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Qing Xuanling practiced with her team, she smiled ironically at the special treatment she was receiving; after all, she didn't think she needed it.
She truly didn't feel like the weakest member—at least not for all class. After all, she doubted any of the others had as much combat experience as she did. Above all—she was now a body cultivator.
And from what she could sense, none of her teammates were. It was something she'd noticed during practice—none possessed a body cultivator's strength and speed. Of course, they might be concealing their abilities—just as she was.
She wasn't using her full strength during practice either—she held back and matched the others' pace. After all, they were merely practicing. She could unleash her full power if they struggled during the practice match.
"Twins—raise your shields! Tenth Brother—stand firm! You know what to do, Fourth Sister...!" Qing Muyu shouted orders as he and the other four shield-bearers formed a small wall with their shields.
Qing Muyu's eyes sharpened. "Tenth Brother—lower your shield slightly! And First Brother—attack!"
At Qing Muyu's command, Qing Wentian lowered his shield—and an instant later, Qing Hanlin (whose face resembled someone who'd just woken up) thrust his spear forcefully through the small gap Qing Wentian created.
Surprisingly, Qing Hanlin and Qing Xunwei were taking the practice seriously. They seemed motivated by Elder Rufeng's promised reward.
Qing Muyu continued issuing commands—making the shield wall advance or retreat while directing spear-wielders to attack. Qing Xuanling also attacked several times herself.
The group's atmosphere was surprisingly friendly—to Qing Xuanling's astonishment. She'd imagined family branch members would be more arrogant, even cold.
But setting aside the oddities that were Qing Hanlin and Qing Xunwei—the rest of her teammates (all from family branches) were incredibly friendly and sociable.
Even enthusiastic.
Strangely, most hadn't known each other before—yet they chatted as if they'd been friends for months.
She couldn't help but shake her head. 'Social people things, I suppose…'
The group continued practicing until Elder Rufeng stood up—signaling practice time had ended.
"Practice time is over!" Elder Rufeng seemed excited. "So let's move immediately to the matches! The first match will be between Group One and Group Two! The loser will fight Group Three—and the winner of that second match will face the winner of the first match!"
Group Three's faces instantly brightened. From the start, they'd worried about their chances. After all—it was obvious those who had a nickname with a low number were stronger and more talented.
At least this way, they had a shot at victory.
Group Two took the news worst—they immediately felt abandoned. After all, they'd have to fight the strongest group first—and if the miracle of victory didn't occur, they'd face Group Three exhausted.
Qing Xuanling's group took it calmly. They'd anticipated something like this.
Elder Rufeng burst into laughter at everyone's reactions.
"These brats are entertaining! Do they think this old man is stupid enough not to see the strength difference between the three groups?" He clicked his tongue. "So to make things fair—I'll place a seal on everyone's dantian! You'll have to fight without Qi!"
This time, everyone's expressions genuinely changed. Being unable to use Qi changed things considerably.
Elder Rufeng watched with satisfaction as Groups Two and Three's expressions improved.
"Group One and Group Two—line up before me immediately!"
Qing Xuanling's group quickly ran toward Elder Rufeng—as did Group Two. Elder Rufeng observed the two groups before him and began with Group Two first.
He placed his hand on one member's shoulder for a second before asking with an amused smile, "How do you feel?"
The youth he'd touched replied dazedly, "I-I can't use my Q-Qi!"
Elder Rufeng nodded satisfactorily and continued doing the same with others. However—he paused upon reaching Qing Xuanling. He looked at her, bewildered.
"Oh… Well—I didn't expect this. I suppose none of us imagined…" Elder Rufeng murmured to himself while shaking his head. "Eh—well, I suppose it'll be a good experience for the rest!"
Qing Xuanling tried ignoring everyone's stares and glanced sideways at Elder Rufeng. She knew why he'd said that about her.
'After all—I can't hide my body cultivation from an elder!'
Fortunately, Elder Rufeng didn't seem to place any restrictions on her body cultivation—or perhaps couldn't. After all—unlike regular cultivation which stored Qi, body cultivation enhanced the entire body without storing anything. At least during the Qi Refinement stage.
For this reason—though body cultivators lacked long-range attack methods—they possessed immensely superior endurance compared to regular cultivators. After all, their base state was their optimal state.
So it was natural there wasn't a good method to restrict body cultivation.
After this small episode—the two groups took position with ten meters separating them.
"Ready?" Qing Muyu asked—his eyes completely serious. He truly wanted Elder Rufeng's reward!
The others nodded seriously—equally enthusiastic about the reward.
Their formation was: Qing Wentian in the center, the twins on the left side, and Qing Muyu and Qing Tanwei on the right.
The twins would handle the left side, Qing Tanwei and Qing Muyu the right—and Qing Wentian would provide support when the formation dispersed.
As for the spear-wielders—they had no fixed position. They simply hid behind the shield wall.
The opposing team was in a similar formation.
Elder Rufeng saw everyone was ready and began the match without unnecessary words. "Begin!"
"Advance!"
"Advance!"
Qing Muyu and the other team's leader shouted simultaneously—making their respective groups advance.
The other team advanced somewhat disorganizedly—with several visible gaps between shields.
Qing Xuanling's group, however, advanced in perfect coordination—leaving barely one or two openings.
Both teams drew closer—and soon stood face to face.
Neither team hesitated—and each leader shouted:
"Collide!"
The two groups' shield walls crashed together forcefully—destabilizing each other! However—in this collision, the opposing team's shield wall clearly had far more gaps than Qing Xuanling's team's!
But before Qing Xuanling or her teammates could exploit those gaps—the rival team's spears struck! Clearly—they'd focused their practice on the users of spear!
The attacks targeted Qing Tanwei and Qing Muyu's side—who immediately shifted and joined their shields toward the incoming spears' trajectory!
Their shields trembled upon receiving the double strike—but held firm. But at that moment—another spear attacked—attempting to exploit the gap they'd created while defending!
"Not on my watch!" Qing Wentian smiled and swiftly moved his shield into the spear's path—blocking it effortlessly.
Qing Rannuan seized the moment and attacked through a gap the twins had opened—thrusting her spear forcefully!
Unfortunately—she'd attacked slightly too late—the rival team easily defended.
Qing Xuanling sighed. Therein lay the trap in this spear-and-shield battle formation. The only way to land a hit was attack immediately through the gap the shield wall created—without giving the opponent time to react.
That was the strategy the opposing team had followed. Though their shield wall left many exploitable gaps—their spear-wielders attacked so fast that Qing Xuanling's team had to concentrate on defending and had no time to attack.
Whereas Qing Xuanling's team's spear-wielders' attacks took too long to appear—giving rivals time to react.
But nothing could be done. After all—none of Qing Xuanling's teammates were spear users. Unlike the opposing team—who clearly had quite skilled spear practitioners.
"Sigh… I suppose it's time to end this." Qing Xuanling suddenly sighed—surprising Qing Huayan and Qing Xunwei beside her. But she ignored them and murmured toward the right side of the shield wall, "Third Brother, Fourth Sister—create a gap for me when you can!"
Qing Muyu and Qing Tanwei looked at Qing Xuanling in surprise—but nodded despite their confusion. Since she'd asked—they'd trust her.
Qing Xuanling sighed in relief upon seeing their agreement and gripped her spear tightly—waiting for the gap.
Her wait didn't last long.
Qing Muyu slightly raised his shield while Qing Tanwei lowered hers—creating an opening large enough for a spear to pass through. The rivals grew excited upon seeing the opening and were about to attack—but a blurry dot beat them to it.
Qing Xuanling had thrust her spear through the opening the instant it appeared—aiming directly at a gap in the rival team's shield wall!
The other side had no time to react before Qing Xuanling's spear pierced through—striking one shield-bearer forcefully in the neck! The victim immediately dropped his shield and clutched his throat while coughing violently!
Qing Xuanling's team was momentarily stunned—staring fixedly at her. But it lasted only an instant. Every team member was a genius who'd received combat training—so they immediately began attacking, exploiting the rival's weakness!
Soon—the rival team's shield wall had completely collapsed!
Elder Rufeng shook his head at the result. "Team One wins!"
"Yes!" Qing Wentian immediately dropped his shield and ran to Qing Xuanling—lifting her up. "Haha—you're incredible, Xuanling! How are you so fast?!"
Qing Xuanling's face darkened instantly. "Put me down immediately! You smell awful, you know?!"
The rest of the team laughed while looking excitedly at Qing Xuanling. They'd never expected the victory card would turn out to be the early-stage Qi Refiner.
Qing Xunwei regarded her curiously. "Little Nine—are you a body cultivator?"
Qing Xuanling's lips tightened at hearing that nickname again—but she nodded. "Second Sister is correct. I'm at the first layer of body cultivation."
Qing Wentian's eyes widened in surprise. "You're freak! When did you achieve that?! I remember yoy barely had money for pills—how did you save up to buy a body cultivation technique?!"
Since body cultivation techniques were rarer—they were naturally more expensive than regular cultivation techniques. Qing Wentian's surprise was reasonable.
However—his surprise and spouting nonsense weren't the same thing.
Qing Xuanling's fist became a blur—striking Qing Wentian's side and knocking the air from his lungs!
"Who told you to bring up past matters now?! I've told you several times you need to learn to shut that mouth of yours!" Qing Xuanling glared at Qing Wentian.
She didn't want people she'd just met knowing she'd been poor before! Who'd be proud of something like that?!
Especially since most of those people were descendants of the most influential and important people in the clan! Obviously—they'd been born with silver spoons!
Qing Xuanling truly didn't want to be looked down upon by them—especially now that she'd started developing genuine affection for them.
Fortunately—none of that happened. The others simply laughed amusedly at Qing Wentian's pained expression—his face pale.
Qing Tanwei brought a hand to her mouth. "Fufu—you're still a brat, Little Ten. How could you bring up a lady's financial situation~? That's like asking her age!"
"I-I'll remember…" Qing Wentian nodded with difficulty. Qing Xuanling's punch—especially with his Qi sealed—was devastating.
Everyone laughed while moving aside to rest. The group's harmony improved after fighting together—even if merely a simulated match. No small cliques remained within the team—everyone now chatted with each other.
Even Qing Hanlin and Qing Xunwei—the quietest members—occasionally spoke.
Soon—Elder Rufeng's twenty-minute rest period ended—and Groups Two and Three faced off.
Group Three surprisingly won thanks to their leader's skilled command.
After a half-hour rest—it was Qing Xuanling's team's turn to fight Group Three.
Qing Xuanling's team won again—this time more easily than before thanks to Qing Xuanling's overwhelming strength as a body cultivator.