Holding the Sword to Carry Away Senior Sister (Transmigration) - Chapter 23.2

Soon, Fu Yan saw two inner disciples beside her walk onto the stage. After exchanging bows, they took up their weapons. In the blink of an eye, the fight had already reached a fever pitch, and the surrounding crowd watched with great interest.

Fu Yan watched for a while and was already able to guess the outcome of the match, so she withdrew her gaze. Halfway through, however, her gaze coincidentally landed on Bai Yueli to her right.

I wonder what number she is, Fu Yan thought.

Today, Bai Yueli was finally not wearing pure white. Instead, like all the inner disciples, she wore the light blue sect uniform, yet it did not diminish her cold, elegant, and ethereal temperament in the slightest.

Indeed, a person’s aura is truly innate.

Seeming to sense the gaze upon her, Bai Yueli suddenly turned her body and looked over, locking eyes with Fu Yan, who hadn’t had time to look away.

Fu Yan was momentarily stunned and quickly nodded as a greeting, then rapidly averted her eyes. Being caught in the act of peeking was very awkward.

“Number 49 wins, one point!”

Fortunately, the match on the platform had concluded at that moment, drawing most people’s attention. The result was exactly as Fu Yan had predicted.

After a few more matches were finished, Fu Yan finally heard her own number.

“Sixth match: Number 37 versus Number 52!”

As the words fell, Fu Yan slowly stood up. Carrying her Ling Long broken sword, she walked step by step onto the arena stage. One breath later, her opponent stood opposite her.

It was a disciple at the Middle Opening Light stage.

“Number 52, Lin Zhong. Please guide me.” He was the first to raise his hand in a respectful salute toward Fu Yan.

Fu Yan raised her hand in return. “Number 37, Fu Yan. Please guide me.”

Lin Zhong was a saber cultivator. As soon as the two finished their salutes, he quickly raised his long blade and charged directly at Fu Yan.

Fu Yan was not at all careless. She immediately used her Wind-Shadow Steps to glide backward, quickly and completely pulling apart the distance between them.

Although Fu Yan’s cultivation was one stage lower than his, Lin Zhong did not harbor any thoughts of getting lucky. After all, he couldn’t even beat Zhou Zhenlie, let alone Fu Yan, who had truly shattered Zhou Zhenlie’s Qi Sea.

Seeing Fu Yan easily dodge his strike, Lin Zhong could only quickly unleash his strongest attack: “Blazing Red Blade!”

In an instant, the long blade in Lin Zhong’s hand seemed to spontaneously ignite. Raging flames rose up, making the air appear as if it were deforming. He gripped the blade tightly as the True Essence in his body exploded forth. His figure bore down on Fu Yan.

Lin Zhong’s strike came with fierce momentum, and with his True Essence explosion boosting his speed, Fu Yan naturally had no reason to continue dodging. She quickly reversed the Ling Long broken sword in her hand and leaped, meeting the flaming blade head-on.

Instantly, a massive current of air swirled through the space. The True Essence in Fu Yan’s body surged out again. Lin Zhong suddenly felt a massive pressure hit him. By the time he reacted, his blade’s flames had been instantly extinguished.

In a flash, the power of Fu Yan’s sword struck Lin Zhong directly. He fell backward rapidly, crashing heavily onto the ground in the next moment and spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Large beads of sweat slid down his forehead. Lin Zhong felt a bit helpless; he couldn’t even take a single strike from the opponent.

“Sixth match: 37 wins, one point!”

As the deacon elder’s voice rang out, the match had reached its conclusion. Such a rapid battle left the crowd feeling somewhat incredulous.

“That was too fast! They only got on stage a few breaths ago, and the outcome is already decided!”

“What? The sixth match is already over? In the time it took me to go to the latrine, two matches are gone?”

“Who is this junior sister? She’s only at the Early Opening Light stage, yet she could defeat the Middle-stage Lin Zhong with one strike?”

“You mean Junior Sister Fu Yan? Haven’t you heard about the incident from a month ago? She’s the one who shattered Zhou Zhenlie’s Qi Sea in a life-and-death challenge! Lin Zhong’s strength can’t even compare to Zhou Zhenlie’s, so this is obvious.”

“Oh, so it’s her. I didn’t go watch back then.”

“I feel like this Fu Yan might be a dark horse this year. Guess how many ranks she can break into?”

“Hard to say, but top hundred is definitely no problem. As for whether she can enter the top fifty, that depends on her subsequent strength.”

“…”

Amidst the discussions in the spectator stands, Fu Yan had already sheathed her Ling Long broken sword and walked down slowly, returning to her seat.

The next match was between two new disciples at the Early Opening Light stage. This kind of match was not only uninteresting but wouldn’t end quickly, so the crowd shifted their gaze to matches in other groups.

“Look at Group 6 over there! That junior sister is actually on par with Li Yanwei, who is ranked 98th. She seems to be a freshman too. The people this year are too freakish—how are they all dark horses? Are they going to let us seniors survive or not!”

Just then, Fu Yan suddenly heard a voice full of disbelief from behind her. After hearing the person’s words, she couldn’t help but look toward Group 6 with curiosity.

Soon, she saw a familiar figure.

On Group 6’s arena stage, Tong Zhen was fighting a man. Her luck seemed to be a bit poor; she had run into the 98th-ranked Li Yanwei right from the start.

In any case, Tong Zhen was the first friend she had made in the Shui Ling Sect’s inner sect. Fu Yan naturally hoped Tong Zhen would win, so she fixed her gaze on that match.

By now, Tong Zhen had exchanged four or five moves with her opponent but still had not fallen behind. Opposite her, Li Yanwei was also having a massive headache. When he first saw Tong Zhen, a new disciple at the Early Opening Light stage, get on stage, he thought the match would end quickly. He never expected to kick a piece of hard iron.

This Junior Sister Tong looked timid, but he hadn’t expected her to be a hidden master; his attacks couldn’t break through her defense at all.

“Junior Sister Tong is indeed formidable.” Li Yanwei couldn’t help but smile bitterly. If this continued, he estimated he would soon fall into a disadvantage. He had no choice but to bring out his strongest strength.

Hearing this, Tong Zhen looked at him with confusion, as if she hadn’t yet realized the current state of the match.

Tong Zhen truly had no concept of it; after all, from the moment they got on stage, Li Yanwei had been the one attacking her. She could only passively defend, not daring to be the slightest bit careless for fear that she would be knocked off the stage by accident.

After hearing Li Yanwei’s voice, Tong Zhen looked at him with a somewhat aggrieved expression, thinking: Can’t you just slow down a bit? The attacks were coming one after another, not giving her a moment to breathe.

Li Yanwei: “…”

He seemed to read the meaning expressed in Tong Zhen’s eyes. Usually well-mannered, he felt like shouting out loud: Why are YOU the one feeling aggrieved! Shouldn’t I be the one feeling aggrieved!!

Of course, Li Yanwei wouldn’t actually shout it out; he could only swallow it.

Li Yanwei was ranked in the top hundred. For a new disciple to be on par with him while only at the Early Opening Light stage naturally drew countless gazes.

After a pause, under everyone’s watch, Li Yanwei gripped his long spear tightly and charged directly at Tong Zhen once again.

Tong Zhen’s movement technique was not good and she had no speed to speak of, so it was naturally impossible to dodge. She could only reach out her hand, wanting to use her own strength to resist.

Sure enough, the subsequent situation was no different from before. Li Yanwei still couldn’t break through Tong Zhen’s defense, and naturally, it was impossible to wound her.

Just then, Li Yanwei was preparing to withdraw his spear and step back to use his strongest “Explosive Spear,” only to suddenly find that this time, Tong Zhen was tightly gripping the end of his spear and didn’t seem to have any intention of letting go.

He was momentarily stunned. Reacting quickly, Li Yanwei gripped the tail of the spear, intending to use his own True Essence to pull it back. But… the spear in his hand didn’t move an inch.

Li Yanwei, feeling like he couldn’t even pull his weapon back: “…”

However, the next moment made him wish he could just bash his head and be done with it. Li Yanwei suddenly felt the long spear in his hand being lifted by the other side. Since he didn’t let go, he followed the spear and was hoisted right off the arena stage by Tong Zhen.

At this moment, the scene was Tong Zhen gripping the end of the spear and hoisting both man and weapon up, hanging them steadily in mid-air.

Li Yanwei: “…” Who am I? Where am I?

Fu Yan, witnessing everything: “…”

The spectators who had cast their gazes over: “…”

In an instant, aside from the fighting sounds from other groups, there was total silence. Almost everyone stared at the arena with wide eyes.

Although Fu Yan had seen the scene of Tong Zhen swinging a crocodile with one hand, this current image still made her a little surprised once again.

Lifting an adult man was nothing, but the opponent was a stage higher in cultivation—that changed the nature of the act. Moreover, she was using the opponent’s most familiar weapon.

After the silence, everyone in the spectator stands began to discuss rapidly.

“My god, did I see that right? This junior sister used Li Yanwei’s own spear to hoist him up in the air.”

“This world is too surreal. This girl clearly looks silly and cute; how did her move… end up different from what I thought?”

“I suspect my eyes are playing tricks on me!”

“You aren’t seeing things, this is real. And haven’t you felt it? There wasn’t a single ripple of spiritual power around this junior sister. This…”

“What? You mean she hasn’t even used True Essence? This is just… just relying on her own physical strength?”

“It seems… that’s the case!”

“Holy mother, what kind of freak constitution is this? I’m afraid she’s the biggest dark horse in this year’s tournament. I almost want to kneel!”

“I suddenly feel some pity for Li Yanwei…”

“…”

While everyone was discussing her actions, Tong Zhen didn’t pay much attention. she just wanted Li Yanwei to rest for a bit and stop attacking her so much; she was almost unable to keep up.

“I forfeit!”

Just as Tong Zhen had gained a moment of free time, a voice suddenly drifted down from the air above her head.

Having said that, the person directly let go of his long spear and jumped down steadily.

“Group 6, fifth match: Number 22 wins, one point!”

It wasn’t until the deacon elder’s voice reached her ears that Tong Zhen, still holding the spear, slowly snapped out of it. She immediately looked at Li Yanwei with a confused expression. “Hey, wait, isn’t the match not over yet? Why… why did you suddenly forfeit?”

If he couldn’t tell that this girl was truly missing a few gears, Li Yanwei might have been driven by rage to drag her down with him.

But looking at her innocent face, Li Yanwei felt that if he got angry, it would be like punching cotton—it would be completely useless. Forget it; although he still had trump cards unused, today he truly had been inferior in skill.

“Can you give the spear back to me now?” Li Yanwei could only look up and say.

Tong Zhen was startled, only then realizing she was still clutching the man’s weapon. She hurriedly and apologetically handed it over. “Sorry, sorry! Here’s your spear.”

Li Yanwei took the spear and turned away from the arena without looking back, leaving only Tong Zhen, who still didn’t understand how she had suddenly won.

Watching this match gave Fu Yan the urge to facepalm. She truly couldn’t understand what kind of family could raise such a “treasure” like Tong Zhen.

Fu Yan suddenly became a bit curious about Tong Zhen’s background.

The morning matches concluded, and everyone seemed to still want more. However, after only a two-hour break at noon, the afternoon matches began once again.

In the morning, Fu Yan had only gone up for one match, and Bai Yueli nearby hadn’t gone up once. However, the crowd wasn’t worried; after all, a Ranking Tournament usually took seven or eight days, and sometimes ten days was common.

Returning after lunch, Fu Yan had just sat down to watch a match when she heard the deacon elder’s voice ring out again: “Group 8, eighth match: Number 16 versus Number 41!”

The next moment, Fu Yan saw Bai Yueli on her right stand up and slowly walk onto the arena stage. She was Number 16.

“AHHH! Senior Sister Bai is finally on! Who is her opponent?”

“No way. I looked forward to Senior Sister Bai’s first match for so long, but her opponent is just a Middle Opening Light disciple. Is there even a need to fight?”

“What’s the rush? The tournament has only just started. The truly powerful ones won’t run into each other so quickly.”

“True. The beginning is just a warm-up. Only the finals will be worth watching.”

As various voices drifted from behind her, Fu Yan saw the two on stage begin their salutes. However, just as the deacon elder’s “Begin” was said, the opponent immediately reached out a hand. “I forfeit!”

Hearing this, the deacon elder wasn’t surprised in the slightest. “Number 16 wins, one point!”

As the words fell, the two on stage hurriedly came down. This match could be said to have ended before it even started.

Although Fu Yan was a little surprised, she could understand. In a match with such a disparity in strength, it was better to just forfeit and save energy for later matches. However, being able to exchange a few moves with someone of Bai Yueli’s strength would actually allow one to see their own strength more clearly, leading to better insights and progress.

The matches continued fervently. Not long after, Fu Yan stepped onto the stage again, but this time her opponent surprised her.

“Number 52, Qin Xinrui. Please guide me.”

Qin Xinrui, opposite her, stared at Fu Yan and spoke every word clearly.

Having not seen her for a month, Qin Xinrui’s cultivation had actually broken through to the Middle Opening Light stage.

Fu Yan hadn’t expected Qin Xinrui to be in Group 8 as well. She had to admit that she hadn’t noticed the girl all morning. Since defeating her with one strike in the inner sect match, this was only the second time Fu Yan had seen her.

As the match began, Qin Xinrui quickly gripped her sword. The look in her eyes toward Fu Yan was full of loathing and jealousy.

After being knocked unconscious by Fu Yan that day, Qin Xinrui had been so angry she wanted to kill someone. Although she later realized she had been used by Zhou Zhenlie, Fu Yan had caused her such great humiliation that she naturally detested her to the extreme.

So for the past month, Qin Xinrui had practiced bitterly just to defeat Fu Yan in front of everyone. Fortunately, heaven rewards the diligent, and she finally broke through to the Middle Opening Light stage before this tournament.

In truth, Qin Xinrui didn’t believe Fu Yan was that powerful at all. One could say she refused to believe it. Even now, with Fu Yan being famous in the inner sect because of that life-and-death challenge with Zhou Zhenlie, Qin Xinrui still truly believed that Zhou Zhenlie had simply been seduced by Fu Yan and grew careless, thus failing in an unexpected way.

Now that she herself was at the Middle Opening Light stage, Qin Xinrui didn’t believe that with a stage of difference between them, just how powerful could Fu Yan be?

This time, Qin Xinrui forced herself not to be too impatient. She did not launch a rapid attack as she usually did. Instead, she gripped her sword and stared at Fu Yan, trying to see her moves.

Fu Yan, naturally, wasn’t thinking as much as Qin Xinrui. After all, in her eyes, the outcome of this battle was already decided.

Since the opponent didn’t attack first, Fu Yan didn’t want to drag it out. She gripped her Ling Long broken sword and, using Wind-Shadow Steps, rushed directly in front of Qin Xinrui.

She was at the Middle stage now, after all. Though her strength wasn’t great, she had basic reflexes. She quickly flipped to dodge, then bent low and lunged with a sword strike.

Fu Yan didn’t care. She leaped up, her toe landing steadily on the tip of Qin Xinrui’s blade.

Qin Xinrui instantly felt insulted. Thinking that Fu Yan didn’t take her seriously at all, she suddenly lost all reason. She completely exploded her True Essence, threw her sword open in a rage, and jumped above Fu Yan.

“Fu Yan, let’s see you dodge now! Die!!” She roared with gritted teeth, her hand rotating rapidly. In an instant, she unleashed her strongest “Tenfold Sword.”

Fu Yan looked at the ten fierce blades appearing before her. Seeing how much the owner hated her, she couldn’t help but sigh.

She had originally thought Qin Xinrui was simply blinded by Zhou Zhenlie, but it seemed the girl was a person who sought revenge for even the smallest grievance.

Facing someone who was intent on killing her, Fu Yan finally stopped holding back. She gripped the Ling Long broken sword and swung it directly at the ten-fold blade shadows.

In the next moment, the newly formed blades were crushed by Fu Yan’s powerful sword qi, vanishing into nothingness in an instant. Qin Xinrui, directly in front, also took the brunt of the strike. She immediately spat a mouthful of blood in mid-air and flew off the massive arena stage.

With one move, the outcome was decided.

“Number 37, Fu Yan wins, one point!”

This time, the blasted-away Qin Xinrui did not lose consciousness. clutching her chest, she struggled with great effort to climb up from the ground. After the deacon elder’s voice fell, she suddenly seemed to go mad.

She strained her throat and shrieked, “No… impossible! How can this be? Your cultivation is clearly lower than mine; how could I lose? AHHH!! No, I don’t believe it… You… you must have cheated! That’s right, you definitely cheated! Quick, go investigate her, she cheated!!”

The crowd: “…” Is this person insane?

The deacon elder on stage finally glanced at Qin Xinrui, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly. He soon signaled to nearby disciples to take her completely away from the arena grounds.

Fu Yan said nothing. She knew Qin Xinrui was completely finished. Not because she screamed or because she dared to question the deacon elder’s discernment, but because her Dao Heart was destroyed.

For any cultivator, a steadfast Dao Heart is the most important thing. If the Dao Heart is ruined, their life is ruined.

“Wait, who was that just now? Why can’t she afford to lose? It was just one match.”

“This goes back to a month ago. Forget it, it’s no big deal. Anyway, her Dao Heart is ruined; even if she has heaven-defying skills, it’s useless.”

“Fortunately my Dao Heart is steady. Nothing can hit my Dao Heart!”

“…”

The matter of Qin Xinrui seemed to be just a small interlude. After a few curious questions, it was quickly over, and the matches continued.

In the afternoon, Fu Yan went through three matches and won them all smoothly. Bai Yueli nearby was drawn for four matches, but she didn’t have to strike once.

It had almost become a rule: any disciple who ran into Bai Yueli would take the initiative to forfeit. You couldn’t blame them; Bai Yueli was number one, and her opponents were all ranked outside the top two hundred. They naturally had no desire to fight.

Thus, the first day of the Ranking Tournament passed in a boisterous and passionate time.

Nighttime, inner sect dining hall.

Tong Zhen sat opposite Fu Yan. While gnawing on a spiritual meat trotter, she prattled on and complained about today’s tournament. “Fu Yan, I actually won three matches today. I didn’t even expect it. Their cultivation was clearly a lot higher than mine, yet for some reason, they still lost.”

Although these words sounded a bit like a humble-brag, Fu Yan knew Tong Zhen was genuinely complaining and had no other thoughts. After a pause, she asked, “Before this, had you ever fought someone one or two stages higher than you?”

“Of course!” Tong Zhen didn’t understand why she was asking but answered truthfully. “When I was at home, whenever those clan members were a stage higher than me, I had absolutely no power to resist when competing with them.”

“Fu Yan, you don’t know, I’m the one with the lowest talent at home. They all talk about me behind my back.” As she spoke, Tong Zhen continued to take a large, aggrieved bite of her meat trotter.

Fu Yan: “…”

The Northern Region, as the male lead’s birthplace, was set in the book as the most barren region on the entire Tongxuan Continent. After all, the number of Void-Transforming Stage powerhouses in the entire region could probably be counted on one hand.

So after hearing Tong Zhen’s words, Fu Yan could guess her background; she definitely wouldn’t be from a family in this Northern Region. However, she didn’t press for details, as that was someone else’s privacy.

Although she didn’t know why Tong Zhen had appeared here, facing her confusion, Fu Yan could only explain, “It’s nothing strange. Strength depends on the individual. You don’t need to overthink it; if you can win, then win.”

Hearing this, Tong Zhen nodded somewhat semi-comprehendingly. Because of the meat in her mouth, she responded with a muffled sound.

“Let’s go. Go back early to rest after eating. The tournament continues tomorrow.” Fu Yan put down her chopsticks and spoke slowly.

Tong Zhen nodded, took a last bite, and followed Fu Yan out of the dining hall. The two then returned to their respective wooden cottages.

I wonder if I’ll face a top-fifty disciple tomorrow. Fu Yan knew her strength was still far from enough. She needed to raise her cultivation as soon as possible, so after returning to her cottage, she didn’t rest but immediately began her meditation and cultivation.

The second day was another day of intense fighting.

It wasn’t until the fifth day of the Ranking Tournament—the final day of the preliminaries. The sun appeared early as usual, and once again, a series of crisp, melodious bell tolls drifted from the massive Main Peak.

Fu Yan was still sitting in her original spot. The first match of today had already begun on the stage. After a night’s rest, everyone was once again exceptionally high-spirited.

As noon approached, the deacon elder on stage once again clearly read out the numbers for the lot-drawn duel.

“Group 8, next match: Number 16 versus Number 37!”

As the words fell, the outer spectator stands suddenly became lively. Many disciples began to discuss in astonishment.

“What? This is Fu Yan facing Great Senior Sister Bai Yueli! Right? If I didn’t remember the numbers wrong!”

“You didn’t! Look, the two of them are already walking toward the stage. This is quite unexpected—this year’s dark horse against Senior Sister Bai. This will be a good show!”

“There’s no denying that Fu Yan is a dark horse this year. She hasn’t lost once so far and has kept a winning streak. But facing Senior Sister Bai, her streak is coming to an end.”

“True. I actually quite liked Junior Sister Fu Yan, but running into Senior Sister Bai, she can only blame her own bad luck. Do you think she’ll forfeit immediately like the previous contestants?”

“I don’t think so. Although I don’t know this Junior Sister Fu Yan well, it’s not hard to see from previous matches that she shouldn’t be a person who gives up easily.”

“What are you thinking so much for? They’re already on stage. Whether they fight or not, just watch.”

“…”

Fu Yan suddenly found that she and Bai Yueli were quite fated. On the final day of the preliminaries, they really had run into each other.

“Match begin!”

The deacon elder’s voice reached her ears. Fu Yan looked at Bai Yueli opposite her and suddenly smiled. For some reason, as if by a common understanding, she heard her voice and Bai Yueli’s voice ring out on the stage at the same time.

“Number 37…”

“Number 16…”

“Fu Yan…”

“Bai Yueli…”

“Please guide me.”

“Please guide me.”