Chapter 13

Qing Zhouxue swallowed the coppery taste rising in her throat and wiped the blood from the corner of her lips.

Though wounded, she knew that strike had all but sealed her victory.

The earlier surge of spiritual energy had erupted because the man's dantian had instinctively burst to protect his body. Now that his dantian was depleted, he should have no strength left to fight.

Sure enough, that mountain of a man slowly knelt, then toppled over like a landslide.

After half a minute, he showed no sign of getting up.

"Qing Zhouxue wins."

Senior Sister Lin Xunzhen, who was keeping the records, announced loudly. She picked up the scroll beside her, dipped her vermilion brush, and circled Qing Zhouxue's name.

Before she had rested long, Qing Zhouxue drew another lot. Luck was on her side—the slip read "bye" in bold characters.

Ruan Mingzhu had also advanced to the top three, having narrowly won the penultimate match.

Qing Zhouxue let out a soft sigh. In the end, she would still have to fight her.

Neither woman was in good shape now. Qing Zhouxue still had traces of blood at her lips and internal injuries, while Ruan Mingzhu's red robe was slashed to tatters, her expression weary.

She climbed onto the martial stage, dragging her long blade, and took a rough breath. Grinning at Qing Zhouxue, she said, "The first place has to be earned with real skill. I won't go easy on you, and you shouldn't go easy on me. We've never actually sparred, so now's the perfect time to fight it out to our hearts' content!"

"Senior Sister, forgive me!"

With a crisp shout, her great blade swept low, and scorching flames blazed across the entire martial stage in an instant.

She was a fire spiritual root—pure fire, a prodigy found one in ten thousand.

She and Qing Zhouxue were evenly matched.

That made things rather difficult for Qing Zhouxue. Fire and ice seemed born to oppose each other. Under the blazing flames, frost could not solidify—it only melted into streaming water.

Within the searing waves of heat, Ruan Mingzhu moved with even greater ease.

Every slash of her blade landed true. Qing Zhouxue raised her sword to block, but the force drove her back several steps. Seeing that she could not hold the defense, she turned to attack as a means of defense, gathering a wisp of chill on the sword tip and thrusting it toward Ruan Mingzhu's chest.

Ruan Mingzhu twisted away and pulled her blade back.

With a clang, blade met sword.

Qing Zhouxue's entire sword had become coated in a thick layer of frost, which melted into water under the heat of Ruan Mingzhu's blade.

Suddenly, Qing Zhouxue flicked her wrist in a graceful arc, using sheer force to scatter the water into a mist. The flames on the ground, doused by that lingering drizzle, died out in large swaths.

"Evenly matched—neither has the upper hand." The Sect Leader smiled, casting a nostalgic glance at Yun Shuchen and Liu Xunqin. "The two of you, back in the day on this very stage—one refused to yield, the other refused to admit defeat. You fought like you were trying to kill each other... In the end, it took our master calling a halt and having you both carried off sideways."

Liu Xunqin raised an eyebrow. "Yun Shuchen was never as good as me; she was just too stubborn."

Yun Shuchen lowered her eyes, her fingers tracing her sleeve. "If he hadn't stopped it, you wouldn't be sitting here as an elder with breath to spare."

"Enough, enough." Mention of that old affair had instantly tensed the atmosphere. The Sect Leader said sternly, "Focus on the match."

In a brief gap between clashing blade and sword, Ruan Mingzhu hooked her fingers by her lips and let out a long whistle. From the sky came a sharp cry, and two golden eagles with enormous wingspans flew in from the distance.

"Is that against the rules?"

After a moment of thought, the Sect Leader shook his head. "It only says no spirit beasts. Those two are ordinary eagles. Not a violation."

Ordinary golden eagles could not actually cause Qing Zhouxue any real harm, but their constant harassment around her was distracting. Splitting her attention, she found it hard to dodge Ruan Mingzhu's blade now.

Several slashes cut through her white robes, faint traces of blood seeping through. Qing Zhouxue suddenly stopped and let Ruan Mingzhu's blade hack into her shoulder.

Ruan Mingzhu was forthright by nature, but that did not mean she was foolish. Who would just stand there waiting to die? Startled, she instinctively pulled back some of her strength, but it was too late. A wall of ice spikes rose abruptly from the ground, locking her blade firmly in place, impossible to pull free.

Qing Zhouxue gained a moment of breathing room. She leaped up and slashed at the sky, and the two birds, unable to flee in time, burst into a flurry of feathers and blood that rained down onto her face.

The two frozen figures dropped before her eyes. Ruan Mingzhu seemed genuinely pained, biting her lower lip as she shattered the ice spikes with a fierce snap. Anger tinged her next blow—a blazing slash that seemed to cleave heaven and earth.

It was too close; she could not dodge this one.

Qing Zhouxue lowered her center of gravity, funneled every drop of spiritual power into her sword, and met the blow with everything she had.

Ice and fire clashed with a sizzling hiss, annihilating each other in a towering cloud of white mist that swallowed both figures.

At once, the audience stirred. Two Foundation Establishment cultivators fighting with the ferocity of Tribulation Transcendence elders—that was a rare sight.

Everyone strained their eyes, waiting for the mist to clear. Whoever was still standing would surely be the champion of this bout.

The white mist slowly dissipated, revealing two figures.

Neither had fallen.

But then, in the next moment, Ruan Mingzhu's blade snapped in two, and Qing Zhouxue's sword shattered as well, crumbling to powder on the ground.

Ruan Mingzhu reacted faster. With weapons gone, the match continued. She grabbed Qing Zhouxue by the collar, and Qing Zhouxue, acting on instinct, seized her hand and pressed it down hard.

Ruan Mingzhu tried to sweep Qing Zhouxue's legs, and the two struggled in a twisted stalemate. At last, Qing Zhouxue was tripped, but she dragged Ruan Mingzhu down with her.

They crashed down in a heap. Once on the ground, Ruan Mingzhu seemed better suited to this kind of savage brawling. Like a serpent, she slithered and struck, locking her arm around Qing Zhouxue's neck from behind, tightening with all her strength to choke her.

Qing Zhouxue bent her elbow and jabbed backward into Ruan Mingzhu's vulnerable stomach. Ruan Mingzhu had already suffered internal injuries when her blade shattered, and after several desperate elbow strikes, blood trickled from the corners of her lips. She trembled with pain, but she bit her lip hard and refused to let go.

Two minutes passed, and Qing Zhouxue still had not broken free. She was on the verge of blacking out; Ruan Mingzhu was hardly better, her blood smeared across the stage floor.

Yun Shuchen frowned slightly. The other elders also seemed to think this brawl was rather brutal—it no longer looked like a duel between cultivators—and several turned away, unable to watch.

"If you can't hold on, you may concede," Senior Sister Lin, who was officiating, called out to remind them both.

Qing Zhouxue could barely hear the words. Her consciousness was dimming from lack of oxygen, yet driven by muscle memory, she kept struggling, kept striking with her elbows.

The last time she had been this close to death was when she jumped off Yimeng Cliff.

If she were to die on this stage, should she concede?

The past ten years of effort—for this day, she had never dared slacken in her studies or her sword training. In the dead of winter, she braved wind and snow to cultivate, the snow on Heyi Peak burying her halfway up her calves. Day after day, year after year, even the Sect Leader had said, Child, there's no need to work so hard.

But she remembered the humiliation of being defeated in a few moves by Senior Brother Xiao, and how she had to trouble Elder Yun to speak with the Sect Leader about it.

Elder Yun's first disciple should not be weaker than the Sect Leader's side.

Everyone wants to save face. This championship she could not surrender.

Gathering the last of her spiritual power, she kicked her legs beneath her, struggling to squirm toward the edge of the ring. Ruan Mingzhu's position was more outside than hers, so if either of them left the circle, it would be Ruan Mingzhu first.

Thus, inch by inch, she dragged herself. By now, Ruan Mingzhu was barely clinging to strength. When she had fallen, she seemed to have struck her spine, leaving her lower body almost numb. She noticed Qing Zhouxue's movements, but could do nothing to stop her. All she could do was tighten her chokehold, hoping to make Qing Zhouxue pass out first.

The battle dragged to an end more brutal than anyone had expected. It was purely a test of willpower. Qing Zhouxue, with her last breath, inched her way, grinding Ruan Mingzhu out of the ring just before she lost consciousness.

Ruan Mingzhu had lost too much blood and had already fainted. At the final moment, her grip finally loosened.

Qing Zhouxue kept her eyes closed. She could vaguely hear the chaos in the arena, and then her consciousness went dark.

When she woke again, she was lying on Elder Liu's Lingsu Peak. She was already quite familiar with the layout of this place.

Qing Zhouxue turned her head slightly and saw Ruan Mingzhu, her entire body wrapped in white bandages. Ruan Mingzhu seemed to have woken earlier. She first shot Qing Zhouxue a fierce glare, then with difficulty, managed a smile.

After smiling, she grumbled indignantly, "You owe me my eagles!"

Qing Zhouxue turned her head away and closed her eyes to rest.

"The two of you nearly killed yourselves—what was the point? At least Foundation Establishment cultivators' broken tendons and bones look frightening but aren't that severe." Senior Sister Bai Su came in to change their dressings. She glanced at Qing Zhouxue and sighed. "Especially you, Junior Sister Qing. Count how many times this is that you've lain here."

Qing Zhouxue coughed. "Is the disciple acceptance ceremony over?"

"The first session has ended. Once you two can get out of bed, the second session will begin."

"Elder Yun..."

"What do you need me for?" A familiar voice came from behind the door as Yun Shuchen entered gracefully.

Bai Su froze. "Master Yun, when did you arrive?"

"The ceremony is over. I had some free time to check on these two reckless ones." Yun Shuchen smiled warmly. "Bai Su, you may leave now."

"Alright." Senior Sister Bai Su had just finished changing the dressings. She tidied up her things and withdrew, pulling the door shut behind her.

Although Ruan Mingzhu could not move, her eyes brightened at once. She struggled to confess, "Elder Yun, I like you! Will you take me as your disciple?"

Hearing that, Qing Zhouxue nearly spat out blood.

"Is that so?"

Yun Shuchen's gaze, however, fell on Qing Zhouxue, and she teased softly, "You've never even spent time with me. How would you know if you like me or not?"

"Ruan Mingzhu, your spiritual root is better suited to Elder Zhong's tutelage. He's skilled in all sorts of weapons, especially the great blade." Yun Shuchen retracted her gaze, looked at Ruan Mingzhu, and smiled.

"Whatever," Ruan Mingzhu muttered. "The moment Elder came in, you kept staring at Senior Sister Qing. She's not suited for you either. I don't like you anymore. You're too biased. If I go to your peak, I'd only be bullied for no reason."

Yun Shuchen smiled again but said nothing.

"Huh?" Ruan Mingzhu suddenly thought of something. "Are there many beauties on Elder Zhong's peak?"

Yun Shuchen was taken aback. "Hmm?"

Qing Zhouxue could not stand it anymore. She said softly, "Ruan Mingzhu, you're not healed yet. Rest a while and talk less."

Qing Zhouxue stayed there that night, and under Elder Liu's miraculous healing, she recovered enough to get out of bed. Ruan Mingzhu, perhaps still pondering whether there were any beauties on Elder Zhong's peak, soon fell deeply asleep.