Holding the Sword to Carry Away Senior Sister (Transmigration) - Chapter 26

Fu Yan, back in her cottage, was naturally unaware that she was being watched. After stowing away the task she had just accepted, she quickly immersed herself in cultivation once more.

Whether for the sake of the upcoming journey down the mountain or for the Group 2 finals the day after tomorrow, Fu Yan needed to exert every effort to increase her strength. Therefore, whenever she had a spare moment, she began to cultivate. In this world where the weak are prey to the strong, nothing was more important than power.

After circulating the Frost Tempering Sutra back and forth several times, Fu Yan finally felt as though she were on the verge of touching the threshold of the First Layer. At this thought, her solemn expression finally relaxed into a slow smile.

The following day, Fu Yan did not go to the Main Peak arena to watch the Group 3 finals. Instead, she stayed in her room, making the two forms of the Illusionless Sword more and more proficient. Of course, she did not forget the jade slip of insights given to her by Bai Yueli.

During these days, Fu Yan had attempted to resonate with her Ling Long broken sword, but there was no reaction. After dozens of consecutive attempts, she still didn’t understand where the problem lay.

Time in cultivation always passes in a flash, and the time for the Group 2 finals soon arrived.

Early that morning, Fu Yan woke from her meditation, changed into her inner sect robes as usual, and headed toward the competition grounds as the bells tolled from the Main Peak.

The rules for the finals were simple: drawing lots to decide opponents, followed by layer-upon-layer of screening until the final top three were decided. Since the majority of disciples had been assigned to Groups 3 and 4, the number of participants in Groups 1 and 2—the top-tier disciples of the inner sect—was not particularly large.

As a result, the drawing of lots was done by name rather than number.

The first match began quickly. The voice of the deacon elder rang out, deep and powerful: “The Group 2 finals officially begin. First match: Chen Chen versus Xu Wei!”

Fu Yan watched as two male disciples quickly took the stage. After saluting, they began the opening battle. While the Group 2 finals weren’t as spectacular as Group 1, they were still worth observing for ordinary disciples, so the spectator stands were quite crowded.

Fu Yan glanced at the crowd and saw a familiar figure. Tong Zhen was waving at her, seemingly cheering her on. Fu Yan smiled and nodded back.

For some reason, after greeting Tong Zhen, Fu Yan’s gaze scanned the entire spectator stand, but she didn’t see that person’s figure. She paused. She didn’t quite understand why she suddenly wanted to see Bai Yueli. Given Bai Yueli’s strength, these battles were meaningless to her; she truly shouldn’t have come.

Maybe I just want her recognition, Fu Yan thought. She was, after all, a bit competitive herself.

Steeling her nerves, Fu Yan pushed these stray thoughts to the back of her mind and focused on the arena. The matches progressed quickly.

“Next match: Fu Yan versus Yun Changxue!”

Before long, Fu Yan’s name was called. She stepped onto the stage. Her overall strength was already within the top hundred; throughout the morning, she won two or three matches smoothly. One disciple even forfeited immediately upon taking the stage, so she didn’t expend much effort.

“Next match: Liu Mingze versus Cheng Kuang!”

As Fu Yan won another match and stepped down, she brushed past a man named Liu Mingze.

“I’m waiting for you.”

Liu Mingze glanced at her with an amused expression. As they passed, he spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear. He then stepped directly onto the stage.

Fu Yan paused and looked back at him, immediately understanding his meaning. This Liu Mingze was provoking her.

Returning to the rest area, she heard people nearby discussing him.

“It’s Liu Mingze! Why is he in Group 2? He should be in Group 1.”

“Who is he? What’s the deal?”

“You don’t know him? He was the biggest dark horse of the last tournament. He went from being ranked in the 500s all the way to the top 100, eventually securing the 58th rank. He was a legend in the inner sect last year.”

“Rank 58? Then it’s indeed a surprise he’s in Group 2.”

“I know why. During the preliminaries, his luck was terrible. He ran into the ‘Saber Maniac’ Chen Jun and lost a match. I saw it—he was completely crushed by Senior Brother Chen; it was quite pitiful.”

“Sigh, Group 2 is too scary this year. Not only do we have the gifted Junior Sister Fu Yan, but now there’s Liu Mingze. I thought I had a chance at the top three, but now there’s no hope.”

“Whatever. Let’s just see who takes first place in our group—Senior Brother Liu or Junior Sister Fu Yan.”

Fu Yan realized why she was being provoked: in Liu Mingze’s eyes, she was the only one in Group 2 capable of competing with him. She looked at the arena. Liu Mingze was dominating his opponent, not giving them a moment to breathe, yet he refused to end the match quickly. It was as if he were taking his anger out on them.

Even more surprising to Fu Yan was that Liu Mingze was also a body cultivator. His physical strength was ferocious, and his fists were like iron; his opponent couldn’t break his defense at all.

Watching this, Fu Yan thought of Tong Zhen. She felt that Tong Zhen’s constitution was actually superior to this man’s, and Liu Mingze’s temperament was too easily swayed by his emotions. An unstable mind leads to flaws.

“I forfeit!” the opponent eventually cried out, unable to endure the continuous battering.

As he left the stage, Liu Mingze glanced at Fu Yan again with a mocking smirk. He’s practically begging to be hit, Fu Yan thought.

The tournament progressed until only three remained: Fu Yan, Liu Mingze, and Xu Wei.

1. Liu Mingze defeated Xu Wei.

2. Fu Yan defeated Xu Wei.

After a half-hour rest, only Fu Yan and Liu Mingze were left. This was the match everyone had been waiting for.

“Come on, step right up! Don’t miss the peak duel of Group 2! The old dark horse versus the new dark horse! Who will be number one? Bet now, fifty low-grade spirit stones minimum!” a disciple shouted from the stands.

Fu Yan was speechless as she watched the crowd rush to place bets. She even saw Tong Zhen throw a bag of stones onto the pile. “I bet two thousand spirit stones on Fu Yan!!”

The deacon elder ignored the gambling and called out: “The match officially begins!”

“It seems everyone is looking forward to our fight, Junior Sister Fu,” Liu Mingze said with the look of a hunter seeing prey.

Fu Yan smiled back. “In that case, Senior Brother, why don’t you just forfeit? My friend would make a nice profit.”

Liu Mingze’s eyes darkened. “Then I’m afraid your friend is destined to lose.” He took a stance. “Junior Sister Fu, please guide me.”

Liu Mingze crouched and lunged. Fu Yan gripped her broken sword and met him. When her blade struck his fist, it felt like hitting solid rock. She didn’t stall, immediately twisting to dodge his counter-punch.

Fu Yan launched a flurry of strikes, her blade moving like rain. Liu Mingze blocked them all, his iron-like body unyielding.

“His defense is insane!” the crowd whispered. “If she can’t break it, she’ll run out of True Essence first. He can just wear her down.”

Liu Mingze laughed. “Your swordplay is precise, but against me, you are destined to lose.”

Fu Yan ignored him. She had used the flurry of attacks to gauge the strength of his defense. She retreated several steps to gain distance and unleashed her first form: Phantom Shadow.

Liu Mingze didn’t just defend this time. “Tiger Descending the Mountain!” He roared and pounced like a waking beast.

Boom!

The collision was massive. For two breaths, they were even, but then the Phantom Shadow was torn apart. Fu Yan was knocked back, sliding across the stage. Her Ling Long sword fell two meters away.

The crowd gasped. “It’s over. Even her Illusionless Sword can’t stop him.”

But Fu Yan rose into the air and called out: “Ling Long Sword!” The blade flew back to her hand.

Liu Mingze laughed. “Stubborn! I told you it’s useless!” He lunged again.

But this time, something was different. As Liu Mingze entered her range, he felt as if he had stepped into a meat grinder. Countless sharp blades whirled around him. In his disbelief, his defense was shredded, and he was struck by multiple attacks.

Pfft!

Liu Mingze sprayed blood and was sent flying across the arena.

“She did it! She countered him!”

“Wait, that wasn’t the first form… that was the Second Form: Phantom Form!”

“She mastered the second form in less than two months? Is she a monster?”

The deacon elder announced: “Fu Yan wins!”

Fu Yan had officially secured the Group 2 top spot and promoted to Group 1.

Tong Zhen ran up to her, shaking three bags of spirit stones. “Fu Yan! You’re amazing! Look, I won three thousand stones because of you!” She handed one bag to Fu Yan. “Take this, it’s your share.”

“Thanks,” Fu Yan said, accepting the gift.

“The final finals are tomorrow,” Tong Zhen said. “I wonder how we’ll do.”

“Just do your best,” Fu Yan replied.

“You know,” Tong Zhen mused, “your mindset reminds me of Uncle Wu. You act like you’ve lived a very long time.”

Fu Yan, who had indeed lived two lives, chuckled. “Who’s Uncle Wu?”

Tong Zhen froze, looking panicked. “What Uncle Wu? Did I say Uncle Wu?”

Fu Yan was about to tease her when she suddenly felt a gaze. She whipped her head around toward the forest, but the night was silent.

“What is it?” Tong Zhen asked.

“Nothing. Let’s go back. By the way, after the tournament ends, I’m planning to go down the mountain for experience.”

“You’re leaving? But you’re already so strong!”

“Not strong enough,” Fu Yan’s voice drifted away as they walked.

As they disappeared, a white figure stepped out from the shadows of the trees. Bai Yueli watched them go, her clear eyes flickering.

She had given Fu Yan an opportunity, but she realized now that even without her, Fu Yan would have shone. In Fu Yan, Bai Yueli saw hope—the hope of the entire Northern Region.

Bai Yueli knew how small their world was. She had met cultivators from the Central Capital and knew that the “geniuses” of the North were like ants to them. She didn’t know how far she could go, but she believed that given time, Fu Yan would catch up to her—and perhaps one day, surpass her, reaching a height where Bai Yueli could only look up.