CH 87

After the final two days of the competition, Hui Meng Tong and Ying Yuan Yu were tied.



Because the crowned winner will represent the Shang Qing Palace to participate in the Daoist School Tournament, a winner had to be chosen from Hui Meng Tong and Ying Yuan Yu.



On the second day of the competition, Hui Meng Tong lost to Ying Yuan Yu due to her lack of experience. In this decisive match, the majority of the people weren't optimistic about her and felt that Hui Meng Tong couldn’t beat Ying Yuan Yu.



Luan Qing Xiao also agreed that it was difficult for Hui Meng Tong to beat Ying Yuan Yu. However, Hui Meng Tong is extremely competitive. On the eve before the Grand Competition, she still didn't relax. Instead, she dragged Luan Qing Xiao to accompany her to practice. Halfway through the night, Chao Gan Yun replaced Luan Qing Xiao to also accompany her to practice, while Nie Zhen'er stood aside, cheering her on.



The next day on the martial arts field.



The soft sunlight passed through the thin clouds and shone on the vermilion high platform.



Hui Meng Tong wore a short blue robe with her long hair in a high ponytail. On her immature face, there was a rare expression of solemnness.



Ying Yuan Yu, who was opposite her, smiled with a gentle expression, while he was on guard against Hui Meng Tong in his heart.



Initially, Ying Yuan Yu thought it would be easy to win the first place. But who knew Hui Meng Tong, a twelve-year-old girl, would rob him of his limelight out of nowhere? While Ying Yuan Yu wasn’t pleased, he was also quite wary of her simultaneously.



Recalling back to when he was ten years old, he had already formed his core, which was a thousand times better than Hui Meng Tong. However now he has to stand here to compete with this little girl who is inferior to him. As an Immortal Ascension Ancestor, Ying Yuan Yu’s current feeling was annoyed.



"It’s about time, let's start the competition." Bei Ling beat the drum.



"Junior sister, please." Ying Yuan Yu clasped his fists in salute.



Hui Meng Tong responded with a salute too. "Senior Brother, please."



Because of the rules of not hurting others, the two didn’t use weapons and fought with bare hands. Their spiritual qi smashed against each other through their palms.



Hui Meng Tong was a single water root, while Ying Yuan Yu was a single fire root. The two of them, one blue and one red. The gathering of their spiritual power in the palm of their hand appeared brilliant and intertwined when fighting.



Ying Yuan Yu's red was obviously denser than Hui Meng Tong's blue, but Hui Meng Tong's skills were more flexible.



The fighting between the two is closely coordinated, causing the people watching the match in the audience to be dizzy.



After a stick of incense, Bei Ling beat the drum three times and announced loudly. "Time’s up, stop."



Ying Yuan Yu and Hui Meng Tong stopped at the same time.



The two were panting and sweating from their foreheads as they stared at each other closely.



Ying Yuan Yu's face was a bit ugly.



Only two days had passed and Hui Meng Tong had made such progress. She actually made it a bit difficult for him to breathe.



"The five elders, please write down the names of the person you think did better." Bei Ling proclaimed.



Luan Qing Xiao wrote Hui Meng Tong's name.



It's not that she was partial to her disciple. In the competition just now, anyone with eyes could see Ying Yuan Yu had a difficult time fighting against Hui Meng Tong.



In the competition two days ago, Hui Meng Tong couldn’t even parry Ying Yuan Yu’s attack. After only two days, she was able to fight back. There’s no reason to justify not choosing her.



Once she confirmed that the five elders had all written a name, Bei Ling came to collect the slips. Then, she presented the five slips to Jing Meng Jun. "Palace Lord, please announce the winner after reading these."



Jing Meng Jun opened the five pieces of paper one by one. His everlasting smiling expression remained unchanged.



Ying Yuan Yu stared closely at his mouth.



Whereas Hui Meng Tong looked a little absent-minded and her eyes were wandering around.



Jing Meng Jun stood up from his seat, "This winner in this competition: Hui Meng Tong."



His voice wasn’t loud, but it clearly fell in everyone's ears below the stage.



Ying Yuan Yu clenched his fists as he lowered his head to cover the embarrassment in his eyes.



He actually lost to a twelve-year-old girl.



It seems it was still too difficult to practice alone.



Since Hui Meng Tong won first place in the Shang Qing Palace’s Grand Competition, Jing Meng Jun rewarded her with two blue-colored daggers. "These two daggers are a pair named Lonely Jade Dagger." Hui Meng Tong respectfully accepted it, "Thank you Palace Lord."



Jing Meng Jun smiled, "What Palace Lord? Your Mistress and I had the same Master, you can just call me Shi Bo."



Hui Meng Tong turned to glance at Luan Qing Xiao. Seeing Luan Qing Xiao nod, she bowed down and called Jing Meng Jun "Shi Bo".



With the competition ending, the jam-packed audience in the crowd left and Luan Qing Xiao started looking for Nie Zhen'er's figure. To which, Hui Meng Tong pointed in one direction, "Mistress, Senior Sister Gan Yun and Senior Sister Zhen'er are there."



Luan Qing Xiao looked over and saw Nie Zhen'er waving to herself while bouncing up and down.



"How did you find them so quickly?" Luan Qing Xiao asked.



Hui Meng Tong pursed her lips and smiled, a little embarrassed. "I was bored while standing on the stage waiting for the results, so I searched for where the two senior sisters were."



"You, ah." Luan Qing Xiao laughed. "It seems you were quite confident and weren't worried about the result." That's why she was in the mood to look around for her senior sisters.



Hui Meng Tong's immature face turned slightly red. At the moment, her expression showed  she was a girl who was only twelve years old.



The two followed the flow of people to Nie Zhen'er and Chao Gan Yun. Nie Zhen'er was jumping on the spot with excitement, "Little Junior Sister is so amazing, as expected of my Little Junior Sister." She seemed more like a child than Hui Meng Tong. .



Chao Gan Yun couldn't help but roll her eyes, "She's my junior sister too." After Luan Qing Xiao's reassurance, she was no longer jealous of Nie Zhen'er and the way she spoke was a lot more casual.



"Haha, Second Senior Sister is right." Nie Zhen'er beamed.



"Let's head back to Luscious Spring Hall."



Luan Qing Xiao took the three of them back on her sword. Because Chao Gan Yun had practiced with Hui Meng Tong half the night yesterday and went to see Hui Meng Tong's competition early in the morning, currently she was exhausted. Once she bowed to Luan Qing Xiao, she returned to her own courtyard to rest.



"Meng Tong also can head back. Today, I’ll give you half a day off."



"Yes, Mistress." Hui Meng Tong was actually not sleepy at all. However, seeing Nie Zhen'er leaning her body against Mistress's shoulders, she subconsciously felt she shouldn't stay here. Therefore, she immediately bowed and left.



It’s only on her way back, she couldn't figure out why she shied away from them.



When Mistress and Sister Zhen'er are together, why doesn't she want to stay by their side?



If Hui Meng Tong came to ask Luan Qing Xiao, Luan Qing Xiao would have given her the answer with certainty: Because no one likes to eat dog food.



Nie Zhen'er was sleepy to the point where she couldn’t keep her eyes open. Yet somehow, she knew exactly which direction Luan Qing Xiao was in and which direction she should turn in.



Her little head nuzzled and nuzzled, "Mistress, I'm so sleepy~"



"If you’re sleepy, head back home to sleep."



"I can just sleep here~"



"Head back to sleep."



"I'm already asleep~" Nie Zhen'er pushed her luck by embracing Luan Qing Xiao's waist and stopping moving.



"... …"



Soon after, Nie Zhen'er’s cute little snores were heard. It seemed that she really fell asleep while standing.



Yesterday their four-person group of Mistress and disciples didn’t sleep all night. Nie Zhen'er had the lowest cultivation level and thus the least able to bear the sleepiness. Leaning into Luan Qing Xiao's arms and smelling the familiar comforting fragrance, she basically fell asleep as soon as her voice halted.



Luan Qing Xiao looked down at her sleeping face and couldn't bear to call her up. Using some strength, she carried Nie Zhen'er horizontally as she entered the Luscious Spring Hall before gently placing her on the ta.



"So clingy, you’re that reluctant to leave me?" Luan Qing Xiao leaned over and bopped her little nose.



The Jia Leng fragrance permeated the whole hall. Luan Qing Xiao watched Nie Zhen'er while stroking her raven dark hair. Luan Qing Xiao felt she didn't want to do anything, but to just watch her until she woke up.



Waiting for her to call herself "Mistress" in a sweet voice.



Suddenly, a slight sound of footsteps sounded outside the Luscious Spring Hall, "Disciple Ying Yuan Yu, specially came to see Luan Shi Shu."



Ying Yuan Yu? What was he here for?



Luan Qing Xiao raised her hand to set up a barrier for Nie Zhen'er. Then, she got up and walked outside the hall.



After Ying Yuan Yu saw her, he didn’t respectfully salute her. Instead, he said to Luan Qing Xiao in a familiar and somewhat superior tone. "Junior Sister Qing Xiao, I haven't seen you in ten years. How have you been?"



Luan Qing Xiao's aloof brows flashed with danger. "What did you call me?"



"On a moonlit night ten years ago, Junior Sister Qing Xiao told me in Bai Ze Zong that she wanted to be a Dao couple with me. I think Junior Sister shouldn't have forgotten her sweetheart 'Bai Li Yuan Yu' this soon."



Luan Qing Xiao was stunned. "Who exactly are you?" Only Bai Li Yuan Yu and her knew about this matter.



"I am Bai Li Yuan Yu." Ying Yuan Yu confessed.



"I don't see anything like Bai Li Yuan Yu in you."



"I know what Junior Sister Qing Xiao wants to say. Bai Li Yuan Yu is the supreme elder of Bai Ze Zong and an ancestor of the Immortal Ascension. How could he become a little person like me? Junior Sister Qing Xiao, when I was escalating to the tribulation six months ago, I didn’t survive the Heavenly Thunder. My body has died. In desperation, I can only rebirth by taking over someone else’s body."



Luan Qing Xiao's expression was slightly shaken. "Im-Impossible. How could Bai Li Yuan Yu not be able to resist the Heavenly Thunder? He is the most talented cultivator in the past thousand years. Ying Yuan Yu, you should know the consequences of deceiving a Primordial Yuan ancestor."



"I can refine a Poisonous Fire Pill. Only you know about this. The spiritual roots of the body that I took over are jumbled. You know about this. Now I have become a single fire root because I ate the Poisonous Fire Pill."



"The Vermillion Immortal Grass for refining Poison Fire Pill is only available in the Forbidden Land of ​in Shang Qing Palace. Previously, I made the Poison Fire Pill by accident because I used the Vermillion Immortal Grass you gave me. Junior Sister Qing Xiao, I said so many things that only the two of us know. Do you still not believe me?"



"There has been no news of Bai Li Yuan Yu's demise." Luan Qing Xiao probed with a stiff face.



Although she had begun to believe what Ying Yuan Yu said, she didn't want to believe it. She didn't want to believe that the person she had loved for nearly at least a hundred years would fall so easily.



"Bai Ze Zong relied on me to sit in the position of the number one sect in the cultivation world. If the news of my demise spreads, then Bai Ze Zong's status will plummet." Ying Yuan Yu curled his lips ironically.



"Why didn't you expose your identity when you first entered Shang Qing Palace?" Luan Qing Xiao now completely believed in Ying Yuan Yu's words.



In Bai Ze Zong excluding Bai Li Yuan Yu, there is no other cultivator with a cultivation level of Primordial Yuan or above. The highest was a late Golden Core, and the lifespan of that cultivator was nearing its end but there was still no sign of a breakthrough.



The moment the news of the fall of Bai Li Yuan Yu spread out, Bai Ze Zong might not even be able to keep its name of one of the six major sects in the cultivation world. It could only be reduced to a second-rated sect.



The most important point is that Luan Qing Xiao believed Ying Yuan Yu didn’t dare to lie to herself.



Ying Yuan Yu smiled bitterly, "Ten years ago, I rejected your request to become a Dao couple, so I don’t know how to face you."



"Then why are you seeking me out now?" Luan Qing Xiao stared at him closely.



Ying Yuan Yu's eyes became dim. "You saw it too in today's competition. I can't even compare to a twelve-year-old girl... … Senior Sister Qing Xiao, I want you to help me. As long as I can return to the top, I definitely will not forget your great favor."



"How are you… … going to repay your gratitude?" Luan Qing Xiao glanced down nervously.



"Naturally to become a Dao couple with Junior Sister."



###



After agreeing with Ying Yuan Yu to meet in the back mountain at the end of the month, Ying Yuan Yu continued to promise that he would become a Dao couple with Luan Qing Xiao before leaving.



Luan Qing Xiao returned to the main hall, only feeling acting was really tiring.



Luan Qing Xiao: 520, was my performance okay?



【Host dada, it was super awesome! I don’t think the male lead has any doubts~】



Luan Qing Xiao: This male lead is different from Liang Yan. Liang Yan was at least a good person, whereas Ying Yuan Yu was purely a scumbag.



In order to improve his cultivation, he’s willing to use all means possible and even attempted to tempt her by promising to be a Dao couple with her.



If it were the original owner, she would definitely fall head over heels and be swept around by Ying Yuan Yu.



【The male lead in this world is a bit black-bellied. What’s more, it is hard for him to trust in others. Only the pure heart of the female male can move him. 】



Luan Qing Xiao rubbed Nie Zhen'er's long hair: He doesn't need to be moved by Zhen'er. Zhen'er is mine, and I won't let him get close to Zhen'er.



Although Luan Qing Xiao agreed to meet Ying Yuan Yu in the back mountain at the end of the month, she did not plan to show up at the appointment.



The day at the end of the month was Nie Zhen'er's eighteenth birthday. Luan Qing Xiao needed to help her celebrate, feed her the Foundation Building Pill and help Nie Zhen'er break through to Foundation Building. So she and Nie Zhen'er will be able to dual cultivation with each other earlier.



Ying Yuan Yu? Have fun waiting in the chilly breeze.



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Notes:

Shi Bo (师伯): a honorific used by the younger generation to answer an elder that is higher ranked than the speaker’s maste