Chapter 282: Weren't You Quite Arrogant Earlier?

The lady and the boy were actually the Whale-Riding Immortal and the little girl.

A while back, they robbed some people of their berries outside Mount Shu, which was honestly a very risky move. However, the berries they stole were quickly eaten up, and the little girl started making a fuss again, giving the Whale-Riding Immortal a headache.

Initially, he believed these berries were exclusive to Mount Shu, perhaps a rare and exotic species, so he intended to take only a few berries and leave it at that. Later, he discovered that Chu Liang had started packing these berries into gift boxes and selling them, indicating that the production volume must be substantial.

And so, he planned to transplant a few plants to the Holy Mountain to feed the little girl every day.

Since these berries did not require much spiritual energy, he believed that the soil and water requirements were not that high.

And that was why he set off to Mount Shu with the little girl.

However, Mount Shu was a bustling place with a diverse group of people, and there might be people who would recognize them. After all, a middle-aged man with a ruggedly handsome appearance accompanied by a little girl with a speech impediment was still a slightly conspicuous combination.

But this small dilemma didn't stump him.

Obviously, he knew that ordinary camouflage wouldn't work. With many Eminent Ones on Mount Shu, their disguise might be exposed with just a glance.

Among diabolical sects, there was a divine technique named the Painted Skin Technique, a mystical technique that could change one's appearance and create a disguise that was hard to see through.

For instance, the Vermillion-Azurite Hall of the Dark King Sect possessed the most advanced Painted Skin Technique in the mortal realm. It was said that the hall master of the Vermillion-Azurite Hall had a thousand faces, and no one had ever known his true appearance. As long as he had seen someone once, he could instantly transform into that person, making it extremely difficult for anyone to recognize the disguise.

This was a technique that the Whale-Riding Immortal happened to have some mastery over as well. Transforming into someone else's appearance was difficult, but altering his own was quite simple.

And that was what led to the present circumstances.

The lady and the boy wandered around for a while until they heard a commotion coming from the center of the square. Someone shouted, "Jiang Yuebai is here! Jiang Yuebai is here!"

"Fairy Jiang is about to take the stage!" someone added excitedly.

"Wow—"

The crowd immediately surged in that direction, with some of the lighter individuals almost lifted off their feet. Whether they wished to go or not, they were swept along by the wave of people.

The Whale-Riding Immortal was no exception. He leisurely walked over, holding the little girl's hand.

Jiang Yuebai stood on the elevated platform, dressed in a white gown cinched at the waist, her clothes fluttering in the wind. With a figure ethereal like a goddess, she spun around, her eyes shining brightly like the light shining through drifting clouds.

The Whale-Riding Immortal watched Jiang Yuebai standing in the center of the crowd, radiating immense glory.

He suddenly smiled, a smirk playing at the corner of his mouth for no apparent reason.

Then, Jiang Yuebai's opponent climbed onto the platform opposite her.

It was that slender young man in the white sword attire, always wearing a harmless smile on this face. Amidst the overwhelming cheers for Jiang Yuebai, there were faint, scattered cheers for Chu Liang.

When the girl saw this young man, she immediately smiled as well.

She immediately wanted to rush toward Chu Liang, but the Whale-Riding Immortal seized her hand and whispered, "Patience."

Chu Liang gazed at Jiang Yuebai and clasped his hands together gently. "I owe my presence on this stage to Sister Jiang's assistance. However, out of respect for you, I will give my all."

Jiang Yuebai smiled gently and replied, "You've reached this point because of your own abilities. I won't hold back either."

"I am satisfied with wherever I am in this journey," Chu Liang remarked emotionally. "Half a year ago, I would have never expected to have the chance to fight Senior Sister Jiang in the finals of the Mount Shu Summit."

Jiang Yuebai was deeply moved by this. When they first met, she never imagined that Chu Liang would one day stand opposite her in the finals of the Mount Shu Summit.

At that time, she had simply regarded him as a talented junior brother, but the speed of his cultivation progress had surprised her on numerous occasions.

"I am very happy for you," she said softly.

"If Senior Sister Jiang becomes the head disciple, I will be very happy for you," responded Chu Liang.

The audience below was a bit puzzled. They had never heard of these two knowing each other, but based on how they interacted, they were clearly very familiar and there seemed to be some history between them. Their conversation was just too peaceful.

Wasn't he acting quite arrogantly previously?

The supervising elder in the center of the stage quickly waved his hand to stop their conversation.

Trash-talk would usually happen before the match, but these two were here to chat!

He quickly shouted, "The finals of the Mount Shu Summit! Chu Liang from Silver Sword Peak versus Jiang Yuebai from Azure Falling Peak!"

"Start!"

...

Rumble!

The announcement electrified the atmosphere, setting off a wave of excitement. The sheer size of the crowd created a wave of heat, even as they held their breath in anticipation.

On the spectator stand, Scholar Sun smiled and remarked, "It seems both of them are quite confident. Elder Huang, who do you think will win?

Elder Huang considered the situation carefully. "Jiang Yuebai has been famous for a long time, and being at the fifth realm of cultivation does make her the stronger one. She hasn't revealed many of her trump cards either. However, Chu Liang's ultimate-tier Golden Core appears to compensate for some of the difference in cultivation energy, and his physical strength exceeds Xu Ziyang's. It will be a tough fight for Jiang Yuebai. This should be an evenly matched fight and it's really hard to predict who the winner might be... If I have to choose, I think it has to be Chu Liang."

"Oh?" Scholar Sun chuckled. "Why are you finally rooting for Chu Liang this time?"

"When I didn't support him previously, I lost. Maybe there's something magical about him?" Elder Huang chuckled, feeling a hint of pain.

Upon hearing this, Scholar Sun looked very pleased.

It was because he supported Chu Liang last time that he won the right to use the enchanted artifact Omniscience from the Celestial Pivot Pavilion.

Elder Huang remarked, "With Chu Liang's physical strength and resilience, as long as he continues to fight in close combat, Jiang Yuebai will have a difficult time. Let's see how she will counter his attacks. I believe this will be a fierce competition... Oh?"

The fight on the stage began.

"

Hah!

" Chu Liang wielded the Dustless Sword and unleashed thirteen different talismanic scripts, creating a dazzling and intricate chaotic sword qi. "Senior Sister Jiang, what do you think of my current talismanic sword technique?"

"Not bad," Jiang Yuebai said with a smile. She raised her hand and countered with a talismanic sword technique, also unleashing more than ten talismanic scripts.

Boom!

The clash of sword seals in the air caused an explosion, generating a wave of heat that spread far and wide.

"Ten Thousand Swords Seal!" Chu Liang shouted again, pointing his arm upward.

𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Swish, swish, swish—

The Dustless Sword flew up into the sky and transformed into hundreds of swordlights, converging towards Jiang Yuebai.

Jiang Yuebai flipped her hand and activated her flying sword, also transforming it into hundreds of swordlights to counter the attack.

Her swordlights were slightly more numerous than Chu Liang's, but Chu Liang's were more agile, slightly compensating for the numerical disadvantage.

The collision of swordlights produced countless clashing sounds.

Clang, clang, clang...

After a chaotic exchange of attacks using the Ten Thousand Swords Seal, the swordlight dispersed. With dozens of swordlights remaining, Jiang Yuebai used the last of her momentum to manipulate these swordlights toward Chu Liang.

Swish!

Chu Liang's figure flashed, suddenly appearing ten zhang away, dodging the bombarding swordlights.

"My use of Dimension Compression," he mentioned.

Swish!

Jiang Yuebai smiled faintly as she darted forward. In the blink of an eye, she flashed forward, moving a distance of ten zhang.

When Chu Liang used the Dimension Compression, the distance he moved was slightly shorter than her. However, his strength was in the higher frequency of Dimension Compression he was using. Even though the distance was shorter, he was able to make up for it by doing it again.

Yet, he didn't dodge. He whipped his sword out and met Jiang Yuebai head-on.

Unexpectedly, it was Jiang Yuebai who sought close combat with Chu Liang first, which surprised everyone, including Chu Liang.

However, the exchange of attacks had already silenced the audience.

The wave of excitement had died. At this moment, they were all very quiet.

The initial exchange of attacks and counters felt more like a friendly spar than a life-and-death fight. Every move conveyed love and peace.

Hey! Everyone is watching! You guys were not fighting like this earlier!

Are you guys here to bond with each other?