Chapter 42: A Disrespectful Challenge

The one who stepped onto the stage to face him was not a disciple of Lingguang Sect, but surprisingly, a disciple from Qixiu Valley.

Qixiu Valley consisted entirely of female disciples.

Under the instruction of Valley Master Gao Jiangting, a petite young woman stepped onto the arena.

Her name was Xiao Kexue.

She had not been in the sect for long, yet she was exceptionally gifted.

She also held a treasured sword in her hand.

Qixiu Valley was home to the greatest variety of butterflies in the entire world.

Anyone who had ever visited the valley would inevitably sigh in admiration at its breathtaking scenery.

Some even found themselves unwilling to leave.

Because of this, Bai He had more than once suspected that Qixiu Valley was able to recruit so many female disciples precisely because they had been captivated by the scenery there and agreed because of it.

Otherwise, who would agree to such peculiar sect rules?

Wearing a veil so that others could not see one’s true face was one thing.

It could barely be considered a form of protection, after all, every one of their female disciples was beautiful.

But if someone were to see their true face, they would have to pay with their life, that was something Bai He simply could not understand.

Xiao Kexue stepped onto the arena and drew the long sword from its scabbard. She then tossed the scabbard aside.

The match officially began and Bai He could not help but feel excited.

At last, it had started.

"Shiyuan, in your opinion, who do you think will win?"

"Little Elder Bai, Senior Brother Qu Yun of the Qinghai Sect clearly has more experience and stronger cultivation compared to this junior sister. So in my view, he will win."

Ye Shiyuan had met Qu Yun before and knew his strength.

As for this young woman named Xiao Kexue, he had never seen her prior to today.

Although in competitions like this there was always the possibility of a dark horse emerging and astonishing everyone, Ye Shiyuan could not see anything particularly special about this female disciple.

And in fact, the result of the match unfolded just as Ye Shiyuan had predicted.

Before long, the female disciple was defeated and stepped down from the stage.

The entire exchange lasted no more than around ten moves.

It was even clear that Qu Yun had not used his full strength; otherwise, Xiao Kexue would have lost far more miserably.

"Master, isn’t this kind of match a bit boring?" Xu Feng said.

The difference in strength was rather obvious.

Ye Shiyuan added, "In some competitions, one shouldn’t be overly fixated on winning or losing. The sect leaders often send their most promising disciples to gain experience. For example, this time, when Little Elder Bai asked you to compete with others, it wasn’t about whether you won or lost. It was simply to let you temper yourself."

Xu Feng nodded repeatedly, feeling that Ye Shiyuan’s words made perfect sense.

But after thinking about it for a moment, he began to sense that something was slightly off.

He came back to his senses. "Senior Brother Shiyuan, what do you mean by that? Are you saying that I’ll lose?"

Ye Shiyuan who trained alongside Xu Feng every single day naturally knew exactly how capable he was.

He knew who Xu Feng could defeat and who he would likely lose to.

Ye Shiyuan did not respond.

Whether he could win or not was not something he could simply declare.

"Xiao Feng, there’s no need to feel discouraged. You definitely won’t be the one who loses in the most embarrassing way."

Xu Feng wore a bitter expression. "Master, you just like teaming up with Senior Brother to bully me."

"I’m not bullying you. We’re showing you care. It doesn’t matter if you win or lose your first time on stage. Just remember not to get hurt."

Although Bai He had said verbally that Xu Feng should try to win, in truth, his greatest hope was simply that the boy would not get injured.

Nothing more.

"Master, I knew you loved me the most."

Bai He’s face immediately turned cold. "Shut up. Don’t be so disgusting."

On the arena stage, the fight was in full swing.

The disciples arranged for the competition, aside from those selected by the various elders, had all been prepared by the Sect Master’s chief disciple, Pan Yi.

And now, the first disciple arranged by Pan Yi stepped onto the stage.

His opponent was unexpectedly Su Yuluan.

Bai He confirmed it again and again and it was indeed Su Yuluan.

The moment he saw her, he could not help but cast a glance at Ye Shiyuan.

Ye Shiyuan’s gaze, too, had fallen upon the tall and slender woman standing on the arena stage.

If this had been any other novel, Bai He would definitely have thought that Ye Shiyuan was probably interested in Su Yuluan.

But in this story, when Ye Shiyuan looked at Su Yuluan, it was no different from the way he looked at flowers and grass.

No one knew how Pan Yi had made his selection.

The disciple looked frivolous and unruly, standing without proper posture, lacking even the slightest trace of spirit.

Anyone who cultivated immortality was usually brimming with vitality.

Yet just watching him stand there was embarrassing enough.

Even Yao Xiangli’s expression turned unpleasant.

Pan Yi, however, seemed not to realize the seriousness of the situation at all, he still wearing a lofty self-satisfied expression.

Today, his attire was exceptionally luxurious, different from what everyone else was wearing.

Someone unaware of the situation might have thought this was some kind of royal gathering.

It was as though he feared others would not know he was the Sect Master’s chief disciple.

But within a cultivation sect—especially here, strength spoke for itself.

Everything else amounted to nothing.

The man on the arena stage was named Lin Wusheng.

He actually whistled at Su Yuluan from Qixiu Valley.

The Valley Master Gao Jiangting’s face instantly darkened.