For the disciples of Guiyuan Sect, the inner disciples competition held every ten years is the most exciting event.
In the square of Qingxu Peak, rows of arenas were set up, and the older disciples were setting up the final defensive formations for these arenas.
"Who do you think will be the champion this time? Could it be someone from Xiaoyao Peak again? They have won the championship several times in a row." A disciple chatted with his companions while busying himself.
"No, Master Su of Xiaoyao Peak has not accepted any disciples in these years. He only accepted a six-year-old girl ten years ago. Now the child is only sixteen years old." His companion waved his hands repeatedly, "That junior sister is spoiled by her senior brothers and sisters. She has been so spoiled that she has rarely left the mountain gate. Whether she comes to participate is another matter."
"That's true. We can't let Xiaoyao Peak stand out alone. I think the championship this time should go to our Yuding Peak."
"Nonsense, my Xuandan Peak has a very outstanding new junior brother this time, I think there is great hope."
In front of another arena, Yang Jun from Tiezhu Peak was checking the list of contestants.
Ye Hangzhou came up from behind and put his hand on his shoulder, "Let me see."
Yang Jun glanced at him, "Why did you come so early? You can't participate in the competition this time."
Ye Hangzhou was the champion of the last competition. The top ten players in each competition would be commended and rewarded by the sect. These people would not have to participate in future competitions.
"Aren't you here to watch over my junior sister? She has only been in the sect for ten years, and this is her first time participating in the sect competition."
As Ye Hangzhou was speaking, a girl of about sixteen or seventeen walked out from behind him.
The girl was none other than the sixteen-year-old Mu Xue. She was wearing a thin red shirt, without any makeup on. She behaved in a free and easy manner, but she had a slender waist and a narrow collar, a face as white as jade, deep fringe on her hair, cold black hair, and eyes that were like stars. She had a natural beauty that was unparalleled.
Yang Jun hadn't seen Mu Xue for a long time. He never thought that the little girl with simple clothes and two buns on her hair had grown into such a graceful young lady in the blink of an eye.
"So Xiaoxue is going to participate in this year's competition." Yang Jun said to Ye Hangzhou with a smile, "When will you change this tradition of Xiaoyao Peak? When you participated in the sect competition, your Senior Brother Fu stared at me from the sidelines from beginning to end, which scared me so much that I didn't perform well. I made a mistake and lost to you. Now it's your turn to sit in for your Junior Sister?"
Ye Hangzhou pushed him and said, "If you lose, you lose. You can't blame it on my brother. How about we go up and compete again later?"
"Alright, alright. Don't worry, everyone knows that people from Xiaoyao Peak cannot be touched. No one dares to really hurt your sister." Yang Jun said to Mu Xue, "Xiaoxue, don't be nervous. Everyone on the field is your fellow disciples. If you can't win the competition, just admit defeat as soon as possible. It's okay."
Mu Xue bowed gently, nodded and said yes, looking very well-behaved.
Ye Hangzhou was also worried and said, "We are Xiaoyao Peak, and we established the peak with the word Xiaoyao. We don't care about these false names. You can go to the arena to stretch your muscles and have some fun. You don't have to worry about the ranking."
Mu Xue asked, "But I heard that Senior Brother also won the first prize that year?"
Ye Hangzhou suddenly felt proud again, "That's because the overall level of my senior class was not good, and I tricked him into winning the championship, haha."
Yang Jun, totally disregarding his “poor skills”, looked at him with an uneasy expression.
The sect's battle was in full swing.
For a moment, dragons and snakes rolled on the stage, unicorns and phoenixes cried out, lightning flashed, the Three Flames Fire burned, the earth shook, swords flashed, magic skills shone.
There were many spectators surrounding each arena.
Ding Lanlan manipulated two human-shaped puppets of the same height as real people at the same time and narrowly defeated a senior from Tiezhu Peak. Knowing that she was unable to defend the match, she stepped down from the stage to rest.
"Where is Xiaoxue competing?" she asked Yuanzi who came to pick her up.
Yuanzi and Xiatong were finally selected into the sect during the external sect examination in their third year after they entered the sect. Yuanzi, like Ding Lanlan, went to Biyou Peak, while Xiatong went to Xuandan Peak.
"She should be over there." Sonoko pointed to a ring not far away.
Above the arena, hovering in the distance was a white tiger with hanging eyes, an iron pot, and a giant leaf. At a glance, one could tell that the three famous senior brothers and sisters from Xiaoyao Peak were squatting there.
A confused onlooker pointed at the arena and asked, "What's going on there? Why are the three giants from Xiaoyao Peak all staring at it from the sky?"
"Oh, you don't know, right? This is Master Su's new disciple who is participating in the competition this year. Her brothers and sisters are afraid that she will get hurt, so they came together to watch and cheer her on."
As Ding Lanlan just walked to the front of the ring, she saw a senior brother tied up with red ropes being thrown off the ring.
"Zhang Xiaoxue, wins, game eight." The referee's voice sounded at the same time.
There was a sudden booing from the stands.
On the ring, a girl of about 16 or 17 years old, relying on a red rope, easily defeated eight powerful opponents who came on the stage one after another in almost just one encounter. The red rope was made of unknown material, but it moved at will, and was very flexible. Once it touched the body, it was bound. The opponent often didn't even have a chance to attack before being tied up tightly.
The girl had a slender waist and fluttering red clothes. She stood alone on the stage and raised her fair wrist. The red rope retracted into her hand and merged into the back of her hand to form a golden-red flower-shaped tattoo.
Yang Jun took Ye Hangzhou's leaf and sat next to him. "You are so good, you even fooled me. Does she look like she needs us to worry about her?"
Ye Hangzhou watched Mu Xue win eight games quietly, and was happier than his own victory. "What I meant just now was that I was worried that my junior sister was too young and had no sense of propriety, and might hurt others. Haha."
For a moment, there was a lot of discussion in the audience and no one dared to go on stage to challenge.
According to the rules of the competition, contestants advance based on the points they gain from multiple wins and losses. However, those who can survive ten rounds in the ring can directly participate in the finals.
Lin Yin, a disciple of Xuandan Peak who had a conflict with Mu Xue in the past, ridiculed indignantly under the stage,
"You don't have any real ability. You are just taking advantage of the favor of the master and the divine weapon bestowed upon you. It's not fair to your fellow disciples who have worked so hard to cultivate."
Mu Xue stood on the stage, looked at her and said with a smile: "Senior Sister Lin, come on stage, let's compete. I promise that I won't need to use the Immortal Binding Chains."
Lin Yin was so excited that he immediately jumped onto the stage and asked, "Are you serious?"
Mu Xue was soft and cute, smiling: "Of course it's true."
As soon as the referee announced the start of the match, a red phantom suddenly came up like a spirit snake, wrapped Lin Yin up like a dumpling, and threw him off the stage.
"Game nine, Zhang Xiaoxue wins." The referee announced weakly.
Lin Yin rolled on the ground covered in dust, broke free from the loose rope, jumped up, pointed at Mu Xue's nose with a red face, "You! You violated the rules!"
Mu Xue looked innocent, "There is no rule in the competition that prohibits the use of magic weapons, nor does it stipulate that you cannot lie. Where did I violate the rules?"
Lin Yin's face flushed red, she stamped her feet, tears welling up in her eyes. Fortunately, she was older now, so she didn't run away crying like she did when she was little.
One of her fellow disciples comforted her and stepped onto the stage.
Mu Xue also knew this person. He was a fellow disciple of Kong Ji, the master of Xuandan Peak. He and Lin Yin were sisters from the same school and were also the most talented and outstanding disciples among their batch of disciples.
He bowed to Mu Xue and said, "I am Xiao Changge from Xuandan Peak and I am here to ask for your advice."
Under the ring, Xia Tong pulled Ding Lanlan and the others aside and said, "This Senior Brother Xiao is very powerful. When King Butterfly asked about the situation, it was he who achieved the state of 'Rainy Dispensation' and amazed the whole audience."
"What is the Rain-Giving Realm?" Several heads came over.
"I only found out about this later." Xia Tong said, "Among the disciples who went up the mountain in our class, this senior brother's realm was the most outstanding. It is said that both his character and talent are outstanding. Several senior uncles wanted to accept him as a disciple. In the end, it was the master of our Xuandan Peak who snatched him away."
"So he's very powerful?"
"He should be very powerful," Ding Lanlan also said, "Besides him, I heard there was another kid at the Snow Flower Blooming Realm, but although he had a good character, his talent was not very high. There was also a person at the Fire Flowing Everywhere Realm, who was rated as extremely talented but had a wild character. So Senior Brother Xiao was the most outstanding person in our class."
Several disciples watching from the other side were also muttering quietly.
"How powerful can someone born in Xuandan Peak be?"
"That place is used to refine elixirs and grow spiritual plants at best. When it comes to fighting, it can't compare to places like Xiaoyao Peak where sword cultivators come from."
"Nothing to see, nothing to see. Looks like the little girl is going to get 10 blood points and advance to the finals."
On the stage, Xiao Changge didn't mind the discussions from the audience. His face was calm and he just made a hand gesture with one hand.
In a flash, countless flexible branches sprouted from the ground, quickly rising and growing into vigorous branches and leaves. In the blink of an eye, a dense forest with lush branches and leaves rose from the ground, occupying most of the huge arena.
This move may not seem as powerful as thunder and lightning, but it is actually very rare and can only be achieved by a person with extraordinary talent. The crowd watching below the stage cheered.
A light drizzle was falling from the sky. Xiao Changge was surrounded by the flexible trees, almost blending in with the entire green jungle.
In such a situation, even if Mu Xue used the Immortal Binding Rope, it would be difficult to tie him up.
"Junior sister, I'm going to make a move." Xiao Changge reminded gently, and the finger gestures in his hands changed. Countless flexible vines were like dragons and snakes, rolling up the dust on the ground, and coiled towards Mu Xue.
It is conceivable that if you are touched by them, you will be tied up into a big green dumpling in an instant, which is much more miserable than being tied up by the immortal rope.
Mu Xue flew to avoid it, but the entangled vines behind her were shaking like clouds and water, chasing her relentlessly.
There were also countless hard branches that turned into sharp spears, making intensive sounds of breaking through the air, and shot towards Mu Xue from all angles. The sharp spears pierced into the ground fiercely, stirring up sand and gravel all over the sky, forcing Mu Xue to have nowhere to escape.
Mu Xue turned around and drew out a three-foot-long dagger. When the sword came out, the flames of the bullfighting blazed and the water in the cold pond turned cold. The stars and the moon in the sky dimmed, and there were faint sounds of wind and thunder.
The sword flickered and turned into a five-petal winter plum blossom.
Plum blossoms bloomed in the air, and thousands of trees were in bloom at the same time. The overwhelming blizzard of plum blossoms went straight to the green plants in the rain, with such momentum that they broke three thousand branches and leaves.
Suddenly, on one side of the ring, rain was falling on everything, and branches and leaves were growing one after another. On the other side, the wind was blowing hard and snowing, and plum blossoms were blooming. They were tit-for-tat and not giving in at all.
At first, the onlookers just thought that Mu Xue was young and frivolous, and that he won these matches by taking advantage of some magical weapon he got from nowhere.
At this moment, seeing that she was fearless in battle at such a young age, that she never retreated after striking out with her sword, and that her Dao techniques were profound, they were finally convinced of her. Seeing that she was just a beautiful girl with an extraordinary appearance, more people immediately turned to cheer for her.
"I told you, Xiaoyao Peak has always produced ruthless people, but never cowards."
"Don't underestimate her because she's just a junior sister. Have you forgotten how Senior Sister Miao tortured us back then?"
Several older brothers recalled the past, shuddered, and quietly glanced at the iron pot above their heads. Recalling the psychological shadows of their childhood, they no longer dared to make random stories about the junior sister from Xiaoyao Peak.
Miao Honger moved to Fu Yun's side, "This girl's Nine Plum Blossom Swords is indeed inherited from you."
Fu Yun focused on the battle on the ring. "I didn't expect that she could practice swordsmanship to such a level. Her sword intention is quite different from mine."
"You are the sword of a gentleman. Junior sister's sword looks like a snowstorm and cold plum." Miao Hong'er touched her chin and shook her head, "Sometimes I can't understand it. I have been protecting her since she was a child, but why does she always look like she is ready to fight at any time."
On the ring, the spring rain-like jungle turned into midsummer, dark clouds rolled in the sky, thunder roared, and heavy rain began to pour down.
"Oh no," Ye Hangzhou stood up, "My junior sister is a little afraid of thunder."
"Are you afraid of thunder?" Yang Jun didn't react.
In the pouring rain on the ring, Mu Xue seemed to be stunned for a moment. She raised her head to look at the thunder and lightning in the sky, letting the pouring rain wash over her face. It was not until those crazy plants had climbed up to her ankles that she raised her hand coldly and made a strange gesture.
"Is the earth shaking?"
"What's going on? The ground is shaking?"
Each of the four corners of the arena here has a magic circle. Under normal circumstances, all the magic within the arena cannot affect the area outside the arena. For example, at this moment, there are lightning and thunder in the arena, and heavy rain is pouring. However, the stands outside the arena are very dry, without any traces of rain.
But now the ground was shaking for some unknown reason, and a small crack appeared in the ground. A tiny iron puppet poked its head out of it. It looked around, stretched out its thin arms to support its body, jumped out from the ground, and ran towards the ring.
Ding Lanlan was very familiar with this kind of puppet. Her aunt and master Ding Fengzhu often arranged for them to make basic puppet models. By putting a small spirit stone in it, they could control it to do some simple activities such as carrying and unloading.
Before she could figure out why Mu Xue summoned such a simple iron puppet with little offensive ability.
There were holes on the ground on all four sides of the arena, one on the left and one on the right. Dozens of small puppets jumped out from them, covering the branches and leaves like a tide, and rushed towards Xiao Changge in the middle.
Xiao Changge controlled the branches and tried to block them, but these little puppets were very flexible. He could block one but not the other.
Although Xiao Changge is a young talent with outstanding talent, he is after all a teenager who has only been a disciple for ten years and does not have much real practical experience.
He was thrown into a panic by the densely packed puppets. A few of the densely packed puppets came over and grabbed his limbs, raised his hands and feet, stretched his limbs into a big letter shape, and lifted him into the air.
Lin Yin, who was watching the fight from the audience, screamed in fright.
"Xiaoxue, don't hurt anyone." Ye Hangzhou also shouted.
Mu Xuepian raised two fingers and made a gesture of collection. The iron puppets carried Xiao Changge and ran all the way, throwing him off the edge of the ring.
Xiao Changge rolled on the ground twice, sat up, was stunned for a long time, and said, "It's amazing, I lost."
He said to Lin Yin again: "I'm sorry, Senior Sister, I can't beat her either."
Lin Yin came back to his senses from the shock and stamped his feet, "Forget it, forget it, I won't bother with her."
Mu Xue got ten wins and came down from the ring.
Ding Lanlan looked her up and down for a long time, then suddenly twisted her arm hard.
Mu Xue felt pained: "What are you doing, Senior Sister Lanlan?"
In the past, Ding Huirou often praised Mu Xue, but Ding Lanlan was a little dissatisfied. After watching this battle, she finally understood why the teacher always praised Mu Xue's weapon refining skills.
The teacher said that this was a very basic puppet that needed to be practiced repeatedly until it reached a state of proficiency. However, I only made three or five of them before I found it boring and felt there was no need to practice it repeatedly.
But today I saw that Xiao Xuehua’s effort in this area was more than ten times as much as mine.
Controlling two humanoid puppets to fight was very strenuous. Although Xiaoxue was operating a small puppet, she was able to precisely control dozens of puppets at the same time without changing her expression.
"Today I am convinced by you. I will follow your example in the future." Ding Lanlan said frankly, but she couldn't help feeling jealous and twisted Mu Xue hard again.
Mu Xue sat in the stands to rest, while Ding Lanlan and Yuanzi went to their respective arenas. Xia Tong, who did not sign up for this competition, sat with her and chatted.
"I originally thought that we alchemists would not be able to compete in martial arts. Sitting quietly beside the alchemy furnace and refining medicine is the right thing to do." Xia Tong was very moved after watching the battle. While talking, she shared the candies she brought with her with Mu Xue. "After watching your competition with Senior Brother Xiao today, I realized that I was the one who avoided the battle. I shouldn't have thought that way."
Mu Xue ate the candy with a crunching sound. "It's okay. My master said that there are three thousand great ways, but they all lead to the same destination. If you really don't like fighting, don't force yourself."
As they were talking, Yuanzi came back, covering her face with her hands, looking frustrated. She had only been practicing for a short time, and her cultivation was not high, so she was quickly defeated in the ring match, and also suffered some minor injuries, with a large swelling on her face.
"Let me see it quickly. I have medicine here." Xia Tong checked her injuries and took out the ointment from Xuandan Peak to help her apply it on her face.
Not long after, a senior brother with thick eyebrows, broad eyes and a square face came after him.
"Sorry, sorry, I just couldn't stop myself on the stage. I hurt such a young junior sister. It's really my fault." He scratched his head and took out a bottle of medicine from his arms, "This is the medicine."
Sonoko shook her head, "No, I already have medicine."
The senior brother thought for a while, then took out a box from his Qiankun bag and opened it. It turned out to be a tray of crystal clear lotus root powder desserts.
"I heard that there will be a big competition, so my mother sent some snacks from my hometown. They taste very good. Why not give them to me as an apology?" He smiled and handed a box of snacks in front of Yuanzi, apologizing sincerely.
Xia Tong and Mu Xue looked at each other, pushed each other, and laughed behind us. In the end, Yuanzi still accepted it with a red face.
As soon as the senior brother left, the girls immediately started playing around.
Xia Tong teased Yuanzi, "Oh, our Yuanzi has grown up now, she is beautiful, and even our senior brother sends her fruits to eat."
Mu Xue was looking at them and smiling when a young disciple from some unknown mountain came over reluctantly.
The young man blushed and stammered to Mu Xue, "Master... I saw the fight that Junior Sister just had. It was really, really amazing."
He said half a sentence and couldn't continue. He stuffed a bright red fruit in his hand onto Mu Xue and ran away in a hurry.
Then a young senior brother came. This senior brother was more free and easy. He handed Mu Xue a mountain flower in full bloom and said, "My name is Xuanji from Qingxu Peak. I admire you very much. I hope we can be friends."
Although they were all cultivators, most of the disciples who could participate in the sect competition were young men full of vigor and vitality, at the age of knowing how to be beautiful and admire young girls. In the passionate battle, it was easy to admire anyone.
Mu Xue stood there in a daze holding the fruits and flowers she had received, and was laughed at by her friends and senior classmates.
It was spring in the mountains, and the peach blossoms were in full bloom. The pink petals were blown by the wind and fell all over her shoulders.
Such a situation seemed to have happened in her memory, but it had never entered her heart.
Now it all suddenly comes to my mind.
"Xiaoshan, I think I brought back a basket of mountain plums given by the young master of the Yan family yesterday. How come it's gone?"
"Those were all infested with worms and inedible. I threw them away."
"Oh, that's how it is."
"Master, I specially went to pick some grapes today. Try them and see if they are sweet."
"Yeah, very sweet."
"Is it better to pick it from the hills?"
"Mm, the hill is delicious."
"There are so many thorns on that tree, Xiaoshan's hands are stung."
"Really? Let me see."