While things were turbulent here, things were also going head-on over there. The second round of competition was in full swing, with cheers ringing in the ears and it was very lively. Lu Fanzhi survived the first round, but had bad luck in the second round, as she faced Yan Ying and lost miserably.
She walked off the stage with weak legs and wailed on Luo Jinxiao's shoulder.
"Tonight, that Yanying was so abominable. She was too strong, and the sword in her hand was also a good sword with great power. It hurt my hand so much..." She groaned.
Luo Jinxiao patted her helplessly and advised: "It's okay, let's go back and continue practicing, one day we will be able to beat her."
"If you want to beat me, wait for the next life." A voice sounded behind them. Luo Jinxiao turned around and saw Yan Ying had been standing behind them without them knowing. She raised her head slightly with a look of contempt.
The sword in her hand was still slightly hot, looking threatening.
Luo Jinxiao gently pushed away Lu Fanzhi who was leaning on her shoulder, turned around, and said with a smile: "I hope you remember what you said."
Yan Ying hated to see Luo Jinxiao's nonchalant look. She was furious and asked, "Why, you are so ignorant of your own abilities, do you still want to fight me?"
Luo Jinxiao turned back indifferently and no longer looked at her.
Soon it was Luo Jinxiao's turn again. This time his opponent was Baili Qingzhou. After just a few rounds, Luo Jinxiao found his weakness and easily knocked him off the platform.
However, she did not use too much spiritual power to avoid being noticed. But even so, it still caused quite a bit of controversy. Many people did not believe that she could win two games in a row, and doubts arose one after another.
Luo Jinxiao has always turned a deaf ear to these.
It was noon, the sun was overhead, and it was scorching hot. The shouts of the people present weakened. Many disciples could not stand the heat and slipped out of the White Jade Platform early and ran to the nearby area to cool off. For a moment, the crowd thinned out a lot.
After several rounds of competition, there were few people left, and Luo Jinxiao unfortunately had to fight with Yan Ying. When the two of them walked onto the stage, Yan Ying glared at Luo Jinxiao arrogantly.
"If you beg me to be gentler now, I can still let you go." She said in a voice that only the two of them could hear.
Luo Jinxiao pretended not to hear and just kept moving her wrists. Although Yan Ying was angry, she couldn't do anything about her and she clenched her teeth in anger.
As soon as the drum sounded, Yan Ying rushed forward. The sword in her hand was immediately wrapped up by spiritual power, turning into a long, winding and powerful whip, which smashed towards Luo Jinxiao. Luo Jinxiao was startled and quickly leaned back and dodged nimbly.
"You can only dodge, you coward!" Yan Ying wanted to hit him with one blow, but seeing that Luo Jinxiao dodged, he became angry and attacked more fiercely.
She had good aim and high cultivation level. Luo Jinxiao could not deal with her by just dodging, so he simply stretched out his right hand and a sword flashing with silver light appeared. Suddenly, it was like snowflakes flying, and the stage was covered in white.
"This is not... How come you have such a spiritual weapon?" Yan Ying was surprised.
"Thank you for your care." Luo Jinxiao winked at her and took a step forward. Yan Ying was good at long-range attacks, so she quickly retreated.
How could Luo Jinxiao give her a chance? She silently chanted "Snow Cruel Ice Devourer" and a bunch of ice needles grew from the tip of the sword. They quickly expanded a thousand times. For a moment, the cold wind was biting, and the ice needles were like a net that dragged the sky and the earth. Yan Ying looked down on her and was not prepared at all, so she was almost stabbed with holes all over her body.
Fortunately, she reacted quickly and used her spiritual power to form an array to block most of the ice needles, but she was still in a mess. Even her hair was frozen and stood up, making her look like a white hedgehog.
Seeing this, Luo Jinxiao couldn't help but smile. Yan Ying was so angry that she was shaking. She raised her voice and called for the sword, and immediately flew into the air. Her hands were in the shape of a lotus, and lotus flowers formed in her palms, which she smashed down one after another.
This move is called "Lotus Step by Step". It sounds beautiful, but it is actually a very dangerous killing move and difficult to practice. Everyone was shocked to see her using this technique.
"Yanying is the most talented among the new disciples. If she uses this move, Luo Jinxiao will definitely lose some skin and flesh, right?" said a disciple.
"Although she knows how to do it, she is just a beginner after all. She has so many flaws. What's the use of it?" Luo Ning, who was listening to their conversation, retorted angrily.
"Senior Sister Luo Ning." The disciple who had just spoken bowed awkwardly.
At this time, all the disciples heard about the current battle situation. Word spread quickly, and suddenly a large group of people poured in, filling the ground. Some people even hurried over with their food bowls in their hands, for fear of missing out on the show.
"Is she the legendary girl from the Luo family who entered the Wuhui Sect without any immortal veins? But it seems like she is not at a disadvantage." Someone said while spitting out his food.
The disciple standing in front of him dodged in disgust and replied, "Perhaps the rumors are wrong. Look at her. Although we can't tell how high her cultivation level is, she doesn't look like she doesn't have immortal veins."
Luo Jinxiao on the stage was swinging his sword to form a layer of ice shield above his head. The seemingly thin ice actually blocked all attacks firmly.
Qu Weiyin, who was standing on the elders' stand, loosened her hands that had been tightly clenched around the corner of her clothes, without even noticing it.
"That child is Yan Ying? He is worthy of being Elder Mei's disciple. He can use such skills at such a young age. The young are really to be feared." Elder He stroked his beard and watched with great interest.
After hearing the compliment, Elder Mei was about to say something humble when he heard Elder Liu snort heavily and cross his arms in displeasure.
"What does Elder Liu mean?" Elder Mei was dissatisfied.
Elder Liu ignored her and continued to stare at the platform. He saw that all the lotus flowers in the sky had withered. Luo Jinxiao, who had been standing in the same place, had flown into the air on his sword and was at the same level as Yan Ying.
Yan Ying suddenly swung out a long whip condensed from spiritual power. The speed was so fast that it was difficult to see with the naked eye. It was approaching Luo Jinxiao, and the people watching held their breath.
Qu Weiyin couldn't help but take two steps forward with a serious expression.
Just when the whip was about to hit Luo Jinxiao's face, someone even screamed. Following the scream, Luo Jinxiao, who seemed to be stunned, suddenly raised his hand and actually grasped the whip condensed by spiritual power.
Suddenly, the whole place was filled with the sound of people sucking in their breath.
Unexpectedly, Luo Jinxiao did not show any pain at all. She suddenly turned over on the spot and pulled hard, causing Yan Ying to fall forward and out of the sword.
No one could see what happened next. When everyone lowered their heads, they found that Luo Jinxiao was holding Yan Ying's neck with one hand, half squatting and holding her firmly to the ground.
Yan Ying herself seemed to have not reacted. She was stunned for a moment before she felt the pain and then struggled desperately.
Guijiu on the side hurriedly stepped forward to stop them, and Luo Jinxiao then let go, regaining his usual smile, and winked proudly at Yanying who was still lying on the ground coughing.
The girl's originally calm look instantly became playful, and the youthful vigor and publicity were fully reflected in her. When she smiled sweetly, her eyes seemed to be flowing with sparkling light.
Qu Weiyin lowered her eyes, not knowing what she was thinking about, and then her body suddenly disappeared from the spot.
Today's competition was unexpected. No one could have thought that Luo Jinxiao would win. When everyone dispersed, they were still discussing the situation with great interest.
On the elders' platform, Elder Liu relaxed his expression. His originally serious face now wore a bright smile. He stood up contentedly and bowed to Elder Mei, who had a gloomy face.
"The one who won just now, Luo Jinxiao, is my apprentice!" he said loudly with pride.
"The weather is really nice today. I can eat two more bowls of rice." He laughed and left with a swagger.
Elder Mei's face almost turned purple from anger.
Before Luo Jinxiao stepped down from the stage, she was hugged by Luo Ning and Lu Fanzhi who rushed over and made her stagger. They both seemed to be even happier than her.
"Tonight, you won! You can enter the upper heaven! Just now Elder He said that all new disciples can go with him to take a look, just as if it were to see the world. People say that the upper heaven is the ruins of the realm of gods. I want to go there in my dreams." Lu Fanzhi shouted excitedly.
Luo Ning pulled Luo Jinxiao over, and besides being happy, there was an expression of worry on her face: "Sister, I'm a little worried. Why don't you take me with you so that I can protect you?"
"Am I your sister or are you my sister? Why does it seem like our order is reversed?" Luo Jinxiao smiled helplessly and touched Luo Ning's head.
This girl always looks like she is determined to protect her sister to the death, which makes people feel warm.
Although Luo Jinxiao was happy that she won, she already had a clue in her heart so she was very calm. However, others were not calm. This matter spread like wildfire in the huge Wuhui Sect. Some people said that she won by luck, and some people said that she was a real person who never showed her true face. Anyway, her name, Luo Jinxiao, was officially announced to the world.
After the competition, because there were injured people, Wuhui Sect gave the new disciples a few days to rest before preparing to set off. Luo Jinxiao didn't have much stuff himself, so there was nothing to prepare. He just practiced for a few more days.
In the early morning of the day of departure, it was drizzling and then gradually got heavier. It was still early, and Luo Jinxiao was too lazy to fly the sword, so he just picked up a plain oil-paper umbrella from Elder Liu, carried the package on his back, and strolled down the mountain.
The rain was as fine and dense as silk, hitting the umbrella with a dull dripping sound. The water splashed on the hem of her skirt, making it very difficult to walk. Luo Jinxiao simply tied her skirt high, rolled up her trouser legs, revealing a small section of her straight, white calf.
Because of the rain, the mountains were filled with clouds and mist, which looked like a thin veil in the distance. As Luo Jinxiao walked, he saw a person in the distance, who was cold and alone, and walked very lonely.
The person was dressed in white, which was wet by the rain and stuck tightly to his body. His figure was graceful, slender and tall.
Luo Jinxiao couldn't bear to see people getting wet in the rain, and muttered to himself that all the people in Wuhui Sect were cultivators. If they didn't have an umbrella, they could just recite some water-avoiding spells. Why would they get soaked like this? It looked so miserable.
Or maybe he was a new disciple who didn't know the art of avoiding water. Luo Jinxiao had always been kind, but now he couldn't bear to watch it any longer, so he ran a few steps and gave half of the umbrella to the man.
"My fellow student, did you not bring an umbrella?" she asked. But when the man turned around, she was stunned and almost tripped herself.
The man helped her up calmly and said coldly, "No need."
Luo Jinxiao didn't figure out for a moment whether she didn't need to bring an umbrella or didn't need help holding the umbrella.
Qu Weiyin frowned slightly, said no more, and walked straight forward.
Luo Jinxiao never thought that today, while he was in such a poetic mood, he would meet Qu Weiyin. This must be an ironclad fate. However, it didn't seem appropriate to just take the umbrella away and let her get wet in the rain.
So he had no choice but to follow her and shield her from the rain.
The two of them were silent, only the sound of rain falling was around. Luo Jinxiao couldn't help but peek sideways. The evil woman usually wore a red and black dress, which made her look fierce and not like a good person. But today she wore white, which inexplicably gave her a sense of coldness that was not tainted by the world.
The hair stuck to her cheeks by the rain even made her look a little fragile.
The two of them walked too quietly, and Luo Jinxiao felt a little embarrassed, so he bit the bullet and made small talk: "It's raining so hard, why don't you take shelter from it, Junior Master?"
"Rain, snow, wind and moon are all common, why should we avoid them?" Qu Weiyin remained calm.
Only when it rains, snows, gets wet, or is cold, can we feel our connection with the world. There is another sentence that Qu Weiyin did not say.
When Luo Jinxiao heard this, she felt suddenly depressed for no reason. She lowered her eyes to look at Qu Weiyin, just in time to see raindrops flowing down her slender neck.
Luo Jinxiao looked away. She always felt that Qu Weiyin was terribly cold. It wasn't her who was cold, it was her heart.
Luo Jinxiao scratched his head and said, "Uncle Junior Master, the rain is cold."
Qu Weiyin ignored her and only whispered, "Shut up."
Doesn't that mean she didn't avoid the fact that it was cold, Luo Jinxiao complained in her heart. She stretched out her hand and tapped Qu Weiyin's shoulder, silently reciting the water-avoiding technique in her heart. Qu Weiyin's body instantly became dry, and warmth came over her. Qu Weiyin paused and slightly widened her eyes.
"It's dry and warm, which is normal." Luo Jinxiao said in a low voice.