Chapter 13: Unexpected Turn of Events
On the martial arts arena, under the watchful gaze of the crowd, Yun Mei and Zhang Qingyue stood facing each other.
Today, Yun Mei wore a long white dress, a complete departure from her usual attire. Her figure remained graceful, and her long hair flowed in the wind. She looked at her opponent with a firm gaze, devoid of her usual seductive allure.
Opposite her, Zhang Qingyue maintained her customary style in purple form-fitting attire, a smile on her face. Her eyes flashed with occasional hints of seduction and arrogance. As leaders of the younger generation, both women possessed striking grace and poise, neither yielding an inch to the other.
Exchanging no words, they waited as the clear chime of a bell rang out, and the battle instantly erupted.
Yun Mei made the first move, rushing swiftly toward her opponent while rapidly gathering spiritual energy in her hands. As she closed the distance to Zhang Qingyue, a palm print burst forth from her hands, aiming straight for her opponent's vital points. Zhang Qingyue, however, appeared utterly calm. With a gentle wave of her hand in the air, a barrier rose, perfectly neutralizing the palm strike. In a flash, she moved swiftly to Yun Mei's side, summoned a spiritual sword, and thrust it directly at her.
Seeing this, Yun Mei instantly withdrew her palm, shifted her direction, and extended her fingertip—now glowing with faint purple light—to tap lightly against the incoming sword, deflecting it from its original trajectory.
Their movements grew increasingly rapid, and the spiritual power fluctuations around their bodies intensified. They shifted and maneuvered across the martial arts arena, their figures darting left and right like phantoms, leaving the spectators below dazzled.
Just as the two remained locked in a stalemate, Yun Mei drew her long sword. Enhanced by spiritual energy, the blade emanated wisps of purple light, and with a fierce sword momentum, she attacked Zhang Qingyue. Seeing this, Zhang Qingyue merely narrowed her eyes, recalled the spiritual-energy-formed sword back into her body, and drew her own cherished sword from her waist. The two long blades collided in mid-air with a crisp ring.
The battle entered a stalemate once more. Since both practiced sword techniques taught by the same master, they knew every move of the other by heart. Powerful spiritual energy continuously dispersed across the martial arts arena as they traded blows, neither willing to yield.
However, just as the crowd below assumed the battle would end in a draw, a powerful aura suddenly erupted from within Zhang Qingyue. Spiritual power surged forth like a flood, and Yun Mei's expression changed drastically. Before she could dodge, she was sent flying several meters away by the sheer force.
"Puff..." Dropping to one half-knee, Yun Mei spat out a mouthful of blood, her complexion turning ghastly pale. Her gaze was locked firmly ahead, where Zhang Qingyue's aura continued to surge relentlessly upward.
"You really will stop at nothing just to win against me," Yun Mei spat out the remaining blood in her mouth, gently wiped the corner of her lips, and stood up to look at Zhang Qingyue, whose cultivation was on the verge of breaking through to the Core Formation Realm.
Bathed in the spiritual energy vortex, Zhang Qingyue let out a disdainful laugh at these words. "Heh, Senior Sister, you shouldn't say it like that. You should know better than anyone what the position of Saintess brings. Although I had to harvest the Dao fruit of my husband ahead of time, compared to everything I'll gain after defeating you, it's not even worth mentioning."
Hearing this, Yun Mei's brow furrowed tighter and tighter. Her opponent's current strength already surpassed her own; if she allowed her to continue this breakthrough, defeat was certain. Yet, according to sect rules, under no circumstances and for no reason could a fellow disciple's breakthrough be interrupted, and violators would face severe punishment. For now, she could only obediently wait for Zhang Qingyue to break through to the Core Formation Realm.
At this thought, cold sweat began to bead on her forehead, and her gaze involuntarily drifted toward Xiao Yichen below the stage. Xiao Yichen had been watching her the entire time. Their eyes met in mid-air, and he offered Yun Mei a reassuring smile.
Returning her gaze to Zhang Qingyue ahead, Yun Mei gritted her teeth as if having made a decision. She sheathed her sword back at her waist, and amidst the astonished gasps of the crowd, she sat down cross-legged right on the ground. The next instant, the surrounding spiritual energy surged, beginning to swirl endlessly around her body.
"Is Senior Sister Yun trying to force a breakthrough?"
Hearing the whispers of the surrounding disciples, Xiao Yichen felt a deep sense of foreboding in his heart. Although Yun Mei's cultivation had long reached Peak Qi Condensation, a distinct gap still remained between her and the Core Formation Realm. Attempting to force a breakthrough like this could easily land her in critical condition again. Every disciple below the stage had heard what Zhang Qingyue said earlier—that she had successfully secured her breakthrough by harvesting her cultivation partner's Dao fruit in advance. But Yun Mei's situation was completely different.
Liu Qingqing's grip on Xiao Yichen's arm tightened involuntarily, her unblinking gaze fixed on Yun Mei upon the stage, filled with anxiety. Clearly, she too knew the consequences of a forced breakthrough.
"Has Senior Sister lost her mind? What if she fails?" Xiao Yichen patted the young girl beside him on the shoulder, signaling her to be at ease and to trust Senior Sister. Yet, as he turned his head away, an expression of profound worry appeared on his own face as well.
Turning his gaze back to the two figures on the stage, he saw the spiritual energy around Zhang Qingyue converging toward her dantian. Her face was twisted in agony, suggesting she was enduring immense torment. Every time her brows furrowed, a wisp of spiritual energy leaked outward from her body—evidently, she was attempting to compress the spiritual energy within her to form a core, though she had yet to succeed.
As for Yun Mei, she was forcing a Core Formation breakthrough while utterly unprepared; her state was far worse than Zhang Qingyue's. Blood continually flowed from the corner of her mouth, and the spiritual energy within her instantly turned chaotic, dissipating wildly outward.
"Not good." In the distance, an elderly woman stood up abruptly, flying at extreme speed toward the martial arts arena. She swept away the surrounding barrier and instantly arrived at Yun Mei's side to check her injuries.
Not knowing what came over him, Xiao Yichen broke free from Liu Qingqing's grip and charged toward the stage, reaching Yun Mei's side before anyone else could react.
"Step down..." An authoritative voice boomed from the elder, causing Xiao Yichen's body to tremble slightly, yet his gaze remained fixed firmly on Yun Mei lying on the ground.
"I said, step down." As if her majesty had been challenged, a majestic aura burst outward from the elder, violently shoving Xiao Yichen off the martial arts arena. The elder then scooped up Yun Mei and departed from the scene.
"Damn it, why did that old hag hit so hard?" Xiao Yichen lay on the ground, clutching his chest. Had the elder used even a fraction more force, he feared he would be coughing up blood just like Yun Mei right now.
Liu Qingqing hurried to his side, slowly helping him up from the ground. At that moment, a sudden gust of wind swept across the stage. The spiritual energy within a radius of a hundred meters rushed toward Zhang Qingyue on the platform, all of it drilling straight into her abdomen. The next instant, Zhang Qingyue's body began to emit an intense purple radiance, too blinding to look at directly. Sensing this powerful aura, the crowd retreated in succession, shock written across all their faces.
"She succeeded! Senior Sister Zhang has successfully broken through to the Core Formation Realm!" Someone shouted out those words, and instantly, the atmosphere at the scene ignited into cheers and congratulations.
Channeling all the spiritual energy within her body into the golden core at her dantian, Zhang Qingyue slowly opened her eyes. Looking at her own hands, an expression of extreme excitement crossed her face, and she burst into loud laughter. Basking in the cheers of the crowd below, she relished the moment utterly. Although she had been in the middle of a breakthrough, she had still witnessed Yun Mei's failure. Shifting her gaze to Xiao Yichen lying on the ground, the corners of her lips curled upward slightly.
"Junior Brother, now that I have won, according to the gambling agreement between myself and Yun Mei, from this day forward, you belong to me."