CH 90

Villainous Master (12)

The world of cultivation appears to have no unattractive individuals, including Zhao Lin, the mother of Zhao Wuyou, who possesses striking features such as a high-bridged nose and vermilion lips, and a kind-looking countenance.

Despite Zhao Lin’s smiling expression, Song Xu Yi inexplicably felt a sense of fear when encountering her.

Upon her arrival, Zhao Lin didn’t display any behavior befitting a sect leader, and instead greeted everyone with politeness and courteous manners, presenting no signs of the rumored madness and obsession with her daughter.

Nonetheless, despite her tactfulness, Zhao Lin encountered Ning Jing Yu.

After exchanging some pleasantries with Zhao Lin, including inquiries such as “Has Peak Master Ning made any progress in her cultivation in recent years?” and “Have you been able to adjust to this area?”, Ning Jing Yu tugged at the corners of her lips and stated, “If there isn’t anything else that Sect Leader Zhao needs to discuss, please excuse me.”

Compared to her usual temperament, Ning Jing Yu was exhibiting more patience. Even if the Sect Leader of Xuan Shu were to visit, she would typically not chat for as long and make a face.

However, it appeared that Zhao Lin was unaware of Ning Jing Yu’s disposition. Following Ning Jing Yu’s words, Zhao Lin’s expression shifted slightly. She glanced behind her at Zhao Wuyou, who was smirking, and let out a sigh, “To be frank, I have an important matter to request Peak Master Ning’s aid with.”

Ning Jing Yu pursed her lips and remained silent.

Zhao Lin continued, “Although my daughter doesn’t have innate spiritual roots, she has good comprehension and abundant spiritual power. To be honest, ever since she met Peak Master Ning, Zhao Wuyou has admired you greatly and wants to join your sect.”

Ning Jing Yu looked up thoughtfully at Zhao Lin.

Seeing Ning Jing Yu’s gaze, Zhao Lin thought that there might be a chance for her request and her smile deepened, “I know that Peak Master Ning is noble and aloof, and doesn’t look upon the mundane world. Recently, our Xun Sect acquired a few treasures, including the ‘Falling Snow Sword’, which no one can wield except for a genius like Peak Master Ning. You can use it to your heart’s content…”

Ning Jing Yu’s expression remained unchanged. The others present widened their eyes in surprise. It was true that the Xun Sect had spared no expense this time to acquire the Falling Snow Sword, which was rumored to be the number one divine weapon!

Even though Song Xu Yi had not been in the cultivation world for long, she had heard of the name Falling Snow Sword. Hearing this, she couldn’t help but glance at Ning Jing Yu. Could Ning Jing Yu resist such a great temptation?

……

Ning Jing Yu rose from her seat slowly.

Directly gazing at Zhao Lin, her eyes seemed to look not just at her, but beyond her to someone else. “Miss Zhao is lively and innocent, with a cheerful personality. However, my sect, Fallen Cloud Peak, is dreary and monotonous, with simple meals and lodging. I fear it may hinder Miss Zhao’s progress. I implore Master Zhao to find another suitable master for her.”

Rejected?!

Ning Jing Yu had not even finished her sentence, yet Zhao Wuyou, who was standing behind Zhao Lin, could not believe what she had heard and her eyes reddened.

The smile on Zhao Lin’s face also became strained. “Peak Master Ning, there are many misunderstandings about my daughter in the outside world. My daughter is sincere and not as rumored…”

Ning Jing Yu interrupted Zhao Lin and suggested, “Master Zhao, why not teach Miss Zhao personally?”

“Perhaps you have forgotten, but we had a chance encounter a hundred years ago. Your swordsmanship was remarkable. You fought off the invasion of the Demon Race, risking your life and disregarding death. It was admirable,” Ning Jing Yu pursed her lips and glanced at Zhao Lin with a hint of regret.

It was an emotion that was rare to see in Ning Jing Yu’s eyes.

Ning Jing Yu carefully chose her words and paused before speaking again, “Seeing you again today, if it weren’t for your unchanged appearance, I would have thought that you have changed…”

Zhao Lin’s expression changed slightly and the smile on her face disappeared.

“Peak Master Ning must be joking,” Zhao Lin forced a smile, stood up voluntarily, and although her movements seemed to maintain decorum, her facial expression clearly indicated that she was not in a good mood.

“In that case, we will meet again tomorrow during the competition,” Zhao Lin made a slight bow, and then left the room with Zhao Wuyou, who was on the verge of tears.

Before leaving, Song Xu Yi could feel the resentful glare from Zhao Wuyou. Knowing that she would be hated even more by Zhao Wuyou after this incident, Song Xu Yi was not intimidated and calmly looked back at her–

Perhaps due to their long cohabitation, Song Xu Yi didn’t realize that her gaze resembled that of Ning Jing Yu. This made Zhao Wuyou even more envious and resentful, and her eyes seemed to be close to shedding tears–

This visit ended in disappointment. After Zhao Lin and her daughter returned home, the Xuan Shu Sect members who had accompanied them soon dispersed. Song Xu Yi continued to train with Ning Jing Yu in the formation, but she wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination that Ning Jing Yu seemed a little distracted.

After practicing intensely throughout the night, Song Xu Yi drew lots on the following day to determine the competition groups, which were done on-site to increase visibility.

Despite not drawing Zhao Wuyou, she drew a formidable opponent who was equally popular for the championship.

The opponent appeared to have carefully studied her tactics, and the match proved to be extremely challenging, with Song Xu Yi barely managing to win after half a day of fighting.

Despite the difficulties, it was an exciting and intense match that received prolonged applause even after the two contestants stepped down from the stage.

In contrast, Zhao Wuyou won her match effortlessly.

She unveiled previously unseen equipment once again, including a magical mirror that was a rare sight. This mirror had the ability to attack the opponent’s eyes, and Zhao Wuyou’s adversary fell prey to this tactic. The young man, who was exceptionally skilled, left the stage with swollen and teary eyes, looking extremely disheveled.

A senior cultivator on the side sighed, as the young man injured by the mirror had already suffered damage to both body and soul.

Unexpected injuries and deaths were sure to occur during the competition. Before going on stage, everyone would sign a life-or-death contract. However, as fellow members of the Immortal Sect, cultivators usually regarded sparring as stopping once the point was made. Even if someone got hurt, it was mostly unintentional.

But Zhao Wuyou clearly seemed to have done it deliberately:

After winning, there was a moment of silence in the stands. It wasn’t until Zhao Lin led the applause that there was a smattering of clapping.

With a cold sneer, Zhao Wuyou leaped off the competition platform and glared resentfully at Song Xu Yi, who stood beside it.

However, Song Xu Yi paid her no attention.

Despite having just barely won a grueling match, Song Xu Yi pushed himself to watch Zhao Wuyou’s fight before sitting down beside her and closing his eyes to recuperate.

Meanwhile, Zhao Wuyou locked eyes with Ning Jing Yu.

Although Ning Jing Yu’s gaze appeared as calm as ever, perhaps due to Zhao Wuyou’s heightened concern for her, she was able to detect the underlying killing intent in her seemingly placid eyes.

Peak Master Ning typically disregarded Zhao Wuyou and never bothered to look her way. However, now she was giving her attention because of Song Xu Yi.

Zhao Wuyou was taken aback, and a flood of sadness and resentment washed over her once again, causing her nails to dig fiercely into her palm.

Her mother had promised that if she incapacitated Song Xuyi during the competition, she would become Peak Master Ning’s disciple. However, in that moment, Zhao Wuyou changed her mind. Disabling Song Xu Yi seemed unfeasible, and as long as she was around, Peak Master Ning would never notice her. Killing Song Xu Yi was the only way to get Peak Master Ning’s attention…

Song Xu Yi was unaware of Zhao Wuyou’s thoughts.

However, she suspected that she was already a nuisance to Zhao Wuyou. Nevertheless, Zhao Wuyou’s mirror was tricky and could easily injure the eyes. Since cultivators in the Foundation Establishment stage had not yet reached the level of observing with their divine consciousness, if their eyes were injured, it would be difficult to continue the fight.

The finals were scheduled to take place in three days. During this time, what actions could she take?

Song Xu Yi tightened her lips as she watched Ning Jingyu’s figure. Suddenly, an idea flashed across her mind.

After a while, the three days had passed.

Zhao Wuyou gazed at Song Xu Yi, who was waiting stoically on the other side of the competition platform, and grinned with satisfaction.

She had intentionally revealed her mirror magic treasure ahead of time, so that Song Xu Yi could experience the terror and despair of feeling helpless and anxious for the past three days.

It didn’t matter how skilled Song Xu Yi was with her body techniques, as she was about to die soon anyway.

“Since you’re so young,” Zhao Wuyou played with the mirror in her hand, growing increasingly pleased with herself, and raised her chin arrogantly to glance at Song Xu Yi. “I’ll let you make the first move!”

“Certainly,” Song Xu Yi replied without hesitation, taking a couple of steps back and pulling something out of her sleeve.

After seeing what Song Xu Yi had retrieved, Zhao Wuyou furrowed her brow slightly. She had assumed it was some important magic treasure, but she saw Song Xuyi cover her eyes with a strip of cloth and immediately launch an attack with her sword!

Is she out of her mind?

Zhao Wuyou was taken aback and then felt a strong sense of indignation. How dare Song Xu Yi think she could defeat her with her eyes covered? She clearly had no idea how powerful Zhao Wuyou was.

Fuming with anger, Zhao Wuyou threw aside the mirror and launched an attack.

Even with the cloth covering her eyes, Song Xu Yi was not someone to be underestimated. Although the mirror was no longer effective, Zhao Wuyou believed that she could still defeat her opponent.

As expected, Song Xu Yi’s strength had indeed diminished significantly with her eyes covered. However, during the fight, Zhao Wuyou felt an increasingly noticeable sense of being overpowered. Although Song Xuyi’s sword movements were slower, she seemed to have an uncanny ability to anticipate Zhao Wuyou’s every move…

While Zhao Wuyou continued fighting, her mind became increasingly disturbed. What could be causing this?

However, Zhao Wuyou was unaware that over the past three days, Song Xu Yi had been practicing with Ning Jingyu, who was acting as Zhao Wuyou. After all, cultivators like Ning Jing Yu, having watched Zhao Wuyou fight once, could almost perfectly comprehend her combat style and deduce all of her moves.

The more Song Xu Yi fought, the more she adapted. Her moves became increasingly swift, and Zhao Wuyou began to fall behind.

Her anxiety grew stronger.

She could sense Ning Jing Yu’s eyes on the arena. If Zhao Wuyou had a choice, she would rather die than lose in front of her.

Despite her efforts, Zhao Wuyou found herself in an increasingly disadvantageous situation as Song Xu Yi’s attacks became almost impenetrable. She was forced to take two more steps back as she saw Song Xu Yi’s white sword sweeping toward her.

As she looked at Song Xu Yi, whose eyes were covered with a cloth and whose lips were the only thing visible, resentment flooded Zhao Wuyou’s mind and clouded her judgment completely.

Driven by anger, Zhao Wuyou forgot her mother’s secret instructions and, taking advantage of the moment she was dodging, drew a hidden needle tube from her hand.

“Die!” she shouted, as countless poisoned needles as fine as wool flew out of the tube and densely shot towards Song Xu Yi…