Chapter 69: Badmouthing

Among the top twenty below the Foundation Establishment Realm, even the weakest was at the eighth level of the Qi Refining Realm. Every single one of them was a force to be reckoned with.

Bian Chunzhou said, “…You can just say my name.”

Chen Zui immediately took the advice. “Your cultivation is the lowest, so you need to work a little harder and fight your way into the top ten.”

…There was really no need to single him out so bluntly.

Bian Chunzhou looked over the list of the top twenty on the table. There were unexpectedly few outer disciples, but every one of them had a higher cultivation level than he did. His next match would be particularly difficult.

Still, the fact that he had made it this far was already impressive. After all, he, Wen Xu, and Chen Zui had only joined the sect last year. Given the sect tournament’s age limit of one hundred, they could conservatively participate in at least a dozen more tournaments.

Unless one of them betrayed the others and successfully formed a Nascent Soul before turning one hundred, just like Junior Martial Uncle Zheng from Artifact Refining Peak.

Taking a closer look at his two honest-looking, fiercely competitive friends…

That was actually very possible.

He wasn’t going to end up as the only elderly Golden Core cultivator among them, was he?

No. The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed!

Wen Xu had long since grown accustomed to this friend’s rapid mood swings. Seeing Chunzhou’s emotions rise and fall, he knew the other man had started overthinking again.

He offered some reassurance. “Just do your best. You don’t have to listen to everything he says.”

Bian Chunzhou: …Thanks. That did not make me feel better at all :).

But then again, if both his fiercely competitive friends betrayed him, wouldn’t that mean…

When the tiger was away, the monkey became king!

Thinking of it that way, he felt fine again.

“Speaking of which, apart from the basic Foundation Establishment Pill, the top ten also get a place in the delegation attending the Five Sects Assembly.”

Aside from the special rewards for the top three, everyone in the top ten could accompany the sect to the Heaven-Shattering Sword Sect and broaden their horizons. Although the Five Sects Assembly did not include combat events for those below the Foundation Establishment Realm, traveling was always exciting.

Especially when it was a free group trip with guaranteed safety.

“…No. I have to rise to the occasion!”

Otherwise, he would be left alone on Yonglu Mountain and die of boredom.

Wen Xu could not help asking, “How do you know I’ll definitely make the top ten?”

“Isn’t that obvious? You’re—”

Bian Chunzhou searched for the right words. Why was this king of overachievers suddenly lacking confidence? That simply would not do.

“My friend, can you please have a clear understanding of yourself? You, Wen Xu, defeated someone at the peak of the Qi Refining Realm and then won five matches in a row!”

Truly, the king of overachievers was terrifying.

Wen Xu immediately replied, “But you’ve defeated me many times.”

“…That’s completely different!”

Those had only been friendly sparring matches.

“How is it different? They were all battles. Chunzhou, your calm mindset is your greatest weapon for winning.”

Once Wen Xu got going, one persuasive line followed another.

“And no one else can learn to draw a talisman in midair right in the middle of a battle. Don’t doubt yourself, Chunzhou. You’re also a genius everyone is watching.”

So he should not become anxious, overly critical of himself, or deny his own abilities merely because Wen Xu and Chen Zui had advanced a little faster than him.

When Wen Xu finished speaking, both people across from him raised their heads and stared.

Their reaction was understandable. After all—

Chen Zui spoke first. “You’re really good with words. Can you teach me?”

Bian Chunzhou followed right after him. “Wuwuwu, really?”

He was genuinely moved.

“Really.” Wen Xu nodded solemnly. “When have you ever heard me lie?”

That was true.

Wen Xu did not talk much and was even a little black-bellied, but he really did not say empty, insincere things.

So perhaps Bian Chunzhou really was doing all right?

Well, he had not been pressuring himself that much anyway. The main thing was that he absolutely could not lose to that bastard Lin Congcong.

After leaving the arena, he had tried drawing talismans in midair without talisman paper several more times. Out of roughly a hundred attempts, he could succeed once.

The success rate was moving enough to bring tears to one’s eyes.

Thinking carefully about it, his success in the arena really had been freakishly lucky.

However, Senior Brother Shi had said that failure was normal in the beginning. As long as he practiced until he became proficient and knew every branching stroke of a talisman pattern inside out, his success rate would naturally improve.

In a sense, drawing talismans was not so different from writing.

Every talisman master used a slightly different stroke order, just as everyone had different handwriting. Take the simplest Cleaning Talisman, for example. Its framework resembled a crudely drawn square-within-a-square with four little tails attached.

As long as the spiritual pattern could be sealed without dispersing, the talisman would take shape on its own.

In other words, as long as the pattern he drew fell within the range recognized by heaven and earth, he could improvise freely.

It was like a calligrapher writing the character “eternity.” As long as people could recognize what character it was, the attempt was successful. However wildly the strokes twisted and wandered was merely a minor detail.

Talisman paper and cinnabar were only auxiliary tools used by talisman masters to seal spiritual patterns. They were not strictly necessary.

Therefore, theoretically speaking, it was entirely possible to draw talismans barehanded in midair.

However, doing so placed extreme demands on the speed at which a talisman master drew.

Bian Chunzhou could no longer clearly remember how he had completed the entire pattern in one fluid motion on the arena, but…

It did not matter.

At worst, he just had to work himself harder.

Who was afraid of whom?

Everyone on Yonglu Mountain was an overachiever. Adding one more would hardly make a difference.

Thus, he instantly revived at full health. He even had enough energy to poke Chen Zui beside him.

“…The art of conversation runs too deep. I don’t think you can handle it, so I suggest you stay out of those waters.”

Chen Zui, however, pulled out the little booklet whose edges had already curled and frayed from repeated use.

“Can’t it be turned into a booklet?”

Wen Xu coughed lightly twice. “There’s no need.”

“What?”

“You only want to learn how to talk so you can ask people to spar with you, don’t you?”

Chen Zui nodded. “Of course. Why else would I learn it?”

“Then there’s no need. Anyone genuinely willing to spar with you only needs you to draw your saber and take your stance. Anyone unwilling will only find you annoying no matter how much you say.”

For mercy’s sake, Wen Xu still wanted to accumulate more virtue before returning to the Mortal Realm for revenge.

Judging by how worn that booklet was, he had good reason to suspect that a certain Chen had already harassed quite a few Foundation Establishment disciples.

The sect tournament was currently underway. Even if only to preserve their strength, most people would be unwilling to accept private challenges.

Chen Zui silently put the booklet away. “Fine. You’re smart, so I’ll listen to you.”

Next time, he would draw his saber immediately.

“…You shouldn’t draw your saber the moment you walk up to someone either.”

“How did you know what I was thinking?!”

Wen Xu: …It wasn’t as though I wanted to read your mind.

But every thought was written into his voice. It was hard to pretend he had not heard it.

“Hahahaha! Stop asking. Seriously, take your big brother’s advice. While the sect tournament is going on, don’t challenge anyone to single combat.”

Bian Chunzhou reached out and hooked an arm around the tall saber wielder.

“Don’t give me that sour face. We’re all fellow disciples. Why should members of the same sect torment one another? You might as well polish your saber skills some more. When the Five Sects Assembly comes around, you can spar with disciples from the other sects. For the sake of their reputation, they definitely won’t refuse you. Right?”

Chen Zui thought it over and immediately stopped scowling.

“You’re right. I’m going to practice my saber.”

Then he genuinely picked up his saber and left.

His figure rushed away with such fiery haste that he could practically be called a gust of wind sweeping across Yonglu Mountain.

Bian Chunzhou said, “…Did I say something wrong? He isn’t really going to…”

Wen Xu nodded. “He’s serious.”

“Damn it. The disciples of the other sects aren’t going to gang up on me because of this someday, are they? Like cornering me in some secret realm and beating my mouth to pieces!”

Wen Xu: …I really don’t understand what you’re talking about.

“No, this won’t do. I have to chase after him and explain things properly.”

With that, he also departed like a gust of wind.

Wen Xu was not surprised in the slightest.

He skillfully gathered the things on the table before returning to Spring-Crossing Peak.

As always, Spring-Crossing Peak was covered in gleaming white snow. In fact, the storms had grown even harsher over the past two months. White grains of snow whipped through the air on the wind, filling the sky with an endless expanse of white.

Before coming to the cultivation world, Wen Xu had never seen such a bitterly frozen place.

The wind there also baffled him more than anything else.

It was different from the wind below the mountain. It was disorderly and chaotic, never obeying the iron law that the wind always carried information.

He had never been able to understand the wind of Spring-Crossing Peak.

Of course, Wen Xu also understood that his inability to read it did not mean his wind spiritual root had stopped working.

It was because he was not the master of Spring-Crossing Peak.

His master, Divine Venerable Chengwei, was.

Perhaps one day, when Wen Xu advanced to the Body Integration Realm or the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, he would finally be able to understand the wind here.

But sometimes, being unable to understand it was not so bad.

He did not possess an overwhelming curiosity about the world. He disliked others prying into his thoughts, and by the same principle, he tried his best not to pry into other people’s secrets.

That was the most fundamental principle by which he lived.

Of course, the moment anyone crossed that line, he would stop at nothing.

“Oh, Xu, you’re back. Did you win the sect tournament?”

Divine Venerable Chengwei stretched lazily.

“How long was I drunk? That wine had quite the kick. As expected, Martial Nephew Wufang offering me wine was only a pretense. What she really wanted was to shut me up.”

Wen Xu said, “…Only three months. It’s still better than missing the entire tournament. Your disciple has only just advanced into the top twenty.”

“It still isn’t over? Oh, you’re already at the ninth level of the Qi Refining Realm. Not bad, not bad.”

Divine Venerable Chengwei silently applauded.

As expected of his disciple. Even when left to grow wild, he had turned out wonderfully.

“In that case, I can still go down and join the excitement, can’t I? Do you need your master to watch over your match and cheer you on?”

Looked at that way, the spirit wine Martial Nephew Wufang had obtained was not particularly impressive. He had only been drunk for three months. Hadn’t they said it could keep someone drunk for a year?

As expected, winemakers these days all loved to exaggerate.

Tsk.

Rare terror appeared openly on Wen Xu’s face. “Master, are you serious?”

“I’m lying.”

He would certainly like to go down, but those old fossils above him would not let him cause trouble.

What a pity.

He had heard that the Five Sects Assembly would be held next year. He wondered whether that woman Jun Zhaoying would attend.

He wanted to go too.

Perhaps he could separate off a thread of divine sense and ride along inside his young disciple’s jade pendant.

But with only a thread of divine sense, he might be…

Bullied to death by his old acquaintances.

Divine Venerable Chengwei looked at his young disciple with considerable regret.

“Maybe you shouldn’t attend the Five Sects Assembly after all.”

It was not that Wen Xu wanted to understand him instantly, but he did.

“Master, I haven’t even advanced into the top ten yet.”

Saying something like that would affect his performance in the next match. What kind of discouraging remark was this?

Divine Venerable Chengwei spoke in a幽幽 tone. “…Xu, just you dare try losing.”

What happened to not caring about victory or defeat?

Wen Xu looked at the snowstorm filling the sky and sighed mournfully.

“Master, your disciple will definitely attend the Five Sects Assembly.”

“That’s more like it. Remember to bring some spirit wine back for your master. I’m sick of everything brewed near Yonglu Mountain. The area around the Heaven-Shattering Sword Sect is a little barren, but there should still be something if you search carefully.”

After saying this, Divine Venerable Chengwei paused strangely for a moment before continuing.

“Xu, when you attend the Five Sects Assembly, if you run into… Mm, one of your master’s old friends, and you genuinely can’t defeat their disciple, I’ll allow you to say two—no, three bad things about your master. I guarantee I won’t hold it against you.”

Wen Xu: …A moment ago, I didn’t want to lose. Now I kind of do.

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