Chapter 200 - 99: Dao Scripture, 84,000 Volumes

Chapter 200: Chapter 99: Dao Scripture, 84,000 Volumes

The one consumed by anxiety was, naturally, Su Xingying.

The Cultivation Realm had its own techniques for long-distance communication. For short-range contact, there were methods like Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission and Paper Crane Communication, while a more superior method was Jade Talisman Communication. Su Xingying had been using the Paper Crane Technique to contact Jiang Xuan.

Last night, Jiang Xuan had received her message challenging him to a duel.

But, just as Su Xingying had sensed, with his great increase in strength and the full support of the Four Seasons Valley, Jiang Xuan’s need for her had diminished significantly.

Of course, that didn’t mean he intended to cast her aside completely.

Considering he had to collect Spiritual Treasures the next day, as well as copy and transport books, he had casually set the duel for three days later. When he sent the message the previous night, Jiang Xuan hadn’t anticipated the Four Seasons Valley would value him quite so much, but he was certain that with his strength—enough to take the top spot in the three courts—copying ten thousand volumes from the Valley would be no difficult feat.

He didn’t think delaying for three days was a big deal, but Su Xingying sensed a change in Jiang Xuan’s attitude from his reply. It even made her feel certain about one thing.

’He’s normally so greedy, but now he’s not in a hurry... If I’m not mistaken, that peerless expert who took first place in the three courts must be him. We’re in the same Lower Court, and he has the same name—how can there be so many coincidences in this world?’

Even now, Su Xingying couldn’t fathom how Jiang Xuan had managed such an earth-shattering leap in strength in just three short days. But she did understand one thing: Jiang Xuan’s wings were growing full, and winning him over would no longer be an easy task.

’I’m the one who met him first, and I’ve wanted to recruit him from the very beginning.’

You don’t feel the pain of loss if you never had it to begin with.

But in Su Xingying’s eyes, she’d had a huge opportunity to win Jiang Xuan over.

’If only I’d acted a little faster... given how greedy he is, as long as I offered a few more Spirit Stones, I’m sure I could have recruited him.’

And to be fair, if she really had done so a few days ago when Jiang Xuan was desperate for Spirit Stones, her chances of recruiting him would not have been zero.

To have victory within her grasp only to lose it by being a single step too late left a heavy, uncomfortable feeling in Su Xingying’s heart. She felt incredibly wronged.

’But I was here first.’

"No, I can’t get discouraged. I haven’t failed yet..." Slapping her cheeks, Su Xingying pulled herself together. "But three days from now... that might be my last chance. I have to make Jiang Xuan see my sincerity..."

Frowning in thought for a long moment, she actually came up with a way to show Jiang Xuan her sincerity.

"Jiang Xuan’s weapon isn’t very good. Our Star Sword Peak’s Celestial Star Pool happens to be nurturing thousands of Magic Swords. I can give him a chance to enter the pool and choose a sword. That will at least give him a favorable impression of Star Sword Peak."

"And I can use this opportunity to invite him to Star Sword Peak and let him witness the depth of our Dharma Vein’s heritage."

"Then, I can take the opportunity to invite him to join the Peak. The success rate is bound to increase significantly!"

With a complete plan for recruiting Jiang Xuan, the anxiety on Su Xingying’s face vanished.

Then, she quickly ran to Star Sword Peak’s Celestial Star Pavilion to acquire the right for Jiang Xuan to enter the Celestial Star Pool and choose a sword.

Within Star Sword Peak, the nurturing and maintenance of the Flying Swords in the Celestial Star Pool, as well as the distribution of access slots, had always been solely managed by the Celestial Star Pavilion.

Even though Su Xingying was the Peak Master’s daughter, she couldn’t break the rules.

Of course, while she couldn’t break the rules, getting a slot for choosing a sword was still a simple matter for her.

In less time than it takes to drink a cup of tea, she had everything settled.

Giving a slot for a Flying Sword to an outsider wasn’t considered a transgression, either.

Within the Shenxiao Sect, although Star Sword Peak was known for the aloof pride of its Sword Cultivators, it wasn’t as if they had no dealings with the outside world.

To maintain relationships and exchange resources, Star Sword Peak often traded with other Dharma Veins. Even the Four Seasons Valley had, on several occasions, used its Spirit Plants, Spirit Medicines, and finished Spiritual Cuisine to trade for a chance to enter the Celestial Star Pool and choose a sword.

Of course, normally, an outsider who wanted to choose a Flying Sword would have to apply, undergo a review, and even have their aptitude and qualifications tested before being granted a slot.

But since it was Su Xingying herself who came forward, things were different. As the Peak Master’s daughter, she naturally had a few privileges on Star Sword Peak.

...

Su Xingying was overjoyed to have secured the slot, but Yu Dai, who had been secretly protecting her from the shadows, felt as if the sky was about to collapse.

She had watched with her own eyes as her Young Miss wrote to Jiang Xuan with a challenge, and then saw her Young Miss’s face fill with anxiety and worry after Jiang Xuan set the duel for three days later.

And now, she had just witnessed her Young Miss pouring her heart and soul into making all these arrangements for Jiang Xuan.

The Paper Crane Communication, losing her appetite over the messages, offering a Flying Sword, single-mindedly plotting to recruit him into Star Sword Peak... all this attentiveness, this anxiety, this image of her pouring all her thoughts into one person—Yu Dai couldn’t help but read too much into it.

’Has the Young Miss fallen for Jiang Xuan?’

Terrified by the consequences of this thought, Yu Dai spun around and sped toward the courtyard of Madam Ning Rong.

"Madam, this is terrible! The Young Miss... she might have fallen for Jiang Xuan!"

SMASH!

In the courtyard, upon hearing Yu Dai’s panicked report, Ning Rong was so startled that the teacup in her hand shattered.

Fortunately, after calming herself and listening to Yu Dai’s full account, she was no longer as flustered, though her delicate brows remained tightly furrowed.

A moment later, she shook her head, dismissing the idea.

"It’s likely not love. That child, Xingying, has always wanted to prove she’s grown up and can contribute to Star Sword Peak. She’s doing all this most likely to recruit Jiang Xuan."