Holding the Sword to Carry Away Senior Sister (Transmigration) - Chapter 27

The final showdown of the Shui Ling Sect Ranking Tournament had finally arrived. After two or three days of quiet, the Main Peak arena returned to the extraordinary bustle of the first day.

When Fu Yan and Tong Zhen arrived together, they were much calmer facing the grand occasion, having seen it all once before.

While sitting in the rest area, Fu Yan specifically took out her identity plaque to check the Group 1 list. There were seventy-eight people in total. According to the rules, opponents would be decided by drawing lots until the final ten were filtered out. These final ten would then engage in a round-robin battle; the one who remained undefeated until the end would be the champion.

Fu Yan didn’t plan on pushing for the top ten. With her current strength, unless she broke through to the Late Opening Light stage, she had no way to compete with those elites. Her target was the top fifty. As long as she entered the top fifty, the exact rank didn’t matter much.

“It’s about to start. Why do I feel so nervous? What about you, Fu Yan?” Beside her, Tong Zhen nudged Fu Yan’s right arm with her elbow and asked in a low voice, glancing at the deacon elders on the platform.

Fu Yan snapped out of her thoughts and tucked her plaque away. Without a second thought, she looked at the person beside her and said, “What’s there to be nervous about? It’s not like you actually care about this ranking.”

Tong Zhen truly didn’t care about her rank; she was just sitting there with a “for fun” attitude, which Fu Yan could easily see.

Tong Zhen looked innocent. “But in this kind of atmosphere, shouldn’t one be nervous?”

Fu Yan: “…”

As they spoke, a white-clad figure entered their line of sight. Fu Yan looked up to see that Bai Yueli had arrived at some unknown point. She didn’t spare a single glance at her surroundings, sitting quietly to wait for the matches.

We shouldn’t run into each other today, Fu Yan thought.

Soon, the time for the finals arrived. Amidst the crowd’s intense excitement, the deacon elder stepped onto the stage to announce the first duel of the day.

“First match: Tong Zhen versus Liu Mingze!”

Hearing her name, Tong Zhen’s eyes widened, looking like she wanted to cry. She looked piteously at Fu Yan. “Why am I in the first match? And against that guy from yesterday? You struggled so much to break his defense yesterday; how am I supposed to fight him?”

Fu Yan was a bit speechless but comforted her anyway. “Don’t worry. Although you are both body cultivators, I can tell his constitution isn’t as good as yours. Just fight seriously.”

“Really?” Tong Zhen still seemed unsure.

However, the match had begun. On the other side, Liu Mingze had already stood up and was walking toward the stage. Tong Zhen didn’t dare delay and hurriedly followed.

Watching the two on stage, Fu Yan was actually quite expectant. Though she sensed Tong Zhen had greater raw power, she lacked combat experience. Winning wouldn’t be easy, especially since Liu Mingze’s cultivation was a stage higher than hers.

Because of the preliminaries, many people recognized Tong Zhen, so everyone’s interest was piqued.

“Hey, I remember they’re both powerful body cultivators. Body vs. body—this should be interesting.”

“I hate fighting body cultivators the most. It’s impossible to break their defense, and their power is no joke. You have to multi-task: find a way to break through while staying on guard against their offense. It’s too hard.”

“A clash between two body cultivators is a rare sight. It relies heavily on innate constitution. I’m looking forward to this.”

The two exchanged bows, and the match officially began.

Liu Mingze glanced at Fu Yan below the stage, a flash of malice crossing his eyes. Yesterday’s match had made him the subject of gossip throughout the inner sect. Though he hated her, he was wary of Fu Yan’s swordplay. His gaze shifted back to Tong Zhen. If I’m not mistaken, this girl is Fu Yan’s friend. Perfect.

Tong Zhen was confused when she saw Liu Mingze flash an inexplicable smile, but she didn’t dwell on it. She was too busy thinking about how to handle the fight.

Finally, Liu Mingze moved. He threw a punch toward Tong Zhen. She was startled, but after so many matches, her basic reflexes were there. She thrust a palm out to block the strike. Palm met fist; Tong Zhen actually seemed to have the upper hand.

“What palm technique is this?”

Liu Mingze was alarmed. The palm technique Tong Zhen used looked like it had no force, yet it steadily blocked his attack. It was clearly a powerful technique.

However, no matter how good a technique is, it’s useless if the owner doesn’t know how to apply it. Liu Mingze quickly raised his legs and sent two kicks flying. Tong Zhen could only reflexively block with both hands. Liu Mingze’s strength was no joke, and Tong Zhen was forced back several steps.

Seeing this, Liu Mingze didn’t give her a chance to recover. He launched one fierce attack after another, suppressing her completely.

Though Tong Zhen possessed immense raw power, she truly had zero combat experience. Unable to find an opening to counter-attack, she could only take the hits passively. Seeing Tong Zhen unable to even catch her breath, Liu Mingze smirked. This wasn’t enough to vent his frustration; he sent another fierce kick, forcing her back.

In the next moment, he blurred behind her and threw another punch. Tong Zhen, never having experienced such a savage assault, was completely dazed.

Watching Tong Zhen being tossed around like a ball by Liu Mingze, even the spectators couldn’t take it anymore.

“This Liu Mingze is going too far. He’s treating Junior Sister Tong like a target dummy. It’s just a match.”

“Wait, isn’t Tong Zhen very strong? Her power shouldn’t be weaker than his. Why is she getting crushed?”

“Didn’t you watch the earlier matches? She’s strong, but too naive. Her experience is zero; she’s no match for a cunning old hand like Liu Mingze.”

“Yeah, this is too much. Li Yanwei’s fight with her was much more honorable!”

“You can’t say that. Her lack of experience is her own problem. Why should he go easy on her? Suppressing her like this is also a display of strength.”

Below the stage, Fu Yan couldn’t sit still anymore. Liu Mingze wasn’t just hitting Tong Zhen; he was casting provocative glances at Fu Yan.

Fu Yan understood perfectly. Liu Mingze was taking his anger out on Tong Zhen because he lost yesterday. Tong Zhen was so disoriented from the beating that she had even forgotten to forfeit.

Fu Yan stood up abruptly. Just as she was about to do something, a soft yet firm hand pressed down on her shoulder.

She froze and looked back to see Bai Yueli. The Senior Sister was holding her back, seemingly trying to stop her from interfering.

“If you go up now, you will only break the rules. Both of you could be disqualified immediately,” Bai Yueli’s voice rang out slowly.

Fu Yan knew she was being helpful, but she was genuinely furious. “It doesn’t matter. Don’t worry about me, Senior Sister.”

Tong Zhen was an innocent girl and Fu Yan’s only friend here. The situation was her fault. Even the usually calm Fu Yan found it hard not to be impulsive.

Bai Yueli frowned. She looked at the deacon elders, perhaps thinking of a way to handle the situation properly.

However, at that moment, a scene occurred that stunned everyone. Tong Zhen’s body suddenly flashed with spiritual light, and a pair of cyan wings appeared on her back.

In the next second, Tong Zhen flew into the air. She pulled a spiritual whip from her storage ring and, in a fit of rage, lashed out at Liu Mingze.

“You’re going too far!” Tong Zhen screamed.

The whip was blazing and powerful. Liu Mingze tried to dodge, but he was powerless against its speed. He took the hit directly. In an instant, his defense shattered like glass. He was sent flying off the stage by a single lash, crashing to the ground. It was unclear if he was alive, and some even heard the sound of his Qi Sea shattering.

The entire arena went silent. Even the deacon elder stared with wide eyes.

Fu Yan was also shocked. By the time she snapped out of it, Tong Zhen had landed, her wings and whip vanishing instantly.

“What… what happened?” someone stammered.

“What was that? Such terrifying power… a single lash shattered his Qi Sea… was that…”

“It’s a Spiritual Treasure. And a high-grade one at that!”

“How is that possible?” someone cried out. “In our entire Northern Region, we can barely count a few Spiritual Treasures. How does she have two—and high-grade ones at that?”

Fu Yan looked at Tong Zhen on the stage. Though surprised, she wasn’t horrified. She had guessed Tong Zhen’s background was unusual, but she hadn’t expected it to be this powerful.

The wings and whip were indeed Tong Zhen’s treasures. She had never been mistreated growing up. In her rage, she hadn’t thought; she just wanted the fight to end. Now, as she looked at the unconscious Liu Mingze and the whispering crowd, she realized she had caused trouble.

Quickly, the deacon elders surrounded her, and Tong Zhen was led away to the Sect Hall.

Fu Yan was anxious for her. Spiritual Treasures were immensely tempting even to the Shui Ling Sect. She didn’t trust the Sect Leader—the man who would use Bai Yueli as a cauldron—to have good intentions.

However, Fu Yan didn’t panic. She knew that with her current strength, she couldn’t just charge into the hall. That would be a death sentence.

The tournament was suspended, and Liu Mingze was carried away. Though curious, no one dared to ask questions.

As Fu Yan left the arena, wondering what to do, she saw Bai Yueli walking toward her with the Moon-Sway Sword.

“Senior Sister Bai,” Fu Yan said, feigning calm. “Thank you for earlier.” If Bai Yueli hadn’t stopped her, Fu Yan might have been dragged to the hall alongside Tong Zhen, leaving no one outside to help.

Bai Yueli looked at her and spoke after a silence. “The Shui Ling Sect deacons are usually fair. If the source of her treasures is legitimate, the sect won’t do much to her, other than punish her for accidentally crippling Liu Mingze.”

Fu Yan froze. She looked at Bai Yueli and felt a sudden urge to tell her the truth—that the sect she trusted was only raising her as a cauldron. But looking at her, Fu Yan couldn’t say it. She knew how devastating that truth would be. It might destroy Bai Yueli’s Dao Heart and her path to immortality.

Fu Yan smiled weakly. “Thank you, Senior Sister. I won’t worry then.”

“Is she very important to you?” Bai Yueli asked suddenly.

Fu Yan thought for a moment and nodded. “Tong Zhen is the first friend I’ve made here. She is important. And today’s event happened because of me—if I hadn’t defeated Liu Mingze and earned his grudge, none of this would have happened.”

Friend?

Bai Yueli seemed slightly dazed. She had reached her current height without making any friends. The path of cultivation was lonely; she had always been alone.

“Senior Sister?” seeing her lost in thought, Fu Yan waved a hand in front of her eyes.

Bai Yueli snapped back. She looked at Fu Yan and said firmly, “Come. Let us go to the Main Hall.”

Fu Yan was stunned for a second, then smiled and followed her.