Chapter 70: Fine, Then

Although he very much wanted to lose, Wen Xu still struggled his way to victory in this round of twenty-to-ten eliminations.

His opponent was an inner-sect disciple at the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refining. He had joined the sect six years before Wen Xu and studied under a Nascent Soul Realm True Lord from Sword Peak.

This was also Wen Xu’s first time fighting a sword cultivator. Sword cultivators were famously skilled at challenging opponents above their level, so even though his opponent used none of the usual fancy spells, Wen Xu had an exceptionally difficult time winning this battle.

Fortunately, the gap between their cultivation levels was not too great. In the end, he relied on the Layered Wind Array to deliver a decisive finishing blow and claim victory.

But Wen Xu knew perfectly well that, just as they were studying the techniques and fighting styles of the victorious disciples, everyone else was undoubtedly studying theirs.

The Layered Wind Array was extremely useful, but it was also easy to counter. The reason he had waited until the very end to deploy it in this match was that his attempts had been interrupted several times earlier.

His future opponents would only grow stronger. Unless he made some changes, it would be very difficult for him to keep winning with his current cultivation.

His cultivation was still too shallow.

Wen Xu tightened his grip on the Folding Wind Fan. Perhaps there were still some changes he could make. Stacking arrays was powerful, but in a one-on-one fight, it was not reliable enough at present.

In truth, however, Wen Xu had imagined the sect’s disciples to be… far more lofty and serious than they actually were.

Plenty of people were studying the victorious competitors’ techniques and fighting styles, but the overwhelming majority had already been eliminated.

They certainly cared about which senior brothers and sisters had won and whose ultimate moves were more impressive, but…

Who did not enjoy gossip?

For instance, the latest gossip about a certain inner-sect Senior Brother Shi had just received another update.

Apparently, Senior Brother Shi had deliberately set aside his cultivation to watch the powerful showdown between Senior Brother Bian and Senior Brother Lin.

The moment those two senior brothers saw Senior Brother Shi arrive to watch, their soft and listless battle—which had already dragged on for most of the day—immediately began throwing off sparks.

According to those present, the two fought until heaven and earth went dark and even the sun and moon lost their light.

Senior Brother Bian even used the Talismanless Art, a technique supposedly known only by Senior Brother Shi, and instantly finished off Senior Brother Lin.

In every possible sense.

They said Senior Brother Lin cried terribly afterward, but Senior Brother Shi was entirely insensitive to romance and cared only about the victor.

Ah, honestly, it was all so…

Still, rumor had it that Senior Brother Shi later went to comfort Senior Brother Lin Congcong. By now, Senior Brother Lin Congcong had already entered seclusion to cultivate, supposedly preparing to wash away his humiliation during the year-end assessment.

Sure enough, being an inner-sect disciple was not easy either.

The grudges, romances, and emotional entanglements of heaven’s favored geniuses were truly delicious. :)

“Where are you getting all this information? How come I’ve never heard any of it?”

“Everyone knows. We just haven’t paraded it in front of the people involved. Also, all gossip concerning Junior Granduncle-Master is forbidden.”

“Why? Does Junior Granduncle-Master eat people or something?”

“Not exactly. Junior Granduncle-Master rarely appears, and he’s always very courteous, but he gives people a sense of distance. Of course, that isn’t the important part. The important part is—”

“What is?”

“The important part is that the Punishment Hall has an executive elder who’s especially good at nitpicking. He comes from Spirit Plant Peak. You know what that means. The starting punishment is reclaiming two mu of spirit fields.”

“The one who’s obsessed with proper hierarchy?”

“Mm-hmm. Anyway, someone with no fear of death already got sent to plow fields. A senior brother from Kaiyuan Peak, apparently. I heard he was caught and assigned hard labor because he discussed a little piece of gossip about the sect master.”

…

It was entirely reasonable to suspect that the sect master had personally issued the order while wearing someone else’s shell.

Naturally, he only dared think that.

What if someone overheard him saying it aloud?

At this rate, one day they might get dragged away to plow fields simply because they entered the sect with their left foot first.

Reclaiming spirit fields was the most hated method of earning sect contribution points among the disciples of Yonglu Mountain.

There was no competition.

The herbalists from Spirit Plant Peak usually looked mild-mannered, friendly, and agreeable. But the moment it came to reclaiming spirit fields or tending medicinal herbs, every last one of them turned into a vengeful ghost from the underworld demanding your life.

Even an actual death summons would not be so relentless.

Whenever disciples went to reclaim spirit fields, they ended up feeling as though they were hopelessly stupid and had forgotten to bring their brains when leaving home.

The worst part was that whenever they tried to argue, the herbalists actually had sound reasoning and evidence on their side.

Truly, anyone who wanted to temper their Dao heart could accept Spirit Plant Peak missions for an entire month in a row.

Guaranteed…

They would give up after three days.

Anyone who lasted seven days was either suffering purely to save face or simply not a normal person.

“That’s brutal. Are spirit fields really that scarce on Spirit Plant Peak?”

“They are. Why do you think those people know so much about reclaiming them?”

“…Why?”

“Because they’re rich, of course. They don’t want to do the work themselves. The spirit fields we reclaim are all used for experimenting with different spirit herbs and flowers. Some spirit herbs grow especially aggressively, so after they’re harvested, spirit-stone laborers like us have to restore the fertility of the fields. You understand, right?”

Who would willingly perform that miserable work and endure that aggravation if they had spirit stones in their pockets?

Cultivation was not easy.

“Senior Brothers, what are you talking about? You seem so happy. Why not tell me too, so I can share in the fun?”

The two of them turned their heads in unison.

Good grief.

What was wrong with the disciples of Spirit Plant Peak? They had shown up without even needing to follow the scent of gossip.

Was that really necessary?

It was not!

They were merely…

Better a fellow Daoist suffer than this poor Daoist.

And so, the two of them shared the gossip concerning a certain Senior Brother Shi.

“Junior Brother, none of this is guaranteed to be true. You absolutely must not spread it.”

The Spirit Plant Peak disciple listened until he had gotten his fill of gossip, then finally left in satisfaction.

Hehe.

Tomorrow, he would have fresh gossip to discuss while urging people to plow the fields.

And so, one person told ten, and ten told a hundred.

In the end, the gossip still reached the ears of the person involved.

Bian Chunzhou had just been carried down from the arena and had already fainted. Naturally, he immediately performed a perfect rendition of “a dying man sits bolt upright from his sickbed.”

His eyes flew open, round as saucers.

Chen Zui had not expected a casual remark of his to possess the power to bring someone back to life.

He could not help rubbing his chin.

“Has my eloquence improved?”

“No… Next time, I suggest you don’t speak.”

Fortunately, his heart was strong enough to withstand random nonsense.

After saying this, Bian Chunzhou fainted again.

After all, he had won this battle with enormous difficulty. He had thought he would not dare risk everything, but once he stepped into the arena and his blood began to boil, he truly stopped caring about the consequences.

He had fought with his life on the line for the chance to attend the Five Sects Assembly.

Unfortunately, that meant his injuries had also worsened considerably.

In the next match, he would be the easy target. Whoever drew him would practically be guaranteed a place in the top five.

Rather than giving that advantage to someone else, he might as well give it to a friend.

Heavens above, please let him draw either Wen Xuxu or Chen Zuizui in the next round.

…

Then, once Bian Chunzhou had finally recovered enough energy to draw lots, he drew—

“Wow. Junior Brother Bian, you got exactly what you wanted.”

The disciple from Kaiyuan Peak had clearly heard that absurd gossip too.

Everyone knew it was nonsense, but still…

You understood.

Bian Chunzhou’s face instantly turned ashen.

“Senior Sister, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Haha, right, of course. Well then, good luck, Junior Brother. We all have very high hopes for you~”

Bian Chunzhou: …

He would rather not have that blessing at all.

“Senior Sister, can I withdraw and surrender immediately?”

The senior sister shook her head.

“There’s no rule against it, but it isn’t recommended.”

…

Had all his luck been used up during his match against Lin Congcong?

Could this be the legendary case of an old man gaining a horse, only for fortune to become misfortune?

He did not mind fighting Senior Brother Shi. In fact, he rather wanted to fight him once.

But that was under the condition that he had never heard the ridiculous gossip that had spread all the way across the Vast Sea Domain.

Did none of these people need to cultivate?

Were they so idle because they no longer wanted to ascend?

Bian Chunzhou returned to his cave abode in low spirits.

Not long afterward, he received communication talismans from his friends. Once they compared their draws, his spirits sank even further.

Among the ten places below the Foundation Establishment Realm, aside from the three of them, there were Senior Brother Shi Yijian from the inner sect, who was at the peak of Qi Refining; Senior Sister Liu Zheyan, who was at the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refining; Senior Brother Fang Buge, who was at the peak of Qi Refining; and Senior Sister Rong Xiaoling, who was also at the peak of Qi Refining.

Only three outer-sect disciples remained, and all three were at the peak of Qi Refining.

They had already fought Senior Sister Huo Shengyin and Senior Brother Li Anqu before.

The final contestant, Senior Brother Han Yu, was likewise at the peak of Qi Refining. However, Senior Brother Han Yu was said to come from a distinguished family and possess immense wealth. Among cultivators of the same level, no one could defeat him in a contest of talismans.

Therefore, even without his internal injuries, Bian Chunzhou’s chances of entering the top five would probably have been slim.

Apart from him, Wen Xu had the lowest cultivation among the remaining nine contestants.

Still, high-level Qi Refining cultivators were generally not too far apart in strength, so…

It would come down to actual combat.

Chen Zui was very satisfied with his opponent.

“In my next match, I’ll be facing Senior Brother Fang Buge from the inner sect. He’s a sword cultivator.”

His previous fight with Xia Ying had been nowhere near satisfying enough. He wanted to experience another kind of sword cultivator.

He had heard that Fang Buge studied under Venerable Suilie and that his swordsmanship was extraordinarily explosive.

That was exactly the kind of opponent he liked.

“What about you, Wen Xuxu?”

Wen Xu unfolded the registration token in his hand.

“It’s Senior Brother Han Yu from the outer sect.”

…

Good grief.

They were both facing formidable opponents.

“I wish you both victory. There’s no point in thinking about mine. My injuries won’t allow me to use most of my spiritual power.”

Bian Chunzhou was already quite satisfied.

After all, he had charged into the finals while only at the eighth level of Qi Refining.

Even his master had been astonished that he had managed to last this long and had rewarded him handsomely.

“That means the only ones left are the two inner-sect senior sisters. I heard—only heard, mind you—that Senior Sister Liu and Senior Sister Xiaoling have some sort of grudge.”

Listening to gossip about himself was deadly, but telling gossip about other people felt fantastic.

For that very reason, Bian Chunzhou had no grounds to condemn others for spreading rumors. After all, not one of them had managed to follow the principle of not doing unto others what they would not want done unto themselves. :)

As long as the gossip did not spread beyond the sect, it was fine.

“What kind of grudge?”

Bian Chunzhou shook his head.

“I don’t know. But they’re like Lin Congcong and me. They just can’t stand each other. Senior Sister Liu is gentle and warm toward everyone except Senior Sister Xiaoling, whom she never treats pleasantly. Senior Sister Xiaoling is outgoing and unconcerned with formalities, but she especially loves catching Senior Sister Liu making mistakes. She refuses to overlook even the tiniest one.”

Wen Xu: …

That sounded as though they had a very good relationship.

“I wonder whether fate will let them draw each other?”

Bian Chunzhou had only sighed casually.

Then…

Whoa.

It actually came true.

Liu and Rong were matched in an inner-sect civil war, while the outer-sect disciples were also matched against each other.

Good grief.

Seen that way, his own match also counted as an inner-sect civil war.

It was just that…

There was no suspense regarding the outcome.

Thus, when Bian Chunzhou stood in the arena, he could even calmly make a request.

“Senior Brother Shi, could you let me lose with a little dignity?”

A smile spread across Shi Yijian’s face.

“What would count as dignified? Could Junior Brother Bian teach me?”

Damn it.

He should not have brought that up.

Senior Brother Shi, it would be better if you kept your mouth shut. Otherwise, who knew how that damned gossip would mutate next?

Would it become something like “Senior Brother Shi deliberately held back for X”?

No, no, no, no.

Bian Chunzhou immediately adopted a solemn and righteous expression.

“Actually, losing without dignity is fine too.”

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