The Martial Arts Tournament

At Feibai Sect’s Martial Arts Plaza.

The annual Martial Arts Tournament had finally commenced.

Sect Master Yuxi was on stage, elaborating on the meticulously designed competition format.

Luochen hadn’t paid close attention, only recalling vague mentions of group stages, elimination rounds, resurrection matches, and divisions into upper and lower brackets.

It mattered little to her; none of it held any real significance.

Her sole objective was to emerge victorious at the very end.

Gently ruffling her junior sister’s hair, Luochen smiled and asked, “I wonder if we’ll face each other this year?”

Her junior sister had now reached the Fifth Revolution, placing her among the highest-cultivated disciples within the sect.

Moreover, as a Child of Destiny and someone well-versed in webnovels, Luochen understood that protagonists’ cultivation realms naturally couldn’t be compared to anyone else’s.

“Then Senior Sister should be careful,” Su Yue cautioned.

Su Yue tilted her head, idly twirling the sword in her hand.

“Group Seven: Luochen versus Yang Chao!”

The referee’s voice resonated through the plaza.

“I’m up first.”

“Go, Senior Sister!”

Looking up towards the spectator stands, Luochen saw Zhu Qing and Yun Qing engaged in a lively squabble.

As if sensing Luochen’s gaze, the two temporarily ceased their bickering.

“Go get ’em,” Zhu Qing’s telepathic message whispered in her ear.

Luochen made a reassuring gesture, then turned her head to find Shuanghua also watching them intently.

Shuanghua’s lips moved slightly, as if she were uttering something.

Go—on.

Deciphering Shuanghua’s lip movements, Luochen offered a faint smile and leisurely ascended the steps to the martial arts arena.

Her opponent, on the other hand, shot straight onto the platform with a burst of Qinggong (TL Note: A martial arts technique allowing practitioners to move with extraordinary lightness and speed).

‘It seems I’m the only one who uses these stairs,’ Luochen mused. ‘Everyone else treats their entry to the arena as a warm-up and a display of their skills.’

Luochen pondered.

Yang Chao’s weapon was a ring-pommel broadsword; when unsheathed, its blade gleamed with a chilling light, seemingly imbued with a thin layer of frost.

“Yang Chao of Yuxi Peak. Please enlighten me with your guidance,” Yang Chao said, bowing slightly.

“Luochen of Zhu Qing Peak. Please enlighten me with your guidance,” Luochen returned the bow.

Yang Chao’s expression was as cold as iron.

With a flick of his wrist, his blade vibrated sharply.

An aura of indomitable courage radiated from his entire being.

‘It appears my opponent isn’t intimidated by my Fifth Revolution cultivation or my status as a two-time champion,’ Luochen thought, finding it rather interesting.

Luochen felt a touch of surprise.

Unbeknownst to her, a tragic dirge was already playing in Yang Chao’s heart.

‘After this match, I will surely die.’

‘But I cannot give up!’

‘I must possess the courage to draw my blade against a god, and the resolve to never be disheartened!’

‘Luochen, you fiend!’

‘Just you wait and see the bond between me, everyone, and my ring-pommel broadsword!’

Yang Chao’s fighting spirit ignited into a blazing inferno.

“Begin!”

As the referee’s command echoed, Yang Chao surged forward, fueled by his courage and conviction.

“Luochen, wins!”

Amidst the thunderous cheers that roared like a tsunami around him, Yang Chao squinted at the white clouds drifting across the sky.

‘Still, I couldn’t do it, could I?’

“I accept your concession.”

Luochen felt a pang of guilt as she watched Yang Chao, whom she had just kicked off the stage.

‘I should have gone easier on him,’ she mused. ‘Was that a bit too demoralizing?’

With a considerable wait until her next match, Luochen decided to wander around.

“Buddhist Lotus Water!”

“This is my final ripple! Take this!”

“Consecutive Normal Punches!”

The shouts of various techniques rose and fell, while the roar of the crowd ignited the entire venue with fervent energy.

‘It seems everyone is quite enthusiastic about this year’s tournament,’ Luochen observed.

‘But where is my junior sister?’

After searching for a considerable time, Luochen finally located Su Yue.

“Concede.”

Su Yue stood with her sword pressed against her opponent’s neck, her expression as stern as frost.

After the referee declared her the victor, Su Yue leaped off the arena platform, her face devoid of emotion.

However, the moment her emotionless gaze fell upon Luochen, it melted away like winter snow meeting the spring sun.

Her frosty demeanor instantly cleared, giving way to a smile that brought dimples to her cheeks.

“Senior Sister, what brings you here?”

Su Yue jogged over to her side.

“I finished my match, so I came to watch yours.”

“You fought well, but next time, you could hold back a little.

It’s better to exchange a few more moves.”

Luochen was imparting the wisdom she had just gained from her own match.

“Mn, mn.”

Su Yue nodded attentively, giving the impression that she absorbed every word her senior sister uttered.

The surrounding spectators remained in a state of shock.

‘Is this truly the same Su Yue who maintained such a cold expression throughout her entire match just now?’ they wondered.

In the afternoon, Luochen adhered strictly to her new resolution, exchanging a decent number of moves with her opponents.

At the very least, she prevented the matches from ending too abruptly.

Cutting through all obstacles, she finally reached the semifinals.

Gazing at the two large characters formed by condensed spiritual energy in mid-air, Luochen became pensive.

‘Li Jin? I think I heard that name during the new disciple recruitment assembly,’ she mused.

‘What? I’m fighting Luochen? Is this for real?’

On the other side, Li Jin gazed at the two characters ‘Luochen,’ which appeared to him like a death warrant, and felt like weeping without tears.

“Will you win?” The junior disciples of Lijian Peak beside him looked at him with eyes full of hope.

“Most likely… I’ll die.”

“But, I must go on.”

Li Jin resolutely strode towards the arena, leaving behind only a solitary figure.

The wind whistles, the Yi River is cold; a brave warrior departs, never to return.

After a simple exchange of bows, the great battle was on the verge of erupting.

Below the stage, the teary-eyed disciples of Lijian Peak were shouting encouragement for their senior brother.

‘Why do I feel like the villain here?’

Luochen scratched her head, effortlessly dodging Li Jin’s sudden lunge.

She noted his face suddenly turning ashen, simultaneously hearing the gasps of the disciples below the stage.

“Senior Brother Li Jin’s renowned ultimate technique, ‘Absolute Shadow’! This move is famous for its speed; its execution means either death or severe injury!”

“But Senior Sister Luo… she just dodged it so casually?”

‘My goodness, so that move was actually formidable?’ Luochen thought. ‘I should have pretended it was difficult.

I honestly thought it was just a regular attack!’

‘And what kind of fighting style is that, unleashing your ultimate move right at the start? Do you even know how to play?’

Luochen was pondering how to compensate for making her opponent look bad.

“Cough, cough, cough.”

She lightly covered her mouth, feigning a cough, and then pretended to wipe away non-existent blood from the corner of her lips.

‘It worked!’

The disciples of Lijian Peak below the stage were overjoyed.

‘I made a god bleed?’

Li Jin stared blankly at the scene before him.

The next second, he tightened his grip on his sword.

‘Good. Then, with this surge of momentum, I shall charge forward!’

Clang!

The sound of metal clashing rang out, forcing Luochen back half a step.

“Heaven-Rending Sword Light!”

Li Jin roared, meeting her with an unparalleled surge of momentum.

Luochen retreated again and again.

Luochen’s start was unpropitious; Luochen was embroiled in a bitter struggle.

Luochen made blunder after blunder; Luochen’s defeat was sealed.

Luochen delivered her victory speech.

Gazing at Li Jin, whom she had just knocked down with a single sword strike, Luochen let out a long breath.

“That was truly delightful.

I probably won’t forget you for at least a week.”

Had her junior sister’s match not been about to begin, Luochen felt she could have sparred with Li Jin a bit longer.

After a brisk run, she finally made it just before the match began.

“Senior Sister!”

“Senior Sister Luo!”

Noticing the ‘family member’ had arrived, the surrounding disciples promptly made way for her.

‘It seems my junior sister is more popular than I imagined,’ Luochen mused.

The disciples of Danzhu Peak, who were not skilled in combat, had been eliminated early and had all come to support Su Yue.

Many other disciples who regularly purchased Su Yue’s pills were also cheering for her junior sister.

‘Not bad at all,’ Luochen thought, a faint curve gracing the corner of her lips.

‘Senior Sister is here. I must perform well in this match to meet her in the finals.’

Turning her head, Su Yue met Luochen’s encouraging gaze and took a deep breath.

Her opponent was the head disciple of Yuxi Peak, and also the runner-up in the previous two Martial Arts Tournaments.

Indeed, she had been defeated by Luochen in the finals both times.

“This person is a bit chuunibyou (TL Note: A Japanese term, often translated as ‘eighth-grade syndrome,’ referring to a phase where adolescents develop delusions of grandeur, believing they possess special powers or hidden knowledge). You don’t need to hold back when you fight her; she’s quite resilient, anyway.”

Recalling Luochen’s expression of affectionate exasperation whenever she spoke of her opponent, Su Yue couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle.

‘This fellow, is she mocking me?’

‘How interesting.’

Zheng Rong also smiled.

“It seems you’ve misunderstood something,” she stated. “As the runner-up of the past two tournaments, allow me to inform you.”

She extended her right index finger.

“You are the challenger.”

‘Still the same as ever,’ Luochen thought, recalling the endless stream of dramatic pronouncements Zheng Rong had made in their previous two encounters.

Her usual secondhand embarrassment flared up again.

“Chuunibyou,” Su Yue uttered slowly, the three syllables distinct.

‘My junior sister truly is my mouthpiece!’ Luochen thought, beaming. ‘I taught you all those Earthling memes precisely so you could use them like this!’

Zheng Rong: “Huh? What does that mean?”

“Ask my Senior Sister after the match; she’ll tell you.”

Su Yue, disinclined to waste words, drew her sharp sword, executing a beautiful sword flourish.

“Then I’ll just ask her myself in the finals tomorrow.”

Not to be outdone, Zheng Rong enveloped herself in a layer of earthen-yellow spiritual energy armor.

Like needle points meeting wheat awns, the tension was palpable, on the verge of erupting.