NOVEL NEXT Chapter 21 - Don't Worry, I’ll Win!
Chapter 21: Don’t Worry, We’ll Win!
The leaders or elders of each sect took their seats around the arena according to their sect’s ranking. Tianyue Zhenren took out a bronze mirror from his sleeve and tossed it into the air. The mirror expanded with the wind, soon covering the entire sky above.
Whoosh!
A screen of light appeared, displaying the scene of the arena below.
“The Great Competition begins!”
As Tianyue Zhenren’s voice echoed throughout the venue, everything proceeded in an orderly manner. The academy disciples who were over fifty years old and thus ineligible to compete but had high cultivation levels acted as enforcers, maintaining the smooth flow of the competition.
Above the lower arena, a hollow, intricately carved sphere about the size of a person’s embrace spun rapidly. Inside, there was a unique space, and under the influence of spiritual power, tokens were occasionally shaken out. Every two tokens that appeared close to each other indicated the next pair of opponents.
These tokens had been distributed to the participating disciples of the three thousand sects earlier. They contained a unique detection mechanism: if a disciple failed to reach the height of the arena, the corresponding token inside the sphere would become invalid and could not be ejected.
Soon, the information of each pair of competitors was recorded, and the enforcers began calling out the names for the matches.
The rules were simple: no killing, no crippling, no stepping out of the arena, stopping immediately upon surrender, no pill consumption during battles, and no use of artifacts, talismans, or other external means beyond the Golden Core level.
After all, if someone with a powerful background brought out a treasure that could instantly kill anyone below the Nascent Soul level, it would be too overpowered. At that point, it would just be a competition of whose parents were more powerful.
As for the flying height, there were no restrictions. With the influence of a special formation, how high one could fly depended entirely on their own abilities.
Since the arena was formed by inverting an entire mountain, the area was large enough to accommodate multiple matches simultaneously.
Nan Gongling lowered her head, rubbing her token. She had only drawn an opponent from another first-tier sect, which felt rather dull. She closed her eyes and began meditating, uninterested in the ongoing matches.
In contrast to her calm demeanor, the disciples of the Qinglian Sect behind her were the complete opposite.
“Great! I only got matched with a disciple from a second-tier sect. I’ll take this win!”
“A first-tier sect… this might be tough.”
“Ahhh! I’m doomed! I got matched with one of the Twelve Sects!”
Excitement, nervousness, and fear intermingled, creating a chaotic atmosphere. The shallow底蕴 (heritage) of the newly risen sect was on full display.
The bronze mirror in the sky was the Taixu Mirror, capable of displaying any desired location within a certain range. Naturally, the sect leaders and elders were more focused on their own disciples, and Liu Ruyan was no exception.
Seeing her disciples cowering, losing more matches than they won, and even their victories being hard-fought, her face darkened.
This is so embarrassing!
The chilling aura emanating from her made the Nascent Soul leaders from neighboring first-tier sects shiver. They subtly activated their spiritual defenses and slowly moved their chairs away.
Just her aura alone could affect them—she was undoubtedly at the Divine Transformation Realm. Not someone to mess with!
Although Liu Ruyan knew that only A Ling could go far in the competition, she hadn’t expected to have to rely on her so soon. Feeling the gazes of others, she couldn’t help but feel they were mocking her as a sect leader.
Finally, it was Nan Gongling’s turn.
“Qinglian Sect’s Nan Gongling versus Bayang Sect’s Yang Zhen!”
As the announcement echoed, a large figure leaped from the crowd and landed heavily on the elevated central arena. The man was tall and muscular, shirtless, with a bronzed body covered in scars, exuding an imposing aura!
At the same time, Nan Gongling walked onto the arena at a leisurely pace, holding a sword.
Seeing his opponent, Yang Zhen frowned, his thick brows knitting together. “What? A blind woman? This feels like bullying!”
“If you don’t want to fight, just surrender,” Nan Gongling replied bluntly.
As a sword cultivator, she had no concept of verbal finesse. She only knew that speaking sweetly to her senior martial brother could earn her his favor faster.
Although she had new techniques, Nan Gongling had no intention of abandoning the sword path. The sword heart wasn’t limited to just one form. With her previous experience, she might one day forge a brand-new sword heart!
“Hey! You woman!” Yang Zhen glared, his eyes wide. “Fine, let’s fight!”
“Senior Brother Yang is the strongest among the younger generation of our Bayang Sect. At just forty, he’s already at the Golden Core Second Layer. The opponent is just from a newly risen first-tier sect. Victory is assured!”
The Bayang Sect disciples below the arena had already started celebrating.
However, as soon as the enforcer gave the signal…
Whoosh!
Nan Gongling swung her sword once, releasing a dazzling white arc of sword light. Looking at it was like staring directly at the sun.
Yang Zhen was instantly blinded, but he didn’t dodge. As a body cultivator, he trusted in the strength of his physique.
The sword strike passed, and he felt no pain.
Yang Zhen felt reassured. It was just a bluff.
But when the light faded, a sword was already at his throat.
The blade, wrapped in colorless sword energy, pressed forward effortlessly, piercing through Yang Zhen’s proud skin. Blood seeped out.
“Qinglian Sect’s Nan Gongling wins!”
It was too fast.
Poor Yang Zhen was still in shock as his fellow disciples helped him off the arena.
The disciples from various sects began to murmur.
“She’s got some skills!”
“Skills? That blinding light was impossible to see through. Only a blind woman like her wouldn’t be affected.”
“Exactly. She just got lucky facing a body cultivator. If it were someone with strong spiritual senses, she’d be done for.”
Nan Gongling remained indifferent to the chatter.
What she had just demonstrated was an attempt to integrate her divine abilities into her sword techniques.
No one could withstand the brilliance of the sun at close range!
***
“Qinglian Sect’s Nan Gongling versus Qianyuan Sect’s Wu Tianlei!”
“Here we go! This time, her opponent is from one of the Twelve Sects. That blind woman is doomed.”
But in the time it took to sip tea twice…
“Qinglian Sect’s Nan Gongling wins!”
***
“Qinglian Sect’s Nan Gongling versus…”
“Qinglian Sect’s Nan Gongling wins!”
***
Wave after wave, Nan Gongling defeated her opponents with ease.
After a full year of沉淀 (accumulation) and滋养 (nourishment), even without activating her divine abilities, her combat power far exceeded her cultivation level.
Her performance finally earned the recognition of most of the competing disciples.
Above, Liu Ruyan’s smile grew warmer, a stark contrast to her earlier demeanor.
Although it was frustrating not to have A Chen all to herself, this kind of回报 (return) was worth it.
“She’s truly underestimated! She even defeated a disciple from the Daoran Sect, one of the top three sects.”
The Yuan Tan Academy disciples also took note of Nan Gongling’s performance and couldn’t help but discuss it.
Even the narrow-eyed disciple, who had been dismissive of everyone earlier, stopped his antics. Due to bad luck, he had faced several strong disciples from the Twelve Sects and was eliminated in just two rounds.
Soon.
“Yuan Tan Academy’s Zhao Ming versus Qinglian Sect’s Nan Gongling!”
This time, the opponent was none other than Senior Brother Zhao, who had claimed to have seen Nan Gongling in action before.
“Senior Brother Zhao, can you win?” a fellow disciple asked worriedly.
Zhao Ming, dressed in scholarly attire, smiled faintly, his handsome face filled with confidence.
“I’ve seen her fight before. I already have a strategy.”
With that, he stood up, his back straight, leaving a dashing figure behind.
“Don’t worry, we’ll win.”
His voice was filled with鼓舞人心 (inspiring) determination.
A short while later…
“Qinglian Sect’s Nan Gongling wins!”
Author’s Notes
[Wuwuwu! The data is so bad. Are there any kind readers who can spare some free flowers and review votes? The numbers barely move once or twice a day. Is anyone even reading this? Please make some noise! I’m losing confidence. Please support me!].