Chapter 55: Luck

The woman immediately glanced around warily before correcting herself. “Yes, yes. My memory is failing me—I got it wrong. You’re Ying.”

At that, Jiang Ying’s expression eased slightly. “Mother, you mustn’t call me the wrong name again. And unless there’s something important, don’t come to Yonglu Mountain anymore. I’m doing very well. When you miss me, I can simply ask for leave and come home.”

The woman was draped in pearls and jade. She pulled an embroidered pouch filled with spirit stones from her robes and handed it over. “Yonglu Mountain is a great sect. I was only worried you might have too many expenses, so I came especially to bring you some spirit stones.”

“Thank you, Mother. You treat me better than anyone.”

Jiang Ying had been worrying that she did not have enough spirit stones. She had never expected to suffer such a setback so soon after entering the sect. She had originally thought that after advancing two levels in a row, she would surely earn a place in the finals. Instead, she had randomly drawn an opponent who was an absolute wall. Only after stepping down from the arena and asking around did she learn exactly what sort of place Spring-Crossing Peak was.

At the thought, jealousy flickered between her brows. Then, in an instant, she put on a pitiful expression.

“Mother, Yonglu Mountain is holding its sect tournament today. I advanced two levels in succession, and I’ve already reached the eighth level of Qi Refining.”

Madam Jiang did not look surprised, as though she had long known her daughter would advance. Even so, she feigned immense delight. “Is that so? I knew my precious—Ying was the most capable.”

“But even after winning four matches in a row, I still failed to reach the finals.” Jiang Ying looked utterly dejected.

Madam Jiang’s heart ached so badly that she immediately moved to embrace her, but Jiang Ying dodged on her own initiative.

“Mother, we’re at the foot of Yonglu Mountain.”

Only then did Madam Jiang rein in her emotions slightly. “Why didn’t you advance?”

“I encountered…a formidable opponent.” Jiang Ying’s expression twisted for a moment, but she restrained herself. “Mother, I still know far too little about Yonglu Mountain. Otherwise…could you help your daughter again?”

For some reason, hesitation appeared on Madam Jiang’s face.

Yet the question itself was strange. Madam Jiang was only an ordinary middle-aged woman. How could she possibly help a daughter who had entered the path of cultivation? Could the Jiang family have unknown connections within Yonglu Mountain?

“My precious—Ying, you know how difficult it was for you to enter Yonglu Mountain. Of course I want you to do even better, but…”

“Mother! Say no more.”

Madam Jiang fell silent. In the end, she could not withstand her daughter’s pleading. This was her only daughter, so naturally she had to leave the very best things in the world to her.

As for the other one…

She had not crawled out of Madam Jiang’s womb, so she could hardly blame Madam Jiang for being ruthless.

Mother and daughter said their goodbyes. Only after Madam Jiang’s carriage had disappeared far into the distance did Jiang Ying turn and head back up the mountain.

“Junior Sister Jiang, have you reconciled with your mother?”

As luck would have it, Senior Brother Chang was guarding the mountain gate today. The Foundation Establishment Realm matches had not yet begun, so he had not left his post. Besides, the more sect contribution points he earned, the more pills and talismans he could exchange for use in his matches.

Jiang Ying paused, not expecting the disciple guarding the mountain gate to be so talkative. She had never seen him before, so she casually brushed him off.

“Yes. Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother. Unless there’s anything else, I’d like to return to my cave abode and stabilize my cultivation.”

Stabilize her cultivation? Had this junior sister just broken through?

That was right. The last time he saw her, she had only been at the sixth level of Qi Refining. Now that he looked carefully, she had already reached the eighth. Junior Sister Jiang’s cultivation speed was nearly comparable to someone with a single spiritual root.

“Congratulations on your advancement, Junior Sister.”

“It was merely a breakthrough in the heat of battle. My cultivation is still unstable. I was only lucky.”

Junior Sister Jiang was surprisingly modest. She did not seem as reserved as before, either.

Senior Brother Chang scratched his head. He soon tossed the matter from his mind and settled back into guarding the mountain gate.

…

After personally witnessing both of his friends advance to the finals one after another, Bian Chunzhou naturally began to feel nervous.

However, he had been born an optimist. Even though he truly wanted to stand on the grand stage of the finals alongside his friends, his nerves soon faded, and he regained his composure.

What else could he do? He still had to fight.

Couldn’t they see that bastard Lin Congcong shooting meaningful looks at him? The fellow was obviously plotting something nasty. He loved showing off more than anything, yet he still had not gone onstage. Bian Chunzhou guessed that Lin Congcong was waiting for him to enter the arena so he could knock him off it.

“Why does that guy have to be so… I never even made an enemy of him, did I?”

Wen Xu had fought five consecutive matches and defeated opponents above his level. After leaving the arena, he had taken a Blood-Replenishing Pill and a Qi-Replenishing Pill. Yet rather than hurrying back to regulate his breathing and review his battles, he remained there.

“He’s narrow-minded. It isn’t your fault.”

“Exactly. We’ve never interfered with each other.”

Chen Zui, however, said, “So what? He’s only at the ninth level of Qi Refining. Are you telling me you can’t beat him?”

The way you say that makes it sound as easy as beating some rookie at the first level of Qi Refining. Do you even hear yourself?

Lin Congcong might be obnoxious, but he was also a genius with a single earth spiritual root. His defensive power was astonishingly high.

“You really think I can beat him?”

“If you can’t even beat him, what business do you have entering the finals?”

Chen Zui delivered the remark flatly, but although the words were crude, the reasoning was sound.

Aside from Lin Congcong, Arena Ding still had five inner disciples. Three were at the peak of Qi Refining, while two were at the peak of the ninth level. Bian Chunzhou was unlikely to encounter all of them, but probability still had to be taken into account.

Come to think of it, the cultivation of the new disciples who had entered the inner sect this year was advancing faster than in previous years.

Bian Chunzhou had the lowest cultivation among the five new disciples, yet even he had already reached the peak of the seventh level of Qi Refining.

“You’re right. Besides, I’m only at the peak of the seventh level. There’s nothing for me to be afraid of.”

Losing would hardly be unexpected. Winning, on the other hand, would be an enormous profit.

Thinking of it that way, Bian Chunzhou became even more optimistic.

He had three chances, after all. Sooner or later, he had to go up there. Was he really going to avoid the arena just because of Lin Congcong?

Bian Chunzhou immediately felt as though the clouds had parted before him.

Besides, he had already transmigrated into the cultivation world. Was he really going to let the prestige of an inner disciple weigh him down?

Impossible.

Male university students had no shame to begin with. It was only a sect tournament.

Charge!

Besides, his cultivation might be inferior to Lin Congcong’s, but in a real fight…it was still uncertain who would win.

After thinking everything through, Bian Chunzhou immediately decided to enter the arena. Before he could speak, however, the referee called out his name.

“Bian Chunzhou of Ruoshui Peak, are you present?”

Bian Chunzhou was speechless.

Did it have to be that eerily accurate? Even a summons from the underworld couldn’t have come at a more perfect time!

He turned his head and met Lin Congcong’s gleefully malicious gaze.

Only then did Bian Chunzhou realize that the senior brother currently standing in the arena looked vaguely familiar.

Well, well.

Wasn’t that Senior Brother Shi Yijian, the famously relentless inner disciple he often encountered at Disciple Peak?

When Senior Brother Shi had first entered the inner sect, he had faced no less criticism than Bian Chunzhou.

Bian Chunzhou had attracted so much discussion purely because his spiritual roots conflicted with one another. Senior Brother Shi, however, had been criticized for his supposedly mediocre talent.

Though calling it mediocre was not entirely accurate.

Senior Brother Shi was a cultivator with a single spiritual root, so logically speaking, his talent should have been exceptional. Yet because of certain past experiences, his spiritual root had been damaged, causing him to cultivate even more slowly than an ordinary cultivator with five spiritual roots.

Still, Senior Brother Shi had joined the sect much earlier. Now that he was at the peak of Qi Refining, defeating Bian Chunzhou would be more than easy enough.

Bian Chunzhou could not help glancing at Chen Zui.

“I keep feeling like you really want to take my place and go up there for a fight.”

Chen Zui’s eyes lit up. “Is that allowed?”

“No. I’m going.”

Chen Zui fell silent.

What a pity.

Wen Xu reached out and patted his friend on the shoulder. “Believe in yourself.”

Bian Chunzhou was speechless again.

He was not quite that confident.

Shi Yijian had already defeated three opponents in succession. Unfortunately, those three had only possessed ordinary cultivation, so they had not depleted much of his fighting strength.

When he saw a familiar face, he said, “Ah, Junior Brother Bian. I’ve seen you before.”

“…Senior Brother Shi, I borrowed your notes once. I didn’t expect you to remember me.”

Shi Yijian was practically a permanent fixture at Six Lectures Peak and Disciple Peak. He seemed to wish he could eat and sleep inside the classrooms.

Not every inner disciple had a master, and Shi Yijian was one of those who did not. Yet he was extremely broad-minded and never seemed to resent his fate.

At Bian Chunzhou’s words, he replied with complete honesty, “I don’t remember that, but I do remember you speaking up for me.”

Ah…

Oh.

Bian Chunzhou remembered now.

He simply had not been able to stand what he heard, so he had run over and traded a few sharp words with someone. That hardly counted as defending Shi Yijian, did it?

“But I won’t hold back.”

Bian Chunzhou cupped his hands. “Please instruct me, Senior Brother.”

Then Bian Chunzhou was very honorably eliminated in the first round.

It was not that he had failed to work hard or fight desperately. The problem was simply that Senior Brother Shi also possessed a water spiritual root.

With Shi Yijian’s cultivation being higher than his, Bian Chunzhou’s Fire Within Water Art could not display its intended power at all.

Because—

He discovered that Senior Brother Shi Yijian could draw talismans with his bare hands!

Oh my god, was that even allowed?!

How was his talent merely mediocre?

He was clearly a complete monster!

After stepping down from the arena, Bian Chunzhou was about to seek a little comfort from his friends when he saw fighting spirit blazing fiercely around both of them.

The words in his throat vanished instantly.

Then the referee called another name.

“Lin Congcong of Xilu Peak, are you present?”

Lin Congcong, who had just been gloating and was preparing to squeeze through the crowd to mock Bian Chunzhou, froze.

When Bian Chunzhou watched his expression transform on the spot, all the displeasure of losing instantly disappeared.

“You brat! So this day has come for you too!”

Lin Congcong seethed inwardly, but he had no choice except to enter the arena and face his formidable opponent.

Then…

Then there was no more “then.”

Lin Congcong left the arena several minutes faster than Bian Chunzhou had.

“Inner disciple Shi Yijian has won five matches!”

Having secured a place in the finals, Shi Yijian no longer remained to defend the arena.

He looked remarkably relaxed, as though he had come here for nothing more than a pleasant outing. Once his results were registered, he swiftly left the peak where the tournament was being held.

Before leaving, he even gave Bian Chunzhou a friendly nod.

Naturally, when Lin Congcong saw this, jealousy twisted his face once again.

He simply could not understand it.

How could that Bian fellow be so—

Why?

In terms of appearance, talent, eloquence, or comprehension, in what way was he inferior to Bian Chunzhou?

Why did everyone want to befriend that man?

Jealousy gnawed at Lin Congcong’s heart.

He secretly made up his mind. He would defeat Bian Chunzhou openly and honorably in the arena at least once.

He refused to believe that when the time came, Bian Chunzhou would still be able to smile!

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