Chapter 1658: Semi-Finals

Wang Wuxie had needed a lot of willpower to finally cut off all of his feelings. Even though he had known that Yan Xuehen was coming to Violet Mountain, he had remained calm, and even restrained himself from visiting her.

However, after sharing the judges' section for several days, and seeing her beautiful figure every day, he couldn't help but reminisce about his past. When he saw that Yan Xuehen now seemed even prettier than before, she had become the only thing on his mind whenever he returned to his Pure Yang Palace.

Tonight, he got even more carried away by a sudden impulse. This night, he couldn't sleep at all, so he decided to come and see if he could see her.

Of course, he still knew not to go too far and didn’t dare to get too close. After all, if he were somehow misunderstood as a pervert, he would be forever done for. Not only would his own reputation be completely swept away, Yan Xuehen’s impression of him would also be utterly ruined.

As such, he had just given her residence a look from a distance. All he wanted was to sense her presence a bit. The wind would carry a bit of her scent, too. For him, that was already enough.

And yet, as soon as he arrived, he was met with a strange scene. His goddess was actually meeting privately with another man in the middle of the night!

However, when he saw that it was Zu An, his horrified and broken heart gradually calmed down.

There’s no way anything would happen between the two of them. Yan Xuehen probably just sees him as a nephew.

Still, he felt really annoyed somehow. He perked up his ears to listen in on their conversation, but he discovered that there was a sound barrier around them so he couldn't hear anything at all!

A man and a woman are meeting alone in the middle of the night, and even made sure others can't overhear them. This is a bit suspicious!

He dismissed that thought as soon as it appeared.

I know Xuehen’s nature better than anyone. She has always been indifferent to anything worldly. There’s no way she would be the type of woman who would meet a man in the middle of the night!

It’s probably related to her disciple Chu Chuyan. That should be the only topic those two would talk about.

…

In truth, Zu An was explaining the Fortune Pill’s effects to her. Yan Xuehen was incredibly shocked, exclaiming, “There is actually a pill like that in this world?”

“It is pretty amazing, but I don’t have any more of them. I’ll give you one if I can get my hands on it again next time,” Zu An said with a smile.

“Who wants something like that from you?” Yan Xuehen replied with a nonchalant expression. However, the grin on her mouth gave her real thoughts away.

“So that seven and a half million silvers you won in Brightmoon City was because of this thing?” she continued. She was smart and had quickly made the connection.

It was now Zu An’s turn to be surprised. He replied, “You even knew about that?”

Yan Xuehen’s face heated up. Recently, she had talked to Chuyan about all sorts of things related to him. In order to make sure her master wouldn’t have any prejudices against Zu An, Chuyan had willingly shared everything she knew about Zu An. In the past few months of interaction, apart from bedroom matters, Chuyan had told her pretty much everything.

Yan Xuehen had felt a guilty conscience, but hadn’t been able to hold her desire for gossip back either. In the end, she had listened to all of it.

“You are Chuyan’s husband, so of course I have to look into your background a bit,” she said. Both of them became quiet.

Zu An practically felt as if his head would explode. This wasn’t something strength could help deal with. Can any transmigrators come and help me out right now?

Yan Xuehen felt a bit uncomfortable. She tried to sound calm as she said, “Anyway, I’ve already agreed to it. Just look for me when you need my help.” After a pause, she added, “And make sure you don’t bother Chuyan.”

Zu An nodded and replied, “Alright.”

Both of them stood there a bit awkwardly for a moment. Why did it feel as if they were doing something behind Chuyan’s back? More importantly, everything had gone so smoothly too.

Yan Xuehen couldn't stay any longer and turned around to return.

Zu An also felt a bit restless. He knew that trying to make her stay was meaningless, so he left in a heavy mood.

…

Wang Wuxie released a long sigh of relief when he saw that the two of them hadn’t engaged in any intimate interactions in the end. I was just going to say, how could Fairy Yan have that kind of relationship with a man?

In particular, when he saw Zu An leave with an expression full of worry, he secretly felt refreshed. Fairy Yan probably hadn’t agreed to him being with Chuyan.

And what is with this brat? Do you think that a disciple of White Jade Sect is that easy to pursue? In the past, even someone as outstanding as me only wasted my efforts.

Perhaps because he saw Zu An dejected, or because Yan Xuehen was still as pure as before, Wang Wuxie’s mood improved. As he returned, his gait was even a bit lighter than usual.

…

The next day, the exciting competition continued. Even though there was another competitor, people all believed Pei Mianman’s success was all down to good luck, and that she wasn’t really stronger than the other two.

The other disciples took a seat excitedly, but on the Heavenly Sorrow Sect’s side, Zhang Xiaodie couldn't help but ask Zhi Yin beside her, “Senior brother, who do you think will win today’s competition?”

As of late, the usually high-spirited Zhi Yin had always been in a poor mood. He hadn’t even shaved the beard stubble that was growing on his face. Guan Chouhai was worried about his condition, so he had told the other disciples to talk to Zhi Yin whenever possible to help him escape the shadow of defeat.

“Normally, with Wu Xiaofan’s strength, Peng Wuyan wouldn’t have a chance at all. But Wan Guiyi was unexpectedly strong and inflicted him with serious injuries. Even though the Righteous Sun Sect definitely spent a lot of effort and used a lot of medicines to help him recover, there hasn’t been much time. It’s hard to say who will win,” Zhi Yin explained, although he only felt more dejected.

I was supposed to be the one up on the stage talking cheerfully right now! Ahhhhh!

Zhao Xiaodie said with a sigh, “Senior brother has penetrating insight, as expected. This is indeed an evenly matched fight.”

She couldn't help but give Zu An on the elevated seats a glance. What is with me these past few days? That scoundrel bullied me like that back then, and I’ll definitely make him pay for it one day.

…

When Wang Wuxie arrived at the elevated stage, he reflexively glanced at Yan Xuehen and Zu An. When he saw that they weren’t giving each other looks, he sighed in relief. After greeting the sect masters, he cleared his throat and got up to make some opening remarks. Then, after speaking about some things to take note of on the stage, he declared the formal start of the competition.

Qiu Honglei spun some small curved blades on her fingers as she got on stage. Her steps were light and quick, showing how relaxed her mood was.

Many people even felt as if they were seeing things incorrectly. With the incredible confidence Peng Wuyan was showing off, she came off like an incredibly stunning young lady.

Comparatively, Wu Xiaofan’s attitude was much more grave. He had already brought out the extraordinary toothpick ahead of time. It floated in front of him, ready to attack at any time.

Qiu Honglei couldn't help but laugh when she saw that. She remarked, “Isn’t this going a bit too far, Brother Wu? At first, Senior Brother Wan didn’t even use his weapon against me, and yet you’ve already taken it out. Could it be that you feel like I’m even stronger than Senior Brother Wan?”

Jadefall Palace’s Wan Guiyi harrumphed when he heard that, looking a bit annoyed. However, he didn’t carry any ill will toward Peng Wuyan. On the contrary, he felt that the sense of power she gave off was beautiful.

Other candidates often supported the one who had defeated them, as the further their opponent went, the more their own strength would receive recognition. However, Wan Guiyi was different. He was hoping for Peng Wuyan to win more because of his belief in the will of the strong.

Wu Xiaofan slowly replied, “Both you and Brother Wan are extremely strong, so this one wouldn’t dare to underestimate you. Furthermore, I am still wounded, so I must go all out. I hope junior sister Peng can forgive me for this.”

…

Under the stage, Cave Master Mu couldn't help but smack Shi Dingtian in the back of his head, saying, “Look at how he deals with this situation. He’s nothing like how stupid you were, just giving up on your weapon.”

Wu Xiaofan from the Righteous Sun Sect was also known for being too simple and honest, but compared to him, their brat seemed even dumber.

Shi Dingtian grumbled, “But it’s hard for me to control myself if I use a weapon. I didn’t even want to use a weapon in the beginning… Also, didn’t we already get the highest place in quite a few years? I’m already pretty satisfied.”

Cave Master Mu was a bit annoyed at his disciple’s uncompetitive nature. This kid actually would have had a chance of winning it all!

…

On the stage, Qiu Honglei said, “Since you’re still injured, I’ll give you three moves. You can attack first.”

This was part of the battle plan Yun Jianyue had set for her. The opponent was injured, so the longer the fight went on, the more advantageous it would be for her. Furthermore, it would be easy for her opponent to reveal openings due to his injuries while attacking.

However, Wu Xiaofan shook his head and replied, “You have come from afar as a guest, so it is already improper for me to use weapons against you. How can I let my junior sister show me such consideration? Junior sister should make the first move.”

“Everyone always says you’re rather slow, but I don’t quite think so,” Qiu Honglei said with a chuckle. Seeing as he hadn’t fallen for it, she didn’t say anything else. With a shout, she fired a round of light bullets. Lights of many different intensities flew forth in an interweaving pattern.

“It’s the same thing again,” many people below grumbled. This girl always uses the same move. Don’t you get tired of the same thing?

However, Liang Ling and the others were watching carefully to see how Wu Xiaofan would deal with the attack.

Wu Xiaofan didn’t jump into the air to avoid the giant sphere of light. Instead, he shifted a few meters to the side to avoid it. At the same time, he neutralized Qiu Honglei’s follow-up attacks too.

Liang Ling was stunned. Why had he been stupid enough to jump into the air during his match?

He finally understood the move after thinking about it for a while. It turned out that the fast-moving spheres of light seemed chaotic, but many of them had just been used to cut off his paths of evasion. After a while, the spheres would trick an opponent into thinking there would be more projectiles if they dodged to the side. That was why he had instinctively dodged into the sky when the big sphere of light flew toward him.

It was easy to think through now, but back then, both he and Shi Dingtian had fallen for it. Wu Xiaofan had managed to see through it so quickly… As expected of him.

…

When Qiu Honglei saw that the opponent had seen through her tricks, she stopped attacking for a moment. She looked at the fine weapon in front of Wu Xiaofan and couldn't help but ask with a chuckle, “Why aren’t you attacking me with that toothpick?”

Wu Xiaofan said calmly, “In my current state, I might not be able to defeat you through its attacks.” Using the weapon with the same sword control skill he had used against Wan Guiyi would seriously injure her but not eliminate her even if it hit. Meanwhile, he would exhaust a ton of ki.

“Since you feel you can’t win against me in your current state, why not just admit defeat? That way, you won’t ruin your condition further and let that affect your future cultivation,” Qiu Honglei said, using her strategy of breaking down her opponent’s fighting spirit again.

Wu Xiaofan shook his head and replied, “This humble one might not be able to hurt you, but it can still become big.”

As soon as he spoke, the toothpick grew, becoming a shockingly large rod.