I Outworked the Entire Cultivation World-Chapter 259 - 226: Heart’s Delight (Yue Ticket 600 Bonus - )
"Guiyuan Sword Sect’s Xu Qiancheng, please grant me your guidance!"
The defiant young man swept his sword across and jumped onto the stage, and the others, who had just started lifting their feet, were pushed back by the sword qi.
The male cultivator on the stage swallowed hard; how come things didn’t follow the usual routine?
Sword shadows flew, screams echoed, and the cultivators who wanted to fish in troubled waters were beaten by Xu Qiancheng, jumping up and down.
Jiang Yuebai couldn’t bear to watch, and Qii Ming laughed, "Just now, there was also someone over there who started with taunting the crowd, luring people up, and then defeated five or six people in the chaos before losing. I wonder who thought of this tactic; it’s somewhat treacherous but very effective."
Jiang Yuebai looked serious, "It must have been devised by someone extremely intelligent, but doing so also requires strength; otherwise, look... it’s backfired!"
People were already beaten off the stage by Xu Qiancheng, lying on the ground with torn skin, howling, surrounded by people cursing him, saying he deserved it.
"Xu Qiancheng, you idiot, I told you not to reveal your name, and yet you flaunted it; get down here now!"
Xu Qiancheng’s elder sister, Xu Qianjin, stood below with her hands on her hips, angrily scolding him.
Seeing this, Qii Ming told Jiang Yuebai, "Actually, there are many loopholes in the initial selection rules, and group battles are not the only option. But in fact, this isn’t the most crucial point. Everyone wants to get the Breaking Boundary Pearl. Even if you team up at the beginning, the array only counts the one final strike that knocks someone off the stage. Team members are bound to scheme against each other, so ultimately, one-on-one is the safest and fairest."
Jiang Yuebai nodded, "That’s true, but in my opinion, this rule targets loose cultivators. Noble family disciples and sect disciples have relatively stable relations and can completely choose to team up against competitors to increase their chances of selection."
Qii Ming continued, "I think the most important point is that there’s no need to disclose identities, which allows families and sects to do many things behind the scenes."
Jiang Yuebai agreed, like herself. If she participated incognito and obtained the three-sided jade token needed for the Breaking Boundary Pearl, she could pass the jade token to someone else, allowing them to claim it on her behalf.
On the black market, some people have already started buying the Breaking Boundary Pearl at high prices.
Jiang Yuebai thought it over and felt it unnecessary. The Wind and Cloud Meeting is ultimately about deciding the Earth Spiritual Realm’s governing authority, and families and sects would be crazy to insert a disciple who couldn’t even pass the initial selection.
Perhaps it’s just to leave a backdoor for special cases, like a prodigy failing.
Hong Tao continued to hold his ground on the stage, and Jiang Yuebai arranged a meeting time and place with Qii Ming before preparing to leave.
As she turned, she suddenly noticed Zhuo Qingfeng and a few others on the stages behind her. Jiang Yuebai nodded politely to Zhuo Qingfeng and, without further words, headed to other stages to find the Heavenly Interence Sect’s companions.
Zhuo Qingfeng watched Jiang Yuebai’s departing figure, hesitated for a moment, then firmed his gaze, gripped his sword tightly, and continued to fight.
As Jiang Yuebai walked around, she found that most people hid their identities, fighting on stage with their faces covered. Even if wearing sect attire, they rarely reported their real names once on the stage.
After touring the north of the city, Jiang Yuebai visited the other three battlefields, wandering until sunset. She was surprised to find she couldn’t locate the people she wanted to find.
She couldn’t tell whether their disguises were so good that she didn’t notice or if she just happened to miss them at each battlefield. She also paid close attention to some cultivators’ techniques but couldn’t discern anything, which she found quite astonishing.
"I can only see if there’s any news from Qii Ming’s side; these guys are too good at hiding!"
In the evening, Xie Jingshan hosted a gathering at Jinshui Building by Quan Lake for the Heavenly Interence Sect’s companions, and Jiang Yuebai walked along, making secret calculations.
"Today’s method certainly won’t work tomorrow. How can I win ten matches quickly tomorrow? With such a big name now, I will definitely be regarded highly. I still have to make people think I’m all show and no substance."
In Jinshui Building, Xie Jingshan arranged everything appropriately. Those who were fasting drank tea, while those who weren’t ate and drank. The dishes were top-quality spiritual vegetables and monster meat, free of impurities and wouldn’t affect cultivation.
As Jiang Yuebai arrived, she searched everywhere for Lu Nanzhi, but Xie Jingshan shook his head at her, saying that Lu Nanzhi hadn’t come.
Apart from Lu Nanzhi, all the Heavenly Interence Sect companions they knew had arrived.
"Senior Sister Tang, you have no idea; I guarded just one array today and won ten matches, killing left and right standing undefeated..." Hee Wangchen babbled about his battles today.
Tang Weimian turned a deaf ear, asking Ge Yuchan beside her, "You said you weren’t far from my stage. How come I didn’t notice you?"
Ge Yuchan looked at the table full of exquisite dishes with restraint, "My master told me to keep a low profile before getting the Breaking Boundary Pearl, so today I disguised myself as a man to compete."
Yuu Qiuqi and Fang Yuxing were sitting cross-legged on the balcony drinking tea, Yun Shang sneakily eating in the corner, and Li Shen Zhi pulling Song Zhi’ang, endlessly talking about his business experience.
There were a few people Jiang Yuebai was not familiar with, who had a good relationship with Xie Jingshan.
Jiang Yuebai inquired about Xie Jingshan’s performance today, and after learning that everything went well for him, she went to find Yun Shang and the others.
Glasses were exchanged, lights glittered brightly.
Everyone had a good first-day performance, all obtaining Jade Tokens.
After chatting with Yun Shang for a while, Jiang Yuebai still worried about Lu Nanzhi, feeling down, so she went to the lakeside alone to clear her head.
The moon was like a hook, the Mountain and Sea Building in the center of Quan Lake was brightly lit, and the sound of wind chimes echoed intermittently.
Jiang Yuebai saw two Foundation Establishment Cultivators, a man and a woman, wearing the Lu Family crest, talking under a distant gallery bridge.
Jiang Yuebai released a Cloud Lark Puppet, letting it land on the bridge, and took out a Movie Viewing Mirror to eavesdrop on what they were saying.
"... Really shameless, about to get married yet competing for Wind and Cloud Meeting rankings, does she still think she’s the Family Head’s daughter? Just another furnace cauldron for people to toy with, like her mother!" The man spoke with acrimony.
The woman sighed, "She is pitiable too. Her uncle died unexpectedly, her mother has gone mad, and none of her siblings can help her. She’s feeling upset, so it’s understandable if she gave us the cold shoulder today. After all, she’s a Lu Family daughter; if she could achieve a ranking in the Wind and Cloud Meeting, it would benefit the Lu Family."
"You’re really generous and forgiving, with a Family Head’s daughter’s demeanor. She used to look down on us, but we don’t need to be too kind to her in the future. I see her as a thankless ingrate, destined to betray the Lu Family sooner or later."
"Don’t say that. My father advised me not to provoke her. That Fang Mingyi from the Fang Family isn’t benevolent. Once she marries over, she’ll get her dues and probably end up like her mother, a disgraced woman. Eventually, she won’t be a nuisance to us anymore. Just bear with it for now."
"Alright, I’ll avoid her. Let’s head back; we need to be early at the Battlefield tomorrow. By the way, all our Lu Family disciples will be going to the west of the city, right?"
As the two left, Jiang Yuebai didn’t rush to retrieve the Cloud Lark Puppet, feeling a surge of anger within, wanting to shove those two into Quan Lake.
However, their attitude gave Jiang Yuebai a general understanding of the life Lu Nanzhi was living with the Lu Family.
Jiang Yuebai knew that Lu Nanzhi was set on revenge, but the issue now was whether Uncle Lu’s death was orchestrated by the Fang Family or the Lu Family?
If it were the Lu Family, Jiang Yuebai dared not think further. Anan might want to overthrow the entire Lu Family; given her temperament, she might just do it.
Could it be that she’s participating in the Wind and Cloud Meeting not just as a Heavenly Interence Sect disciple, but has returned to the Lu Family before the preliminaries with this in mind?
Once the people were far away, Jiang Yuebai recollected the Cloud Lark Puppet thoughtfully. Turning around, she saw Zhuo Qingfeng standing under a distant tree, dressed in dark blue attire, with an open, clear aura, looking at her with a profound gaze.
Jiang Yuebai found Zhuo Qingfeng’s gaze somewhat... indescribably strange. She scratched her face as Zhuo Qingfeng walked up to her.
"Jiang... I have something to say to you."
Zhuo Qingfeng blushed, his body was tense, and he stared at Jiang Yuebai with fervent eyes.
Jiang Yuebai backed away slightly, squinting suspiciously, "What do you want? I’m in a bad mood today. Careful, or I’ll twist your head off."
Zhuo Qingfeng took a deep breath, mustering his courage, "I have feelings for you. I wish to ask you to become my Daoist Companion."
Jiang Yuebai’s eyes suddenly widened, internally flustered and at a loss, her mouth gaped for a long time before blurting out a sentence.
"Are you insane?"
Jiang Yuebai ran off with her head lowered, fleeing into Jinshui Building, supporting herself against the wall, breathing rapidly, sneaking a peek outside. Zhuo Qingfeng remained under the tree, unmoving, seemingly a bit... dejected.
"Don’t trample on others’ affection for you carelessly."
Xie Jingshan’s voice came through, and Jiang Yuebai twisted her head a few times before seeing him standing by the window of Jinshui Building’s hall, also looking outside at Zhuo Qingfeng.
"Did you hear everything? Do you have dog’s ears?" Jiang Yuebai scolded irritably.
Xie Jingshan turned his head and stared at Jiang Yuebai for a while, "Your face isn’t red but pale, so I guess you really don’t like that guy. My mother said that the world is complicated, and meeting someone willing to lay their sincere heart bare before you is a great fortune."
"My mother also said, you can dislike and refuse, but please don’t deliberately ignore or carelessly trample, be grateful at heart, clarify the situation and not waste the other’s time, so such a sincere person could continue to be sincere without falling into self-abasement, helplessness, or rage and resentment."
