"Hoo..."
With a soft "hoo" from Xie Qiuhe, the unsharpened iron sword in her right hand thrust directly at Zhou Ruoxi in front of her, its power concentrated on the tip and moving with extreme speed. In the blink of an eye, the sword tip reached her.
Zhou Ruoxi appeared calm and composed, her stance steady. She held her sword upright in front of her chest with her right hand. As her right foot stepped back, she turned her body to dodge. The iron sword thrust by Xie Qiuhe grazed past her sword, even sparking a few times.
Clang!
A sword's chime rang out. Zhou Ruoxi channeled internal energy with a hidden force directly into the sword. With a flick of her right hand, she immediately repelled Xie Qiuhe's sword, causing her to stagger. Her right hand trembled violently, her tiger's mouth aching. She clearly felt the powerful flicking force from Zhou Ruoxi, which almost made her lose her grip and drop the sword.
However, Xie Qiuhe tightly gripped the sword hilt with her trembling right hand. Zhou Ruoxi also retreated two steps, not seizing the opportunity to attack immediately. This allowed Xie Qiuhe to adjust her breathing. She knew she was outmatched by Zhou Ruoxi, but she didn't want to admit defeat. She hoped to learn something from her opponent through this spar...
Zhou Ruoxi was not aggressive either, aiming for a decisive victory in one move. She also participated with the intention of sparring. Thus, on the platform, she and Xie Qiuhe danced with their swords, their movements as beautiful and fluid as flowing clouds and water. They were like celestial Nine Xuan maidens dancing with swords, causing the sect leaders and masters from various factions, as well as Master Huikong and Elder Zhang Qing, to nod their heads. They praised Abbess Yunbai for her Emei Sect nurturing such a martial prodigy disciple...
"As expected of my goddess, so ethereal..."
Li Zihang, standing beside Xu Lingwei, watched Zhou Ruoxi on the platform, clad in a white long dress, her movements graceful and captivating as she danced with her sword. He excitedly cheered for her.
This caused Wan Yunting, standing nearby, to glance at him. Seeing Xu Lingwei beside him with a detached expression, he sneered, "You praise others like this, aren't you afraid your senior sister will beat you?"
Li Zihang's expression stiffened. He turned to look at Xu Lingwei beside him, waved his hand, and laughed, "Senior Sister Zhishan and Senior Sister Zhou are incomparable. In terms of martial arts, she's not as good. As for beauty, well, Senior Sister Zhishan is also very beautiful, but she's always obsessed with martial arts and never dresses up, so she's not as good."
"Whoa, you dare to say that, impressive."
Wan Yunting immediately gave him a thumbs-up. Xu Lingwei's expression remained calm; she didn't take Li Zihang's words to heart. She said lightly, "Within a year, I will also break through to the early stage of Martial Dao Dan Jin, and I'll only be 28 years old then!"
"Ambitious, I'm optimistic about you."
Wan Yunting looked at her, who appeared calm on the surface but was extremely stubborn and unwilling to admit defeat, and couldn't help but give her a thumbs-up.
He turned his gaze to the other side, where Zeng Yongchang and Qi Wu, disciples of the Wuliang Daoist temple, along with the young disciples from the various sects, were all staring intently at Zhou Ruoxi dancing gracefully on the platform, almost drooling.
It was evident that Zhou Ruoxi was truly a goddess in everyone's hearts. Even Wan Yunting couldn't help but cross his arms and watch with appreciative eyes.
After about ten minutes, the two women on the platform had exchanged over sixty moves. Finally, Xie Qiuhe stopped, held her sword, cupped her fist, and said to Zhou Ruoxi, "I concede."
Zhou Ruoxi returned the bow and smiled, "You flatter me."
"Good..."
Instantly, a wave of applause erupted from below the platform, with everyone praising Zhou Ruoxi's superb swordsmanship, claiming no one could match her.
Then, Sima Wentang ascended the platform and announced, "Everyone, it's noon. The martial arts competition will be temporarily paused. After lunch and a short rest, we will continue with the competition here at 3 PM."
Sima Boyong then stood up and, smiling at the sect leaders and masters from various factions who were also standing up, including Master Huikong, Abbess Yunbai, and Elder Zhang Qing, said, "Then let us head to the dining hall for lunch."
"Good..."
The sect leaders of various factions nodded and then beckoned their disciples to leave. Led personally by Sima Boyong and Wúwéi Zi, they headed towards the dining hall.
"Junior Brother Boyong, Junior Brother Wude, you two go ahead and eat. I'm going back to check on our senior brother," Yang Jingyi called out to Sima Boyong and Chang Wude, speaking softly.
"Alright, sister-in-law. I'll go see senior brother after I finish eating," Sima Boyong replied with a smile.
Yang Jingyi nodded expressionlessly, then called her daughter Duan Yingying to separate from the main group. They almost collided with Wan Yunting, enraging Duan Yingying, who glared at him with wide eyes and yelled sternly, "Good dogs don't block the way, move aside."
Wan Yunting raised an eyebrow. Faced with the spoiled and willful temper of the Sect Leader's pampered daughter who cursed at him right off the bat, he really wanted to lose his temper and teach this girl a lesson. However, with her mother present, he naturally wouldn't dare.
"Yingying, don't be rude."
Yang Jingyi's expression turned serious, and she reprimanded her daughter. Then, she said expressionlessly to Wan Yunting, Kang Nuolan, and Xu Lingwei and Li Zihang who were accompanying them, "Hurry up and go eat, Yingying, let's go."
"Hmph, you just wait."
Duan Yingying glared fiercely at Wan Yunting, snorted coldly, and then left, linking arms with Yang Jingyi on her left.
Wan Yunting was unconcerned by the girl's threat. He then asked Li Zihang, "How did your master end up with such a spoiled and willful daughter?"
"Oh, my master had a daughter late in life. My master and mistress spoil her, and the senior brothers and sisters also dote on her. So, over time, she developed this spoiled and willful personality."
Li Zihang said, his face contorted, "You don't know how miserable she made me when my master brought me back to the sect when I was a child. So Junior Brother Wan, you'll have to fend for yourself."
"Tch."
Wan Yunting crossed his arms, following the main group towards the dining hall for lunch, and said with a smile, "She's just a little girl, what can she possibly do to me?"
"She's my master's precious daughter, you still dare to hit her?"
Li Zihang rolled his eyes at him. Wan Yunting looked disdainful and said with a smile, "If she dares to provoke me, I'll teach her a lesson. A spoiled and willful girl like her deserves to be disciplined."
The girl Duan Yingying reminded him of Wang Mengyao, his second brother's younger sister-in-law, who also had bad habits from being spoiled by her family. Later, after Wang Mengyao had that incident, she now behaves meekly and obediently whenever she sees Wan Yunting.
At this time, the chefs in the dining hall had been busy all morning and had already prepared lunch. Although it wasn't as lavish as the banquet last night, it was still better than what the Daoist temple's disciples usually ate. This was all arranged by Sima Boyong, who insisted on taking good care of the guests from the various sects.
This time, Wan Yunting and Kang Nuolan followed Chang Wude to eat, and no one dared to stop them. The young disciples of the Daoist temple had already witnessed Wan Yunting's strength on the platform, so they did not dare to provoke him voluntarily now.
Wan Yunting, with Kang Nuolan, sat at a table with Chang Wude, Li Zihang, and Xu Lingwei. Ignoring everyone else, he picked up his chopsticks and started eating.
Sima Boyong and his son Sima Wentang were naturally busy entertaining the leaders and masters of the various sects, so they paid no attention to Wan Yunting and the others.
After finishing lunch, the three returned directly to their residences to rest. Chang Wude said, "Kid, I won't be going to the competition this afternoon. I want to take advantage of Sima Boyong's absence to go see our senior brother."
Wan Yunting nodded, knowing that his greatest concern now was the Sect Leader Duan Wuyu.
At 3 PM, the sect leaders and masters of the various factions, Master Huikong, Abbess Yunbai, and the great elder Zhang Qing of the Kunlun Sect, each led their disciples back to the small plaza on the cliff behind the Daoist temple.
Sima Boyong and Wúwéi Zi also led the disciples of the Wuliang Daoist temple to the scene. However, Chang Wude and his two disciples, Wan Yunting and Kang Nuolan, were nowhere to be seen.
This caused Sima Boyong's small eyes to narrow. He whispered to Sima Wentang, "Send someone to check the Sect Leader's residence!"
"Understood."
Sima Wentang nodded, took out his phone, and sent a message. He then received a message himself, which made Sima Wentang's eyebrows rise. He turned back to Sima Boyong and said softly, "Dad, Chang Wude has gone to see the Sect Leader!"
Sima Boyong's small eyes immediately narrowed, flashing with a sharp glint...
Chang Wude walked alone to the gate of the courtyard where the Sect Leader resided. He saw two young disciples of the Daoist temple guarding both sides of the main entrance. Upon seeing Chang Wude approach, they immediately stepped forward to block him, saying, "Uncle-Master Chang, the Sect Leader is unwell and cannot receive visitors. Please return."
"Presumptuous."
Chang Wude's old face darkened, and his eyes widened. He roared angrily at the two juniors, "I've come to see Senior Brother, and you dare to stop me? Who gave you this much audacity, is it Sima Boyong?"
With this mention of Sima Boyong, Chang Wude's voice was very loud, directly reaching Yang Jingyi inside the courtyard, causing her brows to furrow instantly!
These two young disciples were also intimidated by Chang Wude's stern rebuke, but their attitude remained resolute. They said, "The Sect Leader is recuperating now, you cannot go in and disturb his rest. Uncle-Master Chang, please return."
"Get out..."
Chang Wude knew that these two were Sima Boyong's men and decided to force his way through.
"Uncle-Master Chang, you can't go in..."
The two juniors quickly tried to stop him. Chang Wude became angry, kicked one disciple to his knees on the ground, and with a slap of his right hand, sent the other disciple flying. He snorted, "Ignorant fools, daring to stop even me, hmph."
Just as Chang Wude was about to reach the courtyard gate, Yang Jingyi suddenly opened the main door. Her expressionless face and calm gaze swept over Chang Wude, then she coldly looked at the two disciples who were getting up. Facing Yang Jingyi's cold gaze, they immediately lowered their heads in fear and remained silent.
Yang Jingyi didn't say much more. She said to Chang Wude with a neutral expression, "Junior Brother Wude, come in."
Chang Wude nodded and strode in...