Heavenly Sword Peak
Pei Ruyi awoke from her coma.
Her long black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, and her icy blue eyes still held a trace of bewilderment.
“I… lost…”
On that final sword clash, she had overloaded herself to execute Sword Dao Propping the Heavens. Then, she felt an immense force slam into her, sending her flying, and she lost consciousness.
“Awake now?”
Pei Ruyi followed the voice and turned her head. She saw Hua Sheng leaning against the doorframe.
“Hua Sheng?”
“One good piece of news and one bad. Which do you want to hear first?” Hua Sheng raised an eyebrow.
“…”
Pei Ruyi silently straightened her plain white robes, using her Sword Qi to naturally arrange her hair.
“The bad one.”
“You lost to Ye Luqing. She told me to pass on a message: remember to honor your bet.”
“Tch…”
Pei Ruyi’s normally placid face instantly fell. The moment she thought about the bet with Ye Luqing, she wished she could just ram her head into something and die.
Losing at the Nascent Soul Stage to a Golden Core cultivator, and now having to act as someone she disliked’s personal stool…
How utterly wretched.
Seeing Pei Ruyi completely deflated, Hua Sheng chuckled.
“What about the good news?”
“The Fifth Elder has decided to accept you as a Direct Disciple. Happy?”
On Heavenly Sword Peak, aside from the Dao Integration Stage Peak Lord Feng Linyi, there were also five elders at the Void Comprehension Stage and nine at the Spirit Transformation Stage.
These elders were ranked by cultivation level. Privately, the peak’s disciples referred to them as the “Upper Five, Lower Nine” — fourteen elders in total.
Every disciple dreamed of being accepted as a Direct Disciple by an elder. The five Void Comprehension Stage elders of the “Upper Five” were the ultimate goal of a lifetime’s pursuit for many.
As for becoming a Direct Disciple of Peak Lord Feng Linyi… as long as Xiao Qingxuan remained, no other disciple dared even dream of it.
“…I understand.”
Pei Ruyi pushed herself up with her hands. Her face returned to its usual expressionless mask, devoid of both joy and sorrow.
Hua Sheng raised an eyebrow again and straightened up from the doorframe.
Knowing Pei Ruyi as he did, she should have been ecstatic to hear this news.
Those five Void Comprehension Stage elders hadn’t accepted a Direct Disciple in a long time. Becoming a disciple of a Divine Lord at the Void Comprehension Stage guaranteed a future as a Spirit Transformation Heavenly Lord, at the very least. She might even inherit the Divine Lord’s mantle.
After all, the threshold from Nascent Soul to Spirit Transformation had trapped countless geniuses.
Ninety-nine percent of Nascent Soul cultivators would never cross this barrier in their entire lives.
Even that Chief Xiao was still only at the Half-Step Spirit Transformation stage. It just showed how difficult breaking through to Spirit Transformation truly was.
“Hey, ‘Senior Sister Pei,’ are you okay?”
Hua Sheng looked Pei Ruyi up and down. What kind of insane agreement had she made with Ye Luqing? It was bad enough to make Pei Ruyi not even happy about the monumental joy of becoming a Direct Disciple.
“I’m fine…”
Pei Ruyi glanced at Hua Sheng and frowned slightly.
“I told you, don’t call me Senior Sister.”
On the path of cultivation, the accomplished came first. In the Profound Firmament Upper Sect, and even the entire Immortal Cultivation World, one’s cultivation level was the primary factor, with age a distant second.
However, Pei Ruyi and Hua Sheng had joined the sect in the same year. Their cultivation and strength had always been very close, and in actual combat, they traded wins and losses.
She had only recently broken through to the Nascent Soul Stage a little faster. She was sure Hua Sheng would catch up soon.
Hua Sheng smiled. They had competed since the day they joined. Among their cohort, besides Xiao Qingxuan, the two of them were considered the most talented on Heavenly Sword Peak.
At this thought, his smile faded, and he looked at Pei Ruyi seriously.
“Just what kind of demand did Senior Sister Ye make?”
“If it’s too excessive… I can go ask the Seventh Elder for help.”
Upon hearing this, Pei Ruyi looked at Hua Sheng. A trace of warmth welled up in her heart.
The Seventh Elder of Heavenly Sword Peak had long wanted to accept Hua Sheng as a Direct Disciple, but he had never agreed.
Pei Ruyi shared the same goal. Rather than an elder at the Spirit Transformation Stage, Hua Sheng wanted to apprentice under one of the Void Comprehension Divine Lords, hoping to walk a longer path in cultivation.
If he now asked the Seventh Elder to intervene, it would be as good as tacitly agreeing to become his disciple.
After a moment, Pei Ruyi shook her head.
“The elder stepping in could indeed settle the wager with Ye Luqing, but I don’t want you to pay such a huge price.”
“I’ll resolve this myself. You just focus on breaking through to Nascent Soul as soon as possible.”
“That Senior Brother Shen under the Third Elder has been charging toward the Spirit Transformation Stage for three years already. He could break through at any moment.”
“When that happens, the Third Elder’s position for a Direct Disciple will open up. I imagine many will compete for it.”
Having said her piece, Pei Ruyi willed her clothes to change. She prepared to go meet the Fifth Elder.
Hua Sheng didn’t argue. He simply watched Pei Ruyi’s departing back and sighed.
Pei Ruyi was always looking at Xiao Qingxuan’s back, overlooking so many things along the way.
But then again, who wasn’t looking at Pei Ruyi’s back in turn…
…
…
“You want to participate in the Grand Tournament’s Duo Tournament with Little Qing?”
Bai Yuhan looked at Ying Qianqian with surprise.
A Dual Array Cultivator Team lineup had never appeared in any of the previous Sect Grand Tournaments.
“Yes.”
Ying Qianqian nodded seriously. She had been thinking about this for a long time.
Hearing this, Bai Yuhan looked over at Ye Luqing.
“Little Qing, what are your thoughts?”
“Me? I’m fine with anything, really…” Ye Luqing scratched her cheek. She wasn’t very interested in the Grand Tournament.
But if Direct Disciples were required to participate, teaming up with Little Ying to coast through the Duo Tournament wasn’t impossible.
At least it was more reliable than some stranger.
As if sensing Ye Luqing’s intention to just coast through the tournament, Bai Yuhan gave a slightly exasperated smile.
“The Duo Tournament tests teamwork. You two are both Array Cultivators. Your fighting style is one-dimensional and you lack offensive power.”
Typically, Duo Tournament teams consisted of a Main Attacker and a Support who cooperated in battle.
Combinations like Sword Cultivator + Array Cultivator, Spell Cultivator + Pill Cultivator, or Body Cultivator + Talisman Cultivator were relatively common.
Some teams even ran dual Main Attackers, like Dual Sword Cultivators or Spell Cultivator + Body Cultivator. They focused entirely on unleashing maximum power with zero regard for sustainability.
A dual Support lineup was practically unheard of in the Grand Tournament.
She truly couldn’t imagine a Dual Array Cultivator team beating anyone. Dual Pill Cultivators?
“You are both excellent Support fighters. If you were to team up with Nascent Soul disciples from other peaks, you’d stand a good chance of achieving a respectable rank.” Bai Yuhan smiled.
“This year’s Grand Tournament rewards are very generous, you know.”
Hearing this, Ye Luqing’s eyes lit up.
“Shizun, what are the rewards for this year’s Grand Tournament?”
Xiao Qingxuan could return to the Profound Firmament Upper Sect with a method to restore her memories at any moment. She had to rapidly increase her own strength.
This also applied to Xiao Qingxuan’s potential further blackening. She needed to bolster her self-defense capabilities to avoid being killed as easily as she was in her previous life.
Bai Yuhan nodded. Considering Ye Luqing had lost her previous memories, she patiently explained:
“In previous years, the top eight in the Singles Match and the top four in the Duo Tournament could freely select a single Earth-Rank Dharma Treasure from the Myriad Affairs Peak Treasury.”
“This year, in addition to that, the first-place winners of both the Singles Match and the Duo Tournament will also receive an extra Earth-Tier Technique from Scripture Peak.”
Upon hearing this, Ye Luqing was instantly tempted.
Two Earth-Rank items! In terms of both value and practicality, this was exactly what she needed right now.
The combat power of a Dual Array Cultivator Team was indeed severely limited. Let alone winning first place, they’d be lucky to even achieve a decent rank.
Furthermore, both their cultivations were at the Golden Core Stage. Facing opponents composed of dual Nascent Soul cultivators would likely be very difficult to handle.
“Sorry, Little Ying, but your Senior Sister really does need those Earth-Tier Techniques,” Ye Luqing thought to herself.
However, just as Ye Luqing was about to politely decline Ying Qianqian’s proposal, the System’s voice echoed in her mind.
【Corruption Value karma detected. Triggering special storyline】
【Storyline Mission: Team up with Ying Qianqian and participate in the Sect Grand Tournament’s Duo Tournament】
【Mission Reward: 1000 Corruption Value Shop points, Random Discount on an Earth-Rank Method Combo Pack】
