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Qing Kufeng immediately distanced himself from his two opponents, who ignored each other and lunged at him instantly!
Just as the Young Master had said, the Ink Sword Sect and the Mo clan were made a team!
A sharp light gleamed in Qing Kufeng's eyes as he began forming hand seals at high speed. The Qi within his body surged rapidly toward his back, sprouting two wings of fire!
Qing Kufeng stopped retreating and advanced toward the Ink Sword Sect cultivator, his hands never ceasing their movement for a second.
The Ink Sword Sect cultivator's eyes widened slightly at suddenly becoming the target, but he reacted quickly, surrounding his sword with sharp Qi black, ready to defend and counterattack immediately.
Unfortunately, his intentions were clear to Qing Kufeng, a man bathed in the blood of hundreds of battles. His hands suddenly increased in speed, completing the spell rapidly.
A fiery halberd appeared before him, charging at great speed toward the Ink Sword Sect cultivator!
The poor swordsman's pupils dilated, and he tried to block the attack hastily, but his sword was sent flying the moment it clashed with the fiery halberd!
A vicious glint passed through Qing Kufeng's eyes as he used a claw technique, attacking the opponent's neck!
Or so he would have liked to happen.
Alarms suddenly rang in Qing Kufeng's head, forcing him to halt his attack and retreat, narrowly dodging several needles that struck where he had been just moments before.
"Eh, you dodged that? Whoa, it's just like they say! The people of the Qing clan really are barbarians with senses better than beasts!" The Mo clan cultivator, ignored until now, smiled weakly. "Or perhaps instead of barbarians, you are beasts in human form? Hmm, yes, that sounds more logical!"
Qing Kufeng frowned. He had been paying attention to the Mo clan cultivator's movements the entire time, but even so, he hadn't been able to detect when the opponent had attacked. Such stealth ability was chilling...
He sighed bitterly. This battle could be one of his toughest tests if he didn't do things right. A glint of defiance shone in his eyes.
His hands moved at high speed again, this time completing several short spells in a single instant.
Five halberds, each only a meter tall, appeared around Qing Kufeng before flying toward the Mo clan cultivator, while he himself headed toward the Ink Sword Sect cultivator, who was still searching for his sword on the ground!
Qing Kufeng showed no mercy. His hands turned into claws and raked across the Ink Sword Sect cultivator's back and neck.
"Hmph, watch what you do!"
A powerful aura suddenly descended upon Qing Kufeng, freezing his movements just before they could land impact before disappearing. The Ink Sword Sect cultivator had vanished by the time he regained his mobility.
He sighed. Those old monsters were still insurmountable walls!
His subsequent battle against the Mo clan cultivator was quick. Qing Kufeng charged at him, revealing that the fire wings behind him weren't just for show; they could also protect him from the opponent's needles!
The Mo clan cultivator had no choice but to be defeated once his main weapon was neutralized.
The Young Master smiled in satisfaction and quickly secretly informed Qing Kufeng to focus on wearing down his opponent in the next match.
Qing Kufeng did exactly that, but he failed to win the second match. In the end, the winner was the cultivator sent by the Ink Sword Sect, who won by a hair's breadth and with severe injuries.
The winner of the third match was the Mo clan. The fourth went to the Ink Sword Sect again, and the fifth to the Mo clan...
Qing Xuanling frowned when she noticed they couldn't win another match after Qing Kufeng.
Although the Qing clan members were powerful, they could do nothing when attacked by two people with similar cultivation and skills! Lasting more than ten minutes under the attack of two opponents was already quite impressive!
"Are you worried that we're losing?" The Young Master had arrived by her side at some point. His face remained as relaxed as ever; he was even smiling.
Qing Xuanling was surprised by the Young Master's calmness but decided to be honest. "I didn't expect the clan to win every league, but I'm worried this will happen in the other two as well, resulting in the clan winning nothing in the end..."
The Young Master's smile widened upon hearing that. "You're mistaken about something, Xuanling. We aren't losing currently. The things we can gain today aren't just the tournament rewards. Observe the faces of the people watching, especially those from the other city forces."
A strange look crossed Qing Xuanling's face as she did as told. Her gaze swept over the faces of the people from the five Qi Refinement forces of Ziyu City and the trading houses.
To her dismay, they weren't watching the matches merely as spectators enjoying an interesting spectacle. Rather, they had serious expressions as they watched and analyzed each battle.
Their gazes even seemed to look hopefully at the Qing clan members.
"Why is this...?" Qing Xuanling murmured in disbelief.
"Because this battle isn't just to win some rewards, but to demonstrate the Qing clan's potential." The Young Master's black eyes shone intensely. "You may not know this, but the Ink Sword Sect and the Mo clan have been trying to recruit the five Qi Refinement forces without success since even before the Qing clan was created."
"However, although the five forces don't have cultivators in the Foundation Establishment realm, their foundations are deep. They have existed even longer than our Qing clan. So neither the Mo clan nor the Ink Sword Sect can waste resources subjugating these forces by force, so for centuries they have tried all kinds of methods to make the five Qi Refinement forces surrender voluntarily."
The Young Master's face filled with mockery. "But who would be willing to follow a tyrant as their leader? Don't think the arrogant and self-centered behavior of the Mo clan and the Ink Sword Sect are recent things. On the contrary, they were even worse before. So no one was truly willing to subordinate themselves to them. That delicate balance was maintained for a long time, but the balance broke a few centuries ago. Guess why?"
Qing Xuanling's eyes lit up. "Since the Qing clan began to rise in Ziyu City?"
The Young Master nodded. "Exactly! If there's one thing I can be proud of about our clan, it's that we have always been fair. Our care for the people who serve us has been real, and it's something visible from the outside. So tell me, if a situation suddenly arose where you had to choose a side to subordinate yourself to, and the choice was between those two and our clan, which would you choose?"
Qing Xuanling answered immediately. "The Qing clan!"
"Yes, that's precisely why they are so focused on our members' performance. They are calculating how likely it is that the Qing clan can hold its own against the Ink Sword Sect and the Mo clan if they join us." The Young Master's gaze was deep. "So we aren't just fighting to win the spiritual stone mines and other rewards, but also to demonstrate our strength to others!"
She finally understood why the Young Master was so relaxed. The Qing clan members, despite not having won any other matches so far, had performed outstandingly.
They were only losing because the two opponents concentrated their attacks on them.
But something in the Young Master's words alarmed Qing Xuanling deeply.
"...Are we about to enter a war against the Ink Sword Sect and the Mo clan?"
The Young Master didn't answer, but his gaze was deep as he looked at her. "Now that you understand the weight this tournament carries for the future of the Qing clan, tell me, do you think you can sweep through the intermediate league alone?"
Qing Xuanling's heart pounded.
In the distance, the result of the last match of the initial league could be heard, with the Ink Sword Sect being the final winner, but none of that truly reached Qing Xuanling.
Her heartbeat was too loud to hear anything else. She lost herself completely in the Young Master's gaze, which seemed to have absolute confidence that she could achieve such a feat.
Smile.
"Aren't you expecting too much from me at this point?" Qing Xuanling replied playfully. "I mean, I have to face twenty opponents in a row! All with a higher cultivation level than mine!"
The Young Master raised his eyebrows. "Isn't that good? Then we would demonstrate the absolute superiority of the Qing clan's geniuses! I'm sure the five forces would be convinced to join our side seeing you win so gloriously! It's not impossible for you, is it? Otherwise, I wouldn't be asking you."
Qing Xuanling scoffed. "Save the sweet talk for later. I don't have another choice anyway, do I? Tsk, as scheming as ever, Yenglan."
The Young Master burst into laughter. The others looked at him strangely, as no sound came from the Young Master's mouth despite him clearly laughing...
Clearly, the Young Master had created a soundproof barrier to keep his conversation with Qing Xuanling secret.
The tournament took a brief break after the initial league ended, during which each force chatted among themselves. Qing Xuanling had nothing to do, so she simply watched as more and more people arrived.
Apparently, they weren't very interested to the initial league and only wanted to see the intermediate and advanced leagues. She even saw several people from the Qing clan arrive, including several young people she recognized by sight.
Among them were the Peng brothers, the trio of brothers who used to bother Qing Xuanling before. Although their harassment ended when Qing Xuanling defeated the eldest brother, Qing Daopeng.
Qing Daopeng's face went through several emotions when he noticed that Qing Xuanling was in the Qing clan's lineup for the tournament and he wasn't, despite him being at the sixth layer and Qing Xuanling at the fourth...
Although the reason was clear, since he had been defeated by her previously, it was still hard for him to accept reality. His face turned red at first, then purple, and finally darkened, filled with frustration and resignation.
Qing Xuanling observed all this out of the corner of her eye with some confusion. She didn't understand why the Peng brothers hated her so much, when they had never fought before and had even played together often before they started attending the clan's primary school.
In the end, she simply shook her head. It was impossible to be liked by everyone, and Qing Xuanling wasn't the type of person who cared about such things. She simply closed her eyes and waited patiently for the intermediate league to begin.
Her wait extended for an hour.
The Young Master, observing how everyone was getting impatient, smiled as he tapped his wine glass with his finger (drinks brought by nearby restaurants as gifts), producing a clear, pure tinkling sound.
Everyone's attention immediately turned to him.
"How about we start the intermediate league now? I think we've had a long enough break."
The rest agreed immediately.
"The Young Master is right! It's time to start with the main course!"
"Yes, yes, I want to see how the arrogant guys from the Qing clan get trampled by my Mo clan!"
"Tsk, that's the Ink Sword Sect's job! This intermediate league will be ours too, so prepare to lose!"
Everyone had different reactions, but they seemed to agree that the intermediate league should begin immediately. The Young Master smiled and quickly returned below the quadrilateral along with his people.
The Qing clan members in the intermediate stage looked at each other nervously, unsure who would go out first. The pressure was overwhelming, so everyone felt somewhat afraid to go out first.
The Young Master observed everything with a smile and simply looked at Qing Xuanling. "Xuanling, go out."
Qing Xuanling smiled and headed toward the quadrilateral under the astonished gaze of her clan companions. No one had expected the member with the lowest cultivation among the intermediate stage members to be the first to go out, especially since she looked quite confident and fearless!
Many of them frowned, trying to recognize Qing Xuanling. The girl's confidence made them think she wasn't ordinary, but they hadn't heard of such a young genius emerging in the clan recently.
That was natural; although Qing Xuanling had gained some fame lately, it was only among the younger members of the clan. The clan veterans, who spent their time cultivating or fighting demonic beasts, didn't know much about her.
Thus, under the curious gazes of both Qing clan members and people from other forces, Qing Xuanling stepped onto the quadrilateral, where her other two opponents had already arrived.
The people sent by the Ink Sword Sect and the Mo clan were older men with a trace of bloodlust surrounding them. Clearly, they were people accustomed to fighting.
The Mo clan man smiled as he introduced himself. "I am Mo Cui, little one. I didn't expect the Qing clan to send a girl as the first fighter. I suppose you're giving up from the start! I suppose it will be a fight between us, companion Ning."
Zu Ning, the person from the Ink Sword Sect, also smiled disdainfully. "I suppose that's for the best. It was a delusion for the Qing clan to think they could win this tournament to take advantage of our two forces without giving anything!"
Qing Xuanling completely ignored the condescending words of her rivals and simply gripped the hilt of Memory. A faint smile appeared on her face.
Holding Memory hilt always managed to calm her down.
The elders, seeing that everyone was ready in their positions, shouted in unison that the match had begun.
"The match officially begins!"
Zu Ning and Mo Cui quickly drew their weapons, a sword and a scythe, respectively. Contrary to what they had said before, they exchanged a brief glance and launched themselves against Qing Xuanling with intense killing intent!
They didn't seem to be taking her lightly as they had claimed before!
A small smile appeared on Qing Xuanling's face when she saw that. She calmly unsheathed Memory, which caused a commotion among the crowd as it was revealed to a large number of people for the first time.
The five-colored gleam of Memory was not something common, after all!
But the external noises did not disturb Qing Xuanling's mind—or rather, they couldn't. She had already entered a state of absolute concentration.
All distracting thoughts in Qing Xuanling's mind seemed to disappear at that moment.
Qing Huomei, watching everything from the sky, smiled. As expected, the girl had truly managed to enter the state of absolute concentration. 'She will master it as she continues to enter it!'
On the quadrilateral, Qing Xuanling had remained motionless, waiting for Zu Ning and Mo Cui to arrive, infuriating the two immensely.
"Arrogant brat, do you think you're invincible or something?" Mo Cui smiled venomously. "Well, let's see how invincible you are against my poison!"
Mo Cui spun his scythe, creating several dark green blades that flew toward Qing Xuanling. Anyone who saw the blades formed of green smoke could tell they were highly poisonous!
Zu Ning didn't miss the opportunity either, firing several sharp Qi lights with his sword.
Qing Xuanling's eyes remained serene; even the corner of her lips had lifted.
Her pupils suddenly contracted as she finally moved!
She advanced confidently while swinging her sword. Memory cut through the sword lights while she gracefully dodged the green smoke blades. Her red robes remained intact even when she arrived in front of Zu Ning and Mo Cui, who were left astounded to see Qing Xuanling dodge their attacks so easily.
Zu Ning gritted his teeth and quickly raised his sword, bringing it down on Qing Xuanling with all his strength, ready to finish her in one blow!
A cold smile appeared on Qing Xuanling's face as the glint of nascent bloodlust appeared in her eyes.
She gripped the hilt of Memory tightly as veins bulged on her right arm. She slashed directly against Zu Ning's sword!
Crack!
Everyone's eyes widened at that instant.
Zu Ning's sword, surrounded by sharp Qi, was cut in half by Qing Xuanling's sword, which wasn't covered by any kind of Qi! Basically, Qing Xuanling had cut a swordsman's sword with just her strength and the edge of her blade!
But not only that, her sword didn't stop at cutting the sword and slashed directly through Zu Ning's neck! His head was cut in half and flew through the air!
"You—!"
A choked cry full of fury echoed in the sky, but Qing Xuanling didn't stop her movements and seized the opportunity to attack the unsuspecting Mo Cui, who was still stunned by Zu Ning's sudden death.
Qing Xuanling kicked his legs, knocking him down, and quickly placed her sword a centimeter from his neck, but didn't advance further.
Her sword didn't advance any further because she didn't really want to kill him, but mostly because a dense and terrifying aura had suddenly descended from the sky, pressing down on her and stopping all her movements.
"Brat, how dare you kill someone from our sect right before my eyes?! Do you think the Ink Sword Sect is here for decoration?!"
Qing Xuanling gritted her teeth under the terrifying pressure, but didn't let her legs buckle and even attempted a smile, though it looked more like a grimace.
"I-I'm sorry, I simply didn't think a fellow swordsman's sword would break so easily from my physical strength and my sword... It won't happen again."
The place fell into absolute silence.
"...Are you mocking me, you damn brat?!"
Qing Xuanling bit her lip at that moment, feeling aggrieved.
'I just told the truth!'