi discretely frowned. “This disciple does not know what Immortal Elder means. This disciple has been with Ji Chaoyun every day. He concentrates on practising swordsmanship regularly, which is no different from before.”

As soon as he said this, Kai Yang – who was beside him – snorted coldly, noncommittally.

Feng Qi pretended not to hear him, and asked, “Ji Chaoyun, is he…”

Tianshu: “The Immortal Doctor has already treated him. Before the second stage, he took some kind of secret medicine to promote spiritual power. Perhaps the dose was too large, which caused his spiritual power to go out of control.”

Feng Qi was startled, his face changing suddenly. “Impossible, he would never—”

“How do you know he wouldn’t?” Kai Yang suddenly stood up and said coldly, “Before he won the first place in the secret realm, I heard someone secretly talking about him using some tricks in the assessment. It’s just that when I rewatched the light mirrors in the Supervisory Exam Hall and found no problems, I let him go. Thinking about it now, he might have already started taking these secret medicines since before the secret realm examination!”

Kai Yang turned to face Tianshu and said sternly, “Tianshu-jun, Hongmeng Academy has never shielded anyone who cheated for personal gain. This time, he must be severely punished!”

Feng Qi’s eyes flickered slightly, but his thoughts quickly calmed down.

Ji Chaoyun would never cheat. Where did the secret medicine come from, and who wanted to harm him?

“Kai Yang-jun, calm down. Let’s discuss it first,” Yao Guang-jun said. “To me, it’s better to wait for Chaoyun to wake up and ask again. Chaoyun doesn’t seem like someone who could do such a thing. What if he was really framed? Our Hongmeng Academy cannot wrong people like this.”

“Could it be that when you ask, he will tell the truth?” Kai Yang-jun said. “He takes secret medicine, loses control of his spiritual power, and hurts his fellow disciple in the arena. All these together are not enough to prove his crime? Still not enough evidence?”

“Not enough.” Feng Qi stood up straight and said calmly, “You have no evidence to prove that he took the medicine himself.”

“You—”

Feng Qi bowed to Tianshu and said, “The secret medicine issue is definitely not that simple. This disciple is willing to vouch for Ji Chaoyun, requesting to thoroughly investigate the matter and prove his innocence.”

“You’re protecting Ji Chaoyun, and you even want to do a thorough investigation yourself. Why?”

Feng Qi: “If Kai Yang-jun doesn’t trust me, he can send the disciples of the Supervisory Exam Hall to investigate.”

“Fine… Fine!” Kai Yang-jun sneered. “I’ll see how long you dare to act recklessly! Didn’t you say you wanted to vouch for him? If it is found out that he indeed did so, what will you do?”

Feng Qi stared into the other’s eyes, and word by word, he firmly declared, “I am willing to follow him, have my cultivation abolished and be expelled from the academy.”

In an empty dark room, Ji Chaoyun curled up in the corner, not yet awake.

His wrists were in a pair of shackles, one end extending to the wall. These chains could both restrain his spiritual power and limit his movements, but the same couldn’t be said about the surging demon power in his body.

Ji Chaoyun only felt that his whole body was hot and cold. The rampant spiritual power could not be vented, and hence, it turned into a bone-piercing pain that swept through all of him. He tried his best to curl up his hands and feet, pressing his forehead against the cold rough ground.

It felt so bad.

Could someone help him…

At this moment, the door of the dark room was pushed open, and a figure came in.

Feng Qi quickly walked to Ji Chaoyun’s side and picked him up, causing the chains to collide against each other. Feng Qi’s eyes darkened. “Who asked you to chain him, unlock it for me!”

The two disciples who’d followed Feng Qi hurriedly stepped forward, and rushed to untie the shackles on Ji Chaoyun’s wrists. “Your, Your Highness, this was an order from Immortal Elder Kai Yang. It’s none of our Precept Hall business, so don’t—”

Feng Qi ignored them.

He took off his robe, wrapped an arm under Ji Chaoyun’s shoulders and the other beneath his knees, then strode out of the cell.

The series of movements were smooth like water, extremely natural, and unexpectedly fast. A moment passed, and only the two disciples were left inside.They looked at each other blankly.

The teleportation circle lit up on the dark mountain road. Feng Qi stepped out of the circle with Ji Chaoyun in his arms.

“Hold on a little longer, we’re almost there.” Ji Chaoyun’s body became hotter and hotter; Feng Qi lowered his head and whispered in his ear, walking forward along the mountain road.

In just a short distance, Ji Chaoyun had changed back to his half-demon appearance.

He leaned against Feng Qi’s arms, his long silver hair scattered behind him, and a pair of dragon horns on his forehead, glowing with a soft halo under the moonlight.

His body was so uncomfortable, and under the torture of the rampant spiritual power, he couldn’t even realise that there was another more turbulent and almost uncontainable upsurge within him, which was making a rapid comeback.

A sweet clogging scent emanated from him uncontrollably. Feng Qi’s footsteps froze, and his breathing became chaotic. “Ji, Ji Chaoyun, restrain your scent.”

Ji Chaoyun couldn’t hear what he was saying at all, and even if he’d clearly heard, such an act was impossible.

The secret medicine that came from who-knew-where stimulated not only the demon power that was still suppressed in his body, but also the heat that had been forcibly suppressed by his cultivation for hundreds of years.

Both dragon and phoenix were immortal beasts. Like other beasts, during their heat period, their bodies would unconsciously release a specially inducing scent, which was enough to stimulate other beasts to fall into heat together.

The gate of the disciple courtyard was kicked open, causing the koi in the lotus pond to scatter away.

Feng Qi’s eyes stayed focused. Holding Ji Chaoyun, he strode towards the bamboo forest behind the house. The forest was misty with water vapour. Feng Qi put Ji Chaoyun by the pool and bent over to help him unbutton his clothes, only to find that his hands were shaking uncontrollably.

With Feng Qi’s current cultivation, he was not easily influenced by others.

But today, he was injured and weakened. In addition to that, the person in front of him was Ji Chaoyun…

Feng Qi’s eyes were red, and he forced himself to calm down. His voice was hoarse and shaky. “Chaoyun, you can’t go on like this anymore. Can you change back to your original form?”

Ji Chaoyun finally opened his eyes.

Those glass-like vertical pupils stared at him blankly, as if they didn’t understand what he was talking about.

Feng Qi was unable to bear it the more he looked at him. Some kind of innate instinct was eating away at his sanity little by little.

He suddenly got up, turned his head and walked away.

“Don’t go…”

Feng Qi took another step.

He turned his head. Ji Chaoyun was sitting by the pool, his red eyes under the moonlight filled with mist.

In the steaming water, those lost eyes seemed to be looking at Feng Qi, as if unable to see anything else. He made a low-pitched, helpless cry, born from his indescribable pain and desire. “Help me…Help…”

“Feng Qi…”

With a roar in Feng Qi’s mind, the string of reason was finally and utterly broken.

He turned around and walked to the pool, grabbed Ji Chaoyun’s robe and pulled him up, lowered his head, and kissed him fiercely.