Chapter 146 - Easy Game
The next day, Lu Mingshu drew out two strengthening seals again.
They were both meant to be used on weapons. The first could increase the weapon"s resonance with mystic force, while the second one had the ability to freeze things.
Lu Mingshu grinned from ear to ear upon seeing the first. How well one"s weapon could resonate with mystic force represented the quality of a weapon. The better the resonance, the less mystic force one would lose during a fight, and the more powerful the attack. This seal was perfect to complement her weak basics.
As for the second seal, she couldn"t quite understand what it meant. She went to ask Xiao Sang, who replied with a, "Figure it out yourself."
Lu Mingshu pondered for a while. Let"s just use it today and find out. Seeing how many partic.i.p.ants there were in total, it should be my turn today.
The preliminary continued at seven in the morning.
"Ancient Jade Summit, Xing Kun," Lin Zixin announced the first party.
A guy in black clothes walked out from Ancient Jade Summit"s area. He was somewhere in his thirties, and he had a huge scar on his forehead that went from the top of his head to a few centimeters away from his eyes, showing his ferocity.
"It"s him!" Tan Yubing gasped.
Lu Mingshu raised her eyebrows. What about him?
"Xing Kun was once a bandit who deemed the north part of China as his territory, and he killed many innocents. An elder from Ancient Jade Summit took him in, and from then on, he turned over a new leaf. When I first entered the Harmonization Realm, I went travelling to Beiming and heard about that. As someone whose hands are covered with blood, his true ability is way higher than his cultivation. His opponent is very unlucky!"
Right after speaking, Tan Yubing got a taste of what it was like to be a crow beak, the second victim after Shao Zhengyang.
"Nine Jade Palace, Lu Mingshu," Lin Zixin announced the name.
"Junior Niece Lu…!" I should have just kept my mouth shut! Tan Yubing wanted to slap herself hard.
Lu Mingshu smiled at her and leapt up onto the rooftop, ignoring the worried looks that everyone was giving her.
There"s a slight uproar in the canopies.
"Lu Mingshu? Isn"t she the one who fought at all the arenas in Tianyun City?"
"Yeah, that"s her."
"Woo~ Showtime! I heard she"s arrogant, huh? Let"s see how arrogant she can be when facing Xing Kun." The guy rejoiced in her misfortune.
"She"s good though; she has defeated many experts!"
"True gold fears no fire. If she"s that good, she"ll prove it!"
On the other hand, some people worried for her.
"This girl is at a disadvantage, she"s still so young!"
"Yeah! When Xing Kun became famous, she wasn"t even born yet!"
These comments went unheard by Lu Mingshu. Or rather, maybe she heard them, she just chose to turn a blind eye to them.
She bowed toward Xing Kun. "Lu Mingshu from the Nine Jade Palace. Please guide me true."
Xing Kun grinned at her. "Little girl, seeing that you"re still so small, the great me can"t bear to slash you. Why don"t you just give up now?"
"Sir"s hands have been covered with blood, but you finally got your life back on track after so many difficulties; I also can"t bear to fight you. Why doesn"t Sir give up instead?" Lu Mingshu replied coldly.
"Yo, quite an att.i.tude you have! Then don"t blame me for being rough!" he shouted, and in the blink of an eye, Xing Kun appeared in front of her with his mystic light.
Xing Kun"s weapon was a huge and fine sword that was customized specifically for him, and it was suited for slas.h.i.+ng.
This slash was a simple one; he didn"t add any tricks. He did it quickly and accurately, and this fight was all about pure ability.
Lu Mingshu darted to the side and unsheathed her sword.
Both of their movements were like lighting. In no time, they had already made more than ten moves.
Some spectators couldn"t take it anymore.
"What the heck is wrong with her? If you don"t wanna attack, then what"s the point of competing? You might as well give up from the start!"
"That"s right! Everyone knows how good Xing Kun is. It"s nothing embarra.s.sing to give up against him!"
"Where are your brains at? She only just became famous, why would she give up on her first fight at the Qilin Festival? No matter what, she must fight!"
"Tsk! So young, so impatient! Yes, she may have been good in the arenas, but who are her opponents here at the Qilin Festival? The standard is way different!"
"Youngsters these days - small body, big heart."
"Ha, I bet you all don"t know the reason why she wants to become famous so badly! Let me spill some tea…"
State Master Jia Yan was sitting in the Seventh Truth Platform area watching the fights. Martial arts compet.i.tions are always better when watching with your sect… why are those b.u.ms looking over here? She fished out her sword, ready to fight them, but she was stopped by Yu Kuang.
"Annoying b.u.mpkins!" she mumbled. "What are they looking at? Are they looking at Cousin!?"
Yu Kuang patted her shoulder to pacify her. "Calm down. That"s the only thing those boring people can do. Ignore them."
"Hmph!" Jia Yan sat back and pouted. "All because of that girl!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. All because of her."
Lu Mingshu continued testing her opponent while doing some mental calculations. Xing Kun is indeed suited for actual combat. His cultivation is normal, and his physical aspects aren"t very good either. However, his methods are all practical, and he has enough strength and speed to execute them.
However, Xing Kun wasn"t perfect. His big shortcoming was that, every time after he attacked, he would subconsciously dodge to the right. The left part of his body must have been badly injured before.
After probing Xing Kun"s patterns, Lu Mingshu suddenly stopped moving. She turned her sword, and mystic light slashed out.
Both mystic lights clashed, creating a loud boom. Both parties moved back to avoid the impact.
"You"re finally attacking!" Xing Kun laughed out loud. "Come on! It"s boring fighting alone."
"Sir, be careful," Lu Mingshu said softly.
As soon as she said that, a sword-light dashed toward Xing Kun.
Xing Kun bellowed and slashed it apart. "You"re so weak, yet you want to take the great me down?"
Lu Mingshu didn"t manage to hit Xing Kun at all. She then swiftly moved behind Xing Kun and attacked again.
After that, she changed her pattern. Her attacks were swift and meticulous.
The spectators were in awe upon seeing how she fought. Attack after attack, she kept attacking nonstop, and within no time, she gained the upper hand.
"What"s going on!?" a spectator gasped.
A minute earlier, they were all dissing Lu Mingshu for just dodging. Who would have guessed she would change her style all of a sudden?
Fine skills, rising sword power, and strong sword qi. She was just showing off her skills!
"She"s so freaking vain! Why can"t she just focus on the fight? Is boasting more important than winning?"
"It"s not that," someone spoke up for her. "Considering where Xing Kun is from, basics are his weakness, so to win, that"s the only way - compete on basics."
"Hmph, bulls.h.i.t. Where is Xing Kun from? He literally came out of the Grim Reaper"s backyard, he"s just probably uncomfortable with this way of fighting. Once he gets used to it, we"ll see how arrogant this Lu Mingshu can be!"
Most of the spectators were thinking the same way. However, as time pa.s.sed, Xing Kun couldn"t get the upper hand back; in fact, he only became slower and slower.
When the sword pointed at Xing Kun"s throat, Lin Zixin announced Lu Mingshu as the winner, and she took back her sword.
"You let me win."
The spectators were all rooted to their seats.
"Ended…?"
"Huh? Did Xing Kun actually let her win?"
"Yeah! That wasn"t how he fights! He never ends without even trying to fight back, not to mention his ability!"
When Lu Mingshu was heading back to her sect"s tent, Xing Kun called her, "Wait!"
"Yes, Sir?"
Xing Kun was s.h.i.+vering for no reason. "Miss Lu, are you perhaps cultivating some unique skills? Why do I feel like I was being frozen and my mystic force wasn"t coming out?"
"Sir"s scar should be after a hard battle, right?" Lu Mingshu asked. Seeing Xing Kun nod his head, she continued, "Even though your injury has healed, you are still scared when I attack from the left. Because you felt uncomfortable, that"s why you feel that way."
Xing Kun raised his eyebrows; Is it really that simple?
Lu Mingshu bowed and went back to the tent.
In actuality, the reason was because of the strengthening seal.
Wow, it"s so powerful. It can freeze one"s mystic force. Such a pity I used it during the preliminary. Xing Kun may have been extremely powerful, but she was perfectly capable of defeating him without the seal.
Chapter 147 - Difficulty is What Makes it Interesting
Seeing her come back, the three chaperones were filled with smiles. Of course, for different reasons.
Kang Tian gave her a few words of encouragement; "Good job. You made us proud. Continue to work hard and strive to win the challenger"s fight."
On the other hand, An Tongchen gave her criticism; "It was a mistake showing off your skills. Take note of that. All the partic.i.p.ants are good."
"Yes," Lu Mingshu nodded and went back to her seat.
She understood where he was coming from. Revealing her ability now would make it harder for her to fight in the upcoming rounds since the opponents would be on guard against her, making it harder for her to win.
However, Lu Mingshu had already prepared for what was going to happen ever since she went to fight in the arenas. No pain, no gain, and this will get me to my goal.
The compet.i.tion during this second day was much more interesting. Some partic.i.p.ants were secretly taken note of.
The third day was the start of the second round. Anyone who didn"t win the first round but were confident in their ability would be given a chance to fight again.
Lady Luck finally stood on Shao Zhengyang"s side. His opponent in this round was just so-so, and he won the round and managed to advance to the challenger"s fight.
In the Heavenly Wheel, Lu Mingshu picked out two strengthening seals from the wooden wheel.
The first seal allowed her to see through invisibility, while the second one increased the power of illusions.
She sighed. These two seals have preconditions in order to activate them.
For example, she could only use the first seal when her opponent became invisible. In China, most martial artists would only focus on martial arts. Invisibility was not part of martial arts, and only some remote sects would practice it. This strengthening seal was totally useless if the opponent didn"t turn invisible.
For the second one, one would need to know illusion-related skills to be able to use it, and Lu Mingshu obviously didn"t know any.
The challenger"s fight starts tomorrow, should I use the strengthening seal? But according to those who have partic.i.p.ated before, the compet.i.tion usually lasts around five or six days, and the seal only lasts for one.
Somebody then knocked on her door.
Lu Mingshu exited the Heavenly Wheel and went to open the door.
A servant girl was standing outside. "Miss Lu." She stretched her hands out and showed a piece of jade. "Someone requests to see Miss."
Under the moonlight, the Flying Immortal Palace looked like a palace made out of gla.s.s - clear like crystal. Nothing more beautiful could be imagined.
However, Lu Mingshu wasn"t in the mood to admire the scenery. She followed the servant girl like a zombie. After pa.s.sing by many gardens, they went into a greenhouse that was filled with flowers.
"Please wait here, Miss. This one will get back to you soon."
The servant girl left, leaving Lu Mingshu alone.
Lu Mingshu scanned the surroundings. The greenhouse was built in a very special position - it was on the protruding part of the cliff, and three of its walls were part of the cliff. The roof was made out of colored gla.s.s. One could see the starry sky, the mountains, and the river from the greenhouse, and it made one feel like they were suspended in midair. The greenhouse was well-built, and it was the perfect destination for scenery viewing.
"Miss Lu, it"s the dead of night, and yet you are at such a place. How can you leave your guard down?" A low voice came from the back.
Lu Mingshu turned around to see a man in a wheelchair slowly coming into the greenhouse.
The lanterns at the side shone on him under the reflection of the gla.s.s. The guy had a beautiful face, and his skin was as smooth as jade. If this wasn"t Xie Lianzhen, then who else could it be?
"There"s nothing to fear when you"re not guilty of anything," Lu Mingshu replied.
"Hah," Xie Lianzhen chuckled. "Miss Lu always makes me feel ashamed of myself."
Lu Mingshu looked at him coldly. "Did the Alioth Star Lord call me over just for this?"
Her reply made Xie Lianzhen mock himself. "Miss doesn"t seem to be very patient with me."
"Just as you said, it"s the dead of night and in such a location, so let"s cut to the chase."
"…" Xie Lianzhen fished a book out of his sleeves. "I thought that you might need this."
Lu Mingshu raised her eyebrows and took the book. She flipped open the book to see an entire page about Kou Wei. From his full name, sect, and age, to his unique skills, strengths, and fighting style. It then ended with an evaluation of his total capability.
She continued flipping to realize the other pages had the same content for different people.
Lu Mingshu closed the book. "May I know, what is Alioth Star Lord"s intention in giving me this book?"
"Don"t you need it?"
Of course she did. After the preliminary, every partic.i.p.ant who managed to get into the challenger"s fight was now an enemy. Who to take on next and how to fight was an important strategy that one had to take note of. The Nine Jade Palace had prepared similar material for her, but it was very rough.
If Lu Mingshu wasn"t wrong, this should be a top secret file of the Seventh Truth Platform that shouldn"t be leaked to outsiders, especially with this timing.
"What does Alioth Star Lord want then?" Lu Mingshu got right to the point. "I doubt it"s money. Why would the Alioth Star Lord need money from me? I couldn"t afford it anyway. So, what do you need me to do?"
Xie Lianzhen"s eyes widened; "You think I"m selling the information?"
"You"re not?"
Xie Lianzhen sighed and answered gloomily, "Can"t it just be that I"m nice?"
Lu Mingshu smiled. "You"re the Alioth Star Lord, one of the Big Dipper Seven Star Lords… are you sure this is something you should be doing?"
Why do I feel that she"s taunting me…?
Xie Lianzhen tried to hide his disappointment. "You said to not promise something if I can"t do it, right?"
"So what?"
He then sighed. "I don"t want to break my promise, so I"m here trying to help you as much as I can because this is what I promised."
Lu Mingshu nodded, "Good reason."
Xie Lianzhen let out a laugh. "So, is Miss still worried?"
"I only know that I would have to pay back anything I owe."
"So you just don"t want to owe anything to someone else?"
Upon hearing that, Lu Mingshu started to think hard for a while. She then kept the book in her sleeves. "I will owe when I need to."
Xie Lianzhen smiled.
"Normally, the challenger"s fight will last for about five or six days. The best strategy is to not fight for the first three days. Since you did well during the preliminaries, people will take more notice of you, and the people who want to get into the New Generation Ranking will try to avoid you for a while. You should start during the fourth day or else your points will be too lacking. As for how to choose an opponent, I believe you are clearly aware."
Lu Mingshu nodded. "Thanks a lot for the information." She paused a while before continuing, "If there"s nothing else, I"ll take my leave first."
The wheelchair moved back silently.
When she reached the entrance, Xie Lianzhen suddenly shouted for her, "Miss Lu!"
Lu Mingshu turned back to look at him. The reflection of the dim lights shone onto his face, making his eyes look brighter than before.
The beautiful face under the starry night was so gorgeous that it would shake one to the core.
"Do you want to reconsider it?"
He didn"t explicitly say what "it" was, but Lu Mingshu immediately knew.
Maybe because of the atmosphere, she suddenly felt that her heart had stopped. However, she regained her consciousness quickly and shook her head. "Sorry, but thanks."
"Sorry" for rejecting, and "thanks" to show her grat.i.tude.
Xie Lianzhen looked down. "Sorry for asking too much."
Lu Mingshu then bowed to him before leaving.
She then disappeared into the dark, no longer visible to Xie Lianzhen.
A teenager wearing the Seventh Truth Platform uniform came into the greenhouse.
"Young Master."
The smile on the pulchritudinous face was long gone, replaced with a gloominess that did not go well with the beauty.
He gently stroked the jade in his hand and started thinking aloud; "She"s not reconsidering even under such a situation. Am I really that bad that I can"t even get a young girl"s heart?"
The teenager then slowly pushed the wheelchair out of the greenhouse. "No ordinary girl would be able to move you."
This put a smile back on Xie Lianzhen"s face, and he regained his grace.
"You"re right. Difficulty is what makes it interesting!"
Chapter 148 - Simple
Before Lu Mingshu could settle down when she got back, somebody came to her door again.
It was Shao Zhengyang.
"Junior Sister Lu, Brother Kou Wei wants to see us. Shall we go together?"
Since it was Kou Wei, it should be something important.
Lu Mingshu quickly kept her stuff and followed behind Shao Zhengyang.
Lanterns lit up the courtyard brightly. When they arrived, everyone else had already arrived, and they were all bustling with noise and excitement.
"Ah, Miss Lu, you guys are finally here!" Yue Lingyin, being the most observant, noticed them first and signaled for them to come in.
Silence took over the courtyard, and everyone"s eyes were on them.
"We"re late." Shao Zhengyang smiled and bowed to the rest. "Sorry."
Lu Mingshu followed and bowed too.
"Nah," Kou Wei smiled. "We haven"t even gotten to the main point yet."
On the other hand, Qi Sheng had already grabbed seats for them. "Brother Shao, Miss Lu, here."
"Come here, sit with me." Yue Lingyin pulled Lu Mingshu over affectionately.
Both of them got into their seats, and Kou Wei started, "Junior Brother Shao, have you recovered? You"re okay, right?"
Saying that, Kou Wei created a better image of himself in Lu Mingshu"s heart. Even though Shao Zhengyang wasn"t badly injured, but just the act of asking made her feel warm.
"I"m okay." Shao Zhengyang smiled. "My master is a medical expert. He gave me quite a number of medicines before we came. I will heal soon."
"That"s good." Kou Wei smiled and diverted the attention to Lu Mingshu. "I believe I don"t need to introduce her, right?"
Laughter and lively discussion filled the courtyard; "Of course there"s no need to, she"s so well known."
"Yeah, Miss Lu doesn"t know us, but we know her."
"I"ve been wanting to meet you for a long time!"
"Miss Lu, I"m…"
This was the first time in her life that people were fighting just to get to know her so enthusiastically, not treating her like a pest and avoiding her as soon as they saw her.
"Hey, slow down, people!" Qi Sheng shouted. "How is she even supposed to catch up with you guys when you are so noisy? Don"t have a cow!"
""Yeah, yeah, yeah, you"re very considerate, okay?"
After the long introduction, Kou Wei cut to the chase; "Okay, it"s getting late, and there"s still a compet.i.tion tomorrow. Let"s get to the point."
With his prestige, as soon as he spoke, silence took over the courtyard.
"The Qilin Festival is only held once every decade, and to the Spirit Realms, that"s just right for them. But for us, we only have two chances, and I doubt anyone wants a third chance, am I right?"
Everyone burst out laughing.
Everyone present was a well-known figure from their respective sects. The optimal age to enter the Spirit Realm was around thirty. If one was above thirty-five and still couldn"t break through to the Spirit Realm, they would not even have enough face to go out. That"s why this group would only partic.i.p.ate in Qilin Festival twice at most, and for some, only once.
"Among us, there aren"t many who have partic.i.p.ated in the Qilin Festival. It"s the first time for most of you." Kou Wei then pointed to himself. "I am older than you guys and have obviously partic.i.p.ated in the last Qilin Festival, so let me be thick-skinned and share my thoughts."
"Senior Brother Kou, save the humility; you got into the top five after being in the Harmonization Realm for only three years. I would have begged you to tell me even if you hadn"t said anything!"
"That"s right! Just say something if you want our compliments!" Qi Sheng jeered.
Qi Sheng was immediately hit hard on his head.
"Don"t joke. Be serious."
"Okay, I"ll shut up…."
Kou Wei started again, "I"m sure every one of you is clear on the rules for the Qilin Festival. There are three things to take note of if you want to win: Firstly, you must have enough fights. Secondly, pick the correct opponent. Thirdly, never lose. According to the points deducted when you lose, you shouldn"t fight if there isn"t at least a fifty percent chance of winning."
"He"s right," Yue Lingyin added on. "It"s okay to lose when one has fewer points, but as your points get higher, a single loss can be equivalent to waving goodbye to the top ten."
Everybody nodded. That was an important point.
"The next thing would be choosing an opponent." Kou Wei wet a chopstick with some tea and started scribbling on the table. "Two things to take note of while choosing an opponent - First, their marks. Second, their ability. Overlooking either will get you caught up in trouble. Ability-wise, I believe everyone here knows how to determine that. As for points, the earlier you fight, the more you lose out."
Everyone turned to look at Kou Wei"s scribble. Fighting a ten-mark opponent only got you two marks, while fighting a twenty-mark opponent got you four marks. With simple math, it was easy to tell that, the earlier you started, the less efficient it was.
"But Senior Brother Kou, if we start too late, won"t we not have enough points?"
Kou Wei smiled widely. "Indeed. So, we must get the hang of the timing." He placed his chopstick down and turned to the group. "Everyone here is the best from your respective sect, so I"m just going to be frank; there"s no doubt that we will meet each other during the compet.i.tion, and then… we are all opponents."
Everyone nodded. Personal relations.h.i.+ps were one thing, but things were different on the battlefield. Who would be willing to be someone else"s stepping stone? Everyone wanted to get on the New Generation Ranking.
"However," Kou Wei paused for a moment. "If we go against each other too early, it would only benefit others."
This was easy to understand.
"Senior Brother Kou, are you saying we should wait to fight?"
Kou Wei smiled. "When the compet.i.tion just starts, the disciples who know they have no chance for the top ten and just want to get famous will take the first step. When they have finished competing, that"s when we will come in, and they are the key to us winning."
"Senior Brother Kou!" He was being so mild and indirect that Yue Lingyin couldn"t take it anymore. "I"ll do it, okay?"
"Sure thing." Kou Wei burst into laughter. "You can take over."
Yue Lingyin cleared her throat before she started; "Let"s split this into three stages. First stage - let them compete with each other. When they become fat lambs, that will be the second stage, where we go up and eat the lambs. After eating the lambs is the third stage - cannibalism!"
The way she said it sent Kou Wei into laughter. "What "fat lambs"? Where is your respect?"
"Oh my G.o.d, don"t act like you aren"t thinking the same thing, you hypocrite." Yue Lingyin rolled her eyes before turning to the rest. "Clear?"
"Yes!" the rest answered.
Compared to Kou Wei"s decent explanation, Yue Lingyin"s was much more understandable.
"Good." Yue Lingyin clapped. "So, that is the summary of the challenger fight. We will lose if we go against each other before stage three."
The rest nodded.
"Yay!" Yue Lingyin clapped. "Then that"s it."
She looked at Kou Wei proudly. "Senior Brother Kou, anything to add?"
Kou Wei touched his nose. "You took my lines, what"s left for me to say? Anyway, even if we don"t fight each other tomorrow, we cannot ensure that no one else will challenge us. Let"s go back and rest."
Everyone nodded.
"Also," Kou Wei added on, "Not all of the best fighters are here to join this plan, so everyone should still have your guards up."
For example, the Seventh Truth Platform and the Ancient Jade Summit weren"t here. Kou Wei may have been prestigious, but not everyone gave him face.