Chapter 29
A lone figure stood on the stage, a woman whose perfect form and imposing aura were a picture-perfect moment, captivating the silently watching crowd below. It was a sight that could ignite anyone's passion for martial arts.
The silence was abruptly broken by a loud shout from a person below the platform. It was a young man with a bloody and disheveled robe. His aura surged as his cultivation essence broke through a barrier that was insurmountable for most. People around him unconsciously stepped back, clearing a path toward the stage where the woman's imposing figure waited.
"Golden Core realm!" someone exclaimed.
"Did Chen Je just break through to the Golden Core realm? Damn, this is truly a stroke of fortune in an unfortunate event."
"Golden Core? No way!"
People murmured in disbelief. It seemed inconceivable for Chen Je to break through at that moment. Although he had been defeated, his harvest was still great. Many cultivators were stuck in the Core Forming realm's late stages and couldn't break through that massive barrier. For genius cultivators like Qin Lou and other seeded participants, breaking through at a young age was considered normal, but this was not the case for most cultivators, who could only make a breakthrough in their middle or old age. Breaking through to the Golden Core realm was a dream for common cultivators. This explained the shocked, disbelieving, and even envious reactions of the crowd.
"I will kill you! You dare to shame me! I will tear you apart with my bare hands!" Chen Je shouted, his eyes now crimson red, glaring at Qin Lou.
"This guy took a pill just to force a temporary breakthrough. It's too dangerous," Shin Jiao thought, having seen Chen Je put something in his mouth when he fell.
No one bothered to stop the fight, even though it should have been over. The referee turned a blind eye to the situation, which made Shin Jiao's brows furrow. He felt that the situation was getting worse, and he would soon need to make a move. Stealthily, he took something out of his ring and carefully hid it in his sleeves.
Chen Je rushed toward Qin Lou madly, dragging his hands behind him as spiritual Qi began to condense within them. He swung his claws sideways, making a howling sound, but he hit nothing as Qin Lou had already shifted to his blind spot. He didn't give up, repeatedly attacking with claw strikes that left visible afterimages.
"This is... her spiritual sense... it's like she can read the future. She clearly knows where the next strike will land and can move smoothly. Did her spiritual sense reach the level of a Nascent Soul cultivator? It's like she already has the mind's eye," the old man in the middle of the judges' platform said.
This old man, named Zhan Fu, was the main judge of the inter-school competitions and held the highest cultivation level in the group, almost reaching the Nascent Soul realm. He was one of the five lower elders of Er City and a representative of the city council.
"Senior Fu, what do you mean? Do you mean this woman has reached such a high level with her spiritual sense even though her cultivation has stagnated at the Golden Core realm?" a middle-aged man in a blue robe with the insignia of a large lotus flower asked.
"Hmm... that's just my assumption, Brother Ao. But if it's true, then..." Senior Fu replied.
"She would be a great asset to our alchemy school... Hehe, since the Snow Wind School doesn't value her, it would be our honor to have her. Right... Elder Xing?" the middle-aged man, Hu Ao of the Floating Lotus Alchemy School, interjected.
"Hmph! Trying to poach our student from the Snow Wind School? Do you think my school is blind?" Elder Xing glared at Elder Ao.
"Haha, it's not that you're blind, Elder Xing, but it's a waste for her to cultivate martial arts when she could become a great alchemist. Think about her future, Elder Xing; if you truly value her, send her to our school," Hu Ao said with a smile but a serious tone.
While the elders were busy discussing on the judges' platform, Chen Je continued his flurry of attacks below, and Qin Lou continued to successfully evade them.
"Coward! Fight back! Is this all you can do? Run? You've truly fallen low. Haha..." Chen Je shouted, angered by his inability to hit Qin Lou.
"Hmm... Okay, if you mean this..." Qin Lou said calmly as she stepped forward and raised her palm.
Seeing her action, Chen Je grinned, knowing his plan had worked. He was at his limit. If the fight dragged on, the effect of the pill would wear off, and that must not happen. Although he hadn't been told about the side effects, as a cultivator, he knew he would either feel weak or run out of spiritual Qi, either of which would cause him to lose the deal with that person. His provocation had been successful, and with Qin Lou's move, he was sure he could counter and beat her.
So, he quickly condensed a large amount of spiritual Qi into his palm, intending to meet her palm with his own strike.
"Stone Hand Palm Strike!" he shouted.
This made Shin Jiao feel helpless. Luckily, he had reminded Qin Lou not to shout the name of each skill she used, which she had initially resisted but later got used to after practicing that night.
When their palms traveled toward each other, a shocking scene unfolded. Qin Lou's palm suddenly shifted along with her body, and she appeared at Chen Je's side where his chest was exposed. Seeing this, he quickly changed his palm strike to an Eagle Claw and swiped inward. But he was shocked again when she shifted back to her original place, and her palm was still traveling toward Chen Je's chest.
"Thud!"
A muffled sound echoed through the arena as everyone watched the exchange intently. Then, they saw someone suddenly fly off the stage and crash into a wall. The figure was Chen Je, who fell to the ground and fainted. A loud cheer erupted from the spectators as they finally saw the true ability of the girl they had deemed to be trash. Everyone was in awe, but not all were happy. In the fighter's waiting areas, most of the seeded participants had dark, somber expressions on their faces.
"Elders, since I've already won the match, I'll take my leave now. Thank you!" Qin Lou calmly bowed and began to walk off the stage.
"Wait, student! I want to reward you for showing such skills. You can ask for anything, and if we can grant it, it's yours," Elder Fu said, standing up.
He was truly amazed by Qin Lou's display and wanted to give her some consolation. When she heard this, she suddenly thought of Shin Jiao and his goal. Although it was possible for them to enter the alchemy contest, it would be a headache for Shin Jiao to enter as her assistant, as many questions and a long process would follow. So, she decided to try her luck and make a request that she thought would be easier to grant.
"This junior is truly humbled. I have just one request, Senior," Qin Lou said, pausing to look at Shin Jiao below the stage.
"I would like to join the alchemy contest tomorrow along with my mortal servant," she stated frankly.
"Yes! You wanted to join my... Eh... What?" Elder Ao of the Floating Lotus Alchemy School happily stood up but was confused after realizing what he heard.
"You want to join the alchemy contest with a mortal servant?" Elder Ao asked to confirm.
"Yes, Senior."
"Haha! No problem, I'll grant it myself. You can join the alchemy contest with your mortal servant. Haha!" Elder Ao shouted in excitement, as this would also test her ability in alchemy, killing two birds with one stone.
"This junior thanks Senior for being so magnanimous. This junior asks for permission to leave now. Thank you, Senior," Qin Lou said as she bowed.
"Haha, do you think you can leave so easily after hurting one of our students? Do you think our school is easy to bully?" Lo Bei Wang, a young man in an orange robe with a red dragon design, slowly walked up to the stage where Qin Lou stood.
"I guess Senior Sister has already had her core healed. You've shown us all your formidable strength once again. Would you mind exchanging some pointers with me?" Lo Bei Wang asked with a smile.
"What's going on now?"
"Is the Soul Mountain School having a grudge match with Senior Qin Lou?"
"They are too arrogant for their own good. I hope she kicks their asses once again."
The people below had mixed reactions as they found the situation truly chaotic. They waited for Qin Lou's reply, all eyes on her. But everyone was astonished when she turned and walked down the stage. Shin Jiao followed her as they started walking toward the arena's exit.
"WAIT! Where are you going?" Lo Bei Wang shouted.
Qin Lou stopped and turned around. Everyone was now expecting something to happen.
"Are you trying to run away?" Lo Bei Wang sneered with contempt.
"Sorry, I don't talk to stupid people."
BOOM!
It was like a lightning bolt that struck everyone into stupefaction. No one expected such an insulting bomb to come from Qin Lou, who was always silent.
After saying that, she and Shin Jiao walked out of the arena, leaving everyone dumbfounded. When they were out of sight, everyone came back from their reverie and began to murmur. Lo Bei Wang's face was beet red with anger. He hadn't expected Qin Lou to berate him and call him stupid in front of the entire crowd. He felt he had truly lost face, and fury rose deep within him.
"Haha! I really like that lass. So domineering and straightforward. I've truly found a good seed," Elder Ao said to himself, his face full of smiles.
The inter-school martial arts tournament continued as usual. Students started to face each other on the stage in a martial arts contest to choose those who would enter the semi-finals and proceed to the finals. The seeded students also entered the fray at this time.
Meanwhile...
Xi Empire City...
The largest and most majestic city in the cultivation lands, with a population of almost 5 million inhabitants. The city wasn't surrounded by tall walls but by an invisible barrier erected to protect it and its people. Thousands of years had passed since the founding of the Empire, and they had grown stronger. All the surrounding empires were under the rule of the Imperial family. Rumor had it that the emperor was already a Nascent Soul realm cultivator and that the power behind the imperial family was a World Nascent Ancestor, which was the reason why many people feared and respected them.
On this day, in a small room high above a truly grandiose and beautiful palace, ten people stood surrounding a round table. The palace, inlaid with silvery walls and golden doors and illuminated by crystalline chandeliers and magical artifacts, was truly a sight to behold. On the table lay an artifact that made each person in the room scrunch up their foreheads in silent contemplation.
Then, the man who stood above the rest with his regal presence, wearing a red robe inlaid with golden patterns and a golden circlet signifying his status, nodded to a man at his side who was wearing silver battle armor, looking like a god of death ready for war.
"I haven't seen this kind of artifact before, but according to my subordinate, this is like a long crossbow without a string. It seems to carry a lot of power and draws its power from the beast crystal in that small metal box," the man in silver armor said, reciting the words relayed to him by his subordinates and pointing out some facts they had learned.
If Shin Jiao were here, he would recognize the item in front of these people as his lost BARRETT. He had lost it while unconscious, and Cherry Lao had taken it while they were escaping. In her panic, she forgot to take the item, and they didn't dare to go back as powerful beasts started circling the area.
The war general then told them about an incident involving a group of cultivators training near the town of Dis. A female cultivator had accidentally found the object and, when they were attacked by a beast, had used it to kill the beast in one shot. When they found the beast's corpse, they were shocked to see that its giant head had been blasted clean, along with almost half of its body, as the young cultivator, in a panic, had just fired and fired, emptying the whole magazine clip, which only contained three bullets. Judging from the damage and the beast's level and armor, they concluded that the artifact might have the power of a Nascent Soul cultivator. But the thing that baffled them the most was its ease of use and portability.
"Your Majesty, if our crafting team can study and replicate this artifact, it can bolster our forces more and may even finally be able to stop the advances of the beast people toward our lands and may even push them back," the man in silver armor suggested.
"...Or invade their lands. Right, General Qian?" a man in a blue robe with a lion emblem on his chest said.
"Haha! That's too funny, Chancellor... You city people are truly ignorant about things. Do you know why they are trying to invade us? It's not for greed or power, but for survival. Their lands are becoming barren as time goes by. Extreme cold and extreme heat may forge their bodies and will, but their lives are in constant danger. While we live in a paradise in this cultivation land, do you think I'm crazy enough to invade a dying land?" General Qian said with a sneer.
While everyone was silent, a man spoke. "Everyone, His Majesty has two tasks this time. General Qian, find a team of magical artifact crafters and try to duplicate this thing as soon as possible. The rest of you are to find the one who made this. It is crucial to find this person. You have your command. Everyone is dismissed." A man in a white robe with a green dragon crest on his back said with an imposing aura as everyone bowed in agreement.
As everyone left, the only ones remaining in the room were the man in the white robe with the green dragon crest and the man they called His Majesty, the emperor of the current Xi Empire.
"Your Majesty, with regard to your command... is it to rope the crafter in or..."
"Hmm... we're not sure about this yet. It's yet to be seen whether he's an enemy or a friend," the emperor said, a smile appearing on his usually calm and serious face.
"At least this time, it won't be boring," he said with a grin.