Yinlan City, part 7

Yan Jin wasn’t some delicate young master; before he ever held a brush, he held a spear.

Yinlan City was perpetually covered in snow and ice, and beast tides surged year-round.

As early as eight years old, he had followed Yan Chi onto the battlefield, fighting his way through until now.

So, no matter who he faced, it was all the same to him.

‘Isn’t it just late Foundation Establishment? It’s not like I can’t win.’

Yan Jin’s heart sank.

He really couldn’t win.

‘Can’t win means can’t win. Victory and defeat are common in war. What’s there to be ashamed of?’

If he was knocked down in one move, that would indeed be very embarrassing.

Moreover, he was the one who initiated this challenge, and this was his home turf.

The most talented people in Yinlan City were Yan Jin and Yan Yao.

Therefore, he couldn’t imagine anyone his age having late Foundation Establishment cultivation.

Even if Tian Ning was a few years older than him, those few years couldn’t bridge the gap from early Foundation Establishment to late Foundation Establishment.

Fortunately, Yinlan City’s wind and snow had given him a tough and proud spirit, as well as a very stubborn mouth.

Even if he was flustered inside, his expression remained unreadable.

He stood there with his arms crossed, appearing utterly composed, and even his tone was faint.

He looked at Tian Ning, “So you’re actually the Sword School’s number one.”

He lifted his head slightly, and with great difficulty, squeezed out a sentence, “Then if I beat you, I’ll be the new number one.”

[Infinite good articles, all on Jinjiang Literature City]

Yan Jin was stubbornly holding on, stiff-necked, while by the bonfire at the City Lord’s Mansion, Yan Yao sighed helplessly, placing the small wine goblet on the table.

She rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on.

This was because Yan Jin was desperately transmitting messages to her, making her head ache.

[Lend me some cultivation!]

[Lend me some cultivation!]

[Lend me some cultivation!]

[What’s all the fuss about?]

Yan Yao slowly sliced meat with a bone knife.

[No. I told you not to go up and make a fool of yourself.]

Yan Jin choked, then quickly said, [Late Foundation Establishment, how am I supposed to fight? If I lose in one move, it’ll be a huge embarrassment.]

Yan Yao raised an eyebrow, [You’ll be embarrassed? Such good news?]

She leisurely speared a piece of meat and put it in her mouth.

[After you lose, remember to find a place to cry your nose out. You look disgusting when you cry. I won’t comfort you.]

Twins were a rare opportunity in the cultivation world.

They had unique cultivation methods, likely because their flesh and blood came from the same source, thus their destinies were intertwined, living and dying together.

In many ancient texts and cultivation techniques, many even considered twins as one entity, believing them to be two manifestations of a single true spirit, with identical origins.

Therefore, they were more closely connected than outsiders might think; their luck, cultivation, and sea of consciousness were often interconnected.

As a result, the effectiveness of their cultivation was far greater than that of a single individual.

For instance, the Yan family twins could borrow cultivation from each other, and it didn’t require the lengthy casting pre-requisites of the Fusion Faction.

Even a hundred miles apart, as long as they could sense each other, they could borrow.

Most importantly, this borrowing had no loss or any side effects; it was as easy as moving spiritual energy from one spiritual vein to another.

If used properly, it could have unexpected effects at critical moments.

However, Yan Yao didn’t want to lend it.

Firstly, she herself was only at the first layer of Foundation Establishment.

Even if she lent all her cultivation to Yan Jin, he still wouldn’t be able to defeat the Sword School’s number one at late Foundation Establishment.

She couldn’t be bothered to expend so much effort.

Secondly, it was Yan Jin who initiated the challenge.

If she lent her cultivation for him to use, would he count as one person or two?

Although this was also one of his innate talents and not entirely cheating, it wouldn’t look good if discovered.

Of course, while the above two points were important, Yan Yao had another unspoken reason: seeing Yan Jin suffer a bit made her feel secretly delighted.

This was true sisterly love.

His twin sister wouldn’t lend her power, so Yan Jin kept up his facade, but in reality, he was practically crumbling.

Seeing Tian Ning wipe her mouth and walk towards him with her sword, he couldn’t help but tense up.

Yan Jin knew that even if he couldn’t win, he couldn’t prepare himself to lose first.

That was a big taboo in a competition.

But just as he was filled with fighting spirit, ready to summon his long spear, the female cultivator he had provoked earlier spoke first.

Su Qing pulled Tian Ning back.

Tian Ning looked at her in confusion.

Su Qing blinked, signaling, “You’re injured.”

“I’m injured?” Tian Ning repeated in confusion.

Receiving Su Qing’s clear signal, her tone became more firm this time, “That’s right, I’m injured.”

She recalled Snowfall Sword and said expressionlessly, “Can’t compete. My wound hurts.”

Although Tian Ning didn’t know where she was injured, everything Su Qing said was correct.

Moreover, if she didn’t compete, she could eat more Nascent Soul beast meat, which wasn’t a loss.

As for that beast core, Su Qing would definitely earn it back.

Yan Jin’s heart tightened.

He frowned and said, “Are you letting me win?”

His inability to win was one thing; being given a free pass was another.

But Tian Ning’s unruffled face made it impossible for a normal person to discern any emotional fluctuations, and Yan Jin was no different.

He couldn’t tell if it was true or false.

“It’s true.”

Su Qing answered for Tian Ning, “So I can only take her place. After all, you invited me at the beginning.”

Su Qing thought that a strong victory over a weaker opponent was never very exciting, and besides, Yan Jin was several years younger than them, so it wasn’t entirely fair.

Since they were new arrivals, it was better to give the City Lord’s Mansion some face.

They absolutely had to win, but they couldn’t make Yan Jin lose too badly.

If Tian Ning were to concede, she might make it known to everyone, so it was better for Su Qing to do it.

She considered herself the best actress in the entire dormitory.

Su Qing saw through Yan Jin’s concerns.

At this age, people were most competitive and afraid of losing face.

She quickly spoke up, “We’ll compete, but I’ll decide what we compete in.”

As soon as she said this, Yan Jin relaxed a bit and loudly declared, “Good, you decide.”

The person who decided the competition always had a slight advantage.

In a battle between cultivators of similar cultivation, no matter what they competed in, he was confident of victory.

Deciding what to compete in actually required careful consideration.

If it were a body refinement competition, Su Qing would be bullying him.

If it were spear techniques, she definitely wouldn’t be able to defeat Yan Jin.

So, they had to choose a competition that was evenly matched and would convince everyone.

So, after much thought, Su Qing decided to compete in arm wrestling, without using spiritual energy, relying purely on strength.

When Yan Jin heard this, his recently mended composure threatened to crack again.

What kind of competition was this?

But he quickly realized from the whispers around him that this was no simple matter.

“Arm wrestling? I heard from my senior brother that the cafeteria holds an arm wrestling competition in the middle of every school year. The winner gets free meals for a year! Do you know? The winners are always from the Body School!”

“It’s no surprise, considering they push 100-jin stones up and down the mountain every day.”

“It’s said that the Body School mountain is so barren because thousands of Body School disciples push stones on it every day. My senior sister says they’ve even flattened several mountains.”

Yan Jin immediately deduced that Su Qing suggesting this proved she was very good at it, but he wasn’t bad either.

His silver long spear weighed a full 180 jin, and he swung it a thousand times a day in the training grounds, not to mention the immense strength required to pierce a beast and then swiftly pull out his spear while mounted in battle.

He had confidence in this competition.

A quick-witted personal guard next to him brought his table over.

The two sat on opposite sides of the table, rolled up their sleeves, and began to compete.

Arm wrestling had its rules: Su Qing and Yan Jin both straightened their backs, relaxed their shoulders, kept their elbows vertical and pressed against the table, their forearms parallel to the table, and their wrists straight, gripping each other’s hands.

As their hands clasped, they both sensed that the other was not to be underestimated.

The reason was simple: the calluses on their knuckles from swords and spears told the whole story.

A personal guard stood directly in front of the table, constantly assessing the situation between the two.

Around them, people were three layers deep, then another three layers, including Sword School students, Yan family soldiers, and people from various factions like the Wind and Cloud Gathering and the Clear Breeze Pavilion.

Watching a spectacle was truly human nature; no matter how high one’s cultivation realm, it was hard to resist this innate desire.

The Yan family soldiers were very excited.

They not only watched but also tried to direct, “A little more to the middle, yes, that’s just right.”

“Young Master, straighten your arm! When the match starts, you just do this, then that, then this, and you’ll win!”

“Go, go, go! This and that, which is which? Young Master, listen to me, being preemptive is most important! When it starts, you just heiya and use your strength!”

As they gave chaotic directions, the Sword School students were not to be outdone, even if they hadn’t arm wrestled much, they too gesticulated wildly.

“Su Qing, later, step on his foot under the table!”

“That’s a good method, but couldn’t you have said it secretly?”

“Senior Sister, listen to me! First, accumulate strength. When he lets his guard down, you then use all your power and pin him down at once!”

As if two armies were about to clash, the commanders had yet to march out, but the hype squad was already scrambling into position.

This feeling of enjoying a good show, no matter how chaotic, was truly familiar.

Su Qing smiled helplessly, “What a mess!”

Yan Jin glared at the surrounding Yan family soldiers, who then covered their mouths, indicating they wouldn’t speak.

The personal guard earnestly brought out a small red flag and waved it.

Beside him, someone struck a drum, “Begin!”

At this command, the atmosphere suddenly grew tense.

No one spoke, and everyone’s attention instantly focused on Yan Jin and Su Qing.

They didn’t even dare to breathe loudly.

Su Qing and Yan Jin started their contest as the drum was struck, both exerting full force from the very beginning.

All their strength surged into their arms, muscles tensed, flushed red, their eyes locked, filled with battle intent.

Yan Jin was secretly shocked: ‘How does this person cultivate? How can she have forged such steel-like bones and muscles?!’

She was too strong; he couldn’t budge her.

Su Qing raised an eyebrow, her dark eyes reflecting a faint orange-red under the bonfire light.

Yan Jin’s strength wasn’t small either.

The two were in a stalemate, their arms held steady in the middle, not moving an inch.

If it weren’t for the table below creaking from the trembling, flexing muscles, it might even give the illusion that the match hadn’t started yet.

They remained in this stalemate for a full fifteen minutes, making the onlookers extremely anxious.

“Push harder!”

“Pin him down, in one go!”

“Young Master, can you do it?!”

After this brief stalemate, Yan Jin’s face began to flush red.

His muscles were engorged with blood, his entire body was trembling, and the golden pearls and jewels in his fringe shimmered against his dark hair, casting brilliant colors.

He was actually struggling immensely.

It was as if he wasn’t competing against a single person, but a massive, monstrous flood, an unshakeable mountain.

He didn’t know why this seemingly unassuming female cultivator possessed such immense strength.

Yan Jin looked up and saw his disheveled reflection in Su Qing’s calm eyes.

Sweat plastered his forehead, and his entire body had swelled red.

But that hand simply wouldn’t go down, not an inch, not a hair’s breadth.

It stood there like a wall.

He practiced spear techniques a thousand times a day; it shouldn’t be like this…

And the other party clearly had reserves.

Sure enough, just as his strength began to wane, Su Qing moved.

She simply clasped his palm, bringing his arm down with hers, pressing it down until his arm trembled like a sieve.

No matter how he gritted his teeth and strained, he couldn’t lift it.

The personal guard stared intently, and everyone held their breath, watching as one arm slowly, inch by inch, pressed the other arm towards the table.

Yan Jin’s resistance was so fierce that he was almost pulled off his seat.

But it was still useless, because that hand was utterly unreasonable; its strength was pure, and thus, its victory was direct.

Three inches, two inches, one inch.

Su Qing pinned Yan Jin’s hand to the tabletop.

The personal guard waved his flag, “Sword School wins!”

In fact, he didn’t need to declare it; anyone with eyes could see the result.

She had won.

Yan Jin looked at her deeply.

His entire arm ached as if burned, his muscles still trembling.

“How did you do that?”

“This… study hard?”

Su Qing said hesitantly, “After all, I’m from the Body School.”

Moreover, achieving this was nothing.

Her senior sister could knead a plaque with her bare hands.

Yan Jin was speechless.

“Here you go.”

Losing was losing.

Yan Jin tossed a jade box to Su Qing from afar, saying coldly, “This is your prize. Next time, I won’t lose.”

Su Qing opened the jade box and saw two beast cores inside, perfectly round and as translucent as jade beads, both radiating Golden Core stage aura.

She looked at him in surprise.

Yan Jin glared at her fiercely, but a flush of extreme embarrassment appeared on his ears.

He mumbled, “I’m not an idiot.”

He naturally saw that Tian Ning wasn’t injured; Su Qing was just helping him out of a tight spot.

Two beast cores were enough to repay the favor; he owed nothing.

Two beast cores, what a profit!

Just enough for her and Tian Ning to split.

Su Qing smiled at him in thanks, but Yan Jin had already turned his face away, walking back in a huff.

Perhaps it was because he was still feeling disgruntled about losing.

Su Qing didn’t mind his sulking face, after all, tonight was like finding a windfall, gaining a Golden Core stage beast core for free.

Su Qing won, and the Sword School’s morale soared.

That table wasn’t moved; it stayed right there.

The students and soldiers present were all intrigued, rolling up their sleeves and stepping forward to compete.

Throughout the night, that table was never idle.

Jiang Xiaocao was originally holding his face, smiling at Su Qing.

When Tang Yueling saw his smile, she couldn’t help but say, “What are you smiling about? Don’t you know there’s now an extra stumbling block on your path to smooth graduation?”

Question marks appeared above Xiaocao’s head.

He asked her, “What stumbling block?”

Tang Yueling fell silent again.

When Su Qing returned, the first thing she did was skillfully roast meat, flip it, and sprinkle spices.

She had used 100% of her strength in the competition, and it had made her hungry.

Now her stomach was empty, and she could definitely fit in more Nascent Soul beast meat.

Tang Yueling watched silently for a while, then couldn’t resist saying, “His face turned red.”

“Who? You mean Yan Jin? You have good eyesight.”

Su Qing was busy flipping the sizzling roasted meat and replied casually, “I saw it. He must have been red with anger.”

She smugly gloated, “Who told him my muscles were better trained?”

‘Beyond saving,’ Tang Yueling decisively swallowed the rest of her words.

Xiaocao was very serious about graduating and was eagerly waiting for her to finish speaking so he could ask her the reason.

Tang Yueling cut off his words, brushing him off, “Never mind, I didn’t say anything. Go play somewhere else.”

Although he didn’t understand why, ‘nothing’ was good news.

Jiang Xiaocao happily went to Su Qing’s side and talked to her, “Eat this piece, the meat here is the tenderest…”

Tian Ning puffed out her cheeks and turned to look at Tang Yueling, “Aren’t you eating? There’s not much left.”

Tang Yueling looked at her calm face and immediately felt like she had spoken too much.

If she had sinned, heaven could punish her, but it shouldn’t leave her among a group of blockheads.

She ungraciously shoved the meat Su Qing had roasted into her mouth, “Eating.”

In the distance, Lin Hebai and Yan Chi observed everything.

Lin Hebai was not at all surprised, “When I assigned their homework, I only asked them to do it once a week, but some still procrastinate. But Su Qing does it once every day, and has never stopped for five years.”

Yan Chi, meanwhile, was laughing, unable to stop.

She tried to take a sip of wine but found her goblet empty.

Her laughter made Lin Hebai look confused.

Yan Chi didn’t mind.

If Lin Hebai wasn’t such a blockhead, then for all these years, Hu Sang wouldn’t have been winking at a blind man, not even reaching the starting line.

While they were talking, that snake demon had been secretly peeking over, but Lin Hebai hadn’t noticed at all.

Thinking of this, Yan Chi laughed even harder.

Lin Hebai couldn’t help but ask, “What are you laughing about?”

Yan Chi played with her empty wine goblet and said, “People in Yinlan City prefer powerful partners, the more powerful, the better.”

A hint of seriousness emerged in her smile, “This child is brave and resourceful, popular, and has won people’s hearts. She’ll definitely make a name for herself in the future. The most important rule in gambling is to place your bets early. If she doesn’t mind, let Yan Jin follow her around for a few years; a lack of official title isn’t a problem…”

Lin Hebai also smiled, “What official title does a follower need? Besides, isn’t it a bit of a shame for a child you’ve meticulously taught?”

Yan Chi’s words caught in her throat.

Her expression was strange for a moment, then she suddenly burst into laughter.

She must have been crazy to discuss this topic with Lin Hebai.

She patted Lin Hebai’s shoulder, pointing at the table in front of the bonfire, and said, “Let’s go up and try too, see how much you’ve practiced over the years!”

After Yan Jin returned to his side of the City Lord’s Mansion, a thoughtful personal guard had already brought him a new table, but he didn’t sit.

Instead, he went to Yan Yao’s table, picked up the blood wine on her table, and drank it all.

But when Yan Jin finished the wine, looking at her with bright eyes still tinged with embarrassment, wanting to say something but unable to, she couldn’t take it anymore.

“You never blush when you drink.”

Yan Yao shook her head, a little amused, a little disgusted.

She said, “Turn your head away. That expression of yours is a bit too disgusting; I can’t look at it.”

Yan Jin’s eyes widened.

He said angrily, “You look like that too!”

They were twins; they clearly looked exactly alike, even their heights were the same.

Yan Yao righteously said, “It’s precisely because of that that I can’t bear to see you like this.”

Yan Jin just snorted, “Anyway, I already gave away your beast core too.”

Golden Core stage beast cores were uncommon in the Myriad Beast Forest, and complete ones were even rarer.

Yan Jin himself only had one, which he had only acquired today.

The other belonged to Yan Yao, which he hadn’t yet had time to transfer to her.

The downside of being twins was that Yan Chi had to prepare two of everything.

It was better now that they were grown up, but when they were little, Yan Yao and Yan Jin once had a big fight because one’s spear had 315 red tassels while the other’s had 316, and they cried and complained to Yan Chi.

Yan Chi got annoyed and simply beat them both, each receiving ten spankings on the bottom, which was fair, and they got what they deserved.

Yan Yao sneered, “When you die, I’ll visit your grave next year on this day.”

At the banquet, there was only wine, no water.

Su Qing was a bit tired of eating meat and couldn’t find any water to drink, so she reluctantly took a mouthful of light wine.

Just that one mouthful started to burn her eyes a bit.

She wiped her face and said, “I’m going to get some fresh air.”

Su Qing walked through the many bonfires and arrived at the outer perimeter of the training ground.

She leaned against the railing, quietly enjoying the breeze, letting the alcohol scent dissipate.

Everything was very quiet.

The ground was covered in clean white snow, and the moonlight in the night sky was also pure and bright.

Having been too hot from the bonfires, it was very comfortable to come out for some fresh air.

However, there was always a small figure pacing back and forth in front of her, continuously muttering something.

“Should I go or not?”

“If I go, I can’t beat Azamu anyway, just letting him gloat.”

“But if I don’t go, what if he laughs at me for being a coward?”

“I’m going to be a Batal, how can I be a coward?!”

Su Qing recognized the slender figure as the little girl who had bumped into her earlier in the day, primarily because of the striking black birthmark at the corner of her eye.

The child circled many times, muttering incessantly.

It was so cold at night; if she stayed here alone instead of by the bonfire, what if she caught a cold?

Su Qing couldn’t resist asking, “What are you so conflicted about?”

The little girl jumped in fright, almost leaping up, but she calmed down slightly when she saw Su Qing’s Sword School disciple uniform.

She whispered, “I’m thinking… whether or not to compete with Azamu in spear techniques. He looks down on us and always bullies people. I want to give him a taste of his own medicine.”

[Infinite good articles, all on Jinjiang Literature City]

“You’re a Sword School disciple, do you know spear techniques?”

She looked up, suddenly asking with anticipation, “Can you teach me?”

‘This… spear techniques, I really don’t know.’

But she knew someone who did.

As for how she knew them, well, they naturally became acquainted through fighting.

[Infinite good articles, all on Jinjiang Literature City]

Su Qing said, “Wait, I’m calling someone over.”

She called Yan Jin over.